My First Lesson!

So, today I taught my first lesson! ...well I say 'I' but in truth, it was a joint effort from my partner and myself. I was super nervous about it before hand, was up all night worrying and felt sick right up until the point that it started. But as is always the way, it is never as bad as anticipated!

Myself and partner taught a maths lesson on subtraction using the SMART whiteboard and an APP on her touch screen computer. We played an interactive game in mixed ability groups to start with and then went off into ability groups to do the main task. 

We both received great feedback from our University tutor and the children all seemed to engage and enjoy themselves! So overall, it wasn't as bad as I thought and I am feeling much more confident about things. Onward and upwards!

Ciao! 

Jess xo 

My first day as a Student Teacher...

So yesterday was my first day as a proper student in a school, although it felt very similar to my experience as a volunteer. The same clothes, the same packed lunch, the same sick feeling in my stomach and the same 'unwanted' attitude. Maybe it's just me being over sensitive. Just a typical first day really - the weather was horrendous, like it always is on days like this and I got lost on the way there and the way home!

The school however, is a pretty, dainty little village school with a large field and plenty of playground space. There aren't many children, less than 100 I would say but I'm not certain. For the next two weeks, I've been placed in Year Six, a class of only seventeen.

I spent the day just getting a general feel for the school environment and the tasks that I have to complete. I started a few focussed observations in PE and French, as well as some learning journal entries. Also, my partner and I attended two staff meetings after school in order to gain a further understanding of the school. It felt nice to be included and listen to the current affairs and issues in the school and gave me some things to consider in my own teaching practice, regarding the learning environment and inspections. 

Today was much better. I felt more at ease and less anxious. I also got the opportunity to see some current technology, such as iPads, being used effectively in the classroom which is very beneficial considering my specialism in computing and ICT. I also worked 1 to 1 with a child of very low ability which was an eye-opener. It encouraged me to consider how I would try to support children like her more in my own class.

I'm hoping tomorrow will be better still and I'll be able to achieve some more tasks and work more closely in supporting the children's learning. 

Thanks for reading,

Jess xo 

Reflecting...

Bonjour!

This post is about 3 weeks late, but I still wanted to make note of it through the blog! I wanted to just reflect over my experiences at Uni so far and my initial thoughts of the BEd course and also share some feelings about a visit to a new and local 'Free School'.

I'm really enjoying Uni so far, although it is very much like being back at 6th Form College, but it'll just take some more getting used to I reckon! I'm really enjoying meeting new and interesting people, not only peers and collegues, but the lectures and staff too. :-).

Throughout the 3 weeks so far, there's been a big emphasis on 'reflecting' and 'critical thinking', which as a teacher is going to be a very important skill. On Day 2 of 'Fresher's Week' our ICT specialist group took a trip to a developing 'Free School' in the city centre that do things a little bit differently! They currently only have a Reception, Year 1 and a joint Year 2/3 class in the Primary School and only Year 7 in the Secondary School. Their focus for learning is intrinsic motivation and incorporation of technology to help and encourage creative learning. Now, being an ICT and Computing specialist, this was a great way for us not only to see the different environments they work in but the types of technology they use and how they use it effectively in the classroom.

The way they do things at this school is very different to what we're used to in traditional classrooms. They call their classrooms 'studios' and they may have two or three lessons going on simultaneously. Although to us it seemed chaotic and difficult to concentrate, results show that the children learn very well.

In Year 2/3 a group were using iPad's as tool to assist their learning. They'd taken photographs of pages in a story book and were using these photo's to zoom in on detail of illustrations and spend a longer amount of time studying aspects. This then assisted their own creative writing, inspired by the detail in the illustrator's drawings. The Year 7 groip consisted of 97 students across two 'studio's. These children, possibly do to their age, seemed even more engaged in their learning through the use of technology. Some were using iPad's to watch Spanish video's as part of a language lesson and some were at the other end of the room carrying out various tasks in Geography.

A key teaching method which I found very interesting was the 'do it yourself' attitude they seemed to have. The teachers act more as mentors to the children who drive their own learning. The teacher used 'QR' codes to direct the children to a webpage or a blog that explained the activity or task for the lesson and the rest was left up to the children. I also noticed no desks, or tables. There were computers around the outside of the room and the floor space consisted of cushions and beanbags for the children to work on and feel more comfortable and relaxed.

I really enjoyed this visit to the school and picked up on some things that I would like to take on-board throughout my future teaching career. I was really inspired by the way they took a different approach to engaging the children and highlighted the importance of the individual's learning through their intrinsic motivation, and adapting methods of teaching to suit each child.

I would love to go back soon!

That's all for now folks.

Jess xo

A crazy little thing called 'Blog'...

So, I've had the intentions to write a new blog post for the past few days and have been making lists of idea's in the 'notes' section of my phone but not actually managing to sit at my computer and write one. Therefore, what I've decided to do is a few this week and then what I'm going to try and do is one at the end of every week. I've got my first placement next week, 13th October, so I think that weekly blogging will be a good way to record my experiences.
Stay tuned for a post tomorrow! (fingers crossed!)
Jess xo

Getting started...

Hi everyone,

This blog is still very much a 'work in progress', so please bare with me. I want to edit and design it to suit my style over time, but am more interested in getting it up and running for now. 

I am a first year BEd Primary student, specialising in ICT and thought that seeing as I'm a 'techy' specialist, an on-line journal would be an appropriate way to record my thoughts and share my experiences. It also seems to be becoming an increasingly popular way of communicating and sharing ideas.

Everything that I post probably won't be the most eloquent blog post you've ever read in your life, as I'm literally typing whatever is going through my busy little brain, but I will try my very hardest to make it comprehensive! 

Thanks for reading!

Jess x