As I mentioned previously in the Preparing for Teacher Training post it's a good idea to get some work experience in a classroom environment.
This post will detail some of my work experience. For privacy reasons I shall not be disclosing any details that may identify the individuals or schools concerned.
A week in primary education:
In preparation for my PGCE I was given the task of spending a week in primary education (National Curriculum Key Stages 1 and 2, school years 1 to 6).
As chance would have it I was able to return to a primary school I attended as a child. The plan was to spend as much time as possible with upper KS2 (year 5 and 6) pupils.
The university gave me instructions to complete my primary observation during the first week of the new school year in September. This wasn't ideal because many of the lessons were dedicated to admin tasks like the distribution of new exercise books and welcome talks. The new school year also meant that each of the classes within a year group were evenly paced, meaning most of my time was spent observing repeated lessons.
I naturally headed towards the science department to see what was in store for the pupils, who were fresh back from their long summer break. Their first lessons were dedicated to safety rules in the lab and completing a hazard perception worksheet.
Year 5 pupils, who had just entered the school and were unfamiliar with science labs, were also given a talk on safety rules and hazard perception. These younger pupils also had part of their lesson dedicated to explaining the different items of lab equipment and where they were kept.
Year 6 pupils were a bit wiser, having already spent the previous year at the school. They were familiar with what the different pieces of equipment were, although they still spent their first lessons going over the lab safety rules. These pupils also completed a baseline science test to establish their level of attainment prior to SAT exams next year.
During the week I was also able to observe two year 6 ICT lessons, which involved the pupils tidying up their network disk space by organising files into folders. The pupils also used basic drawing software to produce new labels for their ICT folders.
Another worthwhile week in a very friendly school. It's the sort of place I can see myself ending up in a few years time.
A week in primary education:
In preparation for my PGCE I was given the task of spending a week in primary education (National Curriculum Key Stages 1 and 2, school years 1 to 6).
As chance would have it I was able to return to a primary school I attended as a child. The plan was to spend as much time as possible with upper KS2 (year 5 and 6) pupils.
The university gave me instructions to complete my primary observation during the first week of the new school year in September. This wasn't ideal because many of the lessons were dedicated to admin tasks like the distribution of new exercise books and welcome talks. The new school year also meant that each of the classes within a year group were evenly paced, meaning most of my time was spent observing repeated lessons.
I naturally headed towards the science department to see what was in store for the pupils, who were fresh back from their long summer break. Their first lessons were dedicated to safety rules in the lab and completing a hazard perception worksheet.
Year 5 pupils, who had just entered the school and were unfamiliar with science labs, were also given a talk on safety rules and hazard perception. These younger pupils also had part of their lesson dedicated to explaining the different items of lab equipment and where they were kept.
Year 6 pupils were a bit wiser, having already spent the previous year at the school. They were familiar with what the different pieces of equipment were, although they still spent their first lessons going over the lab safety rules. These pupils also completed a baseline science test to establish their level of attainment prior to SAT exams next year.
During the week I was also able to observe two year 6 ICT lessons, which involved the pupils tidying up their network disk space by organising files into folders. The pupils also used basic drawing software to produce new labels for their ICT folders.
Another worthwhile week in a very friendly school. It's the sort of place I can see myself ending up in a few years time.