I am going to use this reflection to re-visit the previous two weeks, whilst on my Maths pathway placement as part of the PGCE. I decided to choose Maths for my pathway as I think this is one of my weaker subjects and I wanted to develop it further.

I am going to use this reflection to look at my personal experience of the deluxe lesson and how on reflection, this has increased my confidence when answering interview questions and developing my own teaching philosophy. Davis et al (2009), believes developing this is invaluable and allows for reflection.

I am going to use this reflection to re-visit some of the key teaching strategies I think I have achieved during the course of my journey. Firstly in terms of behaviour management (standard 1a and 1c) I have developed my own points system to enthuse and motivate my pupils. As the school’s topic is the Ancient Egyptians I named tables in keeping with this theme. Points were collected on a daily basis with the table scoring the most at the end of the week receiving a prize for their efforts. I also introduced ‘Egyptian of the day’ where a students name would be drawn at random and that pupil would be responsible for helping me and showing any toys or sharing information with the whole class. It really impressed me how well children responded to this and I hope the class teacher may continue to use it, as she commented on how well it worked. 

I am going to use this reflection to look at the teaching standards I am achieving so far and those I wish to develop further. In the past two weeks I have gone from being anxious in numeracy lessons, to feeling confident and enjoying every single minute of my teaching practice. I am amazed at how well the children have responded to me (standard 1a) as all children respect me and view me as another teacher at their school. I feel the children are enthusiastic alongside my approach to teaching (standard 1c) as children know what I expect of them.

I am going to use this reflection to travel back through the most enjoyable week of the PGCE course for me, task and observation week. Day one of task and observation week consisted of getting to know the class, and observing the teachers behaviour management strategies along with the engagement of pupils. I observed QTS standard 1a almost immediately with students behaving exactly as expected of them, sitting down and starting ‘early work’ as soon as they came into the classroom. The teachers control over the children’s behaviour amazed me, as soon as she said “stop, and show me your hands” the children responded immediately. Praise was continually given and this positive reinforcement encouraged a happy environment in which all pupils wanted to be involved in the learning process. 

Reflecting on the previous two weeks, and now at the end of week four on the Primary PGCE course I can honestly say that my expectations of myself are beginning to increase. Delivering a presentation about seminar readings and also watching others has reinforced the need for setting high expectations which inspire and motivate pupils. Personally, I felt my presentation went well although challenging and believe there is much room for improvement. I found myself reading from notes, even though this was not necessary as I knew the content but nerves got the better of me. I enjoyed acting out the part of pupils for example Piaget’s pre-operational stage of liquid conservation, and explaining the theory behind it. The feedback given from my personal tutor has allowed me to set clear goals for next time. For example, I need to make sure I am less reliant on script and make sure I keep presentations fully professional.

 It’s incredible to think that less than two weeks ago I hadn’t even begun my journey on the Primary PGCE course. At the end of two weeks, I feel I am now able to reflect back on the course and what I have learnt so far.

Whether it was substituting letters for numbers, revealing how hard it is to count, or learning nursery rhymes such as “farmer Pete,” the last two weeks have been a challenge. I have thoroughly enjoyed soaking up as much knowledge and pedagogical content as physically possible, and believe the resources and experiences passed down from tutors have been invaluable. I have learnt that as a trainee professional I can incorporate aspects of phonics into every lesson, along with other subjects including art, science and maths. Kerry (2010, p8) states that “cross-curricular teaching is essential for an effective classroom.”

Hello everyone!

I am going to be using the blog section as an ICT learning diary but also I am going to add my reflections in at the end of every two weeks as I think this would be helpful to myself.
I have never created a website before so I'm learning new things already, looking forward to the ICT module and showcasing my skills on the website!