The Life and Times of a GTP Student

South African Distractions

liamnicol — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 11:43:44 +0000

Thank goodness for World Cup 2010. As my GTP Final Assessment approaches (June 23rd, also the date of England v. Slovenia) I am digesting the year I have very nearly completed, evaluating my files and folders and reflecting on how I have developed professionally since September ’09. Or, in short, I am frantically going through folders, checking, double checking QTS Standards and as has been the theme all year, worrying.

Being superstitious about these things means I am unlikely to utter such phrases as “Yeah, I’m gonna pass” or “It’s in the bag”, but in reality I have been told that the progress I have made, my record keeping and my teaching have led me to a position where I am unlikely to fail. However, the doubt always remains that something minor, something unexpected, will rear its head and I am left to wonder what could have been. Just like Chris Waddle or Gareth Southgate.

Which brings me nicely to my welcome distraction. Despite all the worry, all the uncertainty and the sleepless nights, at least I have the World Cup. I write this on the eve of the opening ceremony, and frankly my excitement is at near child-like proportions as I look forward to a feast of football. Thankfully the school is embracing this excitement also. In Mentor time we have been given school-wide resources, including fixture predictions, sweepstakes, research tasks, national anthem contests and of course a football tournament. We are billed as a Community College, and nothing seems to bring about some community spirit than a bit of competition.

I think perhaps it is important to always have a welcome distraction. The life/work balance has often been a theme I have battled with, and only recently have I begun to calm myself about deadlines and workload. Of all challenges maybe this has been the hardest learning curve, mostly because it can affect home life. A box of marking on the dining room table is like an elephant in the room.

My advice to a GTP student next year? Work hard when you’re at work and the rest will take care of itself. Or in the words of a respected colleague: “You work to live, not live to work”.

18/05/2010

liamnicol — Tue, 18 May 2010 16:35:09 +0000

Period 4: Lead Teach, Year 7, Observed by University Tutor.

Lesson Objective and Intended Learning Outcome:
It was my intention this lesson to be sure that students were aware of how to use layers in the GIMP imaging software. From the final maps that were printed, it is clear that most students displayed the ability to use layers as modeled.

As noted by university tutor: “Layers: students have a good understanding of why they are important in this project”.
Management/Teaching Strategies:
As noted in observation form: “good control over class and getting them settled”, “detention given out to class and individuals”.

“The class was thoroughly involved in the lesson and kept engaged till the end”.
Extension/Differentiation:
Improvements could be made to the extension task. It was noted that “[the extension] works in terms of the project overall, but was there a way to extend the students capability with the software”.

13/05/2010

liamnicol — Thu, 13 May 2010 11:29:29 +0000

Period 2: Lead Teach, Year 7, Observed. Lesson Evaluation.

Lesson Objective and Intended Learning Outcome:
I feel the objectives and outcomes were met successfully in this lesson. All students appeared to grasp the concept of what makes a successful team, and how they could fit into one.

Planning:
Adequate planning was undertaken but as noted in the lesson observation: “Maybe more printouts so the projector is not needed” in reference to the lack of clarity in a particular slide.

Management/Teaching Strategies:
With classroom management I felt I was consistent and fair in my approach. From lesson observation form: “Students warned about expectations and detentions set”.

Resources:
“Timer used to increase work pace”. This made a considerable difference to the work ethic of the students. Once the timer was displayed and I asked students to complete the work before a certain time, all students were keen to finish the task.

Period 4: Lead Teach, Year 10.

It’s exam season and because of this the usual ICT room I teach in was being used for the Functional Skills ICT assessment. Having been displaced to a regular classroom, it was telling that having back-up lessons is an essential tool.

Fortunately, a laptop was left attached to an interactive whiteboard and I was able to conduct a logo quiz with the students, which has links to the elements of the Unit 1 OCR in which they design their own logo. Educational value was questionable, but given the circumstances this was a bonus.

Final observation next week

Invigilation and Parents’ Evening

liamnicol — Fri, 07 May 2010 16:09:45 +0000

A short week in which a few miscellaneous items came to the forefront of the teaching commitments. Being ‘that’ time of year means many an exam is being held and sat by the students. My participation in the invigilation of this was by no means an exciting experience, having been involved heavily with this during my time as a TA with the school. However, it is certainly informative to witness the examination regulations in action, and be part of their enforcement. Very little to note, with no incidents of unlawful behaviour in a formal exam or any incidents whatsoever in fact. Perhaps it is important to note the rigorous planning and organisation that takes place prior, that allows such a smooth operation to run.

Secondly this week I have had the opportunity to build on my experiences of parents evening, with the Year 7 session rolling round. In a similar way to the Year 9 Parents Evening post previously, the students who attend are often those that you have no particular worries about, and is used as a way to perhaps reassure parents of the progress being made, which is by no means a bad thing.

Target: Become very familiar with the Key Stage 3 level descriptors. I was apprehensive under certain questions during parents evening, highlighting my need to ‘know my stuff’.

Mentor Musings

liamnicol — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 18:11:20 +0000

Perhaps more than any other aspect of teaching, this week has provided some real experience in being a mentor of a group of students. And coming out of this working week I get the feeling that the students perception of me has shifted to a new and different level as a result of the weeks events.

Wednesday saw an entire college evacuation, lasting near an hour, due to a fire breaking out in the building. Nothing too serious, but enough to disrupt the day substantially. With my mentor absent through illness, I was working with a cover teacher for the most part. Although an excellent example of what I feel a cover teacher should be, he was (understandably) unaware of the fire procedure. I was pleased to be able to take a lead role in the organisation and registration of the (our) Mentor group. It was testament to how far I had come that students were actively looking to be where I was so as to be registered and, to their credit, behaved exceptionally given the circumstances.

Therefore my disappointment was even more deeply felt during assembly on the following day. Despite clearly being asked to take responsiblity for the clearing of the seating, many students chose to leave with the masses, possibly believing I would let this go.

Despite initially being incredibly angry, my energy levels by a Friday afternoon left me unable to fully display this, although the approach I then took proved far more beneficial. With students sat around the front, I explained my frustrations and disappointments with the “group” and impressed upon them my expectations, and it seemed many of them were genuinely sorry and even approached me to say this.

It was a strange feeling. When I confront students in the classroom, it never carries any emotional weight. With this incident I had a genuine feeling of disappointment in the group, and perhaps this is one of the many differences between a teaching class and a mentor group. I think this was conveyed to the students in how I delivered my rant of sorts.

An interesting and revealing moment in mentoring, and I’m confident that this post is doing little justice to the experience. Will post back with further, less tired, thoughts.

Term Three Thoughts

liamnicol — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 20:28:01 +0000

It’s been a while since a post, so perhaps an overview of the early stages of Term 3 would be an appropriate entry. The atmosphere around the college seems different at this time of year. I’d like to think it was the impending British summer time, but other factors seem to be affecting the mood.

We returned from our Easter break in somewhat disjointed circumstances with some members of staff stranded on foreign soil in the recent volcanic ash situation. However, this was overshadowed (no pun intended) by the rumour mill circulating that an Ofsted visit was imminent. Having worked in an education setting for a few years I have heard the horror stories, but was pleased that most colleagues seemed calm about the visit. I suppose there are few worries to be had if your house is in order. No official word on the visit yet though.

I’m sure another contributing factor to the atmosphere is the upcoming exam season. Many of the ICT lessons are now coursework and assessment driven, as we strive to attain the highest grades possible, for both student and school. It’s hard work, but satisfying to see the attainment levels rising as we mark coursework.

In preparation for the NQT year, I have also been reading through some of the legal documents associated with this, including the Teachers Pay and Conditions document (Q3a).

Despite some anxiety regarding the ICT Subject Knowledge Audit and the written assignment, I now feel that these are moving in the right direction.

Some early thoughts on Term 3, but I look forward with a yet again renewed optimism.

While the cat’s away…

liamnicol — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 16:40:35 +0000

…the mice will play (on flash games). Disappointed to return to my main school and teach my Year 9′s, discovering that during my second school placement they had managed to do next to no work, with the exception of the few that showed initiative to produce something.

I am disappointed in a few ways. I am disappointed in the students, but I don’t hold them completely responsible. Would I have behaved any differently given 8 lessons, without my usual teacher? If anything I would probably be angry that this had happened in one of my GCSE subjects. However, perhaps that is the time to take some personal responsibility in the completion of coursework based tasks.

I am disappointed in those that were left to teach them, although I’m hopeful that they gave it a go.

I am disappointed in myself for spending so long planning the work that I left, although given the situation again I would do the same.

Now begins the picking up of the pieces. A fresh term, with fresh ideas and fresh minds will go some way to pulling everything back together. The saving grace in the group may be those that did show initiative to drag the others through. A tough term coming up to get them finished, but I remain confident.

25/03/2010

liamnicol — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 16:30:57 +0000

Lead Teach, Year 7, Observed. Lesson Evaluation:

Lesson Objective and Intended Learning Outcome:
From Observation Form: “Shared objectives with the class at the start of the lesson and explained them.”

Management/Teaching Strategies:

“Used effective classroom management techniques to establish high expectations of behaviour and work loads”. I felt that this class required very little management techniques, although there were individuals who needed help concentrating on the task. I tried to deal with this calmly and swiftly.

Resources:

The starter activity was important to focus the class on the lessons topic and objective. “Engaged the pupils a well planned starter”.

Student Learning:

I used the survey function in AB Tutor to ask students confidence in using the software, however I ran out of time to share these results with the class as highlighted in the feedback from observation: “Share feedback from plenary survey with students and get further responses/reasons for this.”

Extension/Differentiation:
I was more conscious in this lesson to be aware of the students who could go beyond what was asked of them. One individual in particular showed these skills and she was challenged to progress further. I also set a differentiated homework for some students. This was discussed with the TA assigned to the ICT department.

The Second School Placement – Final Report

liamnicol — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 08:13:12 +0000

I returned to my main training school with a renewed bounce in my step. I had a new perspective on the dynamics of an ICT department, had received positive feedback from both subject tutor and second school mentor, and most importantly I had a grasp on where I need to improve to move from ‘satisfactory’ to being consistently ‘good’. I’ll worry about ‘outstanding’ when I’m ready to achieve it. The classic football coaching mantra: “get the basics right and the rest will follow”, or something like that.

Target 1: Better plenaries to assess student learning. Reading through previous posts it’s no secret that I have often struggled with this,only occasionally nailing it down. I am confident for the summer term that I can put this right. My second school provided with me a great resource in which to plan plenaries with greater skill, and given a few trial runs in classes I am sure I can hone this skill.

Target 2: More refined differentiation for both the more and less able in the room. I addressed this at the second school by modelling the task, but also creating a tutorial which was broken down and easier to follow and refer to if necessary. In practice, this was a success with the students and led to a far smoother lesson.

Target 3: Homework. It was essential at the second school that relevant homework was set, particularly at Key Stage 3. In Key Stage 4 homeworks took the form of peer and self assessment of work to improve coursework attainment. At first glance KS4 homework seemed easier to set on the DiDA course. How I can adapt this to OCR Nationals I’m not yet sure; further work required.

I am looking forward to trialling audio feedback with my Year 9′s and will post on this progress in due course. I was pleased this idea was met with a positive response during the department meeting, and I have already begun putting plans into place for its implementation post-Easter, although it is likely I will leave audio feedback on current progress overall at first, rather than individual submissions.

Also planning a whole school email to gauge reaction/interest in a fantasy football league for the new term. I’m sure there’s a QTS Standard in there somewhere.

18/03/2010

liamnicol — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:39:49 +0000

Lead Teach, Year 7, Observed. Lesson Evaluation:

Resources:
Created a starter activity which I felt was fun and engaging. It was noted in the observation notes that: “The Hoop-Shoot activity was successful and engaged the learners. The game-playing aspect of the starter led into your own introduction to the main activity and the pupils were quickly involved.”

Student Learning:
Although I felt from seeing students work I felt they had completed the tasks adequately, I need to use more AfL strategies to assess student learning. I touched on this during the plenary, which was an improvement, however this needs to be more structured and make it explicit of the learning that took place.

Extension/Differentiation:
Differentiation in this lesson could have been better. Through conversations after the session it was clear that some students could have been pushed more and others needed more help, particularly in the homework task.

Homework:
As noted: “The homework set built on the lesson well.” Although it was also noted that it would have been of benefit to differentiate the homework, with the use of word banks or a less text-heavy for this that required it.