Training teachers

This week's ukedchat is going to focus on - 'What should be taught to the next generation of trainee teachers?  http://ukedchat.com/

I am particularly looking forward to this as I have a trainee working with me in my class and do some tutoring sessions for the GTP and SCITT in the county.

School based training is where teachers learn the skills of working with others, with classroom management to name but two. However, as a class teacher I find my time being stretched to the limit (and beyond) as I try to support and guide my trainee as well as maintain a teaching role.

I'm not sure what the answer is- more funding to allow teachers who are involved with trainees to be able to fit in their feedback/paperwork in directed time would be a bonus. The strength of training in schools is that the person central to the training is actually doing the job on a day to day basis as opposed to the lecturer who knows all the theory (and may still teach  children to some extent) but is not immersed in the same way.

The pedagogy of learning , at the time of my training seemingly boring, but now often referred to, is as important as spending time in the classroom and ideally trainees need to spend their time both in college and in school. The SCITT course I am involved with http://www.dttpscitt.co.uk/ will be changing next year to 24 weeks in school. This is 2 more weeks than at present which will require a big change to the timetable.  Inevitably, some of the centre-led training will go . On a personal level I am saddened by this as I have led a DT session for the last 4 years. Feedback often indicates that the sessions from practising teachers are especially useful as they can share so many aspects of the subject.
I applaud the importance of the extra time in school, but wonder how this will impact on the overall experiences for the trainees.
So , Thursday's ukedchat I am hoping will provide some useful insight into effective training.

New term ahead...

 Holidays are fab- certainly one of the perks of the profession. (I don't believe any teacher who doesn't agree with that sentiment). However, as the new year looms, panic sets it...how on earth am I going to fit the teaching in with everything else that needs to be done? Of course it will all get done (mostly anyway) once term starts the pace of life cranks up a gear or three and before you know it, multitasking your way through a never ending to do list.
I am lucky to be going back on  a part time basis. Labelling books and trays is so much easier when there are two of you to do it. Next week am in all week as INSET which I don't want to miss; after next week though, three days a week.
I have great plans to get the work balance thing sorted. Decorations planned for house, more regular catch ups with friends and family; and a more energised me in the classroom. Will it make me a better teacher? I hope so...I know the days I am in will be manic but will the fact that I am there less than not make a difference? Time will tell. I know that I will miss out on some things that happen on the days that I am not there; but my aim is to give my all on the days that I AM there. Something all teachers try to do, and something I was finding increasingly difficult to do everyday along with all the paperwork/redtape etc that the job has been so engulfed by. I am very lucky to have a job share partner who I have known for years and worked alongside. We are both really excited about the forthcoming term; we have very different interests and strengths which is fab as we have been able to split the teaching in a way we are both really happy about. The maths is a bit of a worry at the mo as we don't have a scheme or even agreed approach at school having spent ages and ages working on improving the writing and reading. INSET on tues is all about maths so I am hoping that some answers will come from that.
So, back for two INSET days then children on Wednesday. I am looking forward to this next phase in teaching tremendously and am committed to making it a success. Will reflect in due course.

Mentoring trainees.

Less than three weeks now before my trainee finishes with us. After an interesting lesson today thought would reflect on the mentoring process.


I have been involved with trainee teachers for the last 15 years, with BEd, PGCE, GTP and SCITT. The role has evolved over the years and it is immensely rewarding.


Working with a trainee has made me evaluate my own teaching style and made me much more aware of the importance of teaching lessons with good pace. Being an effective mentor is crucial to support trainees through the nerves and the odd disastrous lesson! Spending time talking about lessons I have taught has really helped to build good relationships with trainees. In fact I have used video to good effect - the trainee will video me and we will watch it together and discuss the lesson, concentrating on questioning for example. This will be followed by the trainee being videoed and a similar discussion taking place. The idea not being "Watch me to see how marvellous I am" but "Let's look at this lesson and identify what works and what could be done differently/improved". Once the initial fear of the camera is overcome this is a very powerful tool indeed.


An effective mentor must be an effective teacher first and foremost, and have bags of enthusiasm. A mentor forced into the role is not the way to go.The amount of teaching experience is not key- a teacher in their 2nd or 3rd year of teaching can be a great role model for a trainee and the process can be useful for both.


Being a mentor has certainly improved my own teaching, as well as shown me a wealth of different approaches, resources and ideas. I hope to be able to continue as a mentor next year, but restructuring in the school leaves that somewhat uncertain at the present time. There are so many more positives than negatives.