New 100 word challenge

It has been one of those weeks this week; not really quite sure where the time has gone.
My trainee teacher has heard that she has two interviews so I am keeping my fingers tightly crossed that one of them goes her way.
Funny that I am feeling so tired really because I haven't done a huge amount of whole class teaching. Somehow watching, feeding back and doing intensive support work with individual children has been more exhausting!
Great though- it isn't very often that you can get to step back from the class and really watch them ; I feel that I have learnt so much more about them by being able to focus on them. Something we should all have more time for in our classes. You also learn so much from watching another teacher; regardless of how much or how little experience they have.
My job share partner and I have watched each other teach, are doing so again straight after half term. I am looking forward to seeing how this helps us achieve consistency with the class. We are very different; something I see as one of the real strengths of working in a job share is the children benefit from two teachers who can bring different strengths and interests. However, I am aware that for some children (particularly those who have tendencies towards ASD) find any change challenging so it is with these children in mind that ways to make the classroom consistent across the week is important.

Anyway, this week's challenge was to use 5 prompt words within a piece of writing. (LIBERTY    EMPIRE    APPLE    YELLOW    ENORMOUS) http://jfb57.wordpress.com/2012/05/14/100-word-challenge-for-grown-ups-week-42/

 I had no idea to begin with and thought I would give this week's a miss. (I had been hoping that a piece I had submitted for NFFD might have been selected ; it wasn't! Back to the drawing board!)
But, I am determined to keep working on my writing and get something published somewhere (some day...some time...)

So, here it is:

“It’s Monday, it’s 6.30! G-o-o-d morning listeners!”

Endless yellow sands, her toes dipped in the gently lapping sea, the man of her dreams beside her…

♫ Wake up it’s a beautiful morning♫

Music blared out as Liberty’s dream was brought abruptly to an end.

She showered, grabbed car keys and an apple and set off.

No matter how hard she worked, how many enormous contracts she secured for the impossible-to-please Richard, did he notice?

No.

Too busy building his “empire.”

Well, he’d notice her when she’d gone.

She checked her inbox. Everything was set. Just one call to make and her dream would become reality.


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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.

Teacher training...some thoughts

Yesterday I spent the day with a group of GTP trainees. ( http://www.dorsetforyou.com/15791 )
The purpose of the day- to raise confidence in planning/assessing/teaching Science at primary level, increase understanding of pitch and expectation, continuity and progression.

In a day!

I have run a similar day as part of the Dorset GTP programme for the past four years. Evaluations at the end of the day are always welcomed and enable me to make alterations/improvements for the following year.
The day went well ( even though it was the Friday before half term !)

I will embed the powerpoints I used at the end of this post- I made a concerted effort to minimise the amount used to enable as much time for reflection and discussion between the participants- too often this is overlooked (by myself on previous GTP days also) and I was particularly pleased with this aspect of the day.
I left feeling energised (even on a Friday afternoon) following energetic, stimulating and challenging discussions.

I have been interested in ITT since qualifying back in 1991 and have been lucky to be involved with B.Ed and PGCE students from Plymouth University when I worked in Cornwall. Now I am a school based tutor with the Dorset SCITT ( http://www.dttpscitt.co.uk/ ) where I also have the opportunity to tutor a DT at KS2 session (coming up in March this year!)

I have blogged previously about the positive impact working with trainee teachers can have
( http://mrshalford.blogspot.com/2011/06/mentoring-trainees.html )

At the end of the day, I read through the evaluations  and noted how many had commented on the positive impact of having input from a currently employed teacher. I thought back to my own training and remembered how few of the lecturers had any recent teaching experience. It seems as though this is still the case. The Dorset SCITT has a part time teacher in the Deputy Director role ( a colleague and friend of mine :) ) and I know that she is hugely respected for many reasons; not least for the fact that she teaches ,so is able to talk about up to date classroom practice.

So, what it the point of this blog post? To ask if there are opportunities for teachers to be involved in ITT through secondment . Once you are out of the classroom you can't possibly have the same impact as someone who is doing the job or has had recent experience. (In my opinion) Of course you can keep up to date with changes and have a clear idea of what makes an effective lesson.
(Of course this can also be applied to Ofsted inspectors, but that's a whole new can of worms)

I LOVE being a teacher- but I would like to combine this role with ITT . I could , of course, leave teaching and get a job doing this- but that goes against what I have been saying about teachers with current experience having greater impact on trainees.

With the move to more "training schools" and teacher training "on the job " surely there is a need to give teachers greater opportunity to work with trainees as part of their own CPD?

Trainees need to be given support from a range of teachers during their training and early years. They need quality training for subject knowledge, child development, safeguarding, planning, assessment et al
They need to observe a range of teachers in different schools at different stages in their careers.
They need input from experts in education; head teachers, consultants, teachers, other trainees

I would be most interested to hear from anyone who has been involved in ITT on a basis which has enabled them to maintain their teaching role too. I would also be pleased  to hear from trainees and teachers as to what aspects of their training they found had particular impact on their teaching.

Maybe there are wider opportunities for teachers in larger schools or who are in close proximity to ITT providers. Maybe I am not looking in the right places. What I know is that I enjoy working with trainees. Feedback received indicates that I can do it effectively; so what next steps can I take?

Here are my presentation slides.
Thanks for taking the time to read; if you have any comments at all please share.


Introduction to Primary Science Session 1


Experimental and Investigative Science Session 2

Planning, Differentiation and Cross Curricular Links Session 3

Assessment and Record Keeping Session 4

100 words for grown ups week 10

I thought this week’s prompt from  Julia was a tricky one and have been racking my brains; so far have tried and dumped a news report, an attempt at an interview and a short story about competitive neighbours (was quite pleased with that but managed to delete and save a blank doc- duh )  Have read a very interesting (as always) variety of pieces so far.

In the end I decided to carry on with the ever faithful Kit, here goes...

Kit pulled open the door to the garden. As with the house, it was a mere shadow of its former self.  Pushing the trailing creepers from the wisteria and honeysuckle to one side, her feet found a familiar path. Scents evocative of summers long past filled her head. Each step she took seemed to transport her back in time. Her pace slowed as memories flooded back.

 A buzz from her pocket snapped her back to the present. Whilst reaching for the phone  she saw it, faded now, but still recognisable. She smiled as she remembered her Grandmothers love of topiaries.

Hmmm, really felt like a learner doing this one!  Good way to unwind after a busy day at work though. Loving my new class; all bright eyed and bushy tailed, full of enthusiasm. Great. But, after the break finding it hard to get things done! If I have said "Get a wiggle on!" once, I said it a thousand times today. Have learnt from experience that it is vital to NOT try to do too much with a new class in the first couple of weeks, as it is so important to build relationships and ease children into their new class. Being new to job sharing also, am very aware that the class have two new teachers to get their heads round (and a trainee starting next week too!)

Early days yet, I have every confidence that in a couple of weeks they'll be raring to go... Oh yes they will :) 

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.

Trainee teachers

I have been writing the end of year report for the trainee teacher who has been based at my school since September. As part of a SCITT scheme, we have trainees for their Autumn/Summer placements or the Spring one.
I have been involved with this particular SCITT since 2002 and love it. To any teacher who has never worked alongside trainees, I can't recommend it highly enough.
I really admire those entering the profession via a PGCE as it seems an impossible amount to pack into a year. I did a four year B.Ed (back in the late 80's!!) and at the end of it felt that there was still so much to learn. Several of my colleagues came into teaching after other careers and found the PGCE route the most suitable for them.
Anyway, I digress, back to the trainee teachers...
Yes, there is a heck of a lot of work involved; I would be lying if I said otherwise,but it is well worth it. This year my trainee (I know there has been much animated discussion over the term trainee on twitter; it's the agreed term on the SCITT I work with having replaced student teacher!)  has really blossomed and it has been an absolute delight seeing the change over the year. She is only with me for three more weeks after half term and will be missed by all.
Having a trainee in your classroom really helps you to think about your practice deeply and having the opportunity for professional discussions about lessons is priceless. As a newbie to teaching there is a fair amount of support which dwindles as the career progresses. I feel lucky to be in a school where we all work very closely and peer mentoring is something we want to develop further, but the day to day discussions of classroom practice have certainly enabled me to constantly look at how I teach.
I am in the middle of writing a (very long) report and loving the fact that I can comment on all the progress that has been made. The next few weeks give a chance to consolidate and build on progress made and give me time to observe my class at work which tells me so much about them that I sometimes miss.