Over the last few weeks I have come to realise how important it is to have confidence in what I am teaching. When I met with my AT to discuss the medium term plans, I found out that one of the topics he would like me to teach is electricity. I am excited to teach this topic as it is something that I have enjoyed learning about and I have lots of ideas of how to make it interesting. Hopefully the children will perceive my enthusiasm for the topic and will be excited to learn about it.
On the other hand the cross curricular theme for 8 weeks is ‘Quarry Bank Mill’ I feel less confident about this and not as excited about teaching it, therefore I need to make the subject interesting for myself so that I am able to teach it in order for them be enthusiastic and enjoy the learning. During the modern foreign languages session with Katie Lowe (31/10/12) she said “Children will feel your excitement and creativity about a subject, if you are excited and passionate about it; they will be too.” This supports what I read in ‘Beginning Teaching, Beginning Learning in Primary Education’ “We need to be creative to maintain their enthusiasm and flexible to meet their immediate needs.” (Nansi Ellis) 2007 page 24 3rd edition
Throughout task and observation week I have had the opportunity to work with the whole class. Whilst doing this I struggled to manage the children when they start an activity. This is something that I will aim to work on throughout placement. My AT has given me lots of helpful tips about how to do this and assured me that it will come as my confidence develops. I aim to improve this by mimicking some of the strategies I have seen. My AT has also reminded me that I need to lay out my expectations before beginning an activity; he said this is important for behavioural management as it helps the children know how they can succeed and gain rewards.
Throughout my time on GPP I am going to work on my ability to encourage and engage the children. Regressing back to when I was in school I remember the teachers who kept us engaged helped us to enjoy the lesson more. Engaging and encouraging children is vital for them to succeed, as journalist, Chris Brown noted in this months copy of ‘The Nubian Times’, writes that black children are still failing within the British education system, he blames this on a number of factors such as lack of black role models, low expectations and self fulfilling prophecy, and these children not feeling engaged within the school environment, this highlights the importance of engaging all children in each subject area if we want them to succeed, as Brown states “Everyone should have the facilities and the support to learn and grow in a safe and encouraging environment.” The most important factor of teaching that I have learned in the past two weeks is it is essential so leave every child inspired at the end of the school day, this is what I aim to do on my GPP experience.
On the other hand the cross curricular theme for 8 weeks is ‘Quarry Bank Mill’ I feel less confident about this and not as excited about teaching it, therefore I need to make the subject interesting for myself so that I am able to teach it in order for them be enthusiastic and enjoy the learning. During the modern foreign languages session with Katie Lowe (31/10/12) she said “Children will feel your excitement and creativity about a subject, if you are excited and passionate about it; they will be too.” This supports what I read in ‘Beginning Teaching, Beginning Learning in Primary Education’ “We need to be creative to maintain their enthusiasm and flexible to meet their immediate needs.” (Nansi Ellis) 2007 page 24 3rd edition
Throughout task and observation week I have had the opportunity to work with the whole class. Whilst doing this I struggled to manage the children when they start an activity. This is something that I will aim to work on throughout placement. My AT has given me lots of helpful tips about how to do this and assured me that it will come as my confidence develops. I aim to improve this by mimicking some of the strategies I have seen. My AT has also reminded me that I need to lay out my expectations before beginning an activity; he said this is important for behavioural management as it helps the children know how they can succeed and gain rewards.
Throughout my time on GPP I am going to work on my ability to encourage and engage the children. Regressing back to when I was in school I remember the teachers who kept us engaged helped us to enjoy the lesson more. Engaging and encouraging children is vital for them to succeed, as journalist, Chris Brown noted in this months copy of ‘The Nubian Times’, writes that black children are still failing within the British education system, he blames this on a number of factors such as lack of black role models, low expectations and self fulfilling prophecy, and these children not feeling engaged within the school environment, this highlights the importance of engaging all children in each subject area if we want them to succeed, as Brown states “Everyone should have the facilities and the support to learn and grow in a safe and encouraging environment.” The most important factor of teaching that I have learned in the past two weeks is it is essential so leave every child inspired at the end of the school day, this is what I aim to do on my GPP experience.
