Introduction:
I was labouring under a misapprehension the other day when I said there’s one all seeing, all knowing, omnipotent portfolio of work that dogs teachers’ training like black riders on Frodo’s trail at the start of the Fellowship of The Ring. There are actually four. When I heard that, I died a little bit inside because that’s going to take some colour coding, filing, structuring, management, blah, blah, blah, and I haven’t even thought about the kids I’m teaching yet. The trainers eased my mind just as it started to ferment though when they said that the portfolios, technically, are just the icing on the cake of our Initial Teacher Training year. All the evidence needed to prove we adhere to the Teaching Standards should be present in our actual teaching. Well, what do you know, the world does make sense. The examiners just insist on our maintaining of these portfolios for evidence. I think it’s like maths in year 6 SATS; don’t just write the answer, show the working.
I was labouring under a misapprehension the other day when I said there’s one all seeing, all knowing, omnipotent portfolio of work that dogs teachers’ training like black riders on Frodo’s trail at the start of the Fellowship of The Ring. There are actually four. When I heard that, I died a little bit inside because that’s going to take some colour coding, filing, structuring, management, blah, blah, blah, and I haven’t even thought about the kids I’m teaching yet. The trainers eased my mind just as it started to ferment though when they said that the portfolios, technically, are just the icing on the cake of our Initial Teacher Training year. All the evidence needed to prove we adhere to the Teaching Standards should be present in our actual teaching. Well, what do you know, the world does make sense. The examiners just insist on our maintaining of these portfolios for evidence. I think it’s like maths in year 6 SATS; don’t just write the answer, show the working.
Middle:
To emphasise that point, they showed all the Schools Direct trainees a compilation of clips from various films about the art of teaching, which demonstrated good and
bad classroom techniques. It made me laugh that Cameron Diaz’s performance in Bad Teacher was listed under the ‘good example’
category, based on the scene where she takes her kids into the gym and throws
dodgeballs at them during a question and answer session; apparently it shows
awareness of the kinaesthetic learners. Jack Black in School of Rock was also up there. I can’t remember exactly
why now because, during the clip, I kept thinking of his teaching in the
context of the storyline (if you haven’t seen it, Jack Black is an unemployed,
unambitious layabout who impersonates a private school teacher in order to get
money). One film that did look good in terms of teaching styles and teacher
presence in the classroom, a film which I haven’t seen, was Dead Poet’s Society, starring
Robin Williams and a young Ethan Hawke. Robin Williams mixes the lessons up in
his usual, irreverent style but that’s ok to enjoy because it’s an award
winning film and not something like Flubber.
Other Middle
Other things emphasised in Day Two of the initial initial
teacher training was that OFSTED and the Department of Education LOVE phonics
at the moment. Boy, do they love phonics right now, and I say that in a really
cheesy American accent. If you’re looking at becoming a teacher, or already in
training, do lots of background reading on that. I didn’t even know what it was
when they mentioned it; I figures it was something to do with telephony but
it’s NOT- it’s to do with how young readers spell out sounds and it aids their
reading and literacy development. Every class is meant to have a period
dedicated to phonics, so, phonic it up. Make sure you get your head around that
before coming into the classroom, or you will look like an ignorant loser. They
also took us through seating plans and showed examples of how teachers
structure their classrooms, taking into account high achievers and strugglers.
They reiterated again and again that when we’re having a lesson observed next
year, we should provide the observers/ examiners with annotated seating plans
of out class, to show we know what we’re talking about.
End
The trainers also spoke highly of some Australian professor called Bill Rogers, who is a teaching expert in behaviour management. He's done loads of clips and interviews on You Tube and this one stood out for me. There's loads of other ones but that clip starts with a straight question and gives a comprehensive answer. Apart from that, the trainers recommended another book called, Inside the Black Box by Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam (ONE L). It’s really short reading, like a little pamphlet. I can’t remember the moment the trainers recommended it to us, I just wrote the name of it down. I purchased it and read it but didn’t really get why it was suggested; it just said a lot of things that were obvious and was written in about 1990 so it’s OUTDATED. But still, wiser people than me said it was useful and thus, I pass on their message.
The trainers also spoke highly of some Australian professor called Bill Rogers, who is a teaching expert in behaviour management. He's done loads of clips and interviews on You Tube and this one stood out for me. There's loads of other ones but that clip starts with a straight question and gives a comprehensive answer. Apart from that, the trainers recommended another book called, Inside the Black Box by Paul Black and Dylan Wiliam (ONE L). It’s really short reading, like a little pamphlet. I can’t remember the moment the trainers recommended it to us, I just wrote the name of it down. I purchased it and read it but didn’t really get why it was suggested; it just said a lot of things that were obvious and was written in about 1990 so it’s OUTDATED. But still, wiser people than me said it was useful and thus, I pass on their message.
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