[Michaelamincher]

Hello all fellow PGCE people

Really want to prepare as best i can for sept when i start my early years pgce at newman Birmingham.
Had the pre course reading list come through etc will obv read up as much as possible but is there anything you would have done given the chance to prepare better.

Thanks Michaela

[Kidders]

Pre-reading isn't entirely useful tbh, but sure as hell wont hurt! Best preparation i would suggest is catch up with your friends and family as much as you can, sleep as much as you can and then you will not feel so bad when you have to abandon them during your next year and forget what 'well rested' actually means!!

I would also suggest buying loads of folders, plastic wallets, paper, pens and white board markers Ooo you could start practising writing on white-boards and checking your writing is legible XX

[Suzanathema]

^

The schools won't supply whiteboard markers?

I am preparing by reading loads of books, as I'm doing an English PGCE and my degree wasn't in literature.

[yellow96]

(Original post by Suzanathema)
^

The schools won't supply whiteboard markers?

I am preparing by reading loads of books, as I'm doing an English PGCE and my degree wasn't in literature.

Did you do English Language? I'm a bit concerned too, I did English Lit but I want to teach linguistics. I know it's what I want to teach long term (and what I want to do a PhD in) but I'm scared I've let myself fall behind and I don't want to have to re-learn a subject at the same time as doing the PGCE. Did you at least do Lit at A Level?

[Suzanathema]

(Original post by yellow96)
Did you do English Language? I'm a bit concerned too, I did English Lit but I want to teach linguistics. I know it's what I want to teach long term (and what I want to do a PhD in) but I'm scared I've let myself fall behind and I don't want to have to re-learn a subject at the same time as doing the PGCE. Did you at least do Lit at A Level?

I did linguistics for my degree, but yeah I have an A level in English Literature at least! I'm sure you will learn a lot of linguistics on the course, because a lot of English Language modules are linguistics based now, so I wouldn't worry

[marmalady]

(Original post by Michaelamincher)
Hello all fellow PGCE people

Really want to prepare as best i can for sept when i start my early years pgce at newman Birmingham.
Had the pre course reading list come through etc will obv read up as much as possible but is there anything you would have done given the chance to prepare better.

Thanks Michaela

I would have saved money! Had a massive holiday last summer before my PGCE started, which meant that all year I have been living off my loan and bursary and struggling quite a bit. Also means that now I have barely any money and with no job lined up yet for September I'm beginning to worry.
So my advice: try and enjoy your summer but work part-time if you can and save as much money as you can for next summer. If you managed to get a job straight away, you would still need enough money to tide you over til the end of September when you'll receive your first pay packet.

[JupiterSunshine]

Honestly, It's been said already- rest and have fun this summer, go out as much as possible with friends and family.

Buy loads of stationery like pens, paper, lever arch files, stickers for the students.

I didn't do any pre-course reading, didn't make one bit of difference. They will go through everything in uni that you need to know. Don't buy any of the books- waste of money!!

[yellow96]

I'm so chuffed I have a reason to buy (and use) loads of new stationary and new clothes for placement. Soooo shallow but I'm really excited about it

[JupiterSunshine]

(Original post by yellow96)
I'm so chuffed I have a reason to buy (and use) loads of new stationary and new clothes for placement. Soooo shallow but I'm really excited about it

It's one of my favourite things about teaching oh yeah, and the kids of course.....

[BBGirl]

I'm with you Yellow and JS! I have accumulated the following:

Filing system with suspension files, tabs and stickers
Files and folders,
Pens, pencils, rubber, ruler, whiteboard, whiteboard markers etc
2011/2012 refill for my personal organiser
A Level Chemistry resources
A Level Biology resources
Books re. teaching...just to prepare myself The best one i've read is How to Teach by Phil Beadle...had me in stitches!

And my hubby is sick of collecting the parcels for me!

I have also downloaded as many free resources i can get my hands on, such as powerpoint presentations, lesson plans etc. Hopefully it will make my PGCE a lot less painful! .

By collating the resources now i'm hoping i'll be less stressed when the time comes.

Plus i'm planning on going through the chem and bio, just to make sure i know my material.

[Michaelamincher]

Luckily I work in a school ATM so I'm prepared that way but I booked a holiday before I even applied for pgce which is a bummer but parents are helping me out next year thank god. Worried how stressed everyone says they are whilst on the pgce also very anxious about going in to the new schools :/ xx

[BBGirl]

I can understand that M, but if you try to prepare yourself mentally re the hard work to be done in a PGCE then i'm sure (hope) that we'll be able to cope.

Look at it this way...I have 5 kids, a mortgage, a hubby who is unable to work (arthritis) and a grandchild to support whilst putting myself through a PGCE! The way i look at it is...i got myself through a degree (minus a grandchild), i can certainly do a 1 year PGCE no matter what they throw at me!

[JupiterSunshine]

(Original post by BBGirl)
I can understand that M, but if you try to prepare yourself mentally re the hard work to be done in a PGCE then i'm sure (hope) that we'll be able to cope.

Look at it this way...I have 5 kids, a mortgage, a hubby who is unable to work (arthritis) and a grandchild to support whilst putting myself through a PGCE! The way i look at it is...i got myself through a degree (minus a grandchild), i can certainly do a 1 year PGCE no matter what they throw at me!

Serious respect to you!! I whinged and moaned my way through a PGCE this year (just finished!!) and while it was tough, it was worth it. The difficulty isn't in the nature of the work but the quantity of it. With five kids you must be amazing at time management and that's half the battle :-D

Best of luck to everyone heading into their PGCE- enjoy the summer!! relax!! and this time next year you won't believe how much you've achieved in the space of 9 months

[BBGirl]

LOL...thanks JS! :-)

[Michaelamincher]

(Original post by BBGirl)
I can understand that M, but if you try to prepare yourself mentally re the hard work to be done in a PGCE then i'm sure (hope) that we'll be able to cope.

Look at it this way...I have 5 kids, a mortgage, a hubby who is unable to work (arthritis) and a grandchild to support whilst putting myself through a PGCE! The way i look at it is...i got myself through a degree (minus a grandchild), i can certainly do a 1 year PGCE no matter what they throw at me!

Also admire you!!! Im sure we will all be amazing. Places are like gold dust so we have done amazing to get on a pgce

[BBGirl]

Thanks M...YAY us! lol

I just got my placement today, so i'm very happy, only 30 mins travelling time!

Anyone else got their placement?

Has anyone had a look at the prices of teachers resources? They're sky bl**dy high!

[marmalady]

(Original post by BBGirl)
Thanks M...YAY us! lol

I just got my placement today, so i'm very happy, only 30 mins travelling time!

Anyone else got their placement?

Has anyone had a look at the prices of teachers resources? They're sky bl**dy high!

How come you've found out where your placement will be so early on? I didn't find out my first placement until the week before it started, and that was back in October!

[Suzanathema]

(Original post by BBGirl)
Thanks M...YAY us! lol

I just got my placement today, so i'm very happy, only 30 mins travelling time!

Anyone else got their placement?

Has anyone had a look at the prices of teachers resources? They're sky bl**dy high!

With which uni? I'm dying to know where Bath Spa are sending me!

And some advice I read on the TES forums, don't buy too much yet. You'll get loads of planners and stuff, allegedly, as freebies from the unions once you start the course.

[BBGirl]

Oooooooo hannydee, i don't know, don't really know anyone on the course so i can only speak for myself.

The uni is having a 'Welcome evening' on the 5th so we can meet and greet the rest of the students on the course, so i'll have a nosey around and see whether it applies to them too.

My uni actually asked me to arrange an appointment with the college to have a look around and have a mini interview. They asked me to draw up a lesson plan, which i did when i got home, and as they were happy with it they said they were happy to accept me.

I'm glad i know where i'll be teaching...and also what syllabus they use!

Suzanathema...i'll be starting at UEL in september...and thanks for the advice...can't wait!

[marmalady]

Well you're very lucky to know this well in advance! Sounds like UEL is a v organised University :P

I agree with what the other person said: don't jump the gun and buy anything yet, except maybe a decent page-per-day academic diary (mine is just about falling apart now). If you do buy things now, you'll probably find that you don't even use them. Be wary with which books you choose to buy as well: I have wasted so much money on things like that, when normally all the information or resources I needed could have been found on the internet anyway.

I finish my PGCE in exactly 1 week! Eek!