PGCE - Current Students Thread
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Thank you all, I do appreciate it and its great coming from you lot. I now know what to expect so will not have a horrible surprise in terms of work load. I'm just worried and always like being on top of things
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Taught a lesson on sun safety on Monday to my Year 2 group.
School trip yesterday, Miss gets burnt even though she was wearing suncream!
Miss is now off sick with sunstroke.
I have to do additional placement days now. I don't know how many though.
Waaaaaah.
School trip yesterday, Miss gets burnt even though she was wearing suncream!
Miss is now off sick with sunstroke.
I have to do additional placement days now. I don't know how many though.
Waaaaaah.
Original post by pgce2013
I am just worried about the work load in particular lesson planning . I know this may sound silly but how much notice are we given on the lessons we are going to teach and are we notified in advance of what we are going to teach. I just cannot plan the day before I need at least a few days notice initially. Sorry I know I'm asking soo many questions to all you busy people. Are we also constantly observed, I mean for every single lesson. Finally with resources are we required to create them all our selves or is help given.
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As everyone has already said - lots of things really depend on your school.
On my first placement school, I assumed that I would have a week of observation, followed by a week of teaching starters, then a week of teaching bits of a lesson, before finally taking the whole thing.
Unfortunately, it didn't quite work out like that. I had a week of observation, and then, on the following Monday, I got handed a copy of the text books, told they were on page 25, and basically got told to know myself out, because as of the Tuesday, I would be fully teaching 100% of all lessons. ( I had 10 hours a week on placement 1).
I may be the exception rather than the rule, and I honetstly don't want to scare you, as you seem a bit nervous, but you do need to be aware that not all schools follow the 'rules'.
Observations again, vary. On placement 1, i was observed every single lesson and got formally written feedback about 3 or 4 times a week. On placement 2, I've been left on my own to teach most of the time, and quite often my mentor forgets to observe me 1 week, so will end up having to observe me twice the following week ( Uni rule is one observation a week).
I also agree with Starbabycat, it's not the lesson planning that takes ages, it is the resource making and the powerpoint making that takes foreeeeeeeeever! I used to like to be planned a week in advance, but i found it was really exhausting me, and taking up my weekends, so now I just plan a day or 2 in advance. I similarly have never been given any resources, teachers have suggested activities to me, or helped me think of how to teach things when I have been brain dead and lacking inspiration, but not once have I been given flashcards or a powerpoint presentation or a worksheet. I have though been expected to lend mine to other members of the department!
Has anyone worried about behaviour management before starting the course, and then found it not too bad?
Original post by Lit2010
Has anyone worried about behaviour management before starting the course, and then found it not too bad?
I worried about it, and it has been a constant area for improvement through the whole course (especially now in my school B which has more challenging behaviour). It's not been easy! It's particularly hard to stick with your principles, keep positive and consistent etc, as in the moment it's hard to bring up all that theory.
BUT it really is something which gets better with practice practice practice and remember you will always have that support in place (why I love the PGCE) to help you, and the theory to ground you. All you need to do is:
-Be confident
-Reflect regularly on your teaching and what you've done... what worked, what went well, what could you have done differently. And then it can be a conscious thing like 'This lesson I need to use more praise' or 'this lesson I need to use more stickers' or 'this lesson I need to remember to use 'good choice' when speaking to the children' or whatever. Then it breaks it down in to achievable goals
-Don't give up... it will take time for them to get to know you and for stuff to work
-Have a positive atmosphere, keep in mind all the good things the pupils do. Hopefully this one will be easy as a new teacher!
Our PGCE only had two behaviour sessions, and both later in to the course. At first I was gutted as I thought 'I really need this!' but having gone through it I really do think it's something better learned from experience, as long as you keep the overall ethos in mind.
pgce2013
.
I'll add my courses format in to the mix... it's primary.
First placement school, it was built up very slowly, first observing and helping out, moving to teaching bits and then to whole sessions (was a nursery so a session was only 3hrs). For the final block me and my practice partner planned practically the whole 4 weeks ourselves, and with the nature of it we could do it well in advance (but adapted lots through the weeks). The teacher was in there the majority of the time, as were at least 2 support staff, and usually my practice partner as well. We sorted out all our resources but the majority were bought items that they had rather than made sheets etc, though there were some.
Second school, dropped in quite quickly to a lot of hours (as had school A experience, though it was completely different!). I am planning the bits my teacher plans, and I can do them as much in advance as I want but because of the set up and the time it takes I'm planning now for next week and will do this each week. Other teachers plan numeracy and literacy and send them on, so I can adapt them for my class and plan the groups for differentiation etc. This can be quite soon before the day. Some of the time I'm alone but with others nearby, sometimes with a TA or the class teacher acting as a TA. Again, I sort out resources but the school has lots of stuff as well and teachers who plan lit/numeracy sort theirs... it just so happens that my teacher is doing topic this term, so I plan that and sort topic resources for everyone.
My uni needs one formal observation a week during block placement; half by class teacher, half by uni tutor.
As you can see very different situations!
A couple of notes:
Don't panic about having someone in there with you, it's just part of the background and most teachers are very supportive. It's really helpful to have them able to give you informal feedback on your teaching, it helps you move on so much.
Someone mentioned above about being thrown in at the deep end when they perhaps shouldn't have been (obviously that's happened now and that person has got through fine). If something like that is causing you problems please tell your uni! That's what they are there for, to support and help you, and they should be able to approach the school in a sensitive and professional way to remind them of what you should and should not be doing.
xxx
Interesting the thing about the timetable building up gradually for some people - I had no idea that was so common.
In both placements, I did an observation week, then the following week had to teach all my classes. I assumed this was normal, though I know a few people who held off from teaching everything at first, mostly because of ongoing assessments and stuff.
In my first placement, I had to teach 10 hours per week and for the first few days I was fine as I planned ahead as much as possible in the observation week and thought I'd allowed enough time to plan for the end of the week. But I ended up spending all of Tuesday evening reviewing/replanning lessons for Wednesday, and the same on Wednesday for Thursday, so on my first Thursday evening I was left with three lessons to plan from scratch for the following day. Bearing in mind I said it took me 4 hours to plan each lesson at the start. I ended up crying and giving one of the lessons back to the HoD to give me time to plan the other two, and the following week I shared the teaching of a couple of lessons with my mentor. After that I was fine and managed to teach my full timetable every week.
Basically, my point is that regardless of what the school's practice is in terms of when you start teaching your full timetable, they should respond to your needs. I was quite happy to be thrown straight in (my mentor said they wanted my role in the classroom to be unambiguously that of a teacher, not some kind of 'helper' or TA by having a phased start, and on the whole I agreed), but I needed to take a step back for a few days when the workload first really hit me, and the school responded to that, so it was fine.
In both placements, I did an observation week, then the following week had to teach all my classes. I assumed this was normal, though I know a few people who held off from teaching everything at first, mostly because of ongoing assessments and stuff.
In my first placement, I had to teach 10 hours per week and for the first few days I was fine as I planned ahead as much as possible in the observation week and thought I'd allowed enough time to plan for the end of the week. But I ended up spending all of Tuesday evening reviewing/replanning lessons for Wednesday, and the same on Wednesday for Thursday, so on my first Thursday evening I was left with three lessons to plan from scratch for the following day. Bearing in mind I said it took me 4 hours to plan each lesson at the start. I ended up crying and giving one of the lessons back to the HoD to give me time to plan the other two, and the following week I shared the teaching of a couple of lessons with my mentor. After that I was fine and managed to teach my full timetable every week.
Basically, my point is that regardless of what the school's practice is in terms of when you start teaching your full timetable, they should respond to your needs. I was quite happy to be thrown straight in (my mentor said they wanted my role in the classroom to be unambiguously that of a teacher, not some kind of 'helper' or TA by having a phased start, and on the whole I agreed), but I needed to take a step back for a few days when the workload first really hit me, and the school responded to that, so it was fine.
In other news... SIX SCHOOL DAYS TO GO!
Ha ha, luckily I'm done and dusted on placements now 
it's the pesky maths getting me down! Second go tomorrow! Fingers crossed!!!!!!!!!
it's the pesky maths getting me down! Second go tomorrow! Fingers crossed!!!!!!!!!Original post by StarBabyCat
Ha ha, luckily I'm done and dusted on placements now it's the pesky maths getting me down! Second go tomorrow! Fingers crossed!!!!!!!!!
it's the pesky maths getting me down! Second go tomorrow! Fingers crossed!!!!!!!!!You will be fine with the maths if I passed it I'm sure you can. It's good they've changed them so we have to pass before we start ITT
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I am contemplating if I should defer or just get on with the PGCE in Sep this forum has freaked me out. It has always been an ambition to become a teacher
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Original post by pgce2013
I am contemplating if I should defer or just get on with the PGCE in Sep this forum has freaked me out. It has always been an ambition to become a teacher
Don't panic, go for it. Be prepared to work hard but remember to give yourself a break sometimes.
Remember you'll be in uni for several weeks at the start of the course, and between your 2 placements, and that's a nice break too because most of the time you can come home in the evening and do no work.
Just get organised as soon as you can (not now, but in the first couple of weeks at uni) by making sure you have plenty of folders, paper wallets, dividers etc., some shelving (or one of those folding plastic crates) to store it in, and that when you start placement you can keep your stuff more or less tidy so you know where it all is when you have to prepare your folders in case they get moderated at the end of the course.
You can do it - we've survived it.
Why would you want to defer? What difference would a year make? I read all the forums last year and freaked out too, and it was even worse because I'm a mum and I didn't know if I would cope. But if I can then anyone can!
Original post by StarBabyCat
Why would you want to defer? What difference would a year make? I read all the forums last year and freaked out too, and it was even worse because I'm a mum and I didn't know if I would cope. But if I can then anyone can!
I was thinking about preparing myself fully and maybe gaining more experience in a school. Is it possible to defer my current place? I do not want to go through the interview process again
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Original post by pgce2013
I was thinking about preparing myself fully and maybe gaining more experience in a school. Is it possible to defer my current place? I do not want to go through the interview process again
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You would have to check with your uni, but it is not very common for people to be allowed to defer.
What you have to remember is that, yes, there are loads of horror stories on here and on the TES, but thats because we all tend to come online for a rant and to let off steam. For every 1 horror story there is probably 2 or 3 good stories, but people don't tend to write about them.
Getting more experience in a school is always helpful *but* and it is a big *but*, you only learn by doing, TA-ing or teaching small groups does not help to prepare you any better for a PGCE. Also, each school is so different, you could get experience in a particular type of school, and find that your two placement schools are very different. Personally, I think that if you want to be a teacher, you are better off doing PGCE sooner rather than later.
You need to have thick skin to be a teacher and to roll with the punches. It all sounds scary now, the anticipation of something is always worse than the event itself. but once you get stuck into the course, you won't have time to worry about stuff, you'll find yourself just getting on with it. The year absolutely flies by.
Original post by smartarse1983
You would have to check with your uni, but it is not very common for people to be allowed to defer.
What you have to remember is that, yes, there are loads of horror stories on here and on the TES, but thats because we all tend to come online for a rant and to let off steam. For every 1 horror story there is probably 2 or 3 good stories, but people don't tend to write about them.
Getting more experience in a school is always helpful *but* and it is a big *but*, you only learn by doing, TA-ing or teaching small groups does not help to prepare you any better for a PGCE. Also, each school is so different, you could get experience in a particular type of school, and find that your two placement schools are very different. Personally, I think that if you want to be a teacher, you are better off doing PGCE sooner rather than later.
You need to have thick skin to be a teacher and to roll with the punches. It all sounds scary now, the anticipation of something is always worse than the event itself. but once you get stuck into the course, you won't have time to worry about stuff, you'll find yourself just getting on with it. The year absolutely flies by.
What you have to remember is that, yes, there are loads of horror stories on here and on the TES, but thats because we all tend to come online for a rant and to let off steam. For every 1 horror story there is probably 2 or 3 good stories, but people don't tend to write about them.
Getting more experience in a school is always helpful *but* and it is a big *but*, you only learn by doing, TA-ing or teaching small groups does not help to prepare you any better for a PGCE. Also, each school is so different, you could get experience in a particular type of school, and find that your two placement schools are very different. Personally, I think that if you want to be a teacher, you are better off doing PGCE sooner rather than later.
You need to have thick skin to be a teacher and to roll with the punches. It all sounds scary now, the anticipation of something is always worse than the event itself. but once you get stuck into the course, you won't have time to worry about stuff, you'll find yourself just getting on with it. The year absolutely flies by.
Thanks, I think it's me just freaking out after reading all the horror stories online. Ill just get on with it. Their are so many changes going on with teaching and I may not get a chance like this again. These forums are pretty useful I freaked out with the QTS skills test but in the end passed with the first attempt. I think teaching is not for everyone I'm glad I know how it is going to be like before hand. It's just requires pure commitment dedication and graft.
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Original post by pgce2013
Thanks, I think it's me just freaking out after reading all the horror stories online. Ill just get on with it. Their are so many changes going on with teaching and I may not get a chance like this again. These forums are pretty useful I freaked out with the QTS skills test but in the end passed with the first attempt. I think teaching is not for everyone I'm glad I know how it is going to be like before hand. It's just requires pure commitment dedication and graft.
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I also freaked out from this thread before, thinking oh it's gonna be too hard!
But it really is so fun and honestly it was not as bad for me as many of the posters here.
I still watch TV shows. I still see my friends every now and then. I still had time to book a venue and start wedding dress shopping!!! I still watch films and friend DVDs. I still have dinner with friends. I still visit my parents. It is doable and as it goes so quick the time between seeing people seems even less.
Plus I tell myself if all my friends with kids can get through it then I certainly can.
Yes it's really tough. Really tough! But it's also incredibly rewarding, great for confidence as you can look back and see how much you've improved, fun, exciting and fulfilling... You're getting your dream.
Don't let it panic you. Look forward to it and explore your passion for teaching children over summer.
Xxx
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2 and a half weeks to go! Wooo, I thought 3 and a half seemed like ages away on Sunday and here we are on Friday night already, time is sure flying.
I'm gonna start the PGCE in September and would like to know from those who are doing the course how important it is to have a laptop? Is it a necessity or would a 64/128gb USB memory stick be enough?
Original post by Mr Advice
I'm gonna start the PGCE in September and would like to know from those who are doing the course how important it is to have a laptop? Is it a necessity or would a 64/128gb USB memory stick be enough?
I am on key stage one and early years and I practically never took my laptop in, I used ppa computers and did written reflective tasks, assessment notes etc. I used it a couple of times but I wouldn't say it was worth buying one for.
But then others will have used it practically daily so it's hard to say.
Xxx
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Original post by Mr Advice
I'm gonna start the PGCE in September and would like to know from those who are doing the course how important it is to have a laptop? Is it a necessity or would a 64/128gb USB memory stick be enough?
Totally depends on your school.
In my first placement, I was given a school laptop to use for the duration of my placement which I was allowed to take home. I barely used my own laptop during the first placement, even when I was at home.
In my second placement, they use desktop computers in each classroom and staff don't have school laptops. There are some computers in a work area but they're incredibly slow, so I mostly worked on my own laptop, just using the school computers if I needed to access resources on the VLE. So I did all my lesson planning and resources on my own laptop, whether I was working at home or at school, and transferred powerpoints to the classroom computer via a memory stick.
My memory stick is only 4gb and it has all of my resources and lesson plans from both placements on it, so don't feel the need to buy something expensive. Most of what you'll have stored will be word documents and powerpoints, so they don't take up a huge amount of space.
I'd say the PGCE is doable without a laptop, but if you're in a school like my 2nd one with slow old desktops, it would be very useful to have one.
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