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PGDE Applications 2016 (Scotland)

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I know it is really hard finding time to study and with maths it is a case of sitting down and doing the questions over and over again. I did loads of past paper questions. My maths stopped about P6 as I was in lots of different schools all over the country so it was a steep learning curve for me. So lucky these days to have you tube and internet. You tube was a Godsend!

I teach environmental studies and gardening every week in my local school - have done for over 4 years now. I have actual indoor classrooom experience too but most of what I do is outside at the moment.

What are you enjoying most in school and what do you feel is the worst bit?

I think as a parent it gives us a different perspective which is is a positive attribute to bring into teaching. I am involved with the parent council and it means I get to understand issues from a wider viewpoint. I assume you will be the same? We realise that the staff are under constant pressure to reach goals and attainment, as well as teach basic skills like brushing teeth regularly, washing hands, trying to be polite, going to the toilet by themselves! Funds are tight, resources are slim and parents get very, very involved these days - and not always in a positive way!
As a parent we want what is best for our children and to feel that their time at school is enagaging, fun and that they are taught really well.

Reply 61

kajka

Original post by Rumpel24

What are you enjoying most in school and what do you feel is the worst bit?

I love when kids get excited over getting things right,or doing things in the first place. I recently had a class who were begging to play "Countdown" in the last 5 minutes of the lesson. This was an F1 Maths lesson, the game involves students picking 5 random 1 digit numbers and one number which is a multiple of 25. Then I would come up with another number and they have to arrive at it using the numbers on the board. They loved it!

Also that time I got beat at basic arithmetic by another F1 pupil. Admittedly, they've been doing times tables over and over again and we mostly deal with proofs and advanced Maths with just letters and symbols involved (final year at uni doing Maths), but still! She was brilliant. I tried not to show my excitement so that no other kid feels left out but damn. It was a 6x8 grid of numbers and you basically had to multiply them all out. She did in it 2:36, I did it in 2:50 and the class had a limit of 8 minutes to complete it.

The worst are the students who have absolutely no respect to you and other classmates. This hasn't happened to me yet, but I have heard of teachers being punched by students or thrown stuff at. This is what worries me the most - that one day I will loose control completely over a class and once this happens, there is basically no going back as they no longer respect you! But at the same time there are usually underlying issues that these students have and it's never entirely their fault.

What about you?

Reply 62

Robinsong

Original post by Rumpel24

I can't believe you got an A in your nat 5 maths after not doing maths since p6, that's amazing!! Well done! Thanks for the tip RE You Tube videos. I watched some last night and I think that's going to help me tremendously!

So far, my best bits in school have been plentiful (thank god!). I've been enjoying it immensely, and at 3 days a week unpaid, I am grateful for that! My best bit is having gained the respect of the children I have been working with, it was NOT instant! I am now finding it easier to get them to listen and have built up more confidence in my ability to get their attention. They now get excited on the days I'm in which is a nice feeling.

The worst part is probably the part before I had their respect and they would loudly talk over the top of me while I was trying to get them to do something! I also had to deal with a 5 year old storming off in a strop which was interesting! Something I'm fairly used to though :biggrin:

I think being a parent has helped me tremendously. I have always wanted to be a teacher (I ended up a graphic designer though) BUT I don't think I was ready for it in my twenties. I don't think you have to be a parent to make a good teacher, but for me it has been necessary to give me the experience to know how to deal with children effectively and to have the empathy to see things from a parent's point of view. I have an autistic son and it was his primary 1 teacher that inspired me to finally go for my teacher training. She made a big impact in our lives and I'd love to do the same for other children and their families.

Reply 63

scotinengland

Does anyone work full time and a non teaching job at present? How much classroom experience have you gained? Seems like everyone is fresh out of uni or in the final year.

Reply 64

harnagarna

Original post by scotinengland

Does anyone work full time and a non teaching job at present? How much classroom experience have you gained? Seems like everyone is fresh out of uni or in the final year.

I've been in full-time work since 2009, after completing my first degree. Finished my 2nd alongside work. I worked in retail until 2011 and the Oil & Gas industry since then, so definitely not teaching related.

Reply 65

Robinsong

Original post by scotinengland

Does anyone work full time and a non teaching job at present? How much classroom experience have you gained? Seems like everyone is fresh out of uni or in the final year.

I am currently working as a self employed Graphic designer and illustrator working from home while raising 3 children and doing an open learning maths course through college.....you could call all that full time! lol! I'm 35 so it's a while since I graduated from University the first time (2002).

2 years ago I had some classroom experience when I did a 6 week block teaching art at my local village school. Now I am currently doing a year's voluntary work at a large primary school in town (300+ pupils). I do 2 and a half to 3 full days a week shared over various year groups and have so far done 5 weeks. I barely have time to breathe but I'm loving the time at school and I know for sure I absolutely want to be a teacher!

Reply 66

Rumpel24

Original post by scotinengland

Does anyone work full time and a non teaching job at present? How much classroom experience have you gained? Seems like everyone is fresh out of uni or in the final year.

I don't work FT as I have children, a partner who works away and no family to help out. Not feasible for me at the moment as I would be working to pay for child care. In my past life I had my own business for years before becoming a lecturer. I then went on to teach in FE environment, community education, secondary school behavioural units etc before becoming a private tutor. For the past 4 years I have taught voluntarily in our local school and although I have previous classroom experience and have had some classroom experience lately my classroom is generally outside 👍🏻
As I am about to start work as a support for learning assistant I am hoping this will give me more tangible classroom experience - although having a load of excited kids outside and trying to keep them focused is surely worthy in its own right!

Reply 67

Rumpel24

My favourite thing is when you are teaching an incredibly dry subject and think you are doing badly😫Then a student comes up and tells you how much they loved your class😀

Worst thing - internal politics and parents - those who don't give a flying toss about wee Johnny and equally difficult - parents who refuse to believe that their special Senga is actually in any way, shape or form involved/behaving like that😁

Aiming to complete my PS and get my apps off this week👍🏻

Anyone any idea which area they would like to speicalise in?

Reply 68

Charocall

Hi guys

Im applying to primary teaching in Scotland and I was wondering what ye think my chances are, I have a first in my science undergraduate and a masters degree but my only work experience in a primary school setting is my volunteer work with a primary schools outreach programme. I'm a supervisor/team leader, so we go to primary schools for 4 hours a week and I teach the class about science and do activites with them. I've learnt alot about teaching children from it, possibly even more than what I would get from just observing a classroom, but am I just fooling myself thinking this could possibly be enough???? I've other studd too -sports clubs, tutoring and teaching undergraduates.....

I would REALLY appreciate someones imput and be honest :smile:

Reply 69

Rumpel24

Original post by Charocall

I would say you have more than enough experience👍🏻 You can never tell as it is so competitive and it depends on if they like your personal statement and you come across well in interview. Go for it and see how you get on - if you don't try you will never know.

Reply 70

Dannyell2

Original post by Charocall

I'd say you stand as good a chance as any. You have a maters which a lot of applicants do not. I'm applying with just an ordinary degree. You have a lot of experience working with children, which is what the unis are looking for. Competition for the course is really tough but I can't see why you wouldn't be in with a shot!

Hope that's helps.

Reply 71

Robinsong

Original post by Charocall

Put it this way, if you don't get in then I don't stand a chance! You sound like you have all that they are asking for and more, so I'm not sure why you're querying it really? What more do you think they would need from you?

I only have an ordinary degree and at the minute I am studying my Nat 5 Maths as I only got a 3 at standard grade level. I've got quite a bit of classroom shadowing experience and I'll be based in a primary school for the rest of this school year but I am having serious doubts as to whether I stand a chance! My sister in law thinks I have zero chance!

I feel I may miss out with my Scottish applications as I don't have my maths yet and I will miss out on my English application (Carlisle) because I don't have honours. I'm now applying for the 4 year route (which on the plus side is based in my home town) but at 35 I really don't want to have to do this unless I have no other choice.

Reply 72

Charocall

Thanks very much for the comments, much appreciated :smile:

In theory it should be okay but it depends on how fussy they are as to what type of experience you have. From what I read, they value experience alot more than you academic results. I've noticed alot of people have sent off their applications already, I better get writing!

Reply 73

Charocall

I'm from Ireland and we don't have to write personal statements to get into Uni and they don'e care for experience at all, so when I read '2/3 week classroom observation experience' I was like oh balls.

Reply 74

Robinsong

Original post by Charocall

haha! The PS is a ballache. I didn't have to write one the first time I went to Uni, the process seemed far simpler back then. I hated writing my PS and it sure aint perfect BUT it's the best I could do.

I think there is such conflicting advice everywhere, even from the people I know. Some tell me that they care more about your grades/qualifications and others tell me it matters more about your experience and how you do at interview.

I didn't think for a minute I would end up so stressed out about just applying!! lol!

Reply 75

Charocall

Tell me about it! I've read that some students spend months writing the statement. I'm hoping to write it this weekend and send it off next week. My friend got Glasgow two years ago and I've read her statement. From what I gather you have to introduce yourself and state in a few lines why you would love to be a teacher with some general statements, then most of the rest is discussing the important aspects of teaching and the problems teachers face, all the while reverting back to how you learnt these through your classroom experience/extra curricular activites and your study.

That's just what I'm grasping anyway. I think it's way more important to have experience than grades. I know it's easy for me to say that but at the same time if you can show that your serious about teaching by having as much experience as possible and trying to better yourself with learning more before the course starts, then it should be enough.

When do you generally hear back?

Reply 76

Dannyell2

Yeah I think it is a lot more to do with your experience, so long as you have at least the minimum entry requirements. You will definitely need a strong personal statement. I'm still working on mine just now. I have only just started my school placement, so I'd rather have a few weeks experience under my belt before submitting my application.

Judging from last year, you hear back at all different times, I believe the Unis offer interviews in batches and they can start as early as December and run right through to March (maybe even longer).

A lot of the decision will no doubt be placed on interview performance, so hopefully if we are lucky enough to get that far, nerves don't get the better of us!

Reply 77

Robinsong

I spent days and days taking notes, reading examples and writing lots of scribbles and facts down. I then wrote the actual statement in a day. I was pretty pleased with it until I had to start hacking it down to achieve the 47 lines. Now it's OK but doesn't read quite as well as it did at the start :frown:

I got a few people to read it though and they seemed to think it was quite good. I'm hoping they weren't just trying to be nice though! ha!

I used to be quite proud of my qualifications (I have an HNC, an HND and an ordinary degree) until I decided to apply for the PGDE! Experience wise, I did a 2 week placement in a primary school when I was 16! (I don't count that and didn't put it on my PS), I have 6 weeks teaching art in a small village primary school and I currently do 3 days a week (full days) in a large primary school in town helping out in various classes. I've only been doing it 5 weeks but I have until next July based there. I've also just been accepted onto the Additional Needs Assistant supply list. I'm not sure if that's enough experience or not but I'm hopeful.

I have an autistic son which I'm hoping will help (not that I wish to use and abuse our situation), as it means I have good knowledge of additional needs in a mainstream classroom and it's an area I'm quite interested in.

God, I'm really scared as I've realised just how desperately I want this!

Reply 78

Charocall

Original post by Robinsong

Your experience is more than enough you can use the additional needs assistant to your advantage as a lot of people haven't even considered that and it's a big factor in schools.

Yeah I wonder how many words 47 lines is. I don't want to have to leave stuff out.

I have only thought about the interview stage a little as I don't want to build myself up. Some Unis have pretty demanding interviews but I think the less I panic about that the easier it will be :P So you might have to make a decision about a Uni before you hear back from them all?

Reply 79

Dannyell2

Sounds to me like you have a lot of experience, which will definitely go in your favour. I can't wait until my application is submitted but I don't think I'm going to have it in until the start of December which is majorly stressing me out. I am going to be doing my placement for the rest of the school year but I just want to have at least 2-3 weeks worth to write about on my personal statement.

The waiting game will be a complete nightmare I bet!