Pdj_Entry_1__Yr_2

PDJ Entry 1 (Milestone 1) (a) What are the three areas in your teaching where you feel most confident' Previous observations remarked on my ability to plan well, create a good rapport with the learners and embed functional skills effectively, and these areas of teaching are where I feel the most confident. I also feel confident in my role as a personal tutor. Planning: The PGCE and staff development days have enabled me to understand the planning process, and appreciate why good planning plays critical role in the successful delivery of a lesson where learning objectives are met. Due to the nature of the learners – many have learning difficulties or behavioural issues – the structure that good planning provides enables me to feel confident that the learners remain on task, and enjoy the lesson. This, I have found, creates a good atmosphere in the classroom and in turn, leaves me feeling more in control. Personal tutoring and rapport with the learners: This year I am a personal tutor to eight learners (last year I had two tutees) – and I enjoy this role. Most of our learners at the Hub arrive with many barriers; low self-esteem; personal issues and can be quite negative when it comes to embracing the education on offer. It is vital that these learners are handled with great care! Effective communication can be a powerful tool, and I know that in order to gain trust, I must be a good listener; offer support; be non-judgemental and never patronise. When the learner begins to trust the tutor, feel comfortable and supported in their environment – they are more likely to lose some of their barriers, start to achieve and progress. Embedding Functional Skills: Teaching functional skills last year has given me the skills and confidence to effectively embed this into my sessions. I can confidently highlight functional skills being used in sessions - whether planned or happening by chance. It can be challenging to promote the importance of functional skills, but when used in a practical session like cooking, the learners can see the relevance and become far more co-operative. What are the three areas where you feel you need the most development' I can still lack confidence (and experience) in some areas. On reflection and due to a recent observation I feel that the three areas are: Diverting from the lesson plan: As I see that planning is one of my strengths, I can often struggle to go “off-plan” when the need arises! I feel that with experience, my confidence in this area will grow – and am already working on developing a few “plan B” sessions that I can use if the IT fails for example. Stretch and Challenge: This year especially, I have had groups of highly mixed ability learners. At the Hub, much of our teaching is based around NOCN Entry 3 units. In reality, some of our learners are much higher – up to a L2/3. Again, I feel that experience will help my confidence to grow. I am already trying to develop my skills in planning for more challenging plenaries by discussing learners and their needs with their personal tutors. Challenging Behaviour: Although my observations have often quoted that my behaviour management skills are good, I can still lack confidence in this area. I have significantly improved on challenging inappropriate comments etc… But have found it difficult this year (especially with my L1 learners) - to keep them on task, and stop them gossiping or checking their phones! Again, I have sought advice from the programme leader who has suggested strategies to deal with this – from seating arrangements, to sanctions, and “time-out” cards. This has started to improve the situation and my confidence is slowly building back up. What will be your first steps to improving your teaching' As commented above – I feel that the most useful methods to help me improve are lots of personal reflection, and talking to more experienced tutors. At times, it is very easy to lose confidence in your own ability when a session might go wrong or to plan. I am lucky to share an office with a very supportive staff team, who are always willing to share experiences and offer advice. Already this year, I asked for an observation as I was finding one group particularly difficult to manage. This proved to be an excellent approach to use, and offered me lots of constructive advice and action points to develop. What support would help' Personally, I feel that I would really benefit from more opportunities to observe other (grade 1) lecturers – especially within my faculty. With a full timetable, I’m not sure how realistic this might be, but I know I would get a lot from this opportunity. (b) What are the three areas in LLN/ICT where you feel most confident' The three areas I am most confident are: * Embedding functional skills and the ability to contextualise their importance in everyday life * The ability to communicate effectively with learners; staff; parents and external agencies. * The ability to use the Internet to produce good resources. I also enjoy using the SmartBoard when delivering sessions and use this as a good resource for learners having the opportunity to be more interactive during the sessions. What are the three areas in LLN/ICT where you feel you need the most development' * Maths remains an area where I can lack confidence, and I acknowledge that in order to stress the importance of maths to my learners – I need to feel confident delivering it. * The use of Moodle – the new format is slightly different, and although I know how powerful a resource Moodle can be, I am still not confident enough to use it when setting coursework and assessing. * The SmartBoard – I enjoy using this resource, and use it frequently – but still feel that there are many aspects that I don’t know about – increasing my knowledge of how to use it more effectively would improve the delivery of my teaching. What would be your first steps to improving your capability in LLN/ICT' I would like to receive more training in Moodle and SmartBoard. Unfortunately, most of the on-going training from Library Plus takes place at Knightstone, and at times when I am teaching. I would like Library Plus to maybe come to the Hub, termly – and deliver some training sessions there. As we have a fortnightly staff meeting, I will suggest this to my CM. Where Maths is concerned, I have purchased some books and continue to practice online. (c) Other areas of the course What arrangements are in place for you to receive mentoring in your workplace, and how are these working' Last year my Curriculum Manager was my mentor, and we tried to meet at least once a fortnight. This worked really well, and she was able to offer constructive advice – especially with assignments. This year has been problematic. We have moved premises, and timetabling has been variable. Unfortunately, we have not managed to meet up yet, and recently she has been off sick – therefore I have not received any support. I intend to discuss this with my PGCE tutor to seek a resolution to this issue. In which other aspects of the course would you benefit from extra support' I am quietly confident that once the issues with my mentor have been resolved – I will have all the support I need in order to pass this course successfully. Word Count: 1,240