#pgce primary

I recently spoke with a PGCE student about how they have to write an essay demonstrating their “teaching philosophy” and how they incoporate their beliefs about teaching into every day practise.

It’s got me thinking about my own personal teaching philosophy and the things I really feel strongly about in teaching. So here’s a list of all the teaching things I’m particularly passionate about doing/having in my own classroom/teaching:

If I’m having fun, then the kids are learning - If I’m having a fun time teaching, then you can bet that the kids are enjoying the lesson too - enthusiasm is infectious! Everyone learns better when they’re having fun so I feel it’s important to plan and create lessons I enjoy teaching, so that kids can enjoy learning.

Children need to write every day - Children will read and use numbers in their everyday life without even noticing, which is all good practise that adds up! However, they may not write every day so I ensure that my all children in my class write something every day. Whether it’s a sentence, on a post it note, on a whiteboard or a full piece of writing, they will have written at least 1 sentence independently every day with me (which adds up over the course of a year!)

Praise the effort, not the attainment - The amount of effort a chld puts into their work is far more important than the outcome/attainment. If they’re praised for just the outcome, then that will be their sole focus, rather than trying and developing resilience to new challenges. I ensure that I praise the perseverance and effort children put into doing tasks, so it will encourage them to do so more in the future!

Be specific with praise - Following on from praising effort, I believe that being specific with your praise helps children more and teaches them exactly what is so good about what they are doing e.g. “You have put lots of effort into your colouring, well done” vs “I can see how much effort you have put into blending the green pencils so it is the same colour as the trees outside, well done!” Precise praise also feels more personal and helps to develop a stronger teacher/pupil working relationship.

This is extremely unusual for me but I am in a blissful situation where my hyperfocus lines up perfectly with what I'm actually meant to be doing in my life and honestly it does make you feel on top of the world sometimes

Anyway using my initiative has never failed me except for unnecessary overthinking but the payoff sometimes really does PAY OFF ✨

I taught myself Maths so I could pass my Equivalency Exam and managed to raise my grade from high school

I got accepted by the best teacher education university in the country

I genuinely did not believe that this would happen to me.

I'm going to be a visible queer, trans educator and be the teacher I needed when I was younger.

I'm starting to bask in the sunny period of my life and its been a long time coming 🌞

Oh, and I'm going to be Mx. Edge one day really soon!!!

Anyway I am back on my studying bs and willing to get hurt again 👍

I AM SO EXCITED TO HOPEFULLY GET A PLACE ON A TEACHER TRAINING COURSE

I'll be doing a PGCE in Primary in Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

ijfasco replied to your post “5 teaching targets for this academic year”

I start my PGDE in a few weeks. I'm petrified! x

Hi there friend :) It’s completely natural to feel nervous, teacher training is a HUGE commitment and it always seems like everyone else you meet on the course has a little bit more experience, or has done a little bit more preparation than you! But really, everyone is just as worried about messing up their first lessons in front of the children and is just as nervous about teaching as you, believe me! Here’s some advice and tips for surviving your first few weeks:

A PGCE is definitely a marathon, not a sprint - don’t work yourself until midnight in the first few weeks (I speak from experience here...) save some energy for later placements or important observations. Start off by concentrating on passing your first assignments rather than having everything perfect. You’re still learning, so it’s natural not to get everything right straight away :)

Discussing assignments, tutors and schools with your course mates definitely helps and my course mates have definitely helped me through a few problems during my PGCE (learning French was one such challenge a linguist course mate painstakingly helped me with!)

Exchanging your specialist knowledge with others on your course is really handy, everyone has a different background and making connections early on can help you with assignments down the road!

If you’re anything like me and your maths skills are a bit rusty, in preparation for maths seminars/lessons practising some mental maths/times tables definitely helps you feel more at ease during those times!

Don’t be daunted by the amount of paperwork/ dates/ assignments/ information you get handed to you in the first couple of weeks! It looks like an awful lot, but once you start tackling it a bit at a time and organising it, it’s a lot more manageable (I sometimes think they overload you with paperwork in the first week to prepare you for being a fully qualified teacher!)

Hey teachers!

I thought I’d begin by introducing myself, giving you some facts about me and my journey into teaching. 

Please feel free to say hi, pass on any advice or give any recommendations! All will be gratefully received! 

I will begin studying for my primary PGCE - KS1 and KS2 route, in my home county of Norfolk, commencing in September 2021 and I’ve created this account to help me prepare, seek advice, get ideas and save book recommendations

I am turning 27 next month and my journey into teaching has been a long one. Experience in roles working with children include being the storyteller at Bewilderwood theme park as my first ever job (I still say that was the best job ever ), working as a volunteer in orphanages and schools during my travels around Africa and Asia, being a Learn Play Grow activities leader, an arts facilitator and ten years as a qualified gymnastics coach 

In 2015 I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts First Class Honours in Photographic Studies and in 2018 I graduated with a Master of Arts in Fine Arts with Curation Studies. I’m also a Level 5 Qualified TEFL teacher 

My interests are most prominently within the subjects of Arts and Humanities (I am a MASSIVE history nerd). I’m also a HUGE book worm so am passionate about reading for pleasure and lastly PE! I trained within  competitive gymnastics until I was 18, medalling nationally and understand the importance of a healthy lifestyle and getting kids moving! 

I currently work in Further Education as an academic assistant to SEN students at a number of universities. 

I’ve so far travelled to 27 different countries and hope to make it to 30 before I’m 30! 

I’m interested in researching the importance of expressive arts and all things creative! 

Lastly I’m an advocate for the underdog and providing the best education for all. Growing up I was classified as from an ‘underprivileged’ background and that never once stopped me achieving my goals; and I have many teachers, coaches and other adults (including my parents) to thank for that.

Looking forward to sharing my journey to becoming a qualified primary teacher with you! 

Thanks for reading, 

Miss J