3rd Blog Post
From Self Conscious to Self Assured: A blog on how I overcame career related challenges with confidence.
. This Blog will give an insight into my challenges with confidence in relation to my work placement. I will explore how I overcame these challenges, what I learned from the experience, and how I will use this moving forward.…
Losing Focus 2
When being part of a work placement, it can be disappointing to discover that there may always be aspects of a job you dislike. In these situations, you may have to weigh up the pros and cons of your work…
Challenges as an Assistant Director
Nearing the end of my placement, I have learnt many different things as an assistant director within the end of year production Based around World War Two in Northern Ireland. Some of the things that I have learned have directly…
The Customer is always right
“Assume that the customer is right until it is plain beyond all question he is not.”[1] Work experience is crucial for developing skills and gaining experience within your preferred workplace and will aid in your success and help “prepare you…
Editing a West End Star’s Biography for Into the Woods: “Have I taken too much out, madam?”
An Easy Start? Initially, working with NI Opera has not been a stressful ordeal. I have completed research tasks, worked front of house for multiple shows, and engaged in admin work. Conversely, I was tasked with editing the biographies within their Into the…
Shaping my future
Introduction Doing my placement with Lamb Films has proven challenging in different ways. With Lamb Films I have done multiple different tasks for them. These tasks include working with the costume and production design teams for the feature and short…
A Turn of Events
Shortly after Christmas a job opportunity arose as a classroom assistant in a primary school near home. This was ideal as I had planned on gaining experience in the classroom for the next year to better equip myself before applying…
Always Read the Room
Teacher Alex Parker states that ‘a lot of educators don’t receive a ton of training within teacher preparation programs on how to foster conversations’[1] about the LGBTQ community within the classroom. He states that, ‘in many cases teachers never learned about LGBTQ topics…
How did I end up here?
As I wrote and mentioned in my first blog post, my journey applying for a work placement and actually getting and securing one was quite a rollercoaster. Two days before the deadline, I received an email at night from the…
Its okay to make mistakes
How did I end up here? In my previous blog posts, I have mentioned how worried I was about my CV, the simulated interviews I undertook and how I should go about them. Being nervous about not getting a job,…
Losing Focus
When being part of a work placement, it can be disappointing to discover that there may always be aspects of a job you dislike. This is what I might have discovered working in the offices of a theatre company. My…
An Experience Never To Forget
I wanted to use this final blog post to reflect upon a work-related opportunity that sent a curveball my direction and knocked me sideways. Analogies aside, the NI Screen Aim High Bootcamp was the most intense, heart breaking but inspiring…
Overcoming Behind-the-Scenes Anxieties
When I first started my placement at Cahoots, I initially panicked, because I had never done a placement of any kind before. I’ve worked with theatre companies before, but primarily as a performer, so doing things backstage consisted of helping…
The Show Must Go On
“The dream is to keep surprising yourself, never mind the audience” – Tom Hiddleston Almost 9 months ago now, I received a phone call from Bruiser Theatre (bruisertheatrecompany.com) asking if I wanted to take on a two week intensive intern…
I DON’T KNOW WHERE TO SIT
Along comes a great opportunity to introduce yourself to someone who has been in the business for years. You smile, hold out your hand in preparation for a strong handshake, and then the question is asked. ‘So where do you…
The Importance of Communication in the Workplace
“To join a profession is to plunge into a community of people. Much more than the meeting rooms and offices where we work, our relationships with individuals and groups constitute the environment in which we live our professional lives” (Gersick,…
Trying to keep everyone afloat!
If you had asked me what I thought would have been one of the hardest aspects of my placement would be before I had started, I probably would have said having the confidence to teach a class by myself while…
Copycat Rhythms and Musical Gossip!
My placement at the Junior Academy of Music (JAM) has taught me the importance of facilitating an inclusive teaching environment as an educator. At the beginning of my experience, I assisted with the Green Group, a class of four to…
Expect the Unexpected
Preparation is key for a lesson to be at its maximum potential. The role of a primary school teacher is to teach a wide range of subjects, not just one. Therefore, every teacher will have set out lesson plans and…
Conquering Classroom Challenges!
Teaching is a lifelong and rewarding profession that gives you the opportunity to influence children for generations to come. Nevertheless, teachers come face to face with challenges every day and this was no exception for me on my work placement…
Guitar Ensemble: Going Solo
Without a doubt, the most challenging aspect of my placement so far was being put in charge of JAM’s guitar ensemble. I will use Gibbs’ model to reflect on this demanding experience, as I have found it an effective way…
An Annoying Unskippable Advert
It’s the final blog post… do do do dooo, doo do doo dooo dooooooo, if you can’t tell that, that’s me trying to make a parody of the legendary song Final Countdown by Europe. Doesn’t really translate as well across…
Movies, now more than ever!
The development, green-lighting and production processes of making a film are often filled with stops and starts and pushes and pulls. These oppositions and internal politics make the film industry and the filmmaking process fertile ground for drama, as demonstrated…
Teamwork Makes the Stream Work
Using Gibbs’ Model of Reflection (Jasper 79) I am going to waffle mostly in the second person (which wasn’t even intentional, at this point it’s just a reflex when doing reflective writing to avoid actually talking about myself) for over 800…
Improvising like jazz
I have always admired jazz musicians; with the way they so effortlessly riff off one another to create a beautiful synergy of sounds. Feeling the flow of the music and improvising as they go is something I respect but in…
Sunday Morning Live – The Most Boring Show Known To Man
After working tirelessly over the summer to secure a work placement, having an interview after the interview. I knew that this was only the beginning of the hard work I was going to endure over my work placement module. Finally,…
Thrown in at the deep end
Reflective practice means that we learn by thinking about things that have happened to us and looking at them in a different way, which enables us to take some kind of action Jasper, M, 2013, 3 I’ve always approached new…
I am definitely not confused. Having now completed my 100 hours of work placement with Big Telly Theatre company, I have a clearer understanding of myself, my skills, my likes and dislikes regarding the type of work I would like…
P.U.S.H.- PERSEVERE UNTIL SOMETHING HAPPENS
Challenge yourself; it’s the only path which leads to growth. – Morgan Freeman Quotes Working in any field of work has its challenges and battles that need to be overcome. But growth is rarely seen where things are easy because…
Communication Breakdown: My Biggest Challenges
“Through your attitude and actions, you can determine your luck and success” (Beeching, 2010) When reflecting on the main challenges that I have encountered during my work placement with Redbox Recording in Belfast, I was surprised by the lessons that…
Patience is a Virtue
If I were to describe my experience with placement this year in three words, it would probably sound something like this: just have patience. Reflecting on the year so far, I haven’t faced an overwhelming bombardment of challenges, however the…
Growth From Grunt Work: Learning the Ins and Outs of the Studio
“Learning about studio infrastructure whilst on placement breaks down a barrier to being able to work in the studio.” This blog focuses on an unglamorous but important lesson I took from my placement, reflected on using the Gibbs model [1]. …
Challenge the unexpected
I did not have many expectations going into my placement. I spent many disheartening weeks trying to find one, mostly unsuccessfully, and when I finally did, it was not in a film or TV production company – which was my…
Reflective Essay 3 – Conor Meharg
Phantom Power and more importantly… Girl Power!
Stepping into NIAVAC on my first day, I believe I underestimated the extent of the experience and knowledge I was about to embark and expand upon. Although my Music and Audio Production degree has equipped me with a fundamental basis…
Blog Post 3: The Challenges of Work Placement
In this blog post I will focus in on one of the most challenging aspects of my placement with the Belfast based production company Strident Media. This challenge has been my ability to successfully integrate into an established team when…
Work hard, play hard?
You know the old saying “work hard, play hard”? I’m starting to feel like it should be changed to “work hard, work harder”. Don’t get me wrong, throughout my placement I have encountered a lot of new and exciting prospects…
AEL 3001: Blog Post 3
Taking on a work placement can be an exciting prospect, but like any new form of work, it cannot be without its challenges. To acknowledge and reflect on such problems, as well as how you encountered and overcame them is…
Lets all get Involved
Overcoming inclusion in the classroom Description In my placement at Edmund Rice College, I have been working with the same teacher since September, and from the beginning of January she has given me the opportunity to teach whatever I want…
Life will always have its challenges.
Life will always have its challenges. This is a statement most of us have been told throughout our lives, and while it may sound somewhat pessimistic, it is the undeniable truth. However, challenges, big or small, help develop our skills…
The Equity Of Detachment
A teacher who establishes rapport with the taught, becomes one with them, learns more from them than he teaches them. Mahamtma Gandhi Over the past 6 months of placement, in which I am experiencing the role of being a teacher…
Reflection-In-Action: The Value of Challenges
My role as a sound designer at the EnterYes Studio in Belfast has encompassed a range of technical multimedia tasks over the past 5-6 months, from working on animations and trailers to Virtual Reality experiences ever since I started the…
Not Exactly What I Had Envisioned
In my last blog, I made a nod towards my work placement being not exactly what I had envisioned. Well, now I’m going to tell you why. In all honesty, my experience at Big Telly Theatre Company has been somewhat…
You Gotta Have Faith
Despite these being the wise words of George Michael and a bit of fun, there is no better phrase I could use to describe my time working for the SARC Video Team. Despite the stress at times, I have really…
Life is Like a Box of Chocolates
I will follow Gibbs’ Cycle (fig. 1) reviewing my experience of leading literacy support sessions, as “reflection is a crucial aspect of the… learning process” (Gibbs, 98). Description In January, I increased my placement hours so I could get involved…
The Teacher Toolkit
It’s been six months since I first stepped into Carhill Integrated Primary School and ever since I have grown progressively as a teaching assistant, using each experience to reflect on my skills and teaching techniques. I guess you can say…
“Meet the New Sub, Alice.”
As I approach the end of my placement and my final blog post, I reflect on many challenges that I have faced during the period. Most challenges typically concerned instances of child misbehaviour or unwillingness to partake in lessons. Other…
Becoming Miss McCaughley – The Music Teacher
After a few days of observing Mrs Harrison teach her classes, it was now my turn to teach the Year 9 class, and in preparation, Mrs Harrison and I worked out a lesson plan. Having a limited experience with lesson…
Blog 3 – A Challenge
Being a music and audio production student at Queen’s I do not have to look very hard to see the impact covid has had on musicians and the music industry as a whole. In the uk alone more than…
Learning From Your Mistakes.
I’m not a particularly confident person, I hate confrontation and I stress about the littlest things, bottling them up inside because I’m scared if I ask for help I will be judged for getting myself into that situation in the…
Believe and you will achieve.
As the final weeks of university and our work placements are upon us, I want to reflect on the challenges I had to face head on and how I managed to overcome them the best I could. While learning more…
Breaking into the Scene
As our work-based learning journeys and adjoining placements come to end, I’d like to use this blog post to reflect on the challenges of self-confidence and promotion within the radio and music industry. I will use Gibbs’ model of reflection…
Art Assistant to Sandwich Maker…
As I drove the long journey to my second day on a film set, I pondered what I would be doing that day on set, I had just received my first call sheet a few days before which I was…
‘Shaking up’ the Classroom
Overcoming the challenge of differentiation in the classroom. According to Carol Ann Tomlinson, differentiation means “shaking up what goes on in the classroom” to give students “multiple options for… making sense of ideas and expressing what they learn” (Tomlinson, 1)…
Adapting Learning
Teaching is a profession, which like all occupations, comes with difficulties. I had anticipated classroom management and disciplining to be some of the more challenging aspects I would encounter upon my time at Limavady Grammar School (LGS). However, what ultimately…
From Nursery rhymes to Tik Tok Tunes.
From the sunshine land of Key Stage One to the dark and difficult plains of Key Stage Two. This blog post will use Borton’s three step reflection model to document and dissect my transition from a hands on placement in…
If there’s a will, there’s a way
Congratulations! In my original post I mentioned how your CV is like your dating profile and in my previous blog I stated how going for an interview was like the first date. Well guess what? You’re now officially married. You…
“I knew we shouldn’t have let him near that microphone, His actions are irreparable, His motives Selfish, And his involvement most definitely changed the course of music on this island for the worse”: How I admitted my shortcomings as an engineer and how “Big Tom and The Bin Liners” ruined country music.
Intro: As the blog posts for work based learning come to a close, my last blog will be used to reflect on a particular issue I had during placement, the lessons learned and the analysis undertaken as a result. I…
How to: Be a PA
My experience working on a high budget feature film gave me a valuable insight into the inner workings of a production team and the scope of the role of the PA. The role of a production assistant is extremely varied,…
Pondering my Placement
Working remotely was a new experience for many people recently. For my work placement at ProfileTree Coronavirus meant that their office was shut, and I was to do my placement remotely, with my only contact with the company in weekly…
