Work Based Learning: The first step into your career

The most important step in your career, is the first. As Neil Armstrong said

“One small step for man; a giant leap for mankind”

shows that by taking the initiative and getting the earliest start possible into your career can be severely beneficial. How do I know this? Because I am living it!

In September of this year (2022), I began my studies of work based learning. Through this module, I am to complete a placement in the field of work I wish to embark upon post – graduation: teaching. I commenced my placement in St Patrick’s College, Dungannon; the sister – secondary to my post – primary grammar school. Through my research, I found that the majority of students attending the school came from either severely deprived backgrounds or are members of various ethnic minority groups. As a young person who has very little experience working with these groups, I knew that the experience would be challenging, but, most importantly, rewarding.

In order to fully explore my time on placement, I will be using Borton’s model of What? So What? Now What?

What: What am I going to have to do? What will this placement entail? What will I get out of this?

These were just some of the questions that filled my head leading up to starting my placement. So what did I have to do?
When I arrived, I was met my the principal and my two heads of departments who explained to me that I will be teaching a year 8 English and Drama class. This class proved to be extremely difficult. From rowdiness to unfocussed classes, I found that although I love my subjects, other people do not. I had to take careful planning when organising what to work on with these students in order to make it fun and allow them to retain the information. Now, I am human, so it did take me three weeks to work out that group work is the best way to work this class – and I haven’t looked back! Within this class, there is a pupil with no speaking english, so I had to adjust her groups activities so that she could understand the activity, participate and learn, which proved a challenge in its self. I had to adapt and change my lesson plans (as shown below) to accommodate her. The main change for me was being able to explain work to her – Google translate as become my virtual superhero. Her class have also become very familiar with the app in order to communicate with her which shows such a growth in modernisation and how the young people have been able to take their initiative and knowledge and use it in day to day life. With the help from her assistant, the young girl has been able to achieve a grade C in the subject.

As well as teaching, I have also been working with some A Level students who are repeating their GCSE English Language paper. These students were much easier to work with as they understood the importance of the exam. From exercises to past paper work, all four students have jumped at least one grade and are much more confident for the paper.

So What: So what have I learnt from my placement?

Flexibility: Planning a lesson is important, but I have learnt that not all classes will follow the plan strictly; it will change numerous times throughout the class and that is okay. Being able to adapt to the classroom environment, end certain activities earlier as they are not working and extending others/add new ones on the spot allows for a more focussed and enjoyable classroom environment that the students thrive and flourish in. Being able to read the room has been a huge part of my placement and understanding what doesn’t work. Certain exercises that do not work does not mean failure, it means progression. No teacher has a perfect lesson and that is more than acceptable – it is how you deal with that situation that shows your strength

Confidence: Finding the confidence within myself to stand in front of a class and teach with no support from other teachers was a challenge. Standing in front of twenty young people staring back at you, assuming you know all the answers, is not a task that should be underestimated. In order to find this confidence within myself, I would remind myself for Ralph Marston’s quote

“You’ve done it before and you can do it again”

It took a number of sessions before I was able to be fully confident, however, I found by setting boundaries and classroom rules, the students learn to respect you and treat you properly. By showing the young people that you are the person in charge and not their usual teacher, they set aside their attitudes and, consequently, more focussed work is achieved, and the students enjoy seeing you arrive each week to take them. I, now, know that having this confidence impacts the entire schooling day as you are more comfortable in the school and other teachers have trust in you and what you do each day. Little by little, responsibility is handed over to you and other staff take a step back to allow you to grow into the teacher that you want to become.

Now What: Moving forward, I plan to take everything that I have learnt into not only my working life, but my life generally. By being confident and flexible, people will trust in me and will make me, overall, more employable. Through taking these new skills into my life, I will find a happiness in my work and more relaxed in my approaches in order to make me more approachable and productive.

References

Quote 1:

Stamm, A. (2019). ‘One Small Step for Man’ or ‘a Man’. [online] Airandspace. Available at: https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/one-small-step-man-or-man.

Image 1:

St Patricks College Dungannon Tyrone Co-educational school ages 11 to 18. (n.d.). St Patrick’s College Dungannon Tyrone Northern Ireland. [online] Available at: https://www.stpatrickscollege-dungannon.net

Image 2:

Center for Faculty Excellence. (n.d.). Reflective Practice and Writing. [online] Available at: https://www.pnw.edu/center-faculty-excellence/programs/teaching-portfolio-writing-support/reflective-practice-writing/.

Quote 2:

BrainyQuote. (2019). BrainyQuote. [online] Available at: https://www.brainyquote.com/topics/you-can-do-it-quotes

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