Assignment 1 PSEC 3001 an INTRODUCTION to LEARNING and TEACHING

Institute of Education

Secondary PGCE (Core)

Initial Teacher Education

Assignment 1 PSEC 3001 – AN INTRODUCTION TO LEARNING AND TEACHING

Induction Booklet

2016-17

Name…………………………………………………………………….. Subject …………………………………

Contents

The aims of the induction period

Task 1 – Professional values, expectations and routines (ASSESSED)

Task 2 - Teaching Strategies (ASSESSED)

Task 3 - Approaches to behaviour and learning management (ASSESSED)

Task 4 - How pupils learn and make progress over time (ASSESSED)

Targets for your emerging professional development

Reference list

Assignment 1 – PSEC 3001 – Feedback Sheet

Assessment criteria - PGCS 3001

The aims of the induction period

An introduction to learning and teaching

The tasks in this booklet are designed to help you to use your time in school effectively, to gain a high quality experience, and to begin the process of focusing on the Teachers’ Standards. The purpose of the induction period is to give you an understanding of your school and to provide you with some information to inform your studies as an ‘early professional’. This booklet will be submitted electronically to form the evidence for your first assignment (PSEC3001 – An introduction to learning and teaching).

The induction period

The induction period is divided into three blocks of “school induction” (9 days) plus taught sessions in university/school as indicated below

Wk
No / w/b / Monday / Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday / Friday
2 / 05/09
3 / 12/09 / PS / S / S / PS / S / S / PS / PS / PS / PS / PS / DT / S / S / S
4 / 19/09 / S / S / S / S / S / PS / PS / PS / PS / PS / PS / DT / S / S / S
5 / 26/09 / S / S / S / S / S / PS / PS / PS / PS / PS / PS / DT / S / S / S
6 / 03/10 / S / S / S / PS / PS / DT / School induction
7 / 10/10 / S / S / S / PS / PS / DT / School induction
8 / 17/10 / S / S / S / PS / PS / DT / School induction
9 / 24/10 / DIRECTED TIME
Key – S = Subject Sessions, PS = Professional Studies Sessions and DT = Directed Time

Fig 1 – The induction period

The school induction programme will support you to prepare you for your first placement and become familiar with the school. The focus of this initial period in school will be to address the following key themes:

Safeguarding and pupils’ wellbeing – what does this mean and who is responsible for safeguarding and well-being in your school?
The school profile: What profile does your school have and how could this data impact on teaching and learning within the school?

Professional values and attributes: How are high expectations and professional values communicated in the classroom?Are they addressed differently across the Key Stages?

Meeting individual needs – How are the needs of individuals met including SEND, EAL and more able pupils.
Teaching strategies - If Teaching does not lead to Learning, how and why might knowledge of a variety of teaching styles be of use to the classroom teacher?
Behaviour: How do teachers manage the behaviour of pupils? What strategies do they use to motivate pupils?
The nature of good teaching: What are the characteristics of good lessons in your subject area?
Subject specific tasks provided by your subject tutor.

To help you during the induction periodthis booklet provides guidance on the different ways to explore these issues and collect information. Your school may have its own preferred sequence of induction activities and so tasks do not have to be completed in the order that they are set out in this booklet. It is useful to complete a pupil pursuit or trail where you follow a pupil for a day. Speak to your professional mentor about this and see if this can be organised during the induction period.

The key is that you address all tasks and have enough material to be able to prepare you for your teaching placement. The content of the booklet is submitted as assignment 1 (PSEC3001 – Introduction to learning and teaching).

Expectations

It is our hope that you will be treated as a full member of staff as far as is possible, but you must remember that you are a guest in the school. You arrive as a qualified graduate with expertise to offer, but you should remember that your mentors are the experts in teaching. Assertiveness and tact are really important! Full attendance is compulsory but if for any reason you are absent during the placement you should contact your subject mentor, professional mentor, university tutor and the course administrator (Claire Rowlands – ). Please refer to the course handbook and the code of conduct for further details (both are available on Blackboard – PGCE Sec Course Admin).

The pattern of the placement

Fig. 2 is taken from the Course Handbook (for trainees) and Partnership Guidance(for mentors) and is an indicative overview of the allocation of time in school. As a general rule you should have 17 hours of teaching experience (shaded grey) engaging with collaborative work, solo teaching or observation/direct time plus a weekly review and school based professional studies programme in any week. The ratio of these parts will vary depending on the part of the course, your own individual needs and issues such as class rotations or assessment periods.

What if I am on my own? If for any reason you do not have a subject partner, the subject mentor will work with you more closely. Very rarely you may be the only University of Worcester trainee in a school. In this case your subject tutor will support you in developing an individual programme.

1: PGCE: Core
Dates in school / Part of the Course / Collaborative working / Solo teaching / Observation or directed time / Weekly review meetings & school based professional studies / Study and preparation
05, 06 and 07 Oct 2016 / Induction period / 0 / 0 / 17 / 2 / 6
12, 13 and 14 Oct 2016 / Induction period / 2 / 0 / 15 / 2 / 6
19, 20 and 21 Oct 2016 / Induction period / 4 / 1 / 12 / 2 / 6
31 Oct – 09 Dec 2016 / Placement 1 / 6 / 6 / 5 / 2 / 6

Fig 2: Pattern of placements

You should have a subject mentor meeting and professional mentor session each week and although it would be helpful if these were on the Friday, it may not be possible due to the mentor’stimetable. In such cases you should be flexible enough to accommodate lunchtime or after school meetings or whatever suits your mentors best.

Observing

Observing entails listening, watching, asking questions and interacting with people. These are important skills in themselves and it will be good for you to develop these at the start of your training career. Making observations in a place like a school is not always easy; there is so much happening that it is sometimes difficult to pick out salient points unless you have a clear focus.

Having a clear focus for your observations is important and the tasks in this booklet are designed to help with that. Your induction experience is not governed by these tasks alone; you have not finished observing once tasks are completed. Sometimes you will be observing teachers but most of the time you will be observing pupils – during the course you will come to understand that it is the observation of the pupils that provides the key information about the success of a lesson. It is good to be as actively involved as possible and you should discuss the ways in which you might be involved during a lesson with the class teacher beforehand.

When completing general observations the following eight questions will help you to focus on the learning.

How well does the structure of the lesson, as evident in both planning and teaching, promote learning?

Are pupils sufficiently challenged and engaged given their prior skills, knowledge and understanding?

Do pupils understand what they are being asked to do in every stage of the lesson?

Do pupils have opportunities and means to indicate their understanding (or lack) of the concepts being introduced?

Do pupils improve their understanding as a result of detailed and accurate feedback on their learning?

Are pupils who are having difficulty supported to help them understand?

How well is pupils’ subject knowledge developed in terms of knowledge, skills and understanding?

Is the management of the pupils’ behaviour effective to ensure that they make progress in a safe and secure environment?

You will also need to make notes; both those indicated by the tasks, and others. As a matter of courtesy you should explain to the teacher concerned what you are doing; it can be very disconcerting to have someone making notes whilst you teach. Teachers are usually happy to discuss lessons, and their comments will add to your observation notes. In completing these tasks you must remember that they are open documents. Be discreet in your comments and show respect for the school’s staff, pupils and procedures.

The outcomes from the induction placement

By the end of the induction period in school, you will have completed a range of activities that will enable you to plan for your first phase of teaching. It is hoped that the tasks will strengthen your early learning at university/school and help you to make sense of some of the initial reading you have undertaken about education.

All tasks are cross referenced to the Teachers’ Standards. Tasks do not have to be completed in a particular order but should be submitted electronically by the assignment 1 (PSEC3001) deadline (3pm). The assessed tasks are:

Professional values, expectations and routines (assessed).
Teaching strategies (assessed).
Approaches to behaviour and learning management (assessed).
How pupils learn and make progress over a period of time (assessed).

In addition you will critically reflect on the impact that the tasks have had upon your emerging professional development and future practice.

Further information about the assessment criteria for this assignment can be found in the Assignment Guidance booklet and on Blackboard. All guidance should be read in conjunction with this booklet.

Books and online resources

Library & Learning Services provides books, journals, online resources, IT, print services and study spaces. You automatically become members of the library on registering, and normally receive an ID/library card.

Library Search access to all library resources (also available via the student portal and Libguides)

Library Subject Guides (LibGuides)

The Hive (joint academic/public library), near City Campus open 8:30 – 22:00, 7 days a week (excluding bank holidays)

Peirson Building, St Johns 24/7 PC access, study space, Firstpoint

Charles Hastings, City Campus 24/7 PC access, social study space

Riverside Learning Exchange PC access Mon-Fri 8:30 – 21:30, Sat and Sun 8:30 – 15:30

Library enquiries

IT enquiries Desk on Level 1 of Peirson Building or via student/staff portal: ICT Service Desk

E-Learning Support Team (including Blackboard)

Videos, screencasts and Facebook:

(Library resources)

(Library Resources collection)

(IT help guides)

NB. Logging in to a computer at the Hive? Prefix your ID with uni\ eg. uni\OTHA1_00

Books, learning resources and journals

You can find your reading lists on Blackboard (PGCE Sec Course Admin – Assignments) and the Hive, situated next to City Campus, has an extensive collection of books. We also have a growing collection of e-books, available to read online (accessible through Library Search). You will need your student ID card to borrow material from the library, and loan periods include Short Loan (2-day), High Demand (2-week) and Open (3-week). You can borrow up to 12 x High Demand, up to 12 x Open loans and up to 3 x Short Loans at any one time.

The library holds a range of print journals of relevance to education, on Level 4 of the Hive. However, many of our journals are accessible solely online (through Library Search) making them more accessible to you when you not on campus or in the library building. You will be expected to carry out online research.

The university has a system of ethical consideration that applies where trainees undertake work with children and other members of the community. Please ensure anonymity for pupils and staff in your writing. This means redacting names and obvious references to the school before submitting your work for assessment. This also applies to any material added to an appendix.

Task 1 – Professional values, expectations and routines (ASSESSED)

Introduction

In the first few weeks of the PGCE course you will consider professional values. Development of your professional values is a “journey” and is sometimes described as a continuum.

Many aspects of the Teachers’ Standards address professional values and attributes but it should be noted that Part 2 of the Teaches’ Standards states:

A teacher is expected to demonstrate consistently high standards of personal and professional conduct. The following statements define the behaviour and attitudes which set the required standard for conduct throughout a teacher’s career.

Teachers uphold public trust in the profession and maintain high standards of ethics and behaviour, within and outside school, by:

‐ treating pupils with dignity, building relationships rooted in mutual respect, and at all times observing proper boundaries appropriate to a teacher’s professional position;

‐ having regard for the need to safeguard pupils’ well-being, in accordance with statutory provisions;

‐ showing tolerance of and respect for the rights of others;

‐ not undermining fundamental British values, including democracy, the rule of law, individual liberty and mutual respect, and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs;

‐ ensuring that personal beliefs are not expressed in ways which exploit pupils’ vulnerability or might lead them to break the law.

Teachers must have proper and professional regard for the ethos, policies and practices of the school in which they teach, and maintain high standards in their own attendance and punctuality.

Teachers must have an understanding of, and always act within, the statutory frameworks which set out their professional duties and responsibilities.

Part two of the Teachers’ Standards (DfE, 2013)

Professional values can be communicated in a number of ways including

How we dress
What we say
What we write
How we say it
Body language
Teacher/pupil relationships (how it is established, sustained, challenged and reconciled)
Work beyond the classroom

In this task you will consider how teachers communicate their expectations of the pupils and how expectations and professional values affect behaviour and learning in the classroom. You will

observe the key differences in teachers’ expectations between 2 Key Stages, so that you can begin to think about the differences in expectations teachers have at the beginning and end of a pupil’s secondary education.

Task 2 - Teaching Strategies (ASSESSED)

Introduction

If Teaching does not equal Learning, how and why might knowledge of a variety of teaching styles be of use to the classroom teacher?The short answer is that the styles we adopt as teachers, both in terms of the way we behave as well as the strategies we use, have an impact on the learning experience and progress of our pupils.

This task will link to educational theories on learning which will be developed in professional studies.

Research shows that structuring learning, for example by dividing lessons into clear episodes or sections, helps to maintain pace and challenge and thus enhance learning. Structuring learning may involve teachers doing the following:

Getting lessons off to a flying start by involving the whole class in a lively, engaging and thought provoking starter activity
Drawing from a range of approaches which help to make the learning active and engaging for all pupils
Setting tasks which cater for different learning styles
Scaffolding the learning so that pupils can carry out challenging tasks
Providing activities which allow pupils to process new information and to identify and apply patterns, rules and conventions
Using plenaries to crystallise and embed pupils’ learning
Providing opportunities to reflect on both what has been learnt and on the strategies used in the learning
Helping pupils to transfer learning in order to encourage its wider application by recognising connections between the thinking involved in one lesson and other contexts.

In this task you will observe two different teachers in two different subjects. This could be part of a pupil trail. This will allow you to consider the different styles and the pupil response to the styles employed.