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Tips for trainee teachers – Helen Lambourne

Tue 18 June 2024 - 11:45

By Helen Lambourne in Teacher Training

Teaching is incredibly rewarding but the training is tough. This is what I learnt on my training course:

1. Use your mentors

They are the most valuable asset you will have when you are training, so utilise them! Ask them if you are stuck on a lesson idea, not sure about the scheme of work, want to check you are marking assessments correctly or struggling with the workload. They've been teaching longer than you and would have gone through the exact same process and problems as you. So, you are definitely not alone when you are training.

2. Make friends with the other trainees

Other trainees are another useful asset. They are going through exact same thing as you at the exact same time. If you're lucky, you might be placed in a school with another trainee. Make friends with them. Try to have catch up sessions with them.  Bounce ideas off them and vice versa. I am still friends with one of the trainees from my host...

Five Reasons To Study Abroad

Fri 12 April 2019 - 11:14

By Charlotte Stevenson in First year

Since I've moved away from the UK for a semester, there are lots of things which I both did and didn't expect in my new home. Living in the Netherlands is quite different from life at uni as I know it back in England, but this is an incredibly positive thing for many reasons.

So far on my journey I have learnt everything from how the Dutch swear in illnesses to the fact that I am always going to need to keep up on my reading with the standard 100 pages assigned every day. I've learnt that this is a city which stays afloat literally (with the help of specialised foundations buried deep in the earth) as well as metaphorically. This is a place of hard work, of determination and of freedom. The atmosphere is charged with something which makes me want to remain motivated enough to become the best version of myself there is. And it provides me with just enough joie de vivre that I don't spend all of my time in doors with my books.

For those of you considering a study...

Join the revolution: evidence-based teaching

Wed 3 July 2024 - 13:39

By UCAS in Teacher Training

For centuries teachers have taught the way they themselves were taught, or followed fads, fashions, and government initiatives. But this is changing. Over the last few decades researchers have rigorously trialled hundreds of thousands of teaching methods in real classrooms with real teachers. Some teaching methods, have been found to almost double the rate at which students learn.

As a consequence, teachers are taking back control of their own practice, and improving students’ achievements markedly. Why not come and join this revolution, transform the teaching profession, and make a huge difference to your students’ life chances?

Here’s just one of many methods that have done really well in classroom trials. Why do you think is it so effective?  Students are warned of the process before they start.

  • Students answer questions and put their name on their work.
  • They hand these in, and you give them out to other students...

How to support children with SEND in the mainstream classroom - Cherryl Drabble

Wed 17 July 2024 - 15:53

By Cherryl Drabble in Teacher Training

There have been many changes to education for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) in the last few years. The 2014 ‘The Children and Families Act’ brought a clear expectation that most pupils with SEND would be taught in a mainstream school, and that every teacher is a teacher of SEND. This is all rather daunting for new teachers and NQTs.

As a trainee teacher or NQT, you will be aware there is very little training out there to prepare you for the challenges you face in the classroom. I suggest you read around these five main areas of special challenges that you are likely to find in your classroom:

1. Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC)
The first thing to remember is that no two children with special needs are alike. They may share the same label or diagnosis but they may present themselves and behave very differently in the classroom. For example, Autism, including Asperger’s syndrome is a huge spectrum...

About Student Minds

Thu 4 July 2024 - 10:34

By Student Minds in Support

Starting university can be a wonderful and exciting experience, but it can also bring its own unique challenges. It's natural to feel nervous or overwhelmed during the first few weeks at university, and it can be a while before you feel like you’ve found your feet. Student Minds works to transform the state of student mental health so that all in higher education can thrive, including you!
 
 
Student Minds is the UK’s student mental health charity. We empower students and members of the university community to develop the knowledge, confidence and skills to look after their own mental health, support others and create change. We train students and staff in universities across the UK to deliver student-led peer support interventions as well as research-driven campaigns and workshops. By working collaboratively across various sectors, we share best practice and ensure that the student voice...

Ten essentials you don't realise you need to bring to uni

Wed 17 July 2024 - 15:39

By UCAS in First year

There are some things you obviously need to take to uni – like clothes, shoes, and bedding – but here are ten things that might not seem so important, but, from experience, are essential.

Posters, pictures, and wall hangings
It might not seem like much of an 'essential', but trust me, it is. When you move into your room and look at the stacks of boxes and blank white walls, it's easy to get homesick. You don't want to feel like you're living in a hotel room for a year. Take posters and things to put on your walls. It's also a very good idea to take pictures of you with your friends and family, as most halls will have a corkboard where you can pin them up.

Wok
Take a good wok with you. This is a durable piece of kit that's great for a multitude of one-pot meals, perfect for cooking for one person, batch cooking, and all those endless stir fry meals you'll be making.

Dressing gown
The humble dressing gown. Hidden in its soft,...

Five ways to ensure a successful ITT year - Tracey Lawrence

Tue 6 November 2018 - 16:07

By Tracey Lawrence in Teacher Training

Congratulations! You are about to embark on the best career and this year will, without a doubt, be your most challenging and most rewarding year professionally. To ensure a successful Initial Teacher Training (ITT) year you need to make sure that you are fully focused on developing the craft of teaching. To be where you are right now you will no doubt have an innate way with children but to learn the ever-changing skill of teaching, you need to be fully committed to continual professional development throughout the rest of your teaching career.

Behaviour Management is a skill that underpins great teaching. Without successful behaviour management in your class, you cannot have a learning atmosphere, you cannot deliver that incredible lesson that you have planned and you cannot achieve the outcomes nor the progress that you need to. Not only is it in the best interests of the children to get this part right but it is most definitely in the best interests of yourself to...

Feeling homesick at university

Thu 20 June 2024 - 10:12

By Ellen Ramsay in Support


by Ellen Ramsay, BSc (Hons) Occupational Therapy, Teesside University

University has been the best three years of my life so far but, at first, it didn’t feel like that way.

I was really excited about my new adventure – I was moving 200 miles north to begin my university course in occupational therapy. But the homesickness set in during Freshers’ Week. I found my new life very difficult – I had arrived with freshers’ flu (yes, it does exist!) and I cried all the time. I can remember saying to my family that, if I wasn’t feeling better within four weeks, I was coming home. But I stuck with it and it got better and, three years down the line, I graduated.

Feeling homesick is a normal part of starting university, especially when you’ve travelled a long way from home. Suddenly everything around you is different – a new place, people, accents, culture, language, course, combined with the pressure to get out there.

But if, like me,...

Top ten student money tips

Thu 25 July 2024 - 11:33

By money.co.uk in Money

Getting a degree is expensive, but making every penny count lets you squeeze every drop of fun from your uni days without getting saddled with debt. Here are the top ten essential money tips for students.

1. Work out a budget
It is hard to set a precise weekly budget before you get to university and see what things really cost. However, trying to work out an outline budget before you go is still a good idea – even a rough idea of how much money you will have available each week will help you to avoid blowing your budget early.

The simplest way to do this is to make one list of all your monthly income (e.g. from loans, part-time work, the Bank of Mum and Dad) and another listing all the expenses you can think of.

Remember, the more accurate you can be when predicting expenses, the clearer the picture of your money situation will be – include everything from rent, bills and food, to things like books, library fees, transport costs and laundry. Once...

My teacher training experience: part 2 – Stephen Pearce

Tue 6 November 2018 - 15:54

By Stephen Pearce in Teacher Training

 
This is the second my blog where I’ve been reflecting on my experiences of initial teacher training. You can read part one here. But now, I’m going to look at some of the questions trainee teachers frequently ask themselves:
 

1. Is my subject knowledge good enough?
I am going to probably upset a few people but the answer is no, your subject knowledge is not good enough. Before you grab your pitchforks let me explain. You may be an expert in your subject and have a degree to prove it, however, teaching a subject is vastly different to being able to do it yourself. To really exaggerate this point, let's take 2 + 2. This would be mathematics most of us would have seen at a very young age and now you can tell me that the answer is four. You have...

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