Subject

Upper primary PGCE

Came to teaching from?

BA Art and Design, York St John

What made you want to teach?

My mum is a primary teacher. From the age of 11 I used to go in and help, working with small groups. I loved it even at that young age. I’d seen what teaching was all about and what the job involved and I decided that I wanted to be a part of it.

Best lecture so far?

The child as a thinker and a learner. I’d never done anything like that before and found getting into the psychology of how children think really interesting and invaluable. How your pupils are thinking on a particular day can have knock-on effect on how they learn.

A waste of time?

Having to provide three sheets of A4 paper planning for each session. How can you teach a lesson with three pages in front of you? One page would be enough for me!

Inspired by?

My school placement class teacher and also the children there. They are so keen to learn.

What have you learnt from your teaching practice?

Being able to think on your feet. The other day I was taking a lesson about story frames and the children were finding it difficult to get their heads around it. I found that I needed to rearrange my plan into more manageable chunks at the last minute but the objectives and outcome of the lesson were still the same. It taught me the importance of being able to adapt in the classroom.

Most absurd piece of educational jargon?

Anything to do with Piaget! He filters into so much of the psychology and I don’t always agree with what he says.Can’t wait toI ?

Begin teaching full-time and get my own class.

How is university life?

Great, but there is so much work I never have time to go out any more. My weekends are spent planning.

Job hunting?

Nothing as yet, but I will start looking for a job early in 2004.