3 tips for supporting trainee teachers
Something I’m basing off this week - and will keep in mind for the future
I use this newsletter to focus on the positive aspects of my teaching journey in the hope that others can reflect in a similar way. I want those reading to see what I post and think ‘you know what, I’d had a rubbish day/week/term so far but there’s something I can be thankful for in my own job’.
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Never become so much of an expert that you stop gaining expertise - Denis Waitley, author of ‘The Psychology of Winning’
Growth - learn from the student, not the master
I’ve felt like a right grown-up lately.
These past three weeks, I’ve had a trainee teacher working with me so they can take on a bit of what I’ve learnt. I’m still only in my third year as a teacher so I wasn’t expecting to see anything like this for a while yet.
Then, this week, I was blessed with a second student. Two people spending time with me to learn the ropes!
I can’t ever claim to be the best person for them to learn from (in fact, I told the first one that I’ve not had a student with me before and I don’t know what I’m doing when it comes to this situation). Then I regretted saying that.
And then I didn’t.
My honest approach is part of who I am, even if it seems to my detriment from a distance. However unwise it may sometimes seem, it works.
This didn’t become a ‘why am I learning from this idiot?’ situation. This became a ‘let’s see what we can both gain from this experience’ situation.
And, at the end of the first student’s placement with us, I’ve probably picked out three things that have had the most positive impact:
Ask them what they want to see.
It’s entirely possible that the students working with you won’t know what they want to learn from you. However, those with a little more intuition will have identified either something they find particularly difficult or something they find particularly interesting. Asking them what they want to gain from their experience with you as a teacher is the key to finding this out and maximising the effectiveness of their placement.
Be organised
Each day, we’ve ended with a quick conversation about what the students want to see or be involved in. Then, I’ve put together one or two things for the following day to give them that experience. This included some 1-2-1 time with a child on something they find tricky (percentages, fractions, adding writing features to their work). Thinking of this in advance is paramount to making sure their time is productive.
Consider theory
When training to be a teacher, we all learn a bunch of pedagogical theories that are supposed to guide what we teach and how. Suddenly, you’re in the classroom and practice takes over but often the link is missing. With our students, I have structured some lessons that make it clear as day when I’m using a pedagogical theory and I inform them in advance that I’m going to.
An easy one was the Gradual Release of Responsibility, in case you’re looking for an example. To demonstrate it, I structured a writing lesson into four parts: Listen and Learn (teacher leading the lesson), Work With Me (students doing some work with teacher help), Work Together (students working without teacher help), Work Alone (students working independently to test what they’ve learnt). This went down a storm.
If you have student teachers learning from you at any point, applying these three ideas will help you target the sorts of areas they want to see, prepare them to explore them and show them how it can be linked to the theories they’ve been learning, giving them both practical context and something to write about in their academic work.
No, I’m not an expert but I don’t need to be to know something worth sharing. It’s that belief that allows me to learn from my own children about certain learning methods and ways to approach a task.
No, I’m not an expert but my students have been effusive in praise for the support I’ve given them and this is how I’ve achieved it.
No, I’m not an expert - but I don’t ever intend on being one. I want to continue learning all the way to the end.
Giggles - Manners maykth me laugh
One student in our class doesn’t fully understand (yet) when it is best not to say the things we think.
At one stage, they uttered something that our TA took issue with. I can’t remember what it was but it was a mixture of demanding something immediately and delivering an insult.
The TA’s response was ‘erm, manners.’
To which she said the exact same thing again, adding the word ‘please’ on the end.
Not quite how it’s done but nice try.
And their comical effort took the edge of the situation, defusing the mood.
All’s well that ends well.
Gratitude - Imagine life without
We ended the week with a discussion on gratitude in our school.
A simple question: ‘What are you grateful for this week?’
And, shockingly, the children struggled to think of something.
I don’t for a second believe that they are ungrateful for the things they have in their life.
I don’t for a second think that this is one of those ‘the youth of today are a right royal mess’ discussions.
I know I wasn’t a grateful child.
And I know that, for generations, ingratitude has been a factor in the mindsets of children everywhere.
It’s because it’s something that requires context. You can only truly appreciate what you have when you’ve seen - or experienced - life without it.
I know people who grumble about being a teacher day in, day out.
And, often, it’s the only job they’ve done.
I’ve been a bar manager in charge of immature, reckless and even toxic individuals.
I’ve been a telesalesperson flogging something I don’t care about or believe in as a service.
I’ve worked in a strange city and been lied to about my pay, only to receive a small fraction of what I’d expected and a small fraction of what I needed to live.
I’ve been thrust into situations I’m not prepared for and chastised for failing.
I’ve done so many things I didn’t enjoy or wasn’t good at that I’ve lost count.
And none of them paid me as well as my teaching job.
A job where I feel valued, trusted and admired.
A job where I am succeeding in my goals.
A job where I can be myself and do it well.
A job I believe in, where I make a difference.
By reflecting every week in this blog, I’ve developed an attitude of gratitude.
But some things - when you look back on life without them - are easy to be grateful for.