Slowly Going

Slowly going down hill is the best way to describe my first proper hour of teaching.

I was confident, I walked in and I was looking forward to teaching 'Advertising in Magazines' and I was reflecting as the lesson was ending...

Resources: I used a PowerPoint and this time I tried to make sure it catered to my teaching needs as well as the students

1st page: Title
Next time: I will consider setting out my aims and objectives for the lesson
so learners are aware of what they need to complete and achieve. 

2nd Page: Outline of task
Good: Clear layout and outline of task
Bad: Although learners were required to design advertisements,
 they didn't have to do this with the film adverts and I did not make that very clear.
Next time:  I need to be clearer with my instructions. I can do this by addressing the aims
and objectives of the lesson. 

3rd Page: Explaining 2 page spread card advert
Good: I was able, through Q&A, to make connections between audiences and advertisements:
"Would you find this car advertisement in a kids magazine? Why not?
What kind of magazine do you think you will find it in? Why?
Who would buy this car? So what does this say about your target audience?"
Bad: I could have used this advertisement to talk about lighting and angle shots.
Next time: I need to think more deeply about how to use images to their full potential.
Possibly use basic semiotics as a method. This might get students to think more critically. 

4th Page: Cosmetics & Themes
Good:  I used Q&A to get students to think about the connections I made between the advert and film themes.
I heard a few 'ahhh' (light bulb moments) from students.
Bad: Again, I need to take the opportunity to ask questions about the lighting
Next time: Start using targeted Q&A to get everyone involved or move the quieter students to the front. 

5th Page: Cosmetics & Film
Good: I made the class guess what film the Mac advert might relate to
and tried to make a connection between this and genre. 

6th Page: Perfume, Genre & Technique
Good: I tried to show learners how creative they can be when considering
their magazine genre by showing them this advert
and how an illusion has been incorporated into it.
Next time: I could have linked this more deeply to camera/photoshop/green room
strategies and techniques to give students ideas. 

7th Page: Film ads
Good: I managed to make connections between magazine genre and film selection.
I checked learners understanding through Q&A.
Bad:  When I told students to take a note of the film website,
I didn't give learners enough time to take it down before I moved onto the next slide. 

8th Page: My example
Good: I tried to show them that creating ad advert is not difficult
and that they can be as creative as they want.
Next time: I should of went through how I made this
and highlighted lighting, angle shots and exposure...etc
This would have highlighted the importance of these factors
and possibly given them ideas for their adverts.  

The PowerPoint: 

All in all I was happy with the presentation but I thought I should of got actual photocopies of advertisements and films in a magazine so students had actual examples. I could have also possibly looked at how these ads were advertised and the magazine layout. 

Other Resources & Assessment Method:  This is where I started reflecting as the lesson was going on...

After the PowerPoint I asked the group to do a spider diagram of their ideas but I noticed this started to fizzle out and students started drifting off. I should of:

• Used a story board like hand out that allowed learners to draw their ideas 
• Encouraged students to research adverts and make a mood board of their ideas 
• Got students to write a couple of paragraphs about: a) what kind of magazine genre they are doing b) what kinds of adverts they might use c) their target audience d) what techniques and strategies they might use when creating their adverts 

In order to ensure my assessment methods are better in the future, I will change the order in which I complete my lesson plan and start with the assessment methods first.

I need to also make sure that I follow up learning and touch on previous lessons.  This will be a good method to check learning from previous teachings. I can do this at the beginning of the class through Q&A: "What were we discussing last week? / Do you remember what tasks you need to complete?"

Boundaries

Today I went on a trip with both the BTEC Media year 1 and 2 classes to the British film festival in South Bank. I came across several considerations:

Student & teacher relationship & boundaries
Some of the year 1&2 classes regard me as one of their 'own', this (again) worries me for a number of reasons. I haven't started teaching them properly and I don't want them to take me less seriously because they think I am 'cool'. I mentioned to them that I will be differnet when I am a teacher: 'teacher mode.' I will have to wait and see...


I think I have a bad habit of comfortably settling with their wave length. The age gap between them and myself is small so I understand that it is natural that we have things in common but I have to keep reminding myself to be more reserved. This is out of my nature. I am an open person and don't mind the banter I have with students but I just don't want it to affect my teaching. Am I overreacting? I think I need to ask the teacher what his opinnion on my relationship with the students is.

Aww miss, you're small
I know but I love my height 

I noticed the teacher gave his mobile number to the students. He text all the students in the morning to remind them to be on time and to call him if they had any problems. I found this interesting because the previous college I went to forbade. This was because students may call teachers out of hours and it will narrow the professional boundaries between teacher and student. There are both advnatages and disadvantages to this. I think I would keep a spare phone for college with a seperate sim to my own. This phone will only be used during college hours and trips.


Representation

Miss I'm hot
Yes you are...
Aww miss, you're gassing me up

Something I learnt today: for every 10 students there has to be 1 teacher present. I was at the back making sure all the students were on the right track and didn’t get lost or left behind. I found it funny and quiet sweet that although I was supervising, some of the students were making sure I was following and pulled me onto the train.

Language Due to my background and personality, the odd slang does creep into my vocabulary. I'm in two worlds about whether this is a major issue or just bad practise. I think this is probably because its easier for me to slip into 'friendship' mode with students when slang is involved. It makes me appear more like a student. 

I noticed when taking students out on a trip, you are representing the students and college. The teacher left to pick up a couple of students from the train station so I had to supervise the others whilst he was gone. I was wondering whether I was too lenient. I let students, quiet freely, go to the toilets and get drinks/food. This meant I couldn't keep register of who went where. On top of that students were scattered in different areas of the venue. I managed to gather them in the end but I found it difficult. I couldn't help but look at other colleges and tell myself: "You're not managing them properly, look at the way you are handling this..." To aviod this in the future, I will gather students and find out who is going where and give them an allocated time they have to come back by.

Show it to miss
I cant show miss this
Oh come on yes you can, she is one of us
Ah ok...

What will I do about the creating boundaries between myself and students?

“The characteristics of ‘best’ teachers… are that they: are friendly, can share a joke, and show respect for students; know their subject and can make it interesting; and can keep order without undue authoritarianism” (2006: 328)

This response is something I can relate to as it not in my nature to be authoritarian instead; I have decided to approach the situation gently by creating boundaries through things like the way I dress, the language I use and the way I offer support. Gravells points out: “the way you dress, act, respond to questions, offer support…”(2008: 98) plays a part in being professional. I feel that taking these steps and keeping motivation in consideration serves well in engaging the class and promoting differentiation. 

1st 'worst' lesson

I did a lesson on 'breaking down essay questions' and as promised to my mentor - I did not practice it. My mentor said I should get into the habit of winging it as my lesson should be based on students needs. If I over prepared for it or stuck to a rigid lesson plan, I will loose my flexibility and possibly sight of my learners needs. So I went in and totally panicked! He let me teach the first half and then we did a bit of team teaching for the second half. I came out saying it was the worst 30min lesson I have taught but he said:
"Did they learn?"
Me: "I think so..."
Him: "how?"
Me: "through the tasks I gave them"
Him: "well there you go... It wasn't an amazingly mind blowing lesson but it was solid."
I felt better and it did help my confidence. I really want to teach more lessons.

My thoughts and ideas for future improvements:

My resources Dead PowerPoint: I created one but I did not need/use it. I need to think in more depth about the purpose of my resources Use: Although I think my hand outs benefited the class, I did not use them as well as I could have.  I gave students a hand out which consisted of 3 questions I made up. They deconstructed them appropriately but I could have enabled them to also discuss how they would have answered them to give me an idea of their knowledge on structuring. Lesson Plan Detail: I need to expand on the points I make. I need to imagine that if a member of OFSTED was to read it, they need to understand what I will be doing in the lesson and how I go about checking and making sure learning is happening. Rigid plans and timing: Although the lesson plan helps give me an idea of the structure of my lesson, I should not stick to it strictly. I should be able to ‘reflect-on/in-action’ so that I am catering to my student’s needs. Learning Assessment: I need to look at the way in which I measure learning as there is a clear difference between understanding something and putting it to practice. Keeping this in mind, I need to make sure I assess students with both to ensure they understand what I am trying to teach them. Good lesson/bad lesson: This all depends on whether the students have learnt. Just because I felt like the lesson did not go well, doesn’t mean the students will too. Level & understanding Pitch: I need to consider my use of language and not over complicate or confuse students. To aid me, I can demonstrate tasks and get them to do so or use visual aid which they can copy. Note taking: Although there is a lack of note taking, this does not mean students have not learnt or taken on board what has been taught to them. Nonetheless, in future lessons I will try to encourage students to note take and highlight that this is a key skill in university. Differentiation Targeted questions: judging on the student’s personality, I should take advantage of this technique as it enables me to check the understanding of certain learners. Some learners will say they understand even when they don’t. This would also be a good opportunity for me to use this technique to check and enforce theirs and others learning. Body language & facial expression: I need to take this into account as it is a key signifier to whether the learner has understood or not.

Feedback

I noticed in one observation that students could not understand the teachers writing when giving feedback. This was both frustrating and amusing as it reminded me of many times I could not understand my past teachers' rushed or badly written feedback. 

I was thinking about ways in which I could give feedback and thought that I should copy my past teacher who done it on word processor. Although it might be a little time consuming it would be clearer for students and allow me to keep records of feedback and chase any required improvements.

I also think that students find it difficult to relate their to feedback due to the grading criteria. This is something I will need to think about when I have my own class. I think I might attach a checklist to students draft work showing what they have achieved and what they need to do in order to achieve the grades they are aiming for. 

EMA

I spoke to my mentor about my 'friendship' with the students. I was worried that I was being 'friend zoned' and although it was explained to me that it can be 'controled', I am not sure on how to do that because I like being myself in class. I like the mixture of banter and teaching. Anyway, I spoke to my mentor about it and he pointed out that if they do like and respect me, they will listen to me and if they don't, I don't have to worry about the 'friend zone' anymore. He is right. That took my worry away quiet quickly.

I noticed that students would change the way they behaved in front of certain teachers. e.g. some students ate in class. I did not say anything because it was not my class but I picture myself being strict. This is because of the way I have been taught in the past. Still, I should keep in mind that in those times we had EMA, which I think played a huge part in keeping students coming in on time and completing work. I find it a shame that it was gotten rid of because I really do think it was a big motivator, in fact one of the students in my class said today that of EMA was still around more students would be here.

More Helpful

As a trainee teacher I have become weary of stepping on other teachers' feet and for this reason I think I have become a little passive...

A student said that he was not in for the week because he was having problems with his citizenship. I didn't say anything on the matter, instead I explained the task he needed to do. Looking back now, I think I should have asked if he was ok and getting the support he needed. I would not have given him advice but I think as a teacher, I should make sure he is on the right track and know where to get help.

And, I was right! I should have enquired because...

The same student later on came into the staff room and asked where he was because his time table seemed to be incorrect. I told him that his next lesson was in a hour but didn't think of giving him a new timetable like I should of. (Though I didn't know where they kept them)

I am also worried about the way in which I support students. As I am not fully aware of what the teachers; expectations are. I am weary of how I address students' difficulty with their work as I do not want to over complicate or give them incorrect feedback.

Students should be able to see what amounts to a merit or distinction piece of course work. When I have my own class, I will try to get my hands on some example work. I don't think the grading criteria is enough on its own.

Ready?

As a continuation, I went into Year 1 media class. I went around the class to help students with their ideas and walked into a discussion between two students about religion. I sat and listened... I was thinking: Do I stop them? Tell them to get on with their work? Or shall I give them my thoughts on the issue and try stir them back to their work? 

I told them: Its all down to interpretation. People will read the Quran or Holy Bible and have different interpretations. People take these interpretations and act upon them. Some are extreme and some are just lifestyle preferences... Is your topic about religion, is that why you guys are talking about this?

It worked! It took a little more time but it worked and I was able to talk to them individually about their ideas.

For my last lesson I was in the Year 2 class for 'Factual programs and Documentary'. The lesson came across to me as dumb down. I noticed that no history of documentary was brought up but maybe the teacher will do that in a later lesson. I seriously need to ask the teacher more questions! They only spoke about two documentaries: Bowling for Columbine and Super Size Me. I guess they were picked because its engages them more than old school documentaries.

I havent really been given the chance to introduce myself properly. I think it is important that I point out:

• Im a second chance learner - I flopped my A Levels and started again 
• Im dyslexic  - I found out second year of university  - This is not my weakness! 
• I was not old enough to do the Access course so I did a foundation course 
• I eventually got to university through the Mixed Media Access course 
• I picked my course and found that it was not what I thought it was going to be 
• I work as a part of management team so I will always try to link what I teach to the world of work

I want my students to understand that I can relate to some of them, I did not just wake up and say: I feel like being a teacher! I understand some of the difficulties that may arise in education.

"I know somebody she is a beauty...
No no, more like I know somebody she has a booty..."