My maths history... 25/11/2013

 

  I  thought my days of doing Maths were over, but actually that's not quite true.  As a trainee teacher, I need to prove that I have good numeracy skills to be able to assist my learners.  In today's session my tutor asked us to share our Maths journey and produce a road map.  I had no idea what to write. Honestly, I have not always felt confident in my Maths skills, like many girls especially in my country (Tanzania) believe that Maths is only for boys or for those super smart geek type girls.  I think it would be fair to say Maths and I have rarely seen eye to eye. I dislike numbers, anyway below is the image of my Maths road map:

 



My Maths journey

I began to notice my poor ability in Mathematics when I was in class six at primary school, this was because I frequently got poor grades in most of my maths tests and exams. I easily understood the concepts presented in class but when it came to tests and exams I would normally run out of time and made a lot of mistakes.

This pattern continued in secondary school, consequently I was frequently yelled at and physically punished by my teacher for not focusing on my Maths work and frequently failing my Maths tests. My teachers assumed that I was naturally bad at Maths, I vividly remember my male Maths teacher saying 'girls are naturally better at language skills, and boys at Mathematical/spatial ones, just stick to what you can do. Therefore I soon came to a conclusion that I fail Maths because I am a girl. Actually looking back now I was really good at language subjects and did not have time for science related subjects. Things did not get better, I hated Maths and never once tried to work hard on it at all.

 

However things changed when I came to the UK to study. I had to do GCSE in Mathematics, I had a female Mathematics teacher, she became like my role model, I kept saying if she can do maths, I think I can too. The idea of girls can't do Maths slowly started to fade away. I became confident and even got grade B in GCSE higher Maths, something that  in my wildest dreams never thought it would ever happen. I now feel that actually girls can do Maths, all is needed is just hard work and breaking the belief that Maths is for boys.

 

Maths has not always been my favourite subject and to be honest never will be, however being a teacher, I have no choice but to like it, because soon I 'm going to start teaching and I am sure one of the  subjects will be Maths. Looking at my Maths history, I must admit that one has to put a lot of time and effort to do well in Maths.  

 

So the question is, how or when do I use Maths now? well, most of the time is doing timetables, working out  percentages, adding, counting things...

 

To be continued..

 

Emma  :)

Reflection on giving and receiving feedback...

Giving and receiving feedback can be very challenging and difficult. Yesterday my tutor gave a lecture on feed backing. she mentioned how important giving and receiving feedback is.  A critical aspect of developing my skills as a competent teacher involves learning how to give and receive feedback. As a trainee teacher, giving and receiving feedback is a big part of my practice as  from time to time I will need to give and receive constructive feedback When my tutor asked us to reflect on our personal experience of giving and receiving feedback, it really got me thinking. looking at my own experience, feedback, when positive is often easier to give  than negative feedback. I really do struggle giving negative feedback because I don't know how the person receiving will react. Highlighting the negative is always rough on both sides. However my tutor mentioned something that really helped and I suddenly felt that I have found the solution to my problem. She said, whenever giving feedback, whether is verbal or written, try to think to think of something positive. Feedback should always include:

 

• Medals: This gives the information of what the learner has done well
• Mission: This provides the information on what the learner needs to improve correct or work on
• Goals: This includes clear goals or targets

 

Being in my placement I have been involved in marking assignments and giving written and verbal feedback. I must admit, it is not an easy task, because I have to really think about the appropriate words to write because people tend to feel hurt when receiving negative feedback. However most of the time learners have been really, good and I haven't been in a position where I had to give very negative feedback. Therefore so far it has been good, because my learners have bee able to accept the feedback positively.

 

as well as giving feedback, I have also been receiving feedback from my tutors at college, my mentor, peer students and  the learners I teach. For example I was observed by both my personal tutor and my mentor, after the observation I received some really positive and constructive feedback from both of them. The feedback I got, helped me to plan my action points which I am sure will help me improve my teaching practice.

 

Giving and receiving feedback can be difficult at times however the experience is extremely beneficial whether it be that I am giving or receiving.  I have really appreciated the opportunity to partake in this as it has proven to be a powerful learning experience, albeit one that I would have avoided under normal circumstances. Receiving feedback is wonderful because it usually contain ideas that I hadn't thought about.

 

Therefore to improve my skills on giving feedback I ma going to try and include the three things recommended for effective feedback, medals, mission and goals!

 

Emma x

 

 

It's done.... 28/11/2013.

Had my observation today. I am relieved that is over but I am not really happy about the session.  I have got a tutorial with my personal tutor tomorrow, she is going to give me my feedback. I am nervous, I hope I have passed..ok.. fingers crossed

Emma :)

Here I go again..

Today is my first observation with my entry group. I can't breathe properly, so nervous. I pray and hope that everything will go well. I have planned some really good active activities to keep them actively involved.

Nervous! Nervous!...


 

Monday 11th/15th of November..

Where does the time go? This week was the 8th week of my PGCE course. We were introduced to two new modules; curriculum design and alignment and learning theories and developing professional in teaching and learning. In curriculum design and alignment module I will develop my knowledge in curriculum planning as well as assessment, designing assessment for my leaners and giving feedback to my learners. there are also lost of opportunities to work in class with my peers and share ideas and knowledge. The assessment of this module has two parts, I will need to complete a scheme of work and design assessment tools for my own learners.

 

The second module is called developing professional in teaching and learning. The module is going to focus on learning theories, professional approach to teaching, behaviour management and assessment for learning.

 

Also this week I was introduced to different learning theories including behaviourism, humanistic and constructivism. It was very interesting to learn  about how people learn and the different ways of teaching. One of the things I found quite beneficial, was how active learning is important in teaching and learning. When active learning is applied:

 

• Learners are more likely to access their own prior knowledge which is a key to learning

• Learners can find personally meaningful problem solutions or interpretations

• learners receive constructive feedback

• Learners are more motivated to be active than passive learners

Therefore I am hoping to apply active learning in all my lessons, keep my learners actively involved in their learning.

I must say, this week has been a good week.  I am looking forward to learning these two modules.

 

Emma :)

 

Lesson planning..

Since I have been on my PGCE course, I have come to realise that I have a dozen of lessons to plan. It is hard work and time consuming because there are a lot of paper work to complete.  During previous observations, I felt as though I was getting bogged down in the reams of paperwork that I had to complete to be able to successfully complete the observation process.

 

However when I met with my mentor last week she recommended the five min lesson plan. I did not know what it was, but from her explanations I gathered that it was a lesson plan which took only five minutes to plan. below it is a picture of the five min lesson plan:

 

The five minute lesson plan
 

The five minute lesson plan is just what it says what it is. I have not tried it yet but I must admit that the plan is user friendly and I am sure it will help me focus on the key components of a good or even outstanding lesson.  I am looking forward to using it.

Emma :) 

 

 

Done my first teaching and I feel like I was acting!

Well, inside I feel like I am acting...People told me, before I started teaching, it is just like being in front of an audience, and now I can happily say I agree, brilliant. I must say, this week I have been acting, and I mean acting well. I am not saying I am up for the Oscar award winning I might but not yet. Anyway my point is teaching is just like acting, you go in class and do your stuff.

 

On Wednesday this week, I taught the whole class of my year ones of level 3 in Childhood studies.  I must admit, in the morning that day I really was feeling nervous and I sometimes forgot to breathe.. I kept telling myself don't let them smell your fear.. I was not only teaching, I was also being observed by my mentor which was also nerve wrecking. But my mentor was really good, very supportive and encouraging too.

 

Anyway, the teaching went very well. I had some very positive and constructive feedback. Therefore I have now made some actions pints to work on:

 

• Use more practical activities
• Use personal experience to demonstrate my teaching
• Project my voice

 

Back to college..

 

After a week's holiday, it was good to be back to the usual routine.

 

We did not have lectures this morning, instead we had to work in groups preparing for our case study presentation for Friday.  I must say, I am working with really good people, very motivated and hard working. We planned our presentation, and everyone had a task to do.

 

Time flies..

Half term has come and gone. Where did the time go? This week has been pretty busy, with me trying to finish my lesson planning. This coming is going to be busy too, I have two lessons to teach, assignments and PTLLS file to hand in, so it is going to be hard. One is with my Diploma students and the other one is with CAT project. Well, CAT stands for Christian Activities Together. It is a Christian project which aims to enrich the lives of young men and women with learning difficulties. I have been working with this project fro the par four weeks, and so it has been brilliant.

I must say it is my first lesson with the Diploma students, I have prepared everything, well in terms of paperwork, but I'm still getting myself ready. I ma bit anxious, I don't really know what is going happen. However as always, I am up for the challenge, I am sure things are going to be fine.

 

 

 

 

Keep talking to my mentor.

Half term is here already.. time flies.

Well, half term is here, where has the time gone? I cannot believe it is already half term and soon I am going to say goodbye to one of the modules. Time is flying by. These past two weeks have been so busy with lesson planning and completing my PTLLS file ready for handing in  that I didn't a chance to update my blog.

Although it is half term break, I still have lots to do. However, I hope I will find time to take a break from college work because I definitely need a break.

One thing that I have learnt these past two weeks is that weekly mentor session is the key to everything and lies at the heart of my teaching practice. Therefore I think I need to arrange a formal one hour session every week to review my performance an set SMART ( Specific, measurable, achievable and realistic) targets for my progress.  The aim with these targets is to take small steps each week, helping me to refine my practice  and develop my teaching skills.

Since I have started my placement I have only seen my mentor twice, and it was only briefly. But when I saw her last week, she said some very encouraging words, which, I think I am grateful and I will try to remember them.  This is what she said  'Be confident, stand there with confidence, you know more than they do'. So yes, next time, I am in class teaching, I will definitely remember these words.