PGCE reading

[CandOdad]

Can people suggest worthwhile reading over the summer to prep for a PGCE course?

What subject is your pgce in?

Primary

Primary 5 -11

I read books during the summer before my PGCE and can honestly say that very little was worth it until I was in the classroom.
Get as much rest as you can and if you do want to read, children's literature would be good. Go to your local library and see what's in the section for children.

Agree about reading lots of children's literature. I used to go to the library in town and randomly pick an interesting looking book based on the author's surname - I started with books by people with surnames A-E, and then F-H or whatever it was. But if you do do that, keep a list of what you've read and what genre it is. We had to keep a record of the children's books we read during the course organised by genre (picture book, traditional tales, myths and legends etc etc). I remember using some of the books from my summer reading to fill gaps on that list!

Mathematics Explained for Primary Teachers by Haylock was my bible throughout my PGCE and first couple of years of teaching. Again, we had to work through that during the course and complete the self study questions at the back and put them in our folders. Even if you don't have that requirement, it would be well worth reading.

And sleep is definitely very very important!

Jumping on to this with interest, as I will be teacher training next year (but not in UK). I'll get stuck into my children's lit, that's a great idea. Also, can anybody recommend a relatively accessible (for lay people) book about child psychology ?

tigrou - I don't know if he is still valid today, but forty years ago when I did a bit of child psychology, John Bowlby was one of the most read authors on child development:

www.simplypsychology.org/bowlby.html

The texts marked with a red X on this page will tell you the essentials of teaching reading and spelling

www.dyslexics.org.uk/reference_books.htm

I was going to suggest 'early reading instruction' but Mavericks list has more than covered that.

NCETM website is worth looking at. Particularly any articles on how maths is taught in East Asian countries/maths mastery as those seem to be big at the moment.

If you are looking at focusing on the lower end of primary then Alistair Bryce-Clegg's books or Sally Featherstone's books are always worth a look at for ideas.

Thanks for these great links, I'll check them out.
Also, do you have any references/links that talk about the relationship between parental involvement in their children's education and success at school? I have heard teachers talking about the importance of parental support, but would be interested in a referenced study rather than opinion, if that makes sense. It's a bit of a contentious issue here, so I'd like to understand it better. Thanks!

tigrou - I don't have specific information on the parental involvement aspect (but will look out for some), but I HAVE seen the converse: I have worked in schools where children have NO support at home, and indeed parents are indignant that teachers even expect it, saying "That's the teacher's job". As a TA I could sometimes tell that a book bag hadn't even been opened, let alone a book been read.

Invariably, these children were performing at a lower level than their peers, in all aspects of learning.