Any college lecturers, biology teachers out there - end of tether

[frustratedworkingmum]

So, after being out of work for many years i landed a job as a biology lecturer at the local college. Ive never taught before. Everyone told me i was mad as the college is notoriously disorganised. I wish i listened to them.

So, 8 weeks in having taken over a course mid way and then taking on more at xmas i am feeling totally overwhelmed and out of my depth. Ive had NO training, i was teaching alone from day one. I THINK ive done ok and the students respond well to me. I enjoy teaching.

BUT, i am obviously struggling with the workload - i have no lesson plans so am doing them as i go along, i appreciate that i have to do this and it will get better next year as i'll have the power points and will be able to tweak them. Thank GOD for TES as this is where i get some good resources.

The thing is im getting NO support, have had to read up on and sort out everything from schemes of work to exam entries and no one tells me what to do i have to find out for myeslf so im either ringing exams, trawling through the exam board websites etc. I came into the main course im teaching midway through and now realise that surely i can't deliver two units AND an ISA in 12 weeks. The ISA will take 4-6 weeks to do because of the way its done and marked (i'll be marking this with no experience FFS!) Ive had to look this all up myself and its dawned on me horribly that i just can't deliver this - this IS madness isn't it? 2 units of GCSE biology plus an ISA in 12 weeks of 2 hours teaching a week?

Can anyone give me some advice and tips to get me through this - i have a meeting with my line manager on monday and im close to just saying, you know what, i quit, i can't do this but i don't want to. I NEED the money - even though im working every night, all weekend, every day off - im only teaching 10 hours a week and therefore if i work out my pay, its less than min wage. But more importantly, i don't want to let the students down and without support i will do that - i am not sure im up to this? Can anyone, teacher or lecturer help me? These students are paying for their course and they are being let down. What course of action do i take.

I dont feel i can approach my line manager or her manager as they are dismissive and have been unsupportive so far, i suspect it will be a case of "dont let the door hit your arse on the way out" if i raise my concerns.

Please help

No, you can't do B2, B3 and an ISA in 24 lessons. I'm planning B2 in 14 lessons and B3 in 16, and that is tight. And 6 lessons for an ISA. And we have already done loads of ISA training with them.

However, I can give you some guidance on the ISA and how to make sure it runs smoothly if you pm me. You should also ask AQA if they can put you in touch with a CAU advisor - our's is fantastic. We asked him loads of stuff last year when we were doing it for the first time. His advice was prompt and we got through moderation unscathed.

Frustrated, PM me and i can give you some help with the CGSE CAU.

If you have a phd you might fit teach first criteria for schools, have a look at that.

I started off unqualified in fe too! It's definitely a learning curve :)

If you're doing gcse, there will be exam revision guides and textbooks and stuff. Could you buy a revision guide and photocopy it for the students?

If I were you I'd focus on the assessment you need to get done. If the students have to come up with their own experiment why not give them some examples to guide them? You might end up with less that you have to redo.

I find the best way of teaching something is to do it myself. So I would do the whole thing myself so I could see where the pitfalls are. Then I would also have a finished example to show the students.

Once the assessment is done, look at the criteria for the other two units. What do they need to know to pass? Make sure you teach that. What do they need to know to get a C, try your damnedest to cover as much as you can. B-A* either do as extension work or give as homework. Give out the syllabus and then students can go through and identify bits they haven't covered/ don't know.

At this stage you've been left in a shit situation. I've been there and it's hard. Do your best but channel your energy into areas you're going to get results. Don't get disheartened its hard whatever and doubly so with no training and support. Best of luck!

I have, today, downloaded the end of unit tests from AQA exampro extra and the past exam papers from last year. Of course this specification only goes back a year so there isn't a bank of them. I am going to have to teach two topics per session - i mean, its just ridiculous and I feel totally out of my depth wiht the ISAs

What was i even thinking :(

When i took over the course in end of november, having never taught before, the previous tutor had only covered less than a third of unit 2, i stupidly assumed they had done unit one, i mean, you would, woudlnt you. I had three teaching weeks before xmas to get them through it and I can only pray that they have done ok in their exam. I feel so responsible now and i wish i never started the bloody job but I have and i can't quit otherwise they will have NO tutor to teach them and then they will be stuffed.

I am, officially, an idiot

FM i think my line manager would hit the roof if i let AQA know the situation. I mean, HOW can she not have read this stuff herself? She hadn't even read the A level stuff and shes the course tutor FFS

Gawd, i hope shes not a mnetter

Lots of questions on exampro extra from the old spec. You can filter for relevant ones. I taught a unit worth 1/3 of a GCSE in 6 lessons a few years ago. It wasn't pretty but it went OK. You have to be brutal, and you HAVE to include exam questions. PM me.

CAU advisors are for everyone by the way. You are encouraged to use them. So do!

have pm'd you TFM x

And I've replied with a bit of a stream of consciousness (and I hope some tips).

Please do keep in touch - we're doing similar things, and I'm happy to discuss and share ideas!!

Thankyou SO SO much TFM, i appreciate it so much xxx They struggled with the long questions in this exam so i will definately be getting them to do one of these every week :)

Could you look at Schools Direct to get trained? It doesn't seem that different to GTP.

frustrated
I am a tutor and teach GCSE sciences. What you are saying, I think is that given the ISA, you have 2 hours for 9 weeks to teach 2 units. I'd say that covering at least the bones of that would be possible if you had relatively able students, but if you have students who are struggling,then it would be quite difficult IMO.
If it were me, I would get the CGP revision book for your syllabus www.cgpbooks.co.uk/pages/home.asp and recommend your students buy it and the question book. (Maybe you could do a bulk order for them?)
Explain to the students that through no fault of theirs (or yours) there is an awful lot to cover.
Teach from the CGP revision book - no it won't cover absolutely everything but it will give you the majority of the stuff you need in a way that you could probably cover most of it.

Give them as many practice papers as you can find for homework (there won't be that many as the GCSE syllabuses have changed fairly recently) - outlining which questions they should be able to attempt as you cover the material, as well as questions from the CGP Question books.

If you wanted to (though you shouldn't be required to) you could offer a lunch-time or after college revision session (additional) to go through stuff with anyone who is struggling or to go over questions in more detail. - In the light of the shambles you seem to have inherited, see if the college will pay you for this!

It won't be perfect but if you resign you may leave the students in a worse state - what are the chances that they will find someone else who can cover the material more effectively that you in such a short timescale? If they can - then of course resign, but if it is unlikely - well just do what you can! This year won't be perfect, but you will be able to plan things much more effectively next year and probably have a lot less prep too!

I agree lab techs could be a good source of info on what has normally been covered and how quickly!

i am not in a position where i can do a PGCE because i need to be earning.

You need to be on a teaching course, otherwise you will be out of a job in a couple of years.

You need to look for a DTTLS course, this is sometimes advertised as PGCE FE.

You can do it part time, you will get student loans and really the college employing you should pay.

When you have your meeting ask for a mentor. The best thing I had during my training was an excellent mentor.

Hi- I have been teaching biology for 10 years- what exam board are you- email me - [email protected]