PGCE

[Milkand2sugarsplease]

Please can someone convince me I'm not doing the wrong thing.

I started a PGCE on September - part time.
I have observed lessons and then 2/3 weeks back I started to take some lessons myself. I had my first observation this week and I've just had feedback from my observer who has said that my planning was sound and can definitely go in my PGCE file as evidence but that she can't pass my obs due to the amount of low level disruption in the room.

The class was awful - they chattered the whole way through pretty much. I'd planned loads of activities but every time I set them going on one and made my way around class to talk to groups, the other groups were off task and chatting. I challenged them throughout the lesson but it made no difference.

Now I'm not saying I'm not at fault here - I know I wasn't perfect but it's really left me feeling like im doing the wrong thing doing my PGCE and regardless of how much I want to teach, if I'm no good at teaching then it's pointless me doing it!!!

I can't decide if my tutor thinks I shouldn't be doing the course or if I just need to dust myself off and get stuck in.

I'm only part time so I'm only in 1 day a week which is why it seems quite late for me to be starting to teach classes/first obs.

Thanks for reading.

I think you have to remember you've only just starting training and cut yourself some slack. It's early days and the PGCE is a killer. There will be plenty more moments where you wonder if you're doing the right thing.

What makes a difference now is how you respond to the feedback from your observation. Did your mentor offer some ideas for classroom management? If not, or even if so, ask as many people as you can for tips. Teachers expect trainees to ask for help. It's the ones who think they already know it all and don't take feedback on board who mainly come a cropper.

Good luck!

Thank you,

I definitely don't think I already know it - that's not my nature. I'm the one who asks ALL the daft questions

I think I'm just worried about future observations with the same groups. We have a lot of students who are not backwards in coming forwards in telling us they don't want to be there and are essentially only there because they have to be in education (in FE)
Also, in all honesty I've seen them behave similarly for the staff I've observed - though not to the extent they did for me this week.

Thank you for replying! It's playing on my mind and making my head spin.

Well for starters if you are part time the kids won't see you as their 'real' teacher and so may be likely to take the mick more than they would someone who has had more time to build up consistency and a relationship with them.

Secondly, I would be suspicious of a lesson with the usual staff member in where the kids dared to misbehave to the point of it being terrible (which I'm sure it wasn't)

Thirdly, trainees are and should be expected to be a bit crap at the beginning, aren't we all when we attempt something difficult for the first times, and therefore you don't judge them using the end criteria or standards at the beginning.

Fourthly, remember to 'walk the walls ' keep your back to the walls not the kids at all times and position yourself when talking to individuals so that you can see the whole class.
I don't know the age you are teaching but you could try team roles, whereby one student is the quiet captain to keep the others on task.

Don't lose heart just yet, you will get better. I'm still getting better every year and I'm ten years in!

Work on some behaviour strategies and ensure you're following the behaviour policy. It's easier once you know their names.

Ahh I see its fe.then I recommend chunking tasks with a time limit and then moving on. Don't forget the praise, and even adult learners love a bit of competition. If they don't want to be there they may have low confidence and need building up a bit with tasks that start easy and become progressively harder

Thank you!!

Ah the names - I'm gonna have to get them to have name cards I think!! I have 2 groups of 20odd students for just an hour each week so I'm definitely not getting to grips with names quickly - added to that, they've been out of class for several weeks which hasn't helped - I only went into those classes a few weeks before half term, then we had half term and they've had a week off while they were on a residential, and a week out of class to do charity and another week off to attend a conference so I can still count on one hand how many times I've actually seen them!!

Thank you so much. I want to teach more than anything and was really eating myself up that I was wanting something that I just couldn't do!!

I'm an FE teacher and PGCE mentor. Two things immediately spring to mind: remember you are only just beginning - we ALL were in the same position once and have look at some Bill Rogers videos on YouTube - he saved my life during my PGCE.

Thank you, I'll have a look now cool.

Definitely agree on trying to learn the names - this will make telling them off a lot easier

Well done for doing your pgce. I think you will be a great teacher! Here are a few thoughts (I spent years as a teacher, though I don't do it now). See if any of these could possibly help:

1. It might sound shallow, but this is true - you absolutely have to look the part. So get yourself a power suit, suitable footwear (no kitten heels), ditch any piercings apart from one small earring in each ear, which seems to be accepted in conservative circles, cover any tattoos, avoid low tops. If you are wearing a skirt, it should be below the knee with tights, not bare legs.

1. Practise using a deep voice and speak slowly. You need to exaggerate the age difference between you and your students, appearing like a wise old expert.

1. Once to have their attention make your voice quiet and aim to keep it quiet (and low!) for the whole lesson. Many teachers are too loud and this makes students shout, then the teacher has to shout to get their attention.

1. Stand to teach, not sit.

1. Perfect 'the stare' for students who are disrupting. A timely occasional finger click or 'hey!' or 'now then...' to attract attention can also work.

1. If possible, have students in the same seats every time. Have a seating plan and use their names as you have learnt the seating plan by heart at home.

1. If low level disruption begins, look in that direction, and if necessary walk to that area if the classroom and stand and teach from there. Sometimes a really quiet one to one word can help. Without drawing attention to the offender, go to where they are working and speak very quietly to a pupil by themselves - a single word 'no' or a brief 'no thank you James', ' Sarah, back to the task now...', 'Tom, that's enough. Now I need you to concentrate', 'Charlotte, this work's looking good. Now stay focused to get it completed'.

1. Don't necessarily rush to include loads of exciting activities, despite wanting to. You need good establish good control before doing more risky things. Keep the tasks interesting and relevant, but try to avoid lots of students moving around the room and anything that will cause general hilarity. When your control is established, you can add more exciting stuff in your lessons.

1. Be over-organized. Have everything ready for your students before they enter the room. If there are hand-outs, you might like to have them already on the students' tables to save the fuss if giving them out.

10. Remember that when you observe someone teach well, it looks effortless. But like any skill, practice makes perfect. Wishing you lots of success 

A huge well done for starting your PGCE, as Molly said further above. I really recommend that you read anything by Tom Bennett - particularly, The Behaviour Guru. He started working as a nightclub manager in London before going into teaching, and has written quite a few books about teaching now. His books are fab - funny, well written and he gives really good advice, which actually works. Good luck, OP! Xx

Thank you lovely people!! Live really helped me calm down about this.
I think what was really upsetting me is the fact that I really love by the whole 'if a job's worth doing it's worth doing well' and i was getting caught up in thinking if I can't do it well I don't want to do it at all.

Im still not happy with myself but I'm trying to think of it as an experience. After all, that observation was literally the third time I've taught that group so only my third hour with them!

I'm also hoping that by having a challenging group at this point I'll learn more than if I had a really complicit group who didn't pose any challenge to my learning.

Full feedback tomorrow so I'll no doubt be back for more advice!! ;)

Thank you again! Xx

I am a PGCE mentor too and the biggest issue you will have part time is not being able to build a rapport with the class. One of my students has a difficult class but because she sees them three or four times a week they have become 'her gang' an when college came in to observe they wanted to please her and behaved like angels. On boy said he was knackered after trying to be good for an hour!
What you will need to do now is not be afraid to stop a lesson and wait for silence. As a pp said - get your stare right and your voice pitched!
Good luck