Posts related to my year of teacher training, while undertaking the PGDipEd at University of Birmingham.
What an unusual first term we had before Christmas! I don’t know about you, but I felt knackered. I’ve been told that the autumn term is always the hardest, and I don’t doubt it. Lots of experienced teachers echoed that it was likely the hardest September-December they’d ever faced so, whether you’re training, a veteran … More Placement #2: Hitting the Ground Running | PGCE: Day in the Life
[4-minute read] There are a lot of options to think about, but you shouldn’t stress while training to teach; I’ve done the thinking for you. Here’s how to say goodbye to placement #1. … More Saying goodbye on placement | PGCE: Day in the Life
[4-minute read] This is a list of all the essential technologies that I used – and think you could do with – in your training year and beyond. Every technology comes with a caveat: if you can’t afford it, don’t buy it. Would an iPad Pro be nice? Sure. Could you make do with just a cheap laptop? Absolutely. … More Essential Teacher Tech | Initial Teacher Training
[5-minute read] The expectations I had of what teaching would be like were very different to the reality of the situation. … More Teaching my first PGCE lesson | Expectations vs reality
[3-minute read] “My first few days on placement were just as busy as they were at Uni, but just as fun. Here’s a run-down of how they went.” … More First days on placement | PGCE: Day in the life
[4-minute read] “Here’s what to expect from the first four weeks of a (normal) PGCE training year.” … More What to expect from the first four weeks | PGCE: Day in the Life
[5-minute read] “If you’re wondering how to go about getting experience in a classroom without committing to a paid position, like that of a TA, then you’ve come to the right blog post. Here’s how I did it…” … More How I observed a classroom
[4-minute read] “Prior classroom experience is absolutely essential before beginning your training. Here’s why:” … More Why you need classroom experience
[2-minute read] “Referees are more important than you think. Pick the wrong one and run the risk of sabotaging your application”. Here are my tips on getting your referees for UCAS right. … More Getting Referees Right | Initial Teacher Training
[4-minute read] “With no visible deadlines in sight…you need a hearty amount of self-motivation and know-how to get everything in on-time.” I’ve broken down the PGCE application process to make applying easier than ever before. … More Breaking Down the Application | Initial Teacher Training
Hardly Hamilton 