Pre-Prac Blog

Welcome to my first blog!

Firstly, I have to admit that the thought of going back to Uni for 5 days in July did not particularly excite me. Especially considering that I thought we would spend most of our time in lectures that were, to blatantly put it, a waste of time. However, I was very pleased when I found that the lectures in EDFD 427 were relevant, interesting and most importantly useful! Lectures covered topics from the story of Catholic schooling in NSW, internship expectations, creating professional resumes and (my favourite) classroom management.

I feel as though what was provided to us over these 5 July days was some of the most useful and insightful information I have received throughout my degree. I have felt left in the dark about a number of things that need to happen once I have finished my degree, but this course certianly helped enlighten me. Kay Carroll’s lecture on The NSW Institute of Teachers’ Professional Standards was of particular use in regards to this. But I have to say, as I feel many others also will, the lecture given by Jan Long on Assisting Behaviour Management was THE best 1.5-2 hours I have ever spent at uni! She provided us with real and practical information on managing our classrooms. She informed us that the best way to deal with students in the classroom is to remain calm and speak with a calm voice,  to give students choices and expect compliance. She also pointed out that one or a few disruptive students can get the whole class off track and that it is important to get 70% of the class on task and deal with the others after. It seems so obvious but these are the things that we need to hear reinforced…THESE ARE SUCH GOOD THINGS TO KNOW as an unexperienced teacher !! Overall, I am glad that I attended these 5 days back at uni as I genuinly believe that they have helped me prepare and undergo my 10 week internship.

Now, onto the goals that I hope to achieve over this 10 week period. Once again, these are based on the NSW Institute of Teachers Professional Teaching Elements.

1. I hope to be highly competent in the subject areas that I am teaching in terms of knowledge, and also understand how my students best learn to ensure that effective teaching occurs. (Element 1/2)

2. To apply the skills that I have learnt at uni and through hands on experience to run an effective classroom – maintaining safe and challenging learning environments through the use of classroom management. (Element 5)

3. To become an active and engaged member of the school/community environment – getting involved in as many school activities as possible and immersing myself in the schools culture. ( Element 7)

If you have a spare few minutes I will leave you with this clip of Disney’s 1952 short film featuring Goofy, ‘Teachers Are People Too.’ (The full length episode is 6 minutes long and can be found on YouTube).

It gave me a few laughs. So enjoy!

That is it for now!

See you next time.

Sarah.