School placements
As Primary Education is a professional degree, a huge part of the course is school placements which I personally, have absolutely loved! In first year, I did a 4-week placement, then a 6-week placement in second year, and I have just completed an 11-week placement. It is wonderful that as the placements are getting longer, you are gaining more responsibility and confidence in the classroom. The 11-week placement I did last term was absolutely amazing, having my own class was a real taster of what the profession is all about. It was incredibly rewarding and I learnt so much! This term however, I am no longer on placement so my typical day this term is very different to last term, with my day now being centred around my lectures and seminars.
Lectures and seminars
On average, I have a couple of hours of lectures or seminars a day, lectures being in a big lecture theatre with the whole of my course and seminars being in a smaller room with around 15-20 of us. In our lectures, they often cover the subject knowledge needed to be a primary school teacher, focusing on different areas of the National Curriculum. Then in our seminars, we talk in more depth about what was covered in the lecture and how we can actually teach that particular topic in the classroom, for example, one of our science lectures was on light, sound and electricity, and then in the seminar, we looked at different practical ways of teaching these topics in the classroom, for example, by making series circuits out of lemons – there is a picture (above) if you don’t believe me! One of my favourite modules focuses on preparing us and teaching us the skills for when we become a leader in the future such as a headteacher / deputy head teacher / a subject lead which will happen when we have completed our two years of being an Early Career Teacher (ECT) post uni.
Typical day
At the moment, my typical day involves spending a lot of time in the library because it is a fantastic space to work on my dissertation and assignments. When I am not working in the library, I love going for a coffee with some of my friends and I also regularly go to Maiden Castle (the university sports centre) to use the gym or to attend one of the classes like spin, yoga or Zumba. In my first and second years, I spent a lot of time rowing for the St Mary’s Rowing team and also, training and competing in the St Mary’s netball team. I absolutely love being part of the St Mary’s sports teams because it is an amazing way to meet new people and get to know others in Mary’s. In the evenings, I often go for a drink with some friends to a college bar (because the drinks are so much cheaper than a regular pub!) or have a more chilled evening watching a film with my housemates, because that is a lovely way to relax after a busy day!
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