Diary of a Trainee Teacher: Week 4 (22nd to 26th Feb)

Hi again bloggers, 

Thanks for following my weekly posts about my experience as a trainee teacher at IES La Nucia. I have to admit that as days go by, I am getting more and more involved in the classroom and, when possible, I enjoy getting to know my students better. 

It is a fact that you will find so many different personalities stuck together in one classroom. By getting to know those personalities at an individual level, you have a better understanding of how they will interact with one another and that will help you in planning groups and preventing subsequent problems. That's my first point of the week: the importance of getting to know your students. 

Moving on to the best of the week we had a session with the School's Director about Governement Bodies in High Schools. For example did you know that the "Consell Escolar" (School Council) is responsible for approving financial budgets every year? And did you now which members make up the "Consell Escolar"? The meeting went on for two hours and it helped me get a broader view of the organization and management of high schools.

Regarding the classroom, I'd like to tell you about three special activities we went through this week. 

Firstly, on Wednesday at 8.00 in the morning we left the school with the Integra Group and walked up a small hill 10 minutes away. It is known as ‘La Cruz’, a flat piece of land with a big cross statute in the middle. The objective of this activity was to get inspired by the peaceful landscapes which surrounds us to produce poetry, in particular 'haikus'. Once there, we take a piece of paper and a pen and look for an inspiring spot before we start working. We spend around half an hour creating 'haikus'. A 'haiku' is a Japanese type of poetry that can be written on many themes, from love to nature. It consists of 3 lines and 17 syllables.

The entire group (except for two students who did not turn up) behaved in a very good manner and everyone was committed to the task. Great outside activity experience. And great ideas coming from my tutor to keep these kids engaged and motivated, but at the same time, ensure their ongoing learning and development.

Secondly, in FPB we keep doing dynamic activities aimed at building communication skills in English which seem absolutely excellent to me. Well, do you know what? This time students surprised me by singing the 'Alphabet Chant'. I was surprised, they actually knew it by heart. You can see below a picture of the song's structure. We also worked on the correction of their exams.  

To finish off, I also witnessed my first 'playground watch'. A colleague in my department was in charge of keeping watch this week, as a rotation system is used among the teaching staff. So I took the liberty to go with her and live the experience. She explained to me briefly about the sections in which the playgrounds are divided and how teachers coordinate themselves for this task.

Taking a look back at my first week, there has been a remarkable progress in some particular groups over the last weeks (I got really excited when I heard that comment around the department). We continue making our best to help teenagers become better persons and better students. 

I hope that you enjoy reading as much as I do enjoy teaching at school.

Talk soon!

Diary of a Trainee Teacher: Week 3 (15th to 19th Feb)

Third week getting trained at IES La Nucia to become an English teacher.

By Youtube

This week has driven me to live new experiences, by participating in new groups such as FPB 2 (Formación Profesional Básica 2) or attending the first tutorial session in 1st C.

FPB is one of the new offerings in the education system which came into force in 2014-2015 following LOMCE (Organic Law on Education). It is aimed at favouring the acquisition of skills necessary to work in a trade, in a craft or as a technician. Craft vocations are usually based on manual or practical activities and are traditionally non-academic but related to a specific trade or occupation.
The program has a minimum duration of two years and it includes a training period of 240 hours in work centers. In other European countries FP is known as VET (Vocational Education and Training). The speciality offered at IES La Nucia is Electricity.

During the first class with this group (12 teen boys), it surprised me positively their effort in introducing themselves in English and working throughout the lesson. I could observe that the teaching methodology is different from the one used in the secondary stage. Why??
Well, basically because they are not constrained to a certain book. Instead, they work on multiple dynamic group activities that are more oriented to the communication of the language and not so much on grammar.

On the next day, I worked the entire lesson with an ACIS student who is not capable to follow the rythm of the standard class. Instead, he always works on specific materials of basic vocabulary. I used that opportunity to get to know him and his learning history better. But specially, and most important, I listened to how he felt about English lessons... Here it comes, one of my first challenges!

Moving on with the best of the week, I prepared myself to teach my first lesson on Make & Do in 1st BACH. I showed a presentation of some of the rules when to use "make" and when to use "do". Students got really interested and started making questions. Then we reviewed some exceptions to the rules. Finally, we distributed the class in 4 teams and I played them an online game activity related to make/do. Both results and feedback were very positive among students. Here's a picture showing the teams' score.

The written exam for the A2 certifications took place on Tuesday, 16th February, from 17:00 to 19:00. I helped Richard and Isabel to conduct the three sections of the exam (listening, reading and writting).

Furthermore, we got to know the "Lliurex" operating system used in the education segment of our region. All public schools are provided with "Lliurex" based computers by the Generalitat Valenciana.

In one of the 2nd ESO sessions, the group was far too nervous, and particularly two students were constantly interrupting the lesson. So the teacher decided that I would take them out to the department and work closely with them.

Finally I'd like to tell you about a group activity Richard and I carried out at Integra. The objective was to learn the right to speak. We divided the class in two groups (by gender) to give them more confidence to speak up and we gave six different topics to discuss (see picture below). Each of the girls threw the dice and spoke about that topic during one minute without letting the others interrupt. And so on... In general, I noticed lack of confidence, insecurity, shyness and prejudices. But also that they had no hobbies, interests, passions, whatsoever.

With this picture I thank you for following my post and talk to you next week!

Cheers.

Diary of a Trainee Teacher: Week 2 (8th to 12th Feb)

Major start to a short week. Monday and Tuesday (8th and 9th February) were bank holidays in La Nucia, so there was no school. However, Wednesday and Thursday did greatly compensate these two-days-gap, you know, they were very intensive with a lot of new stories and anecdotes happening around school. Here's a selection of the best of the week.

To start with, I joined the INTEGRA group with my trainer for the first time. In the blink of an eye, I could notice more than one difference compared to the English classrooms: huge and spacious, built-in kitchen, plenty of resources and materials, laptops, ping-pong table… For one second I wondered “am I surrounded by a few outstanding students who deserve special privileges?” But I knew that wasn't the reason. I had heard about the Integra program and it was just the opposite way.

For those of you who do not know what's this all about, Integra is aimed at preventing the early school leaving. The development of this experimental program, through the implementation of specific projects, should contribute to ensure students learn basic knowledge, procedures and behaviour patterns that contribute to their development in later adult life. It is also aimed at improving coexistence and success rates through practical, highly motivating activities in collaboration with social and educational institutions. Specific admission criteria are provided in the corrresponding act.

Despite this being my first contact with these students, I fear it is not going to be easy dealing with them, as their lack of learning skills and disruptive behaviours become evident straight away.

Some other activities took place on Wednesday, such as the Tutorial session with the Head of Studies or the speaking exam on the A2 certification program, where a total of 12 students participated.

On top of the week is my first class (designed and led by me). It was on 4th ESO and consisted of a speaking activity about conditionals that lasted about 35 minutes. Students were given the following scenario:

Imagine that you are participating in a TV reality show similar to “Survivors” in which you will spend twelve days with a group of people on a deserted island of the Caribbean. But… when you pack your luggage, you can only bring one item with you. You have to make a choice.

I will write down your answers on the board and at the end you all have to suggest what could you do with each of those items.

What would you take to a deserted island?

Example:
If I went there, I would take a match box.
If I went there, I would take a fishhook.
If I went there, I would take sun protective creams.

Now, try to find out potential uses out of each item:

If we had a match box, we could start a fire.
If we had a satellite phone, we could be in contact with our family and friends.
If we had a laptop, we could watch offline movies.

After all, do you think you could survive during 10 days? What would have happened if you had not brought any of those items?

If we hadn't brought a water filter, we would have drunk salty water.
If we hadn't brought sun protective creams, we would have got burned.
If we hadn't brought a sleeping bag, we would have slept on the floor.

I was very satisfied about the results: students were active and participative, and what's more important, they had fun while learning some complex grammar. Feedback from students and teacher was very positive. So first test passed! xD

Talk to you soon!

Diary of a Trainee Teacher: Week 1 (2nd to 6th Feb)

Thanks for following my posts during my training period at IES La Nucia (Alicante).

As I anticipated on my latest post, my immediate challenge became evident when I saw myself 8:55am entering the room quietly and taking my seat on the left back corner, just as another teenager did (except for the "quietly" remark). It was 4th ESO D group, approx. 30 children aged between 15 and 16 years old. English teacher: Angela.

By Pixabay

They immediately noticed me in the corner of the room and this sparked some curiosity and confusion. My first impressions of the group were tremendously positive, as I felt the lesson had been run without any major interruptions. Students in general showed themselves respectful, polite and keen on learning.

The rest of the lessons with other groups were 1st BACH (aged 16-17), 1st ESO (aged 12-13) and 2nd ESO (aged 13-14). They ran fine, but very differently.

However, they all shared one common activity: Group dynamics to make students speak in English. It actually consisted of a round of questions that students addressed to me about my interests, hobbies, studies, etc. The 'catch' was that teachers presented me as a non-spanish speaker. Therefore they were 'obliged' to make the effort and speak in English.

From these lessons I made a few observations:

1. Younger students (1st and 2nd ESO) tend to interrupt the pace of the lesson more often. In general, they receive stricter commands by the teacher as they become talkative and inattentive. 

Commands and clear instructions such as: 'Open your student's book on page 34', 'keep your table tidy' or 'respect your right to talk' are important in this stage.

2. Roll-calling at the beggining of the lesson and 'homework checking' is an essential daily task in all levels to be sure students are taking study seriously and evaluate procedures and attitudes throughout the year.

3. A few adaptations on activities should be made for those students who are not capable to following the lesson and have more difficulties to learning the language. The objective is to ensure an educational system on the grounds of equity and inclusion.

So far, so good! I am enjoying every minute of my hands-on training and can't wait to attend to the next lessons. 

More classroom experience coming next week!

Diary of a Trainee Teacher: Welcome day and first impressions

First of all, I want to apologize to all readers and followers for this one-month-silence since my last entry was published. Last few weeks have been terrible while preparing myself for the 1st quarter tests. Happily that phase is over now (can't wait to hear about the results though) but adventure goes on... A new exciting period is yet to come!! The on-site training sessions with actual pupils.

As part of the master's programme, we are required to fulfill 120 hours of training at our designated center, which in my case is IES La Nucia (public high-school in La Nucia, Alicante, lodging over 700 students from 11 to 18 years old). This will turn into 6-7 weeks' work. My teaching specialism is English as a foreign language.

Before moving to the 'Diary of a trainee teacher' point, I'd like to set the following premises:

1. During my training period at IES La Nucia my posts will be written in English as part of my engagement with the programme and specialism.

2. I will compile different topics, lessons and meetings to be discussed so new posts will be published on a weekly basis.

Having said this, I strongly encourage you to follow my posts for the following 6 weeks if you are interested in this exciting and challenging experience.

Based on the above reasons, I've decided to build up a 'Diary of a Trainee Teacher' in which I will express and reflect all my feelings, impressions and experiences from my training.

Welcome week and First impressions

Today, 02/02, I put my feet on the school for the first time. At a first glance, it looked to me like a modern building, large and spacious, with nice and pretty new facilities.

      By Inge3

I was introduced to the Training Coordinator who happened to be the school's Director. We spent a pleasant time going through paperwork; we had a general intro to the school, its policies and standards. After having a quick tour through the facilities, I was introduced to my professional mentor, Mr. Richard Percival, head of the English Department at IES La Nucia. We worked together with the rest of the department members to configure my timetable so it best serves my purpose of having as many and as varied classes and groups as possible. The team seems very collaborative and willing to work towards an improved educational model. I'm loving that!

Thursday it's the D-Day. I will step in a 30-teen-classroom for my first time. I'm having mixed feelings right now, however I am confident that it is going to be allright. Till then...