[Archived] Calling All Teachers

[SamTheShrew]

I've just found out that I have been offered an interview for pgce primary at Leeds Uni on 7th Jan! been waiting ages, so glad I have got to this point.

has anyone been this route before? Its a fairly arduous process I believe and I am expected to know about current curricular issues that are relevant,

so...

any of you that are in the teaching profession can you please suggest some pointers? that would be a great start!

thanks

Sam

[T4E]

If you don't get any replies here send Hannah a PM.

[Wild Irish Rover]

Hey Sam,

I did my PGCE about 3 years ago through UCLAN and now teach at the University Centre at Blackburn College.

For your interview, you should ask questions about the structure of the course (PTTLS, CTLS etc) the makeup of the course cohort (e.g. is it similar subject / age group specialists together or a mix of pgce / cert-ed students), what are the typical destinations of students leaving the course (i.e. what proportion get work, how many go on to teaching elsewhere) and also ask about assessment standards.

How many students are on the programme? I remember it being an intensive process, sometimes confusing and confused, with much of the teaching input falling below my expectations in terms of quality and consistency. Leeds may well be different!

Anyway, good luck with the interview - let me know how you get on.

Merry Christmas

Martin

[Blue blood]

Hi I completed my PGCE last year up in Carlisle, and yes you are right, it is a fair bit of hard work.

In terms of the interview what suprised me most was needing to know a bit about learning theories - like social constructivism, Vygotski and all that jazz, which I'd never heard of prior to going to the interview.

You'll also probably be asked a fair bit about what constitutes a good lesson and will need to talk about things such as differentiation in the work, appealing to different learning styles, clear objectives and segmented lessons.

Another thing you should do is read up on what are the current issues in education. It'd be really helpful if you could drop in something which had occurred in education in the couple of weeks prior to the interview into your answer. Also it's quite useful knowing about the trends - for example the move to the creative curriculum.

As for things to find out, check on accommodation - you don't want to be sharing with first years as first years + hard work is a very bad mix. Another thing to check out is where you are likely to be placed on placement, type of schools, how far away etc.

Let us know how it goes and if you want any more help/advice/clarification feel free to PM me.

[Hannah]

My first bit of advice would be to think very long and hard about becoming a teacher!!!!

Somethings that might be of relevance to you or them in your interview!

There has just been a massive review of the primary curriculum by a bloke called Rose which is going to have a big impact on the way we teach so google that and get the headlines!!

It has just been announced that the primary strategies are no longer going to be running and giving schools more scope to develop their own curriculum

Assessing Pupils Progress - We've been doing this for about 3 years but we were in the pilot for it. It is basically the way of getting rid of SATs but what the press haven't reported is that children will still sit tests just not at a set point in the year but at the point a teacher thinks they are ready to meet a single level test. The APP is an ongoing record sheet for children to track progress based on teacher assessment and then in KS2 will sit a single level test.

Community cohesion also seems to be the buzz thing at the moment... We haven't done a lot on that apart from writing an action plan to show how we are going to address it! It is basically about making links with all different aspects of community.

EYFS - Early years foundation stage - I am guessing that primary PGCE includes this so you should have a basic understanding of the 6 areas of learning and the birth to 5 document...

Phonics is also another biggie in the early years and KS1... Rose did a lot of work on this and introduced letters and sounds...

Excellence and Enjoyment is another document about creativity in the curriculum that is being pushed at the moment as well as the speaking and listening material

Modern foreign language being compulsory as of next year in KS2

I didn;t do a PGCE so I don't know what the interview entails but those are some of the key areas we as a school are address at the moment. If you need any more help just shout

[thenodrog]

There has just been a massive review of the primary curriculum by a bloke called Rose.....

oooh err matron......

[Anti-Dingle-Brigade]

Yeh coz Axl Rose were a reyt tranny weren't 'e Gord?

[gumboots]

I've just found out that I have been offered an interview for pgce primary at Leeds Uni on 7th Jan! been waiting ages, so glad I have got to this point.

has anyone been this route before? Its a fairly arduous process I believe and I am expected to know about current curricular issues that are relevant,

so...

any of you that are in the teaching profession can you please suggest some pointers? that would be a great start!

thanks

Sam

Just one piece of advice - don't do it unless you are prepared to go on stage and act for 8 hours a day 5 days a week without any script and then go home and do another 3 or 4 hours work. I know we get long hols etc but the mental wear and tear of working for a government who know nothing about teaching or real children and yet interfere constantly in what teachers try to do is exhausting. Most teachers look 10 years younger when they get out of teaching.

[SamTheShrew]

thanks for all the information and insights, sorry its taken me so long to reply.

I am 99% certain that it is what I want to do, and am genuinely excited about hopefully getting on the course - I know its hardwork and is more of a lifestyle than a job, but I have had a taster of it and I believe that I can make a difference in the job!

whether I will still feel this way after qualifying and working for a few years i do not know...

I've had a chat to one of my parents friends who is a y6 teacher and she also mentioned the APP targets within the new framework, so I am currently getting clued up on this.

I'm feeling quietly confident, I have certain advantages going for me I think, so fingers crossed all goes well and I shall hopefully be starting again in September.

I wouldn't be a student in the conventional sense that I would be in halls - I would be working from home where I live with my girlfriend, so my work/life balance is quite suited I think.

cheers for all the suggestions again, I shall report back when I know the result of the interview!

Sam

[SamTheShrew]

I have just found out that I was successful in the interview process, and I shall be returning to the university of Leeds in september!

thanks to all who took the time to reply, you were a massive help.

makes up for last nights disappointment!

A win over Fulham and it will have been a great weekend!

[Blue n White Rover]

I have just found out that I was successful in the interview process, and I shall be returning to the university of Leeds in september!

thanks to all who took the time to reply, you were a massive help.

makes up for last nights disappointment!

A win over Fulham and it will have been a great weekend!

Congratulations

[Hannah]

Well done!!!

Make the most of having a life for the next 9 months because you don't have a hope in hell of having one ever again!!!

[T4E]

I have just found out that I was successful in the interview process, and I shall be returning to the university of Leeds in september!

thanks to all who took the time to reply, you were a massive help.

makes up for last nights disappointment!

A win over Fulham and it will have been a great weekend!

Well done Sam.

[BPF]

Good going Sam.

I'm waiting on hearing whether or not I'm through the first stage of the GTP application. Should find out this week or next. Very nervous times.

[BPF]

Good going Sam.

I'm waiting on hearing whether or not I'm through the first stage of the GTP application. Should find out this week or next. Very nervous times.

Just found out that I will be recieving the letter outlining my fate tomorrow!

Scary!

[SamTheShrew]

i found the whole thing a nerve-racking episode! Not sure how it works with GTP, but I was constantly checking the GTTR website for updates despite the fact that I had signed up for email news.

Congratulations anyhow! who will be your provider? and what is it in, primary or secondary?

congratulations again

[BPF]

i found the whole thing a nerve-racking episode! Not sure how it works with GTP, but I was constantly checking the GTTR website for updates despite the fact that I had signed up for email news.

Congratulations anyhow! who will be your provider? and what is it in, primary or secondary?

congratulations again

Hi Sam.

Sadly it is a bit early for the congrats. The letter tomorrow will either be telling me I'm on the next stage or that I've fallen at the first hurdle. I'm doing it in Secondary, ICT to be exact. I'm extremely nervous now. It will not be a restful day tomorrow.

[ihtd]

I've got my first teaching observation today...should be interesting to say the least. Should have had it ages ago but my personal tutor has been busy or something (sounds very professional doesn't it-not)

It's very hard work Sam, I mean you pretty much have to be willing to sacrifice your life for an academic year whilst studying and teaching at the same time. You'll also realise very fast that you really are powerless in the position to an extent, you'll probably have more power than me as a college lecturer with you being in secondary education but a lot of kids really are not fussed about getting a decent education. Stay away from the cynics in the staffroom as well as they'll drag you down (speaking from experience right now) to their level. If you get a decent class of learners it is an amazing experience to be responsible for their education and possibly a large part of their future, however if you get a crap group full of idiots who just want to mess around, then it becomes a tedious and painstaking experience imo.

Good luck anyway! You'll need it

[92er]

If you get a decent class of learners it is an amazing experience to be responsible for their education and possibly a large part of their future, however if you get a crap group full of idiots who just want to mess around, then it becomes a tedious and painstaking experience imo.

Good luck anyway! You'll need it

Just remember that in any group there are always people who want to learn-it can just be very hard for them if the group is full of idiots.

[ihtd]

Just remember that in any group there are always people who want to learn-it can just be very hard for them if the group is full of idiots.

I do understand your point as unfortunately some of the good apples do get put in a rotten basket, however;

This group is actually FULL of idiots...NONE of them actually want to learn and they have all made that clear!

It's a shame because if some of them actually applied themselves properly and didn't just want to come in for their EMA money, they could probably achieve a fairly good end grade.

[BPF]

I'm through the first stage! Hooray!!

[SamTheShrew]

congratulations broken picture frame, have a drink this weekend to celebrate!

IHTD - I am under no illusions, I know its hard work, but I feel that I have grown up alot this past year or so, and now I know that I definitely want to do this, I can't wait to get started.

I was recently made unemployed unfortunately, but I have got an interview tomorrow for a TA job to take me up to September in a fairly impoverished school in Leeds, so I'm looking at getting the job and giving myself as much experience as possible before I begin my studies.

cramming it all into a year in a PGCE is crazy, but its the quickest way to the end game, so i'm up for the challenge!

[BPF]

congratulations broken picture frame, have a drink this weekend to celebrate!

IHTD - I am under no illusions, I know its hard work, but I feel that I have grown up alot this past year or so, and now I know that I definitely want to do this, I can't wait to get started.

I was recently made unemployed unfortunately, but I have got an interview tomorrow for a TA job to take me up to September in a fairly impoverished school in Leeds, so I'm looking at getting the job and giving myself as much experience as possible before I begin my studies.

cramming it all into a year in a PGCE is crazy, but its the quickest way to the end game, so i'm up for the challenge!

Thanks Sam. Good luck with everything!

[vintageadidas]

I have recently decided i would like to become a teacher. This is a very scary momnet for me as i will giving up a well paid job to do it. Will i get a job? will i get enough hours? and so on...

I have a degree in Business Studies and Marketing but would love to teach ICT. However, after consulting certain people within the industry i did not realise that you had to decide on whether to teach in the compulsory sector or the non-compulsory sector.

I know i want to be a teacher but i am so confused on whether to undertake a PGCE or apply for the GTS. However, i have missed this years intake so thinking it may be the best option to take the PGCE as i am not getting any younger.

Any advice is much appreciated.

[SamTheShrew]

first things first...

go to www.teach.gov.uk and register on there - you will get an info pack and someone will ring you to discuss your options.

also look at www.tda.gov.uk for more in depth choice possibilities.

With a PGCE you aren't neccessarily too late this year. It's only the Primary sector that has a december deadline. You would be able to get into a Uni providing they still have available places.

do you have any experience of a school classroom setting? there is normally a stipulation of 2 weeks experience for most courses. If you don't have this yet, the first thing I would do is to contact local schools and see if you could go and observe/volunteer for a bit.

can't help you on the business study part i'm afraid!

good luck