105 days. Half of an academic year.
Looking at myself in September vs. now, I can see a substantial change. Whilst my personality and little quirks have persisted, the big change is to my confidence in the classroom, subject knowledge, and teaching experience which has grown massively.
Although nervous at the beginning, the nerves have started to settle down. I feel prepared for each lesson, and each class knowing what I need to do to get the best learning outcomes. There's always room for improvements which is why I value my observations at a school and Teach First level so highly. These observations have helped guide these 6 months and it's surprising to see so clearly how my teaching changes after feedback.
The Teach First training course / seminars that we have received has been very helpful. Although sometimes a lot of information to get your head around, it has helped guide my PGCE and teaching progress. My favourite part of TF this year so far has been the in-person training days. Getting to meet and chat with fellow computing trainee's and the SDLs has been fantastic. The content we learn about has been really interesting and I especially enjoyed the external speakers. A special shoutout to Becci Peters for her presentation on using Claude.ai which has led to many experiments on my part and my own presentations on the topic.
One of my reasons for going down the secondary teacher training route was to explore lesson planning and how I can be express my creativity through it. Over these 105 days, I've got to lead a variety of different lessons. Some discussion-based lessons when discussing big issues in technology, reminded me a little of the seminars I taught at the University of Kent. With binary, I had the chance to explore a more mathematics-style lesson, through modelled examples and cold calling "We Do". "Attempting to make exam question modelling more engaging, I used a carousel approach where pupils each contributed to an answer. This not only made the lesson more interactive but also reinforced collaborative learning."
As I continue into this second half of the year, I will be continuing to look at interesting ways to make the lessons varied and exciting. This may be through pedagogical techniques, or perhaps through software and web apps that can be utilised.
Unexpectedly, parents evening, perhaps the part I was most nervous about, proved to be one of my favourite parts of the year so far. The other highlight has to be taking some Year 11s to the Institute of Technology for an AI Panel. As AI research and experimentation is such a big part of my life, getting to bring that excitement into school was amazing!
However, there has been challenges. Juggling Teach First requirements with my responsibilities at school has required careful planning. My 'Digital Teacher Planner' has been invaluable in tracking deadlines and staying organised. Keeping pupils engaged has been a constant worry for me but, throughout my observations, I have been delighted to see that phrases such as 'The class has been fully engaged' or 'Class was on task' have appeared consistently.
Most interestingly, I've noticed the way I perform on stage has altered as a result of my teacher training. This became apparent at the Canterbury BarCamp Unconference during a round of PowerPoint Karaoke. My confidence with improvising and responding to 'hecklers' has greatly improved, as a result of fielding queries, questions, adapting around things going wrong in the classroom as well as behaviour management. In many ways commanding the classroom is similar to commanding an audience. This was a very unexpected result of my teacher training and I am excited to see how it will translate to my stand-up comedy and "Tommy-Talks".
Reflecting on these 105 days, I've come to realise that teaching is not just about speaking on a topic but also about adapting, learning, and engaging in ways I never expected. I hope to continue learning and discovering what it means to be a teacher over the next six months.