Brunel School of Sport & Education

PGCert SECONDARY ENGLISH

2012/2013

PRIMARY SCHOOL EXPERIENCE

Guidance Notes, Investigation Tasks, Observation Activities & Reflective Log

NAME

Primary School Experience

Purpose

In order to be effectively prepared for your work as a secondary English teacher, it is essential that you are familiar with the experiences of pupils prior to their arrival at secondary school in general, and with their experiences of English and literacy teaching in particular. The Primary School Experience Week and completion of the activities, tasks and reflective log in this booklet are intended to help provide you with the experience you need. In addition, you should begin to learn about how teachers can work effectively with pupils and how the pupils learn.

More specifically the Primary School placement should help you to:

  • Develop skills observing work and interactions in a classroom and the implications for effective teaching;
  • Observe styles of teaching and general teaching arrangements in Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 classrooms;
  • Learn about the learning expectations of Primary pupils;
  • Develop knowledge about what is taught in your specialist subject at Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2;
  • Understand the ethos and culture developed in a Primary School and consider how this might be different from that in a Secondary School.
  • Begin to think about issues relating to pupils progression and transition form Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 3.

How to use this booklet.

To help you achieve the purposes of the Primary School Experience placement this booklet outlines a number of investigations into aspects of primary schools. Each investigation is framed by a Key Question which sets the broad context for the investigation. You need to complete tasks set out under each investigation which will involve observing work in the classroom and talking to both teachers and pupils.

In addition, you should complete a Reflective Log, recording what realisations, learning and understanding you gain from your experience at the end of each day and as a summary of the week. The Reflective Log is at the back of the booklet.

A Word document version of this booklet is available for download from the PGCE Course VLE.

Working in Primary Schools

Your Primary School have agreed to host you for this week because they recognise that it is important for entrants to the teaching profession to gain experience and learn from established staff and children in schools. They also recognise it is important for Secondary School teachers to have a good understanding of the Primary School background of pupils.

They will be keen to provide the sort of experiences that will be valuable to you during the week and discuss aspects of their work with you, but please remember that schools are busy places. The teachers’ first priority will be to their every day job of teaching and working with pupils.

Primary teachers have very little non-contact time so their short break and lunch times are very precious. Some staff will also be involved with clubs and teams and all will have duties and responsibilities outside the classroom.

  • Please try to be efficient with their time and sensitive to their teaching role and responsibilities when you are working in classrooms or consulting with staff.
  • All observations should be undertaken in a professional and open manner. Please share your comments with staff, should they wish. Your role is to observe and reflect, and as an inexperienced observer it would be inappropriate and unprofessional for you to make any judgements.
  • Please dress appropriately and familiarise yourself with the school’s daily routines (e.g. arrival, assembly, break, end of day procedures, coffee and meal arrangements etc.), so you can participate in the life of the school unobtrusively during your week in the school.
  • Please read carefully the guidelines for participation in the work of a class.

Discipline and physical contact

At the commencement of your time in school you should discuss with the Headteacher what disciplinary strategies are regarded as appropriate for you to use. Observe carefully the advice you are given.

IN NO CIRCUMSTANCES

SHOULD YOU USE ANY FORM
OF CORPORAL PUNISHMENT
IT IS A CRIMINAL OFFENCE
  • You must NOT have any physical contact with any pupil nor spend time alone with individuals or pairs of pupils.
  • Please talk to the Headteacher and class teacher about how to avoid situations where you might find yourself in physical contact with pupils or on your own with pupils. If you are supervising pupils whilst they are changing for P.E. etc., you should ask for direction from the Headteacher.

GUIDELINES FOR PARTICIPATION IN THE WORK OF A CLASS

  1. Be ready to recognise and accept the wide individual differences you observe. Respect each child’s need to grow in her/his own way.
  1. Remember children have reasons for behaving as they do at any particular time. Gradually you will learn to anticipate likely action.
  1. Concentrate on learning the children’s names as quickly as possible. Being able to call a child by name is a good way to win trust and friendship and it makes you seem less of an outsider.
  1. Whenever you can, make your name known to the children in a natural, casual manner; this makes you seem more of a person to them.
  1. Be as relaxed, as unhurried and as at ease as possible. Try to avoid too much walking around from place to place in a ‘supervisory’ manner. Try to look interested and involved even when observing.
  1. You need not feel that you must be constantly ‘doing’ to be useful. A good teacher spends time watching and listening.
  1. Use positive rather than negative statements: showing a piece of work that is well presented rather than criticising one that is badly presented.
  1. Offer a child a choice only when there really is a choice, and only if you are willing to abide by her/his decision. If you say, for instance, that a child may choose to join any group, she/he may choose the most popular one thus making it too large for your purpose.
  1. Never let children feel that to be first or fastest or to have the most correct is the only way to win your approval.
  1. Give plenty of warning about finishing and clearing up. This can help to avoid turmoil or you being left to do the job as the children have gone elsewhere.
  1. Human relationships: children enjoy praise and hate censure and are particularly sensitive to silent communication. Remember that your facial expression and your action may reflect your true feelings even if you are not criticising verbally. Try to demonstrate that you respect and value them as individuals. You will also build up their trust through your helpful expertise and your knowledge. Much research exists to indicate that teachers often get both the work and behaviour they expect. EXPECT THE BEST AND YOU WILL GET IT.

KEY QUESTION 1

What are recent changes in Primary Schools and how have they affected pupils’ learning and experiences?

This investigation will help you prepare for yourPrimary School experience by gaining an overview of some of the recent changes, initiatives and other current issues relating to teaching and learning in Primary schools and classrooms.

Pre- experience Tasks

1.1What do you understand to be the key expectations placed on a Key Stage 2 Primary School Teacher? If you can, discuss this with a KS2 primary teacher before commencing your week.

1.2 Look into what have been the major recent changes in the role of the primary school teacher, major legislation affecting the primary school, and any changes to the primary school curriculum. What impact have these changes had on (i) what and how Primary School teachers teach? (ii) pupils’ motivation and engagement in learning?

1.4 Is this what you expected? How do you respond to these changes? Do you consider the changes beneficial or a backward-step for children and their learning? How are these changes likely to impact on pupils as they move forward into their secondary education?

The following tasks should be completed during the Primary school placement.

1.5Discuss the recent changes you have identified with teachers in your school. Do they consider the changes beneficial and helpful or leading to diminished experience and learning for pupils? What reasons do they give?

1.6What other changes to Primary School teaching and learning do teachers mention?

KEY QUESTION 2

How do Key Stage 2 teachers organise and manage their classroom and pupils’ learning?

2.1Draw up a timetable of a ‘typical’ day for a Key Stage 1 class and a Key Stage 2 class you are working with.

2.2Arrangement of the classroom and pupils.

How are pupils organised/seated in the classroom? Is this arrangement fixed? If the organisation changes, when does this happen? What are the reasons for the way the class is arranged?

2.3. Teaching Organisation

Complete the following table noting when different ways of organising pupils in the classroom occur and from your observations of the role of the teacher and pupils’ engagement in the lesson and activities suggest advantages and disadvantages of each type of organisation.

Organisation / When applied
e.g. topics/subjects,
and/or parts of the lesson? / Advantages / Disadvantages
Whole-class work
Group work
Individual work

Estimate the proportion of each type of organisation used over the week

Type of Organisation / Estimated proportion (%)
Whole-class work
Group work
Individual work

2.4 Relationships, Rules and Routines

2.4.1What techniques does the teacher use to gain pupils’ attention at the start of activities or during activities?

2.4.2What rules or routines are used to get the pupils to listen whilst the teacher is speaking?

2.4.3What conventions are expected for the asking and answering of questions? Does the strategy vary with the type of question? Why does the teacher use these strategies?

2.4.4What do you notice about the way the teacher deals with minor disruptions?

2.4.5To what extent does the teacher praise and encourage pupils?

KEY QUESTION 3

What learning takes place at Key Stage 2?

3.1The curriculum in your specialist subject

  • Ask to look at the schemes of work in your subject area for Year 6.
    Make a note of the topics and skills taught.
  • Is the content what you expected?
  • To what extent does the teaching scheme match or vary form your pre-conceptions of what you expected to be taught in the upper Primary School years?
  • Are there aspects of your subject you think are important to emphasise in the upper Primary years?
  • Use your investigation to comment on any implications for the teaching of your specialist subject at Secondary level.

Write a brief commentary on your findings in the box below.

3.2Pupil achievement in your subject

3.2.1Ask to look at examples of pupils’ work in your subject area.

The examples may be on a wall display or in a teacher’s or school’s portfolio of samples of pupils’ work or in some other format.

At this early stage of the year it may not be possible to look at the work of the pupils in the class you are working in but there may be records of work from other years.

  • Write your impressions on the level of work achieved?

3.2.2Talk with a small group of pupils to find out what they have learned in your subject area.

  • What topics/aspects have they enjoyed and why?
  • What do they consider they have learned from doing the subject?
  • What do they feel confident in knowing and understanding about the subject?

Summarise your findings and note if any aspects pupils’ knowledge and understanding surprised you.

3.3 Learning through Literacy and/or Numeracy lessons

Observe a literacy and a numeracy lesson and complete the table below with your observations and reflections. (You should observe and record both a Literacy and Numeracy lesson.)

Learning focus of the lesson
(relate to the Literacy/Numeracy Strategy) / Types of activities / Level of learning from pupils (outcomes)
Comment on the structure of the lesson
Comment on the implications for the teaching of your subject in Secondary School.

KEY QUESTION 4

What are the issues for pupil learning as they move from Primary to Secondary School?

This task will help you begin to understand how progression and transition issues are dealt within your Primary School.

4.Discuss with Primary staff the key issues for pupil learning as they move from Key Stage 2 to Key Stage 3

4.1What sort of records do the teachers keep for pupils in Year 6?

4.2What kinds of records are transferred across to the Secondary School?

4.3Does the Primary School use any transitional teaching units?

Note particular subjects and briefly outline how these work.

4.4What are the particular arrangements for your subject?

4.5 Do the staff consider the transfer arrangements effective? What would they change/improve?

KEY QUESTION 5

What are the main comparisons between the cultures of Primary and Secondary Schools?

Williams (1997)1 summarised aspects of the characteristics of Secondary school culture as shown in the table below.

Using your week of experience in the Primary School complete the table to summarise how you would characterise the culture and nature of Primary schools.

Curriculum culture characteristics / Secondary (KS3) / Upper Primary (KS1 and/or KS2)
Ideology / Classical; subject-centred; vocational; examination results-driven.
Curriculum design / Subject-centred.
Classroom ecology / Specialist; subject-specific classrooms; immobile
furniture.
Preferred teaching approaches / Subject-focussed; teacher-centred; formal; much use of textbooks and teacher-prepared worksheets.
Teacher / Specialist; subject graduate; principally trained through one-year PGCE teacher-training course.

1. Source : Williams (1997) ‘Progression and transition in a coherent geography classroom’ pp. 59-68 in : Tilbury, D. & Williams, M. Teaching and Learning Geography. London : Routledge. N.B. William’s version of this table includes his summary of the Primary culture but this has been deliberately excluded from the table for this task.

PRIMARY SCHOOL EXPERIENCE REFLECTIVE LOG

You should write a short reflective commentary on your experiences at the end of each day (in the style of a blog).

Your log commentary could be based around some of the following:

  • what did you enjoy/what was the most rewarding part of the day?
  • what aspect of the day surprised you most?
  • has any aspect of the day challenged your pre-conceptions and assumptions?
  • what was the most effective teaching strategy observed
  • what did you learn from the teacher?
  • what was the most significant thing you observed or learned?
  • how might the day influence or impact on my role as a secondary subject teacher?

DAY / DATE / LOG
1
2
3
4
5

SUMMARY

List the key achievements/highlights of your Primary School week experience.

Briefly describe how your experiences this week will inform and influence your role as a teacher in a Secondary School.

Student’s signature: ______

Headteacher’s signature: ______