Reflecting On My First Term

I chose the Scholarship programme path to qualify as a maths teacher to explore alternative methods to traditional classroom teaching that makes maths fun, applicable and easy to digest with wealth of subject knowledge through the many CPD they run. 

In the October CPD session I attended ran by the Scholarship programme, I learnt about using art to teach maths through teaching constructions with geometric art. I applied what I learnt in this session in the classroom by incorporating art into a lesson I taught about angle bisectors the following month. Many students weren’t confident using compasses to create angle bisectors. To build their competence, I set students homework to practice their compass skills by creating geometric patterns. Students’ were engaged in this activity and improved their compass skills as a result, preparing them for constructing line and angle bisectors. 

Before I started my first placement, I was concerned that I would not be able to explore approaches to teaching which involved group work. The school’s zero-tolerance behaviour policy discouraged students from talking to each other in class which made peer work difficult. After expressing my concerns to my mentor and explaining that I would like to incorporate group work into my lessons, I was able to persuade them to allow me to let students work together. Additionally, I came to appreciate the reasons behind the zero-tolerance behaviour policy. Compared to other schools I’ve worked in, I spent less time dealing with behaviour issues in the classroom, allowing me to devote more time on pedagogy and building report with students. 

Furthermore, the approachability of the staff throughout the maths department and their willingness to help mean that I have become a better teacher during my time at the school. Staff, including my mentor, were keen to give me tips, share their resources with me and answer any questions I had. The wider school provided me with access to resources for improving as a teacher like weekly breakfast CPD sessions that I attended. These allowed me to explore how to deal with SEN students and how to incorporate new methods into my teaching.

On the whole I enjoyed my first placement because it provided me with a safe environment as a trainee to explore my teaching identity. I am now eager to start my second placement, where I would like to develop my behavioural management strategies, with the end goal of becoming a better practitioner.

Student Example Work -Geometric Art “Mega Eye”

Tutorial for the Mega Eye for homework at this link.

By Idiris Ali

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