Photo by Mikhail Nilov on Pexels.com Saima’s teaching practice placement is well underway, and she is getting used to the pattern of her teaching week and her regular mentor meetings. Things have been going pretty well, but she is gathering rather a formidable list of targets, including: "Improve classroom management around transition points." "Develop subject … Continue reading Setting granular targets for beginning teachers
Photo by Nicole Michalou on Pexels.com Nothing quite prepares you for the feeling of being in, but not of, the school where you on Teaching Practice Placement. But for the majority of beginning teachers this is the reality. So many aspects of the placement school are familiar, but you have entered a new ecosystem with … Continue reading Settling into a teaching practice placement – it’s a bit like staying at your Auntie’s house.
Photo by Los Muertos Crew on Pexels.com Mentor meetings are the cornerstone of support for beginning teachers, shaping their early experiences and helping them make sense of both the theory behind teaching and the realities of working in schools. When done well, these meetings offer a vital bridge between what new teachers learn in their … Continue reading Unlocking the Power of Mentor Meetings for ITT Beginning Teachers
Photo by Gratisography on Pexels.com “Great teachers are born, not made” is one of the great myths of teacher training. Unfortunately, it is also a myth which makes its way into the subconscious of prospective teachers. As we prepare to begin a new academic year in initial teacher education, I know there are soon-to-be beginning … Continue reading You Don’t Have to Be a Natural: Overcoming Imposter Syndrome in Teaching
Photo by Victoria Strelka_ph on Pexels.com One of the first blogs I wrote for the mentors of beginning teachers explored why mentees find changing teaching placements so hard. This blog contextualised the feelings that beginning teachers (although this is also true of more experienced teachers) can have when beginning roles in new school settings. It … Continue reading Moving Schools: Finding your footing in a new school as a teacher
Photo by Binti Malu on Pexels.com Every newspaper/ magazine article I read at the moment seems to be a countdown of one sort or another: 10 best fiction books of the year, 20 top gifts for the men in your life, 10 best Christmas movies you should absolutely watch now. Last week, as the first … Continue reading Festive Countdown: Teacher positives to head off the January blues
Photo by Magda Ehlers on Pexels.com Jessie is starting to assume more responsibility for her classes. So far, she’s taught around 15 whole lessons, but hasn’t had to do any teaching completely independently. Her mentor, Jasdeep, has always been on hand to step in if behaviour started to creep out of control or Jessie was … Continue reading It’s as easy as 1-2-3: The importance of contextualised behaviour routines and mentoring support for beginning teachers
Seb felt like he had spent all night making the activity the children were about to attempt. He had made source cards he was going to hide under the tables and stick under chairs. He wanted the students to work in pairs or small groups of three to answer questions which would gradually allow them … Continue reading Poor Pedagogical Choices: When task design derails your lesson
Photo by Lukas on Pexels.com Most beginning teachers are very concerned about what they should wear on their first day at their school placement. Do they need a tie? Are these shoes (imagine a comfy formal shoe with echoes of trainer) ok? Do tattoos need to be covered, and piercings removed? Why is this one … Continue reading What New Teachers Should Know About Professionalism: It’s about more than your shoes.
This blog is jointly authored by Vic Crooks and Laura London based on a presentation we gave at the Historical Association Conference in May 2024. If you are interested in this theme, you may also wish to read Teaching children about sensitive and controversial current affairs: Talking to children in schools about the situation in Ukraine Chapter … Continue reading Responding to a summer of riots: Principles for teaching about sensitive issues in the history classroom
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com I was recently in a conversation with a beginning teacher who told me about an interview question they had been posed. Then they laid down a challenge: “I’m interested what you would have said”. The interview question was interesting, and not one I’d heard before: What three substantive historical … Continue reading Tough teaching interviews: reflections on intentions and impacts
Photo by Markus Winkler on Pexels.com In the past few weeks, I’ve been asked the question ‘should I apply for this job?’ both by beginning teachers and more experienced teachers looking for a promotion post. It has led me to wonder why so many seemed consumed by this question, by a fear of making the … Continue reading To apply or not to apply – that is the question.
Photo by Binti Malu on Pexels.com Recently, I encountered this tweet passing on wisdom to mentors about to receive a new Initial Teacher Training/ Initial Teacher Education (ITT/ ITE) student for their second teaching practice placement: I have previously talked about why it can be difficult for ITE students when they change placement during their … Continue reading Noticing the positives of beginning teachers’ practice: Supporting the transition between teaching practice placements
Regular readers of this blog will know that I have a soft spot for Strictly Come Dancing. During Saturday evening’s (2023) final, Anton Du Beke uttered the following words, when addressing Ellie Leach following her final dance of the competition: “I’ve danced where you have [for] many years, and the joy of sitting here is … Continue reading Anton’s wisdom: Finding the joy in mentoring beginning teachers
Photo by Leeloo Thefirst on Pexels.com Recently I was privileged to see a beginning teacher nearing the end of their ITE year teaching a great GCSE history lesson. The pupils demonstrated excellent retrieval of subject knowledge from previous lessons. They were given opportunities to acquire new subject knowledge and make sense of this when combined … Continue reading Curiosity and the space to ask a question: building a dialogic culture to shift the focus onto pupil learning
Photo by cottonbro studio on Pexels.com A number of years ago, I watched a lesson where the beginning teacher had been schooled in a set of systematised generic teaching strategies. They had diligently practised and tried to implement these strategies in their lessons, but they were struggling. They were also frustrated. They felt like no … Continue reading The elephant in the room: Why the subject specific training of beginning teachers matters
Photo by Thirdman on Pexels.com Damien is a strong beginning teacher. He is diligent and organised and has developed effective approaches to planning. He can effectively ‘run a room’ and his classroom environment is calm. Transitions between tasks are smooth, he forms positive relationships with pupils, and behaviour management is usually effective. He fits well … Continue reading Walking the walk, just not talking the talk: Developing teacher voice and classroom persona
As a beginning teacher you hear about the necessity of self care A LOT. It can, however, quickly become yet another thing on your ‘to do’ list and feel like a burden rather than an act to strengthen your well-being. Mindfulness, exercise classes and sports clubs, religious worship, time with friends, hobbies and time for … Continue reading Self-care habits to help beginning teachers move from surviving to thriving
Photo by brenoanp on Pexels.com There is an oft repeated adage that, on their deathbed, no one ever wishes they spent more time at work. A few weeks ago a family member who was retiring commented they were sure that within the week they would be ‘yesterday’s news and today’s chip paper’. They said this … Continue reading Leaving a mark
Photo by Edmond Dantu00e8s on Pexels.com Every year I observe our beginning teachers applying for jobs, and every year it is hard to predict how the die will fall. Invariably a few fortunate souls will get the first job for which they apply. Equally, a few unfortunate beginning teachers will end up applying for quite … Continue reading Pipped at the post: how to support beginning teachers struggling to get their first teaching job
Photo by EKATERINA BOLOVTSOVA on Pexels.com The Mentor’s View Sonya is a new mentor. She has been shadowing a colleague in the role for the first time this academic year and has really enjoyed taking a more active role with the ITT student. She has appreciated how thinking like a mentor has sharpened her own … Continue reading Seeking a Second Opinion: Feeling undermined by your ITT mentee
Photo by B.Bailey on Pexels.com The vast majority of initial teacher training routes begin with time spent observing more experienced and ‘expert’ colleagues in the classroom. The role that this observation plays in providing a ‘frame of reference’ for beginning teacher’s subsequent or concurrent practice is well established (Hagger, Burn, Mutton & Brindley, 2008, p.169). … Continue reading What am I meant to be looking for? Supporting beginning teachers to undertake effective observations of other teachers
Photo by Vinu00edcius Vieira ft on Pexels.com There was a magical moment in a lesson I recently observed where you could almost see on pupils’ faces the relevance of the lesson collectively ‘click’. Following a retrieval practice exercise on the Reformation and actions of Henry VIII at the beginning of the lesson, and the discussion … Continue reading The magic of teaching a history lesson with coherence direction and purpose
This blog is jointly authored by Vic Crooks and Laura London based on a presentation we gave at the Historical Association Conference in May 2022. Back in January, this blog introduced you to Tom who was struggling to understand why things were going wrong in his teaching. His mentor has identified ‘pace’ as an … Continue reading Avoiding the Observation Trap: Interpreting generic mentoring approaches through a subject specific lens
Photo by Katerina Holmes on Pexels.com As a young teacher beginning my career just after the turn of the millennium, my first classroom was fitted with the ultimate in modern technology – a roller board incorporating both a blackboard and a whiteboard! I also shared an OHP (OverHead Projector) with my colleague in the room … Continue reading Setting the albatross free: Teaching without PowerPoint
Photo by Yevgeniya Fedorova on Pexels.com I am not a hill walker. I love visiting the Lake District, but I would much rather a nice walk on the flat around a lake (perhaps with a quick stop at a tea shop) than battle up a hill which quickly turns into a mountain. Why? Because I … Continue reading Feeling despondent? Why beginning teachers need to keep on climbing
This blog has been developed from a twitter thread (27/2/2022) relating to supporting children and young people to understand the situation in Ukraine. If you are interested in establishing principles for teaching children about sensitive and controversial issues you may also like to read Responding to a summer of riots: Principles for teaching about sensitive … Continue reading Teaching children about sensitive and controversial current affairs: Talking to children in schools about the situation in Ukraine
*This blog is written within the context of the secondary phase. Photo by Anna Tarazevich on Pexels.com Since Hakim started at Skyview Academy, high levels of staff absence have meant he has been working alongside a number of supply teachers and cover staff rather than the class teachers to whom his timetable is attached. Recently, … Continue reading Let’s work together: Supporting your mentee to work with support staff *
Photo by Anna Tarazevich on Pexels.com “How are you finding online teaching now?” I asked one of our alumni ECTs at the end of February last year - they had contacted me at the start of January feeling anxious about how to make the move into remote learning during the lockdown (you can read about … Continue reading Remote Opportunities: becoming a teacher during Omicron
Photo by SHVETS production on Pexels.com The start of the lesson hooked pupils into the learning beautifully and Tom, the beginning teacher, valiantly moves the class onto the first independent task. Within minutes the lesson, which promised so much, has been overtaken by a ripple of off task behaviour. By 5 minutes in only the 3 most compliant pupils have achieved anything even vaguely resembling a response to part … Continue reading Targeting Tom’s Transitions: Moving smoothly between phases within a lesson
Becoming a History Teacher 