Reflection 3

The first half of the summer term has allowed me to really consolidate my teaching skills. I have also increased my TA days from two to three so am in the class for the whole week, as part of a school reshuffle due to a new pupil in a different class which also meant I had a new TA. This was a good learning curve for me to establish a new relationship and adjust my communication methods so my new TA (who has other roles in the school meaning she isn't in the classroom in the early morning) is still aware of what goes on and feels included as part of our team. This has resulted in me changing the way I plan, to include all subjects on a single day giving brief details of the lesson and adult involvement. Not only does this help me focus during the day, but means my TA's have a physical copy they can check to know their roles for each lesson. 

In addition to my "teaching days" I have also begun to teach or team teach lessons on my "TA Days" to gain experience and allow me to plan and teach sequences of lessons. This has mainly been in ICT and Numeracy as Literacy is planned as five discrete lessons over the week, of which Mon-Wed is Independent Writing, Spelling and Guided Reading. 

We started the Summer term with just 16 children having lost some due to moving houses/schools. This has resulted in the behaviour been much better, with the children calming down and (finally!) settling in. The behaviour course I attended confirmed we are using the right techniques and just need to keep going!

I wasn't able to observe as many lessons as I liked, as even when I had arranged some last minute behaviour problems or staffing issues meant I was unable to do this, and is something I would like to work on in my final half term.