As part of my upcoming blog posts I decided to interview a variety of people who I believe can offer some useful information to pre-service teachers. Given I have about four or five interviews to post, I thought it might be wise to make the interviews into their own segment entitled In Conversation With... and provide the rest of the PST blog team with a platform for posting other interviews. I hope pre-service teachers garner some useful pedagogical tips or ideas from these interviews.
27th October, 2015
In Conversation With ... Chloe.
Chloe is a 2nd year graduate classroom teacher who completed a Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood and Primary) in 2013. Her favourite aspect of teaching is connecting with a diverse number of people and she specialises in creating a safe and supportive classroom community.
Hi Chloe, thanks for being our blog's first interviewee!
Can you remember your first day teaching? How did it feel?
Exciting, daunting and right.
Did you feel unprepared? If so, in what way?
Not on the first day, but as time went on I found it difficult. You don’t know what’s around the corner so while everyone else is preparing for the next thing or getting ahead so they aren’t swamped when reports come or whatever, you are blissfully unaware and then it gets you!
What do you know now that you wish you had known on your first day?
From day one hit the ground running. Have the children decorating name tags, take photos of them, collect a writing sample, test them on their times-tables, ask them who they’re friends are, what they are worried about, learn their parents names and siblings, label books, rule margins, set up rules for the classroom.
Do you feel your qualification adequately prepared you for your first few years teaching?
Yes but experience will always do more.
How have you developed as a teacher?
So much! I communicate with my students in a very open and honest way, taking their perspectives into account. Telling them the options and why and then giving them ownership over the decision. I know what to look for with reading, writing and maths as cues for gaps in learning or students not achieving their potential.
What are three essential tips that you would give to any PST about to start their first day?
Students want to know what’s coming, so create the timetable and show them where they can locate it each day.
Students want rules and restrictions and they want you to be the overseer of that so develop them together.
They want to know you and you to know them so spend some of the first day playing getting-to-know-each-other games and get involved.
What do you think are the most important elements to being an effective teacher?
Wow. Building relationships, organisation, preparation and balance.
How could we improve Pre-Service Teacher education courses?
Provide more time in the classroom.
Creating usable resources such as writing, reading spelling and math toolkits as well as assessment tracking resources.
Chloe, thanks for taking the time to respond to our questions and all the best for the rest of the year!
- Alex
Although Alex has regular contact with Chloe this interview was conducted via email, with the view in mind of allowing Chloe time to consider the questions and respond when she could.
27th October, 2015
In Conversation With ... Chloe.
Chloe is a 2nd year graduate classroom teacher who completed a Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood and Primary) in 2013. Her favourite aspect of teaching is connecting with a diverse number of people and she specialises in creating a safe and supportive classroom community.
Hi Chloe, thanks for being our blog's first interviewee!
Can you remember your first day teaching? How did it feel?
Exciting, daunting and right.
Did you feel unprepared? If so, in what way?
Not on the first day, but as time went on I found it difficult. You don’t know what’s around the corner so while everyone else is preparing for the next thing or getting ahead so they aren’t swamped when reports come or whatever, you are blissfully unaware and then it gets you!
What do you know now that you wish you had known on your first day?
From day one hit the ground running. Have the children decorating name tags, take photos of them, collect a writing sample, test them on their times-tables, ask them who they’re friends are, what they are worried about, learn their parents names and siblings, label books, rule margins, set up rules for the classroom.
Do you feel your qualification adequately prepared you for your first few years teaching?
Yes but experience will always do more.
How have you developed as a teacher?
So much! I communicate with my students in a very open and honest way, taking their perspectives into account. Telling them the options and why and then giving them ownership over the decision. I know what to look for with reading, writing and maths as cues for gaps in learning or students not achieving their potential.
What are three essential tips that you would give to any PST about to start their first day?
Students want to know what’s coming, so create the timetable and show them where they can locate it each day.
Students want rules and restrictions and they want you to be the overseer of that so develop them together.
They want to know you and you to know them so spend some of the first day playing getting-to-know-each-other games and get involved.
What do you think are the most important elements to being an effective teacher?
Wow. Building relationships, organisation, preparation and balance.
How could we improve Pre-Service Teacher education courses?
Provide more time in the classroom.
Creating usable resources such as writing, reading spelling and math toolkits as well as assessment tracking resources.
Chloe, thanks for taking the time to respond to our questions and all the best for the rest of the year!
- Alex
Although Alex has regular contact with Chloe this interview was conducted via email, with the view in mind of allowing Chloe time to consider the questions and respond when she could.
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