The technology department has been blessed to have a Teach First teacher working with us. She started last year and has been mostly teaching Design and Visual Communication. This has meant that she has connected with my way of planning a lot since she started teaching and is adapting her own methods.
This seemed like an ideal time to ask her what she thought as she is into the second year now and has seen a wide variety of in school, lock down, hybrid situations now.
I emailed the questions to her and these are her replies.
- When you were at Teach First before you started at Tamaki College, was there an expectation of how to do project planning/lesson planning/presentation of work to students?
No not at all, we spent very little time on the practical side of teaching and learning. We have one week which we planned a junior unit just through trial and error and that was it.
Did they show you examples? Did they discuss that with you at all?
We saw a few broad examples, non-related specifically to technology or graphics planning
- Are you aware of how the other teach first teachers on your course go about their planning?
Not unless I ask them specifically to see their planning, we don't have any shared resources or spaces/times to share planning. It was great though living with my friend who also taught graphics at a different school because we would discuss planning and share resources
- How is it different to how you do it?
It seems to be quite different, although I haven't actually seen many people's planning from what I have heard from other schools lots of people aren't given the autonomy to do their own planning, it tends to be a preset department plan that they should follow.
- What are the main elements from how I plan have you taken on board with your own?
Definitely, the standard breakdown as the first part of the planning, starting on paper with big brainstorms and filling relevant information into each of the sections so that you are not only working to the assessment but teaching key skills also. The online video heaps of accessible information side of the planning has been super helpful too.
- What was is about these planning elements that appealed to you the most?
The intuitiveness of them, the planning lays the project out so that each section leads really well into the next. The hybrid learning planning has been amazing too, I have always felt able to support students online and in-person with your great digital resource planning.
- What parts of my planning did you not want to try / use?
I honestly don't think there was anything specific I didn't want to use, I really didn't have any other planning styles of experiences so I was always happy to try a new planning style. I think it took me a while to get into the workspace and website planning just because they seemed like doubling up initially
- What was it about these elements that was not appealing to you?
Just having to over plan, or have very similar things in multiple places. But I have learnt that different students access information in different ways and that having it readily available across multiple platforms
- How have you adjusted your planning so it is more personal to you?
I really need to have daily/weekly planning for my junior students as opposed to just a broad project plan. I don't think I know my project well enough to work just off the project planning, I prefer writing a plan for how each session will work, especially with the double periods so I can keep the pace and engagement up.
- What have you not tried yet that you fancy having a go with?
Really individualising my planning so that students have lots of relevant options and room to express themselves in the project. Have broad planning that meets the needs of all students.
Also adding more literacy scaffolding into my projects
- What have you tried, hated and decided not to use again?
I don't think daily or weekly planning works well for my senior students, I tried it initially but it becomes really prescribed and limited for students who are ready to move on or a bit behind. senior classes need to be more fluid
- Is there anything else about this topic that you would like to add?
No thanks
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