Probationer Teacher Scotland

Top tip of the week: Keep those sick bags handy

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 06 May 2013 05:09:00 EDT

School trips can bring on binge eating by pupils who come armed with large plastic containers filled with everything from cold chicken legs to a mosaic of pizza slices. They come ready for a siege on the bus. Inevitably, many pupils will need a good number of toilet and fresh air stops as you try to turn them back into a decent colour from the various shades of green that they turn into. They will need your sympathy as the bus hurtles down the motorway and the driver informs you that there will be no impromptu stops on the hard shoulder. Bags and wet ones are the order of the day for keeping your charges clean and dry. Should you become ill, expect the pupils to deny any responsibility for you. The caring attitude to travel sickness is not reciprocal. You need to make sure you are the invincible one. Take your own bag for accidents.

Top tip of the week: Be aware of staffroom mug politics

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 05:20:00 EDT

Staffrooms are areas of fashion and image. Your mug should have a witty saying, thoughtful picture or be at the cutting edge of the most recent Ikea design. It says something about you, so watch out for allowing your image to slip into a chipped or cracked mug. Tension can be caused when two mugs of the same design appear. Watch out for this. Some mugs become abandoned and remain by the sink for years, their owners long retired. These are often used for visitors. Rinse the dust out of them.

Top tip of the week: Create a 'To Do List'

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 05:09:00 EDT

Create a 'To Do List' for each day. Set SMART targets. Prioritise your day and devote more time to the more important tasks. Remember to set yourself a personal target of what you want to achieve at the end of each day. Evaluate this daily and it will keep you on track and ensure your time is utilised effectively.

Top tip of the week: You can't always get what you want

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 04:11:00 EDT

There will always be days when you will have to change a lesson because something hasn't quite worked out the way you want or pupils haven't responded in the manner that you expected. This happens no matter how experienced you are. Classes can have group moods, individuals have 'off days' and external events will impact on your lesson. Always have another lesson ready to substitute. No good performer goes on stage with one joke, regardless of the audience. Learn to read the mood of your class but remember to keep to the curriculum and your own forecasts and plans too.

Top tip of the week: Accept the rich tapestry of smells

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 06:08:00 EDT

It is a fact that some pupils smell nicer than others. Wet weather causes the steaming pupil syndrome. There is little you can do other than let them dry off. Pupils leaving Physical Education also have their particular odour as they compete against each other to smell perfumed. This is the rich tapestry of smells associated with teaching. The smell you must immediately act on is that of dog poo on an unsuspecting pupil's shoes. An afternoon in your classroom with the offending odour of Rover can ruin your lessons.

Top tip of the week: Be adventurous with lesson plans

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 06:20:00 EDT

Always be adventurous with your lesson planning. If you find that you are creating lessons without 'thinking', then take a step back and consider: are my pupils getting into a routine? Is that routine necessarily benefiting them? Pupils do like a certain amount of variety and enjoy being challenged or interested. Never let your preconceptions of a class (they're too able for that; they're not capable of that) keep you from trying something different or out of the ordinary for that class.

Top tip of the week: Be honest

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 05:56:00 EDT

Be honest with your pupils and don't expect more of them than you do of yourself.

Top tip of the week: You may think you're Bruce Willis, but...

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 04:33:00 EDT

Pupils are obsessed with celebrity. It is just a fact of this generation. You may think that you have the look of Beyonce or Bruce Willis about you. Do not share this with your pupils unless you are prepared to:

be deeply hurt
realise the truth that you don't look at all like your celebrity
be mocked and teased mercilessly about it forevermore

Keep your ideas and hopes to yourself. That way you can continue to believe in them and hold your (lookalike) head high in the corridor.

Top tip of the week: Retain your dignity in an embarrassing moment

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 05:18:00 EDT

You must at all costs keep your dignity in the classroom. Top class acts, when they are performing in front of an audience, rehearse and prepare often, with flair and style. If you trip over a bag, reverse into a small pupil or drop an entire pile of jotters to great applause, try not to swear however quietly you do so. Pupils can lip read. Move on with the lesson and nurse your embarrassment and dignity in the staffroom where there will be comfort and understanding.

Top tip of the week: Be gentle with snoozers

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 28 Jan 2013 04:21:00 EDT

There are ways of dealing with a pupil who falls asleep in the classroom. One of them is not to suddenly shout at him. You'll frighten the other half dozen who were just about to join him. A gentle word in their ear is enough, then find out the reason - a late night, an early rise, your lesson? Keep the room well ventilated and don't allow outside jackets to remain on. If you see anyone nodding off, ask him or her a question to keep them alert or even conscious.

Top tip of the week: You can't hide under the duvet

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 21 Jan 2013 06:41:00 EDT

Remember that hiding under the duvet and not wanting to go to school is something that will happen to you from time to time. You have this in common with your pupils. It's like everything else. Once you get there it's not so bad and it will take one small success to make you remember why you became a teacher, and why you make the effort to get up, dressed and out to work. You will have these thoughts on dark, cold mornings when you have a difficult lesson ahead of you. Throw yourself into the challenge the day will bring and remember that your duvet will still be there for you to crawl back under should the day not go according to plan.

Top tip of the week: Support parents but don't get too close

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 06:53:00 EDT

Parents' meetings are now about traumatising the pupil, the teacher or the parent. They are supportive and informative meetings. No matter how big or scary a parent or guardian may look or act, they need the truth and help for their charges. Don't overindulge a parent; keep to the allotted time. Waiting parents get grumpy and you can get off to a bad start. Watch out for the not uncommon parent's need to share personal problems with you. Alarm bells should ring and you should not go there, regardless of how interesting you find the conversation.

Top tip of the week: Monitor group discussion

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 04:23:00 EDT

Pupils have an amazing ability to keep to the topic of their group discussion whilst you are within earshot and go back to analysing the primary seven romances when you are not. You will need strategies to keep them on track. Try timing discussions, watching them at different intervals whether you can hear them or not, or asking them searching questions. Remember the Pinkerton's Detective Agency motto: 'The eye that never sleeps.' Just don't get too carried away with your plotting and scheming to keep within earshot, because it will scare the pupils.

Top tip for teachers: Play calming music

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 10 Dec 2012 05:08:00 EDT

Play calming music at a very low volume throughout the day. Pupils will quieten down to hear it, and will avoid pupils shouting out to 'fill the silence'. Depending on activity, you can change the volume to suit the needs of the class.

Families Outside

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 09:13:00 EDT

In this podcast, Claire Gilfillan talks with Sarah Roberts and Nancy Loucks from an organisation called Families Outside about their work helping the families of people who are in prison, and what probationer teachers can do to support children who have been affected by this.

George D Gray award

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 09:12:00 EDT

A teacher from Hayshead Primary School in Arbroath scooped the prestigious George D Gray CBE MA award for the best undergraduate thesis in teacher education in Scotland.

Cause for concern or unsatisfactory progress

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 09:10:00 EDT

For probationers whose progress is indicated in the interim profile as giving Cause for Concern or Unsatisfactory, a second interim profile should be submitted to us.

Top tip of the week: Discourage 'desk blogging'

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 09:16:00 EDT

Pupils like to partake in 'desk blogging' as often as possible. One pupil will begin the conversation scrawled in pen on a desk and others will respond and embellish it with artwork. Before you run out of clean desks, stop the conversations and wage war on the scribbles. Think of ways to put their creative energies to better use.

Top tip of the week: Hormones run high

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 04:48:00 EDT

Like it or not, your pupils will fall in and out of love on a regular basis. This behaviour is not age-restricted. Whilst you are fine-tuning your lesson at the front of the room they will be eyeing each other up and down, ready to make a smart move at the interval. Hormones are your enemy. You will not win against them. Keep the window open to cool the ardour and always keep the lesson on track. Do not get involved in relationship counselling no matter how much you have an opinion. These relationships will often move onto the second stage very quickly; rejection. Prepare for tears and turmoil.

End of term

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 10:07:00 EDT

Take a look at our Christmas themed tips aimed at helping you plan your end of term strategy.

Submitting your profile

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Tue, 20 Nov 2012 10:07:00 EDT

By this stage you should be well on your way to completing your interim profile and having it ready to submit to your head teacher.

Top tip of the week: Beware what you wear

wenservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 08:52:00 EDT

Don't be a fashion victim. Pupils just live in wait for you to wear that little pink number again or the corduroy jacket that has come out for one last term. Be sensible in what you wear. T-shirts with statements are asking for trouble and the school polo shirt doesn't look good on everyone.

Top tip of the week: Love never fails

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 07:01:00 EDT

At times students may be rude or mean to you. Reacting in a similar manner just aggravates the situation. However by continuing to treat them with respect and love but being firm at the same time�achieves a lot. The results are not immediate, but it does make a difference to the lives of young people. Isn't that what teaching is all about?

Employment statistics for newly qualified teachers

Fri, 15 Jun 2012 05:33:00 EDT

We carry out a survey every Spring of teachers who have participated in the Teacher Induction Scheme, a probation programme described as 'world-leading' in an international survey by the OECD.

Podcast - Maintain the challenge

Mon, 07 May 2012 06:15:00 EDT

Maintain the challenge

You can now listen to our latest podcast on maintaining the challenge of the probation experience and looking to the future.

Top tip of the week: Keep on top of your marking

Mon, 07 May 2012 06:13:00 EDT

Keep on top of your marking

Well doing it regularly is always a good start, making the mountain more manageable! I try to have a rota so I can manage when classes were last marked and due to be marked. Also, when I am marking I give my young people specific targets to improve on. Undoubtedly, a lot of pupils will look at their mark and not their written feedback so what I tend to do is place a bright post-it note on their jotter to get them to question why it's there (and remind me to speak to them). This gives me a chance to speak to certain pupils individually about their performance during class.

Professional Update Consultation

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:49:00 EDT

We have launched a consultation on a scheme of Professional Update for teachers.

Your experience - ICT in the Early Years

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 07:48:00 EDT

Teaching ICT across the curriculum is a big priority in a Curriculum for Excellence and lots of schools appreciate teachers with skills in this area. All probationers attend basic ICT training, but I myself was slightly concerned about how applicable it all was in my primary one class. I had used smartboard games and programmable toys but I really wanted to take my ICT teaching a step further. I found blogging was a great way to do this.

Using Glow

Glow is the national intranet across Scotland so it is a brilliant way of sharing practice and recording children’s learning in a secure forum. Once you have your Glow password you’re ready to get started and it really isn’t as daunting as it might sound. The Glow and LTS websites offer lots of guidance to help you to set up a Glow group and technical advice is often on hand in school. Have a look at https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk to get started. It’s also really useful to look around at other people’s blogs to get a feel of what style you like. The Glow ‘cookbooks’ offer great advice and examples of how blogging has been used in various contexts. Here is an example of how West Lothian used a Glow group to share learning across their authority: http://cookbooks.glowscotland.org.uk/blog/2010/10/15/sharing-the-learning-using-a-glow-blog/

Create discussion

In the middle or upper stages of primary school I think it would be a good idea to teach the children how to make their own blogs and they could record their own learning in an individual way. This could be especially effective for personal learning profiles to be created for transition. In the early years, I would advise using the blog to create discussion as a whole class. Once you’ve created your blog with a header image that you like you are ready to leave your first post. This should be a welcome message that explains what your blog is about and what it’s purpose is – I called our blog the ‘P1 Learning Story’ and explained that it was designed to encourage the children to reflect on their learning.

Updating the blog

The children and I take photos of their activities throughout the week. We tend to choose a different focus each week – it might be our active maths lessons, our new senses topic or what we did during Road Safety week. I upload the photos to the blog and type an explanation of what we were learning. This is simple to do – you just click ‘add image’ when you’re creating your post. You can also add links to other web pages you have been using, which means you can have online videos or games that you have used in class accessible through your blog.

Reflection time

At the end of every week we have reflection time, when the children are encouraged to reflect on what they have learned and talk about what they enjoyed, what they found tricky and what they would like to learn next. As they are talking I type their comments into the ‘Reply’ box to a post I have made. This really involves the children in their learning and they love to see the photos of what they have been doing and their work. By the end of the year I hope to have the children all logged into Glow themselves and I plan to teach them how to leave comments independently.

Kirsten Telford

Unsatisfactory/cause for concern interim profiles

Wed, 01 Feb 2012 08:44:00 EDT

For probationers whose progress is indicated in the interim profile as giving Cause for Concern or Unsatisfactory, a second interim profile should be submitted to us by 30 March 2012. This is to be completed in the same way as the profile already submitted. The information in this second profile should carry on from the first and there should be weekly meeting of supporter and probationer and a minimum of three observations completed.

The following is a suggested timetable based on a 3 weekly cycle:

Date	Task
w/c 23 January	At weekly meeting, identify the time, class and focus for observation 1
w/c 30 January	Observation 1 takes place
w/c 6 February	Feedback from observation 1 to be completed
w/c 13 February	At weekly meeting, identify the time, class and focus for observation 2
w/c 20 February	Observation 2 takes place
w/c 27 February	Feedback from observation 2 to be completed
w/c 6 March	At weekly meeting, identify the time, class and focus for observation 3
w/c 13 March	Observation 3 takes place
w/c 20 March	Feedback from observation 3 to be completed

Observations should have a very limited and specific focus, directly linked to your PDAP and decided by you and your supporter during your supporter meeting discussions. These targets that you identified at the end of your interim profile 1 are the ones that you should be concentrating on meeting.

There should be an obvious relationship between your PDAP and CPD. It should be your PDAP that drives your CPD. During the period that you address a CPD focus, you can use the tracking record Appendix 11: Self Evaluation Templates to record your engagement with the process of CPD. This will include your evaluation of how it has impacted in your professional practice and how your CPD was focussed on in supporter meetings and observed sessions. It's important that the weekly supporter meetings are continued. Meetings should have a pre-arranged focus that has been decided by you and your supporter. The majority of these meetings should have a very limited and specific focus that is directly linked to the PDAP that you devised (although, on occasion, the PDAP may need to be adjusted as you progress).

A record should be kept of your supporter meetings on the "supporter meeting notes" section of your probation profile. This should include the actions to be taken as a result of the discussion to ensure you are progressing in your professional development. Remember that you should be completing your profile as you go along, rather than waiting until the last moment.

Please note that Unsatisfactory progress or Cause of Concern in your first interim profile doesn't necessarily mean that you will not meet the Standard for Full Registration in your induction year. In the past, probationers have taken the advice of their supporters on board at this stage and gained full registration in July.

Your experiences: Christmas turning point

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 06:23:00 EDT

Post-Christmas, Fay Macgregor found she was more in control of her teaching.

As I near the end of my probationary year I can hardly believe it's over.

I now see Christmas as a turning point, as by this stage I felt I was more in control of my planning, the class and systems within school.

Looking back

The start of the year now seems like a haze of panic, excitement and fear. After working in the ruthless world of sales and recruitment, moving into teaching was like a breath of fresh air.

Initially I found the long hours I worked in sales didn't quite disappear as everything was so new to me that it took longer than expected to get into the swing of things.

After Christmas I was able to organise my time more effectively, including:

updating my forward plan weekly
preparing lessons at a maximum a week in advance
keeping on top of marking and introducing self and peer assessment
setting aside specific times for preparing wall displays, profile updates, organising visits to other schools and observations within school
introducing strategies to speed up the pace of the class e.g. timers, a rewards system for those ready on time
speaking to teachers at the same stage and promoted members of staff for ideas on areas I needed support with.

I know that most of this sounds like common sense but at the start of the year I felt that there are so many areas to tackle it's hard to know where to start.

Observing other schools

After the quick year as a PGDE student I found one of the most beneficial parts of the probation year was visiting different schools, observing the same and other stages and speaking to colleagues for ideas and advice.

This provided me with new initiatives and strategies to enhance my teaching, reassuring me as to how I was managing.

If starting the probation year again I would try to ensure I went to observe either within school or out of school on a fortnightly basis, going to see as many different schools as possible.

This is also a good idea in terms of networking and building up a rapport with different teachers and schools, which may be useful when looking for a job.

Class behaviour

It's impossible to have every area of the curriculum, the classroom and behaviour working like clockwork. What I found best was to focus on one thing at a time in terms of priority, starting with behaviour and then moving on from there.

One of the first things I adopted in my class was a morning song, which I have found introduced a positive atmosphere and encouraged the stragglers to get ready quicker.

This song is sang to the tune of "When the saints go marching in" and goes like this:

"Hello my friends, hello my friends
How are you today?
We have a busy day before us
With lots of work and lots of play"

This song worked very well with my class and the routine of singing it each day settled the class.

I also picked up a good tip at the end of the day from my mentor, which was to shake each child by the hand on the way out when saying goodbye to them.

The majority of the class loved this. Although it appears quite a formal gesture it encouraged manners and I found the children were very keen to do this on a daily basis. Another great advantage of this gesture was that it also ensured that I had spoken to each child.

I am pleased that I changed career and have entered the world of teaching. The first term was a steep learning curve, as the year progresses you settle more into your role and hopefully gain in confidence.

Teaching infants is hard work although very rewarding and even on a bad day a simple compliment, hug or a smile makes it seem all worthwhile.

Fay Macgregor
Primary Teacher
East Craigs Primary, Edinburgh

Top tip of the week: you can be overshadowed by the weather

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 06:21:00 EDT

The slightest change in the weather will gain immediate attention from your pupils over anything you say or do in the classroom. Just expect, on occasion, to be upstaged by heavy rain or a strong gust of wind. Snow will totally eclipse your lesson as your pupils sniff early closure in the air.

Your experiences: Comfort words feel the pinch

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 04:41:00 EDT

Okay guys, Jim Moore has found a way to help him break his catchphrase habit.

How many of us have certain words, phrases or mannerisms we use all of the time in class? If you say, "Not me!" then you're either very lucky, not being entirely truthful with yourself, or you're oblivious to the fact you're doing it.

"Okay guys . . ."

For me it was saying "Okay guys": "Okay guys, let's get in and settled quickly"; "Okay guys, listen up"; "Okay guys, today we're going to . . ."; "Okay guys, time to pack up"; "Okay guys . . ." repeat ad nauseum. I also had a bad habit of saying "youse" as a result of English being the secondary language to my Glaswegian mother tongue.

I was aware that I was doing it and the kids most certainly were. I was giving them lots of ammunition with something so obvious to impersonate me with. Other teachers had pointed it out to me too, but no one had any advice on how to stop it, except for telling me just not to say it! But if it was that simple then none of us would have our little signature phrases to contend with.

Advice

This really began to bother me, but I had a plan. A good friend of mine is a hypnotist who also runs positive thinking seminars. What does that have to do with teaching? Well, his job revolves around how the brain works; whether it's (allegedly) hypnotising people, showing businessmen how to win the upper hand in deals, or improving people's memory.

I described my problem to him and he explained to me that I was using "comfort words": words people rely on when they're anxious or need assurance. It makes sense when you think about it, but how do you stop using them?

Nip it in the bud

He advised me that, anytime I was speaking to the class, I should pinch my index, middle or ring finger with the edge of my thumbnail. This is a trick that public speakers use all the time.

He went on to explain that you use these comfort words subconsciously and, in order to stop using them, you need to bring it to your conscious mind. When you pinch your finger it creates a slight bit of pain, you can still talk and do your job but, in the back of your head, you are aware that it's there. Your brain does the hard part and joins the dots by telling you that you're feeling this pain because it's supposed to remind you not to use your comfort words.

Because it's always in the back of your conscious mind, it's continually reminding you not to use those words. So, whereas you would normally just blurt the words out without thinking about it, now you have a subtle reminder to think about the words you are using when speaking. The exact same is true of 'comfort actions'.

Breaking the habit

It doesn't work instantly, but eventually you'll train your brain to stop using your comfort words and actions. Once you've managed to break the habit, you can stop pinching your fingers when you teach. If a new comfort word or action comes along, just do the same thing. It does sound strange and I thought my friend was pulling my leg when he suggested it, but it really does work. Give it a try.

Jim Moore
History teacher
Calderglen High School, South Lanarkshire

Top tip of the week: Reenergise during the breaks

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 04:35:00 EDT

Take some time during the day at school to relax and keep calm. It's very tempting to work through your breaks and lunchtime, but you will tire and burn out by the end of the day. Lunchtime should be for re-energising yourself. You can use the time to get out of the building or take part in some gentle exercise. Some teachers use stretching exercises at their desk to ease stress. If you partake in this particular activity make sure you do not have an audience. Otherwise, some thoughtful pupils will report you to the school office because they think you're having mental difficulties.

Your experience: Making classwork a fun challenge

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 03:53:00 EDT

Why does Karen Miller's P2 class think math and language lessons aren't classwork?

I spent the first few weeks as a probationer in awe of my P2 stage partner's active math sessions. Her class could be heard chatting away and having a great time, the evidence of learning was evident in their drawings and written and spoken responses. They were all engaged and on task: something next door was working! I spent one of my out-of-class times observing the active math session and it fired me up to get started on some of my own.

My challenge challenge

At the start of the second term, with help and advice from my stage partner, I had six math challenges prepared and ready to go. Each was written up in simple language with attractive, interesting resource packs and open-ended learning anticipated.

The children were set up into six mixed-ability groups of four, and we spent time at the start of the first session looking at each challenge as a whole class to make sure that at least one person in each group felt they understood each challenge.

The groups then had one of the challenges each to complete using at least some cooperation within the group. At the end of the session each group fed back to the whole class on their particular challenge and the learning they could identify (with prompting!) within it.

Record of learning

We took lots of photographs to record the learning and the fun. Some of the recording of learning was done in drawing form, some on wipe-clean boards and sheets, some as playdough models. Photographing these made the evidence available to keep for my records, for the children's enjoyment and for parents on parents' night.

But the majority of the learning evidence was in the children. We progressed through the challenges by giving each group a different challenge each week and feeding back to the class. The vocabulary and understanding that the children developed was amazing.

Exceeding expectations

They took many of the challenges beyond my anticipated goals:

They changed simple adding challenges into adding multiple figures together or take away challenges. (One of my weakest pupils added together a string of 25 figures correctly! Luck? Don't know and don't care, the confidence boost and kudos it gave her was phenomenal.)
They took the "Numbers within 100" challenge well beyond 100, and were even challenging each other to find the numbers before or after up to the 900s.
They invented a colour-mixing challenge from the "Rubik's Cube adding challenge" I had devised.
The "Pirate treasure challenge" resulted in them adding up into the pounds, not the pence I had anticipated.
Some playdough flowers had dozens of petals on them not just the stories up to 20 I had hoped for.

From math to language

I was delighted with the results and the application the children brought to the challenges. I began setting a few language challenges to the children, basing them on the reading system in use in school and on the anticipated arrival of Santa. They enjoyed these as much as they had the math challenges, so I decided to include language challenges as a timetabled activity as soon as possible.

Teamwork

For term three, my stage partner and I have planned our math and language challenges together, sharing the work of devising and resourcing them and timetabling our use of these materials not to coincide. These will take up almost a whole morning each for the next six weeks, and many have a spring/Easter theme to them.

Worthwhile

I for one can't wait to get started and see the children's reactions to the new challenges. They have been a challenge for me, which has involved: devising active, open-ended learning tasks; providing useful verbal formative feedback during the activities; accepting that evidence of learning comes in many forms; receiving children's criticism of the challenges during feedback and adapting the challenges/resources accordingly.

However, apart from the obvious reward of the learning benefits to the children, I have to say the total lack of marking is a joy too!

Karen Millar
Primary Teacher
Carlogie Primary School, Angus

Top tip of the week: eat right

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 03:42:00 EDT

As a teacher you are in a high performance job, which will need energy and well-being. Your diet will help you through this. So think broccoli, think fruit and think healthy. You need to look bright and fresh, as very often you will be the only one exhibiting these features in the classroom. You have to carry pupils who may be attempting the curriculum on fuel made up of pizza and artificial flavours during the day, so keep hydrated and wean yourself off the caffeine.

Your experiences: sharing the load

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 03:54:00 EDT

Asking questions and sharing anxieties is an important part of probation, writes Jill Preacher.

Well, I've survived 6 months of being a probationer teacher. That might seem a long time, but it's surprisingly only 101 school days, one nativity, one school fair, one school trip, two parent's consultations and one much-appreciated fortnight holiday at Christmas.

I've been lucky enough to be placed in Midlothian Council, reaping the benefits of a small council. With only 40-something probationers, I've been able to share experiences with nearly all my peers at some point during the year and, as we all know, peer learning is the way forward!

Looking back at my own learning, this year has brought me so much more than a university placement or lecture ever could. I'm constantly referring back to tutorial notes, books or websites recommended by tutors or teachers I have met, using all the resources I can get my hands on.

Support

I have a very supportive mentor, management team, 0.3 cover and stage partners who really help me and I am also lucky that there is another probationer within the school to worry and celebrate successes with.

Flexibility

The most important thing I've learnt is the ability to be flexible. Trying to be organised and plan my week, only to find out in the morning that the gym hall isn't available or somebody else is using all the red crayons is just part of the job. Now I know to check the calendar, get my resources in advance and be ready to change my whole timetable if I have to.

Observing

Observing other teachers in the school has been really useful; definitely something I will try to continue. It never fails to amaze me that whenever I go for one of these visits I always get given a job to do so the class teacher must welcome an extra pair of hands too!

Contact time

I'm looking forward to increasing my contact time with my own class over the next few months and, with help, I plan to start an after school club to increase my awareness of other aspects of school life. I am also organising time to observe teachers in other schools to continue to gather new ideas that I can use in my classroom.

Sharing the load

Finally, I would like to share a piece of advice given to me by a probationer last year. Try to befriend as many people as you can in your department or school so that you can share out all the anxieties that you will undoubtedly have.

You can ask questions and share worries all day long and, even though they say they don't mind (and I'm sure most teachers don't), you won't have to be concerned about always going to the same member of staff!

Jill Preacher
Primary Teacher
Woodburn Primary School, Midlothian

Top tip of the week: you can't win the pencil war

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 03:51:00 EDT

Pencils and the trauma of pencil borrowing will play a large part in your teaching career. You can go down the road of marking 'your' pencils, of buying easily identifiable pencils and pens, of counting them in, out and around the classroom. But ask yourself this question: 'Is it better to make them responsible for having their own pencils or will you always give them yours?' Pupils like pencils and they will like your pencils no matter how dog-eared they look. Many have the red pens straight out f the bookies, other the pencils from Ikea. As long as they are able to write, be pleased. Good luck in the pencil wars.

Your experiences: CPD and new technology

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 04:20:00 EDT

My probationary year has been an enjoyable experience so far. I feel I've developed as a professional and have learned to incorporate new teaching strategies and useful ICT in my class.

SMARTboard

Luckily I was given a SMARTboard at the start of the year which has greatly enhanced my classes.

While learning the SMARTboard tools has been useful I have been able to complement these by accessing useful resources from the web.

This has taken the form of downloading lesson plans and powerpoints to bolster my lessons.

Being a Maths teacher I was able to find really useful content from Scottish Teaching Bank and good problem solving material from New Zealand Maths.

New strategies

I was able to find out many new strategies from a CPD day on co-operative learning. I learned many useful techniques where I can make sure that pupils work effectively in team work exercises.

Techniques included methods which ensured all pupils contributed to their teams output and ideas to ensure all the pupils were able to contribute. This helped me as I try to teach in an "enterprising" way which involves putting pupils in groups regularly.

Like all probationers I still have a lot to learn and I think I'll focus on these new strategies and the benefits of ICT as I move forward.

Roderick Fleming
Maths Teacher
Wick High School, Highlands

Top tip of the week: If there are ink stains, they will know you're a teacher

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 04:12:00 EDT

Teachers like to use fine markers. It's always a real giveaway in a pub when your shirt has an ink stain in the pocket. Try not to lose the lid of your pen and remember to put it back on before it goes in your pocket. Very soon you could find your entire wardrobe 'teacher marked'.

Your experiences: Pupil assessment and reports

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 05:52:00 EDT

Both pupils and teachers need to work hard to ensure they reach their targets, writes Chris Mutch.

It will be emphasised many times over the probationary year that pupils must know where they are, and where they are going in their learning, and how they'll reach their target. This also goes for the teachers!

After the first week of teaching, it became apparent that I'd have to start writing things down. What I'd taught, what needed taught and who had learned what were obviously the most important.

I quickly found my own style of keeping track of work. I'd prepare lessons in advance as much as possible so that when it came to teach, I simply lifted the work from the class folder.

In my records, I'd write a quick note to say what had been done, noting anything important to remember for the next lesson.

It's very simple, but when you have such a steep learning curve in the first few weeks, it helps to sit down and plan how to plan.

Formative assessment

As a music teacher, formative assessment is the only logical way of working in the practical activities. I decided my assessment records would be completed with the pupils having an input in their own learning objectives.

I adopted a 'two stars and a wish' technique, writing down two positive comments and one target each time I heard a pupil. Pupils could then continually see where they were in their learning.

Class discussions are a great way to assess pupils, but find a structure you are comfortable with. Pupils are always keen to share experiences. The first time I allowed peer teaching, I thought that I would be sacked for allowing a class to just chat.

In order for it to work properly I had to give clear expectations and outline the short and long term learning objectives. The ethos clearly changed, although it did take much time and effort for me to feel truly at ease.

I give groups a focal point and get them to ask questions about the topic. Pupils in other groups then attempt to answer, or affirm that they too want to know the answer. Cognition can be assessed by listening to questions and answers, and viewing how pupils relate to the task.

Formative assessment saves you time and work. However it will cost you many hours of thought and practice in the initial months.

I've experimented with lots of different ideas, and have had to find ways of working that suit me. Something that works well for one person or class does not always mean it will work for another.

Parents' night

Summative assessment provides the evidence that backs up all your hours of formative assessment. At parents' nights, parents were always keen to see their child's work, but the biggest smile or grimace always came with the written assessment marks.

A steadily improving set of marks gives me confidence and this can be related to the parent. A steadily declining set of marks could indicate problems on any number of levels. One thing that we all have in common is that we want the best for the child.

I have enjoyed meeting all the parents throughout the year as I have always come across as being genuine about the needs of their child, and the parents will respect you for your sincerity.

Chris Mutch
Music Teacher
St Thomas Aquinas School, Glasgow

Top tip of the week: Be thankful for the staffroom

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 05:34:00 EDT

Teaching was never going to be the career with long lunches and champagne receptions. Make the most of staffroom lunches and in-service scones and cups of tea. Join the Hobnob club and appreciate the joys of a biscuit.

Your experience: Preparing for parents' evening

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 04:49:00 EDT

Beth Uprichard reflects on a busy week preparing for her first parents' evening.

When beginning this piece, "A week in the life of a probationer", I thought that the challenge was a bit of an oxymoron: for starters, what life?

And, secondly, the things we fit into one working week surely constitute two or three weeks' worth of work. That said, I thought it might be helpful for you and therapeutic for me to share the trials, tribulations, tears and terrors of my probationer year.

This week, week 12 of my teaching career, I undertook a right of passage as a teacher: my first parents' evening. As ever pure, unadulterated fear turned this normally rational person into an obsessive maniac.

Preparation countdown

The preparation went something like this:

Two weeks before: go through jotters, make notes. Despite recording assessments since week two, I suddenly act like I haven't a clue what my children were up to!
One week before: spoke to my mentor about how a parents' night operates just in case there is some huge ritual I was unaware of and would be expected to perform.
The day before: stay in school until six o'clock tidying my class including cleaning behind the computer. Obviously dust behind the computer means I am a terrible teacher!
The night before: go through my perfectly typed notes adding in extras, re-wording, re-phrasing and driving my partner to distraction.

I can't sleep as I'm planning speeches in my head: "Your child is a delight, could work a bit harder, finds it difficult to concentrate after lunch"

The big event

Finally, it has arrived. I manage to keep my class tidy by making full use of noisy quiet rooms, pitch time and the audio-visual suite and subtle threats to the children that if they make a mess I will tell their parent - evil but it worked!

Then it started: a steady stream of bewildered looking parents and pale-faced, terrified-looking children. Could it be that they were as nervous as I was?

As the appointments rolled on and I performed my well-rehearsed feedback about each child, I realised that most parents were relieved to hear that their child was progressing and was happy.

Surely it's supposed to be worse than this? Shouldn't there be tricky questions about the nature and delivery of the curriculum? What was I doing to promote inclusion and how did my lesson on angles fit in with the government's national priorities?

Reflection

As the last parent left my class and I debriefed with my mentor, I realised that actually this wasn't an exam and the parents aren't monsters who think I'm destroying their children but are, in fact, strange as it may seem, simply people who want their children to do well, progress and be happy.

Exhausted but contented I went home to reflect on the evening and yes by reflect I mean open a bottle of wine and get some sleep! Reflection will be done on a Friday afternoon during my 0.3!

Beth Uprichard
Primary Teacher
Tannochside Primary School, North Lanarkshire

Top tip of the week: Keep your private life private, especially on the web

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 04:35:00 EDT

Pupils have an insatiable thirst for details about your private life. Keep this to yourself unless you want it to come back and haunt you. The wonderful world of Bebo and Facebook can make your life just a Google search away for some pupils. Be careful what you publish on the web and any information you give out about yourself. Pupils talk to each other and the information held by one becomes the property of all.

Your experience: Blogging it

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 04:58:00 EDT

John Johnson, a teacher at Sandaig Primary School, finds that blogging is a way of breathing new life into the curriculum.

Despite what some educational consultants and gurus say, new media in schools is not a revolution. It is actually a natural extension of what we, as teachers, already do.

About 2 years ago I set up Sandaig Primary's first blog for my Primary 6 class. The idea was to give the children more ownership of the school website, and an increased audience and purpose for writing.

Boosting confidence

What was immediately apparent on setting it up was the pupil's enthusiasm. Online publishing changed the pupils' perceptions of work. Publishing their work not only boosted their confidence but also gave their efforts a purpose.

After blogging for a while some of the pupils' posts began to receive comments from around the world. This has had a positive effect on the pupils: as a teacher, my comments on their poems, for example, may be welcome, but it's even more encouraging to get praise from a real poet.

Recently I was introducing a primary four class to blogging as a shared writing activity using an interactive whiteboard. The children took photos of a wall display and together wrote a post describing them and the work involved in creating them.

Within a few hours they had a comment from a teacher in Slovakia asking if she could use the idea in her classroom. Another blogger on classroom displays also commented and asked permission to use the photo on that blog. A lovely "conversation" developed between some of the Primary 4 pupils (some from home) and the teachers involved, giving the children real validation and pride in their work.

Blogging as classwork

We have used blogs for creative writing, communication to parents from school trips, shared writing, consolidation of ideas and concepts for individual and group work.

Posting such work online is not a dramatic evolution; it's just another way of displaying and creating pupils' work. The web has become just another wall (albeit stretching the globe) on which to pin stories, essays, compositions and pictures. And blogs can breathe new life into tasks across the curriculum. For example, we include podcasts (audio which can be downloaded) on our sites.

Although pupils think they are making a fun radio show and learning about computers, they are in fact working on writing, talking and listening. The pupils involved are beginning to give each other valuable feedback. They willingly write and record in their own time, if necessary to get a program out in time.

Setting up a blog

Setting up a blog for schools need not just be for enthusiasts. The software is becoming easier and easier to use and, can be installed on school websites or developed for free through online services, some designed specifically for education.

For blogging all you need is an internet enabled computer; for podcasting, some free software and a cheap microphone. You also need a wee bit of enthusiasm to make a blog work for your pupils, and this may even mean using some of your spare time.

The value of blogging

Blogs have a value far beyond simply helping improve pupils' computer skills. In fact, it is not really about computer skills at all. Blogs give children a voice, build a sense of community and help make pupils feel more a part of the school. Also, parents are given a window to their children's' work and teachers can witness the unbridled enthusiasm of their classes for tasks that would normally elicit less enthusiasm.

For me, Sandaig Primary's blogs are just another teaching method, and one we have only just started to scratch the surface of.

Visit Sandaig Primary's blogs at www.sandaigprimary.co.uk

John Johnson
Primary Teacher
Sandaig Primary School

Top tip of the week: Pupils have no concept of time

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 04:49:00 EDT

It's always a good idea to have a clock in your classroom. Pupils have no real concept of time during a lesson and sometimes do really think the lesson is nearly over when you've only been in full flow for a matter of minutes. Time can seem like an eternity to your charges and they will constantly ask you what time it is or how long is left. You can just point to your clock and let them blame time itself for dragging - but remember to check on the clock at the end of classes as winding it forward may be tempting to some of your pupils.

Your experience: Inspiring the uninspired

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 03:48:00 EDT

Using an inspiring topic across different areas of the curriculum can help to keep pupils motivated. As a teacher, you always try to make your lessons as fun and interesting as possible.

I remember being in lessons I didn't enjoy, and I think we can all agree that it is rather de-motivating.

When I first met my class in August I was impressed with the general motivation in the class towards almost every curricular area. Maths lessons were always approached enthusiastically, and the children never lacked imagination in writing.

However, there was one area where the children seemed disinterested and lacked motivation.

Whenever I introduced reading comprehension exercises, I would get a bit of a sigh from the children. I was continuing to use the scheme the class had been following from the previous year, but I was not happy with their level of interest. I knew I needed to do something to make the children enjoy their learning in this area.

Finding inspiration

The children always really enjoyed listening to the class novel. They would ask lots of questions and maintain good discussion surrounding the themes of the book. In an aim to capitalise on this, I decided to have a trial run at putting together comprehension exercises from the class novel. Now all I had to do was wait and see if the response was more favourable.

When I mentioned the word comprehension I was met with the usual sigh, until I mentioned the name of the class novel when all of a sudden the children began to perk up.

I continued to explain the exercise, and I was met with the usual gasps of excitement I am used to in other areas! I was a happy teacher with a happy class!

Setback

But of course there was a little something I hadn't thought of.

I continued to build my comprehension tasks around the novel each week, and differentiated the work for each group. The problem I was beginning to come across now was not a lack of enthusiasm, but a tendency to rely on what they had remembered happening in the story, rather than answering directly from the text. I knew then that I had to change my tactic slightly.

From that week on I picked passages from the book that were quite obscure. This encouraged the children to look deeper into the text rather than writing down what they had remembered.

Benefits

I am really glad that I took the approach that I did. If I had kept plodding on with a scheme that the children were disinterested in, I don't think I would have seen the same results. Of course, what I am doing is time consuming but if it makes the children happier then it's worth it.

Probationer Teacher (primary), West Lothian

Top tip of the week: Stick to your lessons right up to holidays

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 04:20:00 EDT

Pupils are programmed to go into relaxed mode at the very sniff of a festival or holiday. They will convince you that it's time to make decorations for the classroom or to let them watch a DVD. For your own sanity, keep the curriculum going for as long as possible and keep the treat for the very last day. They will use your weaker colleagues, who have given in and have a classroom of paper bunnies depicting Easter, to bait you. They will bemoan your lack of festive spirit and indulge in tantrums and huffs. Don't weaken. After all, you can only watch Grease so many times.

Making time for reading

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 04:23:00 EDT

Karen Millar explains how making time for reading can reward both you and your pupils. I spent my first term as an NQT feeling harassed and frustrated with my P2 reading groups. The other NQTs I talked to were all in the same position and looking to improve it, just as I was.

I inherited five from the P1 set up and made an early decision to split my bottom group of six into a four and a two, which gave me six groups to deal with. School policy is to send reading home with every child twice each week and I was struggling to make time to hear never mind 'teach' six groups twice each week.

I wasn't enjoying it and I really felt that I needed to enjoy the activity in order to have that enjoyment of books rub off on the children. Having survived my first term and remained standing (and smiling) I set about making the reading group situation my top priority.

"Teaching" reading

I spent a couple of days going round the other infant teachers asking how they managed to 'teach' reading, manage their reading groups and maintain control over the rest of the class. The experienced voices fell into two camps:

those that were doing it the way I had been: slotting in a reading group as and when they could, but they agreed it wasn't satisfying
those that gave reading the place it deserves in the timetable and, if anything had to slide, they wouldn't let it be reading. Mmm, tell me more please . . .

Camp 2 talked me through some language activities for the rest of the children to keep them actively occupied and quiet whilst each reading group had their dedicated time with me. Although it all made sense and sounded fun it seemed like a total sea change to how I had the class operating at that time. Still this is the year to try things out so I went for it big time.

Materials

I spent a week looking at the last few reading books each group had read and reproduced a small part of some of the illustrations as:

picture pairs games
"finish the picture" sheets
"tell/draw me what happens next/before" sheets
"design a poster" sheets
"find me 'describing words' sheets" and so on.

I wrote the new vocabulary from previous books and the new sight vocabulary for each group on stepping stones: they play by laying out a line of stones upside down and have to turn one over and say the word before they are allowed to stand on it. The idea is to go from wall to wall by only stepping on the stones.

Groups

I already had CVC loop cards, word pairs, lotto games and word-maker wheels/sliders for the lower groups.

For my upper groups I photocopied some simple books they hadn't seen from the reading scheme without their first few, middle few or last few pages and the children have to write in a suitable start, middle or end for the book that makes sense and uses the characters already in the book. (Some of these are laminated so they wipe clean ready for the next budding author and save me more time.)

Materials

Along with alphabet-match, follow me, order cards, dot-to-dots, initial/end sound, and letter-blend dominoes, these provide the language activities for the children who will not be reading with me at that time.

The reading groups each have a colour-coded box that contains these quiet, independent, language activities for that week.

Making time

I timetabled the groups reading slots to be the first half hour in the morning and the half hour before lunch. These were times the children had been used to having a soft start and a wind-down play, so I had to be sure they understood the reason for losing the playtimes and that the activities that took their place were reasonably fun.

I explained to parents (in writing and in person at the recent parents' nights) that I was slowing every groups' reading books down to one each week, and the reason for this was that I wanted to look at each book in much greater depth.

I made a "do not disturb" sign for my reading table and explained the rules around only approaching us if the sign was on show if it was an emergency. We get every one settled to an activity at the start of one of the timetabled slots and I pull out reading groups and spend a lovely peaceful uninterrupted 15 minutes with each doing proper reading book activities.

The place to be

We've started small by only reading half the book and guessing what happens next, looking at the illustrated characters for facial expressions and using funny character voices, but it's been great fun. The children are loving it, I'm loving it. The independent activities are extending their reading and language skills and the reading table is the place to be.

Keeping up with new independent activities for each group is challenging but it's allowing me to enjoy 'teaching' reading and that's what the children need from me.

Karen Millar
Primary Teacher

Top tip of the week: Plan for delays

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 04:23:00 EDT

Make time during every lesson for handing out and collecting papers, getting started and summing up. Teaching is not a quick sprint. It's more like a marathon and you have to outlast everyone in the classroom. Take your time and make sure you have everyone in the race with you before you jog into the curriculum.

Top tip of the week: Get them engaged

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 05:58:00 EDT

Getting the whole class involved is always good teaching.

Ask questions and keep everyone's attention alert.

You may think that everyone is on board; but do not be surprised when an enthusiastic hand flies up only to ask a question that has little or no relevance to your subject.

Your lesson will not quite reach everyone.

You will seldom connect with all the brains in the room at the same time.

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

The General Teaching Council for Scotland joined forces with Bob Dewar, one of the UK's top satirical cartoonists, and the charity Education Action International to help support teachers in countries affected by conflict. The Council has published its popular and humorous tips for teachers in its first ever book entitled Top Tips for Teachers.

Top Tips for Teachers covers all sorts of tricks of the trade to help you cope with pupils, parents and the everlasting pile of marking. This book can save you from losing your dignity when all you want to do is hurl chalk at the board!

The tips are written by Glenise Borthwick, who spent nearly 20 years as a teacher, learning the hard way how to deal with the difficult moments. Whether you're new and nervous or already in charge of a classroom (and wondering how you got there!), her practical, wise and funny tips can bring a smile to the face of the most overwrought educator.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

Your experiences: Howdy partner!

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 04:55:00 EDT

I'm sure everyone on their probation year feels differently about the staff that they work with. I think that it would be fair to say that more or less everyone has somebody in their school that they can go to and ask those questions that you think anyone else would find a little silly. For me it's my stage partner.

Helping hand

Since I arrived in the school, she has been nothing but helpful. Always ready to lend a hand, and always checking that I am ok. I am starting to think that stage partners are a probationer's great untapped resource!

I feel that I am particularly fortunate as my stage partner is only a couple of years out of her probation period, so has a very clear image of what life is like as a probationer. But, if I take some time to think about what my teaching life would be like without her support, I think this years' experience would be completely different to the enjoyable experience that I am having.

Benefits

The benefits of having someone who is teaching the same stage as you are second to none. They can share in your success when lessons go well and, on the other hand, they can share your frustration when something falls flat.

From a planning perspective, I was really rather concerned at the prospect of doing forward plans, having never done one before, but with the help and support of my stage partner, I completed my plans successfully, and now feel prepared to independently do plans in the future.

Build a relationship

What I am trying to say to other probationers who have stage partners is make use of them! If you don't already have one, try and build a relationship with your stage partner, and make use of the vast range of commonalities that exist in your current teaching career.

Everyone knows that the probation year is not an easy one, but I really do know that without her help I would have found this year a great deal more challenging!

Probationer teacher
West Lothian

Share your experiences

You can comment on this article in the discussion forums.If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

Top tip of the week: 'Discourage desk blogging'

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 05:16:00 EDT

Discourage 'desk blogging'

Pupils like to partake in 'desk blogging' as often as possible.

One pupil will begin the conversation scrawled in pen on a desk and others will respond and embellish it with artwork.

Before you run out of clean desks, stop the conversations and wage war on the scribbles.

Think of ways to put their creative energies to better use.

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

August's monthly guidance: Starting out

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 05:30:00 EDT

Come August we know that you'll be excited as well as nervous at the prospect of starting your probation year. You'll have lots of new staff and pupils to meet, you'll probably be finding your way around a new school, and you'll want to make sure your new coffee mug stays in the staffroom. Make sure you take time to meet your colleagues and ensure you can put names and faces together.

Make seating plans for your pupils so that you learn their names as quickly as possible. Take the time to get to know your pupils. In the first few weeks, establishing good relationships is crucial.

You'll find the first few weeks in school can be very full on and more than a bit daunting. But, don't worry; this website is here to help you!

We'll be posting monthly guidance to help you through your probationary period towards full registration.

We'll email you a monthly newsletter to let you know when the new guidance is online, and you can also receive it through our RSS feed.

On the website, you'll find lots of hints and tips to help you prepare, as well as real-life experiences from probationers to help you see that you're not alone!

You'll probably want to check out some of these pages first:

Probation process will let you see what's coming up this term.
How to meet the SFR sets out the qualities and capabilities expected of you during your induction year and explains how you meet Standard for Full Registration.
Starting out hints and tips will help you survive the first weeks of term.
Your experiences will give you an insight into how recent probationers managed at the start of term.

Online Profiles

Throughout your probationary teaching year, you should be gathering information and evidence to prove that you are meeting the Standard for Full Registration (SFR). This is compiled and submitted to GTCS in the form of Online Profiles.

Accessing the Online Profile system

All probationers on the Teacher Induction Scheme (TIS) will be automatically registered on the My GTCS and Online Profile systems.

However, you will not be able to access the system until your local authority probation manager has created your profile and assigned you to a school, head teacher and supporter .

Once your local authority manager has done this, you will be able to log in by clicking on the Log In button at the top right hand side of the page of either the GTCS or Probationer Teacher Scotland websites.

To log in for the first time, you will use your GTCS registration number as both your username and password. You will then be taken to a security screen where you should enter your details and choose a new password.

If you do not have access by Friday 9th September, please contact your local authority probation manager.

More help and advice

Remember that there is guidance available on completing your Online Profiles. Specific information is available in the Online Profile system itself by selecting the "Guidance notes" link at the top of each page.

If you have any questions that aren't answered on the guidance notes then please contact us.

You can also visit the discussion forums to chat with other probationers.

Looking for last month's guidance?

The monthly guidance archive holds all the previous months' guidance, in case you've missed any of the monthly newsletters.

Your experiences: Positive behaviour management

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 07:21:00 EDT

Sara Kyle advocates the "firm but fair" approach and gets a gold star for has improving her pupils' behaviour.

As a young female teacher going into secondary education, I would often be asked by family and friends how I would control a class. I confidently replied that this would not be a problem for me and that I would be able to handle them perfectly well, thank you very much.

However, no matter how many times you talk about theories of behaviour management at teacher training college, nothing prepares you for that very first lesson when you stand up, all on your own, in front of 'real' pupils. Their faces are fixed on yours, beady eyes peering at you, waiting to pounce on any flicker of anxiety or weakness. Waiting for you to sink or swim.

The only option is to give them a record-breaking Olympic front crawl, complete with somersaults, and drown any doubt they ever had in you.

But, seriously, every teacher - especially probationers - needs a set of skills in their toolkit. So here are a few of mine.

Positive behaviour management

I adopt the positive behaviour management approach, aka "firm but fair". Consistency, as far as possible, is the key for maximum effect. Pupils respond well to knowing what to expect when entering your classroom.

This brings me on to setting boundaries. This was the first lesson I gave every class, even the seniors, as this explicit outline means no pupil can plead ignorance. There is a chance afterwards for a discussion and small amendments to be made, depending on the class.

So what boundaries do we set? This will vary depending on your school and their behaviour management policy and it is important to remember that we must act within these guidelines. However, that is not to say that in your own classroom you cannot add elements which will complement the whole school approach.

Class rules

These should be phrased positively and should be as few in number as possible. I outlined these from day one and they are prominently displayed on bright paper at the very front of the class. Whenever a child misbehaves, I remind them of our agreed set of rules and, in the majority of cases, this focuses them back on task.

My classroom rules are:

Do respect yourself and others
Do work to the best of your ability
Do listen when instructed to do so
Do put your hand up to answer

Classroom rewards

In the school that I am completing my probationary year in, there is a whole school rewards system in operation, which takes the form of positive referral, positive certificates and activity days.

I think this whole school approach is a very positive aspect and contributes greatly to the ethos of the school. However, the rewards are often at the end of term or the end of school year and so pupils have to wait to receive them.

I feel that a more achievable target is the use of classroom rewards, achieved by collecting gold stars. This is a contentious topic but I think they are good to reinforce and reward positive behaviour and effort in the classroom, so long as they do not form the sole basis of your behaviour management strategy.

A class should be told at the end of the period whether they have or have not achieved a star and a reason should be given. I have found that this approach is self-policing and helps pupils understand that their actions impact on other people.

The star chart is displayed on the wall and I have found that classes try to compete with one another to get the most stars.

Star value

I was worried that this system would be too childish, but my fears were alleviated on a rainy, dark Thursday afternoon, on the last period of the day. I had a grave situation on my hands: three S3 boys were arguing, very loudly, about who would put the star on the chart for that lesson.

This was my 'eureka' moment and it was then I realised just how much value they placed on them.

Sara Kyle
English Teacher
Blairgowrie High School, Perth and Kinross

Share your experiences

You can comment on this article in the discussion forums.

If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

Top tip of the week: You are very old fashioned; deal with it

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 04:48:00 EDT

As far as your pupils are concerned you are from another era, another mindset and often another planet.

Be yourself and rejoice in the very difference between you.

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

Top tip of the week: Don't be mistaken for a squirrel

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Fri, 20 May 2011 04:28:00 EDT

Rather than make camp in the storeroom looking at all the worksheets you've encountered at each school you've taught in, ask your colleagues what worked and what has value.

You will become overwhelmed as you look around the riches of support materials. Less is more, so select and dip in.

Carry only what you need and don't be found in the corridor with large black bags of worksheets and folders you're spiriting into the classroom like a squirrel.

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

Your experiences: self-evaluation

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Wed, 11 May 2011 07:16:00 EDT

Finding the right balance for your self-evaluation can be difficult, but peer observation is a great way to get fair and unbiased feedback on your teaching practice.

With the implementation of the Curriculum for Excellence in Scottish schools, it would be fair to say that self-evaluation is a big part of what can make a good teacher, a better teacher.

Self-evaluation is a tricky business: we tend to either be too easy on ourselves because we're in denial about our faults or we're too critical of things which may not even be relevant to help us with improvement.

As a probationer who has to constantly self reflect on my teaching practice (and a recent student taking part in the process for roughly four years) I think I have had plenty of practice in self-evaluation. This however, does not mean I am particularly adept at evaluating the most important aspects in my practice to move towards effective improvement.

Self-evaluation through peer observation

It can be difficult to judge your own strengths and weaknesses, partly because it is so difficult see ourselves as others do. Something we think may have gone quite well, could - to another person - be a lesson in need of major changes and vice versa.

This is where the role of peer observation and visiting other stages can be a vital tool in helping teachers to experience first hand some examples of good practice, as well as extending their own professional development by implementing what they have observed into their own classroom.

As one of my targets, I aimed to experience as much good practice within the school I am working in, by carrying out peer observations and working in different stages to help me reflect on my own practice as well as carrying forward different aspects I had observed. It's important to know about the new developments happening in and around your own school as well as the different stages.

Test the flexibility of your teaching style

This year, I've been in charge of a Primary 7 class but found it very useful to travel to Primary 1 and work with a class for the afternoon, and experienced differences in absolutely everything possible!

I worked with a Primary 1 group of children during their music programme to compare the style of communication adopted between teacher and pupil in the lower and upper primary levels.

When working with my own class (P7) it is easier to give instructions and the children are more capable of working independently (to a certain extent), but when working with the Primary 1 children, I found I had to completely change my communication style to meet their understanding.

Although they were able to follow instructions competently, I had to be careful of aspects such as my wording, body language and tone of voice, in order to convey what it was we were learning. It was such a change going from the P7s back down to the P1s, but it was an example of the major differences between the lower and upper stages, and how a teacher must rethink their whole teaching style to meet the needs of the children in their class.

This experience helped me to self evaluate the different styles of communication I use with the kids in my class and how aspects such as tone can change throughout the day in relation to the certain individuals or the amount of children being directly spoken to.

Put yourself under the microscope

Again, self-evaluation can be aided with the help of our peers. Inviting a trusted member of staff to observe your class and convey their thoughts on lessons can also help us to realise how to improve significant factors in our teaching practice.

The other probationer within the school recently observed me whilst I taught and gave me feedback on the pros and cons of my lesson. It was comforting to know we shared very much the same views although again, she gave suggestions on matters I had not even considered, and perhaps would never have crossed my mind had someone not mentioned them.

Keeping track of your progress

A final way to self evaluate is to keep a personal record of your progress. Since starting, I have taken part in daily evaluations, evaluating both the children's learning as well as my own. This gives me a written record of the progress I have made through out the year, and hopefully the improvements and will give me something to refer back to at the end of the year also.

However we progress throughout the probation year, self-evaluation is a necessary and valuable way to further our practice for the future.

Probationer Teacher

Share your experiences

You can comment on this article in the discussion forums.

If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

Your Experiences: Co-operative learning strategies

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 05:48:00 EDT

After a few weeks of settling in, learning pupils names, learning which forms to put the pupils names on when they misbehaved . . . I felt that I really should be looking to implement some new and adventurous teaching strategies and become a super-teacher! (Ha ha!)

In my eagerness, I joined a Co-operative Learning Group. This led to me discover the vast amount of resources available in my school and the variety of subjects they were being used in.

If your school is not the same, however, do not be put off: all you really need are some pupils and a small percentage of organisational skills (if you can get yourself dressed in the morning, you're fine).

Before you begin

A word of caution here! Before you do any type of group work, you should really spend some time going over how to work in a group.

It is amazing how quickly the pupils can identify how to behave in a group and yet they look at you as if you are an alien when you reprimand them for talking over someone. So, don't launch straight into ˜Today we are going to be doing group work and expect small hives of activity. I learned this the hard way!

Starting out

I was initially quite wary about using co-operative learning strategies in my classroom; it was too much to take. The concept of my pupils walking around the classroom and working together! I was picturing my curtains alight and me as an effigy.

As a result, I started off with small techniques, for example, asking them to line up in alphabetical order according to a category that you give them, such as last name, birthday month, last holiday, and so on. You then number them 1 to 4, and set out your groups (scan your line, if you have the usual suspects altogether at the start of the line separate them into different groups!).

To further complicate things you should tell the pupils that they have to do it silently, thus leading to all sorts of strange hand gestures, none of which are usually rude, miraculously.

Think-pair-share

Social skills need to be identified and this can even be done co-operatively, using the ˜think-pair-share" strategy. They have one minute to think on their own of all the skills required for group work; then they have one minute with their partner to discuss the requirements; then each pair is expected to contribute in a whole class discussion. Setting up co-operative learning by using co-operative learning, brilliant!

Now, once you have got them in their groups, the fun can begin!

Numbered heads

They should be numbered in their groups so that everyone can have a role, for example ˜Number Ones can collect the pencils. (You can give them address labels with their numbers on to avoid confusion!)

This is called ˜numbered heads", you can call out a random number from 1 to4 and they will be expected to report back to you the group findings. The uncertainty of who will be asked ensures everyone stays on task.

Encouraging participation

Another way to encourage everyone to participate is to give the group an A3 sheet of paper, draw a saltire cross on it and then each member will be responsible for their own quarter. It also makes it very easy for you to see at a glance who is on task or not as the case may be.

Try it and see

I hope this has inspired some fellow probationers to give co-operative learning and teaching a try. It really is worth adapting some of your lessons and you will be amazed at how something so simple can turn a practice exam paper or a ˜boring" topic into something that the pupils want to do.

Linsey Beattie
English teacher
Cumbernauld High School, North Lanarkshire

Share your experiences

You can comment on this article in the discussion forums.

If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

Your Experiences: Effective Behaviour Management

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Fri, 22 Apr 2011 05:38:00 EDT

Gregor Kirk explains what are his essentials for effective behaviour management

Having completed my dissertation that focused on children's perceptions of disruptive behaviour I felt I was well versed in the literature surrounding behaviour within the classroom.

Also throughout my four years at university I had encountered many different levels of disruptive behaviour and I was confident about entering my probation year in a single stream school in North Ayrshire.

It was on my first day however, as my first ever class of 23 boys and 7 girls entered the room that it dawned on me I had never set up a behaviour management system before. I had always started placements when the teacher had already put in the hard work to set these up. Fear gripped me as the noise level escalated and my four years of training went out of the window and I shouted rather loudly at them to be quiet.

My probation year has been the biggest learning curve and the best experience for dealing with disruptive behaviour within the classroom. There are certain things that I would never attempt again when dealing with behaviour and many more that I look forward to experimenting with in the future.

Below are what I consider to be my essentials for behaviour management. You have to find what works for you, your personality, school, classroom and children.

Know your children

Understanding your children I think is the most important aspect of behaviour management. Get to know your children and dedicate time in the first few weeks of a new session to building your classroom community with them. Find out how they respond as individuals to rewards and sanctions. Play around with your seating plan to identify a place for each child in the class where they can work with relative comfort and without distraction.

Have a behaviour management system in place

Most schools will have their own behaviour management system and if so then you should find out how it works within the classroom and use this system instead of creating one of your own. The children are likely to be familiar with it already and you can always alter it slightly to suit you and your teaching style. If your school does not have any system in place then create one and trial it within your classroom, this would give you a great CPD (continuing professional development) opportunity to implement your system across the school.

Set high standards

Over the course of this year I have set rather high standards for my children and I would say I can be strict at times. You should set clear class rules in consultation with your children and allow them to decide on the punishment for breaking these, if appropriate. It is my opinion that you should ensure these rules are followed at all times. If your children can see that you will not let the little rules be broken then they are less likely to push you on more serious issues.

Gregor Kirk
Primary Teacher
Fencedyke Primary School, North Ayrshire

Share your experiences

You can comment on this article in the discussion forums.

If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

Top tip of the week: Network like mad

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 04:48:00 EDT

Teachers are often allowed out to meet other teachers as part of in-service and Continuing Professional Development.

Make the most of the time and swap ideas, notes and good lessons. Network like mad.

Talk to the volunteers and not the conscripts who don't want to be there.

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

Tpo tip of the week - There's no reason to strain your voice

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 05:36:00 EDT

Don't shout.

Either speak normally or take your comment to the individual or groups you want to attract or inform.

Your voice is necessary for your job, so train your pupils to pay attention and keep your volume for the football at the weekend.

Warm up your voice before you get to the classroom either with your favourite tunes on the way to work or by practising your scales in the shower.

Pupils have no mercy when you lose your voice and will not be motivated if you only have a squeak.

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

Monthly guidance - April

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 04 Apr 2011 05:26:00 EDT

April - It's all about the Final profile!

As we've said before, it's important to update your profile as you go along. You and your supporter should have been logging in and updating your records on an ongoing basis, in order to reduce the pressure towards the end of term. Key Strengths and Areas for Development can be entered and updated throughout this period too.

Podcast

In this month's podcast Mairi gives hints and tips for ideas related to CPD.

Listen to the podcast

Completing your Final Profile

Depending on the Easter holidays, the next Observation (Observation 4) for your Final Profile should take place this month.

For Probationers whose progress is indicated in the interim profile as giving cause for concern or unsatisfactory, a second interim profile should already have been submitted to GTCS by 1 April 2011 -see January guidance . For those who completed an Interim 2 profile, the April Observation is Observation 1 of your Final Profile.

Even with various local holidays coming up, please try to maintain the three-weekly cycle of observations.

The advice that was given in the January guidance for the submission of your Interim Profile will also apply to your Final Profile, but the main difference is with your Professional Development Action Plan.

Review meeting

You should try to have a meeting with your supporter that has a more formal review focus and that is a Professional Development and Review. You might find it helpful to obtain input from other sources such as any independent observers, your teaching supporter or the headteacher in your school.

This progress review will give you a really good sense of how you have progressed during the induction year, how you have addressed your targets and how you have met the competencies of the Standard for Full Registration.

Professional Development Action Plan

The Professional Development Action Plan from your Interim Profile was automatically copied across into the Initial Professional Development Action Plan section of your Final Profile so that it could be used as a starting point for the next term. Therefore, as you read through your Final Profile, it should be evident that you have addressed the agreed targets and actions through your supporter discussions, CPD and observed sessions.

Feedback from your progress review meeting outlined above should also identify areas for you to develop during the next stage of your career. You should use the PDAP in your Final Profile to look to the future, making a link between the induction year and the rest of your career. The set of targets and actions that you identify here will enable you to make informed decisions about the professional development experiences that you will engage in during the next year and, perhaps, beyond.

More information on each of the sections of your Final Profile can be found in the Online Profiles section.

CPD

Primary teachers may now find opportunities for outdoor educational pursuits and activities. You may be able to provide help with trips, learn about planning stages, and experience outside the classroom. Primary teachers may also be given the opportunity to visit secondary schools.

Since classes may be on study leave, Secondary teachers will have more opportunities to become involved in a variety of tasks including whole-school activities, interdisciplinary working, school fetes, and the opportunity to visit nursery and/or primary schools in CPD time.

Change of address notification

Many of you might be moving once you reach the end of your induction year. It is vitally important to keep us updated with your address details. Certificates will be sent out mid-July so make sure we have your correct address by Friday 17 June to ensure that your certificate reaches you. You can change your address quickly and easily by logging in to My GTCS.

Further information

Remember that there is detailed guidance available on how to complete your Online Profile. This information is also available in the Online Profile system itself by selecting the "Guidance notes" link at the top of each page.

If you have any questions that aren't answered on the guidance notes then please Contact us.

You can also visit the discussion forums to chat with other probationers.

Your Experiences: Making time for reading

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 06:48:00 EDT

I spent my first term as an NQT feeling harassed and frustrated with my P2 reading groups. The other NQTs I talked to were all in the same position and looking to improve it, just as I was.

"Teaching" reading

those that were doing it the way I had been: slotting in a reading group as and when they could, but they agreed it wasn't satisfying
those that gave reading the place it deserves in the timetable and, if anything had to slide, they wouldn't let it be reading. Mmm, tell me more please . . .

Materials

I spent a week looking at the last few reading books each group had read and reproduced a small part of some of the illustrations as:

picture pairs games
"finish the picture" sheets
"tell/draw me what happens next/before" sheets
"design a poster" sheets
"find me 'describing words' sheets" and so on.

Groups

I already had CVC loop cards, word pairs, lotto games and word-maker wheels/sliders for the lower groups.

Materials

The reading groups each have a colour-coded box that contains these quiet, independent, language activities for that week.

Making time

The place to be

Keeping up with new independent activities for each group is challenging but it's allowing me to enjoy 'teaching' reading and that's what the children need from me.

Karen Millar
Primary Teacher

Share your experiences

You can comment on this article in the discussion forums.

If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

Top tip of the week: Have patience while they ramble on

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 06:15:00 EDT

Teaching is about patience.

Sometimes it will take your pupils a while to explain something to you and get to the point.

Sometimes there will be no point whatsoever.

The fact is you will have to listen to this and share a moment with them.

Find your caring side.

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

Your Experiences: Teaching on supply

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 05:29:00 EDT

Since the fourth week of term, I have been teaching in the Vale of Leven Academy in West Dunbartonshire. I teach five of my own classes in Maths from S1 through to S5/6 and can be asked to cover a few more classes in a week, and usually do.

I take part in the whole school community such as parents' evenings and charity events, extra curricular activities and supported study and have been able to attend some of the probationers' CPD courses offered by the authority.

I'm fortunate in that my school, and the authority, are very supportive and essentially treat me as a probationer, although I do have a full timetable and don't attend regular Supporter Meetings.

Starting out

In my first few weeks at the school, I found it very difficult to adjust: picking up from the previous teacher's work, learning the discipline policy and simply getting used to teaching again after the ten-week break between finishing my PGCE and getting a school to work in!

I was also used for cover more often than I am now, as I didn't have such a full timetable. As a result, I know my way around the school better than most teachers, I have seen how different subjects are organised and how some of my pupils relate to other subjects. This is good as most teachers don't get that opportunity.

I had to be careful not to fall into bad habits because when you are covering classes here and there, you can't recap the previous lesson or set realistic targets.

One of the most rewarding things I have found this year has been getting to know my pupils, as I had worried I might not be in the same school long enough. As it is, I have my own classroom, and feel very much a part of the school.

Top tips for supply teaching

From my experience so far, I have learned that some things are absolutely essential when teaching in general, but more so when on supply:

Stock up

Have your own supply of pencils, you might not be able to find them in someone else's classroom and pupil's rarely have their own!

Set the ground rules at the start of the lesson

Be clear that you expect the pupils to work well and have a game or quiz ready to play in the last 10 minutes if they work well.

Learn school discipline procedures early

Learn school rules as soon as possible and try to always carry some pink/yellow cards and incident reports with you. The last thing you want to worry about is where to find them when you really need them.

Have lessons prepared

Try to have some stand alone lessons and puzzles ready just in case pupils run out of work when covering classes, especially in the case of an unplanned absence when there is no work set for the class.

Use seating plans

Pupils are impressed if you know their names and it helps with behaviour management. If there isn't a seating plan, check the name on their jotter.

Be proactive

Being on supply means that you aren't entitled to a reduced timetable and won't have a specific mentor. You will have to be forthcoming in asking for CPD and observed lessons and get involved when you can!

Adopt the school you're working in

The more activities you get involved in, the more you will feel at home Pupils will recognise you from other areas of the school which will raise your profile with them and help you in the classroom.

Try to enjoy it!

It's not always easy, but neither is the probation scheme and keep in mind that the end result is the same!

Top tip of the week: Don't trust the glazed and nodding stare

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 05:41:00 EDT

Pupils have become very skilled at making you think they are interested and listening to you.

They look as if they are paying attention but are quite unconscious to everything going on around them.

Some call it a wakeful sleep - they can look at you and may even be nodding or smiling, but mentally they are still in their beds or at the concert from the night before.

This is not personal to you, the teacher. The problem is school-wide, as lessons get in the way of pupils' preferred activities.

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

Top tip of the week: Expect mixed feelings about displaying student work

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 03 Mar 2011 05:01:00 EDT

Suggesting to your pupils that you will display their work on the wall in full public view brings out the best and worst in them.

Some will be inspired to produce work that will be viewed with awe by others.

Some pupils will be appalled that their work will be on show at all.

Listen to pleas about displayed art and work with the volunteers.

Crucially, watch out for sabotage!

Jealousy can raise its head when artwork is compared; additions and comments can appear on the work that can offend or surprise.

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

Monthly Guidance - March

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 07:29:00 EDT

March - Supporter Meetings and Observed Teaching Sessions

This month you should look at how best to ensure effective use of your Supporter Meetings and Observed Teaching Sessions.

We have a new podcast covering the topics detailed below, which we recommend you take time to listen to. Previous months' podcasts will continue to be available from this link.

Supporter Meetings

From January to June we recommend 12 Supporter Meetings. As you near the final phase of the scheme, some may well feel less need for meetings. Remember, however, you have only been teaching (and only 0.7) for just about 7 months. Take advantage of the time allocated to you with an experienced supporter; this opportunity will not come your way again!

The Supporter Meeting is one in which you have a discussion focused on your progress in the areas identified in your Professional Development Action Plan. It is not the meeting you have with department or stage colleagues to discuss more general issues.

Meeting focus should continue to be clearly defined and limited to one or two key focus areas. This encourages discussion that is focused on progress in the specific areas of your action plan, and also helps to ensure that manageable points of 'agreed action' are identified. Look back at what you entered in your action plan, and make sure you are working towards meeting these targets.

Listen to our podcast.

Observed Sessions

From January to June we recommend 4 Observed Teaching Sessions. These are an important element of your professional development process, and an observation every three or four weeks should be maintained.

(Anyone completing an Interim 2 Profile should have 3 Observed Teaching Sessions entered, and the profile should be submitted at the end of March).

See advice for those completing their Interim 2 profile.

By now you will have had 2 Observed Sessions with your supporter, occurring in January and February. Your 3rd Observation is due during March. A suggested time scale is:

Week 1 - At the weekly meeting, identify the time and focus for Observation 3 for the next profile.
Week 2 - Observation 3 should take place.
Week 3 - Feedback from Observation 3 should be received.
Week 1 - At your weekly meeting, review the set targets and identify the time and focus for your next Observation.

Supporter Meetings should focus on professional discussion (standard-base discussion), rather than admin.

Demonstrating Broad Skills

We all know that pupils can have their good and less good times of the day, and that some classes can be easier to manage than others. However, you should use the Observed Teaching Sessions to demonstrate that you can work well with pupils at all times of the day, and with pupils in a variety of age groups.

It is therefore worth arranging your observations for both morning and afternoon sessions, and for Secondary teachers, with pupils from a wide variety of stages.

Ensure in Secondary schools that pupils are well prepared for SQA exams. Primary schools should look at being involved in Enterprise projects - perhaps for a spring fair.

Remember too that you should be learning by observing others. (This comes under "School CPD"). Have a focus in mind when you go to observe; ask yourself what you are going to watch in particular; afterwards, discuss with the teacher what you observed in relation to this focus, and how what you have noted will impact on your teaching. If it can be arranged, it is particularly useful for you and your supporter to observe a colleague together. The joint feedback/debriefing discussion after such an observation can provide valuable insight.

Job Hunting

Remember to concentrate on keeping your profiles up to date, especially CPD, because this important information can be transferred onto your CV. One of the functions of Profiles is that it allows you to build up information for your CV.

Overseas jobs have already started to appear in Times Educational Supplement Scotland (TESS) this month. TESS also features articles on how teachers have enjoyed teaching overseas; some like it, others don't!

Some Independent schools may start advertising now for the next academic session. As far as the Local Authorities are concerned, it is too early for them to know the staffing situation for the next academic session.

So make sure you sign up to as many job websites as possible. A good one is My Job Scotland.

If you are concerned about the current employment situation for newly qualified teachers, then please see our Job hunting section , which answers some frequently asked questions on this matter.

Further Information

Remember that there is detailed guidance available on how to complete your Online Profile. This information is also available in the Online Profile system itself, by selecting the "Guidance Notes" link at the top of each page.

If you have any questions that aren't answered on the guidance notes, then please contact us .

You can also visit the Discussion forum to chat with other probationers.

Top tip of the week: Try not to get songs stuck in your head

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 05:08:00 EDT

Music is infectious and you will end up humming a tune that you picked up simply by passing a pupil humming it in the corridor.

It will stay with you all day and you will seriously doubt your sanity when you find yourself indulging in your Dirty Dancing routine in the book store.

Stay professional, stress free and fight the urge.

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

Your Experiences: Being a parent and teacher

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 21 Feb 2011 05:27:00 EDT

Patricia McKinnon discusses the pain (and pleasure) of being a probationer teacher and a parent.

When I first sat down to write about the highs and lows of being both a probationer teacher and a parent I had to think . . . what are the highs?

There is no denying that this is a demanding year for all probationers. It's also perhaps fair to say that being a parent can be difficult enough without the added stress of being in a job where you have this long period of being "on trial".

Without the support of my mum, I would never have embarked on this choice of career. I have an 8 year old son, Euan, and if I had to worry about childcare issues every day I would be unable to focus on my teaching.

Lessons in guilt

There is a double-edged guilt that comes from working full time when you have a young family. Leaving school I see the younger, child-free teachers working diligently on their lesson preparation.

By the time Euan and I have gone through our evening routine of homework, dinner, packed lunches, Cubs/judo, bath and bedtime reading, I am drained and find it almost impossible to begin working on my lessons.

I sometimes feel I am doing my pupils a disservice. But it has to be done and I attempt to do as much of it as I can in school.

One of my fellow probationers told me that she goes to bed at the same time as her kids, and then gets up very early in the morning to prepare for school. She also said that cutting back on caffeine has helped her to remain relatively stress free.

Talking it over

Having someone to talk to about my day helps me to unwind. My mum, a retired English teacher, fits the bill perfectly.

However, as she pointed out to me, after a few weeks of gushing forth as soon as I came in the door, Euan had been waiting impatiently for me to arrive so he could tell me about his day. He would interrupt and act up while I spoke to my Mum.

When I thought about it, I could actually identify with this as I remember feeling resentful of the children my mum spent her days with while I was still in primary school and she taught in secondary school.

A more tolerant parent

It's not all bad news. I believe that as a mother I have a greater sympathy and understanding of my pupils than I otherwise would.

A sort of sixth sense seems to guide me to prevent me from making precarious situations worse with some of my more challenging pupils.

I am also convinced that teaching has helped me to be a better, more tolerant parent.

And, last but not least, what other job can guarantee that you will always have the same holidays as your children? Although you will have to pay top whack to travel abroad at peak times, would you rather have two weeks of rest and four weeks of frantic child care arrangements? I don't think so.

Patricia McKinnon
Home Economics Teacher
Vale of Leven Academy, West Dumbartonshire

Share your experiences

You can comment on this article in the discussion forums.

If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

Top tip of the week: Practise care in social chats with parents

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 07:39:00 EDT

Be wary of social chats with parents and never say how much like his father your pupil is.

Nowadays there are too many options in relationships, and the person in front of you may not be the real father.

You may be the cause of an argument and some real hurt that the parents take home.

Think carefully and keep to the curriculum.

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

Your Experiences: Journey to excellence

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 06:20:00 EDT

In some staffrooms the mention of the word 'excellence' has been known to send shivers down the spines of otherwise confident individuals. As a fresh faced probationer teacher I had taken it as my duty to pursue and achieve excellence wherever the opportunity presented itself.

During teacher training, positive feedback from tutors, principal teachers and those teachers who occasionally handed over their reins, buoyed me with a sense of achievement. It made me wonder: was this excellence?

The same year provided shelter from numerous, less positive, things:

completing registers
course planning
credit removals
credits gained
chasing up punishment exercises
creating seating plans
collecting evidence for learning support
parents' evenings

I arrived for my first day brimming with confidence and awaiting initiation to my pursuit of excellence. Being presented with the sole responsibility for ten classes has led to the inevitable pursuit through, and I apologise for the cliche, mountains (and mountains) of paperwork.

Several strategies, tips and pieces of advice have helped me to manage the administrative duties associated with classroom teaching, thus preventing disruption to the effectiveness and enjoyment of my teaching.

Talk to people

I've had the fortune (and occasional misfortune) to be in a department where three quarters of the staff arrived as new to the school as me. This helped me feel less like a stranger and less conscious of asking for advice.

I found that I was being asked for advice or my opinion on certain subjects. There's nothing quite like the feeling you get when your principal teacher tells you that a suggestion you made at a departmental meeting was excellent.

Most of my key strategies for coping (especially with those admin mountains) are the products of discussions with my departmental colleagues. Make your voice heard, regardless of how 'set in their way' your department is.

Make the most of your (precious) time

The major downfall with time in school is that there isn't enough. There's a limit to the number of tests or homework jotters you can mark in a non contact period and only so many formative comments you can write.

Of course, someone else might have other plans for this precious period of your time. Preparing resources for your PT or running errands for the office staff have a habit of cropping up (and it's always best to remain on the right side of these people).

My organisational skills couldn't always cope with this and three or four non-contact periods would pass with hardly any completed work to show: a crime, looking back upon it.

Take note: the 'to do list' is a wonderful invention, offering clarity about what needs to be done. Find a pukka pad, a jotter, fold a bit of paper or use a post it. It may be used for prioritising or reminding, target setting or planning. Most importantly, crossing something off when completed is very satisfying.

Set clear, visible targets to be achieved during non contact time.

Routines, routines, routines

Routines are not confined to the four walls of the classroom. Make one stop to the school office every day, one to your mail box and one to the canteen, preferably all on the same run.

With the quantity of tasks I am often juggling it's little surprise that I occasionally forget one. Completing daily admin work at the same time every day (normally half past three) forges a routine that is quickly burned into the memory.

In the classroom, I attempt to issue and collect homework at the same time during every lesson, reminding myself and the pupils that homework is due. Leave a box out at the beginning of the period for pupils to drop their homework in as they enter the class. They soon make a habit of this and it saves having to remember to collect it during the period.

Become IT-friendly

Enjoy a more eco-friendly approach to file management (I shudder to think of the number of trees I have been presented with this year). File results in MS Excel, write memos in MS Word, encourage staff to email you.

I was shocked by the amount of paperwork sent my way and it seemed like a thankless task during those first few weeks to manage it. Most of it goes in the recycle bin now after being stored, filed and catalogued away on a PC (and backed up, of course).

It takes seconds to launch a file in Word or Excel as opposed to ten times this amount of time to rifle through bundles or folders of month-old papers glued together by the resultant coffee stains of another late night's marking.

Get involved

There are times that you may feel like the sky is falling in whilst you juggle your tasks. This shouldn't prevent you from becoming involved in whole school life.

Some of the most rewarding highlights of my year so far have been experienced outside of my own subject and, as such, I have met pupils and enjoyed activities that I would have no other way of experiencing.

Continuing the journey

I'd be lying if I laid claim to any achievement of excellence as yet. I've had lessons where I've left the room or workshop believing that I've witnessed excellence in my pupils. I've produced resources that the whole department have used, commenting upon how excellent they are.

I believe that I have contributed effectively to the work of the department and the life of the school, have learned successfully how to make learning fun and have taken my responsibilities seriously.

Hopefully, when I finally reach the peak of that mountain of paperwork at the end of the session, I shall have found the confidence to manage it and will be set to continue my journey in the world of teaching.

Stuart McGougan
Technological Education Teacher
Kilmarnock Academy, East Ayrshire

Share your experiences

You can comment on this article in the discussion forums.

If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

Top tip of the week: Your disorganisation is a waste of time

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 07:17:00 EDT

Always try to set a good example to your pupils by being organised.

They get to know very quickly that they can waste time at the start of the lesson while you rummage in your desk and cupboards looking for jotters, worksheets and books.

They will entertain themselves while you retrace your steps trying to work out where you left a mark sheet or lesson plan.

Remember to rise with dignity if you are under your desk in search of the elusive paperwork, and watch out for the drawer that you've left open.

Pupils will ask to see the bruise!

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

Your Experiences - Recording your professional development

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 07:31:00 EDT

Recording ongoing evidence is a key part of teaching, writes Julie McGarvey.

One question nagged at me all morning on the first day of the probationary year, the same one that had been gnawing at me all summer: can I do this?

All sorts of scenarios of what I was about to experience were playing in a loop inside my head involving words like profile, portfolio, professional development, but I needn't have worried.

Throughout the year there were many opportunities, both formal and informal, to share my own experience with colleagues, observe experienced teachers in class and, in turn, be observed occasionally by my principal teacher (PT) and SIM (one of the deputy heads).

Colleagues in the school were happy to pass on resources, strategies for classroom organisation, cups of tea and hot tips on how to manage that scary S3 class.

CPD

I found a wide variety of CPD workshops to be worthwhile and, it seemed that each was specifically designed to keep this probationer sane.

On offer were workshops and presentations in:

inspiring learners
voice enhancement
interview techniques
pupil reports
writing the Final Profile
behaviour management
maintaining sanity

Through these I felt I was able to transfer skills and strategies demonstrated into my own teaching. I could project my voice, handle low level disruption - I could do anything!

I still dreaded the words Continuing Professional Development and flinched at the mention of Interim and Final Profiles!

Building my CPD Portfolio

My PT, and the SIM, were happy to advise me on all aspects of the portfolio. I was given opportunities to reflect on my ongoing experience and progress through informal chats with my colleagues in school.

I spoke with my fellow probationers at CPD meetings, social outings and late night phonecalls that usually had something to do with, you've guessed it, how to manage that scary S3 class.

Throughout the year my principal teacher was supportive and friendly, the department well organised and the staffroom a pleasant place to be. My colleagues were supportive and most importantly of all the pupils were manageable and pretty eager to learn.

Looking back I had some memorable experiences with scary S3, most of them positive. I dreaded my first parents' evening, but I drove home smirking at a joke one mother had told me.

The pupils are unique and so is the experience. Wherever you live your probationary year, enjoy it and remember: you can do it!

Julie McGarvey
Home Economics Teacher
Craigroyston Community High School, Edinburgh

Share your experiences

You can comment on this article in the discussion forums.

If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

Top tip of the week: Don't let the crime scene go cold

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 04:58:00 EDT

Keep your worksheets clean and graffiti-clear by checking them as they come back from the class.

Images you have carefully chosen for your worksheet can have artistic embellishments added and words changed so that your sheets are verging on pornographic.

There's no use getting angry next time you go to use them and they have football scores, details of classroom romances and modern art adorned across them.

You will never find out who caused the damage no matter how good your detective skills are.

Crime scenes go cold the longer the case goes on, so be on top of the damage and vandalism.

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

Top tip of the week - Monitor group discussions

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 06:33:00 EDT

Pupils have an amazing ability to keep to the topic of their group discussion whilst you are within earshot and go back to analysing the primary seven romances when you are not.

You will need strategies to keep them on track.

Try timing discussions, watching them at different intervals whether you can hear them or not, or asking them searching questions.

Remember the Pinkerton's Detective Agency motto: 'The eye that never sleeps.'

Just don't get too carried away with your plotting and scheming to keep within earshot, because it will scare the pupils.

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

Monthly guidance - January - Cause for concern information

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Wed, 05 Jan 2011 06:01:00 EDT

For Probationers whose progress is indicated in the interim profile submitted to GTCS as giving cause for concern or unsatisfactory, a second interim profile should be submitted to GTCS by 1 April 2011. This is to be completed in the same way as the profile already submitted. The information in this second profile should carry on from the first and there should be a weekly meeting of supporter and probationer and minimum of three observations completed.

You should meet, discuss the way forward and be clear about your agreed targets. Below is a suggested outline which allows 3 observed teaching sessions before your profile is due to be submitted. The dates themselves are not important; the 3 weekly pattern should be followed.

The following is a suggested timetable based on a 3 weekly cycle:

W/ c 24 January At weekly meeting, identify the time, class and focus for Observation 1
W/ c 31 January Observation 1
W/c 7 February Feedback from Observation 1 to be completed
W/c 14 February At weekly meeting, identify the time, class and focus for Observation 2
W/c 21 February Observation 2
W/c 28 February Feedback from Observation 2 to be completed
W/c 7 March At weekly meeting, identify the time, class and focus for Observation 3
W/c 14 March Observation 3
W/c 21 March Feedback from Observation 3 to be completed.

Observations should have a very limited and specific focus, directly linked to your PDAP and decided by you and your Supporter during your Supporter Meeting discussions. These targets that you identified at the end of your interim 1 profile are the ones you should be concentrating on meeting.

There should be an obvious relationship between your PDAP and your CPD. It should be your PDAP that drives your CPD. During the period that you address a CPD focus, you can use the tracking record Appendix II: Self-Evaluation Templates (MS Word, 127KB) to record your engagement with the process of CPD. This will include your evaluation of how it has impacted in your professional practice and how your CPD was focussed on in Supporter Meetings and Observed Sessions. It is important that the weekly Supporter Meetings are continued. Meetings should have a pre-arranged focus that has been decided by you and your Supporter. The majority of these meetings should have a very limited and specific focus that is directly linked to the PDAP that you devised (although, on occasion, the PDAP may need to be adjusted as you progress).

A record should be kept of your Supporter Meetings on the 'Supporter Meeting Notes' section of your Online Profile. This should include the actions to be taken as a result of the discussion to ensure you are progressing in your professional development. Remember too that you should be completing your profile as you go along, rather than waiting until the last moment.

Please note that Unsatisfactory Progress or Cause for Concern in the first interim profile does not necessarily mean that you will not meet the Standard for Full Registration in your Induction year. In the past, probationers have taken the advice of their supporters on board at this stage and gained full registration in July.

If you would like to discuss any of this further, please do not hesitate to contact me.

mairi.mcara@gtcs.org.uk or 0131 314 6050

Online Profile: the next stage

Depending on the recommendation you received on your Interim Profile, your Second Interim Profile or Final Profile will be automatically generated in your Online Profile.

Those with a "Cause for concern" or an "Unsatisfactory" recommendation will be given a Second Interim Profile, which is due for submission in April. Please see the guidance shown above.

Those with a "Satisfactory" recommendation will be given a Final Profile, which is due for submission in May/June. Please see the Online Profile section for information on how to start completing this.

It is extremely important that you complete your Profile as you go along, rather than waiting until the last moment. Many of you will have experienced a last minute dash because the profile was not completed each week. Try to build this into the time allocated to you and your supporter. One of our bloggers suggests that 22 minutes per week will keep the profile up to date.

Managing your professional development in 2010

For many of you the start of this second phase of your induction year will no doubt feel a little less daunting than when you started in the summer. The work that you put into completing your Interim Profile should have given you an opportunity to take stock, note your progress and make plans for the next phase. At this point, it is also worth remembering how you should manage the process of your induction.

Timetable

Please remember that the Timetable arrangements for the induction year are an important aspect of your professional development experience. The expectation is that a maximum of 0.7 FTE (and a minimum of 0.55 FTE) of your timetable should be spent with you taking sole responsibility for your class(es). The remaining 0.3 FTE of your timetable should be spent engaged in CPD experiences including observing your own and other classes. You will learn most from seeing teaching and learning taking place. This is fundamental to the design of the scheme.

Where this is compromised, you are not adhering to the requirements of the induction experience and can jeopardise your chances of successfully achieving full registration at the end of the year. Most timetable queries will have been dealt with in the first term, but you should still feel confident that your timetable arrangements from the last term remain appropriate.

Professional Development Action Plan (PDAP)

The Professional Development Action Plan from your Interim Profile will be automatically copied across into your Second Interim Profile or Final Profile in the Initial professional development action plan (IPDAP) section so that it can be used as a starting point for this term.

Having completed your first profile, it is important that you demonstrate that you are continuing to work towards meeting the SFR. Ensure that what you have identified in your PDAP is what you are focussing on meeting.

CPD

There should be an obvious relationship between your PDAP and your CPD. It should be your PDAP that drives your CPD.

In the same way that you addressed your CPD requirements in the first term, you should now select an initial focus for your CPD and record it in your CPD Record.

During the period that you address a CPD focus, you can use the tracking record in Appendix II: Self-Evaluation Templates (MS Word, 127KB) ) to record your engagement with the process of CPD. This will include your evaluation of how it has impacted in your professional practice and how your CPD was focused on in Supporter Meetings and Observed Teaching Sessions.

Supporter Meetings

It is important that the weekly Supporter Meetings are continued (approximately 12 are recommended in the January to June period). Meetings should have a pre-arranged focus that has been decided by you and your supporter. The majority of these meetings should have a very limited and specific focus that is directly linked to the PDAP that you devised (although, on occasion, the PDAP may need to be adjusted as you progress).

A record should be kept of your Supporter Meetings on the Supporter Meetings section of your Online Profile. This should include the actions to be taken as a result of the discussion to ensure you are progressing in your professional development.

Observed Teaching Sessions

Similarly, it is important that the Observed Teaching Sessions are continued; four are recommended between January and June.

Observations should have a very limited and specific focus, directly linked to your PDAP and decided by you and your supporter during your Supporter Meeting discussions. These targets that you identified at the end of your Interim Profile are the ones you should be concentrating on meeting.

You should keep a record of the feedback that your supporter provides in the Record of Observed Teaching section of your Online Profile.

Online Profiles

The Online Profiles section details the requirements for recording your information. This is a key aspect of self-evaluation and it is important that you continue to compile a neat and succinct professional development portfolio.

This portfolio provides the evidence that is required for completing your Final Profile. We were generally very pleased with the way the Interim Profiles were completed and we urge you to maintain this standard for your Final Profile.

Further information

Remember that there is detailed guidance available on how to complete your Online Profiles . This information is also available in the Online Profile system itself by selecting the "Guidance notes" link at the top of each page.

If you have any questions that aren't answered on the guidance notes then please pld@gtcs.org.uk.

You can also visit the Discussion forums to chat with other probationers.

Your experiences - Using CPD time effectively

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 23 Dec 2010 06:28:00 EDT

At the start of my probation year my 0.3 non-contact time was a whirlwind of planning, familiarising myself with the schools resources and making more of my own. I felt so lucky to have this time and wondered how I would manage next year without it.

Now, more than half way through the year, I manage to fit all my planning and resourcing into one afternoon, leaving me with a free day to pursue other CPD activities.

This is a real advantage of the probation year and a few of my colleagues have even admitted to being jealous of the opportunities I get.

Observing others

After the Christmas break, I made my New Years resolution to get into as many other schools as possible to see what's going on, make contacts and compare and evaluate my own teaching.

So far I've managed to keep my resolution and am really enjoying it at the same time.

I've shadowed a few colleagues in my own school, who have been the source of many new ideas and inspiration which I have taken back and used in my own classroom. I've even managed to adapt ideas from a P7 classroom to use with my P2 class.

I have also been to some other primary schools to see infant departments that are beginning to integrate a Curriculum for Excellence and active play. This was an extremely interesting experience, which I was then able to take back to my own school and share with my infant department.

Although the ideas were at first met with trepidation, the fact that I could tell everyone of a working example, provided the others in my department with a little much needed confidence.

Decide on a focus

I've decided to focus on writing as I shadow in different schools across the stages. So far this has been and interesting investigation, which has provided me with many ideas and models of good teaching.

I've learned of so many different ways of teaching writing, such as using carousels, paired and shared writing, writing that stems form drama and even poetry that was developed from a music lesson!

After beginning this investigation I have changed the way I plan my own writing lessons and the way I teach them. I believe that implementing these ideas has improved my classes writing skills greatly.

Moving forward

My advice to all probationers would have to be to use your 0.3 time in the first term to find your feet and get your head around forward plans and resources.

After Christmas start planning to use it for all these excellent opportunities that you will never be able to take advantage of again.

The next activities on my list include, observing writing in a secondary school with S1 pupils, visiting an additional support needs school for children with profound learning difficulties and finding out more about teaching writers craft lessons to P2!

Kate Thomson
Primary Teacher
Craiglockhart Primary School, Edinburgh

Top tip of the week: Plan for delays

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 06:25:00 EDT

Make time during every lesson for handing out and collecting papers, getting started and summing up. Teaching is not a quick sprint.

It's more like a marathon and you have to outlast everyone in the classroom.

Take your time and make sure you have everyone in the race with you before you jog into the curriculum.

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

Top tip of the week: Have your classroom ready and open for business early

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 06:20:00 EDT

Arrive before your class and have the room open and ready to receive your students.

More disagreements happen in the corridor than anywhere else in schools and it starts your lesson off badly if you have to intervene in a war of the words between two pupils not willing to back down.

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

Monthly guidance - December - Completing and submitting your interim profile

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 06:12:00 EDT

As you near the end of this term you will be finishing off your interim profile and getting ready to submit to GTCS.

Professional Development Action Plan (PDAP)

Your IPDAP should have identified targets. In your supporter meetings, you should have been talking about these and your progress towards meeting them should have been noted in your observed teaching sessions. You should have been addressing these identified targets through your CPD and now your supporter is drawing all of this together in writing up your key strengths and areas for development. You may have a self evaluation form in school but it may help you to look at the suggested self evaluation template to fill in your PDAP.

Although this is a particularly busy time of year, it is really important to stop and reflect. Looking over the Interim Profile that you have compiled over the past few months together with feedback received will give you a good sense of your progression and give you some direction on areas for improvement.

The final section of your interim profile is where you look to the future and identify your PDAP for the next term. This plan should be discussed and agreed upon with your Supporter to ensure that the targets and actions are realistic.

Submitting your profile

Once all the sections of your profile have been completed and signed off, they will show as green on the status bar. You will then be able to submit your profile to your supporter for recommendation via a link (indicated by a green arrow) on the main menu page under the status bar.

Once your supporter has made the recommendation, your Headteacher will be asked to confirm (or override) it. Your profile will then be available for your local authority probation manager to view and submit to GTCS. Log into MYGTCS to find out who does what.

What happens next?

Once your profile has been submitted to GTCS, you will gain access to your final profile or your second interim profile as appropriate:

If the recommendation is satisfactory, you will be given access to the final profile.
If the recommendation is cause for concern or unsatisfactory, you will be given access to a second interim profile to be submitted around Easter. In this case, the final profile will cover the period from Easter to June. Guidance will be provided by GTCS. Please remember that this Induction Year is a formative assessment process. If some concerns are identified at this stage, you still have time to address these in order to meet the Standard for Full Registration by the end of the session.

See Signing-off and submitting your Profile for details on how your profile is processed.

End of term

Christmas is a time for relaxation and contemplation of the year ahead. It's also a time for end of term DVDs, parties and music in the classroom. Tips in the Preparing for Christmas break section highlight the need to have a strategy in place for coping with the end of term.

Preparing for next term

It is worth taking some time to ask yourself what you would like to achieve and how you are going to make use of all the parts of your professional development experiences, including:

your teaching practice (0.7 FTE)
your CPD Experiences (0.3 FTE)
Supporter Meetings
Observed Teaching Sessions
self-evaluation

This will help to ensure you make the most of the rest of your Induction year.

Finally, remember and take time to relax enjoy the Christmas break so that you come back refreshed and energised for the new term.

Further information

If you have any questions that are not answered on the guidance notes then please contact us.

You can also visit the discussion forums to chat with other probationers

Top tip of the week: Listern to both sides of the story

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 06:27:00 EDT

No matter how angry you are, always let your pupils tell you their version of events.

What you see going wrong isn't always the full story.

Even the worst pupil in the room can sometimes be the innocent party, although all your instincts will not be in their favour.

You hold the scales of justice in your hands. Use them fairly and don't let stress and exhaustion colour the truth.

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

Your Experiences: Managing behaviour of primary pupils

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 22 Nov 2010 06:37:00 EDT

Managing behaviour of primary pupils

One probationer shares some of her behaviour management techniques.

As every probationer knows, it is difficult to judge being new to the profession exactly what behaviour management tactics to use.

To start with, your knowledge of both the profession and your class is limited. Also, it may well be that strategies that you have used on your placements no longer seem fit for purpose when it comes to your class.

Bad behaviour can be good experience

During my PGDE year, I was placed in exceptionally deprived areas and, by my final placement, I was tired of being placed in schools where behaviour was a real issue. Looking back now, I realised that I had been fortunate and that these experiences resulted in me banking a wealth of behaviour management techniques.

So, if you are finding that you are working with a particularly difficult class, stick with it and speak to your schools BeCo (Behaviour Co-ordinator). These are invaluable and will provide you with some tried and tested strategies.

Never assume that the grass is greener on the other side. I absolutely loved my year of placements in deprived areas, which forced me to address issues such as behaviour management. I feel that, had I not had to deal with these problems, I would not have felt as prepared as I did when entering my probation year.

I am now based in a school where behaviour is not really an issue. Of course, there is low-level disruption and noise levels are an ever-dragging issue, but I miss the challenge of dealing with difficult behaviour. It really keeps you on your toes, and makes your day that little more interesting.

Tips for managing behaviour

For those of you that are dealing with difficult behaviour, here are a few tips that I have picked up along the way. I have used these in my classrooms and they have guaranteed results.

Primaries 1/5

Each week, you choose a child that you feel has worked exceptionally hard or demonstrated positive behaviour, and over the weekend you give them a teddy bear home with them, along with a disposable camera and a diary.

On Monday, the child talks about their weekend adventures with the teddy. This gives the child a real sense of achievement, and every child tries really hard to get to take the teddy home.

You can also display the photos up on the wall, constantly reminding the children of the fun they can have with the teddy bear. I have found that this works particularly well for children in primaries 2/5.

Primaries 6/7

The upper school can be tricky when it comes to behaviour management, but I have found that the best thing to do is to really treat them like adults.

Give them a choice, and make it clear that if they want to continue behaving negatively then they will not be able to attend football practice, sports tournaments or other extra-curricular activities, and follow this through. Although managing behaviour effectively is not about punishing your pupils, it is important to show that persistent negative behaviour will not be accepted and that decision to change is theirs.

Similarly, I advise modelling positive behaviour. Try 'Star Pupil Day': on this day make sure the pupil in question is literally given star treatment. Make them a warm cup of hot chocolate at storytime and allow them to sit wherever they want. I found that this worked wonders on my final placement.

Keep it up!

I hope you find these strategies helpful. I know at times it can feel like you are pulling your hair out, but stick with it and be sure to take any help that is offered. Remember that we are new to the profession; we cannot be expected to have all the answers, but we are gaining more experience with every day.

Share your experiences

You can comment on this article in the discussion forums.

If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

Top tip: Don't shout

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 18 Nov 2010 05:36:00 EDT

Top tip of the week

�

Don't shout

Never start off your relationship with a new class by using volume over reason.�If you start to teach in a loud voice you've got nowhere left to go when you are really are angry or need to catch someone's attention.

The quiet voice of reason often wins over the sharp shout, less strain for you too. A loud classroom develops the "pub syndrome" by the end of the lesson everyone's shouting to be heard!

Top tip of the week: Go green

webservices@btinternet.com — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 07:00:00 EDT

Go Green

Recycle in your classroom.

Have a bin for cans and one for paper.

Make a lesson out of it.

Draw the line at having to go into your bin at the end of the day with your rubber gloves to separate the apple cores from the chewing gum.

You can do your bit without having to handle the paper hanky full of chewed pizza remains.

��

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week�are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

The General Teaching Council for Scotland joined forces with Bob Dewar, one of the UK's top satirical cartoonists, and the charity Education Action International to help support teachers in countries affected by conflict. The Council has published�its popular and humorous tips for teachers in its first ever book entitled Top Tips for Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from�Luath Press and all good book shops.

�

Your experiences: At the halfway mark

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 03:48:00 EDT

At the halfway mark!

Nearing the end of her probationer period, Gillian Mackay-Moen found herself reflecting on her experience so far.

Halfway through the probationer year I was able to stop and think about what I'd achieved.

Relationships with colleagues

The staff at Murrayburn had always been extremely welcoming and approachable. My time at the school was an exciting journey where I was constantly developing professionally.

I'd built up a good rapport with staff, parents and pupils and continued to do so throughout my time at the school.

Shadowing

Shadowing provided an invaluable opportunity to learn from others which I have found to be very beneficial. This is one of many opportunities I would like to develop professionally and I plan to take many more to become the best teacher I can be!

CPD

Inset days and Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses allowed me to gain knowledge on A Curriculum for Excellence and Assessment for Learning, to name but two.

I was constantly learning, the knowledge gained allowing me to further develop and to meet the needs of children within my class.

Support

I was also very grateful to Cally Fraser, my supporter, who provided the guidance, support and advice required to complete the year as a probationer teacher.

Gillian Mackay-Moen
Primary Teacher
Murrayburn Primary School, Edinburgh

Share your experiences

You can comment on this article in the discussion forums.

If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

Top tip of the week: Be careful what you search for

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 06:13:00 EDT

Be careful what you search for

You now have the world at your feet in terms of information through the Internet.

When you are surfing in your everlasting quest for more information for your lessons and ideas for the curriculum, be careful what sites you venture into.

It can be very difficult explaining to the IT people at school why that woman in the red dress is dancing about on the screen and refuses to be deleted and why exactly you were on so many sites looking for a Swedish partner in your attempts to find a school for pen friends for your class.

Think where you are going - records are kept!

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

Top tip of the week: A clever way to avoid the rollercoasters

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 06:35:00 EDT

A clever way to avoid the rollercoasters

School trips will test you to your limit.

Do not consider it beneath you to hold coats and bags whilst pupils and more adventurous staff members hang upside down on gravity-defying rides, screaming their heads off.

You are safely on the ground keeping your dignity and your dinner down.

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

Your experiences

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 06:23:00 EDT

Communicating with pupils

Building a rapport with pupils is vital writes Lucy Murray.

As a PGDE student, our longest placement is only five weeks. Now entering the sixth week of term and my longest stint as a teacher so far, I am realising how far we have come as a class.

The one main difference between this year and last is the relationship I have now established with my class.

Through all of my placements, although I was able to develop a rapport with the children, I think we all knew I would be leaving soon and I was only a passing visitor.

Now as a full-time teacher, I am realising the true strengths of developing a strong relationship with the class and the lasting effects this can have.

Bonding

From week one, I made a great attempt to establish bonds while setting a good standard for the year. The key to this, I feel, is listening.

Being able to ask the children how their dog is after an illness, or if they had seen the latest episode of a favourite television show allows them to see you as a person and them as a child out with the confines of the classroom.

A great difference is their need to know about my life and who I am when not with them in our primary 5 world.

Behaviour

I have found that the behaviour of the class and the respect developed is far greater than even the most well behaved class I borrowed over my student year.

They want to behave for you and see you as their leader rather than someone to rebel against, with the obvious exceptions!

Recently, I have been dealing with children going through various issues both in class and in school, and I feel by developing a strong link with them, we have been able to overcome the problems far quicker.

Some things I recommend include:

Allow the children a time in the week to tell their stories and experiences outside the classroom.
Listen to their stories and news (they will always know when your mind is on other things). If it's not related to the lesson we're doing, I ask them to keep it until after the lesson, when I'll be able to listen properly. This helps avoid distraction techniques.
Remember the little details about their lives: news about granny or pets names. It makes them feel special and valued.

Keeping it personal

I hope I can continue to keep a personal touch in the classroom and encourage the children to respect and understand each other as a means of creating a peaceful and calm classroom.

Lucy Murray
Primary Teacher
Kirkcaldy West Primary School, Fife

Share your experiences

You can comment on this article in the discussion forums.

If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

Top tip of the week: Be constructive, not destructive

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 05:27:00 EDT

Be constructive, not destructive

You must do a number of things to keep parents away from your classroom door with a complaint.

Do not be disparaging about a pupil's personal appearance, their home, the wallpaper they covered their jotters with (which was lovingly placed on the lounge walls at home), their choice of holiday or the family's inability to control their pets, which are working their way through your pupil's jotters.

Think how your snide remark can be interpreted and remember an angry parent will want you to justify your comments.

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

Monthly Guidance

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 06:22:00 EDT

October

Your probation year so far has no doubt been crammed with experiences: some of them enjoyable and motivating but also some that did not go quite to plan.

At this stage of the school year you will be looking forward to the October break. Make sure you make time to do something you enjoy and find time to relax. This will help you feel refreshed when you go back to school.

The beauty of post-October break time is that you have already done a lot of the hard work: you have got to know your pupils, established class rules and settled into a routine. You can now look to building your experience throughout the year.
The school year will have lots of ups and downs. It is important to reflect on your experiences and think about what you can take from them so that you can develop your practice.

Remember, there are lots of other people on the same journey, check out some of the Your experiences articles and Blogs and vlogs posted by other probationers.

Progressing your Online Profile

By now you should have the following information on your Online Profile.

Personal Details

The Personal Details should be verified by you. If there are any changes to be made, please get in touch with your local authority and let them know.

Initial Professional Development Action Plan (IPDAP)

The IPDAP should have been discussed at one of your early Supporter meetings and you should be working on the identified actions.

Timetable

Your timetable should now be completed and signed off by your supporter.

Supporter Meetings

You should now have a few Supporter Meetings recorded. These should be written up and submitted for sign off after each weekly meeting.

Observed Teaching Sessions

Observed Teaching Sessions should be carried out on a three weekly cycle. These should be written up and submitted individually following each observation. You should aim to have five observations recorded on your interim profile before you submit it at the end of this term.

Remember… It is all too tempting to let deadline day draw nearer but the easiest way to complete your profile is to update it regularly. Try to allocate a bit of time (half an hour) each week to keep it up to date.

Further information

Remember that there is detailed guidance available on how to complete your Online Profiles. This information is also available in the Online Profile system itself. You should select the Guidance notes link at the top of each page.

Please remember you can visit the Discussion forums to chat with other probationers.

Looking for last month's guidance?

The monthly guidance archive holds all the previous months' guidance, in case you've missed any of the monthly newsletters.

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Your Experiences: Meeting the Parents

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 07:13:00 EDT

Meeting the parents

What does a pirate's chest have to do with a parents' afternoon? Valerie Stoddart explains.

Talk about being thrown in at the deep end. I was filled with trepidation when the new headteacher announced that she intended to carry on with the parents open afternoons in the school, a mere two weeks into my first term as a probationer.

Preparing for the parents

Although I was naively under the impression that I had a little longer before things like parents' nights began, I decided that if I could stand up in front of 28 nine year olds on a daily basis then meeting the parents was bound to be a piece of cake!

What I forgot about was the fact that they would be sizing me up and seeing was I going to be good enough for their "wee angel".

For moral support, I invited my 0.3 teacher to sit in and told her to feel free to join in at any time. I also decided that it would look more professional if I had a set of notes to refer to so that I didn't forget any important information.

The noise in the classroom was almost deafening. I resorted to shouting "3, 2, 1..." and I got absolute silence. I praised the children on how well they had trained their parents. Several parents smiled and this helped to break the ice.

The children were then taken off to the hall for some singing and games for half an hour and my interview began.

Pirate's chest

Within minutes I felt surprisingly relaxed and in full flow, sharing all the school housekeeping with the parents. Then it happened: my first faux pas. I announced that I would show them "my chest".

The room erupted as I held my hands up and apologised, saying that I would dig myself in deeper if I continued. I had actually been talking about my red pirate's chest where I keep my glove puppets!

Then a parent asked about my Talking Boxes. I encourage the children to fill these with things they wish to share with the rest of the class. They're then given centre stage as we share and listen to their news. Even the shyest child in the class has been desperate to get a turn.

I then proceeded to turn around and announce, as I bent over to pick up my pirate's chest, that I would show them "my big chest". Again, I was mortified!

Feedback

Luckily, the headteacher was quick to come in after they had all gone and said a number of parents had commented that I "had done really well and seemed very nice".

The next week another parent told me that she had gone rushing off home to tell her husband the story and said to him that I had a nice sense of humour and she felt their daughter was going to have a good year.

So all's well that ends well.

Going forward

It will be extremely interesting to see how the parents feel towards me as the year progresses as this was my first experience of meeting with them.

I hope that I will be able to build up positive relationships with them all over the coming months, as I have done with the children, and that they in turn will feel comfortable that they can come in to discuss their child's development with me.

Just don't forget your sense of humour this year as a probationer you'll need it!

Valerie Stoddart
Primary Teacher
Aboyne Primary School, Aberdeenshire

Share your experiences

You can comment on this article in the discussion forums.

If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

Top tip of the week: Always stay alert

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 30 Sep 2010 06:05:00 EDT

Always stay alert

It is your duty as a teacher to look motivated, keen and enthusiastic. If you look sleepy, bored or just not interested then your pupils will take their lead from you.

Feel warm in the thought that you can feel what you want inside but not reflect those thoughts on the outside. The general always has to enthuse the foot soldiers, so play your part in the classroom.

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

Useful Links

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 06:08:00 EDT

Useful links

Curriculum

A Curriculum for Excellence
A Curriculum Framework for Children 3-5
5-14 National Guidelines
Interchange Documents
Click Thinking (Scottish Government website)

Teaching and learning resources

Becta (Government's lead agency for information and communications technology in education)
Bond (free maths and English resources for 5-11 years)
Glow
Gaidhlig air-loidhne
Gaelic Multimedia Resources
Primary Resources
Resources from Learning and Teaching Scotland
SEN Teacher for Students with Special Needs
Sparklebox (free foundation and KSI resources)
Support for New Teachers (Learning and Teaching Scotland website)
Teachit (resources for English, drama and media studies)
Teaching Ideas for Primary Teachers
www.ehomework.co.uk

Education news

Times Educational Supplement Scotland (TESS)
BBC News - Education
The Guardian (Education)

Classroom organisation and management

Scottish Schools Ethos Network
Learning and Teaching Scotland
Primary Resources
Teachers' TV

Behaviour management

Anti Bullying Network
Better Behaviour Better Learning Report (Scottish Government website)
Better Behaviour Scotland (Scottish Government website)
HandsOnScotland

Support for learning

Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004

Pupil assessments

Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA)
Assessing our Children's Educational Needs: The Way Forward? (Scottish Government website)

Job hunting

Job opportunities (current local authority job opportunities)
My Job Scotland

Professional development

A Teaching Profession for the 21st Century
CPD Scotland

Research

Scottish Council for Research in Education
ESRC Teaching and Learning Research Programme
Research at Learning and Teaching Scotland
National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER)
British Educational Research Association

Professional support

Scottish Secondary Teachers' Association (SSTA)
Scottish Technology Teachers' Association
Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS)
National Association of Schoolmasters Union of Women Teacher (NASUWT)
Voice: the union for education professionals

Government and professional bodies

Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education
The Home Office
Citizens of a Multilingual World (Scottish Government website)
Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA)
Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCIS)
Scottish Government
Local authority probation managers
General Teaching Council England
General Teaching Council for Wales
General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland

Your experiences: Building relationships with parents

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 06:10:00 EDT

Melinda Ruskell explains why it's important to build positive relationships with parents.

During my teaching career my views on parental involvement have developed.

As a newly-qualified teacher I admit to being rather scared of parents, viewing them as critical and demanding. I'd dread the appearance of a parent at my door at the end of the day, or a phone call, believing that such contacts could only mean a complaint!

Following a very challenging first year in teaching and a number of less than positive encounters with parents, I decided that I needed to involve them in my behaviour programme from the start of the new term.

Behaviour contract

With the school's support, I sent home a behaviour contract during the first week of term, which parents had to discuss with their child and sign.

I also sent home a welcome letter telling parents a little about myself and outlining my intended projects, homework expectations and other practical information, such as when we would be doing PE.

During the first week I sent home a certificate praising each pupil for the good start they had made to the term. The reaction from parents and pupils was very positive and I felt I had laid good foundations for further communication.

Contacting parents to celebrate and share successes makes it a lot easier when you have to get in touch to sort out more difficult issues.

By communicating your behaviour expectations and consequences with parents you are valuing the role parents can play in supporting the teacher to fulfil their child's potential in school.

Dealing with angry parents

It would be naive to think that communication with parents will always be positive.

If an angry parent does arrive at your classroom door it's vital that you do not deal with them on your own. Asking a colleague to step into the room and sending for the head teacher is essential.

Very little will be achieved by trying to reason with parents when they are upset. Suggesting that they arrange an appointment in the morning with the head teacher to discuss the issue is one way of getting them time to calm down and reflect on the situation.

Parental anger is not always directed at you, but can often be the result of having to deal with the backlash that difficult situations can have on the home.

One of the most common causes of such anger is when a child has been in a fight in the playground. In these situations I try to phone both sets of parents to explain that there has been an incident and what action the school has taken.

I also ask parents to discuss the incident with their child and to go over the behaviour rules that have been broken.

Parents' evenings

Parents' evenings provide a formal opportunity to discuss a child's progress and for parents to view their child's work.

"It's important to start with the positives at parent meetings"

There should be no real surprises waiting for parents at these meetings. Finding out that their child has behaviour problems at parents' evening, or is struggling academically is distressing for any parent. These issues should be shared and solutions discussed as soon as they arise.

It's also important to start with the positives at parent meetings. I always begin by asking parents what they think of their child's work, and then outline what I see as their achievements (however small!) before raising possible areas for improvement and areas where parental support is needed.

Involving parents

In my previous school we held "bring our parent to school days" in the infant department with parents spending a morning in the classroom actively participating in their child's learning experience.

This scheme proved so successful that we decided to extend it to include the older classes. At some time in the school year pupils wrote to invite their parents or carers into the classroom to view some of their work

Of course, there are some parents who seem reluctant to become involved in school no matter how hard you try to involve them.

For some parents their own experience of school was not positive. I've spoken to several parents who have admitted to being very nervous about coming into school, that coming in to see the teacher or head teacher brought back memories of their own school experience.

The teacher is often viewed as the expert and many parents are happy to defer to this expertise. It's important to make parents feel valued for the contribution that they can plan.

Sendng out a list of suggested ways parents can become involved in your classroom work can help. Asking for help with projects is one way of tapping into the skills parents may have â€“ and teachers may lack!

These are just some of the ways to build good relationships with parents.

Melinda Ruskell
Primary Teacher
Stobhill Primary School, Midlothian

Share your experiences

You can comment on this article in the discussion forums.

If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

Top tip of the week: Eager pupils can be like clinging koala bears

webservices@gtsc.org.uk — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 05:33:00 EDT

Top tip of the week

Eager pupils can be like clinging koala bears

Younger pupils like to get your attention without waiting a turn.

They will pull your clothes, tap your arm, drape themselves over your desk or demand eye contact. Get them into the habit of raising a hand. That way you can move around the room without a pupil attached to you. Watch out for raised hands and respond to these when you can.

Watch out for the half raised hand - that shows there's been a time lapse in getting attention.

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

Top Tip: Some days you're super, some days you're not

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Tue, 07 Sep 2010 07:56:00 EDT

Some days you're super, some days you're not

Teachers are like changing room mirrors to pupils. Some days your pupils will see you as the super duper teacher, your knickers on the outside of your trousers, your cape flying in the wind. Other days you will be the irritating blob there to make their life a misery with dollops of pain and mental agony. The truth is you are both. That's teaching!

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

September's Monthly Guidance for Probationers

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 05:27:00 EDT

Monthly guidance for Teacher Induction Scheme probationers

This section will act as your online support network, guiding you through your probationary period towards full registration.

The monthly newsletter and RSS feed will keep you informed of when this area has been updated with new guidance information.

September - Developing a routine

Your first few weeks in school will have been very busy but, hopefully, you'll be getting into the swing of things now.

Your probationary process should follow a structured process, which is outlined on the Probation process page.

Timetable

A full-time teacher has 22.5 hours of class contact time. The Teacher Induction Scheme requires this time to be broken up as follows:

Maximum of 15.75 (0.7 full-time equivalent) of sole responsibility class contact time
6.75 hours (0.3 full-time equivalent) CPD time

More details can be found in the timetable section.

It is important to note that your teaching time should not be more than 0.7 as this is against your conditions of service. This applies to the full probation year. Any problems should be directed to your Supporter, Headteacher and Local Authority Probation Manager (in that order).

Supporter Meetings

One of the main elements of your CPD in the probationary period is your weekly meeting with your in-school supporter. During September you'll begin to have regular Supporter Meetings and you'll start to draw up your Initial Professional Development Action Plan (IPDAP).

Your IPDAP should detail the targets and actions you seek to meet from September to Christmas.

Further information

Please remember you can visit the Discussion forums to chat with other probationers.

Looking for last month's guidance?

The monthly guidance archive holds all the previous months' guidance, in case you've missed any of the monthly newsletters.

Top tip: You can't always get what you want

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 04:24:00 EDT

You can't always get what you want

There will be days when you will have to change a lesson because something hasn't quite worked out the way you want or pupils haven't responded in the manner that you expected. This happens no matter how experienced you are. Classes can have group moods, individuals have 'off days' and external events will impact on your lesson. Always have another lesson ready to substitute. No good performer goes on stage with one joke, regardless of the audience. Learn to read the mood of your class but remember to keep to the curriculum and your own forecasts and plans too.

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

Top tip: Check all worksheets before they're handed out

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 06:04:00 EDT

Top tip of the week

Check all worksheets before they're handed out

As if teaching was not stressful enough, machines do their very best to cause you to move ever closer to that scream in the bookstore. Photocopiers have a capacity to lie about the number of sheets they print out. You press ten; they give you eight and two blank sheets neatly hidden in the pile you have just given out to the class. Pupils do not like sharing and disagreements over ownership break out across the room. A blank sheet given to a pupil very quickly converts into the latest MiG fighter plane that comes screaming across the room towards you or lends itself to a life drawing of a member of your class. Check sheets before they go out and try not to kick the photocopier next time you have those sharp-toed shoes on.

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

Top tip: Hormones run high

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 03:58:00 EDT

Hormones run high

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

Top tip: Keep their eyes open and eyes forward

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 26 Jul 2010 04:30:00 EDT

Top tip of the week

Keep their eyes open and eyes forward

Teachers are often accused of disturbing their pupils' natural school-time sleep cycles. Students can be triggered off to sleep by certain words in the teacher's vocabulary such as work, think, revise or effort. It will be your duty to keep them awake so they can engage with the curriculum. Eyes open and eyes front for everyone!

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

Top tip: When tempers flare, address the problem with a cool down time

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 04:39:00 EDT

Top tip of the week

When tempers flare, address the problem with a cool down time

Temper will overtake all sense some days, often for a good reason. If you feel you are getting close to the edge of sanity, don't go for a big confrontation in the classroom. Take the pupil out for some cooling down time. The issue will get worse if the whole issue explodes in front of the whole class. Your blood pressure will suffer, and the lesson will be ruined. Really serious issues just have to be dealt with there and then and the rest of the class has to see that certain behaviours cannot be tolerated. Try not to take the whole issue home with you, going over what could have been done to resolve or even prevent it in your head. Bad situations just happen because a cocktail of conditions have taken place. Learn from it and move on. Take 'you' home and leave 'them' behind.

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

July's guidance for Teacher Induction Scheme probationer's

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 05:05:00 EDT

Monthly guidance for Teacher Induction Scheme probationers

This section will act as your online support network, guiding you through your probationary period towards full registration.

The monthly newsletters and RSS feed will keep you informed of when this area has been updated with new guidance information.

July - End of probation

The end of term is finally here, and for many of you that also means the end of probation.

For those probationers who have been recommended for full registration, your Certificate of Full Registration will be sent out in July/August to the address we have held for you on the Register.

New beginning

On behalf of GTC Scotland, we would like to congratulate you on successfully completing your probation period and wish you the very best of luck in your teaching career.

You can access the latest news and information from the GTC Scotland through the GTCS website, www.gtcs.org.uk, and Teaching Scotland magazine or www.teachingscotland.org.uk.

Best wishes,
Probationer Teacher Scotland

Looking for last month's guidance?

The monthly guidance archive holds all the previous months' guidance, in case you've missed any of the monthly newsletters.

Top tip: You can't win the pencil war

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 05:26:00 EDT

You can't win the pencil war

Pencils and the trauma of pencil borrowing will play a large part in your teaching career. You can go down the road of marking 'your' pencils, of buying easily identifiable pencils and pens, of counting them in, out and around the classroom. But ask yourself this question: 'Is it better to make them responsible for having their own pencils or will you always give them yours?' Pupils like pencils and they will like your pencils no matter how dog-eared they are or how ghastly they look. Many have the red pens straight out of the bookies, other the pencils from Ikea. As long as they are able to write, be pleased. Good luck in the pencil wars.

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

Top tip: Keep an eye on the staffroom notice boards

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 05:51:00 EDT

Top tip of the week

Keep an eye on the staffroom notice boards

Teachers don't read notices on staffroom walls. Unless your staffroom wall is updated regularly, information that goes on it will be lost in a time warp. Watch out for the staff party pictures, which get sneaked onto notice boards. You may not look your best photographed under harsh lights when you were obviously trying to focus after a small sherry, but swallow your pride and enter into the spirit of staffroom community.

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

Top tip: Get them engaged

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 04:30:00 EDT

Get them engaged

Getting the whole class involved is always good teaching. Ask questions and keep everyone's attention alert. You may think that everyone is on board; but do not be surprised when an enthusiastic hand flies up only to ask a question that has little or no relevance to your subject. Your lesson will not quite reach everyone. You will seldom connect with all the brains in the room at the same time.

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

Top tip: For some unknown reason, pupils will sabotage your plants

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 05:06:00 EDT

Top tip of the week

For some unknown reason, pupils will sabotage your plants

It's always a nice idea to have a plant in your classroom as it gives the room that 'cared for' look. Sadly, some pupils have a need to pull off leaves and what was your pride and joy can become an unsightly stick by the end of the first term. They don't have a personal vendetta against foliage; it's just too tempting a challenge for them. Don't take revenge by introducing hostile plants with spikes,or you'll find yourself removing spikes and thorns from over-reacting and explaining yourself to parents.

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

Top tip: There's no reason to strain your voice

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 31 May 2010 04:33:00 EDT

Top tip of the week

There's no reason to strain your voice

Don't shout. Either speak normally or take your comment to the individual or groups you want to attract or inform. Your voice is necessary for your job, so train your pupils to pay attention and keep your volume for the football at the weekend. Warm up your voice before you get to the classroom either with your favourite tunes on the way to work or by practising your scales in the shower. Pupils have no mercy when you lose your voice and will not be motivated if you only have a squeak.

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

Peer to Peer - Planning for CPD

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Fri, 28 May 2010 06:28:00 EDT

Peer to Peer- Planning for CPD

As your probation year ends, you'll be looking to the future. Remember to include CPD in your plans

As your probation year ends, many of you will be looking forward to a well deserved rest. It is important to revive yourself during your break and prepare for future challenges. You can also take advantage of the summer holidays to broaden your knowledge. Often the best ideas arise when engaged in other experiences, so you never know what great inspirations for classroom teaching and learning will come.

As you look towards cultivating your future career, it is worth reflecting on your CPD experiences during your induction year and look at how you can take responsibility for your CPD in the future. The first few years of your career will see you developing your practice and reinforcing your Teacher Induction Scheme experience. However it is vital that you source opportunities to keep up the CPD habit now that you no longer have the dedicated 0.3 time.

Once you have your teaching career established, you may wish to pursue one of the following routes:

Professional Registration/Recognition - this gives you the opportunity to add another registration subject or to gain recognition for particular expertise. Looks great on your CV!
Chartered Teacher - once you have reached the top of the salary scale, you may wish to pursue this option. It is aimed at teachers who wish to remain in the classroom and will increase your pay.
Standard for Headship - this may seem a long way off but who knows what the future may bring, you could be a Headteacher in the making!

Note : ensure you meet any entry conditions.

Further information on all of these can be found on the main GTCS Website.

Regardless of where your teaching career takes you, GTCS will be with you every step of the way.

Top Tip: There are more options than right or wrong

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 24 May 2010 04:32:00 EDT

Top tip of the week

There are more options than right or wrong

Don't always have only one correct answer in mind. If someone is close but not quite there give praise. If pupils realise that they can only be right or wrong, those who will only be in the vicinity of the answer will give up. Let them know you appreciate the journey and not just the arrival of an answer.

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

Top tip: Pupils have no concept of time

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 17 May 2010 04:48:00 EDT

It's always a good idea to have a clock in your classroom. Pupils have no real concept of time during a lesson and sometimes really do think the lesson is nearly over when you've only been in full flow for a matter of minutes. Time can seem like an eternity to your charges and they will constantly ask you what time it is or how long is left. You can just point to your clock and let them blame time itself for dragging - but remember to check on the clock at the end of classes as winding it forward may be tempting to some of your pupils

Reflective Teaching

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 13 May 2010 07:21:00 EDT

Peer to Peer

You will constantly be reflecting on your teaching. However, as the end of your probation year draws nearer, it is worth taking extra time
to review your experiences and think about how these have developed your practice. Here are some ideas:

Pupil Reflection

Encouraging your pupils to reflect will not only develop their skills, but may also give you some food for thought. It is worth asking them what they felt was useful and what they understood best. This will consolidate the lesson for them while you can then use their feedback to improve your teaching.

The disaster lesson!

We all have them - the lesson that just didn't go as planned. Try not to let it get you down. Instead, think how the lesson could have been made to go well and to general principles you can apply in the future. The experience will then become very useful to you, allowing you to develop your practice.

Research and reading

Research, reading and talking with colleagues all help your practice. Once you have tried a particular idea, remember to take time to access impact and consider value. It may be worth keeping a few notes as you go. If possible, try to discuss the impact of the lesson with colleagues who may have been present. This will allow some high-quality reflection. Always remember what works for one teacher may not work for another. Think about what you can take from the experience and how you may adapt it in the future to make it work better for you.

Of course there's no better CPD than that learned from experienced colleagues. So thanks to Iain MacInnes, who contacted us after the peer to peer column in the last issue. He said that in addition to the points made in the column, he feels joining a professional association is a great way to further your experience and professionalism. We're very grateful for this input and would encourage all of you to share your thoughts with us through our Teaching Scotland website

You can also read our previous Peer to Peer advice: Building your Experience

Top tip: Discourage 'desk blogging'

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 13 May 2010 05:48:00 EDT

Top tip of the week

Discourage 'desk blogging'

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

Learning through the Expressive Arts

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 11:18:00 EDT

Emma MacCallum shares her experience of teaching an environmental studies topic through the Expressive Arts.

I embarked upon a research project as part of my probationary year and decided to look at learning through the expressive arts. I have a p4/5 class of 20 children who all seem to love music, drama and art and I felt that I should give them an opportunity to show off their talents! Our environmental studies topic for the term was the Scottish Wars of Independence and I decided to teach this topic through the expressive arts which resulted in our class producing a play.

Our first step was to create the script. I wrote a basic framework as obviously the children did not have sufficient topic knowledge to do this independently. However I created one section of each of the six scenes for the children to write themselves. I incorporated this into writing skills the children had been working on. They put much more effort into the writing knowing that their work would become part of our play. I think that giving them responsibility at this early stage was an important contributing factor to its success.

For the music we looked at well known songs and adapted the lyrics to become relevant to our topic, we sang Bannockburn to the music of Waterloo for example! I also began to utilise the musical skills of the children in my class (and their parents). The children showcased musical abilities in drumming, playing harp and recorder. In addition to this I enlisted the help of a parent who played the bagpipes to add extra authenticity to our production! The children loved learning the songs and often spent their Golden Time and playtime rehearsing independently which confirmed to me their engagement. The children made up their own dances to accompany the songs and one of my colleagues choreographed battle scenes using creative dance.

Over the term, the children worked really hard on every aspect of the play, they designed scenery, learned lines and wrote letters inviting people to come to the performances. The children performed their play over two days to full audiences . Feedback from parents was excellent. Everyone commented on how much their children had enjoyed this project and how much they had learned from it. The play also acted as a fundraiser for a school trip to Stirling so that the children could see first hand the places we were learning about. We raised over �230 from ticket sales and generous donations.

The play was a huge learning curve for not only the children but for myself as well. It was a lot of work, sometimes stressful but all worth it in the end!

Emma MacCallum
Primary Teacher
Guardbridge Primary School, Fife

Top Tip for Teachers: Go Green!

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 11:17:00 EDT

Top tip of the week

Go Green

Recycle in your classroom. Have a bin for cans and one for paper. Make a lesson out of it.

Draw the line at having to go into your bin at the end of the day with your rubber gloves to separate the apple cores from the chewing gum though. You can do your bit without having to handle the paper hanky full of chewed pizza remains.

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

Top Tips for Teachers

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 11:03:00 EDT

H2>Stick to your lessons right up to holidays

Pupils are programmed to go into relaxed mode at the very sniff of a festival or holiday. They will convince you that it's time to make decorations for the classroom or to let them watch a DVD.

For your own sanity, keep the curriculum going as long as possible and keep the treat for the very last day. They will use your weaker colleagues. who have given in and have a classroom of paper bunnies depicting Easter, to bait you. They will bemoan your lack of festive spirit and indulge in tantrums and huffs.

Don't weaken. After all, you can only watch Grease so many times.

Tips on marking and assessment

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 11:02:00 EDT

Tips on marking and assessment

Here, Blair Paterson gives his top tips to future probationers about marking and assessment.

Speak to your mentor about what systems are in place for assessment - is there a whole school policy in place? Your mentor should be able to advise you on this, being your first point of contact as a probationer.
Be up to date with Assessment is for Learning - this is the most important strategy you will use in reporting and recording assessment this year. Be aware of the strategies.
Use your 0.3 to observe teaches using these strategies - watching colleagues is by far one of the best ways I have used my 0.3 time this year.
Get the pupils highly involved in this - I regularly have pupils peer assessing and peer marking their work. It allows you to observe how they are doing there and then, and also avoids the dreaded pile of marking at the end of the day.
Be selective with detailed marking. For example, in writing lessons, I will assess half the pupil's work, with the other half assessed by the pupils themselves. This allows them to be more actively involved in their learning.
Talk to the pupils about assessment and marking - discuss and explain the different formative assessment strategies - find out what they think and if they think it helpful.

My key tip would be to have the pupils involved - by making them more involved, they are taking more ownership over their learning, which leads to increased motivation in the classroom.

Blair is a Primary Teacher at Sinclairtown Primary School, Kirkcaldy, Fife

Brain Training by Amy Macarthur

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 11:01:00 EDT

Brain training

Amy Macarthur tells us how Brain Training created a buzz in her classroom.

Brain Training

This year, my probation year, I have been a class teacher of primary 5. This term I have been doing a games based learning project using Brain Training for the Nintendo DS. I decided to get my class involved in games based learning after attending an inspirational and exciting talk from LTScotland on Technology at the Aberdeenshire Learning Festival.

I applied for Brain Training through the Games Based Learning (Aberdeenshire) Glow Group, stating why I felt my class would benefit from the project. In all honesty I felt that their mental maths was really needing a shake-up and I believed GBL could be an exciting and innovative way forward!

As soon as I mentioned that we were getting Brain Training there was an instant buzz around the whole class. Everyone was excited about the fact that rather than doing mental maths, we would be using brain training every morning daily for twenty minutes.

Each morning the class waited patiently until eventually they arrived! As a structure to the project we firstly did a 'number challenge' that I downloaded from Glow. The challenge contained 100 mental maths questions. Each child was to complete the challenge and record their time. At the end of the project this will be done again and a comparison can be made.

Every Friday the pupils complete a 'brain age check' this measures how old their brain is. They record their brain age and at the end of the project each pupil will create a line graph to show their development.

The pupils are excited and WANT to do their brain training everyday

Overall this project has been a huge success. The pupils are excited and WANT to do their brain training everyday, they don't realise that they are actually doing maths! One of the games they can play is called 'x20' in this game they are given 20 mental maths sums to complete as quickly as possible. Our leading time is currently 10 seconds- they are competing to get the best mental maths time!

I would recommend this project to any class from primary 5 upwards. The benefits are huge and most importantly pupils are mixing challenge with enjoyment.

Amy Macarthur, Probationer teacher, P5

Aprils' monthly TIS guidance

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 10:52:00 EDT

h2>April: It's all about the Final Profile!

Don't leave it to the last minute

It's important to update your profile as you go along.� You and your supporter should really be logging in and updating your records now as this will help reduce the pressure towards the end of term.

Completing your Final Profile

The advice that was given in the October guidance�for the submission of your Interim�Profile will also apply to your Final Profile, but the main difference is with your Professional Development Action Plan.

Review meeting

You should try and have a meeting with your supporter that has a more formal review focus. You might find it helpful to have input from other sources such as any independent observers or your teaching or the headteacher in your school.

This progress review will give you a really good sense of how you have progressed during the induction year.

Professional Development Action Plan

The Professional Development�Action Plan from�your�Interim�Profile was automatically copied across into the Initial Professional Development Action Plan section of your final Profile so that it could be used as a starting point for the next term,. Therefore, as you read through your Final Profiles, it should be evident that you have addressed the agreed targets and actions through your supporter discussions, CPD and observed sessions.

Feedback from your progress review meeting outlined above should also identify areas for you to develop during the next stage or your career. You should use the PDAP in your Final Profile to look to the future, making a link between the induction year and the rest of your career. The set of targets and actions that you identify here will enable you to make informed decisions about the professional development experiences that you will engage in during the next year and, perhaps, beyond.

More information on each of the sections of your Final Profile can be found in the Online Profiles�section.

Change of address notification

Many of you might be moving once you reach the end of your induction year. It is vitally important to keep us updated with your address details. Certificates will be sent out mid-July so make sure we have your correct address by Friday 18 June to ensure that your certificate reaches you. You can change your address quickly and easily by logging in to MyGTCS.

Further Information

Remember, you can visit the discussion forums to chat with other probationers.

Looking for last month's guidance?

The monthly guidance archive�holds all the previous months' guidance, in case you've missed any of the monthly newsletters.

�

February's guidance for Teacher Induction Scheme Probationers

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 05:38:00 EDT

This section will act as your online support network, guiding you through your probationary period towards full registration.

The monthly newsletters and RSS feed will keep you informed of when this area has been updated with new guidance information.

January: How are you using the 0.3 element of your induction experience?

Having looked at the Interim Profiles that were submitted to us at Christmas, we were able to get a good feel for how probationers have utilised the 0.3 element of their timetable during the first phase of induction. This month we will look at how you can ensure the effective use of the 0.3 element of your probation year.

The allocated 0.3 time for professional development is a very important element of the induction experience and it is worth reconsidering just how effectively you are utilising this.

Previous research with teachers identified that collaborative working with other teachers is one of the most valuable types of CPD experience that can be engaged in. Our recommendation is that the 0.3 element be divided in three, as follows:

0.1- Collaborative Working

Learning from more experienced teaching staff is a great way to develop your own practice. Try team teaching, observing other teachers and work shadowing to give you a broader knowledge and understanding of the work of the whole school. It is also worth visiting other associated schools where possible.

0.1- Enhanced planning

Enhanced planning and additional study can help develop your knowledge and understanding. This is a good time to carry out your own self-evaluation looking at how you are progressing towards meeting the Standard for Full Registration (SFR). You can also use this time to carry out professional reading and study new learning and teaching strategies.

0.1- Other CPD experiences

Engaging in other CPD experiences include core experiences organised with your local authority and experiences identified on a personal basis which may be carried out in school or from a centralised CPD register. These will have been identified through personal reflection and following discussions with your supporter.

This suggested split is provided as a guide as we are well aware of the flexibility that is required to enable probationers to receive appropriate experiences in the school setting.

The Teacher Induction Scheme and CPD section explains these suggested elements in more depth and offers more examples of CPD experiences that you should consider.

Online Profiles

Remember to keep your online profile up to date.

Supporter Meetings - you should continue to have a weekly meeting ensuring you record this after each session. Remember to alert your supporter when it is ready to be checked and signed off.

Record of Observed Teaching - where possible, continue to follow the recommended 3-weekly cycle. Recording these and having them signed off is an important part of the probation process.

Planning for the Future

At this time of year, some of you may be starting to think about your future teaching career. However, the successful completion of your probation year should continue to be your priority.

When you do start to think about job hunting, you may wish to follow these tips in order to use your time effectively.

Ensure your Online Profile is up to date. Having everything together in one place (i.e. in your profile) you are, in effect, keeping your CV up to date.

Local authorities will have standard application forms on their websites, so you could download one and have a go at filling it in. You may also wish to spend a little bit of time preparing well thought-out responses to the more common questions that are found on most job applications. This will save you time in the long run as you should only need to tweak your answers for each application.

Save yourself time by signing up for email alerts, instead of constantly checking various websites for job vacancies. The Local Authority recruitment portal My Job Scotland www.myjobscotland.gov.uk is a good place to start.

GTC Scotland is well aware of the difficulties many probationers currently face in finding employment. If you are concerned about the current employment situation for newly qualified teachers, then please see Job hunting: information on current difficulties, which answers some frequently asked questions on this matter.

Further Information

Remember, you can visit the discussion forums to chat with other probationers.

Looking for last month's guidance?

The monthly guidance archive holds all the previous months' guidance, in case you've missed any of the monthly newsletters.

Peer tutoring

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 04:04:00 EDT

P class=feature-lead>Seema Sircar discovered that peer tutoring could be a powerful learning and teaching tool.

My maths teacher in S1 at school was the most relaxed and effective teacher I had. I looked forward every morning to the first two periods of his class.

When I became a teacher, I considered what had made him so effective. He never seemed to rush through the course like most of us do, yet would manage to finish before us with plenty of time for revision.

His class management was perfect: none of us misbehaved or were diverted from what we were supposed to do in class. He never shouted. There was no ICT, video or smartboards to keep us occupied and amused. So, how did he do it?

I came to realise that it was because he had paired us up well in the classroom: a weak maths pupil with a more competent maths pupil, and then encouraged peer tutoring.

How it works

After he had explained a maths problem to the class, it was our turn to solve it. Anyone struggling would be paired with others who were doing better. Peers corrected and explained queries to each other.

I tried this strategy in my teaching practice, and it worked.

I realised that, at times, I was unable to explain things in simple terms and was making things more complicated for some pupils. Peers explain things to each other in very simple terms and in their own language.

The effect of peer tutoring

It initially came as a shock to some pupils when I asked then to relate to their classmates who hadn't understood. But, after settling into peer tutoring, the self-esteem and confidence of all the pupils was noticeably boosted.

Now, like my maths teacher, I felt more relaxed in the classroom. Introducing peer assessment helped me overcome behavioural problems in class as pupils were engaged in an adult-like activity, which made them feel trusted and valued.

Seema Sircar
Biology Teacher
Aberdeen

Share your experiences

You can comment on this article in the discussion forums.

If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

Top tips for teachers: Graffiti is not the new art form

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 03:52:00 EDT

Watch out for graffiti in the classroom. It's like a rash and will spread if you do not control it. Keep clearing it up. Do not weaken to the idea that graffiti is the new art. Your room is not a gallery. Self expression should be kept within the confines of the curriculum.

Top Tips for Teachers

The top tips of the week are taken from the GTCS' book Top Tips For Teachers.

All proceeds from Top Tips for Teachers are donated to Education Action to help them continue their important work. The book is available to buy from Luath Press and all good book shops.

Top Tips for Teachers: Get different skills to work together

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 07:28:00 EDT

As you get to know your pupils you will work to their strengths. You'll know the good leaders, the good contributors who will lead discussion and keep ideas on track, the artists who will turn your walls into the Louvre and the team members who will carry the cup home at the end of the season.

Different talents work together in a classroom and school. Get to know your pupils and get Picasso working with Beckham.

Goodreads / GTC Scotland and social media

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 04:48:00 EDT

Study can play an important part in your professional development as you work towards the Standard for Full Registration. But there is so much information out there for new teachers. Where should you begin?

We've created a virtual bookshelf of recommended books on the website Goodreads. View the bookshelf now.

GTC Scotland and social media

GTC Scotland is now using various social media websites to keep you up to date with the latest news and other events that we're involved in. You can visit us at these other place on the web:

Flickr

www.flickr.com/gtcs

Flickr is a photo-sharing website where we've been posting photos from our events.

Goodreads

www.goodreads.com/gtcs

Goodreads is a social network of book readers who use the site to catalogue books they've read. We've used the site to create a virtual bookshelf of recommended books for probationer teachers.

Slideshare

www.slideshare.net/gtcs

Slideshare is the media-sharing website we use to upload the PowerPoint presentations from our conferences and events.

Twitter

www.twitter.com/gtcs

Twitter is a microblogging service that we use to keep our followers up to date with our news. You can sign up for your own free account and follow us to receive our updates automatically.

Vimeo

www.vimeo.com/gtcs

Vimeo is a video-sharing website that we use to host the probationer videoblogs and our other video clips.

Your experiences: Researching Asperger's Syndrome

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 05:44:00 EDT

Laura Richardson chose to conduct research in the area of Asperger's Syndrome as part of her probation year.

As part of Dumfries and Galloway's probation scheme, we were asked to carry out a mini research topic. This was an optional activity but it was one that I thought would benefit me both professionally and personally. And it certainly did!

I chose to research the area of Asperger's Syndrome as I had a child in my class who suffered from this condition and although I had tried my best to help meet this child's needs I realised that to help him succeed more successfully I would have to research his condition further.

I therefore decided the aim of my research topic would be "What strategies are available to classroom teachers to help children with Asperger's Syndrome succeed in a mainstream classroom".

Observation

After I had devised my aim I carried out an observation profile on the child and I asked his mum and my classroom assistant to do the same so he was being observed in different situations and to try and avoid bias.

This worked well and it allowed me to identify the child's area of difficulties, which not surprisingly, were within his ability to use appropriate social skills.

I carried out a series of lessons which all focused on different social skills such as making eye contact when speaking, listening skills and identifying his own and other peoples feelings and how to deal with these.

Findings

One of my main findings from the research was that it was very easy to include this series of lessons with in my class PSD plan as all the skills being looked at are important for all children to learn therefore my research took place during my own classroom teaching!

Due to the length of time the research was carried out in and other limitations such as the child starting new medication I can't make any conclusions.

However, one of the main benefits of carrying out this research is that it has provided me with a series of techniques that can be used daily, if necessary, to help children with Asperger's Syndrome develop their social skills.

I thoroughly enjoyed this activity and it has allowed me to see the benefits of carrying out classroom based research as I feel it has helped me develop further as a teacher. In fact, at a recent job interview I discussed my research topic. It must have impressed the interviewees, as I got the job!

Laura Richardson
Primary Teacher
Castle Douglas Primary School, Dumfries & Galloway

Share your experiences

You can comment on this article in the discussion forums.

If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

Your experiences: Blogging it

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 05:43:00 EDT

John Johnson, a teacher at Sandaig Primary School, finds that blogging is a way of breathing new life into the curriculum.

Despite what some educational consultants and gurus say, new media in schools is not a revolution. It is actually a natural extension of what we, as teachers, already do.

Boosting confidence

Blogging as classwork

We have used blogs for creative writing, communication to parents from school trips, shared writing, consolidation of ideas and concepts for individual and group work.

Setting up a blog

For blogging all you need is an internet enabled computer; for podcasting, some free software and a cheap microphone.
You also need a wee bit of enthusiasm to make a blog work for your pupils, and this may even mean using some of your spare time.

The value of blogging

For me, Sandaig Primary's blogs are just another teaching method, and one we have only just started to scratch the surface of.

Visit Sandaig Primary's blogs at www.sandaigprimary.co.uk

John Johnson
Primary Teacher
Sandaig Primary School

Share your experiences

You can comment on this article in the discussion forums.

If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

Top tip of the week: Listen to both sides of the story

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 05:43:00 EDT

No matter how angry you are, always let your pupils tell you their version of events. What you see going wrong isn't always the full story.

Even the worst pupil in the room can sometimes be the innocent party, although all your instincts will not be in their favour.

You hold the scales of justice in your hands. Use them fairly and don't let stress and exhaustion colour the truth.

Read more hints and tips.

Your experiences: Time management

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 04:04:00 EDT

Emma Galbraith's New Year's resolution is to make sure her CPD doesn't become a juggling act.

My first term at school was non-stop. I was enthusiastic and excited about starting my new job; feeling super-motivated and eager to succeed, I jumped into the life of the school with both feet. I took every CPD opportunity I could and offered my services at various extracurricular activities. Theatre trips, discos, hikes . . . you name it, and I'd say yes to it.

Feeling the pressure

Of course it was only a matter of time before my good intentions came back to bite me. Overstretched and stressed out, my classes and my personal life began to suffer, with my ever-patient boyfriend taking most of the flak. It was a mistake I've noticed a lot of my fellow probationers make as well. I'd taken on far too much, but why?

I think there were a few reasons. In the current employment climate, NQTs appreciate all the help they can get when building up their CV. The more, the better - anything to dispel the looming spectre of the dole queue that I think many of us have lingering at the back of our minds, a horrifying worst-case scenario.

Other teachers in my school were kind enough to help me build up a bank of useful experience that I could draw on later, and I appreciated their thoughtfulness in asking me to join in.

Another reason was simply my own reluctance to say 'no'. I wanted to be seen as helpful and willing and didn't like to turn people down when they asked for a favour.

And, lastly, it felt like it was expected of me. At one CPD event, I remember the speaker telling us an anecdote about two probationers who went home instead of helping out at an S1 disco. Shock horror! They were the very ones who should be staying!

As probationers, we're already under a lot of pressure. Adding an extra dollop of CPD is great, but we have to make sure we don't overdo it. Tiredness and stress can disrupt your personal life and health and prevent you from doing your job properly, therefore becoming counter-productive.

Time management tips

In the end, it's a case of time management. Here are my hard-learned tips:

Target your extracurricular activities

Choose things that will help you achieve your development goals. You might have stayed in school until 10:30 on Tuesday night for the S5 art show, but what did you learn from it?

Think first!

When asked to do something by another member of staff, politely tell them you'll have a think about it first. Don't be embarrassed to say no.

Always make your classes a priority

You could join in all the development opportunities under the sun, but if you can't deliver in the classroom then you're not getting anywhere.

Make sure you plan time for yourself

It's important not to let your hobbies and relationships suffer unnecessarily - it'll only make you miserable (and yet again, become counter-productive).

Learn some stress-management techniques

I felt that the recent EDC course on stress management was one of the most useful I've been on, but possibly the most effective technique is simply talking to other NQTs about how you're feeling - chances are, they're feeling it too.

I'm still very busy at the moment, and I still get tired and grumpy from time to time. But I've learned the hard way that, although CPD is great and extracurricular activities can be good fun, it doesn't pay to do too much. Teaching is a difficult job, and there's no need to make it any harder than it has to be.

Emma Galbraith
English teacher
Lenzie Academy, East Dumbartonshire

Share your experiences

You can comment on this article in the discussion forums.

If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

January monthly guidance

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 04:00:00 EDT

January: the next stage of your Online Profile

Depending on the recommendation you received on your Interim Profile, your Second Interim Profile or Final Profile will be automatically generated in the Online Profile system.

Those with a "Cause for concern" or an "Unsatisfactory" recommendation will be given a Second Interim Profile, which is due for submission in April. Please see the guidance on how to complete your second Interim Profile. We will also be sending out an additional newsletter to those probationers with this information.

Those with a "Satisfactory" recommendation will be given a Final Profile, which is due for submission in April/May. Please see the Online Profile section for information on how to start completing this.

It is extremely important that you complete your Online Profile as you go along, rather than waiting until the last moment.

Managing your professional development in 2010

The start of this second phase of your induction year will no doubt feel a little less daunting than when you started in the summer. The work that you put into completing your Interim Profile should have given you an opportunity to take stock, note your progress and make plans for the next phase. At this point, it is also worth remembering how you should manage the process of your induction.

Timetable

Please remember that the timetable arrangements for the induction year are an important aspect of your professional development experience. The expectation is that a maximum of 0.7 FTE (and a minimum of 0.55 FTE) of your timetable should be spent with you taking sole responsibility for your class(es). The remaining 0.3 FTE of your timetable should be spent engaged in CPD experiences. This is fundamental to the design of the scheme.

Professional Development Action Plan (PDAP)

CPD

There should be an obvious relationship between your PDAP and your CPD. It should be your PDAP that drives your CPD.

In the same way that you addressed your CPD requirements in the first term, you should now select an initial focus for your CPD and record it in your CPD Record.

During the period that you address a CPD focus, you can use the tracking record in Appendix II: Self-Evaluation Templates (MS Word, 127KB) to record your engagement with the process of CPD. This will include your evaluation of how it has impacted in your professional practice and how your CPD was focussed on in Supporter Meetings and Observed Teaching Sessions.

Supporter Meetings

A record should be kept of your Supporter Meetings on the "Supporter Meeting Notes" section of your Online Profile. This should include the actions to be taken as a result of the discussion to ensure you are progressing in your professional development.

Observed Teaching Sessions

Similarly, it is important that the Observed Teaching Sessions are continued; four are recommended between January and June.

You should keep a record of the feedback that your supporter provides in the "Record of Observed Teaching" section of your Online Profile.

Online Profiles

The Online Profile section details the requirements for recording your information. This is a key aspect of self-evaluation and it is important that you continue to compile a neat and succinct professional development portfolio.

Need more information?

Remember you can contact us at any time with questions or visit the discussion forums to chat with other probationers.

Looking for last month's guidance?

The monthly guidance archive holds all the previous months' guidance, in case you've missed any of the monthly newsletters.

Top tip of the week: Even social time needs a few guidelines

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 14 Dec 2009 10:21:00 EDT

End of term is a time for the teacher to get to know their pupils in a more social setting, be that riding around a local park on a bike or watching a DVD in your classroom, where you can cry together at the sad ending.

But spending social time with pupils can be like living with the neighbours from hell. Have rules and standards even in this more social setting to stop the over-friendly pupil becoming disruptive.

Read more hints and tips.

Signing off and submitting your Online Profile

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 07:16:00 EDT

It's almost time for most of you to sign off and submit your Online Profiles, so we thought it would be helpful to explain the process that you must follow in order to do this.

Once your profile has been completed and all sections are green on the status bar, a green arrow will appear on the main menu page under the status bar:

You should click on this arrow to submit your completed profile to the supporter for recommendation. Once the recommendation is made, your headteacher will need to confirm (or override) it and then the profile will be available for the local authority probation manager to check prior to submission to the GTCS.

Once your Interim Profile has been submitted to the GTCS you will have access to the second Interim or Final Profile as appropriate:

If the recommendation is Satisfactory you will be given access to the Final Profile.
If the recommendation is Unsatisfactory or Cause for Concern you will be given access to a second Interim Profile, which should be completed and submitted at Easter. You will then be given access to the Final Profile to complete and submit in June.

Processing your Online Profile

The procedure for processing your Online Profile differs depending on whether you have signed off and submitted your:

Videoblog: Mr M's parents' evening

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 06:55:00 EDT

In this videoblog, Mr M reflects on his first parents' evening.

Watch Mr M's videoblog

My first parents� evening

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 05:09:00 EDT

The prospect of her first parents' evening may have been daunting, but Jennifer Kelly learned not to panic and enjoyed the experience.

As a probationer, you have to tackle a lot of firsts. There's your first day, your first meeting with the staff and your first meeting with the kids to name a few.

I was so caught up in making good first impressions, planning elaborate lessons and making sure I regularly evaluated that I forgot all about the scary prospect of meeting parents for the first time.

My first daunting experience of this came 10 weeks into my probation year. My mind was glued to S2 assessments, marking Standard Grade folios and prelims when suddenly my little gems began demanding 'the best' appointments for Monday night.

While I scribbled down names next to the most sought-after time slots, I started to panic. What should I say? How do I open the meeting? What if I want to talk about bad behaviour? Will they even like me? Will they question what I'm saying? The list of worries was endless.

Preparation

I spent hours looking at jotters, test marks and homework, wondering how I could phrase what I wanted to say without upsetting or angering parents. I used my old friend Google to find ideas, but couldn't find exactly what I was looking for.

I decided to ask for advice and as soon as I spoke to my mentor I realised that every teacher still worries about making a good impression with parents. I was given extremely useful pointers such as maintaining eye contact, always smiling and outlining the course content. These all seemed obvious but, for some reason, disappeared from my mind as soon as I sat down to devise my plan of action.

After thinking about the whole process I realised that parents' evenings are just like delivering a lesson in the sense that everyone has their own style. I was fully aware that different teachers teach in different ways but this reasoning went out the window as soon as I let myself panic about making a good impression with parents.

Be honest

Parents come to parents' evening to see how their children are getting on in class and with you. They don't want to see you acting or pretending to be something you're not. They want to see the teacher that their child goes home talking about.

I realised that I just needed to be myself and tell them exactly how their child was getting on. All you need to remember is to be tactful and sensitive, especially if what you need to say involves misbehaviour. Parents want to know if their child is behaving in class. They don't want you to stretch the truth just so you can get on their good side.

Be yourself

I looked to my own learning and teaching style to direct the way I delivered my comments. I am a list-maker, efficient if organised, yet not so efficient when playing with spontaneity. I therefore decided to make a detailed written evaluation of each pupil's class work, homework, behaviour, participation, improvements and test results.

I realised later that this process had greatly improved my understanding of individuals' strengths and weaknesses as well as providing me with a basis for talking to parents.

The evaluations helped to achieve success at the parents' evening as well as improving my teaching. The point is that you should use a strategy that compliments your style. If you feel more comfortable talking spontaneously without relying on a list for direction, then go for it.

There is not a single tried-and-tested way of preparing for a parents evening; the important thing is to trust your instincts and stick by your decisions.

Enjoy the experience

My first parents' evening flew by and I found that I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. It was fantastic to give positive feedback to parents and see how proud they were of their children. It felt brilliant to be the bearer of good news.

All you have to remember is to be honest and polite. Focus on the positives and ask for more, rather than dwelling for too long on the negative.

Finally, remember to enjoy yourself. At a tired time in the year it is easy to plateau and forget your passion for teaching but I found that this was re-ignited after talking for two hours about the thing that I love doing. Before you know it you will be looking forward to your next parents' evening.

Jennifer Kelly
French Teacher
Aboyne Academy, Aberdeenshire

Share your experiences

You can comment on this article in the discussion forums.

If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

I survived parents' evening!

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 05:04:00 EDT

Parents' evenings are a major part of the school year. Helen Cluett explains how she survived hers.

Any fear I felt about parents' evenings was a mere shadow of what I had felt some 14 or so weeks previously, when I had gone out and collected my class for the first time.

That was nerve wracking, but the survival of the experience and the following weeks have left me feeling able to take on anything, even parents' evenings.

Planning ahead

To be honest, I wasn't too worried about parents' evening as I had a P2 class and I had already met most parents at the start or the end of the day.

Despite many stories to the contrary, I found them to be a very normal bunch without gnashing teeth and a million complaints.

During the week prior to the parents' evenings, our excellent weekly probationer's training equipped us with strategies on how to deal with every type of parent under the sun and also several techniques to remove parents from the room when their time was up.

I was given much advice about this particular aspect, but found that P2 size seats was enough to ensure that parents did not become too comfy and move in for the night.

The event was not exactly up there with my top ten things to do of an evening, but I did enjoy the experience; it was very positive and encouraging.

After pacing up and down my room waiting for the first appointment to start, anxiously checking that the room was tidy and each child had work up, I found the time passed quickly and without a hitch.

I even managed to overrun by just ten minutes, which has to be a miracle. Not one parent checked out my room to see if it was tidy and full of educational stimulation, or came through the door with a tick list as I had been warned they might.

Sharing information

I had left a few jotters outside and a small report that each child had made, detailing what they enjoyed and what they thought they should work on.

I discovered most parents laughing about the stories, many of which, it emerged, contained a great deal of imagination and little truth.

Most parents were just anxious to hear that their child was happy and had friends. They were well aware of any slight areas needing attention such as too much chatting and a lack of concentration and few were interested in class position or test results.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that it was not the female dominated occasion that I thought it might be. A number of dads came, all anxious to hear how their child was doing and what they could do to help.

All my appointments turned up and I was left feeling as if I was making a difference. Result!

Helen Cluett
Primary Teacher
Cambusbarron Primary School, Stirling

Share your experiences

You can comment on this article in the discussion forums.

If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

Top tip of the week: Teachers need nap time

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Fri, 27 Nov 2009 05:03:00 EDT

Napping is not age related. You need quiet me time when you get home after a long day of lining up pupils, collecting jotters, counting in worksheets, stopping disagreements, seeking out pencils, emphasising points, detailing and repeating and breaking up arguments.

Your brain has been a racetrack all day so now is your time for a pit stop. Put your feet up, have a snack, a herbal tea or something stronger, and hug the dog or your significant other. Be inventive and don't feel guilty.

Read more hints and tips.

Trains, ferries, buses and cars

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:31:00 EDT

Christina Smith explains how, despite her epic daily commute, she became a better and stronger teacher by the end of her probation.

From the title of this piece you might think that I am talking about a complicated journey to a far flung place that could be made into an exciting film but only the first part of that statement is true.

Appearances can be deceiving

My daily journey as a probationer could definitely be described as complicated - and lengthy - but I was only travelling about ten miles from my home as the crow flies. The village I stay in is Cardross and I was allocated Dunoon Grammar School in Cowal, which can nearly be seen from the local beach on a good day. However, it took some time for me to fully appreciate the logistics of this allocation.

I received letters from the GTCS and Argyll and Bute Council on the same day and in a matter of moments I had the atlas out and Google Earth up and running, frantically trying to find out exactly where Dunoon was and how I could possibly travel there on a daily basis.

It didn't take long for me to realise that I couldn't just jump in the car or onto a train and have a straightforward journey to work each day. My daily commute was going to be no less than three hours each day and with a son going into primary two you will appreciate how concerned I was.

Doing the maths

I had been made fully aware of how much work would be involved in order to become a fully registered teacher and started planning how I could balance my home and work lives successfully over the course of the academic year.

I initially tried to have my school changed due to the travelling time but was told that this was not possible.

I was even told at one point that the school year is only 39 weeks long and it would go by in a flash. It might have been pertinent for me to point out that "only 39 weeks" constituted 585 hours or 24 days of travelling!

Making the journey

Anyway, once I got my head around the fact that I would have a long journey each day I started to think about the best way to do it. I had three choices:

car (nearly one and half hours continuous driving on country roads)
train (a very early start of 6.18am)
a combination of different methods of transport

I tried a car-share but got car sick due to the type of roads.

I tried driving part way to Gourock, getting the train, then ferry then bus. Whilst trying this method, I thought that it may be possible to walk from the school to the ferry (Caledonian MacBrayne for this one) but the blisters on my heels on arrival at the boat proved me wrong.

I have no idea why I thought I could walk for 40 minutes in heels and even took the longest route possible because I wasn't familiar with the area yet!

However, the best way turned out to be driving to the Western Ferries at Gourock, taking the ferry and then sharing a car for the last leg to school.

Even this fairly straightforward plan wasn't without its difficulties. On one occasion it took me over five hours to get home due to high winds and flooding - driving round Greenock on your way home for Christmas when you don't know the roads is not recommended.

Weathering the storm

Once I made it to January, the whole process of becoming fully registered became a lot more relaxed and I made some really good friends along the way that wouldn't have been possible if I had been travelling alone.

So, in spite of arriving at school soaked to my underwear due to "adverse weather conditions" and not being sure whether I would make it home or not I'm glad I went to Dunoon because the support I received from colleagues and travel companions was invaluable.

Broadening my horizons

Well I've made it to the end and although I wouldn't have chosen to travel to Dunoon everyday, the process has broadened my horizons and I am now registered with eight councils for supply work because I now know how far you can travel in a day and still work well.

So, anybody that's finding travel difficult, take heart - you will get there! I'm proof that it's possible to juggle family difficulties, probationer pressure and difficult travel and come out a better and stronger teacher in the end.

Christina Smith
Geography Teacher
Dunoon Grammar School, Argyll and Bute

Share your experiences

You can comment on this article in the discussion forums.

If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

Top tip of the week: Develop an inner self

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 11:30:00 EDT

Learn to temper your language and always be the professional in the classroom.

You can think to yourself "How can they be so stupid?" or "How can they make such a mess of this?" but you must never say it.

You will develop the inner you and the outer you: the one that screams loudly but silently on the inside, and the one that smiles gently on the outside.

Read more hints and tips.

Settling in

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:06:00 EDT

It took Steve McColl three months to start enjoying his new teaching career.

I was a little nervous. Nothing major, just that slight unsettled feeling in my stomach, the same as when I put to sea after a long time ashore and thought it would be a breeze.

My placements and academic work had all gone really well and I'd come away from university with a first. What could be so difficult about teaching less than 16 hours a week and getting paid for it?

What could be so difficult?

On 14 August, I walked into my probationer post at an Edinburgh City secondary school, and on 16 August I walked out of the school in a state of shock.

I'd had an excellent induction course and two in-service days, but my first day's real teaching – and it wasn't even a full day, just two periods – had left me feeling completely deflated.

Rude awakening

Smiling confidently, I greeted my new S4 at the door, waited for them to sit, then asked for quiet whilst I took the register. A couple of the nice kids turned and faced me, the others didn't even skip a beat.

"Quiet whilst I take the register, thanks," then a little louder and more assertively, standing with arms folded. It went on for a full 15 minutes until I managed to work out who was here and who was not – agony.

Four months on from that August nausea and I can say with honesty that I'm enjoying my job.

The S3 pupils were worse, last period of the day, hyper from PE and a new teacher to bait. I tried a different tack; "I'd like you to think of your favourite sandwich, whilst I take the register."

I worked my way down the list, recording the pupils' names and favourite fillings on my seating plan.

Quite noisy, but a nice little ice-breaker I thought, until I got to Brendan, "Favourite sandwich, Brendan?" He could hardly contain himself; he blurted out with a huge sneer, "S#*t", as his classmates howled. Um, maybe I'll reserve that one for the lower school.

Four months on from that August nausea and I can say with honesty that I'm enjoying my job. Obviously the whole five-day-a-week thing is a shock to the system when you've been a student for four years, but I actually had fun today, and yesterday, and the day before that, and the one before that…

Finding my feet

So, why am I enjoying it? I don't have a definitive answer. I think it's a combination of so many things.

I try to be super-organised; I have a shelf full of subdivided ring binders containing class records, support materials from the department or ones that I have made up and very brief notes for lesson plans.

I've had superb support from my supporter through our weekly meetings and at any other times when I've needed the answer to a question or just some reassurance.

I try to talk to other teachers and probationers about specific pupils – it's so good to realise that you are not the only one having difficulties.

I get up to the staff room as often as I can as it's necessary to have a break and chat about something other than education, even if it is just the most effective way to defrost a fridge.

I've got involved with extra-curricular activities to get to know pupils and for them to get to know me in a different setting.

Time flies

It seems like another decade that I was standing in line, wearing a friend's suit and a hired fur-trimmed hooded gown, waiting to be doffed with John Knox's breeches, smiling with the realisation that I was about to graduate and would soon be on probation.

Actually, I think I do have a definitive answer: teaching is all about building good relationships, which is maybe why it's taken me three months to start enjoying my new career.

Steve McColl
Technological Education Teacher
Craigmount High School, Edinburgh

Share your experiences

You can comment on this article in the discussion forums.

If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

Top tip of the week: Positive reinforcement works better than yelling

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:05:00 EDT

You will always come across the pupils who need constant nudges to keep them on the educational pathway. Use the nudges of repetition and reinforcement rather than those of shouting, growling and glaring.

Read more hints and tips.

Challenges, achievement and satisfaction

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:33:00 EDT

Rachel Tsai reflects on a year of challenges and achievements as one of Scotland's first ever probationer teachers in Mandarin Chinese.

In 2008, I finished the first ever PGDE Mandarin Chinese course offered by Moray House, and soon after that I found myself in a probationary role at an Edinburgh school.

I was lucky to be one of the first six probationer teachers in Mandarin Chinese to be trained in Scotland. At my new school, which is a Confucius classroom where Chinese has a very high profile, I was also very honoured to be given responsibility for teaching the first ever class of Intermediate 2 Mandarin Chinese, a brand new qualification.

What concerned me most was that the students were due to sit the exam at the end of my probation year!

Vital support

Looking back, it was a very tough and challenging year. I was fortunate to have a very supportive principal teacher as well as very helpful and experienced colleagues in my department. I don't think it would have been possible to get through such a tough probationary year that had such heavy responsibility without the support of the principal teacher (PT) and the help of my fellow colleagues in the Modern Languages Faculty.

In my opinion, it is vitally important for probationers to have good solid support from their PT and colleagues. The Chinese qualification that I taught was so new that there were no past papers available or teachers with experience of teaching for the exam.

My PT helped me to gain an understanding of the exam and to develop my lessons to bring the students up to exam standard. I also got a lot of tips from my colleagues about motivating my students to work hard.

It's also very important to keep in touch with your friends from the PGDE course, so that you can share the ups and downs of life as a probationer as well as sharing professional knowledge and resources.

High expectations

The school I work for has a history of high achievement, which has naturally resulted in high expectations. Like all teachers, I couldn't help feeling responsible for the success of my students; as a result I worked extremely hard and did everything in my power to support them.

Preparation and time management

I was teaching from P4 all the way to Higher and A Level. I developed all of the syllabi and course work in the summer before I started my probationer year.

I would advise new probationers to develop their own work as soon as they have finished their PGDE course, as once teaching, so much time will be taken up with other things such as writing reports, going to meetings, courses, taking students for trips and such like that there just won't be time for lesson planning.

Most probationers I've spoken to have said that they felt rushed off their feet and struggled to catch up with things.

Challenges, achievement, satisfaction

If I was to summarise my probationary year in few words, I would have to say: Challenges, Achievement and Satisfaction. I wish all this year's probationers the best in their probationary year. It's worth it! Go for it!

Rachel Tsai
Mandarin Teacher
St George's School, Edinburgh

Share your experiences

You can comment on this article in the discussion forums.

If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

November monthly guidance

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:29:00 EDT

Completing your Profile

At this stage of the Teacher Induction Scheme, it is worth pointing out that meeting the Standard for Full Registration requires probationers to take responsibility for their own professional learning and development.

This means that Online Profiles should be kept up to date and must be submitted on time. By this stage, you should have completed at least six supporter meeting records and feedback from at least two observed teaching sessions.

You should now be working on the remaining sections of your Interim Profile, getting it ready to submit to your headteacher in November/December. (You should contact your headteacher or your local authority probation manager to find out the exact submission date for your local authority area.)

Supporter Meetings

You should now have at least six Supporter Meetings recorded. These should be written up every week after your meeting, and submitted by you to be signed off individually by your supporter. The whole section should be signed off at the end of term prior to the profile being submitted to your headteacher to make the recommendation.

Observed Teaching Sessions

By now there should be at least two Observed Teaching Sessions recorded. You need to have four or five observations recorded on your Interim Profile before you submit it at the end of this term. Depending on when you submit the Interim Profile the final observation this term may be recorded in the next profile in January.

Key Strengths and Areas for Development

The Key Strengths and Areas for Development section will be completed by your Headteacher / Supporter / Principal Teacher as appropriate. You should view and act upon these comments in your future practice.

Professional Development Action Plan (PDAP)

Although this is a particularly busy time of year for you, it really is important to stop and reflect. Looking over the Interim Profile that you have compiled over the past few months will give you a good sense of how you are progressing towards the standard for full registration. The comments and feedback you may have received should also give you some clear direction on what else you could work on.

Hence the final section of your Interim Profile is where you look at the future and identify your Professional Development Action Plan for the January–June period. This plan should also be discussed and agreed upon with your Supporter to ensure that the targets and actions are realistic.

To help you complete your PDAP, you may wish to have a meeting with your Supporter that has a more formal review focus to it. To gain a fuller picture of your progress, there should be input from a variety of sources:

your supporter
any independent observer of your teaching
your headteacher
you, the probationer

Need more information?

Remember that you can get lots of information on the profile system if you access the guidance notes and video clips through the link on the tool bar when you are in your profile pages.

Remember you can contact us at any time with questions or visit the discussion forums to chat with other probationers.

Looking for last month's guidance?

The monthly guidance archive holds all the previous months' guidance, in case you've missed any of the monthly newsletters.

Top tip of the week: Don't play behavioural chess

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:28:00 EDT

Constant poor behaviour will drive you crazy. You have to deal with it before it drives you under.

Try not to let it keep you awake at night as you scheme and create strategies trying to outwit their next move. The truth is they don't have a next move or even a plan, and you've been up all night pacing the bedroom in your furry slippers playing behavioural chess against an imaginary opponent.

You'll go in ready to battle the next day and the opposition is sitting, doing their work. Pupils are fickle.

Read more hints and tips.

Probationer Teacher Scotland website scoops prestigious PRide award

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:26:00 EDT

The Probationer Teacher Scotland website won a prestigious Chartered Institute of Public Relations PRide award for Best Website on Friday night.

The General Teaching Council for Scotland beat off competition from a host of PR agencies and other public bodies including RR Donnelly and NHS Lothian, to scoop the accolade.

Speaking at the glitzy annual awards held at the Radisson SAS Hotel in Glasgow, GTC Scotland Head of Web Services Angela Hamilton said: "We are delighted to win our first PR award. To have beaten so many talented organisations to win Best Website is a great achievement.

"As the professional regulatory body for teachers in Scotland, we work hard to maintain and enhance the professional standards of Scotland's teachers and to support new teachers. Consequently, we need to find effective ways of communicating with them through our websites.

"Probationerteacherscotland.org.uk supports and guides probationer teachers through their induction year, providing useful information, hints and tips, video blogs and much more. Probationer teachers are the lifeblood of the profession, they bring new ideas, skills and energy and we work hard to support them in their transition to becoming fully-registered teachers.

"This is all part of our strategy of using new media to communicate more effectively with teachers to make sure they are fully informed and to encourage their participation in wider CPD opportunities."

We are always striving to improve this website for probationer teachers. Please help us do this by letting us know what you think of the site, or recommending improvements. You can email webservices@gtcs.org.uk or complete the short feedback survey.

Videoblog: Mr C's first few months

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:21:00 EDT

In this videoblog, Mr C reflects on his first couple of months of his probation year. Remembering pupils' names is hard enough, but there is also an case of vandalism to be dealt with.

Watch Mr C's videoblog

Top tip of the week: Re-energise during the breaks

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 07:20:00 EDT

You can use the time to get out of the building or take part in some gentle exercise.

Some teachers use stretching exercises at their desk to ease stress. If you partake in this particular activity make sure you do not have an audience. Otherwise, some thoughtful pupils will report you to the school office because they think you're having mental difficulties.

Read more hints and tips.

Top tip of the week: Fine-tune your body language

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 06:06:00 EDT

Do not over-gesture. Do not cause a draft by flapping your hands about to emphasise a point. But equally do not be so unexpressive that your entire body looks as though you've just had a massive Botox injection.

Don't look like a rabbit in the headlights nor lie back on your chair with feet up on the desk.

Be yourself, but look and act professional. Pupils react to how you look and act.

Read more hints and tips.

Videoblog: Mr M's first few weeks

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 05:50:00 EDT

In this videoblog, Mr M reflects on his first few weeks of his year as a probationer teacher. His verdict? Shattered. Totally shattered.

Watch Mr M's videoblog.

Ups and downs of probation

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 04:48:00 EDT

The ups and downs of Nicola Henderson's probationer year.

After having a relatively positive and smooth experience during my PGDE, I came into my Probation year last August with high hopes.

Not only was I full of excitement about my upcoming year, but I was nervous and apprehensive about what was waiting for me behind those double doors, what would my school be like, would my mentor and the staff be supportive and would I really be able to cope with a class full of 4 and 5 year olds?

Little did I realise however, that my probation year would have more ups and downs than a yo-yo and that I had to seriously prepare myself for what was now going to be my heart racing, exhilarating, daunting and extremely demanding life.

Would I really manage?

Well, 7 months on and I can honestly say that I have cheered with joy, been on top of the world one moment and in the depths of despair the next.

But you really can't help but smile when you get a marriage proposal from a 5 year old or see the proud looks on the parents' faces at the Christmas Nativity.

The highs

I've had lots of high points so far, mainly around planning, shadowing and enterprising.

Planning

I know, a rather strange one, but receiving some excellent feedback about my terms planning folder from my head teacher really gave me a buzz and proved to myself that I was capable of forward planning despite my previous doubts

Shadowing

Definitely one of the most beneficial uses of my CPD time, especially being able to see other schools and 'borrow' ideas from more experienced staff. Also being Queen Hendilot for an afternoon in a P4 class learning about castles wasn't half bad either, it's not everyday you can be royalty

Enterprising

Having recently held a toy exhibition, I can't forget to include this definite high. It was great seeing my class revel in becoming tour guides for their parents. They created everything for their exhibition and made their own invitations and tickets for the event. The hard work in the lead up to the day was exhausting but well worth it, hearing the children share their learning with them

The lows

Despite these frequent jumps for joy, my low experiences really did hit me hard. I've cried on numerous occasions and questioned myself continually. The support of my mentor and the school staff really helped get me through these difficult times.

Some of my key low points have been my nerves about teaching Primary 1, my observations and the prospect of job-hunting.

Nerves

Finding out that for a whole year I would be responsible for the first year of 19 children's entire school careers, the heavy feeling on my shoulders was immense, I wasn't sure I could do it and did I really want to teach in early years?

Observations

Flashback to university tutor visits! Will my next observed lesson be the one when they will eventually decide that I'm not any good? Has it all been a dream and I'll soon wake up and find myself in a nightmare and not qualify after all my hard work and effort.

Jobs

As with all probationers in my situation, that impending dread that after this year I won't be able to find a job really plays on my mind. I comfort myself in the solace that it will all turn out all right in the end. (Well it has to, doesn't it?)

These despairing moments have, despite feeling horrendous at the time, I think made me into a more reflective teacher. I've accepted that these low feelings are mostly due to my own impossible high expectations and that putting myself under too much pressure to be 'practically perfect in every way' was resulting in what felt like failure too many times.

Looking forward

This job is so demanding that to be able to do everything 'excellent' is virtually impossible and instead to do everything 'well' and some things hopefully 'excellent' was, for me, a more plausible goal.

So, with only a few months left, I'm beginning to look forward, already I'm trying not to think about my class having another teacher next year, because despite my initial reservations about the early years, I very quickly came to realise that I really do think my class are great.

They have grown up, changed and learned so much over the past year and I know I will miss them dearly, they really are what makes my job worthwhile and it is them who motivate me and make me love what I do.

Nicola Henderson
Primary Teacher
Clermiston Primary School, Edinburgh

Share your experiences

You can comment on this article in the discussion forums.

If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

The October rollercoaster

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 05:46:00 EDT

Your probation year so far has no doubt been crammed with experiences - some of them fun, enjoyable and motivating, but also some that didn't go quite to plan or were down-right scary!

At this stage of the school year, you'll be looking forward to the October break. (Don't worry about admitting that!) Make time to do something you enjoy; relax, take some time for yourself and catch up on sleep. This will help you feel refreshed when you go back to school and you'll be raring to go again, just the way you were at the start way back in August.

The beauty of post-October break term time, is that you've already done a lot of the hard work: you've met all your pupils, established your class rules and settled in to a routine. The groundwork has been laid and things will be easier when you go back. You'll find yourself motivated by the break. Your pupils will recognise you as a real teacher since you've come back after the holidays - not like students who disappear - and so, together, you can make long-term plans.

The school year has a lot of these ups and downs; we like to think of this fondly as the "rollercoaster effect". We hope you're enjoying the ride. And, remember, there're lots of other people in your carriage. Check out some of the "Your experiences" articles and videoblogs by other probationers who are on the same rollercoaster as you.

Top tip of the week: They like you more than you realise

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 10:57:00 EDT

Teachers come quite far down the pecking order for pupils, trailing badly in the list of preferences that includes mobile phones, DVDs, computer games and chicken nuggets.

They may make your life difficult, but you are more important to them than any of these items. Although you do not bleep, flicker or teach to catchy music, you point the way to their future. Bask in the warmth of this thought.

Read more hints and tips.

October monthly guidance

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 04:52:00 EDT

Progressing your Online Profile

You are now about half-way through the first term and you should have lots of information on your Online Profile.

Personal details

The personal details should be verified by you. If there are any changes to be made please get in touch with your local authority contact and let them know.

IPDAP

The Initial professional development action plan (IPDAP) should have been completed at one of your early Supporter Meetings and you should be working on the actions that were identified.

Timetable

Your timetable should now be completed and signed off by your supporter.

Remember, you should be teaching between 0.55 (12 hours 23 minutes) and 0.7 (15 hours and 55 minutes). This teaching should be sole class contact time. If you area primary teacher then you should have sole responsibility for a class including all planning and preparation. If you are a secondary teacher then you should have a good spread of classes including certificate classes.

If you are unable to submit your timetable because it isn't within the parameters of 0.55 and 0.7 then please check the number of hours you are teaching, if it is over or under the guidelines then please speak to your supporter, headteacher or local authority manager to get it corrected. If, however, you are working within the required hours and your timetable still shows as being outwith the parameters please contact us so that we can check it for you.

All sections must be signed off as correct at the end of the term or your profile cannot be recorded so it is important that you ensure that your timetable is correct.

Supporter Meetings

You should now have a few Supporter Meetings recorded, these should be written up every week after your meeting, and submitted by you to be signed off individually by your supporter. The whole section should be signed off at the end of term prior to the profile being submitted to your headteacher to make the recommendation.

By now there should be two or three observations recorded. You need to have four or five observations recorded on your Interim Profile before you submit it at the end of this term. Depending on when you submit the Interim Profile the final observation this term may be recorded in the next profile in January.

Other sections

The Professional Development Action Plan (PDAP) and Key Strengths and Areas for Development are completed during November/December just prior to the profile being sent to the local authority.

Need more information?

Remember that you can get lots of information on the profile system if you access the guidance notes and video clips through the link on the tool bar when you are in your profile pages, but if you have any questions that aren't answered on the guidance notes and videos then please contact us.

For further details about the process of self-evaluation and how you should document this, please see the Online Profile section.

Remember you can contact us at any time with questions or visit the discussion forums to chat with other probationers.

Looking for last month's guidance?

The monthly guidance archive holds all the previous months' guidance, in case you have missed any of the monthly newsletters.

Comfort words feel the pinch

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 04:50:00 EDT

Okay guys, Jim Moore has found a way to help him break his catchphrase habit.

"Okay guys . . ."

Advice

Nip it in the bud

He advised me that, anytime I was speaking to the class, I should pinch my index, middle or ring finger with the edge of my thumbnail. This is a trick that public speakers use all the time.

Breaking the habit

Jim Moore
History teacher
Calderglen High School, South Lanarkshire

Share your experiences

You can comment on this article in the discussion forums.

If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

Top tip of the week: You are the master of all classroom decisions

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 04:48:00 EDT

Your life as a teacher is all about making decisions every day and every hour. You will decide who is doing what, where and when, what your pupils need, what you need and what everyone else needs to allow you to concentrate.

A bell will ring to allow you to refuel, ready to make more decisions between the custard creams and the Hobnobs in the staffroom.

As the day wears on you will become tired, so that by the time you get home you will find that really simple choices become huge under takings. That is because you are all 'decided out'.

There is nothing wrong with you, so don't worry if you find yourself in the supermarket unable to make a simple decision between a carrot and a leek.

Read more hints and tips.

Blogging good stuff!

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:56:00 EDT

Reflective, honest, funny: your fellow probationers are writing some great blogs this year! Check them out now.

Blogging is a great way to share your probation year experiences with others. If you're interested in writing your own blog, email webservices@gtcs.org.uk and we'll set one up for you.

Tackling the Alternative Route

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 04:49:00 EDT

For Christine Walford, finding a mentor on the Alternative Route made all the difference to her probation experience.

I successfully achieved the Standard for Full Registration on the Alternative Route in October 2008 and am writing to honestly share my experiences.

I'd like to start off by saying a huge thank you to the Alternative Route as, without it, I would not have been able to gain full registration as a primary teacher.

Accumulating service

I worked regularly in various schools in Cumbria as a supply teacher between September 2004 and December 2006, but this did not count towards my probationary service in England. Thankfully I had registered with GTC Scotland in January 2005 and was regularly updating them with my progress.

From March 2007 I was employed by Dumfries and Galloway to work as a supply teacher and from then on things really picked up. I felt valued as a teacher, attended CPD training courses/twilight sessions, met other probationers and worked regularly for various schools.

I was very fortunate to be taken on as Reduction in Class Contact Time (RICCT) cover by a school in Dumfries. The thrill of really belonging to a school gave me so much encouragement, and the feedback from class observations for Interim and Final Reports made me realise I could actually achieve my goal.

Finding support

I was lucky enough to be able to find my own mentor, and she has been such a help to me. She had fully registered through the Alternative Route and was able to answer my specific questions and queries about how to successfully gain Full Registration.

I really would recommend a personal mentor to everyone on the Alternative Route as, for me, it started out as a very lonely route and quite scary at the start not initially knowing the schools you were going to have to teach at for the day.

I am very grateful for all the schools both in England and in Dumfries and Galloway who have regularly employed me as a supply teacher enabling my dream to come true. I'm also grateful to all the staff that have befriended me.

But, most of all, I'm grateful to the children I've taught: they've been polite, eager to join in the lessons and try their hardest, and have always offered to help keep me right as to how their particular class does things. Their class teachers should be very proud of them.

Christine Walford
Alternative Route probationer

Share your experiences

You can comment on this article in the Discussion Forums.

If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

Top tip of the week: It's great that some are keen, but don't ignore the others

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 03:48:00 EDT

Some pupils, in their sheer enthusiasm to answer a question, will get over-excited and throw their arms in the air, jump up and down behind their desk, or even resort to shouting out your name to drown out all other attempts in the room.

There are other pupils who will not enter this display of attention-seeking as it does not match their cool image.

Choose many pupils to make sure everyone gets a turn and only reward over-exuberance occasionally.

Read more hints and tips.

Second time around . . .

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 09:46:00 EDT

Gaining full registration in a second subject meant travelling on the Alternative Route for modern languages teacher Mhairi Mitchell.

I completed my first probationary period in 2000. At that time it took two years! However, in comparison with my second probation it was relatively short!

In 2004 I completed an ATQ (Additional Teaching Qualification) in Spanish. As I was already fully registered in French and German, and in a full time post, I could follow the route for alternative probation - only 135 days.

However, as my school only offered Spanish as a third language option, it took me almost four years to get the necessary 20% teaching commitment on my timetable. After two years of Standard Grade classes, we were finally able to run an Intermediate/Higher Spanish class.

Supporter meetings

As an experienced teacher and an Alternative Route probationer with a full timetable, I did not have allotted meetings with the probationer mentor, nor did I attend the regional probationer meetings. It would have been a bit odd, as I was buddying one of the probationers at the time as part of Hawick High's staff welfare programme.

Nevertheless, Barbara (probationer mentor and fellow languages teacher) was extremely helpful with hints for finishing the final report, particularly regarding current educational phrasing and suggesting information to include. In actual fact, the preparation discussions with her and Colin (my PT) and completion of the form were the only things that did not fit into my normal teaching cycle.

As I did not have a supporter, I identified relevant departmental meetings and personal review discussions, which I used where the report asks for a record of meetings with your supporter.

Observed teaching sessions

Throughout the three years, as part of the school's peer observation programme, I asked colleagues, my PT and SMT members to observe my teaching with the classes. When I filled out the final profile, I was able to use their observation comments.

CPD record

It was also very useful to update and review my CPD record. Over three years of CPD covers a lot of paper. I did feel a little guilty mentioning holidays to Spain, but as a language teacher, it's always important to keep language and resources current!

Form-filling

Certain aspects of the form seemed inappropriate for someone with 10 years committed teaching experience and, and in discussion with my head teacher, these were abbreviated or omitted.

Reflecting on the Alternative Route through probation

While it was great to successfully achieve full registration, and the whole process was a real confidence boost, the best part was being able to teach a small, dedicated group of Spanish learners - last double on Fridays for three years was an absolute pleasure - and not many teachers can say that!

Mhairi Mitchell
Alternative Route probationer
Hawick High School

Share your experiences

You can comment on this article in the discussion forums.

If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

Balancing probation priorities

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 14 Sep 2009 09:44:00 EDT

Managing priorities during probation can be a balancing act writes Lynda Banks.

Beginning this is almost like beginning a career as a teacher. There's so much, where do you start? How about at the beginning?

Allocation day

The start of the story so far is the day that the letter came in June 2007, informing me of my school for the year. I cried: it was 35 miles away!

When I called the school and was told it would be a P5 class I cried again (after I had put the phone down!). My heart had been set on an infant class.

On discovering that the P5 class consisted of 33 children, 'bawled' is a more appropriate adjective to use to describe what I did!

That was it. I had given up before even stepping foot on the school grounds. The Alternative Route seemed a viable option. Not, however, to my husband, who had put up with a 'Year from Hell' whilst I was doing the PGDE.

A steady income was foremost in his mind and he reminded me that actually this was what I had wanted for a very long time – a class that I could call my own.

I knew he was right.

Preparations

Before dwelling on the whole will I/won't I scenario or indeed, can I/I can't do it, the very next day I drove to the school.

Then a funny thing happened. As soon as I entered the school I knew immediately that it would all be just fine. The vibe, the staff and the children – that's what did it! I would take up the post that I was offered and I would drive the 70 miles a day. All the negative thoughts from the day (and night) before had gone. Roll on August was my thought (but not too quickly!).

August did arrive rather rapidly, but I approached it with great excitement and even greater nervousness. I had chosen to go into the classroom the week before we officially started for a couple of days.

Labels on drawers, posters on the walls, backing paper up, and the huge task of deciding how to organise the tables and chairs, all took time (well spent!). Before I could do any of this I had to cross the threshold of my very own classroom.

I remember standing at the door for a number of heart stopping moments before making the great leap! First thing was to put my name and class on the door (which had, by the way, changed to a P4/5 with 21 children, something which I was more than a little relieved about!).

It was real, all of it. I spent the next two days filling the library with cushions, bringing in plants, labelling everything so that both the children and I could find things in an instant (this is ESSENTIAL!).

The first day

The day that we met each other...wonderful, glorious, exciting, and in the end, not the least bit nerve racking. It was all meant to be.

By the end of the first week it felt like I had being teaching for years! This is meant in a positive way. I simply loved it. I was driven. I was intent on being all singing, all dancing, all, well, everything!

I did learn very quickly (or perhaps it took longer than I am admitting) that this kind/level of commitment is possible for a very short time without completely burning yourself out.

Getting the balance right

One of the most important lessons I have learned over the past few months is to strike a balance between home life and life at work. As a teacher you are never done, ever. Your 'to do' list always has something on it. You cross off the top one or two and meantime add another ten at the other end!

That's just it, there is so much. I've learned that I can only do a certain amount: I can't do it all. I've learned to prioritise and because of all this I am a better teacher. I have more energy and am not run ragged.

I do what I can to the best of my ability and then I go home! I love my life as a teacher and I also love my life as me, a wife, a mum and a friend.

Lynda Banks
Primary Teacher
Smithton Primary School, Inverness

Share your experiences

You can comment on this article in the discussion forums.

If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

Making the most of your supporter

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 07:20:00 EDT

Karen Lawrie, a probationer supporter, explains how to your supporter can act as the springboard to your career.

Teaching has changed a great deal since I qualified in the 1980s, not least in the approach to probation.

Key to that new approach is the requirement on schools to provide a dedicated supporter, or mentor, for each probationer, a role that I currently occupy.

I support the newest member of a large, successful and sometimes bewilderingly busy English department.

While it is undeniable that more demands are placed on you in terms of record-keeping, Continuing Professional Development (CPD) and so on, far more support is also given by schools to help you make the most of that all-important first year.�

That's where the supporter comes in.

Formal and informal support

Supporters provide mandatory formal support through regular meetings, in addition to agreed observations. I'd suggest that both you and your supporter make brief, but clear, records of progress and necessary next steps as you go along.

On the thorny issue of record keeping, I suggest that a few minutes are left at the end of each meeting in order to complete this sometimes onerous, but essential, task. Little and often is a good rule here.

No one wants to finish up with screeds of illegible notes to transfer into one's best handwriting for inclusion in that portfolio � think bullet points!

Supporters can also provide the equally essential informal support: a shoulder to cry on is very helpful in a demanding job like teaching. A quick word is sometimes all that is needed to reassure or console.

A helping hand

Another useful role that supporters can play is to help you deliver on your CPD priorities, as well as to act as a link to the designated Senior Management Team (SMT) member in overall chare of probationers.

The supporter can also liaise with members of their own, and other, departments to arrange observation, shadowing of pupils, co-operative teaching and so on.

Arguably though, the most important part of a supporter's job is to know when to let go. A probationer will usually require a great deal of support initially, but must strive to become independent well before their first teaching year is over.

The enhanced non-contact time is a fantastic advantage that you will never have again � use it to the full!

Enhance your experience

Planning, preparation, and marking, especially in a subject like English, can all too easily dominate a teacher's time, but there is so much more to being a teacher today.

You could investigate your school's learning and support systems, find out about personal action plans, read up on areas of the curriculum�that you haven't yet experienced.

Remember, the portfolio must contain details of how the enhanced time was used.

Finally, I believe the main function of a supporter should be to encourage the probationer to develop his or her own teaching style.

Supporters must gradually retreat into the background as the new teacher gains in confidence and experience, yet should always be ready with advice at any stage.

Karen Lawrie
English Teacher and Probationer Supporter

Share your experiences

You can comment on this article in the discussion forums.

If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please�share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

Top tip of the week: displaying student artwork

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 07:17:00 EDT

Expect mixed feelings about displaying student artwork

Suggesting to your pupils that you will display their work on the wall in full public view brings out the best and worst in them.

Some will be inspired to produce work that will be viewed with awe by others. Some pupils will be appalled that their work will be on show at all. Listen to pleas about displayed art and work with the volunteers.

Crucially, watch out for sabotage! Jealousy can raise its head when artwork is compared; additions and comments can appear on the work that can offend or surprise.

Read more hints and tips.

Me and my mentor

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 07:15:00 EDT

Mick Kitson from Stranraer Academy doesn't know where he'd be without his mentor.

I just hope she doesn't read this. I also hope my wife doesn't read it.

When we were introduced, someone (and it may have been me) made the rather weak pun: "Ah…you must be the tormentor..." Oh how we laughed.

Three months on and I am afraid the only torment I feel is the rather panicky feeling I get when I know she is not in school and I have to do something without asking her what she thinks. Like: "Is it time for my dinner now Jane?"

I fear I have come to rely on her rather too much and I have been undeservedly lucky in getting her. Not just because she is a fab teacher and a master at controlling unruly second years, but she and I are about the same age; we both have three kids; are both refugees from England and both teach English.

I have been slightly alarmed to hear from other probationers that they are not as smitten as I with their mentors. Poor things.

Constant support

Aside from offering brilliant advice in my own subject and frequent criticism of my lessons, she displays an almost German efficiency in sorting out all the bits of paper and forms and things I have to fill in.

She oversees my bulging CPD diary and tells me off when my first years leave her classroom untidy. And, when she is not teaching her own full timetable or acting as my "playground buddy" stopping big hairy fourth years from scaring me when I walk down the corridors, she somehow finds time to mentor two other probationers in our school.

But I'm not jealous because I know I am her favourite. Which leaves me with a bit of a problem come June and the possibility that I will register and lose her to another probationer.

I am not sure it is healthy to become so reliant, but it shows that the system seems to work in providing a constant support and point of contact for new teachers.

Moving on?

I am going to have to be weaned off her, and I fear periods of enforced separation are planned towards the end of the year. But we'll still have our weekly meetings because I need to be tormented for a little bit longer.

Mick Kitson
English Teacher
Stranraer Academy, Dumfries and Galloway

Share your experiences

You can comment on this article in the discussion forums.

If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

That S4 feeling

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 07:14:00 EDT

Sarra Lumsden recalls that unique feeling that can only mean . . . the dreaded first day in school has arrived.

Fear paralysed her, disabling every rational, calm part of her mind. Sweat trickled down her back in slow, snaking paths. She simultaneously felt terror's ice cold fingers take a strangle hold around her neck, restricting her breathing, as hot waves of panic swept through her body.

As she stood studying herself in the mottled mirror, she watched as the colour drained from her face with her confidence. One last check of her clothing, ironed, starched, formal and black. One last smooth of her dark hair in a vain attempt to tame the external signs of the inner struggle that twisted her stomach and quickened her heart rate. A last pinch of her cheeks in vain attempt to draw back some sign of health. A search for the flaws and imperfections she knew they would find.

Her footsteps echoed along the silent tiled corridor, autumn light flickering through the narrow windows. The wind and rained stormed outside, duplicating her inner turmoil. The old building howled with the tempest battering its aged walls. The ghosts of her predecessors followed her slow steps, offering support and acknowledging her as one of them. She could not let them down. She was only one, the latest one, in a long line of determined, strong souls who had, as she did now, fought for a better world in face of hardship and difficulty.

The voices of the mob sought her out through the maze of passageways, calling her back into the moment. 'Show no fear,' her mentor's voice said again in her mind. Like wolves, they would sense her emotions and prey on any signs of weakness. "Remember the plan, show no emotion," she instructed herself. "Follow your dream."

She repeated her mantra, trying desperately to maintain her determination. This was her destiny. Everything she had worked towards had brought her here, to this place, to this moment. "Deep breaths," she whispered. She spoke to herself, trying to calm her nerves and focus her tortured and terrified mind.

Her trembling, cold hand reached for the door. She paused, steadying herself, trying to still the obvious sights of her fear. She set her face, firm, confident and calm. She had fought for this and now she must be the leader she had always wanted to be. Even if it meant marching into Hell to lead the troops back out. "No," she halted her thoughts, "remain rational and in control."

"Remember," she thought, "It's only fourth year."

Sarra Lumsden
English Teacher
Ardrossan Academy, North Ayrshire

Share your experiences

You can comment on this article in the Discussion forums.

If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

September monthly guidance

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 09:42:00 EDT

September: developing a routine

Your first few weeks in school will have been very busy but, hopefully, you'll be getting into the swing of things now.

Your probationary service should follow a structured process, which is outlined on the Probation process�page.

Timetable

Full-time probationer teachers should have�22.5 hours of class contact (actual teaching) time each week. To meet The Standard for Full Registration in the category in which you are qualified, you are required to undertake a percentage of this time as class contact time and a percentage as CPD, as follows:

15.75 hours of teaching (0.7 full-time equivalent)
6.75 hours CPD (0.3 full-time equivalent)

More details can be found on the Timetable�page.

It is important to note that Teacher Induction Scheme probationers are contracted to teach 0.7 sole responsibility. Your teaching time should�not�be more than 0.7 as this is against your conditions of service.

Supporter Meetings

Your�IPDAP allows you to detail in your portfolio your professional development targets and actions that you are seeking during your probationary year.

Online Profiles

By the end of this month, all probationers on the Teacher Induction Scheme should have access the Online Profile system.

You�can log in by clicking on the Log In button at the top right hand side of either the GTCS or Probationer Teacher Scotland websites.

An account will automatically be created for you, so you don't need to register or attempt to create a new account.

If you cannot access the system, you should contact your local authority probation manager�in the first instance.

More help and advice

Remember you can Contact us at any time with questions or visit the Discussion forums to chat with other probationers.

Looking for last month's guidance?

The Monthly guidance archive�holds all the previous months' guidance, in case you have missed any of the monthly newsletters.

�

Top tip of the week: There's not much in a name

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 04:49:00 EDT

There's not much in a name Don’t let a name influence what you think about a pupil.

If you have a Wayne in the football team don’t expect him to take trophies for you. Likewise if you have Chanterelle in the room don’t expect her to have heard of the mushroom she has been named after.

Pupils have strange names at times. It is not their fault, but you will somehow have to get over it.

Names come in batches, and there will always be a clutch of pupils coming through named after the latest hot pop star. Kylie has now worked its way through and out of the secondary schools, as has Britney with a late surge of Jades and Chantelles on their way. Be grateful for the ones you can spell.

Pupils are landed with names they neither wanted nor like. You will need to read it out on the register each day, so don’t make it a stick to beat the poor pupil with, nor a joke everyone tires of.

Welcome Miss Shark!

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 04:43:00 EDT

Caroline Sharp has developed some shark-like qualities to get her through the first few weeks of term.

The first four weeks with my new class have passed in the blink of an eye and the first day is now a distant memory.

My class and I have begun to get to know each other. During our first chat on the carpet it transpired that one child thought her new teacher was called Miss Shark and had discussed this the night before with her grandpa who thought this was an interesting name! This got me thinking, maybe a probationer teacher is a little like a shark!

Survival instinct

Sharks are good survivors and that survival instinct has definitely kicked in as I try to find my way through the forward plan process. With support from my school I have learnt some valuable lessons that will help me to survive the next phase!

Evolution

Unlike sharks, which have had little need to evolve in the last 150 million years, I am evolving everyday as I try to make sense of my new situation. Charles Darwin would be proud at the speed at which I am evolving: I now have eyes in the back of my head and it spins round 360 degrees!

Thick skin

Shark skin is made of denticles instead of ordinary fish scales. The denticles are like hard, sharp teeth and help to protect the shark from injury. Developing a bit of a thick skin is essential for probationers too; there's no time to dwell on things that didn't go according to plan. Take it on board, learn and move on!

Being prepared

Sharks never run out of teeth. If one is lost, another spins forward from the rows and rows of backup teeth. That sounds familiar! How many times have I gone into school armed with plans and resources and other ideas just for back up?

Sixth sense

Sharks are successful predators because of their super senses. They have a sensory organ called the "ampullae of Lorenzini", which they use to feel electrical fields. I definitely need to develop that 'sixth' sense to be able to read my class and respond.

Food for thought

Some sharks eat plankton by swimming forward with their mouths wide open. "Gill rakers" at the back of their throat strain the tiny food from the water. I am scooping up masses of new information and still raking through it!

So, maybe there are a few similarities between sharks and probationers. We congregate in schools and don't really sleep. We just have active and inactive periods.

Every day is a challenge

All being said, the start of my probationary year has been positive but stressful. Every day is a challenge, but I have great support and I know I can ask for help to navigate through the murky waters ahead. There have been ups and downs, but the children in my class are great and certainly keep me on my toes!

If you can identify with a little of this, then, when the going gets tough, remember: s/he who laughs, lasts!

Caroline Sharp
Primary Teacher
Kingsland Primary School, Scottish Borders

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Nerves are natural: my first day

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 04:38:00 EDT

Elaine Todd didn't let first day nerves get the better of her.

I have to admit, at the start of term, I was in blind panic when thinking about how I would cope in class.

I'd been told after visiting the school I was placed in that I would be teaching Primary 7. This news was not what I'd expected! At first, there was fear . . . then panic. I'd only ever worked with a Primary 6 class on placement, and that was only for five weeks.

But, to be honest, after a day to process the news, I was really looking forward to it. This would be something different and I was ready for a wee change after continually working with infant classes on placement.

Preparation

I had been into school for four days over the summer holidays, for 3-5 hours each day just getting the classroom set up. In hindsight, I'm glad I did this as I felt more prepared for the first day of term.

The in-service day came . . . and went. I got to meet all the staff and my mentor sat me down to discuss any questions I had about the first week. I'd recommend chatting about any worries you're having - no matter how ridiculous you think the question may be (or how daft you may feel asking it!) there is always someone there to help.

I felt much better after talking with my stage partner about what to expect over the coming weeks. Working collaboratively with you're stage partner is also really important, I think I'd be lost without mine and I'm so grateful for all the little tips and bits of advice she has given me.

The first day

Before I knew it, it was the first day of term.

I'd arrived relatively early that morning just to double check everything in the classroom was still in place. It's strange the things that go through your mind: "What if all the desks have been removed?"

As the bell rang, my legs were like jelly. I couldn't understand why I was so nervous! I was not brave enough to bring in the line, a task which is now second nature to me, so my stage partner brought both classes in.

My new Primary 7 class piled into the classroom, and sat down in their chairs and then . . . there was silence. I think they were sussing me out, so I gathered them together and carried out the activities I'd arranged for the day (a few icebreakers, team-building exercises, deciding on class rules and such like).

Still standing

By break time, I was feeling much better and by lunch time, I was enjoying myself. At the end of the day, I couldn't wait for the next day to begin. It just goes to show nerves are natural and keep you on your toes!

So I made it through the dreaded first day, and the first week, and I'm still standing. Although it can seem daunting, you've got to take things one step at a time, and I think it's definitely fair to say that about every aspect in the probationary year.

Elaine Todd
Primary Teacher
St Nicholas Primary School, West Lothian

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Surviving your probation year

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 04:31:00 EDT

Elizabeth Platfoot offers some survival tips from deep within the jungle that is the modern classroom.

It's a wonderful feeling when you reach the halfway stage in your probation year. I've now been teaching for nearly six months, I've still got a lot more to learn but I know that I'm well on my way to making it up that teaching mountain.

At this point I feel a great sense of achievement as I've experienced most of my "firsts".

Climb every mountain!

I'll never forget that first in-service day when my university ego was quashed as I suddenly realised how much I didn't know, including how to organise the mountain of paper handed to me that morning.

Be prepared

My first teaching day was a flurry of nerves, excitement and anxious mental questions:

Will they like me?
What time is break?
Will I get lost?
How will I remember all their names?

Forget about the children – I was terrified! However, it all went well, the children were kept busy and they actually wanted to come back the next day!

Slowly, as the weeks passed, I began to realise that this intriguing, new initiative called A Curriculum for Excellence was actually beginning to work for me. I was becoming a successful learner with an enthusiasm and motivation for learning my craft.

I was also developing into a responsible citizen with a deep respect for those wonderful people who provided me with daily advice in the staffroom. The forward planning that, at first, took me hours became a simpler task and things began to get easier.

Then came my first assembly, which was an exhausting but hugely rewarding experience, particularly as I decided that my class would perform a play written by yours truly.

Although this earned me extra brownie points, I'd suggest looking in the teacher's resource room when it's your class's turn. You'll get more sleep that way!

Meet the parents

My first parents evening was looming. I was well prepared for this. I created an information sheet on each child. This was an effective communication tool and a fantastic support for any awkward pauses.

Parents evening is never as scary as you expect. It's actually rather fun particularly when you’re told that the work you're doing is pretty good.

However, you might just have a challenging parent or two and I had my fair share. Miraculously, you do survive the wrath of that dreaded parent, and then you realise that you've developed the resilience to be an effective contributor – third capacity of the new curriculum achieved – well done!

Make your classroom a haven of tranquillity – a scented candle and vase of flowers really do make a happy parent.

Be one of the team

Suddenly, I arrived in Winter Wonderland, my school was transformed and I was swept into the arms of Christmas.

As an eager probationer I enthusiastically grasped the opportunities to start a dance club and choreograph the P3 and P7 productions, along with making sure my Primary 5s performed their Christmas concert with the confidence of professionals.

Embrace these opportunities, it really is great to be in a place "where everybody knows your name" and this happens when you get involved.

On reflection

So now, after those observations, it's a good time to reflect. I'd say the single most important thing to focus upon is the building of relationships. You need effective relationships with your pupils, colleagues, supporter and parents.

Make an effort with everyone. It enables you to become a confident, ambitious individual – tick off your fourth capacity!

Probation year is a year of "firsts". Despite all the advice you’ll hear from courses and colleagues, you'll learn the most from your own experiences. There are hard times, happy times, scary times and easy times.

When you're juggling children, parents, displays, learning assistants, productions and assessments, just always remember, you’re doing the job of your dreams.

Final advice

How to get through your probation year and remain a normal human being, although some might question your normality as you’ve chosen to be a teacher!

Spend time with friends, they'll make you laugh
Understand that your life is not just about formative assessment, teachers can have lives out of school
Relax and rest – music or the pub are proven effective remedies!
Vitamins will stop you dropping down with the assorted winter ailments
Instant coffee does the trick on a Monday morning
Vegetable soup will keep your immune system strong and warm you up when the school heating system's on the blink!
Accept you don’t know it all and you're not meant to
Long lies on a Saturday morning – sleep's the best cure for everything!

Elizabeth Platfoot
Primary Teacher
Balgreen Primary School, Edinburgh

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If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

Hello and welcome!

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 04:30:00 EDT

Whether you're a new teacher on the Teacher Induction Scheme or are continuing your probation on the Alternative Route, we're here to help you.

Please check out the Teacher Induction Scheme guidance or the Alternative Route guidance for more information and support.

Teaching Scotland Online relaunched

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 04:29:00 EDT

Teaching Scotland online has relaunched with more content, more functionality and more reasons to visit than ever before. The new site gives you the opportunity to comment on features, take part in online polls and view exclusive content that is only available online.

Lee Polson, of GTC Scotland's web services team, was instrumental in the design and build of the site. She said: "Teaching Scotland online complements the magazine by taking advantage of some of the interactivity the internet allows. It's been an exciting project to work on and I hope readers enjoy the new site."

Editor Daniel Lambie said: "We were keen to develop the site to be more than just a replica of the magazine. We are hoping both will now feed off each other, and the feedback and comments we receive from our readers online will help us to decide appropriate future content."

Get involved

Look out for your chance to ask questions, make comments or vote in our special online polls.

We've teamed up with Leckie & Leckie, Scotland's leading educational publisher, to offer everyone who leaves a question or comment on our new site the chance to win £100 worth of books.

Visit www.teachingscotland.org.uk now to take part.

August monthly guidance

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 10:23:00 EDT

This section will act as your online support network, guiding you through your probationary period towards full registration.

The monthly newsletter and RSS feed will keep you informed of when this area has been updated with new guidance information.

August: starting out

Come August we know that you'll be excited as well as a nervous at the prospect of starting your probation year. You'll have lots of new staff and pupils to meet, you'll probably be finding your way around a new school, and you'll want to make sure your new coffee mug stays in the staffroom.

Starting out

You'll find the first few weeks in school can be very full and more than a bit daunting. But, don't worry; this website is here to help you!

We'll be posting Monthly guidance to help you through your probationary period towards full registration.

We'll email you a keep you informed to let you know when the new guidance is online, and you can also receive it through our RSS news feeds.

On the website, you'll find lots of hints and tips to help you prepare, as well as real-life experiences from probationers to help you see that you're not alone!

You'll probably want to check out some of these pages first:

Probation process will let you see what's coming up this term
How to meet the SFR sets out the qualities and capabilities expected of you during your induction year and explains how you meet Standard for Full Registration
Starting out hints and tips will help you survive the first weeks of term
Your experiences will give you an insight into how recent probationers managed at the start of term

Online Profiles

Accessing the Online Profile system

All probationers on the Teacher Induction Scheme will be automatically registered on the My GTCS and Online Profiles systems.

However, you will not be able to access the system until your local authority probation manager has created your profile and assigned you to a school, headteacher and supporter on the system.

Once your local authority manager has done this, you will be able to log in by clicking on the Log In button at the top right hand side of either the GTCS or Probationer Teacher Scotland websites.

More help and advice

Remember you can Contact us at any time with questions or visit the Discussion forums to chat with other probationers.

A year in the life

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 10:20:00 EDT

Alison Hughes on her year as a probationer teacher.

"Summer time and the livin' is easy…" - or at least it used to be!

School starts back on 1September, doesn't it? (I grew up in Northern Ireland). Apparently not in Scotland; term resumes in the height of Summer. In fact as a probationer it's even earlier, 9 August. Yes 9 August! It was a foreboding thought.

The probation routine

Probation CPD was a chance to meet other probationers and to get some hints and tips from last year's cohort.

It gave an insight into what life is like for a pupil…timetabled lectures, registration, queuing for lunch and tactically choosing your seat.

My placement was to be Wester Hailes Education Centre (WHEC). It's amazing how many people purport to know so much about the place.

I was to learn a lot from the prejudices of Edinburghers about life in the "ghetto" as some referred to WHEC. In this case, outsiders' views were most definitely incorrect! I found myself quickly settling into routine and enjoying the challenge of my new career.

Behaviour management

Classroom and behaviour management, a favourite topic of conversation among teachers, featured substantially during the first couple of months in CPD courses, school/supporter meetings and general chit-chat.

"Remember that you know your boundaries and what you term acceptable behaviour. Your pupils don't. Yet."

A wise man shared this sage advice. This gave me the freedom to stop pressurising myself into creating a meticulously organised and well behaved class in the first three weeks. The trick is to stick with your rules, re-enforce, and follow through with what you say and demand.

The run up to Christmas was full of tests, reports, marking, Christmas shows, classroom displays, meetings, etc, etc. Diaries were packed and time passed in a blur. It was a rewarding term as relationships with staff and pupils developed. And so the holidays arrived.

Second term

Coming back for a second term was no longer the new experience. January had potential to be a month of long dark evenings. There was so much to do - new courses to plan, extra curricular activities, and only five weeks in school till the half term holidays…

Job hunting

"What will you be doing next year?" is a question that probationers are likely to hear constantly. Come March, life changes gear, the topic of conversation shifting to next year's job prospects.

You begin a serious relationship with application forms, progressing to a short affair with interviewers (best to try not to prolong this).

My advice: plan well in advance, arrange mock interviews, seek advice from those you know have been through this recently. Securing a job is not easy, but take heart that every single probationer has to go through this process.

The end in sight

Summer term isn't just about application forms. There are external exams, S1 residential, field trips, new timetables, staff events, a mad dash to finish courses, P7 visits and a host of other activities going on in and around the school.

For me, it means the end of an era. My probation year has been a great experience. I don't think I would change any of it, not even the difficult days when I contemplated the idea that some pupils might never follow the classroom code!

Earning pupil trust by being consistent and fair is fundamental. Perseverance with behaviour management strategies is an investment that has paid off.

Having reached this point, it's worth noting that earning pupil trust by being consistent and fair is fundamental. This can provide the foundation to build positive relationships with pupils, an asset most teachers find essential in order to reap the real benefits of life in this profession.

I've had a fantastic department to work in, the support for new teachers is excellent and generally, everyone is very positive here.

So I leave WHEC with a heavy heart, taking many happy memories with me. To those of you fortunate to have a student placement, probation year or permanent job here…you're very blessed.

Alison Hughes
Geography Teacher
Wester Hailes Education Centre, Edinburgh

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You can comment on this article in the Discussion forums.

If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

A week in the life of a probationer

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 10:22:00 EDT

Kathryn Munro guides you through five days in the working week of a probationer teacher.

Monday

The start of another week and a new set of lesson plans. The pupils start off quietly as they recover from their weekends and wake up.

The morning is spent teaching and the afternoon is 0.3 time on the Timetable, which means paperwork. I write up the last week, recording any CPD I have done in my 0.3 time - this record needs to be completed accurately to ensure that, come time it's all nice and easy...

Some development of department resources comes next - all good for the CPD portfolio! Oh, and time for a wee coffee with the other probationers. It's important to support each other and to take a few moments out.

Tuesday

My busiest teaching day. I have my two second-year classes in one day - surely a crime! The day ends and I feel like I've done a marathon. Yet I've a sense of achievement that my classes have had a good day.

It's not finished yet.

Study club runs today, so I wait, hopeful that some of the exam classes will turn up for extra help.

One of the best things about study club is meeting the kids on an individual basis and being able to give them a bit of confidence about their abilities in Biology...oh, and have a gossip!

Wednesday

First period is our department meeting and I report back on the resources I have been developing. At the latest of my Supporter Meetings we go through the school week. I have prepared an agenda and take the minutes from the meeting. It has become very much a routine and isn't as much work as it first appeared to be.

At lunchtime, I meet with some of the most enthusiastic kids in the school at Gracemount Environmental Team meetings. I always come away with a smile as we plan another enterprise project around the school.

Thursday

Today is double second years again...challenging yet fulfilling. They love the practical I have planned and go away talking about Science. How can I ask for anything more?!

Lunchtime is my SIM (Senior Induction Manager) meeting and we usually go through various aspects of the SFR. Someone comes along to speak to us about an aspect of the school and I look forward to learning more about other people’s roles in the life of a school.

Thursday afternoon is always tough as, nearing the end of week, the kids and I treat ourselves to a night off with no lesson planning or organisation.

This is my night off to socialise and forget about teaching and catch up with my friends - it's vital not to let teaching over take your life! It will fill any space you give it.

Friday

Friday is a half day and it flies by.

While most other teachers head home, we head to a CPD course provided by the council. I have grasped any opportunity to learn more this year and develop as a teacher so have a course most Fridays.

I come away with new ideas to include in my lesson planning over the weekend before the week begins again...

Kathryn Munro
Biology and Science Teacher
Gracemount High School, Edinburgh

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If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

The allocation situation

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 10:09:00 EDT

Kirstin Parker remembers the initial worry of living away from home during her probation period.

In my usual chat with the girls about how time flies and how quickly this year has gone, I realised it was exactly one year to the day that we received our letter from the GTC telling us the local authority we would be allocated in our probation year.

But as I laugh and make jokes now, I remember all the tears inMay 2006. And I’m sure there will be many of you in the same position this year.

The dream

My plan in life never changed: I'd go to Edinburgh University to do my teaching degree then move back home to Dumfries and Galloway.

As my final year ended, everyone looked for flats around Edinburgh for their probation year while I thought about moving back home to the people I missed so much. I couldn’t wait!

I didn’t even seem to be nervous about the letter arriving as I was convinced I was going home. Everyone else I had known in previous years that had selected Dumfries and Galloway as their first choice had been placed there. Surely I would be too?

"Miss Parker, we are pleased to inform you that you will complete your probation year in…West Lothian."

I cried. I don’t cry very often but on this day, I cried like I had never cried before. This was not my plan. I couldn’t do it. I wanted to be at home. When I was finally in a fit state to talk, I spoke to my friends and my family.

I've always believed that everything happens for a reason. So I knew what I had to do. I went back to Edinburgh, and off to West Lothian to be a teacher.

The reality

I’ve loved it! I can't see why I was so upset to begin with. Every time I had a bad day, I kept all the positive things in mind.

Like everyone, I’ve had my ups and downs. Sometimes you’ll have observations that don’t go well or you feel like you’re disappearing under all the work you have to do on your desk!

Every time I had a bad day, I kept all the positive things in mind. Remember the effort you’ve put in and what you achieved.

I entered a group of Primary 5s in a football tournament. When we got there, we were the only team without a kit, but the look on their faces when we came second was one of the moments I like to remember.

I was so proud! And their faces lit up when I announced we had recycled enough mobile phones and print cartridges for a free football kit.

Every note from a parent saying thanks and all the pictures and cards from the children, they always bring a smile to my face. And if you reach the stage when you find yourself saying "I can’t do this anymore", you're wrong. I’ve said it so many times.

Full circle

Looking back at my whole year I can’t imagine what life would have been like if I'd gone home. I’ve come such a long way.

I’m lucky to have worked in a school where we have such hard working staff and everyone pulls together to help. It’s almost like I have my own little family at work everyday when I can’t see my real family.

I don’t think there is one person in my school that I couldn’t ask for advice or for that wee extra bit of help.

I always thought that going to West Lothian was the hardest thing I had ever had to do, but leaving will be a million times harder.

Well, my plan didn’t really change that much! I went to Edinburgh University for four years, took a little detour through West Lothian and I’m now moving back to Dumfries and Galloway at the end of this year.

So maybe you did get your first choice and that is great. If you didn’t, trust me. Everything that is thrown at you makes you a stronger teacher. I wouldn’t have changed this year for the world!

Kirstin Parker
Primary Teacher
Uphall Primary School, West Lothian

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You can comment on this article in the Discussion Forums.

If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

Games-based learning

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 10:37:00 EDT

Maree Innes tells us about her experience of games-based learning with her primary 2/3 class.

During my probation year, I have been the class teacher for a P2/3 class of 24 pupils and we were fortunate to be given the opportunity to participate in a games-based learning initiative.

My class took part in a "Nintendogs" project and we were loaned eight Nintendo DS consoles and related software. The purpose of the project was to provide a rich context for learning and, on this occasion, I believe that this objective was fully met.

The project was supported by the Aberdeenshire Glow team who provided comprehensive plans that showed how the project contributes to the entitlements of A Curriculum for Excellence. They also gave good ideas for suggested learning activities.

First impressions

My immediate thoughts on receiving the consoles centred on the implication of having only 8 consoles for a class of 24 pupils. I wondered how the children would cope with sharing the equipment and the impact on their team-working skills. I need not have been concerned as development of these skills was one of the most successful outcomes of the topic.

Through discussion of team formation, the pupils organised themselves into groups of three, with each team including a child who already owned the game. Over the six-week period we rolled out the game "Nintendogs", while engaging in other related activities such as making dog registration forms and researching and reporting on a breed of dog. We had a visit from the Guide Dogs charity and continue to be involved with them by taking part in fund raising activities.

Glow-ing introduction

This project was a great way to introduce the pupils to Glow as their Puppydog Tales Group encouraged us to share our learning in the form of diaries and entering our competition results in a league table.

An enjoyable project

This has been a most enjoyable project for both the pupils and me; I found it to be engaging and relevant for the class.

It was an active approach to learning, which has allowed for choice and the pupils have been given opportunities to collaborate and develop their problem-solving skills. They have been given opportunities to learn through technology by using the Nintendo consoles and its Pictochat facility.

Their knowledge of Glow has increased as they used the Puppydog tales group to record and share information and they are now keen to engage further with this learning resource.

I particularly noticed the improvement in the pupils' skills in team working and respecting others' needs and opinion. They worked through their problems and understood the rules regarding behaviour within the team and were co-operating effectively.

Overall, I would strongly recommend taking part in this type of games based learning and hope to be able to participate in similar activities in the future.

Maree Innes
Primary Teacher
Aboyne Primary School, Aberdeenshire

Share your experiences

You can comment on this article in the Discussion forums.

If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

TeachMeet 2009: Student Edition

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 08:06:00 EDT

Learn something new, be amazed, amused and enthused. TeachMeet 2009 is an informal gathering of student and probationer teachers who are curious about technologies. Anyone can share cool ideas they have or great ideas they've trialled in their classrooms.

TeachMeet 2009: Student Edition will take place on Tuesday 9 June 2009, 6.00-8.00pm; McCance Building, 16 Richmond Street, Glasgow, G1 1XQ. See the TeachMeet 2009: Student Edition website for more details.

Improvements to the Online Profile system

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 11:41:00 EDT

Improvements to the Online Profile system

In response to the feedback we received from users of the Online Profile system, we have made some improvements to the system.

Observed Teaching Sessions

We've added a "Back" link to the top of the Observed Teaching Sessions page so you can now to go directly back to the Online Profile page.

Key strengths and areas for development

Each field on the Key strengths page is now mandatory and has to be completed before the headteacher can sign the profile off.

We've made the Key strengths fields bigger so that more text can be seen on screen without having to scroll down the page.

We've added a "save and continue option" to the Key strengths page so you can save your work periodically before the system times out.

CPD Record

We've changed the CPD Record so that you only need to add a brief evaluation and impact of your CPD experience, rather than extensive detail. You only need to give a snapshot of the CPD you have completed; detailed information on CPD experiences should be saved in a CPD portfolio instead.

Spellchecker

We've added an "ignore all" option to the spellchecker, so you can choose to ignore all instances of words that are not in the dictionary.

Headteacher notes

Headteachers can now add notes to all Online Profiles, regardless of the type of recommendation made.

Printing

We have improved the page layout so that the profile can now be printed out if required.

Time-out limit

We have increased the time-out limit to 80 minutes, which should be enough time to complete sections before the system logs you out. We still recommend that you save your profile regularly to avoid losing any unsaved information.

Future changes

One of the most significant changes for the Online Profiles next year will be that the recommendation process (affectionately known as the ping pong game) at the end of each profile will be simplified.

We will update you of any other changes as they occur. If you have any questions about these changes or any aspect of completing the Online Profile or of the probation process then please contact the Professional Learning and Development Department.

Games-based learning with Nintendogs

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 05:46:00 EDT

Jo Barcas Buchan espouses the benefits of games-based learning.

I'm currently a probationer with a P2 class at Fraserburgh South Park Primary School in Aberdeenshire. When I started in August the school was already committed to games-based learning, with Dr Kawashima brain training in full swing. A class pack of Nintendo DS consoles and the Nintendogs game was earmarked for my P2s to use.

Inspiration

After attending a fantastic games-based learning in-service course, run by Anna Rossvoll, in November, I was keen to try Nintendogs for myself. I asked my mentor for permission to replace the existing Environmental Studies topic for the third term with Nintendogs as a context for learning. From then on it was all systems go!

Getting started

There were lots of ideas already available on Glow, and I took inspiration from these, and drew upon the children's own ideas as to what they would like to do as part of a dog-themed project.

Learning outcomes

Planning a topic from scratch was time-consuming but enjoyable, as I was able to tailor the activities and learning outcomes more closely to the needs of my own class.

I also found the new 3-18 outcomes easier to use and more flexible than the 5-14 documents. The 3-18 outcomes, along with the four capacities of the Curriculum for Excellence, really allowed me to plan more cross-curricular learning.

How it worked

The children loved the Nintendogs from day one. Each mixed-ability group of three children shared a console and named and trained their own puppy pal, writing diaries about their pooch.

The results

The consoles promoted group work and real co-operation, and gave us many opportunities for the children to work together to solve problems.

Communication skills have improved too, both verbally and in writing. Numeracy has been extended, as children have managed budgets running into thousands of pounds, and successfully discussed place value to thousands not just the tens and units used in their maths.

We've had trips to the library to check out non-fiction dog books, a real dog in class for a visit, newspaper reporters and photographers in, a visit from Derek Robertson from the Learning and Teaching Scotland Consolarium to record a podcast, and even a TV crew in for a day.

We've learnt how to take care for a dog, made dog finger puppets, had a vet role play centre in class, looked at dogs in art and made fantastic art work in response. The list goes on. It's hard to pick a highlight, and even harder to see a lowlight! Perhaps the day the Nintendogs got fleas...

Benefits

The Nintendogs project has been an amazing opportunity for me as a probationer, and has had such benefits for my class. The children are more confident, more willing to take on a challenge and more able to talk about what they are doing in class now.

What's next?

I'm evaluating the project as part of my Aberdeenshire Council probationer mini-research and I'm looking forward to sharing the work we've been doing with everyone else! I'd jump at the chance for another games-based learning project to try and am now firmly convinced of the value of technology in the classroom to enrich the learning experience.

Jo Barcas Buchan
Primary Teacher
Fraserburgh South Park Primary School, Aberdeenshire

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Join us in the Twitterverse!

Tue, 24 Mar 2009 05:02:00 EDT

GTCS is now using Twitter to keep you up to date with the latest news and other events that we're involved in. Twitter is a microblogging service that makes it easy to keep up with friends and contacts. It is free to use, and you can check our feed anytime by visiting www.twitter.com/gtcs. You can also sign up for your own account and follow us to receive automatic updates.

Storyline approach

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 05:49:00 EDT

Natalie Rooney shares her experience using the storyline approach.

As a student teacher, I was enthused and excited about the opportunities for cross-curricular work within a storyline approach. I recently had the opportunity to develop and plan my own storyline topic for my Primary 1 class.

Having done a lot of research, I realised that the key to a successful Storyline is to have an exciting and dramatic start that captures children's imagination and enthusiasm.

Introducing the story

My first episode saw children coming into their classroom to find that an alien had crashed in through the ceiling (through a large hole in the roof). The impact had to be huge so the desks were knocked over, there was space dust all over the classroom, and the class teddy bear was hiding under his bed sheets!

The children were encouraged to put the pieces of the jigsaw together to try to determine what had happened. One child found the broken spaceship and the whole class stood with bated breath while he opened up the door . . .

Findings

Having found an alien inside the spaceship, the children then decided to look inside his bag. They looked at the range of objects and as a class we pieced the story together to work out who this alien was and why he was here.

They found that this name was Alin and they also found his mission document, detailing his tasks. The tasks were directly related to the key questions of the class Environmental Studies project "Me and My Family".

Integrating learning experiences

The children were then encouraged to think of ways we could help Alin the alien with his task and this led them off on a variety of learning experiences.

Alin went home with pupils to find out about life in their family, children took photographs of him and wrote entries in his logbook to describe their activities.

The storyline also saw children adding up nuts and bolts in order to help Alin repair his spaceship. They created dramatic role-plays to show family roles and children were enthralled by the chance to write a story for the "Galactic Times".

A classroom display was developed with the storyline and children were encouraged to contribute. They created blow paintings of Alin's alien family and friends, and this became a central focus of the classroom and provided children an opportunity to share their learning with parents during our weekly "busy start".
Planning the storyline

My planning for the storyline started out with a basic frame of 6-7 key episodes, but was adapted and changed to meet children's interests and the development of the story that the children were creating.

It was essential to let go of the reigns and let children have ownership of the project while facilitating and planning interesting episodes.

Enthusiasm

I was really wowed by the enthusiasm of the children and it was great to see that they were motivated and engaged with the dramatic context.

Parents commented how much they had heard their child speak about Alin the alien and how enthusiastic they were to write their logbook entries.

Concluding the story

After a few weeks it was time to draw the storyline to an end. A clear ending is just as important as a dramatic start, in order to bring closure to the experience for the children.

The children in my class became very attached to their visitor and many had dismissed suggestions that he would eventually leave.

The penultimate episode saw Alin receive a letter from his mother saying that she missed him and that it was time for him to come home. Children were able to sympathise with Alin's mother and could relate their own feelings about being separated from a family member and could empathise with Alin.

The class decided a suitable way to say farewell to their friend before he departed for home. Alin left school one evening on his newly repaired spaceship after a space-themed farewell party.

Natalie Rooney
Primary Teacher
Donibristle Primary School, Fife

Further information

Using the storyline approach (LTS website)

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If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.

Blogging good teaching

webservices@gtcs.org.uk — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 05:47:00 EDT

Russell Imrie shares his thoughts on the benefits of blogging in the classroom.

As a probationer teacher of Physical Education, I expected ICT to be an aspect of teaching I would use sporadically in the games hall, videoing and analysing straddle vaults or overhead clears.

My recent discovery of web logs (also known as blogs) has led to a dramatic overuse, some may say obsession, with possibly the best interactive tool available to schools.

Blog basics

It's important not to confuse a blog with a website. A blog allows a distinctive writing place where individuals are able to communicate online, creating a sense of identity, personality and ownership.

Currently I have three blogs up and running: one for a Standard Grade class, one for a Higher class and one for a school football team.

The simplest way to blog is to publish for practical reasons, transferring basic information relating to your class or club. I've uploaded various documents and information to my blogs, including:

class notes
powerpoint presentations
homework sheets
team news
links to various websites

Your blog effectively acts as an online school notice board, newspaper and resource bank for pupils, accessible anytime and anywhere. As the editor, you can easily revise previous posts.

It can also contribute to assessment for learning; publishing future lessons and lesson intentions enables pupils to go online and know what to expect for that day. Pupils who are absent can see what they're missing and what to catch up on.

Extra support

I've occasionally used my blog to offer additional reading or to provide extra support. This can be set as optional, for pupils to complete at home in their own free time or, if you're lucky (as I am) to have access to a computer suite, be completed in class.

It's also possible for pupils to respond to blog posts and discuss topics that you've set. This can be completed in class as individual, paired or group work. The excitement of being online offers an innovative and motivating lesson that the pupils respond well to.

I generally have my blogs operating through comment moderation. This means a comment will not be published online unless I have authorised it and it has an identified author.

Blogs can be used as a place where students (or even parents) can leave feedback or voice their concerns on any issue they feel relevant.

I encourage my pupils to use the "comment" feature to ask everyday questions about lessons, homework or general concerns. On this occasion I allow pupils to publish their comments as anonymous.

Pros and cons

If blogs are so simple to use and offer so many benefits to a school and its pupils then why are they not more widely used? Well, like all good things there are drawbacks.

Firstly, the success of a blog relies on all pupils having easy access to the Internet. When asked, all my pupils said they had access outside of school. However, this should not be a deterrent as pupils should be encouraged to use school computer labs or library.

Secondly, having to moderate every comment with for example a homework discussion requires the teacher to regularly check the blog to keep the discussion flowing. However, for my Higher blog I have adopted a new approach.

I emailed all pupils via the blog inviting them to join; this allowed pupils to create a username and password that they need in order to leave a comment.

I have now removed the comment moderation feature, as no pupil can leave a comment without first signing in. This encourages the pupils to have more ownership and responsibility for the blog.

A different approach

Blogging is by no means the new way to teach. However, I have found that it creates stimulation within the classroom with its unique slant on communication, publishing work and completing homework.

It requires, as with all teaching, a lot of planning, preparation and organisation in order to be successful. I would definitely recommend it.

Happy blogging!

You can visit my blogs at:

Russell Imrie
PE Teacher
Lenzie Academy, East Dunbartonshire

Share your experiences

You can comment on this article in the Discussion Forums.

If you'd like to write your own article on any aspect of being a probationer teacher, please share your experiences with us.

We will consider all topics, and any published work can be counted towards your CPD time and added to your CPD portfolio.