During the module, trainees will develop their ability to:

Engage parents and carers in the education of their children

Teach and rigorously maintain clear behavioural expectations in a different Key Stage than in placement 1

Create sequences of lessons, ensuring that pupils secure foundational knowledge before encountering more complex content

Balance exposition, repetition, practice and retrieval of critical knowledge and skills in their teaching

Develop pupils’ literacy by using a range of whole class reading approaches and reading high quality texts to children

Use concrete representations in their teaching

Adapt their teaching to meet the needs of the pupils in their class

Make effective use of additional adults in the classroom

Use effective assessment practices in their classroom to progress learning

Develop effective working relationships with other professionals in the school, e.g. SENCO

Satisfactory completion of all components of the placement booklet.



Due to the professional nature of the course this is a pass/fail module. This module must be passed for trainees to progress to Placement 3 in Level 6.

Responsibilities will increase during the course of this placement. Initially, trainees observe experienced teachers, focussing on how they establish a culture of trust and respect and how they reinforce rules and routines in their classrooms. Trainees work with groups of children under the direction of the teacher before taking charge for planning activities for groups and the whole class across a range of subjects, culminating in them teaching the whole class for at least 50% of the timetable by the end of the placement, based on lessons they have planned themselves. Trainees are given feedback on their practice from the school based mentor on a weekly basis in order to help them continually develop their practice.



Throughout the placement, trainees are involved in weekly professional discussions with their mentor, covering areas such as managing behaviour, planning steps in learning, adapting teaching to meet the needs of individual pupils, providing feedback, scaffolding pupil self-assessment, planning for a range of teaching methodologies and approaches to continuing professional development. In this way, they learn from experienced professionals about many aspects of classrooms practice.

On completion of this module, you will be able to demonstrate through your practice that you are making satisfactory progress towards the Teachers’ Standards as evidenced through your practice in placement and your ability to teach effectively for 50% of the timetable.

Knowledge & Understanding

Learning

Enquiry

Analysis

Problem Solving

Communication

Application

Reflection

Learners will find the following specifically useful for this module:¿

Burnett, C and Cremin, T. (2018) Learning to teach in the primary school (Open University Press, Maidenhead)
Creasy, M. (2022) Independent Thinking on Primary Teaching: Practical Strategies for working smarter not harder (Independent Thinking Press, Carmarthen)

Robinson, C. (2015) Your primary school-based experience: a guide to outstanding placements (Critical Publishing, Northwich)

University teaching sessions
Academic Mentor tutorials
Weekly placement meetings with school mentor
Observation/s of teaching from university representative

University library
Materials and links on course Blackboard site

Placements allow trainees to train in real-life situations and are invaluable for trainees in developing their professional abilities and behaviours. Each trainee will work closely with a school-based mentor and will observe experienced teachers in their day-to-day role and collaborate with them in planning, delivering and reviewing lessons. By the end of the Level 4 placement, trainees should be teaching the class for at least 50% of the timetable.