Teacher training: Teach First?

[SpookyFrank]

And in fact maths anxiety might actually affect students with the highest maths attainment most, particularly girls.

I came across some similar research. Probably the same research tbh. I think I used it in one of my essays too.

Evidently, from the way schools are actually run, it's only PGCE students who read this kind of stuff. Then once they're new teachers they have zero ability to change anything, at least not until they've climbed up through a system that encourages them at every turn to abandon both their own judgement and any kind of evidence-based practice.

You can, however, tactically ignore school policies and get away with it. Particularly once you realise that management know full well that you're not that easy to replace. I for example have never used the phrase 'track me' in class and never will, even though it's the 'required language' where I work. If challenged on this I have a copy of the teachers' standards I can produce at a moment's notice, so I can point out the 'safe learning environment for all pupils' bit; the bit which expecting non-neurotypical children to maintain eye contract with a speaker at all times directly contravenes. I haven't been challenged about it yet. They know they've got no actual grounds to require me to use any specific form of words.

 

[SpookyFrank]

As for cognitive load theory, everyone in education knows about it. And yet teachers are habitually expected to do keep a minimum of ten things in their head at all times and do five things at once.

 

[rutabowa]

As for cognitive load theory, everyone in education knows about it. And yet teachers are habitually expected to do keep a minimum of ten things in their head at all times and do five things at once.

ha yes absolutely, and it always the irony that all the training/tuition we get on CLT is delivered at the rate of one packed slide every 2 seconds. and of course if this makes teachers anxious and anxiety is catching it is all a vicious circle.

You might like this bit from the conclusion, pretty sure I got influence by something you said about direct instruction at some point over the year, it is like a parallel between how students learn and how teachers get trained in our system (you would probably be a bit less equivocal about it than me though):

I have come to realise how important it is, for me, to understand that cognitive science/cognitive load theory is not, in itself, a philosophy. However, it is a body of research that can be used to justify a philosophy. The current prevailing trends, tending towards direct instruction, are part of a realist philosophy. This philosophy is based on the evidence of cognitive load theory; but this philosophy is not necessarily the only possible conclusion that follows from the evidence. In a way I see a parallel between (for example) Rosenshine’s Principles, and KCF (the shortcut method for fraction division). They are both good for giving a practical process that works quickly; but, on their own, they do not give insight into the wider schemas (of, respectively, “instruction” or “number”). They are definitely not incorrect, and in fact can be very useful, but they should not be mistaken for the schema itself, which is much more complex (in both cases). Their use is in providing a quick route to procedural fluency, which can (and must) then be built on to develop conceptual understanding.

"Having conceptual understanding enables students to meaningfully operate upon rules and procedures, and provides a strong basis for effective problems solving." (Panasuk and Beyranevand, 2010)

Is this way round (procedural fluency followed by conceptual understanding) ideal? I am unsure. Carrol’s view is that “[e]ven a moderately oversimplified model is often useful, nonetheless, in dealing with complex phenomena” (Carroll, 1989). Sweller, on the other hand, suggests “[l]earning the procedure in this fashion [shortcut procedure] substantially reduces the cognitive load but at the expense of understanding” (Sweller, 1998). Nevertheless, on both sides of my analogy, time constraints might mean that it is the most pragmatic approach. Trainee teachers in the UK, particularly on the Teach First programme, are in the classroom teaching from the start; they need strategies that work fast, and are easy to learn, in order to survive. And students only have a very limited amount of contact time in class (particularly with Covid disruption); perhaps they too need a quick fix approach.

 

[philosophical]

Years ago a headteacher said to me that they were obliged to teach a ‘bottom set’ yr 10 group Mathematics, and said they didn’t know where to start.
I suggested getting them an Argos catalogue each, setting a budget, and planning present buying.
At the end of that term the headteacher said the idea had sustained (with creative minor variations) for about 13 weeks!
They also said it was the most enjoyable and trouble free teaching they had ever done.
I think relating schooling to the real lives of the students is a good idea.
Knowing how many wives Henry the Eighth had is all very well, but learning budgeting is better to help a person cope with something like an energy crisis.

 

[rutabowa]

Years ago a headteacher said to me that they were obliged to teach a ‘bottom set’ yr 10 group Mathematics, and said they didn’t know where to start.
I suggested getting them an Argos catalogue each, setting a budget, and planning present buying.
At the end of that term the headteacher said the idea had sustained (with creative minor variations) for about 13 weeks!
They also said it was the most enjoyable and trouble free teaching they had ever done.
I think relating schooling to the real lives of the students is a good idea.
Knowing how many wives Henry the Eighth had is all very well, but learning budgeting is better to help a person cope with something like an energy crisis.

That is cool in a way... doing it for 13 weeks was pretty much giving up on that group getting any grade whatsoever in their maths exam tho, which would have lifelong consequences for them. I'm not sure "enjoyable and trouble free" should be the primary aim tbh, some things are just difficult

 

[philosophical]

That is cool in a way... doing it for 13 weeks was pretty much giving up on that group getting any grade whatsoever in their maths exam tho, which would have lifelong consequences for them.

Yeah I get that.
As far as the grading system goes, that is another conversation.

 

[rutabowa]

i am literally just planning a sequence of lesson on personal finances so was a relevant idea for me! def having one on doing a shop/budgeting... an argos catalogue or something might be a good idea. prob stuff to do with credit and loans.

 

[philosophical]

I suggested the Argos catalogue at the time because it was tactile and colourful.
Another way of keeping interest beyond what I had been subject to in my schooldays, which was basically chalk and talk and copying.

 

[rutabowa]

the equivalent now would be something to do with online shopping I guess, but obv that is not "tactile" (unless they all got out their phones and did it on there somehow, which is not happening).

And all the stuff about needing mental arithmetic/written calculation methods because of shopping wouldn't (doesn't) work any more, as everything gets added up and calculated automatically by the computer.

 

[SpookyFrank]

Years ago a headteacher said to me that they were obliged to teach a ‘bottom set’ yr 10 group Mathematics, and said they didn’t know where to start.
I suggested getting them an Argos catalogue each, setting a budget, and planning present buying.
At the end of that term the headteacher said the idea had sustained (with creative minor variations) for about 13 weeks!
They also said it was the most enjoyable and trouble free teaching they had ever done.
I think relating schooling to the real lives of the students is a good idea.
Knowing how many wives Henry the Eighth had is all very well, but learning budgeting is better to help a person cope with something like an energy crisis.

I moonlighted as a maths teacher for a few weeks last year and the best lessons I had were the ones that involved explaining 12- and 24-hour clock timings and calculations using bus and train timetables. This was a school in a small rural town, the sort of place where public transport is vital for having any kind of life pre-driving licence.

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

Do they still do physical catalogues?

I run into odd stuff like that.

Planned a lesson around card games. Turns out most teens have not played card games as they have all had phones since they stopped teething.

They did know of the concept of card games so I am managing.

 

[rutabowa]

Inspired by this thread I made a resource based in the online Gucci shop sale, teaching reverse percentage (how to work out the original price when you're told the sale price and what percentage off it was). Went down well.

It was a tough term but today was so amazing watching this talent show year 8 had put together, it was the best experience ever, so privileged to be there and see it. I hope everyone has a nice holiday

 

[Sweet FA]

Good work mate.

I've used car/bike configurators in maths with otherwise disinterested children:

BMW Configurator | BMW UK

Configurator

 

[Lea]

Hello rutabowa just read through the thread really quickly. Well done for getting this far in your teacher training year.

I did a schools direct with PGCE (Secondary French) in 2020/2021 after being made redundant from my admin job at the start of the pandemic. It was the most difficult year in my whole working life. I found behaviour really difficult to manage. The working hours were very long. Spent hours every evening and weekend preparing PowerPoint presentations for the lessons. Differentiation for the high/low ability and SEN pupils. It was very rewarding and I managed to finish my training year and was awarded the PGCE. I'm glad that I did it but it was tough as doing the additional PGCE meant that you had no time off during the holidays which were taken up researching/writing the essays.

Good luck with the rest of your training.

 

[rutabowa]

I like this paper about the "Solidarity Assimilation Method" in Brazil, it kind of puts my concerns about the programme into words: (PDF) Mathematics education's solidarity assimilation methodology

just concluding my second assignment, I managed to shoehorn this in it is quite exciting, well it isn't really shoehorning as it is totally fundamental to how I see the education system... really recommend reading this article to anyone interested in a marxist perspective but with v practical strategies for operating within it, it is v inspiring.

 

[maomao]

I have to do about her 5000 worder by mid-June and I haven't even started. When I cracked on with the first one it went okay and I got 80% so I should be able to coast it but I am just so knackered from actual teaching. As I am currently working unqualified I get a full teacher load not the NQT/ECT hours ago and they have got me doing drama and all sorts (never agree to teach drama). Great for my behaviour management, terrible for almost every other aspect of my teaching.

 

[rutabowa]

I have to do about her 5000 worder by mid-June and I haven't even started. When I cracked on with the first one it went okay and I got 80% so I should be able to coast it but I am just so knackered from actual teaching. As I am currently working unqualified I get a full teacher load not the NQT/ECT hours ago and they have got me doing drama and all sorts (never agree to teach drama). Great for my behaviour management, terrible for almost every other aspect of my teaching.

Ah that sounds tough.
You get percentage grades? We just get fail/borderline/secure pass/strong pass... bit disappointing really! I got secure pass, can't see me ever getting higher than that with my other commitments/work ethic ha.

 

[maomao]

Ah that sounds tough.
You get percentage grades? We just get fail/borderline/secure pass/strong pass... bit disappointing really! I got secure pass, can't see me ever getting higher than that with my other commitments/work ethic ha.

I think I'm off the normal protocol. It's just me and one tutor trying to get me finished by email. That's part of the problem, no input/ideas.

 

[rutabowa]

We basically get 3 spaced (online) university days for each assignment, which do give quite a lot of structural help and pointers to research/suggested timeline etc... sounds a lot more scaffold. There's a personal tutor too but they're mainly doing lesson observations and feedback.

 

[rutabowa]

Woo just got my result on that assignment "strong pass"! Maybe I got a marxist marker. Really didnt think I'd get that... unfortunately I seem to be much better at writing essays than I am at actual teaching but hopefully that will come

 

[equationgirl]

I think I'm off the normal protocol. It's just me and one tutor trying to get me finished by email. That's part of the problem, no input/ideas.

Seeing as you are off piste, so to speak, for drama could you get them to do some interpretative dance and/or mime for a lesson? Communicate without speaking?

It might be a shit idea...

 

[maomao]

Seeing as you are off piste, so to speak, for drama could you get them to do some interpretative dance and/or mime for a lesson? Communicate without speaking?

It might be a shit idea...

I've finished all my essays for the moment. Just handed in the last one Monday morning. Will graduate in July. And I've managed to get out of doing drama lessons for a few weeks as the Mandarin teacher is unwell.

Woo just got my result on that assignment "strong pass"! Maybe I got a marxist marker. Really didnt think I'd get that... unfortunately I seem to be much better at writing essays than I am at actual teaching but hopefully that will come

Congrats. I feel the same; it's a really difficult job and it feels like it'll be another year or two till I can do it justice.

 

[scifisam]

I've finished all my essays for the moment. Just handed in the last one Monday morning. Will graduate in July. And I've managed to get out of doing drama lessons for a few weeks as the Mandarin teacher is unwell.



Congrats. I feel the same; it's a really difficult job and it feels like it'll be another year or two till I can do it justice.

Fucking awesome, well done!

 

[equationgirl]

Well done on finishing everything maomao and fab news about evading drama for Mandarin

 

[philosophical]

Drama is the best subject ever.
Once you understand that PE isn't taught so people can become super dooper internationals, but it is worthwhile and educational in some way for all kids, then you will understand that Drama isn't taught to turn out actors.

 

[scifisam]

Drama is the best subject ever.
Once you understand that PE isn't taught so people can become super dooper internationals, but it is worthwhile and educational in some way for all kids, then you will understand that Drama isn't taught to turn out actors.

It is a great subject, but definitely not easy to teach, or at least to teach well.

 

[philosophical]

It is a great subject, but definitely not easy to teach, or at least to teach well.

Totally agree.
I think the basic dynamic (or at least one of them) is that Drama teachers are not filling up, but drawing out.
One huge advantage is that done well it has a starting point that says to the kids, you're already all right, let's build on that, and let's build on that together.
Definitely a tough gig to avoid the whole process becoming lazy self indulgent rubbish.

 

[maomao]

It is a great subject, but definitely not easy to teach, or at least to teach well.

I've only been filling in a couple of sessions a week because a drama teacher left at short notice and it is incredibly difficult to teach well. Just ensuring that the chaos of creation and rehearsal is something productive and not just a bunch of kids having sword fights can be very difficult. It can be a lot of fun and there's no marking. My main objection to doing it is that the kids aren't getting what they would from a trained drama teacher.

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

Doing out of field cover is jarring.

Had to cover functional skills English for a term. I managed to do reasonably by focusing on the speaking and listening part (which had an early exam) but I did feel that my stuff was sub par compared to what an English teacher could do.

 

[philosophical]

I've only been filling in a couple of sessions a week because a drama teacher left at short notice and it is incredibly difficult to teach well. Just ensuring that the chaos of creation and rehearsal is something productive and not just a bunch of kids having sword fights can be very difficult. It can be a lot of fun and there's no marking. My main objection to doing it is that the kids aren't getting what they would from a trained drama teacher.

I think you’re right that Drama needs a trained and educationally focussed Drama teacher.
There is ‘marking’ at exam level, but the subject is not particularly paper centric…if at all.
I worry that because it is very difficult to teach it is downplayed or dismissed or even abandoned by many in the educational field.
It also does not easily fit the utilitarian model that pervades a lot of modern education.
A child once said to me that you don’t learn anything in Drama, you get better at it.
Teaching is an amazingly difficult job, at first I think teachers just about survive, it gets a bit better after that, but at around the six year mark teachers realise they know nothing about the job, and it is at that point they begin to become proper teachers.
I would say that experience is everything in teaching, much more significant than training.