Supervised teaching experience (STE) – an introduction and overview

Placement is where you really learn how to be a teacher – you’ll be putting the theory into practice – and testing it! Your Initial Teacher Education (ITE) is a collaboration between your college, your mentor and the University.

We deliberately call it supervised teaching experience You will have direct guidance and support from at least 2 mentors – University personal tutor, Subject Specialist mentor in placement and wider staff/peers. Standard Teaching Placement = 2 days per week (usually Monday and Tuesday, but can include Wednesday). This can be negotiated – Monday 14 th October 2013 to Tuesday 17 th December 2013 & Monday 10 th February 2014 to Tuesday 29 th April Monday to Friday - Block Placement 1 - Monday 6 th January 2014 to Tuesday 4 th February 2014 (excluding your study day, subject to local negotiations with personal tutors and placement mentors and dependent upon timetabling and hours accrued). Monday to Friday during Block Placement 2 – Tuesday 6 th May 2014 to Friday 23 rd May 2014.

When do you start? STE Placements should begin on Monday 14 th October. Have you ed your STE form? Have you completed your DBS? You may be interviewed by a subject specialist. You will observe experienced teachers before starting to teach students yourself. Teaching should begin by beginning of November: - Planning Lessons - Resource Preparation - Teaching and Learning - Supporting Students - Assessing Students

Teaching observations Observation 1 is developmental – not pass/fail NB – take on board your feedback and act upon it ObservationDeadline (week ending)Observer(s) 120 th November 2013Supervised Teaching Experience (STE) tutor 211 th December 2013Placement mentor 310 th January 2014Peer These 2 observations can be done in any order 431 st January 2014 STE tutor & Placement mentor 526 th February 2014Placement mentor 619th March 2014STE tutor 79 th April 2014Peer 89 th May 2014STE tutor & Placement mentor

Attendance at placement Full day attendance (this usually means 9.00am – 5.00pm, though you could be teaching until 9.00pm) during both the standard placement and the block placements is expected, i.e. you do not just drop in to teach sessions. If you are unable to attend your placement college, consider the following: Illness: inform the college and the University. Other absence: must be negotiated in advance. Unexplained absence: risks the suspension of your bursary (if relevant), jeopardises your placement and will adversely affect your Professional Reports.

Travel Expenses Travel expenses can only be claimed termly. Forms are available from WN reception (3 rd floor). Travel expenses will only be paid for travel over and above the distance from where you reside to Walsall. Extra mileage is paid at 24p per mile and calculated using AA RoutePlanner or daily bus fare or 50% of a weekly/monthly bus pass – whichever is cheaper. Please return your completed forms to the WN reception

Teaching Timetables and Activities You should expect to teach approximately 6-8 hours a week during standard teaching placement and 12 hours a week during block placements. You will not receive a timetable on your first day in placement. It should be negotiated in due course. The sessions you are scheduled to teach will provide opportunities to cover a range of teaching scenarios, e.g. small and large group teaching, one-to-one, student support, team teaching etc.

Teaching requirements You are required to teach up to 120 hours this academic year to fulfil the requirements of the PGCE. It is your responsibility to monitor this and to act accordingly to ensure that you reach the requirements. Your placement will end on Friday 23 rd May Any other end date must be negotiated with your University tutor and placement mentor.

Working relationships University Self and Identity tutor – your lifeline. Placements – Matt O’Leary & Workplace mentor Mentor support, training and accreditation – Matt O’Leary & PCE team Placement College Placement Co-ordinator: liaises with the University – Matt O’Leary Placement Teaching Mentor: undertakes 2 formal observations each semester. Writes one Professional Report each semester. Subject Team: may also offer support and guidance. Other College Staff: can help to enrich the whole STE experience.

Assessment of teaching Your first observation is not graded. It is deliberately developmental. All subsequent observations formally undertaken by your STE tutor and/or Placement Mentor are graded on a Pass/Fail basis linked to the LLUK standards. Failure of a Joint Standards Observation will impact on progression/completion. Single failure of other observations may be retrieved. 2 consecutive Fail grades will lead to re-take/re-sit/ withdrawal at the discretion of the appropriate Board.

What happens if you receive a fail grade? Detailed feedback will be provided, both in person and in your Developmental Review. Essential features not met will be specifically identified. The ‘Cause for Concern’ or ‘At Risk …’ procedures will normally be instigated. The PCE Team will support you with a view to retrieval at the next agreed opportunity.

Summing up This is not an undergraduate programme. This programme may be very different from anything and anyway you have studied previously. This is a challenging programme, but you will be supported. This could be the most rewarding experience you have ever had. STE is an integral element of the PGCE course. You are entering a professional environment and we expect you to behave in a professional manner at all times. It is your responsibility to act accordingly.

To do..... Complete your DBS application asap – this is now urgent. You CANNOT start placement without it! Complete your STE form and electronically – we cannot begin to place you without this Get enrolled if you haven’t already Google/Facebook/Twitter yourself – could a student/colleague find you – is this the ‘teacher’ you that you want to project? Any questions?

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