I am lucky to get on the PGCert, as you need to be teaching in some capacity in order to qualify and generally in order to get teaching you need to be qualified.. Hmmm chicken and egg syndrome I think.
I have been requested to put a bit more in about the PGCert (or the lesser but similar qualification if you don't already have a degree CertEd). It will qualify me to teach at Further Education (FE) level, rather than at a school level and appeals to me as most people wanting to do further education actually want to do it rather than being forced by their situation to do it.
So how to get teaching, well you can request voluntary teaching to count, a minimum of 150 hours over the 2 years it will take to complete the course is the absolute minimum but that works out to 3 hours a week. Can be a mixture of group sessions and one to one tutoring sessions as well as an additional 50 hours of supported teaching admin - Meetings, CPD etc.
The interview was straightforward, asked about speciality and what you would teach. Luckily again I have years of experience of IT as well as a current role in teaching literacy and numeracy all important to add to your application. A couple of references as to your suitability go down well particularly if they are from academics rather than personal friends as it adds weight to your application.
"If you already have a degree, consider a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE). A PGCE course mainly focuses on developing your teaching skills, and not on the subject you intend to teach. For this reason, you are expected to have a good understanding of your chosen subject(s) – usually to degree level – before you start training" TDA Site
Finally, there are distance options as well as classes. I have done a lot of distance learning and while I can recommend it, nothing like a class focuses the mind on the subject and the four hours on a Monday night go by incredibly quickly. I come home shattered after a 16 hour day and my mind is about as focussed as a flattened hedgehog but I recover very quickly the following day and have the good sense not to book too early an appointment.
So if after this you still have a burning desire to teach, check out who in your local area offers the Initial Teacher Training Programme as they will also offer the PGCert or CertEd.
Showing posts with label Education. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Education. Show all posts
15 October 2010
11 June 2010
Being a Student Again
This time last year, I met with representatives from the Education department of Cornwall College in the hope of doing my CertEd with them. At the time, the house was just about to be put on the market and we were optimistic about a quick sale so I hoped that I would be able to start in the September. I passed the relevant tests, and was offered a place however the quick sale didn't happen and although I could have started in January this year it was during the daytime only and as I had only just started a temporary contract I couldn't really ask for a half-day so had to decline.
Since then I have found out that Truro and Penwith College in Truro do a similar course, and after talking to them in March at an open day I found that actually I could do the PGCE course which is similar but intended for graduates. I submitted my application, only for it to magically disappear, and I had to do another one including a 500 word personal statement about my reasons for wanting to teach and what qualities I could bring to the role.
Where is this going you ask? Well yesterday I had a formal interview for the course, and was accepted on the course. I haven't a clue about funding, but only that this course is something I have wanted to do for a very long time and I now have to make arrangements for teaching as this is a mandatory requirement for the course as over the two years I have to clock up 150 taught hours. Luckily the ICT teaching I undertook recently counts towards my total hours so I already have 30 and would hope to get a few more even if it means undertaking evening work.
So from September, I will be a student again, and collecting more bits of certificate paperwork along the way.
Since then I have found out that Truro and Penwith College in Truro do a similar course, and after talking to them in March at an open day I found that actually I could do the PGCE course which is similar but intended for graduates. I submitted my application, only for it to magically disappear, and I had to do another one including a 500 word personal statement about my reasons for wanting to teach and what qualities I could bring to the role.
Where is this going you ask? Well yesterday I had a formal interview for the course, and was accepted on the course. I haven't a clue about funding, but only that this course is something I have wanted to do for a very long time and I now have to make arrangements for teaching as this is a mandatory requirement for the course as over the two years I have to clock up 150 taught hours. Luckily the ICT teaching I undertook recently counts towards my total hours so I already have 30 and would hope to get a few more even if it means undertaking evening work.
So from September, I will be a student again, and collecting more bits of certificate paperwork along the way.
26 November 2009
The Best Days of your Life?
School is supposed to be the best days of your life, according to some wisdom often mentioned by adults when I was at school.
Not for me, I lost track of the number of schools I have attended, some for 6 months at a time because of army postings and being relocated to Malaya and Germany as well as various places in the UK. Not that I would have changed those experiences for the world. Zeltus and I did have the option to go to boarding school, but he had experienced that whilst in Malaya and I don't think enjoyed it very much, I was never one for the Mallory Towers books never mind the real thing.
The last school was particularly trying for me, Mill Chase County Secondary School in Bordon. Coming from an Army background this was the first civilian school I had attended in a few years and it was completely different from any other one I had attended. The teachers were ineffective in dealing with classroom issues and most of the time I just tried to keep my head down and not be a highlight for the bullies. I lost track of how many things were mislaid by me (taken from me) and I couldn't wait to escape as soon as possible.
I enjoyed the learning process, just not the place in which those processes happened. When the move to the Back of Beyond was due I was asked if I wanted to stay on at school and that was the easy answer - frankly I would rather pull my teeth out with a pair of pliers..lol.
So never one for an easy option, I started work at the grand old age of 16 years and 5 months of age and still working now. The Open University was a god send to me, I could enjoy the experience and get a degree while still working and even though I have my degree now, I can always be persuaded to continue my learning development.
Not for me, I lost track of the number of schools I have attended, some for 6 months at a time because of army postings and being relocated to Malaya and Germany as well as various places in the UK. Not that I would have changed those experiences for the world. Zeltus and I did have the option to go to boarding school, but he had experienced that whilst in Malaya and I don't think enjoyed it very much, I was never one for the Mallory Towers books never mind the real thing.
The last school was particularly trying for me, Mill Chase County Secondary School in Bordon. Coming from an Army background this was the first civilian school I had attended in a few years and it was completely different from any other one I had attended. The teachers were ineffective in dealing with classroom issues and most of the time I just tried to keep my head down and not be a highlight for the bullies. I lost track of how many things were mislaid by me (taken from me) and I couldn't wait to escape as soon as possible.
I enjoyed the learning process, just not the place in which those processes happened. When the move to the Back of Beyond was due I was asked if I wanted to stay on at school and that was the easy answer - frankly I would rather pull my teeth out with a pair of pliers..lol.
So never one for an easy option, I started work at the grand old age of 16 years and 5 months of age and still working now. The Open University was a god send to me, I could enjoy the experience and get a degree while still working and even though I have my degree now, I can always be persuaded to continue my learning development.
22 October 2009
Last Night
I had the pleasure of attending one of the Open University's 40th Anniversary Lectures.. this one was given by Philip Pullman who is an honarary graduate of the OU.
Philip was to discuss the relationship between the story and the illustration, I have tried to read the Dark Materials Trilogy without success, nor manage to listen to the audiobooks, and as for the film...well the less said about that the better.
Philip discussed the borderland of a story, that's the bits that aren't written down to you and me. In other words, the story sets a scene, it may describe a place, a tavern, dark and warm with a nice fire and beer flowing. Your vision of the inn will be different to mine, drawing on our own experiences of life... I have always said that to me reading a book is like making my own film, I read the words and convert it to my own personal film show; I am caught up in my own imagination sometimes and it is hard to come back to the real world.
An excellent evening, I might even have another attempt at his books :-)
So otherwise why go, well it is a free evening out, includes tea and coffee, a chance to meet fellow OU students and Alumni and well I think that's enough to go on for now and yes as an Alumni of the Open University, I can recommend it to anyone interested in non-standard education and by that I mean going to University, yes you might miss out on the social life at many Universities.
Hmm that student that got so drunk that he peed all over a war memorial was at a freshers week and this was an organised piss-up... not something to be proud of in times to come.
Living in student accommodation, halls of residence away from the comforts of home and friends... can be depressing for some students trying to cope with the dramatic changes of being alone and stressed over course work.
The negatives of studying with the OU are many as well, sometimes lack of tutor support, distance learning can be isolating, particularly if you are in the higher level courses, ambiguous course materials, never ending assignment lists etc...
It is one heck of an achievement and one I am proud of being a member of this University with my BSc Open
Philip was to discuss the relationship between the story and the illustration, I have tried to read the Dark Materials Trilogy without success, nor manage to listen to the audiobooks, and as for the film...well the less said about that the better.
Philip discussed the borderland of a story, that's the bits that aren't written down to you and me. In other words, the story sets a scene, it may describe a place, a tavern, dark and warm with a nice fire and beer flowing. Your vision of the inn will be different to mine, drawing on our own experiences of life... I have always said that to me reading a book is like making my own film, I read the words and convert it to my own personal film show; I am caught up in my own imagination sometimes and it is hard to come back to the real world.
An excellent evening, I might even have another attempt at his books :-)
So otherwise why go, well it is a free evening out, includes tea and coffee, a chance to meet fellow OU students and Alumni and well I think that's enough to go on for now and yes as an Alumni of the Open University, I can recommend it to anyone interested in non-standard education and by that I mean going to University, yes you might miss out on the social life at many Universities.
Hmm that student that got so drunk that he peed all over a war memorial was at a freshers week and this was an organised piss-up... not something to be proud of in times to come.
Living in student accommodation, halls of residence away from the comforts of home and friends... can be depressing for some students trying to cope with the dramatic changes of being alone and stressed over course work.
The negatives of studying with the OU are many as well, sometimes lack of tutor support, distance learning can be isolating, particularly if you are in the higher level courses, ambiguous course materials, never ending assignment lists etc...
It is one heck of an achievement and one I am proud of being a member of this University with my BSc Open
02 July 2008
busy, busy, busy
Today is a conference on teaching and learning.. very interesting and keeping me from my desk and other important pieces of work.. but they can wait. I was in at 7.30am this morning trying to get a system of recording the sessions live, but after 2 hours we had to give up and just listen instead... slightly disappointing as it would have been the first real live use of the system and what better start could we have had.
So far we have covered, Personal development Portfolios, Gaming as Learning, What is the difference between a first and post-graduate degree and quality assurance vs quality enhancement.
More this afternoon ... on Internationalisation (not to be confused with cultural diversity - unlike the question which implied they were one and the same) a session on developing on-line support tools was interesting as it covered the concept of sharing (something which doesn't seem to work very well here at this particularly University as people like to protect their own work from being 'borrowed').
The gaming as learning is an interesting subject, particularly as many students are engaged in computer activities from an early age; but this was specific to project work and they (a team of 5) had 'bots to assist them in the process of manufacturing. This sounded fascinating and something I would like to experience particularly after the team building event of yesterday.
So far we have covered, Personal development Portfolios, Gaming as Learning, What is the difference between a first and post-graduate degree and quality assurance vs quality enhancement.
More this afternoon ... on Internationalisation (not to be confused with cultural diversity - unlike the question which implied they were one and the same) a session on developing on-line support tools was interesting as it covered the concept of sharing (something which doesn't seem to work very well here at this particularly University as people like to protect their own work from being 'borrowed').
The gaming as learning is an interesting subject, particularly as many students are engaged in computer activities from an early age; but this was specific to project work and they (a team of 5) had 'bots to assist them in the process of manufacturing. This sounded fascinating and something I would like to experience particularly after the team building event of yesterday.
20 June 2008
Plagiarism - is it a problem?
I didn't think it was such a huge problem, until I heard a presentation the other day from a senior academic from another University.
Apparently (and I have no reason to believe otherwise), many schoolchildren ~16 are encouraged to copy from web sources, but not to worry about referencing them. This leads to a problem when they get to an undergraduate University as they believe this is the 'normal' way of learning and doing assignments/essays. When students go to UK universities and FE/HE colleges the assessments are run through checking systems such as TurnItIn (TM) and of course results in some disappointing scores for some students not to mention an increased amount of work for the teaching staff to address the issues involved.
If the problems are still not addressed correctly then at Postgraduate studies the problem is even more serious and can involve dismissal from their studies.
Is it really a huge problem as was inferred in this discussion?
I know that information is easier to find and research for on the internet, with many households having access to broadband, and certainly the way most people work (write) is to use a computer and cut and paste information into their document to use. So would it be better practice to ensure even at the earliest age that our scholars are encouraged not to do this cut and paste, but to be taught how to reference correctly to eliminate the issue; without putting them under too much pressure too soon.
Over to you, if anyone would care to comment.
Apparently (and I have no reason to believe otherwise), many schoolchildren ~16 are encouraged to copy from web sources, but not to worry about referencing them. This leads to a problem when they get to an undergraduate University as they believe this is the 'normal' way of learning and doing assignments/essays. When students go to UK universities and FE/HE colleges the assessments are run through checking systems such as TurnItIn (TM) and of course results in some disappointing scores for some students not to mention an increased amount of work for the teaching staff to address the issues involved.
If the problems are still not addressed correctly then at Postgraduate studies the problem is even more serious and can involve dismissal from their studies.
Is it really a huge problem as was inferred in this discussion?
I know that information is easier to find and research for on the internet, with many households having access to broadband, and certainly the way most people work (write) is to use a computer and cut and paste information into their document to use. So would it be better practice to ensure even at the earliest age that our scholars are encouraged not to do this cut and paste, but to be taught how to reference correctly to eliminate the issue; without putting them under too much pressure too soon.
Over to you, if anyone would care to comment.
16 June 2008
Sorting out
I was sorting out some old paperwork over the weekend, yes still tidying up - we didn't have time to go through everything last week when we pulled it out of the shed.
Anyway, I came across my exam certificates and my old school reports which made great reading on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
Some of the funny comments were :
Needlework
XX will never progress in needlework unless she first learns to sew
English
Handwriting is untidy, and needs to pay attention to what is taught in class
Mathematics
XX has the ability to do the work but does not always show willing interest
Domestic Science
XX is a slow but enthusiastic pupil
Others were even less favourable comments.. including the ones which after half a term missed through illness said I should have tried harder duh!!
Still it was an amusing look back at my school days (best forgotten) and some thing were as accurate then as today proving I didn't get any better (or worse).
Note : I have updated the post on collective nouns if any of you are interested in the answers then click here
Anyway, I came across my exam certificates and my old school reports which made great reading on a sunny Sunday afternoon.
Some of the funny comments were :
Needlework
XX will never progress in needlework unless she first learns to sew
English
Handwriting is untidy, and needs to pay attention to what is taught in class
Mathematics
XX has the ability to do the work but does not always show willing interest
Domestic Science
XX is a slow but enthusiastic pupil
Others were even less favourable comments.. including the ones which after half a term missed through illness said I should have tried harder duh!!
Still it was an amusing look back at my school days (best forgotten) and some thing were as accurate then as today proving I didn't get any better (or worse).
Note : I have updated the post on collective nouns if any of you are interested in the answers then click here
11 June 2008
Collective Nouns (updated)
I owe this post to Annette, whose story of Panda's and their collective name a pandemonium of Pandas sparked an idea in my mind.
When I was at school, a few years ago than I care to remember, we used to have a test on collective nouns seemingly every week, but then again my memory might be failing.
The Questions would be to fill in the missing gap
All are mammals (this time).... maybe my next one will be a different species.
When I was at school, a few years ago than I care to remember, we used to have a test on collective nouns seemingly every week, but then again my memory might be failing.
The Questions would be to fill in the missing gap
- A ............. of sheep (Flock)
- A herd of ........... (Cows)
- A ............. of bees (Swarm)
- A Pack of .......... (Dogs)
- A Murder of ....Crows...............
- A ....Gang......... of Elk
- A String of ....Racehorses.....................
- A Mob of ......Kangaroos.............
- A ....drift ..........of Hogs
- A Leap of .....Leopards.....................
- A ....Richness ........... of Martens
- A Bevy of ..Otters.......................
- A ....Span........... of Oxen
- A ....Crash.......... of Rhinocerouses
- An ...Ambush.......... of Tigers
- A Marvel of ...Unicorns..................
All are mammals (this time).... maybe my next one will be a different species.
08 May 2008
How Web 2.0 has changed things at the Guardian
Bobbie Johnson, Guardian Newspapers
The Guardian is free on the internet, whilst consumers are paying for a paper copy...
"This is a fundamental change in outlook caused by web technologies, but has been identified as a crucial move for the long-term survival of the publication. How has it happened? Why has it happened? And what are the challenges of doing this?"
Does this mean the end of the printed paper as we know it, what comes next, downloadable copies of the paper to an e-reader so it can be read on screen?More to follow..
Communications
A topic I deal with every day is how to communicate information when it is just a computer screen in front of you, but another person or group of persons is reading what you have written.
It is too easy to be quick to write something down, as the author of the piece you know what you mean to say and the rational behind it, but as the reader can only go on the written word there is the potential for a disparity about what was said and what was meant.
Certainly on discussion boards, it is sometimes necessary to have rules in place for the fellow team members to privately question what is in a response to ensure that 'flame wars' do not break out.. and adults are as easily riled as their younger counterparts.
So how best to manage the use of new technologies, and this includes blogs and wikis as well as discussion boards? There is no right or wrong way, only that care needs to be taken, and rules defined (preferably by the group using it) to ensure that any problems are minimised.
With the advent of Web 2.0 technologies such as Second Life, facebook, bebo, IRC etc the problem can and will be an issue as we are only human after all.
It is too easy to be quick to write something down, as the author of the piece you know what you mean to say and the rational behind it, but as the reader can only go on the written word there is the potential for a disparity about what was said and what was meant.
Certainly on discussion boards, it is sometimes necessary to have rules in place for the fellow team members to privately question what is in a response to ensure that 'flame wars' do not break out.. and adults are as easily riled as their younger counterparts.
So how best to manage the use of new technologies, and this includes blogs and wikis as well as discussion boards? There is no right or wrong way, only that care needs to be taken, and rules defined (preferably by the group using it) to ensure that any problems are minimised.
With the advent of Web 2.0 technologies such as Second Life, facebook, bebo, IRC etc the problem can and will be an issue as we are only human after all.
Education Event
I am going to be attending a symposium on-line.. which will provide a video stream /live chat to the 4th Annual Eduserv Foundation event on 8th May 2008.
It is going to cover 'Inside Out: What do current Web trends tell us about the future of ICT provision for learners and researchers?'
With the growth of IT in use in Education it is part of my job to see the possibilities of how it can be used, how it is perceived by the students/academics, and to support that... so will update it here.. had I known earlier I might well have booked a place as I have always wanted to visit the British Library.
It is going to cover 'Inside Out: What do current Web trends tell us about the future of ICT provision for learners and researchers?'
With the growth of IT in use in Education it is part of my job to see the possibilities of how it can be used, how it is perceived by the students/academics, and to support that... so will update it here.. had I known earlier I might well have booked a place as I have always wanted to visit the British Library.
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