Answers to Possible Questions

1. Why do you want to teach?

I was inspired by a primary school teacher of mine she was so enthusiastic
about everything that she taught and she had the ability to make her class
want to learn and she was a fantastic teacher I want to make the
experience of learning at school fun like she did for me, and I feel that I
have the ability to do this, as I really enjoy working with children, I have the
subject knowledge to be able to pass on to children, I am organised and
enthusiastic, a good communicator, and have good time management skills. I
also love the whole school environment and really enjoy being part of it.
2. Why do you enjoy working with children?
I enjoy working with children because it is extremely rewarding you are an
important figure and role model to the children, and when you successfully
teach them new knowledge you get a real buzz from knowing that you have
furthered their understanding of something. !lso, most children are
extremely adaptable and willing to learn, and this is what makes them so
special adults are less willing to learn new things, whereas children are very
in"uisitive and I find this refreshing.
3. Why do you want to teach primary rather than secondary?
I have had experience in both I helped my #nglish $anguage teacher to
deliver #nglish lessons to year % and year &' whilst I was in the (
th
form at
school. )owever, I prefer primary because you get to teach across the
whole curriculum, with a variety of subjects, whereas in secondary you stick
mainly to one subject, and I much prefer the variety of teaching in different
subjects. !lso, in primary I like the fact that you get to build a relationship
with one particular class for the year I like to get to know each child
properly, rather than just know their name and what their work is like, as
what happens in secondary schools when you take a different class for each
lesson of the day. *he other thing I really like about primary school is that
the children usually have much more enthusiasm to learn than children in
secondary school, and I find this inspiring and refreshing.
. What are the current issues !or primary teachers
&+ $arger class sizes may be on the horizon, as &,- of teachers are over .'
and the /overnment cut teacher training numbers by &,.'' in 0ept 1''., is
cutting another &,.'' places from 0ept 1''( and again in 0ept 1''%. *his
means not enough teachers are being trained to replace those who are going
to retire soon.
1 2lder teachers are covertly discriminated against when it comes to
recruitment schools are more likely to employ an 34* for a teaching job
than an older, wiser and more experienced teacher, as 34*s cost much less
money in salary. *herefore, its extremely hard for older teachers to move
jobs without cut in salary.
- 3ew teachers taking up a post from 0ept 1''% will have to work until
they are at least (. to "ualify for a full pension. *his may have an effect on
recruitment and retention to the profession.
5 *here are no clear teachers rights on disciplining and restraining pupils
using reasonable force. *here has been a recent call for a new /overnment
law exactly outlining the rights of teachers in this area. 0uch a law could
have prevented cases like 6udi 0underlands, who got charged for assault
after she held a &- year old boys arms to stop him from hitting and abusing
her. *he charges were eventually dropped, but the case highlights the need
for legislation explicitly outlining teachers rights.
. 7honetic reading strategies have been introduced to schools. *his is
where the sounds of letters are learnt and then put together when reading a
word. *his is a good strategy for some words, but not all words are spelt
how they sound. )owever, I read of one school who tackled this problem by
having a list of green words 8words that are phonetic+friendly9 and red
words 8words that need extra de+coding strategies because they are not
phonetic+friendly.9 *his school has seen 0!*s scores rising each year since
they introduced it.
8:ead *he *imes #ducation 0upplement, out every ;riday9.
". #ow would you make a literacy lesson creati$e?
I actually did this once the teacher that I was working with in year 5 was
teaching her class about <)aikus= a 6apanese poem with only - lines and
she wanted to make the lesson more creative than just showing the children
some haikus and asking them to write their own. 0o we sat down and
together came up with the idea of recreating 6apan, by playing soft,
soothing 6apanese music in the background, draped 6apanese fabric around
the classroom, and placed lovely 6apanese flowers on every table for the
children to touch, smell and look at. *he lesson was a real success first, we
explained what )aikus were, where they came from and what characterises
them, then we read out and gave the children copies of some examples of
haikus. *hen, the children all had to sit for a few moments with their eyes
closed in silence, thinking about 6apan and what they knew about it. 2nce
this had been done, the children wrote some fantastic )aikus from their own
imagination, with only the aid of a few books on 6apan to show them what the
country of 6apan was like. It made the lesson new and exciting and a bit of a
novelty, and therefore the children really enjoyed it and got a lot from it.
$ooking back at this lesson, I think the lesson could have been improved even
further by having shown the class a short video on life in 6apan, in order to
further deepen their knowledge of the country and its culture.
%. What is creati$ity?
In my view, creativity is making something original, interesting and new, and
in the classroom specifically I think it relates to trying to stimulate all of
the childrens senses, thoughts and imagination, and therefore engaging them
in the task at hand and enabling them to learn better.
&. What do you think will be the hardest part o! teaching?
2ne of the key challenges that I have observed in schools is pupils
disruptive and challenging behaviour. I have learnt that not even very
experienced teachers can apply one fits all solution to bad behaviour, as no
case is the same and not every strategy works with every pupil. ;or each
new child, a new strategy of managing the behaviour has to be developed, and
this can sometimes prove challenging and difficult.
'. #ow do you think you will cope with the pressure?
*here is a lot of pressure on primary teachers coming from all different
directions the school, paperwork, pupils, parents, planning, etc. >ut I do
think that I am mentally prepared for this I have seen first hand in schools
the amount of stress that teachers are under, and I think that with my skills
of having good time management, being organised, being flexible and being
cheerful will all help me to cope.
In fact, I have had my fair share of pressure in one of my last experiences
I was in charge of the first aid, and had "uite a few injuries every day, which
meant that I had to treat the child, fill out accident report forms, fill out
risk assessment forms, explain the problem to often rather disapproving
parents, clean all of the first aid area, etc, as well as doing my normal job of
taking sessions with my own group of children. *his job had rather a lot of
pressure involved, but I coped well.
(. #ow rele$ant is your degree to the primary curriculum?
I think that my degree is exceptionally relevant to teaching. ;irstly, I have
developed skills in the areas of I?* through completing modules on I?*
skills, using computers for my assignments and using the Internet as a
resource. !lso in literacy, from writing essays and reading texts. !nd in
numeracy and science from completing research projects, using statistics to
analyse the results and writing up the report in a scientific manner.
!part from these links with the primary curriculum, my degree has included
many modules that have been exceptionally relevant to child development,
and teaching and learning, covering aspects such as different ways that
children think and learn, how to plan and evaluate lessons, different learning
and teaching styles.
!lso, my degree course had a compulsory placement module involved, where I
went into a primary school. )ere, I learnt a lot about teaching and the
primary curriculum, and I think experience counts for a lot more than
theory.
1). What *ualities make a good teacher?
I think that many "ualities are preferable for teachers to have, such as good
time management, good organisational skills, good communication skills,
patience, enthusiasm, commitment, flexibility, having the ability to manage
childrens behaviour, and a good sense of humour helps too@
I think that another important thing, apart from all of these "ualities, is the
ability to motivate and interest pupils in what you are teaching them
whether it be through being creative when teaching, being a good role model,
being really enthusiastic about something yourself.
I remember a teacher of mine, and as well as having all the above, she was
understanding and intuitive, she was always willing to re+explain something if
you didnt understand, would always stay behind with you afterwards if you
wanted help with something, and she was like a professional friend, somebody
you could go to with problems or troubles. !nd I think thats what makes a
good teacher.
11. What do you enjoy about being in the classroom?
I enjoy the liveliness and enthusiasm of the children, the chance to inspire
the children and motivate them, the personalised space that is your
classroom, being part of the whole school atmosphere, for example when the
whole school is working together towards a particular goal.
12. Why should we choose you !or our P+,-?
>ecause I feel that I have many of the "ualities needed for teaching. I have
good time management, good communication skills, patience, enthusiasm,
commitment, flexibility. I also feel that I can be a professional friend to
children whom I work with because I am friendly and approachable, kind, and
I think that people feel comfortable in coming to me with problems.
I also have a wide range of experience in primary schools and other work
with children that I feel will give me a good sound basis for my teacher
training.
13. What do you do in your leisure time?
I like to take part in a variety of sports, including swimming, walking, horse
riding and badminton. I also used to really enjoy playing netball for a club,
but had to discontinue with this because I did not have time to do it
alongside studying for me degree but I would like to go back to it after I
have finished university if I have time. I also really enjoy reading and I am a
huge fan of the )arry 7otter books@
1. What .ey /tage are you most interested in and why?
I am most interested in Aey 0tage 1. )aving had experience in the
;oundation 0tage, A0 & and A0 1 in primary schools, I prefer A0 1 because I
feel more confident working with the children in this age range. I prefer
planning and implementing activities where the children are learning more
advanced knowledge, like science experiments etc. I also like the fact that
older children are a little more independent and self+sufficient than A0 & or
;oundation stage children, and that they understand more fundamental
concepts so they can learn about related things more aptly.
)owever, having said that, I do find the full primary age range extremely
rewarding and fun to work with.
1". Who was your !a$ourite teacher and why?
By favourite teacher was my !+level sociology and psychology teacher. !s
well as being a fantastic teacher through all of her key "ualities, she was
understanding and intuitive, she was always willing to re+explain something if
you didnt understand, would always stay behind with you afterwards if you
wanted help with something, and she was like a professional friend, somebody
you could go to with problems or troubles. !nd I think thats what makes a
good teacher.
1%. What do you enjoy most in your degree and why?
I have really enjoyed all of my degree there hasnt been anything at all that
I havent enjoyed. )owever, if I had to pick a specific thing that I have
enjoyed most it would have to be the second year placement that I carried
out in a primary school. *he original plan was that we should all be in
placement for ( weeks, but the school asked me to go back for an extra
week because they had enjoyed having me so much@ I love working in schools
and so was very pleased to be asked back. I learnt many things to do with
teaching and classroom practice.
1&. What would be your ideal classroom en$ironment?
It would be a complete learning environment, where the children walk in and
completely know that this is the place for learning. It would be bright and
colourful, with displays of the childrens work, examples of the topics that
we had covered, resources like books, computers, atlases, globes, etc. It
would also not be cramped or crowded, with plenty of space to move around.
!nd in a completely idealistic world, I would love it to be outside and sunny
but in reality of course, this is not possible@
1'. When entering a school !or the !irst time0 what would you
look !or and why?
I think a school should be welcoming in their reception area bright colours,
displays, childrens work, etc, because it brings about a feeling of interest to
who ever is arriving at the school. I think its a great idea to have photos of
the teachers with details like their name, which class they teach, etc to help
new parents, student teachers etc to get an idea of who works at the school.
I also think that a school should have signs pointing you to where you want to
go, for example to the hall, different classrooms etc, because this allows the
flow of the school to continue nobody gets lost or needs help finding
somewhere self explanatory things always make people feel comfortable,
rather than having to disturb somebody to ask them. >ut apart from these
material things, I think another thing that I look for is happy children and
staff I think that chatter and liveliness is what characterises schools, and
if children enjoy school, which in my opinion they should, they will be smiling
and happy, showing that this is a good school and a happy place to be.
1(. 1ame three *ualities in yoursel! that would be $aluable !or
teaching.
*he first one is good organisational skills. I like planning ahead and thinking
of what resources I need, how long an activity should take, organising
different materials for different ability levels in the class, thinking up new
and original ideas and planning them. *his will help in being a teacher
because good planning is essential, otherwise you wont be able to carry out
your teaching or activities properly.
*he second is enthusiasm. If I do something, I feel that I should do it
properly. I throw myself in to everything that I do whole+heartedly, and am
always enthusiastic not just about teaching, but also about learning new
things myself. *his will be useful for teaching because enthusiasm is usually
contagious if one person is enthusiastic about something, they usually
capture their audience into being enthusiastic about it too. !lso, if I dont
know something that I want to teach to my class, I will learn about it
properly myself first, which always helps when children start asking
"uestions about topics.
*he third "uality is commitment. I have shown commitment in many ways in
my life I have owned 1 horses since the age of &' and this involves
extreme commitment and hard work. I go to look after him twice a day and
also have to be good at time management, as I have to fit this commitment
around other things in my life, like university, studying, friends, work
experiences etc. !nother big commitment in my life is my boyfriend of .
years. *hese things show that I am committed to everything I do my view
is that if youre not going to be committed to it, dont do it in the first place.
*his will help me in teaching because this also re"uires a lot of commitment
things do not always go smoothly and sometimes you may feel like giving up
and going home for the day, but the commitment to the job and the fact
that that means that you need to photocopy your lesson plan and prepare
resources for the next day keeps you going.
2). #ow does a child learn?
Cifferent children learn in very different ways, and no child learns in one set
way the most common forms of how children learn are through play and
exploration, discovery for themselves, watching other people 8adults and
children9, repetition, experimenting.
21. #ow do you handle criticism?
I feel that criticism can be very adaptive I try to use criticism
constructively and take it on board next time I am doing whatever has been
criticised, as it can be a way of learning through your mistakes the other
persons way actually might turn out to be better than yours.
22. 2magine that a child in your class re!uses to join in with the
rest o! the class. What would you do and why?
Dell, it depends really upon what the child is like. ;or example, a child who
constantly refuses to join in with anything may need different handling to a
child who is normally happy and willing to join in. I think that at first, for
both scenarios, I would take the child away to the side and ask them
privately why it is that they dont want to join in. If the behaviour continues
with no explanation for a child who constantly refuses to join in, a word with
the childs parent or carer may be the best option to take, so that the
parent and myself could try to work together and develop a plan for when
the child refuses to join in. *his would also create an opportunity for me to
find out if there are problems with the child at home.
I think that getting to the root of the problem is the best course of action,
but if a child is not joining in to be difficult on purpose then appropriate
punishment according to the schools policies would have to be used.
23. #ow would you manage the work o! students with di!!erent
abilities in class?
*hrough observation in classrooms, I have found one way which seems to
work well the teacher has different groups according to the childrens
different abilities for different subjects. 0o for literacy, the groups may
be colour groups, for numeracy, the groups may be season groups. *hen,
the teacher can closely monitor a whole tables progress if they are either of
below+average ability, or above+average ability. !lso, this allows for
different worksheets, tasks and resources to be used for the different
groups with easier resources for the below+average ability groups, and
harder resources for the above+average ability groups. >ut although this
way has seemed to work well, I am sure there are other ways that work
e"ually well.
2. 3o you ha$e any *uestions?
a9 ?ould you tell me the ratio of number of places on
the course to number of intervieweesE
b9 2n the actual course, there are - different school
placements. !re all of these carried out in the
same school, or does the school change each time
we have a new school placementE
c9 Is more than one student placed in the same school
for school experiences, or is there only one
student per schoolE
4iteracy 5ask6
Fwrite about a time when you learned something, how you learnt it and how
that has contributed to your views on teachingF +
Dhen I learnt to play netball. De got taught in - different ways we
watched older girls playing a game of netball, whilst our coach was explaining
different rules as they came up in the game, etc. *hen, we got to try out a
game for ourselves.
*his addresses the - learning styles of visual, auditory and kinaesthetic, and
I think that teaching in this way and addressing all - styles is good because
it gets through to all the learners, no matter what their style preference,
and also, each way of teaching reinforces the other methods.
$ink to interactive whiteboards schools are taking advantage of them
because they are interactive and because they address all - learning styles,
obviously this means that addressing all learning styles is worthwhile and
important.