School Placement Week 9

Day 28 Reflection 05/12/18 Deirbhile Seville

What went well and why – effectiveness of planning

5th Yr Practical – The PowerPoint I had prepared for the lesson worked very well. To remind the pupils of our theme once again I decided to bring in an artist who looks at habitats in relation to houses/homes. Rachel Whitereads work seemed ideal as many of the pupils have designed and made some sort of dwelling. The pupils found her work to be extremely abstract but powerful. Linking the theme and the support study can be quite difficult but necessary for the pupils to see purpose in their own artwork and others. The group discussion I had planned for each table to discuss the SS artist work showed how the pupil’s interpretation of artworks has progressed in terms of context. This is why I stager the habitat artists throughout lessons for ultimate benefit to the students. Sometimes swamping pupils with context had be very overwhelm whereas I found with this group in particular, intervals creates a much better response.

What went well and why – Classroom Management

Second Yr Collage – This group in particular were very difficult to manage at the start of placement. Many of the pupils had difficulty with concentration and staying focused. This was the reason I picked the theme ‘identity’ for this unit of learning as I believed it gave the pupils some more freedom (which is also a huge part of the new Junior Cycle). This theme worked so much better with this group and the pupils have been so much more focused on their work. Due to the pupils seeming much happier, classroom management has been nearly second nature. Delegating jobs has been a success whereas before this could not have been an option. Now that pupils have certain jobs in the lesson they have become excited about the lessons and very well behaved which I am extremely happy to see. Some groups take longer to adjust to new teachers and new rules which is understandable. However it seems a shame that I will be leaving next week when these pupils have progressed so much.