Hello everyone,
I am coming to the end of my PGCE now and I don’t think I would have managed to keep as organised and on top of things as I have, without my Positive Teacher Company Trainee Planner! It has been a life saver in terms of jotting initial planning ideas down, sequencing lessons together and keeping organised and prepared each day on placement
The Trainee Teacher planners are helpfully set out with Daily Planning sections set into 6 parts, with a reflection area at the bottom. In my first placement, I only taught a few lessons here and there meaning I didn’t feel the need to use a whole Daily Planning page for each day. Therefore, I split the sections on each page up, to use it as weekly planning rather than daily. Some boxes that were spare, I used for ‘reflection and feedback’, so if I was observed by my mentor or tutor; I would briefly put down what we discussed in my feedback about that lesson. I loved using the reflection bit at the bottom to write a positive for each subject I had taught that week and something to work on for next time I taught it. It was nice to use my feedback to set myself my own mini targets here!
As I went on to my second placement, I started to plan and teach sequences of lessons. I therefore changed the way I formatted the Daily Planning sections into weekly planning again, but for specific subjects that I would be teaching every day that week. This example shows my weekly plan for maths, Monday to Friday. I had room for a feedback box at the bottom too which was useful! I used the reflection box here again to think of positives from teaching maths that week and what I needed to work on next time!
Nearer the end of my second placement, I taught full days of lessons. This meant I could use the Daily planning sections for their true purpose! To do this, instead of writing out all of my ideas for these lessons as I had been doing previously, I wrote the learning objectives and two or three ideas for activities to do in the lessons. This was an ideal way for me to help with planning, because it meant I had all of my lessons for the day in one place so when I went to write up my lesson plans, my LO’s and activity ideas were already set out to inform my planning.
Throughout your training course you will have to write out detailed lesson plans for every lesson you teach! So the Trainee Teacher planner helps you to have the space to jot down your ideas and get organised before (or after) writing up your lesson plans. Your placements may not work in the same way as mine did, but you will definitely only start teaching a few lessons and build up to teaching sequences and full days. So I hope this helps future trainees in ways to make the most of your trainee planners to keep you organised!
You will smash it – good luck! You will have the best year!
Tara xx
