QTS Skills Tests - Triumph

Today, I took and passed all three QTS skills tests. I wasn't nervous before, until I read some things on the net about people taking them 8/9 times before passing. I suppose, at the moment, if it takes that many times, it is more a question of inconvenience than anything else. Until the rules change, you can take them as many times as you need and they are free to sit. :)

When I got to the test centre, I went through the usual procedure. Putting everything away - and being provided a tissue rather than being allowed one from a sealed packet - before signing to say I had read the rules. I must have shown my ID five or more times for each test lol - good job I got over my dislike for my passport photo lol. In the room, I was at computer 23, in the corner. The guy in charge of that room was called Jonathon and he seemed like a friendly chap. :)

I sat the ICT one first. It was very similar to the practice tests. There were one or two things I was asked to do, which I had not previous done on the mocks, but they were simple enough. I finished all four tasks [featuring four activities in each] in around 15 minutes. I thought about checking through it all but that was too dull a prospect to endure, so I headed out 20 minutes early and collected my result. A pass. Yay.

My literacy test wasn't booked for a full hour and fifteen minutes, as the centre slots were really spaced out when I booked it back in October. Thankfully, they let me start the tests one after the other, rather than hanging around. So, after signing to say I'd read the rules again and making sure I had nothing about my person, I went back to computer 23 for the test. The opening of the literacy test is a 10 question spelling test. Now, spelling has always been a huge weakness of mine, so I wasn't all that optimistic about it. A lot of the words made me think twice - I used the pen and board provided to write them out, sometimes 2/3 different ways, before deciding upon the 'right' answer. Irritatingly, I can't remember most of the words, so I can't check now to see if I was correct or not lol. The punctuation, grammar and comprehension sections were simple enough and again I finished early - this time with around 15 minutes to spare. I collected my results - another pass. :)

For the third time, I had to go through the procedure of showing that I had nothing about my person, showing my ID and signing to say I had read the rules. Back to computer 23 for my numeracy test. I had deliberately left this one until last, as the mental maths section had been very challenging online - mainly due to the limited amount of time you get to answer. As I have heard people say, the mental maths section wasn't actually as bad as the mocks online - on at least half of the questions, I filled my answer in before the lady finished reading the question a second time. The second section was at a similar level - lots of questions based on data, scatter graphs and tables. I finished around 15 minutes early again and made my escape, clutching three 'pass' letters.

Woo!

That's one more hurdle overcome and now I am planning to thoroughly enjoy Christmas.
Tomorrow marks a day out at the Christmas markets with two friends from Lancaster Uni - one is also studying a primary PGCE and one is working as a TA at the minute. And then Thursday marks a day at the North Pole with my college friends - hot cocktails, German food and lots of giggles no doubt. Finally, a hard earned rest. :D

PGCE Primary - History

Despite being 100 miles away from the history I enjoyed during my degree, making a Greek helmet today was pretty fun. Some people refused to attend the class in some sort of protest, but I think that is ridiculous. Did I learn a great deal? No. Did I get to make something I could possibly use/make again with a class? Yes. Why you would skip a class, so you can have a lie-in, on the last day of term when the work was as light-hearted as this, I'll never understand. Not least due to the attendance requirements to get your QTS status - why damage your attendance record when you could be making a paper helmet lol?!

A Sad, Elderly Looking Penguin

In Art today, we had to make 'clay thumb pots' and put them together to make hollow clay animals. I made a penguin, who ended up looking a little sad. Perhaps I will make him look a bit happier when we paint them next term. :) Oh, we also made the toadstool thing before it, with a mini-beast. I coped out on the latter and made a tiny ladybird lol. Ahh well, it is the end of term and I am shattered, so a tiny ladybird will have to do. :)

[15.12.2011]

QTS Skills Tests

I gave them a go tonight - just online, to see what stage I am at. I did them properly - I even muted Eastenders, so as to hear the mental maths questions lol. My scores were not brilliant and I would like them to be much higher. But, I am reasured that I passed both the literacy and the numeracy [I didn't bother trying the ICT as that was super simple back when I looked at it in Sept/Oct]. I got 82% on the literacy and 71% on the numeracy. Passes, without doubt. :)

I am going to try and have another couple of attempts, as there are three papers online for each, but it is looking promising. Fingers crossed I get them out of the way on Dec 20th, before finally having a rest and enjoying Christmas. :)

PE - Ministry of Silly Walks

Today has felt like a very long day and was rather depressing at times. For example, a 1 hour lecture on getting a job - the outcome was that we will be competing against some 100-150 other applicants per position and thus the chances of getting a job are slim. Similarly, PE over ran by 15 minutes - doesn't sound like a lot, but given the lesson was already 2 hours to begin with, you can imagine how unwelcome the over run was. Being in the department from 8.30am until gone 5.15pm is knackering, especially when you factor in the time spent travelling in before/after that and the stack of work still to be done now I am home.

However, this is meant to be a positive blog and I can definitely have a laugh about things - even if that laugh is essentially at myself. :)

Part of the focus in PE was on fundamental movement skills - how to ensure children know how to move efficiently, spotting problems and assisting them in putting them right. This involved breaking down skills like walking, running, running backwards and running sideways into the nitty gritty and practising those elements.
For example, when running, your arms should be bent at the elbow into a right-angle. You then move your arms in opposition to your feet, from the shoulder alone. Your hand should go from 'cheek to cheek' or [if you'd rather] 'lip to hip'. The speed will obviously increase as your running speed increases.
Another example - when running, your knees should be brought up high and your feet should also touch your bottom. Apparently we essentially did this, when left to run normally, but when we were told to accentuate this, along with the arm movements, you have seriously never seen anything so funny!

Needless to say, the Ministry of Silly Walks would have been proud of us today. So, here is a clip of just that, to enjoy. :D [Link]

Light Relief

After many nights lesson planning - with no guidance at all - I feel a little better prepared now. One of the teachers at my cluster school - a fantastic teacher who was graded in the top 1% in the country after some intense observations/interviews/inspections - pulled off some objectives for me, so now I know that I am going in the correct direction. :)

Whilst I think we all got something positive out of the session with the teacher, the majority of the morning was spent gossiping. When our STCC returned [he is the head of two schools and had to visit the other school for much of the morning], even he wanted to get in on the act! He sat there and listened to all the gossip off our course and was even more enthusiastic about hearing it than we were lol. Turns out, there is a slimy guy on the course. He has lied about his age, failed to mention he has a child and dated two girls off the course at the same time! All the while, he has been sending provocative and down right filthy text messages to an assortment of other girls...

The two girls he has been dating happened to start chatting yesterday, just in the common room, and it didn't take long for it all to unravel. Even when they confronted him, apparently he was trying to be swarve and squirm his way out of it. Tut tut... Given that there are less than 90 students on the course [as some have dropped out], and we have lectures together every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, he certainly had a nerve dating two girls at the same time.

On of the lads in my cluster group was definitely impressed though - he said the guy must be doing something right to have kept it going for 10 weeks lol! In contrast, one of the girls in my cluster wants to put posters up around the department - something along the lines of 'beware' or 'get tested' lol. Obviously she won't - well, I very much doubt that she would lol, but she was very annoyed as she was friends with him... You can just imagine what the mood towards him [the slimy guy I mean] will be like on Monday lol! Eeck for him!

So, whilst the content of the gossip wasn't the nicest, I think the fact that we all sat around and chatted and for once didn't think too much about planning/school/pgce assignments - that was the light relief. :)

Enjoying A Topic

I am currently planning for my post-Christmas placement. [My STCC wants to see examples of our planning by Thursday and said we should have it all done by Christmas.] I did some brief 'weekly' style plans for my science topic, but now I am getting into the nitty-gritty of my literacy unit. I will be teaching stories from other cultures - the other culture being India [my choice]. :)

I've selected a novel to read and work on, along with a selection of folk stories. I have some general writing, speaking and listening, and reading tasks thought out and a general idea of what I want the children to have achieved when we finished the unit. The first two lessons are pretty much sorted - I just have to transfer the plan onto the proper uni format and make the resources. 13 more to go! [Plus all the other subjects lol.] :D

The situation has been made slightly complicated. I have just years 3 and 4 for four of the five weekly lessons. However, on a Tuesday, I also have some year 2 pupils. Whilst observing, the teacher used to set them something unrelated to do, but I don't think I should. So, I am having to ensure my year 2 pupils can engage fully with the topic, despite only attending three sessions out of fifteen. The folk stories come into this, as we can work on them in one lesson, all starting from the same point. Obviously, I want the year 3/4s to see patterns and links and gain an idea of setting and culture, but that doesn't detract from the work we can do with the year 2s. It might look a little random - to have a novel interjected with folk stories - but I am hoping it will work and that it will enhance the topic, rather than detract from it. :)

We'll see. :)

RE Trip To Durham Cathedral

We had an educational tour of the cathedral, where we were able to learn a bit more about the place and also discover the great range of activities you can do there when on a school trip. The lady mentioned the she had studied for a primary pgce, but that has worked there for 14 years as the educational tours manager and loved every second of it. I can definitely understand why - being able to develop some expertise on a magnificient place [like Bramall Hall] and working with children purely on the fun and creative things, rather than thinking about assessment and phonics, does seem a lot more appealing. :/

Anyway, some of the things we discovered included:


This stained glass window was donated by Marks & Spencers. It depicts the last supper, with Jesus at the bottom [the head of the table]. Judas is second on the left, marked by his slight distance from the table and darker colour. The green is the earth, the blue is the sky and the purple marks the royal/kingdom nature. The guide said people love or hate this window, as it is so dramatically different to the traditional windows in place, but that the children are always in the love camp. :)

This is the Statue of Annunciation. It depicts Mary receiving word of her pregnancy. The artist has tried to encompass women of all races, as the face features characteristics deemed to be African, Asian and Western. Her neck is tense and rigid and the waves across her chest depict the turmoil she faced upon hearing the news. The guide said this statue is wonderful for the children because they can touch it, due to its robust nature.