I have found Unit 1 of the PGCERT to be enjoyable, stimulating, and challenging. I really enjoyed the in-person workshop days though have preferred them when they are spaced out a little more. I found the teaching and group dynamics generous and respectful.
I most enjoyed the micro teaching day, despite being in a mild existential panic about what I was going to do for several weeks. I really enjoyed doing my micro teaching lesson and in particular, getting a window into the worlds of other teaching practices was stimulating and gave me fresh perspectives and ideas on lesson planning.
I have found writing the blog posts to be a fun activity too and really enjoyed the teaching observations. The blog posts have been a useful way to retain and digest learning from the workshops. I have also found these experiences useful in making me feel more positive about the students at Camberwell using Workflow to document their making and record and track their own thoughts.
The workshops on Learning Outcomes and Assessment Criteria were interesting, broadened and extended my thinking around this. I think the workshops in general have helped me to clarify the type of teacher I want to be and the type of space that I want to create for students.
I have found the amount of reading difficult. There have been so many texts that I would love to have read but have not been able to. As a separated parent sharing the care of a nine and half month-old boy, working multiple jobs, I have had to become a strategic learner! This has been a new experience for me and a learning process. I appreciated having the space to discuss this with my tutor John in our previous tutorial. One of my key learnings from this Unit is to accept this new form of being a student and to not feel regret if I have not read all the texts that I would like to!
