School of Education

The first semester of the PGCE has flown in as predicted and we have all gone our seperate ways for our first placement. The six weeks were divided into two modules; education studies and subjects methods. In the first module all of the PGCE students met together for lectures on general educational themes, focusing on 'The Education System in N.I', 'The Curriculum', 'Theories of Learning' and 'Assessment'. We split up weekly into mixed subject tutorial groups to discuss our thoughts on these lectures, which helped process the information and enabled us to hear different viewpoints. We also had weekly workshops which were often interesting and interactive, covering topics such as 'pastoral care', 'special educational needs' and 'learning for life and work'.

The second module was made up of classes on topics relating to our subjects and we were given a lot of information, material and resources on how to prepare deliver and manage our lessons on placement. These classes were brought alive by inspiring guest speakers from different schools and fields as well as our own Queen's lecturers. Time was also set aside to focus on and enhance our ICT skills and we have been asked to complete an ICT portfolio which will be assessed.

We were given the opportunity to take part in a 'micro-teaching' activity, in which we were recorded teaching a short lesson in our chosen topic, which we later watched and evaluated. This was great for learning off eachother and assessing how we could do things better next time.

Towards the end of the semester we had the chance to visit Grosvenor Grammar School, which specialises in Modern Languages. The teachers were so helpful, sharing advice and tips that will come in handy on placement.

Although we covered so much in semester one, it didn't feel too overwhelming as we were given a full day and two afternoons off for directed study. For modern languages our first assignment is due for submission at the end of January, which has taken a bit of pressure off.

In the last two weeks we were given our allocated school and I was delighted to be given my first preference. So now the time has come to try and put all the theory into practice!