Name: Heather Campbell
Subject: Science
Host School: Middleton Technology School

What have been the most positive experiences of your training so far?

Throughout my experience in the school, I have had many highs and a few lows, which was to be expected. The most positive experience has been the first lesson with my year 9 class after completely resetting my standards with them. I had been teaching them for 3 weeks and, to be completely honest, it was a disaster. They knew that I would not follow through with my sanctions and were distracted easily. After meeting with my mentor, we put new strategies into place for behaviour management and I openly discussed these with the class. Since then, it has been going well. There are still days when they can be loud and disruptive, however, they know that I will stand my ground; even if that means keeping them after the bell or issuing sanctions in line with the behaviour management policy. It has been a learning curve having this class, however, it has made me a stronger teacher and allowed the chance for me to become aware of how important it is to ask for help when it is needed and that not everything will go to plan instantly.

What has been the most challenging experience of your training so far, and how have you looked to resolve it?

I have had issues trying to vary my tone of voice and this is a main target for my development. As it is not automatic to use my tone of voice to engage others and add excitement, I have found this difficult. I am working on this with my mentors and I hope this is something I can develop further in the New Year.