Preparation
- reflection
I was very grateful to have
the opportunity to teach a group of tutors working for Rathbone – the Training
Providers although I quickly realized that teaching for peers is incredibly
daunting.
I was part of a team of 4 and
we decided I would teach creativity and innovation – one of the for essential employability
skills to be taught. I am very creative and enjoy teaching in enterprise ways;
I believe in autonomy and interaction for the learner in order to get
engagement and true learning.
I planned carefully a couple
of engaging activities (and some back-ups) as I knew that 20-30 minutes is very
little time but wasn’t sure how quickly the peer group would move through the
activities.
Post
lesson - reflection
I was the last one of our team
to teach creativity and innovation; I followed after critical thinking and
problem solving, planning and organization and personal effectiveness. Taking
part in all the other 30 minutes lessons each focusing on an essential employability skills (EES)
I quickly realized that various elements apply to each skill. Teaching and
enabling learning of each skill crossed over from lesson to lesson and I realized
that although I was demonstrating a specific skill in the 30 minutes I had –
this could not be referred to in isolation from the other employability skills.
Standing up in front of the learners it made sense to make connections with the
previous lessons, point out links and how all the employability skills
complement each other.
On reflection I feel that this
is the most valuable lesson I have learnt teaching on this occasion as part of
the practitioners team for EES Level 3. Having never taught EES skills
previously I understood the theory of all of them being an interactive and
connected system where each skill relies upon the other to ensure the
individual is equipped for hopefully employment / positive outcome. Following
my teaching experience I truly understood firsthand how the EES complement each
other and should not be considered in isolation.
Action
plan – reflection
I was inspired by some of the
ideas and activities used by my colleagues and I will review and improve some
of the activities I have planned as part of the Scheme of Work I have already
designed. I will also consider using templates for an action plan to aid
learners and keep them on track. Good practice that I have seen and experienced
today included use of peer assessment, use of team work, connection between
theory and practical as well as content of activities always being relevant to
the learner and their reality.
