On placement in a pandemic

This year’s trainee teachers haven’t just been preparing to enter the profession in some of the strangest circumstances in living memory: they also number among the critical workers who have been helping to keep young people’s learning going while schools have been closed. At the Faculty of Education, our trainees spend much of the year on placements in different Partnership Schools, where, in normal times, they gradually gain invaluable experience both inside and outside the classroom.

With classrooms largely closed, however, what has that experience been like? How have trainees adapted to teaching remotely and what have they learned from it? Crucially, how is that preparing them for entry into a profession where their skills will be more in demand than ever, as schools reopen and begin the long, hard struggle to help young people recover from the educational, social and psychological impacts of the crisis?

In this series of short articles, we ask current trainees about their experiences of being on placement in a pandemic. Here, Alex Morgan and Abby Wilson, who are studying on the Secondary PGCE Modern Languages course (to be French and Spanish teachers) offer their reflections.

Alex and Abby in the grounds of Homerton College, Cambridge

Alex and Abby in the grounds of Homerton College, Cambridge

Nobody could say that this training year has panned out as we expected, but that hasn’t stopped us from making the most of it. We are definitely learning a huge amount from the course – even while staff and trainees alike are dealing with the various curveballs being thrown our way on a monthly (or make that weekly) basis!

Despite everything there have been all sorts of highlights. One thing that has really stood out has been seeing so many teachers – whether new to the job or hardened professionals – being so adaptable and resilient in the midst of the hardships they are facing. But it is just as much of a highlight to see so many young students committing to their learning and actively participating in lessons despite the circumstances they are in.

As housemates, we were able to sit down together to share our thoughts about our placements in more detail (over some authentic French cheese and possibly-less-authentic rosemary crackers). In some ways, the experience of teaching online feels a bit like losing one of your senses. In a classroom, you get used to looking to students for visual clues as to how they are getting on, but online teaching has meant that we have had to find new and inventive ways to monitor progress.

Although those kinds of issues make it tough, however, there have also been surprising advantages and gains from teaching online. We’ve really enjoyed being able to expand our teaching repertoire to include more technology and it’s something that we would really like to bring back into the classroom one day. At one level the children are actually more excited by their lessons when they are using online resources, and doing so definitely adds a new creative – and perhaps competitive – element to learning that we should try to take advantage of when schools reopen.

To know that we can continue to have a positive impact on students’ lives, both in terms of their education but also in a broader sense, has made us really proud to be teachers during this time.

This half term in particular has really emphasised how important schools are in children’s lives. Perhaps not everyone recognises that, rather than just being centres of education, schools are communities that go so much further. We have witnessed our schools going to remarkable lengths to support students in all sorts of areas of their lives during a really difficult time, and it’s been hugely rewarding to be involved in that.

Even though the community is currently online, you can really feel the strength of the connection it creates, despite the physical distance. To know that we can continue to have a positive impact on students’ lives, both in terms of their education but also in a broader sense, is a factor that has made us really proud to be teachers during this time.

For these reasons, and many others too, the whole experience has felt so worthwhile. Online teaching has, despite its challenges, taught us far more than expected. To be honest, we’ve also secretly enjoyed not having children shouting ‘Miiiiiss…’ across the classroom. Even so, we’re also both really looking forward to the day when we can all be back in school to enjoy education in its natural environment!