AT A GLANCE
Provision for learners:
A range of over 80 placement settings which aim to provide students with an understanding of the setting, how teachers use it, how children learn there, and how this could be applied to their own teaching.
Model for working with trainees:
This placement follows the embedded/entitlement placement model. See What kind of placement? for details on types of placements.
The programme is integrated into the whole course structure. Standards are signed off by SOTS mentors and form an integral part of achievement of the QTS Standards.
ITT PROVIDER
Name of project:
Settings other than schools (SOTS)
Higher Education Institution:
York St John University was involved in main placement programme.
Follow up consultation has included six of the other regional providers.
ITE Course:
B.Ed
No. of trainees involved:
160 per year, 90 within museums, libraries and archives
Year group:
2
Subject area:
A range of specialisms but all Early years, Key Stage 1 & Key Stage 2.
Logistics:
Trainees in their second year go on placement to a setting other than school in between school placements.
Provider motivation:
To provide students with an understanding of how to deliver a broad and balanced curriculum, the range of opportunities available to enhance teaching and learning, and to give them confidence in utilising a range of settings in their future careers in teaching.
QTS Standards:
Q5, Q6, Q8, Q10, Q19, Q24, Q25, Q30, Q32
SETTING
A variety of settings other than schools are involved in offering placements including:
- museums and archives
- outdoor education and wildlife centres
- theatres
- sports initiatives.
MLA Yorkshire brokered partnerships with museums, libraries and archives.
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES
The aims of this activity are to provide trainee teachers, at the beginning of their teaching careers, with an understanding of and desire to use SOTS in their future teaching.
It aims to inspire them to enrich their teaching methods and delivery through learning from the SOTS mentors and settings and to gain confidence in making use of these venues, professionals and resources.
ABOUT THE PROJECT
This model is now in its third year. It is focussed on in-depth, two week placements for paired students within SOTS and takes the following form:
Beginning of year 2 – semester 1:
Trainees take weekly sessions around SOTS providing an understanding of SOTS: how they work and what they are. Trainees meet mentors and link tutors. The aim is to provide an understanding of what to expect when they take their placement. Placements are allocated, travel arranged, and trainees exchange initial conversations with mentors by telephone and email.
York St John College trained setting staff as setting based mentors using adapted materials from their school based mentor training programmes. All these mentors received a pack of materials to support them and were then able to assess trainees against the QTS Standards as part of the process. As well as accrediting the experience for trainees this was an added benefit of CPD for setting staff.
Each mentor is accredited to York St John University in the same way that a teaching mentor within school is. This provides equity within the placement and ensures that the mentor is able to unpick the standards and sign off trainees in the same way as on a school placement.
Semester 2:
Two introductory days take place allowing mentors and students to talk to each other, to determine their aims and objectives for the placements, discuss operational issues, and familiarise themselves with each other and the settings.
Link tutors (two from MLA Yorkshire/two from York St John) are allocated to each setting to ensure quality and make initial contact with mentors to arrange a meeting during the placement.
Placement block:
Students take part in the placement. This can involve them developing or delivering workshops, shadowing teachers during their visits to look for good and bad practice, creating e-learning resources, delivering outreach sessions, shadowing other members of staff, delivering tours, working with pupils from a different key stage, working in a team, developing a CD about the setting or creating a lesson plan using the setting.
A range of paperwork and specific meetings are completed and monitored during the link tutor visit.
The mentor passes or fails each student. Should a student be failing, the link tutor would become involved as soon as possible.
Post placement:
Students are brought back together in their tutor groups and share their experiences and CDs. This allows students who have visited different types of settings to understand the variety available. For example, a tutor group might consist of students who have visited museums, sports venues such as Headingley Cricket Ground, Urban Farms and Archive services.
Students are also encouraged to use what they have learnt in their teaching block. Many do this through a visit, planning for use of resources in a new way, or discussing what they’ve learnt with other teachers in the school. Students often return to their settings during the holidays as volunteers.
A student marketplace is then hosted for the next year of students to help them understand more about the placements and settings.
Following placements all mentors are invited to take part in an evaluation meeting. This then informs the next year’s work.
OUTCOMES
At a strategic level the main change is the desire of organisations to be involved. We have also seen a big increase in interest from other ITT providers who are keen to follow with a similar model.
Knowledge & Understanding
- ‘By the end of the placement I had a good understanding of the value of museum education and an awareness of how a visit to the museum can enrich the curriculum’
- ‘I have such a good understanding about what I could do out of the classroom now – I never knew any of these existed’
- ‘I know now where genuine artefacts can be found that will inspire and illustrate what children have previously only seen in books’
- ‘I had not realised the wealth of support and experience that children and school staff can gain from museums’
- ‘I didn’t know there was so much material I could use’
- ‘Before we did this project I thought slavery was about making people do chores, but now I think it’s about making money’
- ‘I’ve learnt that many people form different countries and different cultures come here to live in the UK’
- ‘I’ve learnt a lot because I enjoyed it’
Skills Development
- ‘I‘ve learnt so many different things about classroom management’
- ‘We’ve had to develop a tour of the site – it’s really scary but I feel much more confident about doing this sort of thing now’
- Students’ attainment levels are higher than other groups following their experience on the project’
- ‘It helped me to pick up ideas from other teachers to use in my own teaching’
- ‘Before the artist came, I didn’t have a clue how to weave. Now I feel a lot more confident’
- ‘This has helped them [pupils] to develop their literacy skills’
Enjoyment, Inspiration & Creativity
- ‘I had the chance to work with children of all ages and backgrounds. It was fantastic to see the enjoyment on their faces as they dressed up in the resources’
- ‘It’s been fantastic – we don’t want to leave!’
- ‘I am now more confident at bringing science investigations into the classroom through many creative angles, not just through the obvious ways’
- ‘I felt very pleased with myself when I saw my work’
- ‘I felt very proud of all the hard work we had put into the project. I was very happy’
- ‘It was good – a whole new experience’
Attitudes & Values
- ‘I am much more confident about visiting a museum with a class of my own now’
- ‘I’m really worried about what happens for children who have teachers who don’t prepare their visits – it seems like such a waste when there’s so much to gain from the experience.’
- ‘My colleagues were amazed at what I had been doing at the archives and local studies library’
- ‘I now know why it’s so important to get out there and use other settings and professionals’
- ‘At the beginning I didn’t realise that people could be so cruel and take innocent people to be slaves’
Progression
- ‘It’s really broadened my horizons as to what job opportunities there are’
- ‘I’ll definitely bring my classes to venues like this now’
- ‘I believe some of the pupils have chosen to take art through Key Stage 4 because of this experience’
- ‘I’ve realised the potential of working with the local community and would like to build on this now’
- ‘I hope I can come back to the museum with the rest of my family’
- ‘They [the children] have developed an interest in other communities and want to pursue this further’
SURPRISES
The lack of knowledge the students have about:- The existence of these settings
- How they can use them in their teaching
- The wealth of opportunities and careers available other than teaching in schools
- That some students changed their key stage focus as a result of teaching older children for the first time
KEY SUCCESS FACTORS
- Enthusiasm of the ITT provider staff
- Funding to support the post at York St John University
- Willingness of the SOTS to take part
- Direct links to national MLA standards and QTS standards
- Clear objectives set at the start
- Constant evaluation and discussion to change and refresh the model
- Link tutors from within MLA Yorkshire to support administration and evaluation of trainee learning experiences
