195
that people don’t want to do it, it’s just that maybe they don’t know how.
(1 FGT
Nancy JI)
This in turn helped them become more confident and competent in their teaching
of physical education and they began to recognise physical education as a subject rather
than a ‘break from the classroom’. A marked increase in confidence was
noted in both
the frequency and strength of comments given in the focus groups, in the teachers’
ability to teach the strand units of O&AA following their experience of teaching the
strand with minimal support.
‘I found the experience of it better than I thought from
these [lesson notes], yes I’m fine…I’m doing alright’
(2 FGT Moira 3).
‘I think I have
been teaching it [O&AA] for two years now. I would definitely do it next
year…because in my head I have six weeks work planned without thinking about it’
(2
FGT Coleen JI).
‘Yeah this is fine. I can do this. I can manage this. This isn’t sort of
daunting task as I thought’
(2 FGT Nancy JI).
In contrast to the teachers who felt they knew enough about O&AA to teach it
well there was one teacher who lacked confidence in her own
ability to deliver the
O&AA unit. Karen, did not teach the O&AA strand to her class and swapped with
another teacher, whereby she taught music for that teacher and the other teacher taught
O&AA for her class. I would describe Karen as a very conscientious teacher who
during the initial PDP wanted to ensure that she had everything covered and that there
was no room for any mistakes in her teaching. When asked why she didn’t teach
O&AA at stage 2, Karen responded honestly;
I didn’t study this in college, the orienteering, and never done it before so I think
it is just a confidence issue and like the others are saying, just the jargon and
knowing … I think I’d need to be, you know, it did help last year seeing you
model it but I think what I need, me being the type of learner that I am, I need to
have it written down and walked through it with you without the children and I
would need to write it down myself. It is part of, I think, being a perfectionist as
well. I want to know exactly what I have to do. Sometimes if there is something
I feel I can’t, I feel I am not confident at, I just leave it, you know… I am just the
type where I need to have it written down and nearly write it myself.
(2 FGT
Karen 4)
By asking another teacher to teach O&AA to her class, Karen saw the benefits
of O&AA and wanted
her class to experience this, rather than reverting to another
strand during physical education time where she may have felt more comfortable.
Although this practice is carried out in some schools, it would be imperative that
teachers have a basic knowledge of the learning their class is undertaking to be able to
196
integrate into other class and subject activities. Any future PDP would require that the
various types of learners would be catered for more appropriately and that the principle
of personalisation of support continue to be adhered to. This approach may not be
sustainable as presented in this study, however further investigation into an in-school
mentoring scheme, where identified teachers support new
teachers as they enter the
school is required. Collegial support through established teacher collaboration at the
different class levels is also an option, where an experienced teacher models activities
and supports new teachers as necessary. This would allow for support to be self
sustaining within a school provided the organisational structures were established to
facilitate the support.
Dostları ilə paylaş: