Well, no one said it was going to be easy
This week has been quite a difficult one to handle whilst attending my placement. I have started to struggle with dividing my time between placement activity and the work required for the course. This coupled with a few issues that have occurred outside of the course I have been forced to address my self motivation. However this is not to say I have not gained anything from the week’s events. It has made me realise the importance of maintaining a professional approach when dealing with the students in college. It is almost as if I have developed two faces, almost as if I am acting when I am interacting with the students. This is not to say I am not being myself, more that I have not allowed anything that is affecting me outside of placement to be presented to the students. I did briefly discuss this with my mentor and he agreed that it was good practice to maintain this approach. He also said that throughout his career he had made sure that issues and changes regarding the course that occur “behind the scenes” were never brought to the attention of the students. I know that this will be an area I will have to continually be aware of as normally I am quite vocal about issues that are affecting me. I have so far managed to maintain a professional approach throughout, something I very much hope to continue.
During this week the first year BTEC group were taken to Bristol Zoo to carry out practical work for their “Wildlife Magazine” brief. This was a fantastic session as it meant that the students could demonstrate their knowledge in a practical setting but with time constraints. It also gave me more opportunities to work with groups of students and also on a one to one basis. I am starting to feel I am improving on my questioning techniques to ensure that learning has or is taking place. A large proportion of students are now beginning to approach me if there is something that they are not sure about. Another really exciting observation I made whilst out on the field trip is that all of the students are starting to show signs of great potential based on the photographic work that they are now producing.