Phases of Training
At Liverpool John Moores University the Faculty of Education, Health and Community offers opportunities for student teachers to become qualified teachers in the Early Years, Primary and Secondary sectors. All Student Teachers are working towards achieving competence in the DfE Teachers' Standards operational 2012.
The New Standards are presented as separate headings, numbered from 1 to 8 in Part 1, each of which is accompanied by a number of sub-headings. The sub-headings are an integral part of the standards and are designed to amplify to scope of each heading. The sub-headings should not be interpreted as separate standards in their own right, but should be used by those assessing student teachers to track progress against the standard, to determine areas where additional development might need to be observed, or to identify areas where a student teacher is already demonstrating excellent practice relevant to that standard (DfE 2012 Teachers' Standards).
Teaching is a complex process; the Standards identify a wide range of competences, which must be demonstrated by the end of the training in order to become a qualified teacher. It is difficult, in the early stages, to address all of the complex interactions involved at an adequate level. Programmes operate a ‘phased' approach to the placement experience. Phases are developmental and lead to the final year student teachers being assessed against ALL of the Standards.
Although the placement experience is ‘Phased', the Phases should NOT be seen as limiting a student teacher's development and progression. If a student teacher exceeds the expectations of a particular Phase and has evidence for attainment of Standards – this can be recorded on the tracking document. However, on subsequent placements this evidence should be developed and extended.
The phases are:
Orientation and Beginning Teaching and Learning.
Phase 1: Orientation and Beginning Teaching and Learning covers the earliest stages of a course, where student teacher teachers may have an opportunity to observe teaching and learning. Student teachers are principally concerned with developing positive attitudes and behaviours and becoming aware of their teaching duties, roles and responsibilities within the school environment. They will consider the application of their subject knowledge, skills and understanding within the National Curriculum framework and statutory requirements. Student teachers will be observing and reflecting on how experienced school tutors plan and prepare for their lessons and manage the classroom environment and behaviour of pupils. For salaried student teachers this can take place before they commence the course so that they gain experience of the school they will be working in. They should be responding to advice and feedback and be able to evaluate and reflect in order to improve their understanding and practice.
Consolidating and Developing Teaching and Learning
Phase 2: Consolidating and Developing Teaching and Learning, builds on earlier work and addresses further aspects of planning, teaching, differentiation and class management, together with knowledge for subject teaching but there is an increased demand on ongoing assessment to improve learning. There is a focus on student teachers planning lessons for effective learning, using precise learning objectives based on the needs of the group and individuals within it. Student teachers should be engaged in planning their own units of work, where necessary based on those already used by the school. They should be becoming clearer about the expectation for the age and ability of the pupils they are teaching and the contribution that others can make to the learning environment. Student teachers at this stage should have a good understanding of how children learn and develop and should be able to use this information in planning more effectively for individual needs. They should also be increasingly more aware of the importance of monitoring pupils’ progress and using the information to set future learning targets. Student teachers should be able to evaluate their own teaching and pupils’ learning more effectively and take responsibility for their own professional development in identified areas. The learning environment and pupils’ behaviour becomes better managed as experience of planning and preparation grows during this phase.
Extending Teaching and Learning leading to Qualifying to Teach
Phase 3: Extending Teaching and Learning leading to Qualifying to Teach, where the student teacher is on their final placement, working towards extending competence in order to achieve qualified teacher status. The attachment focuses on ALL the standards but there is an increased expectation placed on those concerned with monitoring and assessment. During this placement the student teachers will be assessed against all of the standards and will be expected to have a solid evidence base for the grading.
Placement Review Forms
Placement Review forms are linked to the phases, with appropriate competences monitored in each phase. The forms are intended to be both formative and summative in that they record a level of performance, set targets and identify areas for development in future placement experiences.
Review Forms are extremely important as these are confirmation that the student teacher has passed the placement and without this evidence progression and/or the recommendation for QTS can be hindered.
Review forms should be saved in PDF format and uploaded onto the Abyasa database by the student teachers with a copy kept in the QTS training and development file.
If there is a need to delay submission of a Review Form, please inform the Work-related Learning Unit. edn-wbl@ljmu.ac.uk fax: 0151 729 0136 T: 0151 231 4620
It is extremely important that the work-based learning unit be notified of issues with any student teachers. The 'poor progress' procedure requires student teachers to be notified of potential failure in good time so they can be given support and have the opportunity to remedy deficiencies in their professional practice and competence in the Standards.
DfE Teaching Standards