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Working and learning together
15th November 2021
Last week I was lucky enough to start visiting our trainee teachers in their school settings. This is the part of my job that I enjoy the most. Our trainees are now trying out ideas that have been learnt in our training, developing their practice, and establishing their teacher persona. And I get to be out in schools alongside pupils!
Even for experienced colleagues the thought of someone coming into your classroom, office or workspace can fill you with dread, but if we can put the dread aside there is so much to learn through working together. Every time I set foot in a school, I come away thinking, that was a good idea, that was a friendly colleague, or I would love to try that!
Learning through being in someone else’s school is just the start of the process. By being with colleagues we can start professional discussion, unpick our personal practice, and empower each other to make choices that improve outcomes. Think about all the great practice that is going on in each of our schools and how wonderful it would feel to share just a little of our experience.
We tell our trainees that they learn from their school community and as our trust grows the pool of support has grown even wider.
Learning as a community can lead to better outcomes than working alone, it strengthens our capacity and increases the reach of our work. We are delighted that in 2022 some trainees will be undertaking a second placement in ‘Athena’ schools that we haven’t worked with before. Thank you for your support in hosting trainees in your schools and we know we will all learn something new from you too.
Jo Jones, Director of ITT, Athena-GEP
Last week I was lucky enough to start visiting our trainee teachers in their school settings. This is the part of my job that I enjoy the most. Our trainees are now trying out ideas that have been learnt in our training, developing their practice, and establishing their teacher persona. And I get to be out in schools alongside pupils!
Even for experienced colleagues the thought of someone coming into your classroom, office or workspace can fill you with dread, but if we can put the dread aside there is so much to learn through working together. Every time I set foot in a school, I come away thinking, that was a good idea, that was a friendly colleague, or I would love to try that!
Learning through being in someone else’s school is just the start of the process. By being with colleagues we can start professional discussion, unpick our personal practice, and empower each other to make choices that improve outcomes. Think about all the great practice that is going on in each of our schools and how wonderful it would feel to share just a little of our experience.
We tell our trainees that they learn from their school community and as our trust grows the pool of support has grown even wider.
Learning as a community can lead to better outcomes than working alone, it strengthens our capacity and increases the reach of our work. We are delighted that in 2022 some trainees will be undertaking a second placement in ‘Athena’ schools that we haven’t worked with before. Thank you for your support in hosting trainees in your schools and we know we will all learn something new from you too.
Jo Jones, Director of ITT, Athena-GEP
