As a UK qualification, PGCE is the gateway to working in UK-based schools and many international schools outside the UK and is one of the most popular academic qualifications for teaching. With over 1,300 teachers and school leaders studying there in any one year, the School of Education at the University of Buckingham has become one of Britain’s leading providers of teacher training and professional development. It is also one of the few universities that provide PGCE programmes specifically designed for teachers working in China at international/ bilingual schools.
To provide tips and advice to future PGCE students, the School interviewed some PGCE trainees and their tutors, who list 10 things that they believe could help PGCE students to impress their tutors. Find out how you can improve and thrive during your PGCE course.
No 1 & 2: Good communication and organisation
No 1 - Good communication skills. I think it's important that you keep your tutor well informed. That you send out a programme of the day before when they come to visit. Most importantly don’t let your tutor chase you up on emails.
No 2 - It’s about organisation. It’s about being organised. It’s about making sure your day is planned, your e-portfolio is up to date, your documents are all correctly named, your resources are sorted, your lessons are ready to go. And that way you are going to showcase yourself at your very best because your organisation is all going to be well in place.
No 3 & 4: Do the basic things right and be a role model
No 3 - So I think it is important that you do the basic things right. I think that if you get distracted by lots of teaching technology and fancy teaching aids, sometimes you’re not really thinking about what you are really trying to achieve with your teaching and with that lesson.
No 4 - And to be professionally dressed for the classroom and from the sports field because you are the role model to the children.
No 5 & 6: Relax and be open to feedback
No 5 - Relax and be yourself！We all get it wrong sometimes and the tutors are here to help you. We’re all here to learn and it is a big journey.
No 6 - I love it when I have my first school visit and I meet somebody who’s really open to feedback. And they say I want to get as much out of this year as I possibly can because that enables us to help them and that’s what we are here for.
No 7 & 8: Start promptly and brief properly
No 7 - You need to think about your lesson right from the very start. You need to think that we are going to be watching right from that moment that lesson begins, from when the children start to appear. Don’t wait for them all to be there, before you think we’re going to be starting to look for how you’re doing and what’s going on. In fact, one of the things we really want to be able to see is learning starts promptly.
No 8 - And I think my advice follows directly on from that, which is to know your students, know the people who are sitting in front of you and make sure that I know them as well. That might be that you give me a copy of your seating plan, and I know why you’ve chosen to layout the room in that way. It might be just about what’s on your lesson plan, that you’ve clearly identified not just those with additional needs but your highest attaining students, your lowest attaining students. And that you may be giving me a bit of a briefing before about what exactly the composition of the group is. It’s really useful to know what to be looking out for and as much heads-up you can give us about that the better.
No 9 & 10: Resilience and empathy
No 9 - Remember that resilience is one of the key attributes that we’re looking for, not only in our teachers but also in our pupils, and that you need to mirror those skills. Your tutor is looking to see that you can keep trying, never give up and never give in.
No 10- Also, have empathy. Those pupils who are vulnerable, who are struggling, really need your support and in order to encourage their engagement in the learning.
作为英国的教师培训，PGCE是在英国本土学校和本土以外很多国际学校工作的敲门砖, 也是最受欢迎的教师学术资格认证之一。白金汉大学教育学院是英国领先的教师培训和专业发展机构之一，每年有超过1300名学校教师和领导在此学习培训。也是少数专门为在中国国际/双语学校工作的教师设计提供PGCE在线课程的英国高校之一。
为了给未来的PGCE学生分享建议心得，学校采访了正在受训的PGCE学生和他们的导师们，让他们列出可以帮助学生给导师留下好印象的10件事情。不妨学习一下如何能在PGCE课程中有更好更卓越的表现。
No 1 - 良好的沟通技巧。我认为让你的导师及时掌握足够的信息非常重要。当他们来校访时， 提前给导师一份当天的课程安排。最重要的是，不要让你导师邮件催你。
No 2 - 核心是你的组织计划，要保证一切都井井有条。要确保你一天的安排都提前计划，你的电子档案是最新的，你的文档都有正确的名称，你的资源分门别类，以及你课程的一切都准备就绪。这样你就能以最好的状态展示自己，因为你的组织计划都将顺利到位。
No 3 - 我认为重要的是你把基本的事情做好。我觉得如果你被大量的授课科技和花哨的教具所干扰，有时你就不会深入思考你的教学以及这堂课真正要实现的目标。
No 4 - 此外在课堂上和运动场上要穿着专业，因为你是孩子们的榜样。
No 5 - 放轻松，做你自己！我们都会偶尔犯错，导师就是来帮助你的。我们都是来学习成为教师的，这是一个漫长的旅程。
No 6 - 我喜欢当我第一次访问学校时，遇到的学员能对我的反馈持开放态度。他们希望尽可能多地从这一年中收获成长，因为这使导师能够帮助他们，这也是导师的职责所在。
No 7 - 你需要从一开始就思考你的课程。你要考虑到导师从课程一开始，从学生刚进入教室就在观察你的表现。不要等所有学生都到齐才进入状态，以为导师要等到那个时候才开始观察你的表现和课程进展。事实上，我们非常希望看到的一件事是课堂迅速进入学习状态。
No 8 - 我认为针对这一点我的建议是：了解你的学生，了解坐在你前面的人，并确保你的导师也了解他们。可能通过你给我一份你的座位安排，让我知道你为什么选择以这种方式布置教室。可能只是你教案上的内容，表明你不仅清楚了解那些有额外需求的学生，还知道课堂里成绩最高和最低的学生。或者，你可能事先向我介绍一下课堂学生的具体组成情况。让我们提前知道要注意的地方会非常有用，而且提前知道的信息越多，效果就越好。
No 9 - 请记住，坚韧是我们寻找的关键品质之一。不仅在教师身上， 同时也在学生身上寻找。你需要展现这些特质。你的导师希望看到你不断努力、永不放弃、永不退缩。
No 10 - 还要有同理心，这会有助于理解那些脆弱的学生。他们正在挣扎，急需你的支持，这样才能鼓励他们参与到学习中来。