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.