Since I’ve now completely finished (and passed!) my PGCE year, I wanted to spend a few blog posts going through the journey from start to finish: starting with my application and interview process.
I applied to teacher training for the 2019 to 2020 academic year – and WHAT a year it’s turned out to be for us all. I do want to preface this post however by saying that I did apply to teacher training on a SCITT (school-centred initial teacher training) programme at a secondary school local to me that was due to start in September 2018. For a few reasons I decided to withdraw from this application and reapplied for the following year. I might go into more detail on this previous application in the future but for now I’m going to concentrate on my recent application and training.
I completed and submitted my application on UCAS on the 16th October 2018 (yes I did have to check my emails for the exact date!). Whereas previously I’d chosen the SCITT course, I decided this time I wanted to go the PGCE route, a teacher training course run by a university provider. As not all providers offer languages, particularly German, I had to do a lot of research about which courses were right for me.
I applied to three universities, and received invitations to interview from all three – I had one interview offer within 3 days of applying, but the interview itself wasn’t until late November. Another provider offered me an interview on the 23rd October, with the interview taking place a week later. The final provider offered me an interview on the 24th October with an interview on the 3rd December. Each institution runs their interviews and courses differently, so my first piece of advice is to be patient – I received responses quickly but actually didn’t confirm my place on a course until late December because I wanted to attend all three interviews.
All three interviews required separate, but similar, paperwork and a pre-interview task. These pre-tasks varied a lot – 1 provider asked for a short mini-lesson to be taught to the other applicants, whilst the other two wanted me to prepare a resource and explain how I would use it. Looking back it’s hard to remember exactly how these went individually at the interviews themselves, but it’s important to remember that the interviewers are looking at potential at this stage – an interview lesson/activity isn’t meant to be and isn’t going to be perfect – even real lessons are rarely perfect!
The spacing between the interviews was both helpful and frustrating – obviously I had a lot of time to prepare for interviews 2 and 3 which was nice, but it did drag the whole process out.
Before the interview, each provider asked me to come with photocopies of my qualifications – ALL of them asked for different ones. Some wanted degree and English and Maths GCSE. Another wanted photocopies of certificates for EVERY qualification I’d ever taken. It’s important to only provide what they specifically ask for – in one of my interviews a woman brought all of her certificates and tried to show them all (and I even mean the 50 meters swimming certificate kind of qualification!) but was given short shrift as its unfair to candidates who only brought what they were asked to. Bear this in mind when you go to the interview.
At each interview I also had to complete a written and spoken language task/mini interview – the interviewers gave feedback on areas I needed to improve, and this formed the basis of my subject knowledge audit and improvements when I stared the course. All providers also checked my standard of written English with a short writing task – one provider actually asked for a written answer to a question on education to be completed on one side of A4 before attending the interview.
Another key point to remember is that the training providers also what to know your awareness/background knowledge on the key issues within education and the classroom. One interview involved a panel of 7 other interviewees and some topical articles from the news about educational issues, and we had to read them and give a summary of the article and our thoughts to the others. Another of my interviews asked specifically about behavior management techniques. The interview is not just about subject knowledge so school experience days and articles on TES are good starting point to supplement your knowledge on schools and current educational issues and practices.
Luckily, I was offered a place to train from all three of my choices. In order to help me make the best decision, I drew up a table looking at key aspects of each course and what it could offer me. Although all three providers were in the south-west, for two out of three, I would have had to move area. I also looked at the amount of counties and schools the provider said they worked with. Some of them offered financial incentives or travel/accommodation expenses paid when out on placement. I accepted an offer from the local university on the 12th December.
So to finish off what are my take-aways/top tips for applying:
- Apply early if you can – I sent in my application almost as soon as the window for applications opened. Waiting for the interview slots took some time and although I applied in October, I didn’t actually confirm my place on a course until December. Each provider saves up applications so they can offer interviews to a group at a time, meaning you could get an offer for an interview for a month or so away. Waiting and attending all three interviews was a really useful process to see how what each university prioritised or asked me. I also liked knowing that by the new year I knew what I was doing and where I was going in September.
- Research each institution carefully – really compare what they offer you, the types of assignments they ask for, follow them on Twitter/Instagram/Facebook. to see what they are like day-to-day. Remember to write down any questions you may have from looking at their websites, as you can always email the PGCE office in advance to ask or ask the tutors on the day. For example, the PGCE I attended meant I have 60 masters credits that I can take forward to a Masters in Education and there is a discounted price if you convert your credits and take them forward to the full masters. Therefore, when I was applying/researching, I also looked at their masters courses and what modules they offered.
- Make the most of experience days/volunteering – as I worked as a teaching assistant for four years prior to applying, I didn’t need to complete a week’s experience in a school. Providers are likely to ask about this experience and what you learnt from it – one of my questions actually centred on behaviour management – so it’s important to go and see as many schools and different types of schools in your area as you can. In the current circumstances this might be difficult, but you can always ask if the school has a virtual tour/virtual prospectus that you can watch and get some ideas.
- Make your final choice carefully – as I alluded to at the start of the post, this wasn’t my first time applying to teacher training. Although I felt the SCITT would be better for me since I had a lot of school experience, when there were aspects that I disagreed with, there was no-one ‘above’ the SCITT to turn to when I wanted another opinion or more advice. On a PGCE, if you’re having troubles on placement, you can always go back to your university tutor to ask for help. I found that I liked to have an outside, neutral person I could go to to ask for help or advice when I needed it.
Overall, I really enjoyed my PGCE experience and had a pretty smooth application process. If anyone has any specific questions to the MFL PGCE interview process please get in touch by leaving a comment or on Twitter!
Bis später,
Alex
ichliebelanguages 