Wrapping Up

As we near the end of the school year, it's time to reflect on the rollercoaster ride that has been PLT. When I consider the highs and lows of my year in general, most of these have occurred within this group. It has been rewarding, often frustrating, and definitely kept me awake at night.

Some thoughts (in no order whatsoever): 

• Students got to work with like-minded people they might not otherwise have met up with until the senior school
• Some students embraced the opportunity to further personal interests
• Some students did not cope at all well, and are still unable to work independently 
• The students who seemed best suited to independent learning were not taking part in the group (GATE students) which meant that the others did not benefit from the modelling 
• Behaviour was more difficult to manage than in a classroom setting, because:
• ALL the difficult students are together and automatically group themselves together
• the expectations of teachers tended to vary, as did consequences, so students were often playing one off against another

Things I think are important for the future:

• Staffing is very important ie
• consistent staffing (the same teachers there all the time, with few relievers)
• if at all possible, it's good to have people with a range of different skills outside their curriculum areas
• In addition to planning meetings, there should also be short meetings after each session with a focus on students - who is doing what; how we will address problems etc, and stick to what is agreed
• Make sure we model good time-keeping and efficient procedures.
• Students need to work in allocated groups, with a teacher responsible. With students doing individual projects it is too easy for some to go several weeks without doing anything.
• Although our environment is designed to be flexible, it should still be considered as a working area. Students need to be where we can easily see what they are doing - get rid of the couches.
• There must be more accountability and feedback. I still feel the blogs are a good way of doing this, but only if all teachers are encouraging their use and reviewing posts.