Reflection on my Final School Placement

I undertook my 4th Year School Placement in Moyle Park college, a Marist ethos all boys secondary school located in the heart of Clondalkin Village. The school has approximately 733 students as of 2023, and has a range of facilities provided for these students, such as a range of sports teams, an Olympic size boxing ring, a competitive Chess Club and more. They offer a range of programmes, spanning both Junior and Senior cycles, including the established Junior and Leaving Certificate, and the JCSP, Transition Year and Leaving Certificate Applied programmes.

Both the staff and student body are spurred on through the school motto, ‘Respice Finem’, meaning ‘look to the end’ - reminding students that when faced with hardships, to think about where they want to be this time next week, month or year. I found this motto extremely fitting and inspiring while undertaking my school placement, and was motivated by the staff and students within the school, and their dedication to doing their best each and every day. The school itself has over 50 classrooms, including a computer room and Mac lab, Science laboratories, two Woodwork and Engineering rooms, and one Art room. The school also offers a bookable chromebook trolley to staff for students to use in class, along with a well furnished school library, for use by any class group.

Throughout my time in Moyle Park, I feel that my teaching abilities have developed extremely well, and this placement really instilled in me that this is the career I want to have. I previously have struggled quite a bit with ‘imposter syndrome’ while on placement, and during my 3rd year placement I felt that this truly held me back from fully immersing myself in the placement. However, I really feel I have grown throughout my time in Moyle Park, and formed great connections with both the staff, but also my students. I found that I was quite harsh on myself during my placement last year and also at the beginning of this year, but as I settled into school life, I felt the fear melt away and I truly looked forward to coming in and engaging with my students every day. I feel that I developed not only as a teacher, but also as a person - I came to understand the challenges and difficulties faced by both staff and students each day, and ultimately became a more patient and educated teacher because of it. For that I have to thank each one of my students, as each boy taught me something new every day, but I also have to extend my sincerest thanks to my host teacher Leigh Ellis. On the first week of placement, Leigh said to me, ‘As teachers, we only have an hour together with each class a day, and if that hour can be pleasant, then that is enough’. This really stuck with me as I continued throughout my placement, and allowed me to view each day as something positive. I feel that this year was transformative for my own teaching and self confidence, and truly reminded me why I wanted to pursue a career in Art Education in the first place. I also feel that this year gave me a strong insight into the interests of students, and allowed me to create interesting and engaging lessons as a result of this - something that will benefit me long into my career as an Art Teacher.

Strengths:

Throughout this placement, one of the areas I felt was extremely strong were my Professional Teaching Skills and Ability - in particular, my questioning skills. I found that I was able to scaffold questions with ease, and draw out student responses well. Reflecting on feedback from my visits, I felt that my ability to question throughout a lesson, take the temperature of the room and implement pause points was strong, and reinforced student learning in each class. I found that I was able to create opportunities for class discussion, prompted by both higher and lower order questions, which was something that I struggled with previously - rather than having to have questions written down, I was able to think on my feet and adapt my questioning to ensure I was capitalising on student engagement to maximise the learning in each lesson.

I also felt that my visual aids were extremely creative, and clear for students to understand. In each class, they responded well to these, and they would often elicit some ‘That’s deadly I want to do that’ comments, which was encouraging. I also found that throughout lessons students would ask to photograph visual aids to use at home, or would come up to the board / table where they were displayed while working to reinforce learning. I also found that my Visual Aids really aided me in evaluating students' work, and they gave clear examples of success criteria for the task at hand, and gave a visual point of reference for students to compare their own work to. 

I also feel that my planning became much stronger and more efficient during this placement. In the second block, planning became almost second nature, and I found I had figured out a way to plan that truly benefited me in class. I also feel that my dedication to research allows me to link in plenty of interesting and relevant learning layers, capitalising on students’ unique interests and abilities. I also feel that my planning encapsulates the importance of the learning happening in each class, as well as the artistic process and outcome.

Weaknesses: 

A weakness I identified within myself this year was elements of differentiation with particular groups - this was a challenge I hadn’t experienced before, and it was something I struggled with particularly in Block one of this placement. I found that I wasn’t adequately dividing my time between all pupils, and was struggling to adapt to the high level of needs in some of my classes - in Moyle Park, Art is a single teacher department, and even the host teacher expressed encountering difficulty differentiating for certain groups. However, we collaborated to find the best ways of differentiating for each group I taught, and I felt that our strong relationship allowed us to come together effectively as a team. I also participated in the Teacher-Peer Observation scheme implemented in Moyle Park, where I was paired with a more experienced teacher. We observed each other’s lessons, and gave each other feedback in specific areas, and although I am still a training teacher, I felt that my input was greatly appreciated. I also received great feedback from my partner, and it was after this where I started to view methods of differentiation in a new light. I also received plenty of support from my tutors in NCAD, and I am grateful for all of their help throughout my placement.

Overall, although tough at times, I felt that this placement was extremely transformative for myself as a teacher. It exposed my weaknesses and fears, but allowed me to overcome them in a safe and supportive environment. I really connected with each of my students, and looked forward to working with them every day; they really were my shining light in the darker times. I found myself to be extremely adaptable, and learned to take things on the chin when teaching, as nothing is always going to go to plan. I truly enjoyed my time at Moyle Park, and gained so much insight into my role as a teacher in the wider community. I felt truly appreciated by staff and students alike, and if I was lucky enough to teach in a school half as supportive as this, I would jump at the opportunity.