SPEC Magazine Issue 1 | Page 10

For me third year was probably the best year I have had at uni so far. There were some great units and the work we were doing in class and in our assignments was really relevant to the things I had observed out on prac. There was a good mix of units relating more broadly to education such as how education is perceived by society as well as more course specific units. "Many of the units started tying everything together" The workload itself didn't increase as much as I worried it might! I think it was more the assignment structure that changed a bit. I found that they were much more practical and involved more hands on, authentic (never thought I’d use that word outside an assignment!) learning scenarios. I think this definitely helped me in feeling more prepared for prac later on in the year. I was able to use a lot of the things I had done in assignments out on my pracs - which is always an added bonus. I learn much better through doing things so for me this shift in assignments away from the essays I’d done a lot of the year before really helped. Prac was definitely my favourite and the one which I’ve felt the most prepared for. I had a fantastic mentor teacher and the work I’d done at uni was much more relevant to what I needed to be teaching. It was a demanding prac in terms of the number of lessons I was expected to take but I found that this gave the best insight into what teaching will be like once I’ve finished with my degree. All the best for the year ahead and good luck with your studies!