Transcript Slide 1

NQT Support
2014-15
CPD: ‘Sharpening Your Saw!’
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How sharp is your saw?
A lone walker comes across someone in the
woods feverishly sawing down a tree.
He asks: ‘How long have you been at that?’.
The exhausted worker says: ‘Hours and
hours, and it’s really hard work’.
The walker says to him: ‘Have you
considered stopping to sharpen the saw?’.
‘Oh no, I’m far too busy sawing’ came the
reply’.
(Adapted from Covey 1999, cited in Bourdillon & Storey, 2002, p.291)
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The life of an NQT
Today has not been an easy day. Only a couple
of weeks back after a peaceful half-term holiday
and yet I have a searing headache that feels
like it is splitting my skull. I feel overwhelmed by
an overload of information, telling me about
everything that I should and should not do,
exam results analysis, AfL…! I am in need of a
serious lie down….
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Joys, challenges, surprises, support?
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
To date, what have you enjoyed the most during this
first year of teaching?

Up until now, what have been the most challenging
aspects of the first year?

Have there been any particular surprises, in terms of
expectations of your role as an NQT?

How well do you feel supported by your school?
Interests/strengths
 How are you developing your personal
interests during your NQT year?
 To what extent have you been able to utilise
your previously identified areas of particular
strength during this first year of teaching?
 How have you been able to build on these
strengths?
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Previous (and new)
areas of development
 In what ways have you been able to
improve/develop those aspects of your
teaching about which you previously felt less
confident or had limited opportunities to gain
experience?
 Do you have new areas of development?
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Long-term aspirations/goals
 Looking ahead, have your longer-term
professional aspirations and goals remained
the same or changed, and how are you
planning to achieve/reach them?
 What could the University do to help/support
you during your early years of teaching?
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And finally…
 As I reflect, I have enjoyed the NQT far more than I
could imagine. Last year on cold dark nights, I
sometimes wondered what I was doing trying to plan
lessons, create resources and write essays when I
could have gone for a far easier route. However, now
I think that even a bad day passes over and it will be
replaced with a good lesson where the pupils might
actually learn something. Far better than being sat
behind a desk!
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Keep calm and sharpen your saw!
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