Melissa Mamwell and Hayley Kirk (Sports Development & Coaching, Year 2) were recently selected to complete a two week school-based internship at a local school as part of the Lincolnshire Teaching Schools Alliance (LTSA). This was a fantastic opportunity for anyone seeking a career in teaching. In this short Q&A they tell us all about their experiences.

Q: How did you get your internship position?

Hayley & Melissa: As part of the Lincoln Award scheme, an email was sent out advertising an opportunity for a two-week internship for teacher training which could be based in a secondary or primary school environment. We had apply via email with a CV and a covering letter which detailed why you should be a successful candidate and note what experience you have. We then had to attend an interview and complete group tasks, after which we were selected to join the internship programme.

Q: What were you doing during your internship?

Melissa: The roles that I took on through the internship were, in charge of a group and working through different topics in lessons with them, helping and supporting the children. I also observed in both KS1 and KS2, specifically looking at the lesson structure and behaviour management. Throughout the second week I contributed to the lesson, conducting a starter task and working with an SEN [Special Educational Needs] child and supporting smalls groups of children who struggled with English. We were required to do group work, a starter and a plenary; however these were optional depending on how confident you felt planning and delivering parts of lessons.

Q: What skills have you been able to develop as part of this experience?

Hayley: My organisation skills have been developed throughout my internship. I was asked if I wanted to take any lessons so I decided to take it upon myself my delivering four English lessons based upon a sporting topic. This meant that I had to be organised with making sure that all my resources were ready on time and that I submitted a lesson plan to the teacher beforehand for her to read and agree that it was okay. Also completing my internship has improved my communication as I was working with year 2 students (aged between 6 and 7 years old), meaning that I had to alter the way I spoke depending on the student, especially as there were children of mixed ability and at different stages of development.

Q: What challenges did you face?

Melissa: The main challenges I faced was when working with a SEN student who had English as a second language; he had only been in the school two weeks. He knew very little English so I worked on a one to one basis to help him develop his English skills from reception/year 1 level and slowly trying to build it up. This was learning new words and developing his understanding of words. This was a challenge because the student spoke very little English and with their SEN needs they got bored and distracted easily, so trying to keep them on task was difficult. However, I gave him targets and goals to reach so after completing the task they could have a few minutes of something they enjoyed and then back to them work again. This kept the student engaged and help the learning process.

Q: What would you say are some of your key achievements?

Hayley: A highlight of the internship for me was being offered a place to be a student teacher once I graduate, starting September 2018. This means that I would be able to complete the School Centred ITT programme within this school. This is a massive achievement for me as it means all the time I’ve put into volunteering and into my degree has been worth it and I will have been rewarded in the end with completing my teaching degree. I can’t wait to see what the future brings!!! Being able to deliver lessons on the internship has been an achievement for me as I would never at the start imagined I would be able to get involved as much as I have, and seeing the students within just two weeks improve and develop has been amazing, it’s been incredible.

Q: Sum up your experience in three words for us.

Melissa: Challenging yet rewarding

Hayley: Incredible, amazing, enjoyable.