Electronics lecturer Aidan Viana in full flow at Southampton City College
A-level and BTEC results days brings an academic year of lockdowns, self-isolation and social distancing to a climax for tens of thousands of students. Below we ask three teachers working in different settings what they like most about teaching A-level, BTec (and HNC) students in the FE sector.
Alison Ashman teaches geography A-level as part of her role as curriculum coordinator for geography, history and politics at St Brendan's Sixth Form College, Bristol. She’s been teaching for 11 years, spending four years at an 11-18 secondary school before moving to St Brendan’s where she is now in a manager/teacher role.
“Relationships between staff and students are more collaborative at sixth form colleges than in schools so rather than following a rigid disciplinary policy, teachers work together with students to address barriers and ensure high expectations are met.
“Working in a sixth form college changes your expectations about the amount of ownership students have of their work. Your relationship with students is stronger because they’ve chosen to attend college and take your subject, so teachers are expected to feed that enthusiasm and help the students take ownership of their work in the right way.”
Another advantage is the opportunity a college gives students with lower GCSE grades (4 and 5) to do academic A-levels they would not be eligible to take in schools that often insist on a minimum grade 6 or 7. Alison says it makes teaching more exciting and challenging because you have to differentiate your teaching and ensure you can support a wider range of students, all of whom want to succeed. Many students combine, say, BTec science, sport or law with geography and/or other A-levels. This reduces the pressure at the end of the two-year courses at college - BTecs (many of which are also academic) are generally more vocationally-based and assessed during the course.
The great thing is you are not teaching the range of different classes in different subjects expected of schoolteachers. You are seen as a expert in your particular subject by students and parents. You only teach your own subject/s and, unlike school, are not expected to take other people’s lessons, do tutorials, hold assemblies or do break-time duties . . .”
“What’s exciting is the recent change in public perception of apprenticeships due to the introduction of degree apprenticeships. Now we’re getting students doing just A-levels who then take apprenticeships and BTec students going on to university.”
So how would Alison sell the idea of teaching in a sixth form college? First, she says, you can specialise in your subject area and are likely to teach several classes the same lesson in a week - this means you have time to ensure your lesson planning is ‘outstanding’, to reflect on that and focus on delivering high-quality lessons (tweaking them as you repeat them - such as replacing a video).
“You have time to get your pedagogy really good and to offer new learning opportunities; I’ve taken my students outside and acted out a bit of coastal erosion, held a fake auction in the class and run real debates [bigger classes - up to 20 - mean greater breadth of opinion].” Alison says college students have chosen to attend your course and be engaged. They are generally more mature than school sixth-formers and open to a more flexible approach to learning which allows you to think outside the box.
Flexible timetables enable teachers to give struggling learners valuable support sessions in smaller groups. “Our focus is purely on teaching and supporting our students and we work well with the college pastoral team. More flexible timetabling than in schools has also allowed me to work part-time to suit parental responsibilities.”
Alison also highlights the freedom to self-express. “There’s a real joy in just being around the students. We don’t have a uniform; you can wear what you want. Anyone can dye their hair or get their tongue pierced . . . and that’s great as it brings a lot to the classroom environment. The same goes for staff; no one’s going to stop you from being an individual. As long as your teaching is really good, you are who you are!”
Larger A-level classes and cohorts covering a much wider catchment area than schools mean there are more effective, diverse debates between students who do not know each other before coming to college. “Duke of Edinburgh award foreign trips I’ve organised number 30-40 students rather than the single figures of many school expeditions. You feel part of something big.”
Alison says that as a middle manager, she teaches on just three days a week - but her timetable is so flexible that she also teacher trains geography specialists online on the other two days as part of the Teach First scheme run by Bath Spa University.
Sixth form colleges are also generally better funded than school sixth forms, resources are plentiful and, given St Brendan’s 2000+ students, its sports teams often reach a high standard.
“It’s rare for FE sixth form colleges to get mentioned during PGCE and other teacher training courses and so people may hesitate to apply,” Alison points out. “But teaching at a college is really what people dream of - you’re taking students who have chosen your course, with whom you can have a laugh in a relaxed environment and who will still get on with their work when you ask them to - so give it a go!”
Aidan Viana worked as an electronics engineer from 1993, gaining two HNCs, before joining Southampton City College as a teacher on its BTEC and HNC engineering courses in April 2020
Vast electronics experience gained in areas ranging from undersea robots and defence systems to problem-solving computer and software development helped Aidan Viana start a new FE career last year as an engineering/electronics lecturer at Southampton City College. Originally a fine arts student at art school, Aidan switched direction and went on to work for some 30 different companies and organisations. He took an ONC (BTec level 3) in electronics and later HNCs in software development (a two-year course done in a year) and in electronics.
Why the change in career? “In recent jobs, I’d felt my experience was often being overlooked. I’d be asked to go off and do something quite mundane - like measuring the position of bullet holes around a target! I have many skills and I often used to teach colleagues. I’ve also been a martial arts instructor for 10 years where I would demonstrate all the moves from memory. With my long interest in physics as well, I decided to put everything together and try teaching.”
Aidan says he’s always enjoyed the challenge of overcoming adversity, figuring out how to do things he hasn’t done before, and being the ‘go to’ person in emergencies. And what could be more challenging in teaching than doing it online during covid? . . . fixing bits of computer code, doing a college-sponsored teacher training course while teaching, finding online-friendly teaching methods and engaging students who’ve forgotten all they’ve learnt before lockdown. “We’ve just had to recap and teach it again!
“Initially it was quite difficult working from home as no computers had the right programs; I often had to spend up to six hours a day preparing resources from scratch (including the many additional online presentations needed under lockdown) for a 90-minute lesson. But one year on at college it’s become much easier as I’ve started reusing presentations and other material. Now back in class I just have to get used to demonstrating maths and other technical material by writing it up on the whiteboard - relying only on PowerPoint displays can be really dry and boring for learners!”
Aidan highlights two key advantages of working in FE over industry: 1) everything in FE follows a structured plan - you need to know what the course specs are, the scheme of work, how long to spend on a topic. Industry has no such structure; you are forever trying to meet new and changeable customer deadlines and you get surrounded by half-finished projects. “I like the way FE allows me to plan,” he says.
Secondly, in private companies, even in lowly, boring jobs, you’ll sometimes come across someone who wants to compete against you to their own advantage (though you’ll find lots of helpful people too!). In FE, though, everyone seems keen to help, give you tips and advice, even teaching you on a whiteboard how to do things; it all creates a much healthier working environment.
So what does Aidan help deliver? A one- or two-year level 3 BTec in engineering (age 16-19), an EAL level 3 apprenticeship (two years) for students working towards a maintenance operation engineering technician qualification (16-19); and a two-year level 4 HNC in engineering (mainly employer-funded students). He teaches around 50 learners each week, working up to 9pm one day a week to take HNC students (time back in lieu). On a normal day he’ll spend half his time preparing/marking etc and the other half delivering two face-to-face sessions.
“We have a lot of fun. I always try to have a joke with the class . . . students may come in a bit aggressive at the start of the course but by end of the year they appreciate a laugh. I teach didactically but informally, use practical demos where possible and get students to have a go at things. But you do need patience in this job, especially with younger learners. I blot out inattentiveness and carry on! Also, be well organised and ready for students who may have been absent for months because of lockdown to ask you questions that may throw your original lesson plan!”
Paul Nice, a former assistant headteacher and senco, joined City College Norwich as a sociology A-level lecturer in 2018 after teaching history and latterly sociology for 27 years across six secondary schools
“I’d reached 50, my school was restructuring and I was offered redundancy. I took it and worked in a free school for a few months, but the job was insecure, the college post came up and, though initially unsure if college was for me, I applied anyway as it was just teaching - and not like my school leadership role of spinning umpteen plates in the air at once. I went along for interview and immediately liked the atmosphere.”
How was the transition? “I became a different person. Some of my former pupils would be amazed at the friendly, smiley individual I am in college! I had a reputation for being quite strict in school but you get a different type of cohort to teach at college with very few discipline issues. It’s much more relaxed and informal. Your learners choose to be there, they are extremely amenable and really want to learn, and when I set them a task they just get on with it.
“You are there primarily to teach and that’s the big attraction. Using the best materials you can, you focus on lesson content and on what students are there to learn; it doesn’t include extra tasks like school gate duty, pulling people up for uniform infringements and other disciplinary issues. If a student dislikes a course at college, they can pick another - so unlike school you don’t get stuck with a pupil for weeks on end who just doesn’t want to be there. As a result, your students are much more focused and enthusiastic.
“College is less stressful though I certainly don’t want to paint school in a bad light. I enjoyed my time in secondary schools; I latterly only taught 40% of the time; my duties as a senior leader, such as dealing with special needs, liaising with parents and working with educational psychologists were just as important.”
But college teaching is much more straightforward, says Paul. A less varied timetable than schools means you can teach the same lesson three times a week to three different groups; this frees up preparation time to make your lessons better and more engaging and relate what you are teaching to a wider social context. You have time to really get to know your students as learners and individuals and help them realise their vocational ambitions - you’re teaching the same students up to five hours a week in 2.5 hour sessions rather than just 50- or 60-minute periods in school.
“I get a buzz out of seeing students who may have had a difficult journey in education get decent A-levels and go on to university, apprenticeships, a good job or other further study. It reminds me why I entered teaching. I love FE’s holistic approach. Colleges exist for one purpose: to give young people a good, often second, chance to make something of their lives; and as a teacher you are focused on that every day.”
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