Teaching your first full year in college during a pandemic has meant a tough baptism for any FE teacher, but despite the turmoil and wholesale change to online learning, our newbie music lecturer sums up a year with plenty of good outcomes and key lessons learned.
I was caught short this term. I thought I was pretty much on top of things when everything went crazy in May. Unexpected, last-minute marking deadlines came through all at the same time - one week I was told to finalise all the marking by the Friday and suddenly there was a problem with my level 3 marking. Then all at once this mad period was over and it went quiet . . . such is the helter-skelter nature of the summer term when assignments, projects and exams all have to be finished, marked, assessed, revised for, taken, and graded.
As a first-year teacher I’ve been learning on the job all year. And yes, I have struggled with the marking process. It’s been a highly unusual time with covid much to blame for lack of resources set aside for training in what for me has been a new way of marking. But I eventually figured things out through trial and error - a method lecturers have often had to adopt throughout the pandemic.
What I’m relieved about is getting good feedback overall from both management and students. This is my first year of managing an HE music course so inevitably there were and one or two things I was not quite aware of. The curriculum was written quite loosely so I had to spend considerable time understanding what we were being asked to teach.
For instance, we were directed to mark assignments ‘holistically’ - it was a somewhat ambiguous statement and something I tell my students not to do it in their own writing! By holistic the curriculum writers meant assessments could be done in various formats (via presentation, printed documents, online, etc). I realised I was being asked to be flexible when doing assessments - as long as there is reasonable evidence that our students had understood the subject. I feel this approach gives us too much freedom and leads to too little freedom in the end.
My focus on nailing down writing skills brought dividends this year. Some students have really improved their academic writing and this was showing up, my managers have told me. Overall, I’ve helped my students push up their grades and improve their attitude to learning and the culture of learning. We’re not quite there yet but it’s been reassuring and a relief to hear my students have been benefiting from my teaching!
Other improvements include high-achieving students now being able to spot key areas of discussion asked for in their final exam papers, knowing what to focus on and how to express it. Meanwhile, less higher-achieving students had gained confidence to do well; despite their lower grades, I’ve seen real progress reflected in their positive attitude - many level 4 students are now considering university after having completed level 5 and for me that has proved I’ve succeeded in passing on the joy of learning. As for the current level 5 cohort, considered at first to be one of the worst we’ve had at HE level music, practically all students achieved a merit or distinction.
I’ve also had great feedback from level 3 students. One told me: “You know what? For the first time I actually understand music theory!” I put this largely down to my earlier teaching in primary and secondary schools where I’ve had to explain things very simply. I got good peer feedback on how I connected with my students. I’d sit down with them, talk to them, practice and perform with them - and I like to think that’s what has really attracted students to L4 courses this coming September . . . we’ve seven or eight more level 3 applicants than usual.
One important lesson here has been realising that so many of our students have not got on well with a standard GCSE/A-level education. Apart from a few high achievers at levels 3 and 4, many students have suffered from a general lack of confidence; they have become almost “helpless” in their learning and they’ll “swim” at the start of the course. They take on the attitude that they are “no good at essay writing”.
Standard classroom teaching does not work for them as they are not motivated - some are like lost sheep and don’t know where to go. So I focus on getting to know them and treating them as individuals rather than as a class; I tell them not to go crazy if my classroom teaching doesn’t suit them. I’ve differentiated a lot in my teaching even though I’ve introduced the most important parts of the curriculum to the whole class in the first three or four weeks of term. I’ve then spent the rest of term running Q&As, one-to-one tutorials and small group sessions.
If you are a newbie, don’t expect too much at first - prepare a lot but always step back from your chosen approach if it doesn’t work - and don’t immediately think it’s your fault . . . Really enjoy life and consider how you can make your work as easy as possible by regularly speaking to colleagues and students. Once you understand how your workplace works you can start thinking how to manage things around that.
Lastly, will I do anything differently next term? I’ll lay down exactly what I’ll expect of new students . . . I’ll get them to imagine they are in a monastery where they need to behave and not adopt a lazy attitude. And I’ll say something tough to hear - eg “the music industry is a harsh place and the competition has already started”. And no, I won’t accept any late submissions . . . “If you hand in work late (without good reason), don’t expect support from me!”
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