One Week Down

Well, what a week!
I went back into College on Monday after a dreadful night due to something of a crisis at home, so very tired and not particularly looking forward to the course, and found at some point late morning that I was... really enjoying myself. The worst thing, truly, has been finding a space in the student carpark in the morning, and after getting a Warning sticker on my car on Wednesday, took the Park and Ride bus from nearby today and even that problem is now solved.
The nine of us on the course have now really gelled, the other five being Dan, a laid back musician / backstage media man in his thirties, just done a degree and has a part-time teaching job at the college which counts as his placement; Sarah, a quietly intelligent psychology grad - early 40s, I think, who's been working as a legal secretary; Asif, an experienced teacher of ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) from Turkey and in his late 20s; Kelly, a 24-year old working hairdresser who wants to teach her subject and struggles from being ineligible for a bursary as hairdressing is not a "needed" subject, and also severe dyslexia; and Bethany, a cool graphic designer also in her mid-twenties.
For four days this week we've all been holed up together for most of the day in a single classroom, taught mainly by Mike, who everyone likes but some people (those less used to academia) find a little confusing at times, for Module 1 "Preparing to Teach in the Lifelong Learning Sector"; and also by Scott, who is taking us for Module 5, "Subject Specific Professional Practice".
Alongside the intensive input of information, we've all pretty much got the measure of each other, and some alliances and the odd antipathy have developed. I've bonded most with Nat; Kelly and Beth are a pair and the rest float around singly as we work in shifting small groups in class and chat in the student cafeteria. The less academic find Jay's extreme extroversion and need to succeed somewhat intimidating, though to be fair he is also very keen to assist and "mentor" others in any skill or knowledge he possesses.
So, this week we've covered the Roles and Responsibilities of a teacher, diversity, inclusivity and learners' needs and learning styles, the legislation and professional bodies that form the current framework of teaching in the Post Compulsory Education sector, setting groundrules and embedding functional skills (literacy, numeracy and ICT) within our subject classes. Among probably other things I've forgotten at this moment.
I'm enjoying the format of teaching - which is of course modeling the lessons we will be planning for our learners (not students or pupils!). There's a certain amount of teacher-centred information-giving (note how I'm assimilating the jargon!), interspersed with small amounts of independent working and longer times for group work which will usually include one member presenting the results of our discussions. We get video clips (YouTube - great source) and Powerpoints, lots of handouts - and I've remembered my facility for taking extensive notes which help me memorise and then regurgitate info in assignments.
I spent our day off this week clearing my desk at home and then writing our first assignment - devising an Icebreaker exercise for "my" class of Literacy students which would also enable the setting of class ground rules. I designed an exercise called "We Love School (not?)" based on the fact that most adult literacy learners will come to college after a poor school experience. So to get to know each other I ask them to create their own class register (asking each other their names) and then take a brief survey of each classmate on whether they Liked or Disliked learning at school in terms of The Teachers, The Work, The Classroom and The Rules. This would lead to discussion of what they didn't like then, would like now and what ground rules will underpin their learning and my teaching. I wrote my "Analysis" of same and emailed a first draft to Mike. Within half an hour he'd responded - very positively, but with some insightful and focused suggestions for improvement. He also said it was definitely distinction level work - so, I'm thrilled to bits.
Note to self (and also to others who have been asking): the game in homework is to reference or quote authoritative sources to back up every single assertion you make. Harvard referencing is simple enough - as a neat handout from the "Information Centre" (college library) makes clear.
So -  a surprisingly satisfactory week, leaving me tired but energised and as determined as Jay (but quietly so) to do really well on the DiTLLS course.