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I attended some council refresher training recently around the job review process – setting SMART targets, the review process, gradings, tackling under performance and challenges etc. This is something I’ve done as a manager for a number of years, and of course setting SMART targets is second nature to those of us from education (as opposed to housing, planning or other council departments).However, the trainer was excellent – very clear and focused in his delivery,gave really useful information about the questions that are asked of completed job reviews by the moderation panel and what leads to some being rejected,and went through a process for setting SMART targets which was incredibly useful and practical – straightforward steps to work though. He shared documentation which he’s developed to make sure the process is thorough and focused.I felt I was given relevant information, useful strategies and ideas for different approaches, and practical tools in terms of documentation, which would enable me to do this part of my job much more effectively and support staff better in the process. It was also very useful as always to be able to share experiences and good practice with colleagues

As part of a revision lesson, rather than going through what we had learnt in the usual

manner of a power point presentation, we played a game of 'word association'.This

meant that it was light-hearted enough that the more introverted of people weren't

intimidated by having to speak out in class, and it allowed us to think about the subjects

we had been taught during the term holistically, rather than as independent topics.This helped me enormously in my

exams as it taught me to think outside of the box when answering questions.

Recently I tried to learn zumba for the first time. Although I have always exercised regularly and have tried different forms of exercise, I found this quite challenging.What I liked about it was that it was fun, energetic and had an ‘upbeat’ feel to it; additionally the tutor was really good –she motivated the class and encouraged usto push ourselves further. What I found challenging was the coordination aspect and following the tutor’s moves exactly.On reflection I realised that any new skill takes time to acquire; practice and correction are important as isthe attitude and subject knowledge of the tutor.

I had tutors who allowed fantastic learning experiences to take place such as Ivor Cutler whom taught poetry, dance, drama

and self expression.Another tutor, my history tutor enabled me to see in my minds eye the experience history had on us by

showing a real interest in every individual in the class. Another tutor, biology, allowed for lots of hands on learning while another tutor taught us French while we made pottery. All

tutors were relaxed in the classroom and made the learning experience fun! My father always said if I did not know I should ask WHY until I finally did know – this helped although not all tutors were resolute enough to attempt to show and say the information I needed in another format and tended to repeat the same information but in a louder tone as if I was deaf.I

have been inspired by inventors and artists all my life.

I have not had the time and resource to leave my job to assume a full-time qualification and so taking a qualification that is work-based and gave me the impetus to maximise the knowledge and experience I had gained and channel this with a short term course with the JHP academy A1 award in Assessing, and then proceed on to do the Advice and Guidance Award.This in turn has given me extra resources to progress further.

As a young boy my parents did not live together and I only had the opportunity to visit my Dad once every 2 weeks on a Friday evening;my Dad always wanted to arrange something memorable for me to do such as ice skating or cinema etc; to

me though, this was the only chance I had to ask someone good at maths to help me understand my homework which I was struggling to understand in class;I remember my Dad

dropping my step brothers at the cinema and him taking the time to explain everything I needed to know at his home, sometimes until the early hours and for many weeks; his

patience, understanding and empathy, knowing that I desperately needed to sort my learning, has never left me;

making the time to offer my learners relaxed and supportive one to one sessions outside of their normal college time is vital to some learners and has subsequently proved very

successful for my groups.

I always responded better to teachers who had a senseof humour, who you could have an informal conversation with and spoke to you as an equal, not down to you and took an interest in your own life.On my teacher training course I always enjoyed the kinaesthetic activities - sketching out presentations or putting on role plays, I seem to remember explaining Maslow's hierarchy in a group role play by pretending to be going up in a lift. It was silly, and we knew we were learning 'without realising it' but it was still fun.

I was given a live brief for the NHS Give Blood campaign and was asked to create a poster which we would the present to the clients like you would in the industry.I found the task difficult because with a specific client you never know what they are going to think of your work and also they could change what they want to have at any moment during the brief however the reason the live brief was so successful was because I know have a personal experience on how it's like to create a pitch for a live client but also how to present to one as well.

A positive learning experience for me was during a live brief concerning the charity cancer research. We were asked to create a pop up shop promoting the charity while collaborating with fashion students. This taught me how to work with different personalities, learn new skills, and to do a professional pitch infront of clients with a 3d model. I felt that doing this was important because this was for a good cause but I also felt the stresses of Meeting a deadline and working with others from different backgrounds.

Extra curricular activities - doing the school magazine was great experience.Trips - Geography field trip to Isle of Arran - being able to see the geographic features first hand helped to understand them and have plenty of examples for the exam - and it was fun!

My college experience was fantastically rewarding intellectually and spiritually. It is also one of my proudest achievements, largely due to the fact that I have studied in English which is not my first language and I just start to learn it when I arrived here 2 years ago.This experience is a positive one, I learned so much during my time there, and I am not just talking about the course I studied. The best thing to come out of college for me was that I learned a lot about myself and how to behave in a multicultural society. This course was really a journey of self-discovery for me and I feel that I have grown so much as a person since September 2011.I really enjoyed my course and did very well in all my assessments, and also it helped mein making my career decision. The work experience week provided by Newham College helped me actually to understand what I want to do with my life.Going to Newham College was definitely a positive experience, not only did I gain relevant qualifications for my future career in Tourism Industry but I met some wonderful people who proved to be valuable friends when I most needed them.Being elected the class representative and liaising with staffs on behalf of my mates boosted up my self- confidence and I have done all my best supporting my fellows and I really enjoy it.I will always be thankful to our teachers Tamara and Muhammad for all the hard work and efforts they have put in, for educating us and guiding us towards the right path of life.

My best experience in college Education, has been the new delivery being taught in class because it is a more independent way of learning and a lot more interactive and the best bit about the new delivery is it is fun because we get to visit places we haven’t visited before in green week and also we have guest speakers adapted to our course to give us a bigger insight in what we want to do as an carer. Another experience i have enjoyed through education at college is getting the chance to explore new things such as being an E-Ambassador and meeting new people.

I was not very academic at school, and left school with no qualifications what so ever, but when i startedCollege on a carpentry and joinery course i loved it, for once in my life i could choose what I wanted to do and be (joiner) and ever since that day i have done course after course then got into teaching and I am now at the stage were i love been a student.

My most positive learning experience was one where I was doing something completely new. I was outside of my comfort zone where I though everyone else knew lots more than myself. The teaching was supportive, but the learning was a practical activity (not my normal preferred learning style). I was given peer feedback and I absolutely loved it. So much so I signed up for a course on the subject!

A recent positive learning experience has been part of the Teacher Effectiveness programme I have recently completed, where it was 100% learner centred,promoting high level thinking skills, with cleverly designed collaborative activities that were so interesting and challenging you did not have the desire or time togo off track!

This happened last night when Sir John Jones ran aCPD session at our college. I felt connected to what

he was saying, entertained and also stimulated to think. His communication style was energetic, almost evangelical. He was funny and prepared to share his

personal experiences with us so we felt we knew him.He was also directly challenging at times,

illustrating his own "righteous indignation" (he talked about that), so he was also demonstrating/role

modelling to us what he believed we needed to do in the classroom.

My most positive learning experience was one where I was doing something completely new. I was outside of my comfort zone where I though everyone else knew lots more than myself. The teaching was supportive,but the learning was a practical activity (not my normal preferred learning style). I was given peer feedback andI absolutely loved it. So much so I signed up for a course on the subject

My learning experience is from some years ago when I first peer observed with an Ofsted Inspector and, during the reflection with her afterwards I realised that I should be watching the students, not the teacher. It was what the students were doing, how effectively the teacher was managing (not necessarily teaching) the session that needed observing and judging, rather than the ‘teacher teaching’.

My good experience of FE is that i'm being treated like an adult and not a child.Also with the new delivery scheme i felt that i had my say within my learning as previously i was just given something on a piece of paper and go told to do it, now i'm given a piece of paper and asked how would i like todo it for example we wanted to get hands on and for an assignment we was taken out on a trip to the local fire station and while we was there without know we learned new things without know (because we was having fun) and also passed a task or two with was another added bonus.

A positive learning experience I have had relates to the acquisition of a skill. About eight years ago I attended a word processing evening class. I felt that the computer key board was the interface to IT and an inability to use a key board effectively would represent a barrier. As a consequence I undertook an OCN level one certificate and have found it the most useful qualification I possess. The learning associated with the course requires repetition and I, along with my fellow classmates, found it challenging. The motivation required to attend an evening class and then to complete repetitive tasks was considerable.However, the benefits from acquiring the skill are evident to me on a daily basis.I pose this as a learning experience as an illustration of “ends justifying means” and that there are areas of learning that are difficult to accommodate.

Part of a recent training I attended involved the description and demonstration of a 3-step approach to challenging unacceptable behaviour. I could relate the approach to the way I respond to my children, and it allowed me to see an alternative and valid way of responding to adult students that I hadn’t previously considered. Having a structured technique to employ gave me much more confidence in challenging unacceptable behaviour and it made me realise that I had lacked some confidence in this area before, which was something I wasn’t aware of. I could start using the technique straight after the training and immediately saw a positive impact.

I remember the moment I stood in front of my late great grandfather, while he carefully demonstrated the essential steps for the formation of my school tie. It was to be my first day at secondary school; I wanted to look my best, so I hurried myself to his room. He always welcomed me with a smile, shared a good word and then sent me off with a challenge;which would normally have me running back to demonstrate the accomplishment.On this occasion, I was particularly nervous; I didn’t think this was a task I could accomplish at alone. Doubtful, I walked into the room with a small, shaken voice, as I asked him to show me how to tie my tie. He edged his frail frame out of the bed and pointed to one of his ties situated on the cardboard door. “We are going to do the Full Windsor”, he said cheerfully. I was to watch his first attempt and mirror his efforts the second time round. I was keen to know how this was done and he was certainly keen to show me. With curiosityI carefully observed and attempted the ‘up, under and over’, looking up for reassurance and noticing the widening of his smile as I finally attempted to go across and down. After 3attempts, I had learnt to do it, simply from watching and listening to his every word. With a small embrace, I felt calmed, prepared and assured that I was dressed, completely ready for the new educational journey.It is this rare learning experience which demonstrates the core elements of my teaching identity. I realised the importance of both simple and genuine tools for learning and certainly the impact of enthusiasm every step of the way.

I was asked to take part in an online lesson recently. I found the entire experience a positive one and it is one

which I have been able to reflecton a lot since.The actual lesson was part of my PGCE and involved my entire class.To be able to have a lesson at home which still

involved my colleagues from my group and produced very effective results through discussion was absolutely

amazing.I really did feel that I was involved in the future of learning because although the technology is not

necessarily new for it to be used within a learning environment was very new, and very inspiring for me.

Suddenly the world seemed very small and most certainly accessible. I think that this is an indication of the future for us as students and teachers. And I think it's going to be a

very exciting future!

When I was at grammar school in the 60s I was lucky enough to be in the bottom stream.We were given by and large any young teachers who were non-graduates who had attended teacher training college and anyone else who "didn't mind" taking K stream. What luck!We had a star performer in Mrs Pickthorne the French teacher. She had actually been to France. She liked to speak French! She drove an MG! She watched French films! She wore a miniskirt! She was the other end of the female human spectrum from Miss Chalk!So what did she do for me?She led me gently through the minefield that is one's first contact with a foreign language. I was the one who always fessed up to not understanding and asking questions and I didn't feel it was silly doing so.She made the language understandable to me in little packages.She told us about France and told us stories about her experiences. You could always get her talking. She took us to Digne in southernFrance and we slept in a couchette on the train to get there. How amazing!She believed in my ability. I wanted to get my work perfect for her. I would check and check again,disappointed if I made a single mistake when work was returned. Work was set and marked and turned around by the next day so I was always sure of a quick return. I was greedy for achievement. She gave me hooks to hang things on. She smiled at me when I came in the room. I still remember her big smile -Bonjour les filles. When the results came I got a Grade 1 O Level. I knew all the tenses and I had read novels in French. I watched French films too. I couldn't wait to get to Paris to wear a black polo neck sweater and smoke gitanes. I think she gave the language the sex appeal so sadly lacking now . Who wants to talk aboutGuinea pigs and pocket money?It is also worth noting that more than half of the girls who went into sixth to study A level French were from the K stream. Mrs P wasn't allowed to take us in the sixth- not a graduate you see- but she was ajoy and I will always be grateful to her.Happy days

On-line learning activity relating to Equality and Diversity in October 2011. This was a mandatory course required by all college tutors. The materials were all presented online so access was available as and when it suited me. There was clearly a mix of “blended”learning which covered a range of activities such as:•Audio recordings•Video clips•Self-assessment “quizzes”•Case studies•Background notes•Links to further reading and information•End of unit multiple-choice testI really enjoyed this as a learning activity. The resources were of a high quality and links to further reading materials allowed me to follow specific issues of interest to me in far more detail. I could go back and revisit any of the materials that I felt unsure about and the regular self-assessment activities reinforced learning and knowledge acquisition. I felt that I was in control of my learning and the fact that I has access to this “course” at any point in time was a real bonus. Doing a completely online learning activity was a new experience for me and I was engaged throughout (I also passed the end test with a score of 97.5%) I did miss direct interaction with others and can see that my preferred way of learning would benefit from a combination of online activities and face to face seminars/tutorials.