This week I have just started my volunteering placement in Stirling at Raploch Primary School. I am fortunate to have been giving the opportunity to shadow a Physical Education teacher, as this is a possible career path that I would like to follow. Week 1 of my placement involved familiarising myself with the staff, children and facilities in which I would be undertaking at my placement. Firstly, I was welcomed into a primary 1/2 class where all of the children were very excited asking lots of questions such as What’s your name? Is that your gym hall? After I got to know the children, it was time to head to the gym hall in which I observed an external coach delivering a football session. During this I analysed the session to see what was expected when delivering a football session, how the children operate and respond to instructions and what their current skill level was.
From observing the session, I have noticed that the children were trying extremely hard to push themselves showing their eagerness while taking part in physical activity. However, two area’s that I may need to consider when delivering my sessions are time management and managing pupil’s behaviour. To ensure that my session does not go over the allocated timeframe, I will have a structured coaching plan in place that has set times for each drill or game. A potential strategy for managing pupil’s behaviour could be shouting commands that the pupils must follow such as “touch your head”, “touch your shoulders”, “fingers on lips”. For week 2, I have set an aim to be more involved in sessions by assisting the coach whether that being setting out drills, motivating the children or monitoring children’s behaviour. I believe that I have built a strong relationship with my mentor already as she knows that I am reliable and eager to learn and develop my skills.
Overall, this experience was both overwhelming and intimidating as I was introduced to a new environment, met new people and got a feel for what it was like when taking a class. However, I fully relished the opportunity of getting to know the staff and young people that I will be working with and I’m looking forward to working with such an enthusiastic group and can’t wait to help them flourish and enjoy physical activity!
Lauren