Personal Blogs

I'm reminded of the character who invited me to sit in on a rehearsal for a conference or lecture you wish to give recruitment or referrals as a form of recruitment.

And it was that practice exercise with eight, nine or ten family and friends that he used to hone what spawned into lecture series and then a book.

It must therefore be the case that practice or rehearsal, like any performance, is required before the main event - unless of course treated like stand-up comedy and you learn on the job on the other hand maybe that is what teaching is about that it is.

What I consider not so great is that one's first endeavors should be the ones that are graded when you had no opportunity to practice for five minutes, in front of a group or 10 minutes in front group, let alone 15 minutes.

On the other hand as a trainee teacher I would have been expected to have been in the class for many hours a week teaching in any case; that would have afforded me plenty of practice, simply overcoming nerves at the beginning. 

I start to reflect on my preference for the end of year exam. You spend the year rehearsing responses in practice essays and tutorials. By the time you get to the examination room you will have refined, improved and concentrated your thoughts on a subject. What is the point of grading someone within a few months of starting a new course?

It's for real. I am, yet again, and possibly not for the last time, a student. Cool. I matriculated for my first degree 40 years ago. I've done three further undergrad and postgraduate courses since at each of the School of Communication Arts, The Open University and jointly between the Universities of Birmingham and Wolverhampton. I can now add the University of Brighton.

The smirk on my face is realising that I will once again have access to a library and university resources online, in particular journals. I love to explore. Some might call it getting lost down a rabbit hole, but I spend so long scratching about - with purpose, that I always come up with something interesting. It is how I learn. I indulge my curiosity.

Meanwhile, the approaching fear is for nothing more than a 'micro-teach' and some of the first formal assignment elements completed. I don't half make a big meal of these, which is why I so prefer to 'written exam' at the end of the year; I like the build up to the end of year show. It generally is alright on the night. I feel at this stage I don't know much, that I am not fluent.

My OU experience, which will be here in the data somewhere, is that over the five modules of the MAODE and the two further modules I did 'out of interest' and as an MRes looked a possibility with a PhD after that, my grades went from a pass, to a pass, to a pass and the occasional Merit and then a Distinction. An OU pass is anything over 40 and I did get a 42 for a TMA at some stage. My first TMA for the Research module came in with a cool 92 and the feedback from my tutor that I appeared to be in my 'natural environment' stripping apart the work of others, challenging assumptions and the facts and proposing better approaches. So much for not following that up  

We know why. I know why. ADHD gets into everything. It does manifest itself as a rogue 'one / off' switch, as procrastination or enthusiasm, and as self-doubt and mild paranoia, the choice that an easier route is better than the best route. 

Meanwhile, I have lessons to line up and classes to give. I will be running a workshop in November, and taking a class online each week imminently. I am also setting out my stall as it were, for a number of 'commercial' blended learning opportunities. 

The greatest pleasure of all of this, despite the challenges, is knowing what will be on my mind for the best part of two years: I will be returning to this blog and its contents and adding to it. I will be mulling it over, and then seeing where all theory and learning aimed at HE can be applied in FE. (Though at GBMET there are both and I am involved with both).

Onwards.