Classroom Based Experience
Reflections on my TSAS traineeship at St Andrew’s Cathedral School
In my conversations with early career teachers and fellow student-teachers, they describe a divide between the theoretical knowledge they learned at university and the concrete, practical skills they have needed in the classroom. This gap between theory and practice is well known to teacher educators worldwide, yet it seems that according to many student-teachers, this gap remains a problem.
My first day as an education student was spent at school. Before learning any theories about student development, teaching strategies, or curriculum formation, I was partnered with a skilled classroom teacher, observing and participating in their day-to-day teaching practice. It was an intimidating, challenging, but exceedingly rewarding experience. My in-class experience continued one day per week for the whole year.
“I was able to immerse myself in the school, develop professional relationships with students and staff, and learn about the long-term ups and downs of teaching.”
However, this experience would not have been as rewarding without my synchronous university education. As I learnt about teaching theories, philosophies, and strategies, I could immediately apply them in the classroom. Moreover, I was empowered to discuss how these abstract theories played out in the everyday practice of expert teachers. Without a rigorous university education, I believe that my understanding of teaching would lack a theoretical and innovative dimension. My understanding would be narrowly focused on what happens in the classroom without a deeper sense of why certain teaching decisions are made.
The integration of theory and practice has not purely been a consequence of classroom experience co-occurring with university studies. It has been far more intentional. It is a consequence of relevant university education, the ongoing partnership between alliance, school and tertiary, and teaching hub, as well as the humble teachers willing to support me in my training. To those brilliant teachers, I would like to say thank you.
Written by Benjamin Moore. TSAS graduate of 2023, now a History teacher at St Andrew’s Cathedral School.
