Studious female high school student

From the Manchester University Bus Ed PGCE to Head of Department: Katie Mcguire’s reflections

Time really has flown by since I started my teaching career with my PGCE course at Manchester University in 2004! I’m now embarking on my 11^th year in teaching and currently working as Head of Business Studies and Enterprise at an 11-16 school. It’s been a rollercoaster ride with many ups and downs (teenagers really are interesting and at times challenging creatures!) but I can safely say that I don’t regret my choice in career and that the Manchester University Business Education PGCE course gave me an excellent start to my teaching career.

Putting aside my child hood dream job of being a Blue Peter presenter, my decision to teach began when I studied Business and Economics as 2 of my A levels at Sixth Form. Here I met my inspirational teacher! His great gift was being able to inspire teenagers (like myself) who weren’t necessarily gifted, didn’t have confidence in their own abilities and didn’t have a particularly great understanding of what was happening in the world around them (a battle I now myself face with my students!). Regardless of this he pushed every single student to try harder regardless of their ability (he was certainly the one teacher you knew would chase that missing piece of homework!) His determination to ensure all his students succeeded made him greatly respected by students. Cheesy as it may sound, the things that my inspirational teacher taught me aged 16-18 has ­enriched my life. I pursued my career in teaching as I also wanted to “Make a difference”

I began my PGCE course as a timid 21 year old. I had no idea how I would stand in front of a few people to deliver a presentation during the initial PGCE interview process never mind a class of 30+ unruly teenagers. However 11 years on and I can safely the Manchester university PGCE course has helped me to share my passion for Business and Economics and educate and inspire the minds of many youngsters. I am also a changed person myself – this I owe to teaching!

Being thrown in at the deep end going straight into an initial placement on day three of the PGCE course was an absolutely terrifying experience. The on the job style training approach to the PGCE course at Manchester however really does prepare trainees to become successful Business Education teachers. My three teaching placements provided the opportunity to teach a variety of vocational and academic courses across KS3, KS4 and 5. With 2 of my placements being in 11—16 settings it also provided invaluable opportunities to teach outside my subject area with experience teaching KS3 Geography, ICT and Citizenship. The ability to teach outside my subject area provided invaluable at interviews as many teaches who work within 11-16 settings teaching Business will also teach outside their subject area.

Whilst the on the job placement element of the course provided excellent opportunities to develop teaching style, behaviour management, assessment opportunities and participation in extra-curricular activities, the university attendance provides PGCE students with an excellent grounding in teaching pedagogy. When looking at PGCE courses within the North West I was particularly attracted to the course at Manchester as the course tutors there are experienced teachers with recent classroom teaching experience. This is something that as an experienced teacher I still feel is of vital importance – nothing frustrates teachers more than when consultants come into schools to deliver inset when they have been out of the classroom for 10+ years! This enables PGCE course tutors and professional mentors within placements to have a common understanding of what makes an outstanding teacher and thereby enable constructive criticism to be provided to ensure Manchester PGCE courses produce high caliber trainee teachers that are well prepared to succeed in their NQT year.

I’d be lying if I said in both my PGCE and NQT year I hadn’t at times reached for my car door handle in the morning and almost didn’t open it thinking. “I can’t do this” Then, I imagined my students, those who would get to school every day even though they were faced with enormous challenges I will likely never experience. If they can do this, I can do this. The reflective practice log approach from my PGCE course (of both positive and negative experiences) is still a tool I use 11 years on in my teaching career to ensure I produce the best quality learning experiences I can for my students.

Each year in my teaching career I have I grown and got better as have the results and learning experiences of students. My students are individuals and are far more to me than a piece of data on a piece of paper. Although academic success in terms of results are important I thrive on seeing young people achieve their personal goals and leave school ready for the world of work with improved confidence in their own abilities. I accepted the truth that as teacher I must fully embrace as a learner identity as well. Just as we ask our students to be vulnerable, to share, to reflect, to grow, we as teachers must do the same. As a lifelong learner I have recently completed an MA in Education specialising in teaching and learning. Although such a qualification is not a requirement of becoming an outstanding practioner it has certainly helped me to further reflect upon teaching pedagogy and how I can further develop the learning experiences of my students.

We often use the phrase “get involved” to our students at my school. This is also the case with staff. Most schools provide excellent CPD opportunities as part of career development; it really is the case that the more you put into teaching the more you get out of it. My voluntary work on local network meetings and Diploma writing groups combined with offering a variety of extracurricular enterprise style activities within my first two years of teaching resulted in me being appointed the schools Enterprise Co-coordinator and four years into my teaching career I was promoted to Head of Department of a team of four. I am lucky to have an excellent team of staff with a wide range of backgrounds. My teaching success to date certainly shows that Manchester trainees are prepared to excel in their teaching careers.

It really is true that in teaching every day brings a new challenge regardless of how experienced a teacher you are. It is this element of my career that I love!

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