Don't you just love experts! I do, and I'm talking to one in this podcast. Wendy Cobb has extensive experience working in a number of primary and secondary schools across Kent, London and Essex in a variety of teaching, leadership, advisory and coaching roles. That alone would make her a great person to listen to as she has so much to tell. But Wendy has done much more than work in schools. Indeed, she has the most varied educational CV of anyone I know. She currently works at Canterbury Christchurch University as the Lead for Primary ITE in a number of priority areas, plus, she is the Academic Link Tutor for the PGCEi in collaboration with The City School Pakistan, a leadership coach for the Achievement for All charity ... I could go on, as there is so much more! Suffice to say, Wendy knows what great teachers do, so she is well worth listening to.
In this podcast we discuss ...
- How Wendy developed a love of teaching even though it wasn't the thing she'd always wanted to do.
- Why becoming a teacher after doing other things helped her. Wendy believed she wouldn't have been very good in her 20s, unlike the current crop of new teachers, and that being a parent really changed her perspective on how to be a great teacher.
- The importance of teaching the child not the number. The emphasis on data used to leave Wendy cold. Of course she read the grades passed on by the previous teacher but then put them away for a month so she could focus on the potential of the child. Often the previous data didn’t match what the child was capable of, indeed it could be completely different.
- What to do when your tutor turns up unexpectedly to do a lesson observation and you had planned a lesson to collect information for a college assignment.
- The value of building on children's ideas and letting them lead the learning so that they become fully involved in the lesson and have total commitment to their work.
- Teaching is tricky but it's wonderful too. The sparky lessons aren't possible every day but when they come enjoy them fully and remember them when there are tougher times.
- How using time effectively doesn't mean that you always get on with the learning immediately, as you will often need to spend some time getting children into the right emotional state to make the children ready for learning.
- Being brave enough to do what you feel is right for a child, even if you don't know the theory behind your judgement. Trust your instinct if you feel it will benefit the child.
- What you need to do when the builders start using a pneumatic drill right outside your classroom door.
- Always get your TA, cleaners and caretaker on side. They will be great supporters of you as a new teacher.
- How she welcomed visiting teachers from Japan into her classroom to watch her teach a maths lesson before the school caretaker decided that would be the ideal time to take down her blackboard and put up a whiteboard! Mayhem ensued and Wendy wondered if she would become a celebrity on the Japanese version of Candid Camera!
- Great moments are often hard to identify until some years after they happen. One boy Wendy taught in primary school decided to become a teacher after being inspired by Wendy. Then she taught him again when he was a trainee teacher.
- 'Pick up the pieces' by the Average White Band might not be the first choice for Tudor dancing, but Wendy used it to energise the children for their final performance and they loved it.
- Playing with the curriculum is well worth doing. Don't lose the fun things that children love because this enhances the learning for everyone.
- Building positive relationships with difficult children and classes is what will make the difference in how hard they work and how well they behave. But this takes time, so be patient.
- How even the most successful, experienced teachers have very difficult classes and challenging times. Whilst these are tough, you will succeed in the end.
- 3 final things to think about (taken from one of Wendy's blogs): be open to your own difficult feelings and those of others; empathise and connect with everyone you meet; think about the things you can influence and focus on those.
You can connect with Wendy on Wendy Cobb | LinkedIn
You can listen to Wendy's blogs here: https://blogs.canterbury.ac.uk/expertcomment/?s=wendy+cobb
She has also just published a book which focuses on language, culture, identity and wellbeing
https://www.routledge.com/Language-Learning-and-Intercultural-Understanding-in-the-Primary-School/Cobb-Bower/p/book/9780367655006
