This year I will in total have nine assignments on the following areas:
- English
- Maths
- Science
- Historical, Geographical and Social Understanding
- Child Development, Health and Wellbeing
- The Arts
- Working in Partnership with Families and Communities
- Principles of Learning and Teaching (Part A before placement and Part B after)
They have varied in difficulty however one thing I learnt eventually is that the key to the most successful assignment is to be prepared. I took the time to load all of the webpages and books on the reading list and find the relevant information. It is worth noting that I did not read through every page of the books, and that as I got further down the list and had gaps in my knowledge for the assignment, to simply search the books for the terms I needed, and this proved to be very effective.
As of yet the assignment I have achieved the highest percentage in is The Arts, and I feel this is because this is the one I have enjoyed the most, being able to link three subjects to establish cross-curricular links and creating lesson plans for creative and effective lessons including the creation of a resource. The lowest percentage that I have received is Maths, and I believe that this is definitely due to the lack of time and effort I put into it, that is not to say that I didn’t put in any effort at all, but it is very clear from the assignment itself and the grade I received that compared to my other assignments, they are chalk and cheese.
Again taking notes before starting my assignment writing the book, and all the information needed for referencing later on, and bullet pointing the information with page numbers incase I wanted to quote directly I found is the most effective way for me to write an assignment. It is so easy to then sit down to begin writing and know that all of the relevant information is on hand, and that if you need to add a little extra, you have the time to carry out that little bit of extra research on the spot. I also find it effective to then label/highlight/type those notes up into separate headings to really make my writing it easier. At this point it is usually more helpful for me to have typed the original notes in order to simply copy and paste them into the relevant pages, however very often I prefer a physical written copy.
Two of my assignments will involve group work, and one will include giving a presentation. In both instances I have had a great experience of working in groups, they have all been great to work with and have the same hard work ethic which is incredibly helpful when you’re working in groups.I also found the presentation relatively stress free in that we presented work we had created ourselves in the form of lesson plans, and so we were discussing our own creations that we were very knowledgeable about, making it very easy to discuss it during the presentation.
Overall I’ve found that if you’ve engaged with the lectures and the reading lists that the University provides, and prepare yourself well with enough time to complete the assignments, you will be just fine.
If you have any questions or input please feel free to comment or to message me directly. If you could like and subscribe that would also be greatly appreciated!