{"id":8164,"date":"2025-01-22T15:34:35","date_gmt":"2025-01-22T15:34:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humanities-blog\/?p=8164"},"modified":"2025-01-22T15:34:35","modified_gmt":"2025-01-22T15:34:35","slug":"how-i-balance-being-on-placement-with-university-study-on-a-pgce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.manchester.ac.uk\/humanities-blog\/2025\/01\/22\/how-i-balance-being-on-placement-with-university-study-on-a-pgce\/","title":{"rendered":"How I balance being on placement with university study on a PGCE\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

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When starting my PGCE, the term \u201cbalance\u201d was thrown around so much that I almost started to doubt it was even a word (see that inbetweeners revision episode for some reference). However, it is so crucial to how you need to operate and conduct yourself whilst doing this brutal (but immensely rewarding) course.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For starters, being on placement is the most fun you will have throughout this entire year. I speak as someone who wasn\u2019t too familiar with the education sector and fairly unsure as to my future plans when I initially applied, but within the first few days of my first school, I was already aware of just how much I would miss being in the classroom when it was time to leave. Due to this excitement, I found myself intensely researching and crafting my lessons during my first couple of weeks, and leaving the university work in the proverbial dust- a tragic error up there with the likes of Macbeth killing King Duncan. I soon came to realise that all those times I had been told to balance my university and placement workload, had in fact been in my best interests. This was further exacerbated by my ADHD, which means that balancing my workload feels akin to an elephant trying to ice skate (nigh on impossible). Therefore, I would like to share some top tips I learnt of how to balance the two:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Long term thinking\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Planning lessons a few days in advance, especially those for the Monday after a weekend, can leave you valuable time in free periods during placement with which to work on university documents. For instance, I would plan Friday and Monday\u2019s lessons on the Thursday, so I could have Friday\u2019s free periods and parts of the weekend to sort out any documentation. This is especially useful when you can identify some ways to have more student-led activities in your lessons, which is less mentally strenuous on you as the trainee, and can leave you time (and most importantly, motivation and energy), to complete your university work.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Structured timetables and self-discipline\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Having a general area to work- whether it is the library or a space in your home, and setting aside hours specifically dedicated to either university or placement work, is so valuable. As a trainee, the mountain of workload can feel unassailable, but by setting aside exact times and just ticking off one task after another, that mountain will slowly start to seem like just a little speedbump.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Complete evaluations as soon as possible\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

When completing lesson evaluations, if you don\u2019t have a lesson immediately after, it is always best practice to write up your evaluation of how it went ASAP. Not only does this help with you growing as a teacher and building your skillset, but it stops that ever-growing list of tasks to do from getting out of control.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rest\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

As well as balancing your crucially important placement and university work, rest is vital for surviving the PGCE. My first mentor gave me some of the best advice I received: \u201cnever work on Friday nights\u201d. This meant I always had time for seeing friends, watching films, getting Altrincham to the Champions League on Football Manager etc. But most importantly, it meant I had enough time for my energy to recover, to not experience burnout, and meaning I could attack my university work and placement work with maximum effort and motivation- producing both quality and quantity which simply would not have been possible without breaks.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Thanks for reading, Nathan.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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