Yesterday and on Friday 12 September, I was asked to be a part of an interview panel. It was very similar to what happened back in January.
Last Friday I was on a panel looking at presentations of candidates for a course leader on teacher training courses. It was a great experience to see what each candidate came up with and have discussions with them and other staff on the panel. It helped me to understand what to look for and what to ask candidates further. As well as seeing what enthusiasm and energy they could potentially bring to Barnsley College.
The candidates were asked to do a presentation on strategies to deliver outstanding teaching, learning and assessment for the Education and Training qualifications.
All four candidates for this presented or discussed something different. Which was great, but I suppose I was looking for pure passion and enthusiasm for this subject. Because I fell in love with it back in 2011 after doing the former PTLLS course and so on. I just love these courses and they can change your life. Just like it did with me. I didn't even want to do it, I just naturally stumbled upon it and thought it would be good for me to understand more about learning and teaching.
One candidate absolutely captured the above. They were very passionate and enthusuastic about the subject and the way they talked about it made me want to do the course again! They talked about their future plans for the course and how they currently run it. I just wanted to get involved with it and bounce of their energy. Plus, in the presentation I got a little pack of their teaching examples. This is always good as you can take something away with you and use straight away!
The week after, it was announced that this person got the post. Very pleased and happy for them. I hope to work with them more closely. It sounds like it could be a good match for educational fireworks!
Yesterday was a presentation and discussion for a new HE teacher to support and deliver sessions on the CertEd and PGCE courses for both pre-service and in-service.
There was only one candidate. They had to disucss the challenges and implications of the teaching profession in terms of the Lord Lingfield report. They showed great depth of their knowledge and concerns they had about political, economical and technological aspects of teaching. They came across really warm and humble. I felt a sense of balance from them and I thought they would be good to support learners on these courses.
This was a lot different to other presentations and interviews as it felt more prestigious. A great experience though.
I'm really grateful to be asked to be on these panels. I learn so much from them and it's always a real pleasure to see what others show and demonstrate.
