Dos and don’ts for your first teaching placement

If you’re just starting out in your teaching journey, your first placement can seem both exciting and overwhelming. Here are some quick tips - some ‘dos’ and ‘don’ts’ - of things to do on and before your first placement.

✅ DO: Make contact with your placement school early

If your university is allocating your placement on your behalf, you will most likely be sent the details a few weeks prior to the start date. Contacting your placement school or, if their details have been provided, your mentor teacher, shows that you’re enthusiastic about and grateful for the placement opportunity.

Introduce yourself, and ask any questions that might help you prepare. This might include things like information about the class/school, where students are currently at in their studies, and logistic issues such as parking/when to arrive on the first day etc.

Remember that your mentor teacher has taken on this role further to their own teaching load, so you might not get a response right away.

❌ DON’T: Feel like you’re meant to know everything

This is your very first placement, so it’s okay to feel a bit unsure about how things will work! The first placement typically has fewer expectations in terms of actual classroom teaching, and your mentor teacher will be aware that you haven’t been on placement before.

Ask as many questions as you can, because that’s one of the best ways to learn!

✅ DO: Make notes for later

Placement days can be long and busy, but if you get the chance, it might be useful to jot down some notes throughout the day. Make note of teaching strategies you liked or didn’t like, things you’ve learnt pedagogically, or strategies you think you might be able to use in your own teaching career.

Your university might also ask you to keep a ‘placement journal’, where you reflect on each of your placement days in some detail. Although it might seem like a bit of a burden at the time, these reflections can really help synthesise your placement experience, and they can also be useful for follow-up assessments pertaining to the placement if applicable.

❌ DON’T: Exclusively observe

It’s understandable if you want to take the first day or two to get up to speed with how your placement school runs, and to get to know the students a little bit more. But if you have opportunities to teach or get involved, you should heavily consider taking them as much as you can and feel able to. You might make mistakes, but those mistakes are invaluable learning experiences.

Different universities have different expectations for the first teaching placement, so you should be aware of those expectations before starting the teaching round. Some placements may largely be observational, but others will have minimum expectations in terms of small-group or whole-class teaching. The more you take these opportunities, the easier they will become, and the broader your experiences will be!

✅ DO: Get involved

Teaching is about much more than just in-classroom experiences. You will likely also be required to engage with out-of-classroom experiences, such as yard duty, planning, and team meetings. These are all really valuable insights into the teaching profession.

If you’re offered the chance to get involved with other experiences (say, year level sport, or incursions, or whatever the case may be), remember that the broader your placement experiences are, the easier the transition to teaching will likely be. If you’re unsure, it will probably also help you figure out whether or not teaching is for you! 

❌ DON’T: Try to fit in too much other work

Placement periods are difficult, because they’re unpaid. You’ll be engaged on practically a full-time basis for the placement period, which means you won’t be able to work regular jobs throughout those times. Whilst there’s nothing stopping you from working after placement or on the weekends, you may need that time to recover or prepare for the next week.

Everybody’s financial and personal circumstances are different, so it might not be feasible for you to not work at all throughout placement. But if you can manage it, consider dropping down your hours - particularly for your first placement where everything is new and uncertain.

✅ DO: Be prepared before starting

Whilst it’s hard to know exactly what to expect from your first placement, you definitely can do some things to prepare. One thing you should do is research your placement school. Where is it located? What is the socioeconomic demographic? What programs do they run? Who are the staff? What are typical results? What else might you need to know?

You should also be prepared in terms of required materials. Make sure you know the typical dress code at the school, and adhere to that as much as your circumstances allow. Other materials you might find useful are a clipboard, somewhere to take notes, your Working With Children Check, and whiteboard markers.

❌ DON’T: Leave it to chance on day one

If you’ve never been to your placement school before, it can be a good idea to go for a test drive/commute before your placement actually begins. Suss out the parking or public transport options to ensure that, come day one, you’re not met with unforeseen circumstances that will increase stress.

(Note: if you’re going for a test drive/commute, remember that traffic or transport options might differ at peak time throughout your actual placement!)

✅ DO: Think about your experiences critically

No school is a perfect environment 100% of the time, and your experiences may vary. It’s okay - perhaps even good - to reflect on your time at the school and think about what you liked, what you would do differently, and what structurally allowed you to be an effective teacher.

You can also think about your own behaviours and performance. What did you do that allowed you to make a positive impact? What could you do better next time? We are all learning, and these reflections will really help going forward.

❌ DON’T: Be too hard on yourself

For a lot of people, placement is a completely new experience. For many, it’s their first time back in a school environment - in any capacity - since they were students. All you can do is your best - and if you do that, things will probably work out just fine!

Best of luck with your first teaching placement.