STEM Online Teaching Course Review

I thoroughly enjoyed the Teach First STEM Online Teaching Course. It was a fantastic way to meet and discuss with like-minded individuals and the work that had gone into bringing the experience online was clear. I especially enjoyed the opportunities to meet other participants, such as the quiz, but also to be able to practice my core competencies with them. There were many role-play activities, which were really fun and not as awkward as I thought they'd be!

The staff leading the course were so kind and welcoming and made me feel like they were excited to have me on the course. We were constantly thanked for engaging and I don't think I could've picked nicer people to lead the course and the sessions. The staff clearly wanted you to succeed, unlike other companies that I've had courses with, which was very refreshing. I feel like the staff also valued our feedback and were actively trying to implement it.

I felt very supported throughout the entire time I was on the course. All the instructions for the tasks were very clear and the staff were clear about how this would help us/ develop us as teachers. Before, during and after the staff have been quick with replying to emails and have always responded kindly and with lots of useful information. I also felt well supported by the other participants during tasks due to the welcoming and friendly atmosphere.

I think for an online course, the course had a lot packed into it that I'll be able to apply to being a teacher. Not everything was covered that I'd have liked, but I assume this was due to time constraints and will probably learn from experience. I don't know how much I'd have taken from the experience if I didn't want to be a teacher, but I still think it would definitely help if you wanted to go into the education sector.

The course was well structured with each day building on from the last. The days themselves were also well structured and built on from the online independent work. Some of the independent work was repeated in the online sessions, but this didn't feel tedious and was good to remind you before doing any practice. The only thing I'd say is that the final day development centre was a bit jumpy in structure, with sessions then long/short breaks in between, but this can't be helped with the number of people that needed to be assessed.

As mentioned above I couldn't fault the atmosphere at all. I think being online can be quite awkward, especially if you're trying to get to know new people, but this didn't feel the case at all on the STEM online course. The staff were welcoming and appeared excited to be there and I think this rubbed off on the other participants. There was very much an atmosphere of wanting to learn and wanting to develop and it didn't feel like other candidates were competing and that everyone involved just wanted to get the best out of the sessions (including the staff).

You can tell that Teach First as a company wants to invest in you as they want you to succeed. The development advice that I've received was detailed and was useful, unlike other bigger companies I've had encounters with. If you attend the STEM Online Training Course then teach first can tell that you're invested and so want to invest back into you. For example, giving you the chance to get an offer for their training programme.

I think Teach First did a good job of trying to emulate what it would be like as a teacher by inviting lots of different speakers, but of course, it's difficult to do so without actually going into a school. It might have been nice to see a specific example of a timetable that a teacher had or a "day in the life". More so this course was quite theory based, but it makes sense in the circumstances. Saying that we did get to role-play quite a lot, but it's different giving a lesson to other participants who listen respectfully rather than a class of children.

Very much so. As mentioned before, there were guest speakers who had taken part in the programme before who outlined the companies culture and their experiences becoming teachers. We learnt about the different experiences Teach First alumni can take part in and the network of past and present teachers. The staff were so clear in putting forward Teach First's mission and everyone that we spoke to seemed to have the same great mission in mind.

For me, the course solidified that I want to become a teacher. However, I think if you weren't sure, you would need to physically go into a school (but of course, this can't be helped because of the current situation). Saying that I think I just want to go into teaching with Teach First as I really stand with their vision. So if I didn't get the training programme, I might still explore other career options. This really shows how much of a positive impact on the course and the company had on me.

N/A as this was an online course with no fees.

There were opportunities during the three days themselves, but not so much before or after. As mentioned before, there is a Facebook group which will be useful for networking, but not so much amongst the other participants. However, there were networking opportunities that talked about how we could get involved in mentoring during the pandemic. I think Teach First did really well with the circumstances, but it would have been nice to get to know the other employees before the 3 days.

The online course offered good social and networking opportunities within the course. For example, at the beginning of the first day, there were ice breakers and then many chances throughout the 3 days to meet new people. Additionally, there was a quiz at the end of the first day which was fun and a good break from all the content. However, I would maybe have liked there to have been a Facebook chat to talk with the other participants before the course. There is a group, which is useful for general questions, but I think this would have been a nice way to get us all to know each other before attending.

There was a lot of talk about what some Teach First teachers do outside of work, but not so much about what Teach First does weekly. However, I think this is different because different people are placed in different schools, so it's hard to have activities when people are placed all over the company. There was talk about projects that you can get involved in in the summer, but I would've liked to hear more about all year round.

Most definitely, but only if you are quite serious about the idea of going into teaching. I learnt so much invaluable theory and got to put a lot of that into practice. All of the above comments made it such an enjoyable experience. On top of that, the fact that it was only 3 days, including the development centre, means that if you decide teaching isn't for you, you haven't wasted much time at all.