Student Review

I really enjoyed Taster. I found it insightful not only into teaching as a whole, but also into Teach First as a charity and the various opportunities provided and connected to them. I really enjoyed the teaching challenge and the opportunity to gain teaching experience. I also found it really helpful receiving feedback on my teaching episode from a peer as well as from a Teach First recruiter, because it was good to hear different perspectives on what I was successful in as well as in what I can improve on. It also helped me to become more reflective about my practices.

The people running Taster were really good at creating a welcome environment and a positive culture for learning. Having the opportunity to meet other participants before the program started during the Welcome Webinar was really helpful (although a bit awkward at points). I also really enjoyed how often we used breakout rooms on Zoom which, I felt, enabled me to get to know lots of different people across the course of the 2 days and, because breakout rooms were a smaller amount of people than the whole Zoom group, helped me to feel comfortable and confident to participate more. I also felt valued during the feedback session as the observers were really kind and objective in their feedback, both encourage and challenging me. However, I think that one thing that could maybe have helped me to feel more valued during the time would be if we had maybe been in the same groups a bit more and therefore could have got to know each other really well across the two days. This is only a little thing though.

The guidance and support given during Taster was really good and something I will definitely mention to people when I recommend Taster to them. From the start of the application, someone from the Insights team had connected with me and talked me through the application process as well as what they were looking for from me. I felt really well prepared before Taster thanks to the pre-reading and the frequent email contact that was made. During the actual Taster program there was clear structure and guidance throughout the whole days, as well as during the sessions themselves. I felt comfortable to ask questions and I knew they would be answered well and in an encouraging way. Overall, the high standard of guidance and support during Taster is something that stood out to me and is a credit to Teach First.

I think that Taster has equipped me with a number of skills that will benefit me not only during the rest of my degree studies, but also during the rest of my professional and personal life. The sharp focus Taster has on the 9 competencies Teach First prioritises meant that all of the sessions were addressing at least one (often 3) of these competencies. I feel that I have developed skills of self-reflection, leadership, and interaction the most over the past two days. These are all transferable skills which will benefit me when doing group projects on my degree, evaluating my own performance in exams and assessments, and taking the lead and using my initiative in the rest of life. Again, the significant extent to which Taster has helped me to develop excellent transferable skills is something that I will recommend it to others for.

I think that Taster was incredibly well structured. From the Welcome webinar the previous afternoon, all the way through to the final session, reflecting on everything we had done, learnt and achieved, it was evident how much planning and thought had gone into preparing for Taster, and that was something I think we all benefited from. All of the sessions developed each other, and it never felt like we were being thrown in at the deep end. I really liked how during the problem-solving task we were given some time in groups to discuss various problems, before working independently to create & perform a presentation. This is just one example of how well structured Taster was because it enabled us to develop confidence and share different ideas, before then consolidating our thoughts and building on our feedback from the previous day.

Despite the fact that Taster took place entirely online and over Zoom, I think that there was a really positive, encouraging, supportive atmosphere; everyone wanted you to succeed and achieve. This was created right from the Welcome webinar when we were given the opportunity to get to know a few other people who would taking part in Taster with us. I think that this supportive and encouraging atmosphere climaxed during the teaching challenge, when we were all supporting each other during everyone's lessons. For example, in my group, everyone gave the "teacher" a round of applause after they had finished their lesson. This was just one of many examples of how a very positive and supportive atmosphere was created during Taster.

I felt that Teach First invested in me to some extent. For example, following the teaching challenge, I received helpful, detailed feedback which encouraged me on things I had done well and were my strengths, but it also featured things that I could improve on. There was also a great emphasis across the two days on being reflective, and I felt invested in when, following my own self-reflection, there was a session looking at how we could practically develop and grow in areas we had identified. However, I think that because Taster was all on Zoom, and there were so many participants, I think that personal investment was limited somewhat.

Owing to the fact that taster was all online, and therefore we were unable to complete the teaching challenge with school-aged children, it was somewhat limited in its ability to give a full insight into what working full time with Teach First would be like. However, across the two days, there were plenty of opportunities to hear from and ask questions to people who worked for and were partnered with Teach First. This was helpful because it meant I was able to hear from their first-hand stories and experiences.

Again, I think that owing to the fact that Taster was all online, this was limited in someway because all interactions were slightly awkward by way of them being on Zoom. However, from what we heard throughout the sessions, and the communication leading up to, and following, Taster I would say that I gained a good insight into understanding the company culture. Although, I think that if Taster hadn't been forced to go online then this would have been more evident in meeting in person.

Before I completed the Taster Experience, I was fairly sure that I wanted to try and see if I could work with Teach First. However, after having such a positive, insightful and helpful experience on Taster I am pretty much certain that Teach First is something I want to have a go at doing. The sessions, the insights into what the training program is like and what working with Teach First is like, the Taster experiences, have all made me very confident that teaching, and working with Teach First, is what I want to do.

Because Taster was online and was free, I didn't spend any money and there was no need to be reimbursed.

Yes - before Taster officially started we had the opportunity to meet some of the people who would be participating with us on a welcome webinar. Moreover, during the course of the two days there were plenty of breaks and, especially over lunch, we were all encouraged to chat with each other over Zoom. Additionally, because the breakout rooms were frequently mixed up, this meant that we met several different people, from across the country.

I think that because the only interaction we had with each other was online over Zoom, this automatically limited the ease of networking and restricted what social events could be done. However, over the course of the two days, they became significantly less awkward. The conveners of Taster also created a Facebook group of all participants which enabled us to connect with each other outside of Taster, and there will be future opportunities for us all to participate in online webinars and sessions again.

Yes - during the second day of Taster we had a whole session styled as an 'Opportunities Fair'. During this session we heard from a variety of people who partner with Teach First (for example tutoring and mentoring charities). We also had the opportunity to chat with them in smaller groups, and to ask any questions we had. This was helpful and very insightful, not least because it showed the great variety of ways we could be involved.

Yes, I would recommend Taster to a friend firstly because it was such an insightful and helpful time to learn more about Teach First, its mission, work and opportunities. I would also recommend Taster because it provided an opportunity to meet with and learn from people with a similar passion for teaching and education. It was also a fun experience, and I especially enjoyed the opportunity to not only teach a mini lesson, but to also receive detailed and helpful feedback which will help me to improve as a teacher.