Taster Student Review

I really enjoyed the Taster experience as I got to learn more about educational inequality and also voice my opinions when taking part in debates. I also loved the chance to get some teaching experience by planning and teaching a mini 8 minute lesson, and the feedback I received was so in depth and really helpful going forward. Overall it was a great experience and made me more likely to apply for more experiences with Teach First.

Even though the experience was done virtually, I felt that Teach First did really well to include everyone in all the activities and get everyone involved. They ran a welcome webinar which was a chance to meet some of the people joining the experience, and during the experience they were constantly splitting us up into random smaller groups so I do feel like I got to know a lot of people. In some of the larger group scenarios it was quite difficult to feel a part of the conversation but I think that was just down to it being ran on zoom and because there were a lot of people on the call at once.

I feel as though I received a lot of support, both during the experience and before as well. In the weeks leading up to it we were given plenty of information to help us prepare. And then during the 2 days, there was always someone on zoom to help if we had any questions - I liked that we had the option to ask questions privately or so that the whole group could see. All the tasks were explained really clearly and I felt there was a good amount of guidance.

Teach First really focus on their competencies and are always getting you to think about what skills you are developing when completing different tasks. Because they place so much emphasis on developing vital life skills, it really helped me to self-evaluate and reflect on my own skills which will help me greatly in the future in all aspects of my life. I think the skills I developed and the information they gave us will greatly assist me in my next steps and will be something I would be confident in talking about in any job interview.

The experience was structured really well. There was a timetable which incorporated so many interesting and varied sessions, as well as regular breaks throughout the day.The sessions all involved different activities and there was time to do independent work as well as talk with others to work on problems. Hence, I think it was structured excellently and it all ran very smoothly. My only criticism would be to include longer/more regular breaks as, by the end of the day, I felt very tired from staring at my laptop for long periods of time.

Despite it being ran virtually, I do believe there was always a positive and encouraging atmosphere. Everyone was very supportive and helpful and there was never any judgement which made me feel very comfortable. They were constantly reminding us to be self-evaluating and reflecting on our actions/skills and so I believe this created a positive & hardworking atmosphere which motivated me to do well. Sometimes there would be some awkwardness in smaller groups, however that is probably a given with it being ran over zoom.

Teach First were really invested in helping you develop skills, specifically focussing on their competencies of which they look for at any stage of applications. They were very keen to help you do your best in future job interviews/applications and so gave you lots of help and advice on how to stand out and impress employers. The personal and tailored feedback I received from teaching my mini lesson was excellent, and I felt like they had invested a lot of time in giving me very specific advice.

It gave me a great insight into what Teach First involves as there were so many people who gave talks, ranging from those who had completed the Teacher Training Programme, to those working in admissions and those who have management roles within the company. Hence, I really got to understand what opportunities there are with this company and what it would be like to work for them, as well as how I could achieve these roles.

During the two days of the experience, there was a lot of time spent thinking about the values of the company which are all about educational inequality and the many problems faced by disadvantaged students across the UK. Hence, this experience really helped me to understand their culture and their values and what exactly their aim and motivation is. Learning about this made me really interested in wanting to be a part of Teach First in the future.

This experience was extremely valuable in helping me to decide on my future career path. Not only was I able to get direct experience of teaching and planning lessons, but there were also plenty of opportunities to ask questions about a career in teaching, and specifically about a career starting off with Teach First. From this Taster experience, I will be applying for the STEM experience Teach First offer and probably the Training Programme from there.

There were no costs involved in this experience as it was all ran over zoom, hence I did not need to be reimbursed.

Yes. There were many sessions over the two days where we got to meet and chat to different people involved with the company. For example, we got to hear from and ask questions to several people currently on the Training Programme, and also to several people working in different areas of the company. We even also got a chance to meet people working for different partner companies, mainly tutoring companies, and ask them questions in small groups as well.

The networking opportunities were good as I got to talk to so many different people. I also met a lot of like-minded people on the experience and now have a lot of them as contacts.

Yes, as we were told about summer courses/opportunities that you can get involved in, as well as a wide variety of tutoring and mentoring opportunities available outside of Teach First.

Yes, I would recommend this virtual experience to a friend considering a career in teaching, or for anyone interesting in working in the educational sector and making a difference in the awful world of educational inequality.