Stem internship Review

I enjoyed the virtual experience. I learnt a lot and it was good to get an insight into teaching as well as meet like minded people along the way. It was tiring as the days were so long and there was so much content but with the content being engaging and really interesting, as well as having frequent breaks it made it all worth it! I think TeachFirst did the best they could in the circumstances to replace the face to face internship.

There were so many of us on the course I didn't feel particularly 'like family'. The assessments and practice throughout the theory were also very time pressured and so I often felt like I was talking to a computer rather than it being personal. Having said this, the staff were very helpful and always available to answer questions throughout, or help me when I had technical issues. We also had the same few staff members throughout so it was nice to see familiar faces each day.

There was lots of support throughout, with different educators teaching different sections as well as 3 main staff members who were there to generally help the organisation of the scheme. There were a few independent planning sessions in which time we came off the main call however, if we needed to ask a question a few people stayed on the call so you could come back on and ask anything as you planned your own session.

The content covered across the 3 days was very stimulating and covered a lot of content. They encouraged note-taking and sent out the slides for each powerpoint for later referral. It was a really good insight into the theory of education and inspired me to research some of the names covered more once the internship had finished. I know that the teacher training course will explore the main ideas taught in further detail, so it is a good head start.

The virtual experience was really well structured. We were emailed a timetable for each day in advance, with the zoom links for each section. The use of zoom was also seamless as we were put into breakout rooms for group discussions and then coming back to the main session to share these. Multiple breaks were also included which was good as there was lots to take in! The last day was an assessment day which was also well structured to ensure everyone was busy despite being on a personal timetable.

The atmosphere was good as they made everyone get involved and it was a good group of people all in the same position, meaning any nerves of learning and practising teaching virtually quickly dissipated! The pure amount of content covered and lessons taught meant sometimes it did go on a bit and I was so tired by the end of the days. As well as this we had to sit through a lot of other people's lessons which got quite dull by the end, but it was useful to have the opportunity to teach our own lessons so is a necessary result.

The company provided us with lots of resources to learn about the theories of education, provide an insight into the teacher training course as well as give us time to reflect on our progress. While teaching us about teaching, they also taught us how to reflect and improve our own learning and were very focused on giving feedback throughout. This allowed us the chance to improve while training, and give us something to continue working on after.

There was an opportunity to hear form previous people who undertook the development scheme which was useful to gain an insight into having a full time role with the company. There was also a Q & A in which lots of questions were answered to a detailed extent. They also included a 'next steps' powerpoint which covered what teach first has to offer in future with teaching and other opportunities such as links with accountants.

TeachFirst's culture is about addressing the educational equality which was covered throughout. The online learning included lots of statistics on this and the theory of teaching covered teaching all ages, abilities, backgrounds and behavioural needs. The Q & A session with previous trainees also emphasised the culture of change and equality as they seemed to really care about the mission of the company and persuade you to do the same. The constant feedback giving also emphasised this as they are looking for potential not the perfect teacher.

Really helpful. I was passionate about teaching before but having had the chance to practise planning and teaching lessons, I now know that it is for me! There was also a session on what the Teachfirst development programme will be like so has persuaded me to look more into that, however I would like more info on how it compares to a PGCE so I can make up my decision about which one to undertake.

I was not paid for this virtual experience, despite the fact that the original internship was meant to be paid a living-wage salary for the 5 days. I feel like this could have still happened as I felt I was at a job having to dress smartly, be on time, work hard and get involved. However I understand that TeachFirst is a charity and in the current pandemic lots of charities have suffered. As well as this, the education we received was very useful and I am grateful for the opportunity to have the experience

Yes, we were often put into smaller groups in 'breakout rooms' which meant we could get to know others on the insights programme despite it being virtual. There was one pub quiz at the end of day 1 which meant we worked in a team of 6 to answer a set list of questions however everyone was really tired and it seemed everyone was there because they felt they had to be rather than wanting to get to know each other virtually.

Yes I would. It was a great insight into the important parts of teaching and looked more at the theory which will be developed in any teacher training programme, so was a good chance to get an idea of what this would be like. The 3 days were hard work but went quickly and were really useful so were definitely worth it! It was also nice to see like minded people and talk about teaching with them.