Find your feet in the classroom with a Trinity Internship
Halfway through the year, the 2024 Trinity Interns are in the thick of it, ready to reflect on everything they’ve learnt so far and what they’re looking forward to in the second half of the year.
The Interns themselves are Education students, working towards their teaching credentials and taking up the opportunity for paid, practical experience one day a week at Trinity.
Each Intern has a unique journey, but across the board they report two things as being key to the Internship experience at Trinity: unparalleled support as they learn and an exponential increase in their confidence as they put theory into practice.
Ms Helena Wilkinson is working towards becoming a Drama and Studies of Religion Teacher because she believes in the power of Drama to transform students’ confidence and, she says, the Internship experience has seen her benefit from the same thing.
“It’s helped with my confidence,” she says. “I feel better when I’m in a classroom now and I feel more confident teaching [the students] with the mentoring I’ve received here at Trinity.”
Mr Jon Saunders, another 2024 Intern, placed in the Economics department, agrees, saying that the support has been central to his personal growth.
“The support’s been fabulous – everyone from the Headmaster through to the staff within my staffroom and to the boys themselves. Everyone embraces you as an Intern and they understand that you’re here to learn, just as they are as well.”
For many pre-service teachers, getting up in front of a classroom full of students – with a range of personalities and energy levels – can be a daunting task and for some, it can be the thing that leaves them wondering whether this is the right career path for them.
This was how Ms Candy Huang was feeling when she applied to the Trinity Internship but she knew that the only way to overcome that fear was to get more experience, beyond what her University placements were able to offer her.
“This time last year, I was completely terrified by the idea of having to eventually be in a classroom solo with students and being responsible for their learning environment,” she reflects. “But thanks to my supervisors and the extra practice I got at Trinity, I’m happy to say that I’ve been working at one of my local schools as a casual teacher. [The Internship] made me so much more confident in my ability to engage students, communicate with students and manage a classroom environment.”
What helped her, she says, was her supervisors and mentors, who provided her with constructive feedback and “a lot” of encouragement.
Ms Cassie Longworth, Intern in the Visual Arts department, says that the Trinity staff have also been instrumental in her own development as a teacher, helping her to grow in confidence, particularly in relation to helping all her students as a whole and individually.
“I’m also feeling very confident in the staffroom,” she says. “Talking to other teachers, asking them about their experiences so I can take that on board and use it in my own experience and for my future as a teacher.”
