As I am recording this podcast at the end of a very busy and eventful school year – my 11th as a teacher – I thought it would be interesting to talk to someone who has just finished their very first year in teaching, and Beth fits the bill perfectly. Beth is an NQT who, despite coming from the wrong side of the Pennines, I got on with very well.

 

In a wide ranging, interview we covered the following things and more:

• How does Beth plan her lessons, and why has she developed the “Beth Llilley Two Page TES rule”?
• Beth takes us through a lesson she planned and delivered on introducing exact values of trigonometric ratios, a topic brand new to GCSE
• She also describes a lesson on solving linear equations that did not go quite so well, and what she learned from it
• We discuss how Beth has changed as a teacher over the course of the year, including how she has responded to feedback from lesson observations
• We really dig deep into the key issue of trying to maintain a work-life balance – which is the number one reason for teachers leaving the profession – and Beth shares her weekly routine that allows her to have some kind of a life
• We talk about the NQT year in general, looking at what surprised Beth the most, and how it differs to her PGCE year
• We talk about the support Beth has received, and think about what makes a good NQT mentor
• We then turn our attention to Beth’s geeky obsession with the Ancient Greeks and how she brings them into her lessons
• Finally, Beth shares some tips for student teachers and NQT, as well as her Big 3

As I hope will come across, Beth is an incredibly passionate, enthusiastic teacher, and I really hope her honesty about the highs and lows of the job, together with her tips and coping strategies, will be of great use to those of you entering the profession, and even old timers like me. I thoroughly enjoyed this conversation.

On Twitter, Beth is @MissBLilley here: https://twitter.com/MissBLilley
And Beth’s Blog is: http://www.missblilley.co.uk/
Beth’s excellent History of Maths PowerPoint can be downloaded here: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resource/using-history-of-maths-to-teach-in-the-present-11157796

Beth’s Big 3
1. Don Steward’s simply amazing Median Maths Blog: http://donsteward.blogspot.co.uk/
2. TES Maths Resources: https://www.tes.com/teaching-resources/hub/secondary/mathematics
3. Diagnostic Questions (paying these guests to plug my websites is costing me a fortune): https://www.diagnosticquestions.com/

Just the usual plea that if you are enjoying these podcasts, to please leave a star-rating, or a quick review on iTunes. It just keeps a numbers geek like myself very happy. Not that I check my iTunes ranking every night, or anything…

My usual plugs:

• You can help support the podcast (and get an interactive transcript of all new episodes) via my Patreon page at patreon.com/mrbartonmaths
• If you are interested in sponsoring an episode of the show, then please visit this page
• You can sign up for my free Tips for Teachers newsletter and my free Eedi newsletter
• My online courses are here: craigbarton.podia.com
• My books are “Tips for Teachers“, “Reflect, Expect, Check, Explain” and “How I wish I’d taught maths”

Thanks so much for listening, and I really hope you enjoy the show!
Craig Barton