The Dip- Preparation Tips
Hello everyone,
I hope you all enjoyed the Christmas break, though it is not over for us just yet! I had a lovely break- except for having the flu. It hit me at 12:01 the Thursday we finished and I had it for all of Christmas, so I felt very sorry for myself! Luckily I have recovered as we have a very busy month ahead-Tom and I are moving house! Exciting! But anyway, back to the task at hand. One of my goals for this year is to blog at least once a week. So the first blog post of 2017 is all about the dip!
January two years ago I was starting probation myself. I started in Kilcoskan NS on the 5th of January 2015 and I honestly didn’t have a clue about the dip. I had been subbing up to that point so had no need for doing long term plans or anything. It took me ages to get my ahead around all there was to do, from the long and short term planning, to assessment and then trying to get your displays up etc, it was a nightmare! Not to mention the fact that we lived beside an absolutely horrible man at the time who used to wait at his door to shout at me most days, which resulted in a very stressed NQT! I actually did most of my planning in coffee shops as I waited for Tom to come home to walk in with me in the evenings, it seems so crazy looking back! Anyway, I digress again!
The dip. The old fashioned dip that is- this is not a post about Droichead as I don’t know enough about it to advise. I know many teachers around the country will be starting new posts next week, and will be applying to be probated. Once you know you can apply to do the dip, you will need to go to the http://www.lec.ie/probationary-teachers.html website and download the OP1 form.You will also have to complete the The National Induction Programme for Teachers (NIPT) classes as part of your dip.
The dip focuses on the following areas:
- Planning, preparation and recording of progress
- Classroom management and organisation
- Quality of teaching across curriculum areas
- Quality of pupils’ learning in curriculum areas
So first things first, get your planning in order.
Planning folder:
- Long term plans (these can be yearly or termly- I tend to do termly plans)
- Timetable – based on curricular recommendations
- Short term plans- weekly plans for each subject
- Cuntais Míosúla- a monthly record of what you have taught.
Assessment folder:
- formal assessment records from the previous year.
- individual assessment records using a variety of assessment methods in a variety of subjects.
The online curriculum documents will be a life saver to you for copying and pasting objectives in your planning, along with the PDST website.
The next step then is to decorate your classroom. You will need a display area for maths, Irish, English, SESE and art. You will also need general displays depending on your class. e.g. the days/weeks/months of the year in Irish,colours, number lines, classroom rules, maps of Ireland, Europe and the World, calendar, etc.
There are loads of resources on-line to help with displays. My favourite is teacherspayteachers and twinkl in a close second. They are the only two websites I use.
Have a positive behaviour management in place too , it makes things much easier!
There are a number of long term plans available for sale on my website for 1st and 2nd class and for 5th and 6th. I often hold flash sales and freebies so keep an eye out!
Best of luck!
Valerie