My QTLS experience: Lucy May
What motivated you to undertake Qualified Teacher Learning and Skills (QTLS)?
I liked the clear structure of the course and that it would be manageable to complete alongside working. I want to be a strong and confident teacher and I felt undertaking professional formation would enable me to achieve this.
How did you find the process and what did you like about it?
Overall, I really enjoyed the process and liked how much flexibility there was in exploring different areas of pedagogy. It was really useful to identify my weakest areas first and then use that as a focus to research and develop. Pinpointing my weaker areas and actively working on them enabled me to feel that I had improved my teaching ability significantly by the end of the programme.
What has undertaking QTLS taught you about yourself?
During professional formation I gathered a lot of feedback from learners about my teaching style and it was really enlightening. What I thought my weakest areas were did not all match up with the learner feedback. I have learnt that feedback is essential to grow and develop as a teacher and it isn’t something to be feared or dreaded. I used to be terrified at every observation and take every small weakness personally, but now I encourage and welcome as much feedback as possible, as it has enabled me to really develop as a teacher.
What impact has QTLS had on your practice and learners?
My teaching approach and style is much more evidence-based. I have a lot more tools to manage difficult situations in the classroom and feel more prepared for anything that can pop up unexpectedly. My assessment methods are better. I undertook some research on increasing the homework completion rate and now the completion rate is much higher than it has been in previous years.
What impact has QTLS had on your organisation?
We have been Ofsted inspected since achieving QTLS and as I was much more confident in my knowledge and skills, it enabled me to perform better during the lesson observations.
What are you going to do next and how will you continue to develop your practice?
In the future I would like to achieve ATS. I will use a similar structure from the QTLS portfolio to develop my CPD further as that format worked well for me.
What advice would you give teachers/trainers who are thinking of undertaking QTLS?
Stick to the timeline that you’re given! You will get out of it as much as you put in. I had a timeslot dedicated to QTLS each week; this made it feel manageable as I just chipped away at the workload.
Be completely honest when you complete the assessment to identify your strengths and weakest areas as this is the best way to grow as a teacher.
Finally, please tell us a fun fact about yourself!
My house is like a zoo! I have a dog, cat, fish and a tortoise.