Learning to teach during a pandemic - Stacy Johnston

We owe a debt of gratitude for the commitment of our teaching professionals across Orkney who did all they could to ensure the delivery of high-quality education to all children, young people and students over the past 18 months during these unprecedented times.

Their reaction to the emerging crisis clearly demonstrated their passion for what is a vocation, not just a job.

Parents and carers have a new-found deeper level of respect for our teaching professionals following periods of remote learning.

The schools in Orkney have returned this week after the summer holidays and three professionals have agreed to share their experiences of learning to teach through a pandemic.

Primary Teacher, Stacy Johnston, is committed to making a real difference to the lives of children.

The 29-year-old from Hoy was unsure for a long time of the career path ahead of her, initially graduating in Public Relations, followed by achieving a degree in Renewable Energy Development and thereafter securing a post with a fuel poverty charity in the county.

The role saw Stacy supporting vulnerable households and families and it was witnessing first-hand the significant impact and challenges that people go through day to day in terms of living in poverty, struggling to secure employment and have financial stability that inspired her to become a teacher.

“I wanted to make a difference in supporting young people and children growing up in society to ensure that I can help them to have the best possible start in life. I felt this is a career which would be truly rewarding and where I can help to make a positive change to a child’s wellbeing.”

“I can help to make a positive change to a child’s wellbeing”

Stacy studied at the UHI Orkney Campus from 2019-2020 completing a Professional Graduate Diploma in Education and was allocated a probationer teacher post at Papdale Primary School in Kirkwall from August 2020 until July 2021. She is now a supply teacher.

“I am staying in Orkney as this is my home and where I hope to make a difference and I am very excited to be working on supply in the schools here as each one is like the islands; they all have different qualities and are wonderfully unique in their own way.”

Stacy described entering a new career and being caught up in a pandemic.

“For myself, I had experiences of a mix of both in-class and virtual teaching, and this was very different to when I was on placement before lockdown. I think the amazing thing is that all teachers are so committed to ensuring that all children have the best learning experiences possible whether that be online or in-class so being flexible and adaptable were key.

“I think the theory part of the diploma course helped prepare me in some areas of teaching however I feel that you learn the most through hands on experiences in the classroom. Due to the lockdown of March 2020, I was unable to carry out my 3rd placement, so I only had experiences in my past two placements, which meant that I did feel a little unprepared for the start of my probation year.

“However, I was determined and spent the summer making up for this, creating resources, looking at ideas for teaching and carrying out Continuing Professional Ddevelopment courses to help me to prepare as much as possible. The online teaching community through various social media has been so very helpful as well and I feel as though observing my colleagues, asking them for support and learning from my own experiences has assisted me significantly in preparation for teaching in any class environment.”

Stacy continued: “A typical day in class with the new rules would involve a lot of time being spent on ensuring we were being safe by washing our hands and keeping socially distanced, not sharing items for example which meant less time for learning experiences with the focus being mainly on Literacy, Maths and Health and Wellbeing.

“It was difficult for the children as this was all different, but they adapted really well over time to the new routines, and I taught a lot of Health and Wellbeing which really helped the children feel less anxious during that time.

“…they adapted really well over time to the new routines…”

“I had a composite class, so for the virtual teaching over a few months, I was moved to one year group team and it was a great experience as we were all excited to share ideas and make the lessons as engaging as possible online for the children.

“Key worker and vulnerable children were still coming into class, so we took it in turns week around to teach smaller groups too which was really nice, and I think the children liked being in smaller classes.

“It was very different to what I imagined it would be at the start of my probation year and it was more restricted but to be honest I think it was a really valuable experience as it helps you to become a flexible teacher who can adapt to range of challenging situations. I loved having the opportunity to able to get to know and teach a range of children with differing needs and abilities and I now have experiencing of teaching online too which is great.”

Stacy was amazed at the resilience shown by the children she taught.

“As a result of COVID, a lot of the children were understandably very anxious, so I created a ‘Wellbeing Station’ looking at understanding emotions for the children with a calm toolkit box of items which really helped them in coping with the ever-changing environment.

“This is definitely a concept I would introduce in any classroom as it did really help the children to feel less anxious. I also set aside time to have ‘brain break’ activities to help keep the children motivated and energized during the day when we were in the classroom.”

Stacy cannot praise the team at Papdale Primary highly enough for their “supportive and welcoming” attitude.

“Everyone really came together to support each other during this time as the pandemic was new to everyone, so we were all in the same boat. It was a very supportive environment which helped me to get settled in as a new teacher. Taking time to get to know the children, their personalities and likes/dislikes is really important to me in supporting them to have enriching learning experiences. I also learnt so much from my colleagues which has helped shaped me into the teacher that I am today.”

“Everyone really came together to support each other…”

One of Stacy’s hopes is for smaller class sizes or additional classroom support, which she feels is not only important for the wellbeing of a child but can also contribute to raising attainment and giving the additional learning support to those who need it most.

Most of all she has pledged to be caring, king and empathetic, to listen, use creativity to engage, build up trusting relationships, be open to feedback and positive change.