Paired placements – when 2 students are simultaneously allocated to one class or one department – have been used in the past as a transitional step on early placements. In secondary schools, however, recent experiences - where pairs have been allocated even on final placements – have convinced some practitioners of their value. A briefing document from one HEI explains the benefits, as well as giving guidance on how their placements operate, whilst one case study report from the perspective of one of the school departments involved weighs up the pros and cons, and the maths report illustrates the teacher mentors’ experience.
The examples given above illustrate full engagement with paired placements. There can, however, be variations: from pairs in a department, each teaching individually, but otherwise working collaboratively, through to full team-teaching. Reports on the latter, from the perspective of the student teacher, and from the teacher mentor reveal the benefits as well as some of the pitfalls to be avoided. A longer term perspective is also provided by two NQTs, now working collaboratively in the same school where they previously undertook paired placements.
These case studies are of course selective of specific experiences, but the benefits of this practice are supported by research outcomes summarised in the attached chart, which is presented more fully in the research summary. The TDA funded further action research in 2007/8 and one report is presented here, but the full range can be viewed at:
The work developed here has been funded by the TDA through their Partnership Development Schools initiative, in a project led by Ann Neale of All Saints’ R.C. School, Mansfield, Nottinghamshire.
We wish to express our gratitude for the opportunities that this funding and support have provided us.
