Monitoring my progress with an online learning platform

Progress is a step by step journey

Throughout my training, my development and progress were tracked and monitored using an online tool called 'Steplab'. My Development Lead (DL) would set my development goals on the platform, and I would upload evidence of how I achieved them. There was always one active development goal that I was working on, and my very first goal was behaviour management. Later goals were based on teacher presence, adaptive teaching and addressing misconceptions. 

During our weekly mentor meetings, my mentor used Steplab as an instructional coaching tool. She selected a specific step that she wanted me to work on, such as 'positive narration', and discussed Steplab's corresponding advice and tasks. Her instructional coaching allowed me to practice the step in a low-stakes environment, away from pupils. Working on one small change allowed me to focus solely on achieving that step to ensure impactful and lasting change. Once I achieved a step, my mentor ticked it off and gave me a new one to focus on.

Steplab housed all my observation feedback, and I uploaded the corresponding lesson plans. Other key documents that I uploaded to Steplab included my broader school experience forms and my termly review presentation slides. Steplab had a clear checklist for my goals and tasks, and there was a little box for me to tick, once I'd achieved a goal and/or uploaded the necessary documents and/or evidence.

As a trainee, I was continually learning, developing and improving my practice. Observing expert teachers, studying for my assignments and attending training sessions were all key to my progress and development. The detailed feedback and coaching that I received from my support roles were also integral to my progress. They gave me specific and explicit steps and goals to work on, and I was able to deliberately practice everything I'd learned. I really valued seeing my progress on Steplab, and I was proud of everything that I achieved.