Quote:
Originally Posted by Unregistered
If any colleague has done TWA+, can you kindly advise:
1. what are the considerations in choosing your role/organisation? Widen or deepen your skills, or simply for industry exposure?
2. Did you have to juggle your school-based admin/comm/CCA/FT/T&L work, or is it wholly absorbed by colleagues and dept?
3. What new value can you bring to the table after TWA+?
Thank you!
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Hi I've done a TWA with a public organisation in a different ministry. I'm sure everyone who has done a TWA+ has taken away different things, so take what I share with a pinch of salt (it's just my personal take).
I found that these were the greatest benefits my TWA brought me:
1. Exposure to a completely new sector
The place I did my TWA at had no direct link to education (people I met there kept gawking at me like I was an alien when I introduced myself as a teacher). But I had the chance to glimpse the work and was challenged (in a kind manner) to contribute during meetings even though I was a total newbie. As a result, I learnt a lot about that sector in a way I could never have otherwise.
2. Expanded professional network
I maintained contact with some of the people I worked with while on TWA. Sometimes they post on Linkedin and I find the stuff they post pretty informative. So it's a way to keep myself up to date on some developments in the field. You also never know when the opportunity to collaborate and bring in the real-world expertise from the other sector may arise.
3. Acquisition of new skills
My TWA "boss" helped me pick up a couple of skills which I did not usually get much exposure to as a teacher. These were generic professional skills like effective communication (being an experienced teacher in a classroom may not make you a good communicator in a business setting haha). I'm not saying all TWAs will result in this kind of honing of professional skills, but this was certainly an unexpected result of mine thanks to the shifu who took the time to mentor me even though I was just gonna be there for a few weeks.
To answer yr qn about managing workload, my RO basically told me I could only go at EOY after exams as it would be difficult to find a covering teacher for my classes. So I actually applied outside of the advertised TWA window which meant I entered during a lull period in the TWA organisation. So timing is a factor you may consider.. and there might be practical constraints depending on yr school. But I know of ppl who went for TWA in the middle of Term 1 and Term 2 so it's definitely not impossible.
Hope this helps