The stint is a chance for you to think about if you really want to do this career. Bond penalty starts the moment you step into NIE for training. If you change your mind about teaching, can leave when the contract teaching is up without penalty. It is also for MOE and the school to access if you are suited to teach.

Most people are able to pass the contract teaching stage. But I have known a few who passed but changed their mind and left to do another job, and also a few who unfortunately failed the contract teaching.

How long is your untrained training stint? To put things in perspective, when i first started out, o had to go through contract teaching where i am untrained. Only after the school deem i am suitable, would my name be out forward for admission to nie.

For the first week, you will most probably get to see various teachers in action. Thereafter, you would probably be given classes to take over.

Are you in PGDE scheme?

It should be around a few months, yes I am in the PGDE scheme! I understand that perhaps it is not that easy to fail the stint.. but any tips or advices to do well for it? Classroom management is definitely going to be a steep learning curve. Or anything that will help :) Thank you!

Thanks for your reply! It is comforting to know that most will pass the contract teaching stage. Just wondering if there is a certain type of teacher schools are in general looking for, or how one can perform well? any criteria of sorts?

Don't worry about being "the type" of teacher schools are looking for, you should create your own journey during your contract stint. Make your own mistakes, just don't lay your hands on students or break the code and conduct/ ethos. Learn and emulate from the level teachers on how they manage their students, pick up some chimes to signal for attention with younger students. Be humble and yet don't be shy to ask for teaching resources from colleagues. Be proactive in volunteering your assistance and share your resources with others too. Looking positive is a plus and leaves a great impression. Especially if you would like the return to your contract school because the P has the power to request for you to be back in the school for your first posting upon completion of your pdge.

It depends on the school you are posted to and what kind of students you are able to handle. Every school is different in their expectations

If this is the first time you are going to teach in a school, you will find out soon what kind of students you are able to connect with. Every class has their own unique problem and unique way of handling and getting their attention, so you will need to remember each class’s characteristic

Yes, classroom management is very important. Learning cannot take place if you can't manage the class well, which will cause high chance to fail contract teaching. Most of the people I knew who failed is due to this reason, they just couldn't manage the students.

Try to do as much lesson observation of your colleagues as you can. Take note of what looks like it works, and what doesn't, and try to figure out how to adapt what you think might work for it. Experiment. Spend some time to get to know your students. Learn their names. Figure out what their quirks are, who their friends are, etc. A student who thinks you care about him, is more likely to listen.

Will untrained contract teachers get to do everything that a regular teacher does like lesson planning, teaching, CCA...? Are there anything that schools will not let them take charge of?

Schools will usually give untrained contract teachers the full load so that they can fully experience & decide if teaching is really something they want to pursue.