Adam Scanlon - Intern, LSA, 2024-25 ITT!

From Intern, to Learning Support Assistant, to future ITT with the Sheffield SCITT!

Read more about Adam’s journey below.

Have you always been interested in teaching?

I’ve been interested in teaching ever since I was in Year 10/11. I’m not sure exactly how the interest started, but I remember doing paired reading with students who were struggling with their literacy and I really enjoyed it.

How did our internship programme help you decide that teaching was the right path for you?

The one aspect of teaching I was apprehensive about was potentially finding it difficult to build rapport with students. During the internship, I was in classes with students of different academic levels and SEN. In each class it felt easy to talk to the students and help them with their learning and this made me confident that teaching was for me.

What did a typical day look like on the internship programme?

In about 3/5 periods I was supporting classes which my department were teaching. This would include giving SEN students specific support to help them understand the content or going around the class and marking work, talking to the students etc. I would often observe other subjects and take note of examples of good quality teaching. During free periods, I would help with marking work, making displays and creating resources, which I found surprisingly enjoyable.

Did the programme help you develop any skills?

It definitely boosted my confidence in working with students which is what I needed. Working closely with children with SEN also developed my skills in breaking down information so it easy to understand, in building a student’s confidence and developing my own understanding of the complexities of SEN.

What made you decide to apply for the Sheffield SCITT?

After working as an LSA for 6 months, I felt I was ready to challenge myself further and look to teach classes rather than individual students. I love History as a subject and I am really looking forward to teaching it.

Do you have any tips for applications/interviews?

Be yourself, talk about why you love the subject you want to teach and why you enjoy teaching students.

Are you doing anything to prepare for your teacher training year?

I’m currently reading as many content/books about the topics I’ll be teaching next year. I have been taught the majority of them in the past but I want to refresh my knowledge on them.

What are you most looking forward to for your training year?

Discovering what teaching style works for me, teaching a subject that I absolutely love and hopefully delivering some engaging and accessible lessons to my students.

How has your experience been as an LSA at Notre Dame?

I’ve absolutely loved it, working as an LSA you build some great bonds with certain students and working with them always sends me home feeling happy with the work I do. It has developed me a lot as a person and my experience working as an LSA will make me a better teacher.

Can we catch up with you again next year when you are training?

Of course!