This covering letter accompanies the application submitted and attempts to address every point on the person specification in the job advert.

Experience

My first year lecturing, 2005/06, was a voluntary position (3 hours per week) in the Media department at Wirral Metropolitan College (WMC), Carlett Park site. The college runs a BTEC National Diploma in Media Studies and I was asked to deliver the unit: ‘writing for television and video’, as this was a specialist area of mine during my Degree. This was the first year WMC. had run the BTEC course and there were no existing schemes of work or lesson plans from which to work, so I had to design the course from scratch.

All resources were also designed and implemented by myself for the course. With regular meetings involving the coordinator and periodical teaching observations, the course was successfully delivered.

The City of Liverpool College

From September 2006 to September 2014 I was a member of the Film and Media section and taught GCSE/AS/A2 Media Studies and AS/A2 Film Studies, WJEC Advanced level (old specification); AS/A2 Media Studies, WJEC Advanced level (new specification). In 2011 we swapped to the AQA specification for AS/A2 Media Studies. The classes cover media theory, coursework and exam preparation.

In 2008 I started teaching the new specification AQA Advanced level Citizenship Studies. It is the first time the college had put on the course and I was tasked with getting it up and running. I taught Citizenship at AS/A2 level, alongside Media and Film, for four years, until the 12/13 academic year when I concentrated solely on Media and Film.

In April of 2013 I was appointed interim Curriculum Team Leader for Media and Film, until the end of the academic year. In September of the same year the post was made permanent, but also encompasses all Art and Design provision.

Experience of delivery within a flexible learning setting

My sessions are structured around the best way for me to ensure that I effectively deliver the specified curriculum to my students via the incorporation of differentiation, especially with reference to diversity and equality. Therefore, when planning my lessons I appreciate that different learning styles may be present, so I incorporate a variety of resources in order to meet the different learning style preferences of the students. For example,

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Visual/verbal (verbalisers) benefit from the utilisation of PowerPoint, whiteboard and flipcharts which list essential points or provides them with an outline.

Visual/non-verbal (visualisers) benefit from visual aids such as spider diagrams, charts, film and videos.

Auditory learners benefit from listening to lectures and participating in group discussions.

Kinaesthetic (activists) like hands on activity. Role-plays and putting together presentations.

Given that Media and Citizenship are both theory based and essentially both cognitive (covers acquisition of knowledge, facts and understanding) and affective (involves the demonstration of feelings, emotions or attitudes towards other people, ideas or things) in nature, students will be asked to make links between their own life experiences and the topics discussed in class. Therefore, it is through the development of a ‘safe environment’ where students feel comfortable enough to contribute to group discussion and exchanging opinions in an open (and of course non–oppressive) manner, which assists in the enhancement of their learning. In a sense it is a broadening of their thought processes (intrapersonal skills) and communication (interpersonal) skills.

Experience of working as part of a successful team

I was a part of the CoLC Media and Film section for eight academic years. I developed excellent relationships with my colleagues which involved the development and sharing of new resources/materials, subject specialist knowledge and constant advice and support. Our department consistently produced excellent results in terms of our students’ success.

Experience of assessing needs and planning programmes with students

Throughout my experience as a teacher in FE settings, I have been specifically aware that an important part of my job is to assess the students’ progress not just in terms of their performance in a given task but also as a way of identifying any specific learning needs for the individual. Therefore, I specifically use the first assignment completed by my students as an initial assessment of their learning needs.

As well as classroom assessments I also use formative assessments, such as essays and progress tests, which are an integral part of the learning process as they do not just provide information regarding the learners’ progress, but also provide me with an opportunity to encourage and motivate my students. These formative assessments are taken from past summative (exam papers) provided by AQA and WJEC and provide excellent experience for the students in terms of the way they can fulfil the learning objectives expected by the examining board.

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Experience of working with and responding to the educational needs of various client groups who are currently under represented in Further Education

As a teacher I have had specific experience of teaching students who previously were under represented in the formal FE environments such as students with special educational needs; with physical difficulties; from an ethnic minority; from disadvantaged backgrounds; or students who may have been excluded from school due to behavioural issues. This has involved helping the students in overcoming personal issues/matters, which were providing obstacles to them fulfilling or maintaining their potential in terms of academic and personal achievement. Showing understanding of outside factors, such as having to work, or family problems, which can affect college life and helping to provide support. I considered this support as an essential and integral part of my role as an educator. In other words, my job does not end with disseminating knowledge and assessment of the students work.

Skills and Knowledge

Knowledge of subject areas at an advanced level and familiarity with the requirements of the A level specification

My schemes of work and lesson plans are all structured around the curriculum and standards required by AQA and WJEC. This has reflected new course specifications for Citizenship and Media Studies for AS/A2 Level, both introduced in 2008.

I regularly visit the teacher support sections of the AQA and WJEC websites to keep myself up to date with any advice and guidance on the specification. I make sure that I receive all the most up to date literature that accompany the courses and request the course books that are published to accompany the specification.

I am also just entering my eighth year as an examiner for AQA in both Media Studies and Citizenship. I have been invited to mark the summer Media (MEST1) and Citizenship (CIST1) exams for the last seven years and was one of 15 people invited to mark the January MEST1 exam when it was running.

Marking the exams gives me invaluable insight into the specification and what is expected of the students from the examining board. This gives me insight into attainment levels across the country when marking the exam. I have regular contact with principle examiners who again offer advice and guidance on course specification.

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Working effectively as part of a team

My teaching and starting up a new course within the College required me to work closely and successfully with a range of teaching and non-teaching staff. I have worked successfully as a team member in a range of subjects and in a variety of centers through enrichment. Within my last role I work productively with colleagues within the Media and Arts section. I have co-operated with colleagues in designing programmes, writing Schemes of Work and I believe I contributed positively to our team’s successful delivery of a quality programme.

In the staff room I was surrounded by experts in fields such as Law, Sociology, History and Psychology. I built relationships with these other members of staff and considered myself to be an integral member of the CoLC team. We discussed best practice, shared resources and offered support where needed.

Written and verbal communication

I have always considered myself to have excellent and effective written and oral communication and organisational skills. I have found that these skills are essential in day to day teaching when liaising with students and their parents, colleagues, Head of Schools and Centre Managers.

I am computer literate and kept regular contact with colleagues and students via College emailing systems.

I also consider it essential to hold meetings in person throughout the year. It was necessary to liaise frequently with students’ personal tutors to discuss any problems and arrange extensions on deadlines for extenuating circumstances.

I participated in parents evening, where I met students’ parents, answering questions about the course and addressing any concerns they have. I consider good preparation for such events essential. I try to find out beforehand who will be attending and be prepared for any questions relating to individual students’ progress.

I was also involved in the colleges open evenings during my time there. For this I created PowerPoint presentations to present to prospective students and their parents. Excellent communication skills are essential during the open evening as we only have 15-20 minute slots to effectively explain the two year course and its aims.

Accurate and accessible programme records.

In my role as Curriculum Team Leader I was been responsible for fully updating all SoW. The documents are in-depth and detailed enough to act as a week to week lesson plan. I also created full assessment schedules, assessment

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feedback sheets, class calendars and mini SoWs for students. I helped design the college’s new homework diary and gave staff training on how it can by implemented.

In addition I had a great deal of responsibility for the Citizenship course. I built up the course from scratch working from the AQA specification. My Head of Section assisted when first developing the Scheme of Work but as this is a flexible document I worked on it to reflect my experiences in the classroom. I feel confident that when I passed the reins, to a new teacher coming in, they were able to follow the SoW and use the resources to great effect.

I have also worked to populate the college’s new VLE pages for the courses. Included on the pages are links to the AQA/WJEC websites, where students can view the full specification, past exam papers, all documentation, and all resources created for the course.

I am aware that my professional practise in maintaining accurate records, for example electronic registers and progress reports (including the Value Added (ALPS) element) link in to the course team Self-Assessment Review and ProMonitor. This enabled staff and management to access current and past achievement and success rates.

Developing community based projects and other innovative work for students to support their studies.

For part of the Citizenship Specification an Active Citizenship Profile (ACP) is worked on through the year. The students spend time out of the class room environment working on projects that help them to become informed and active citizens.

Three set projects and one negotiable project were decided upon with more freedom within the projects for the students. The projects were:

UK environmental issues Becoming involved in a UK charity Submitting an article to student magazine £10 money challenge

As this part of the course was developed I created strong ties with other departments within the College and a local charity.

Firstly I became involved with the College Enrichment Team. Enrichment has strong links to the Citizenship specification with the work they do with regards to the Leaner Voice Council, charity work, LGBT work and the participation of students in numerous extra curricular activities. I undertook work with the Enrichment Team for one morning per week to help me gain understanding of

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how to interest students in participating outside of their studies. I was also tasked with the job of staff editor for the student magazine, which again helped with getting the students working on projects outside the classroom. Submitting an article for the magazine became a part of the ACP and some students joined the permanent writing team for the magazine.

Also, through enrichment, the students have attended Learner Voice conferences on labelling and stereotyping, undertaken fundraising for the elected college charity and been encouraged to get involved with the student governors.

Through the ties with enrichment I also became involved with the Business Enterprise Hub, getting the students working on the £10 Money Week challenge. Working with Sharon Mathews we fit the challenge into the specification under active and informed citizenship and nearly £150 of profit was donated to the College Charity. A provisional agreement has been made for involvement again next year.

For creating ties and community projects outside of the college environment I contacted Tom Woolley, who was Fundraising Manager for the Everton charity Everton in the Community, and we discussed options for getting students involved.

One group of students organized a charity concert in Liverpool’s O2 Academy with local bands playing for free and all proceeds going to the charity. Tom enabled the concert and the College’s work to be fully publicised in the Liverpool Echo, creating excellent positive press.

These are a few examples of ways in which I have created projects, both within the College and the wider community to assist the students with their studies.

Accurate statistical records

Whilst working at the college I endeavored to follow good practice in terms of following College administrative procedures. All registers were marked at the start of each lesson, checked on a daily basis and double checked at the end of the week.

I also kept abreast of student progress reports by following College procedures and submitting them electronically before set deadlines. Coursework is collected on time, marked and collated so the information can be submitted; and when taking part in internal moderation being prepared, for the day, in advance.

Knowledge and commitment to equal opportunities

Upon commencing employment at CoLC, I was immediately made aware of my responsibility to promote equality of opportunity. I attended a briefing with the

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CGM prior to the teaching assignment and was informed of the Equal Opportunities policy and given links on the college intranet site to download, read and understand in full.

The role required of me with regards to supporting inclusion is that I respond to students’ diverse needs throughout the curriculum, helping to overcome any potential learning barriers by adjusting my resources for leaning activities accordingly. By doing so, ensuring they are able to study and work to achieve their goals.

One example of this was in my assignment at WMC. A student suffering from total deafness joined the class at the beginning of the year. As I had never dealt with anyone with any kind of disability in the classroom environment before, I requested a meeting with the course coordinator to be briefed on college procedures.

The student was accompanied in every lesson by a support worker who specialised in sign language. I met with the support worker at the beginning of the year to find out what I could do to make my sessions easier to for the student to participate. Provisions were made to ensure that every film or TV clip shown was subtitled or accompanied by a manuscript. All of my personal class notes were given to the support worker at the start of every lesson for the student to copy. I always made sure that lectures were delivered at a pace that was easy to follow with sign language. I always involved the student in class activities, and was rewarded with full participation.

A second and more recent example would be at CoLC in an A2 media class. A student with Aspergers Syndrome was finding it difficult to concentrate when having to watch A/V texts which were being studied. The texts had to be watched as a whole then broken down for analysis: it was while watching the text as a whole that the student became bored and agitated. The student had to be reprimanded on a couple of occasions due to disruptive behaviour, so a meeting was arranged with Student Support Services to see how the problem could be tackled. After isolating the cause of the problem, I wanted a solution that would not mean exclusion from an essential part of the course. I came up with the idea of providing the student with a worksheet to use while watching the texts. A few simple questions that she could answer which would not distract her too much from the texts as a whole, but would give her something else to concentrate on while watching them. This idea was agreed upon with Student Support and the student and implemented through the rest of the year to great effect. The student gives me the worksheet back at the end of the session and I give immediate feedback on her answers.

Large learner diversity at CoLC means that every class I taught had various client groups which are under represented in Further Education. I treat students

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equally, regardless of age, social background, disability, gender, racial origin or sexual orientation. I am fully committed to every leaner matters.

Willingness to develop additional skills through participation in training and staff development

Over the years, I have always strived to better myself and my future prospects by undertaking various courses and further training. These include a City and Guilds in Photography, A level Art and Design, a degree in Media Studies and a Certificate in Education. I have also completed NVQs at level 2 and 3 in vocational areas.

Over the years at CoLC, I have attended numerous training sessions and inset days. These included:

Sessions on how to write and follow Schemes of Work Electronic register training Marking coursework Internal moderation Learner voice conference Moodle training Diversity & equality Extended Project Qualification

I regularly requested additional time with the Head of School for training in College procedures with regards to submitting coursework marks and student progression reports.

I also attended Media and Film CPD in London or Manchester every year. These have been attended to enhance my understanding of delivery of the specification.

Commitment to the progression of students through Further Education into Higher Education

The change needed for student’s progression from GCSEs through to University is one of being guided and tutored to becoming a more autonomous student capable of independent study and being able to negotiate projects. I feel that as I have gained experience in teaching I have been able to accomplish this with my students, guiding them through their AS year and becoming more of a facilitator in their A2 year. I am confident that when students leave my A2 classes to go to university they are fully prepared for what is expected of them when they get there.

As teachers we have other responsibilities to students with reference to supporting their journey towards higher education or employment. I also encourage my students to access support and services, whether in college or

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externally (connexions or universities) so that they are able to identify an appropriate progression route individual to them.

Qualifications and Training

Degree

I attended College as a mature student and I gained a Sheffield University B.A. (hons) degree in Media Studies (grade 2:1).

The time spent studying for the Degree was some of the most enjoyable years in memory. It was while doing this I decided that teaching would be a career I would like to pursue.

The Degree was taught as four modules: Journalism; Video Production; Sound Recording and Photography. The first year was a taster year in which projects were completed in all areas. Extensive media theory was also taught throughout for all subjects.

For the second and third years of the Degree, two subjects were chosen as major and minor areas of study. I studied Film Production/Theory as my major and Photography as my minor.

The Degree helped me to develop numerous skills which I have been able to transfer into all areas of my professional life, especially teaching. Tight deadlines had to be adhered to, extensive research carried out and full comprehensive personal records kept for each project undertaken. It also provided me with an in-depth well of knowledge about the media and developed my analytical skills when reading all media products.

Since finishing the degree, I have kept in close contact with friends throughout the media industry, in print and broadcast, hereby retaining my knowledge of current working practices.

I also personally keep up-to-date on media technology that can be used in my everyday teaching role.

I worked extensively on an Apple Mac for ten years, and transferred over to PC around 6 years ago. I am fully conversant in most of the main software programs: Adobe CS6; Illustrator; imovie, Final Cut Pro, Lightroom and Photomatix Pro. I have kept up to date on the latest versions of the software doing self-employed photography/video work, through my small business LA Multimedia LTD.

Through work and College projects, I have also learnt PC systems and am comfortable producing Word documents, PowerPoint presentations and Excel spreadsheets.

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In my own time, I navigate the internet and used the CoLC intranet site both at home and in College to access and put together online resources.

Teaching

I hold a Certificate of Education in Post Compulsory Educational Training (PCET).

The diploma was taught at WMC and validated by Manchester Metropolitan University. Having completed the first year of the Cert. Ed., attending the college one day per week, I decided to complete the second year on residential status, attending five intensive weekends over the academic year. This freed up time during the week to be able to work teaching more hours.

I enjoyed the course immensely. It was innovative and helped me to develop my teaching skills a great deal. The units that I found particularly useful were: the Curriculum Process, Group Management, Differentiation, Motivational Factors, Teaching and Learning, and Assessment tools/instruments.

As part of the Certificate of Education, it is essential to gain key skills level 2 in adult numeracy and literacy, which I completed in my own time in the local library.

Personal statement

I am an extremely positive and resourceful person, self motivated, with high personal aspirations. I have excellent rapport with both staff and students, working well as part of a team or on my own initiative. I love teaching: imparting knowledge and helping students to learn is the most rewarding work I have ever undertaken. My age and recent educational experience are important factors in getting the most out of students in the classroom, I find it easy to identify with them and be sympathetic to any barriers they have to overcome in college life.

I am available for interview at your convenience. I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely

Lee Carter

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