Caroline Costley

I believe that it is important to maintain interest and active engagement and like to use motivating factors (for example a love of animals/authors/trains) to develop larger projects that can incorporate a variety of disciplines/subjects and build exciting pathways into learning.

When working at GCSE/A-Level I believe that it is important to get to grips with the key texts and materials entirely - I read all of the texts, watch required plays/films and provide reading lists for further academic study to build subject knowledge and develop a pool of materials to reference and elevate work. In short I apply my subject passion to the way that I teach and think that this hands-on approach is crucial to facilitating rigorous and engaging discussion. I also utilise exam-board specific past papers/marking schemes to build confidence before examinations making sure that we are taking a robust multi-discipline approach.

I also provide support for the development of interpersonal skills, how to understand and communicate emotions and how to recognise our feelings. I think that it is important to take a wholistic approach to learning and am keen to support in social development as well as academia. So much of learning is building confidence so that people feel comfortable approaching things that they don’t know or might not find easy. Resilience is so often the key to learning and as such I believe that it's essential to provide a space where resilience in the face of challenges is more lauded than instant success.

I am a creative person so strive to teach in an imaginative, interesting way and aim always to inspire and encourage. I bring humour, music and movement into my classes where appropriate and focus on rewarding good behaviour - with a firm focus on positive reinforcement and affirmation.