1 Prof. Values & Personal Commitment | Amy Burnett's ePortfolio

Activities for unit 1 Personal and Interpersonal Skills and Abilities

Identifying Skills and Abilities

Activity 1

Below are a list of skills and abilities. Complete an audit of where you are now. Record this in your learning journal/portfolio.

Rate yourself (1=Not very well developed; 3=very well developed)

Skills and Abilities	1	2	3
Self confidence		x
Self-discipline		x
Team Work			x
Act as a Leader		x
Listen to others			x
Write for academic purposes	x
Computing Skills		x
Be Creative		x
Problem solving			x

Activity 2

Complete the audit below, using the information from the table above.

Recognition	Reflection	Action
Skills already developed	How I will use these	How do I know (evidence)**
Self confidence	I will use this to be confident about my decisions and be able to come across as confident when teaching lessons.
Self-discipline	I will use this to help improve my skills and get work done on time. I will also make sure I am well prepared to teach a class
Team Work	I will use this to work with my colleagues, pupils and people on the course
Act as a Leader	I will use this on placement to make sure that I have good control in the classroom
Listen to others	I will use this to make sure that I can listen to other people’s opinions and also listen to any problems a child may have.
Write for academic purposes	I will use this to make sure course work I produce is up to a high standard
Computing Skills	I will use this to update my blog, make notes and write course work.
Be Creative	I will use this when writing pieces for my blog and when planning lessons for my placements so that children are interested.
Problem solving	I will use this to overcome any problems that may occur during the course or on placement.

Recognition	Reflection	Action
Skills to be developed	How I will develop these	How do I know (evidence) **
Organise and plan	I will make sure that I make detailed lesson plans before using them in front of the children.
Debate formally and informally	I will take part in discussions and put forward my opinions and consider other people’s opinions as well.
Build social networks	I will build social networks by meeting new people and building connections through my course, social events and societies.
Think critically	I will think critically to improve my academic writing and gain a better understanding.
Generate new ideas	I will generate new ideas for lesson plans to keep the class entertained but also learning.

** This section should be completed as you identify when/where/how you have used/developed these skills.

I decided that I wanted to become a teacher at a young age and have never really changed my mind about it. Seeing my teachers enjoy themselves made me think that a career in teaching would be good for me. Teaching is more than just educating children but making sure they develop socially and emotionally. I also think that working with children is so unpredictable that there would never be a dull day. Yes, it can be stressful but at the end of the day it’s worth it.

I like that as a teacher you also get the opportunity to learn and then impart that knowledge to your pupils, for example learning and teaching modern languages has become a big part of primary teaching and I think it’s something that I could enjoy. Also working with other teachers to get inspiration and collaborate is also rewarding as they may open your eyes to new and exciting methods.

I have worked with children in different settings, I have volunteered with brownies for five years and did work experience in a primary school. This has helped me be more certain about my choice. Even just seeing the group of children for a few hours every week has had such a huge impact on me as the satisfaction of helping a child do their work and even just chatting with them is so rewarding. I studied early education and childcare at college during my sixth year at academy. This gave me an insight into how children develop and how we as teachers, early years practitioners, social workers etc, can have such a big influence on them as they work their way through their school careers.

Although not every child is the same it is useful to see how we can assist them to do the best they can. These children are the future and it’s important to teach them in order for them to reach their full potential. A good teacher can male a huge difference in a pupils learning and its important to make sure you have the skills available to do so.