Reflecting on reflection

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Reflection is a means of processing thoughts and feelings about an incident, or a difficult day… And gives us a chance to come to terms with our thoughts and feelings about it.

Personally, reflection for me is a key part in my learning due to my anxiety. Reflecting back on my learning allows me to identify not only my errors and weaknesses but it can also bring to light the positives of what I am actually succeeding at within my studies. By seeing my own strengths, this gives me a confidence boost and allows me to feel that I could possibly overcome the anxiety’s that I feel sometimes hinder my learning and hold me back.

I reflect on my problems and situations that I find myself in on a day to day basis. Due to this, I see myself implementing and reflecting on most aspects of my life all time, especially my academic studies. I feel that having a more focused reflection, I am able to look at new outcomes and ways of approaching and reacting within certain situations.

‘The way that we learn from an experience in order to understand and develop practice’ – (Jasper2003)

Reflection not only allows us to solve problems but also allows us to learn from past experiences and take control of our own learning. However, reflection does not just have to be looking back and reflecting on what has already happened; it is often useful to also reflect forward. By doing this we can put our past experiences to good use and plan in a way that reflects positively on our learning.

Active & Co-operative Learning

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Active learning allows us as teachers to involve our pupils more in their own learning. Active learning also hopefully lets children feel more engaged in their own learning and feel inspired and excited to learn. There are many positive factors for active learning including; the children being more active towards their learning than having a passive attitude. It also allows the child to take their learning into their own hands which I feel is a more effective method of learning as the child will be more likely to remember and feel excited about what they are learning.

There is an endless list of benefits when it comes to working co-operatively within the classroom for both the teacher and the pupils.

Personally, I feel that working and learning with my fellow colleagues is a more effective method of learning. Discussion ideas with others and getting their opinions and views enhances everyone’s knowledge that is involved within the discussion. Working co-operatively also helps to develop skills such as; time management, communication, social skills and commitment. So if we use co-operative learning within our classrooms with our pupils then this will allow the children to gain and develop these valuable skills.

Co-operative learning gives the children a common goal to work towards as a group. This therefore allows for the children to work closely with each other to get the best results out of the task together, rather than individually so therefore, making it a more effective learning method. As well as allowing the children to develop team working skills it also allows for them to develop respect for their peer’s opinions and views which is a valuable lesson.

Timeline of Neuroscience

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Carrying on from the input on Brain Development today with Will, I found that there is a large array of events that took place in the subject of neuroscience… As there as far too many to write I have just selected a variety that interested me within the 20th century.

  • In 1909, Harvey Cushing is first to electrically stimulate the human sensory cortex.

Studies involving severe epileptics has shown us that using weak currents, investigators found that the usual responses when stimulating the individuals included, numbness, tingling and feelings of electricity and all these feelings where on the contralateral side.

  • The disease, Alzheimer’s, was named by Emil Kraepelin in 1910.

Kraepelin, who was a german psychiatrist that worked closely with Dr. Alzheimer, first named the ‘Alzheimer’s disease’ in the eighth edition of his book, Psychiatrie.

  • The intelligence quotient, or QI, was first developed in 1912 by William Stern.

He felt that by investigating the individuality of a person he could then uncover real principle of personality and intelligence. He developed the idea of expressing intelligence test results in the form of a single number, the intelligence quotient.

He looked at individual test scores and focused on “mental ages” which could then be compared to actual ages which could then relate to their intelligence ability. To get the intelligence quotient, he took the mental age and divided it by the chronological age.

  • In 1916, Shinobu Ishihara published a set of plates that were used to test colour vision.001

The colour test is called, ‘The Ishihara Test’. The test consists of a number of coloured plates which are called Ishihara plates. These plates contain a circle of dots appearing randomised in both colour and size. Within the dots, there are dots of another colour with represents a number or shape visible to those with normal colour vision. However, if you have a colour defect, these numbers or shapes will be invisible or difficult to see.

  • B.F. Skinner publishes ‘The Behaviour of Organisms’ in 1938 that describes operant conditioning.

The term, ‘operant conditioning’ was invented by Skinner. Roughly, it means to change the behaviour of a person or animal through the use of either positive or negative reinforcements. If the subject is shown to be doing the desired behaviour, then this is when the reinforcement is given.

  • In 1953, Eugene Aserinski and Nathaniel Kleitman describe rapid eye movements (REM) during sleep.

Kleitman and Aserinsky discovered there to be rapid eye movement while a child was sleeping. This led researcher into believing that sleeping involves some sort of learning process.

  • In 1956 Rita Levi-Montalcini and Stanley Cohen isolate and purified nerve growth factor.
  • The treatment for depression was introduced by Fluoxetine in 1987.

Eli Lilly and Company discovered Fluoxetine. This drug is used for a number is disorders including; major depression, obsessive compulsive disorder, bulimia, and panic disorder. In some cases, it has also been used to treat trichotillomania, a condition where the individual feels the need to pull their hair out, if cognitive behaviour therapy has been unsuccessful.

  • 1990 was declared the ‘Decade of the Brain’ by U.S. President George Bush.
  • Arvid Carlsson, Paul Greengard and Eric Kandel shared the Nobel Prize in 2000.

These men were awarded this prize for their discoveries of signal transduction, which is the message being sent from one nerve cell, to another through a chemical transmitter.

 

Personal and Professional Presence on Social Media

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What challenges/opportunities may you be faced with when marrying the personal vs professional presence on social media?

There are many factors which may be seen as challenges when trying to find an appropriate balance between personal and professional life with regards to social media. One of the most important challenges for professionals I feel is making sure that everything you post on social media sites is done so in a professional manner and that none of the information or comments that are posted are seen as inappropriate.

In my opinion; I feel that either using a name in which isn’t yours or using a completely different account to keep your personal and professional life separate is the best conclusion when dealing with social media online. This way you can make sure that either pupils or parents cannot have access to any of your personal details. This way you can also make sure that you are still able to engage with issues that can relate to your professional life in an appropriate manner.

Currently, all of my social media settings are turned to private. This means that only friends that I allow on my social media sites can see what I post, comment on and also what I may be tagged in. I feel that this has been the most appropriate choice for me up until now however, I am now thinking that I may open separate accounts to separate my professional life.

As well as the numerous challenges presented by social media, there is also an array of opportunities. It allows children to have experiences on different uses of technology that they may not have the opportunity to do so outside of school. Different forms of social media can have many different effects within the classroom. For some, it could be very effective in tying home and school together as social media will most likely be something that the majority of pupils use actively in their life outside the classroom.

As social media grows, it becomes a much more important tool to implement within classrooms. Due to this, the GTCS have very specific guidelines. These guidelines allow us as teachers to know the correct and appropriate way to use these sites in order to present ourselves as professionals and also to stay safe whilst online.

How are the challenges/opportunities afforded by social media framed? How will you frame things – positive of deficit viewpoint?

I most definitely have a very positive view point of technology and social media. Because of this, I will frame social media in a positive way when I am a teacher. I personally think that people feel that children are growing without a proper childhood and are using technology and social media instead of playing outside like we used to. However, with this ever changing society, we have to come to the conclusion that this route that our culture is taking and we should embrace this positively. I feel that we should use social media as a great advantage to help with education and embracing the children that we teach.

 

The Virtues of Teaching

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Teachers need to have the ability to display a variety of different virtues and ethics all the time within their professional career.

I have chosen to focus on five main traits, which I have went into more detail about below. However, I am not saying that these are any more important than other traits. It all primarily depends on the individual circumstances at the time and how you as a teacher feel would be the best way to handle that situation.

Patience;

Patience, I feel is one of the most desirable traits for any individual however, for teachers I feel it is essential. This trait is most definitely vital while working in a classroom setting. As a patient teacher, I feel you should have the ability to adapt and try new learning styles and approaches when children aren’t responding or grasping certain things you are teaching. Not every child will be able to understand and learn the same way which then results in you as a teacher being able to remain patient and calm whilst finding another method that the child or children can understand.

Patience is also very important when it comes to a child’s behaviour. I feel as soon as you lose your patience with a child due to their behaviour then you have lost control of the classroom and everything you have learnt in how to teach. I fully believe that every type of behaviour displayed by every child can be chipped away down to the root cause of why this child is behaving in the way. However, to find the root cause requires patience on the teacher’s behalf. Without patience, you may find that you just write the particular child off as a ‘trouble maker’ when in reality there is a deeper cause and meaning for the behaviour being displayed.

Respect;

I feel that, respect is one the most important traits for a teacher to possess. Without respect present within the classroom both towards the teacher and the children then it is not an environment in which anyone is going to benefit from learning. If a teacher is respected by his or her class, it will create a learning environment where everyone feels comfortable to be and to learn in.

To gain respect, one must show respect; I feel that this is very important within the classroom and that some teachers need to realise that children should not just respect you because you are the teacher, the children should respect you because you respect them. Respect is a two way relationship and I feel that if it is met by both parties then everyone will benefit.

Empathy;

In order to be the best teacher you can, you have to have the ability to display empathy towards your students when necessary. By being able to do this, you will be able to make an almighty difference in the learning of the pupils’. By being able to bring yourself down to a child’s level and fully show that you understand and empathise with what the child is going through, that child can then see that you are a trustworthy and important character in their life, that they will feel comfortable to approach. Without empathy within the classroom, pupils may not feel safe or happy. There may be a lack of confidence in the teacher from the children and they also may feel that they cannot trust them.

The key to being empathetic is to be realistic and realise that every individual is different, with completely different circumstances both within school and outside. To be able to empathise with the different circumstances that you may be approached with you have to be able to be aware of what is going on around you and also to be an approachable figure to every one of your pupils’.

Fairness;

Preconceptions and expectations should be left at the door when you as a teacher enter your classroom. Fairness within the classroom is essential for every child to be able to learn within the classroom at the best of their abilities. Without fairness, teachers may dwell on matters such as: class, gender, race, family etc. which could result in you as a teacher not being able to look at that pupil and see their actual qualities, abilities and potential.

Teachers should also not show or have any favouritism towards pupils within their classroom. Every child should be encouraged and taught to the best of their abilities to achieve their potentials.

It should only be fair that within a classroom, the teacher should make sure that every child has the same opportunities to progress and blossom throughout their education to then reach the best of their abilities later on in the future.

Compassion;

As a teacher, you have to have the ability to be compassionate. The reasoning for this is due to the vast variety of different children from different backgrounds that you will be working with. I believe that due to this, compassion is very appropriate to show the pupils that not only are you human but that you are a means of support and an approachable individual in that child’s life for when they may need it.

Moving on from traditional teaching…

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I remember first watching this animation in my fourth year of high school and not appreciating what it was Sir Ken Robinson was trying to put across.

Four years on, with all the new experiences and knowledge that I have gained within that time, I understand now what it is that the talk represents and I also now appreciate it to a very high level.

We live in a society that is forever changing. We have to adapt to new things on a daily basis regardless of what age or ethnicity we are. So therefore, why do we not do this in schools? We need to change the way the children are expected to think and as Sir Ken Robinson says; we have to encourage divergent thinking and encourage children to learn and think for themselves in this is ever changing society.

However, this cannot be done if we, as teachers, stick to the normality and traditional methods of teaching that we have been accustomed to since the education system came to light. Sir Ken Robinson states; “they are trying to meet the future by doing what they did in the past”, this quote reiterates the fact that our education system has mainly remained unchanged since schooling became freely and readily available however, we as a society have changed drastically and our education system has not kept up with the change.

Due to this, I feel that this is the reason that Sir Ken Robinson divides children going through the education system into two separate categories; ‘academic’ and ‘non-academic’. I feel that if we were to turn away from our traditional approaches to teaching then we may just be able to abolish these categories and allow all of the children in the education system to get the best they can out of it and have less children deemed, failed by the system.

Gender Roles…

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From the very beginning of my educational memories; the girls ran towards the doll’s house to take care of little Alice who needed her bottle and the boys ran to see who could make their red Lamborghini do the most flips off of the sink… it was the norm.

At the time, I seen no segregation between sexes through education, and honestly, until now I have never actually sat down and thought about it. Looking back; I don’t particularly think that being a female hindered my education in any way or form. This is probably because I never experienced any negative issues whilst at school surrounding my gender. However, I do think that males and females will have very different accounts of what they gained from education by what sex they are.

I have no account whilst being at school of any of my peers, either male or female, being treated any differently. All the teachers within my school treated everyone fairly and encouraged everyone to gain the most they could out of their education in every aspect.

I do not feel that the gender of a child should have an impact on how that child is perceived. As I was treated with respect and as an equal throughout my years at school, I endeavour to do the same for the children that I will one day teach. I plan to make each individual child feel respected and treated fairly throughout their years at school and encourage that child to do the best they can based on their abilities and not their gender.

Why teaching?

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Since I can remember, I have always loved and took pride in helping others with things they did not understand or needed that little bit of extra support with. I have always took a role in life where I would go out my way to help anyone who needed it, without any qualms. I feel from having this attitude and adapting it to everyday life it has led me down the road to the profession I want to pursue today, teaching.

Leaving high school, I knew that I wanted to work in a classroom teaching children however, I wanted the experience before throwing myself into university to make sure the passion I felt was real. I applied myself to college and gained an educational support assistants qualification and also a HNC in Early Education and Childcare. From these courses and the extensive placements I was on I knew that I was on the right path and that teaching is most definitely the career choice for me. These courses not only showed me how passionate I am about working with and supporting children through their younger years but it also opened my eyes to just how much the children I worked with supported and taught me.

Through my time at school, both from the learning side and the teaching side, I have met teachers whom I have loved and teachers whom I have not quite seen eye to eye with. Every teacher has a different teaching method, I completely understand that. Some teachers are completely brilliant and are able to adapt different teaching methods for different children within the class. However; some teachers that I have come across don’t have the compassion and the patience when working with children, whether it be primary or high school children, and I feel that this is not fair on the children in the class.

Due to personal experience working with teachers that have these attitudes I have always sworn to myself that I will be the best teacher that I can. I will be adaptable when it comes to learning techniques. I will be compassionate when it is required. I will be trustworthy and approachable so the children feel like they can have trust within me. I want to be the teacher that children love coming into school to see, not the one they dread. I want to be able to get the best out of the children I teach and watch them blossom into their own individual characters throughout their years at school.