Category Archives: 3.4 Prof. Reflection & Commitment

Teachers and Showing Professionalism in Teaching

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What makes a teacher who makes a difference?

A teacher who makes a difference needs to be caring and empathetic. They need to have the ability to sympathise with different children’s situations and relate to them. Whilst it is their job to teach the children, I feel they also have a responsibility to connect with the children and makes sure they are okay.

You have to be devoted and always have time to speak to your pupils. You cannot turn them away if they are upset, as it may prevent them from coming to you in future.

To make a difference they should be incorporating team work. If they cannot work well collaborating with parents, co-workers and other professionals they would gain the support they need.Teachers also need to love what they do. If they are passionate and dedicated, this will shine through and in turn motivate students. By going the extra mile they are showing this dedication.

It is important teachers do not stop learning after they graduate. The education system is constantly changing and growing and if a teacher does not have a broad mind to develop with it they will not succeed in their role. Continuing Professional Development (CPD) is a fantastic way of continuing to learn and developing as a teacher.

I feel the most important aspect is to love what you do and aim to be exceptional. To excel as a teacher and ensure your pupils excel.

Professionalism?

The video “Professionalism (teachers say) on youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ychgs3rrdA discusses different views on the professionalism of teachers.

Miss Catherine Long states there is more of a focus on the professionalism of teachers and how they are represented in society. She also highlights the fact there is more of a demand on benchmarking how well students are doing. I definitely agree with this. Parents are becoming more and more knowledgeable about what goes on within the classroom and the role of the teacher is therefore much more well known. Parents are also becoming more demanding in terms of pushing their children to be the best. I think by benchmarking how well children are doing, we are highlighting the attainment gap.

Mrs Nursen Chemmi states that teachers are role models. By both acting and speaking professionally we are setting a good example, which will hopefully “rub off” on children. I think this is a great way to look on our role as a teacher. We are setting an example to our pupils, and if we want them to excel in the world we should be going out of out way to set an excellent example.

Mrs Colleen Walsh speaks of how much times have changed in her 30 years teaching at St Michaels Catholic School. She believes she should also be a good role model to the pupils, in the way she acts and speaks. This is exactly how Mrs Nursen Chemmi felt, and as I agree to it is evident this is a very important factor in being professional. Mrs Walsh also states that it is important we do not judge children because of the homes they come from. From coming from a school with a catchment of a deprived area myself, I understand how important this is. Within a classroom there can be children from a number of different walks of life, and by treating them equally you are giving them all an equal chance at learning.

Words Associated With Being a Professional

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it is very important to be professional, especially in a career such as teaching. How you act reflects back on you, and you want this reflection to be positive, to be professional – you do not want it to be negative in any respects.

There are many things associated with being professional. Here are some examples of some words and phrases I associate with the term.

  • Experienced
  • Trustworthy
  • Accomplished
  • Trained
  • Educated
  • Skilled
  • Literate
  • Communication
  • Leadership
  • Collaborative
  • Polite
  • Presentable
  • Sympathetic
  • A good Listener

Reflection

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Reflection is a very important aspect of learning. If you cannot reflect, you cannot identify where you have went wrong in order to improve it.

At first I just assumed reflection was about thinking back and seeing how far you have come, but from reading further into it I have realised it is way more complex than that.

To reflect is to have the ability to stand back and look at something from a number of different imagesperspectives. It is the act of thinking about something and analysing those thoughts. When reflecting, it is important to make sure you do so from many perspectives, as doing so from only one may limit understanding.

Reflection is important in order to highlight your weaknesses. By doing this, you then understand exactly what went wrong and you can then improve from there. This is evident within Gibbs Model of Reflection (1988). This model is very useful, with six parts all explaining how to break down your reflection and use it to critically analyse a situation. These points included in the model are:

  • What happened?
  • How did you feel?
  • What went well and what did not?
  • What sense did you make of the situation?
  • What else could have been done?
  • If the situation happened again, what would you do? Would you do anything differently?

I think this model is very useful in reflecting on situations as it highlights everything needed to do so. In future I will certainly refer to this model.

reflect_cartoonReflection is very relevant to teaching. Teachers must be able to look at what they do in their classrooms and question why they are doing it and if it is having a positive impact. It is important for teachers to reflect and realise why lessons went well and why exactly that was. Similarly, it is important to reflect on situations that did not go so well, to make sense of the situation and come to a conclusion on what else could have been done to either prevent or resolve the situation. Then, they will know what they would do differently if a similar situation was to arise.

Reflection can be useful in many different situations. In dancing, it can be hard when you do not place as well as you have done in the past in competitions. Reflection is very beneficial in situations like these. It allows you to reflect on the positives, that you are capable of doing well, as well as the negatives – not everyone can be perfect all of the time. I believe it is very important to always be conscious that things do go wrong and there is always something to improve on. By reflecting, we can identify what has changed (for better and for worse) so we can do something about it. Reflection helps us learn from our experiences. And experience is a very successful way of learning.