Category Archives: 3. Prof. Skills & Abilities

What standards we should be attaining as student teachers?

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smartboardThe General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) has their own standards for registration. These are split into two parts, The Standards for Provisional Registration (SPR), and The Standard for Full Registration (SFR). These are a series of standards put in place to make clear how teachers should act, and the values they should possess as a professional. For those of us looking forward to when we apply for Provisional Registration, it is good to use as guidance and support.

The SPR lays down what is expected of us as student teachers, and we should use it to shape ourselves into the teachers of the future. It is stated that once you have gained the SPR, and then the SFR, you should continue to develop yourself as a person. These standards are set down to set us up for a “Career of lifelong learning”.

The professional standards we are seeking to attain are vital in shaping us into the best teachers we can be.

It is interesting that the code is essentially the criteria we need to meet to ensure we are fit to A GOOD TEACHERteach. I find it very beneficial that the document States the Professional Values and Personal Commitment that I should have as a teacher. These include:

  • Social Justice
  • Integrity
  • Trust and Respect
  • Professional Commitment

I like how it goes into great depth about which areas we should be knowledgeable about, such as the curriculum, teaching programmes and assessments. It is very helpful that it has a breakdown of the things within education policy (such as laws and legislations), as well as the education system we should be aware of as students.

The standards do however state that we should have high expectations of all learners (3.1.4). Whereas I do feel our expectations should be relatively high, is it not unrealistic to have high expectations of everyone? Not everyone has the same abilities, and expectations should be specific to each individual learner.

Within a separate document, The Student Teacher Code, there are different rules laid down. I didn’t realise that after we gain the SFR, as well as having our PVG’s and by that time tonnes of experience in the classroom, the GTC STILL assess our fitness to teach. I do however understand the seriousness of a criminal conviction, and agree with GTC’s need to investigate any allegations.

downloadI found the “Key Principles of the Student Teacher Code” Very helpful. They state that as a student we should be good role models, make our pupils our main focus, and be respectful of others along with a few others.

When we are working with pupils we should show good moral values. Part 1 of the code is about how we work with pupils. It contains points about us having to keep sensitive information confidential, and that we should be a role model in EVERYTHING we do and say. I like the way they have written this into an easy to read document.

Part 2 is about how us as a student teacher works with others. As I took the Working Together module for my elective, it is nice to see the=is document including the importance of working cooperatively with those in other professions. I also think it is fair that it states you should not comment on other teachers or professionals within the educational community. I can only imagine the damage this could cause and I would not wish it on anyone.integrity_definition

Part 3 is mainly about how we should be honest and show integrity as a student teacher. Whilst
reading this part of the comment, it is very evident that a lot of these points. No matter what profession I could have chosen to go into I would never engage in criminal behaviour. I also find it very upsetting that some serious offences must have taken place in the past for some of these points to be added to this document. The point on social networking stands out a lot. I agree as professionals we should definitely be careful of how we portray ourselves on social media. We do not want our reputation ruined. 

Overall, the whole Student-Teacher Code is beneficial in highlighting how we should and should not act as professionals. The importance of equality and diversity are extremely important, especially when considering the Equality Act (2010). I can see how this code coincides with the standards for provisional education, which are both very useful documents.

How do we even teach a child how to read and write?!

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learn-to-write-crawlerIn my previous blog posts, I spoke of language acquisition and the importance of things such as grammar. What is important when teaching a child how to read and write? Well, the most influential factor is their phonological awareness. Phonological awareness is the ability to understand the different rules around the sounds of a language. It also involves having knowledge of the way in which sounds are connected, and how this is represented when put down in writing.

phonics-abc-jumpIt has been stated that children who are more phonologically aware between the ages of 3 and 5 will be better at reading and writing later in life(Adams, Trieman, & Pressley, 1998). By teaching small children phonological awareness before they start school, their reading skills will be at a higher level that that of their peers who have no phonological awareness.

Children do not have to learn about phonological awareness in early childhood, they can learn in the nursery and the early years. Children will also be more confident if phonologically aware, and may often use invented spelling when attempting to write and spell new words. Although this spelling will be wrong, it is found that they will become better at spelling, reading and writing than their peers later in life. The best way to encourage them to engage in phonics is through fun activities involving “play” styled learning.skitched-14-6-1-1

Once children begin the basic reading process they begin to learn about the different parts of words (e.g. prefixes and suffixes). This will help them become more efficient in their reading.

The strategies used to teach reading can also be incorporated into helping children learn how to write. For example, when writing there are sound-symbol connections which are also important when learning to spell, but also how to read. 

Phonics-lesson-008No matter what teachers do, there is always some children that fall behind their peers in literacy. There are connections between poor readers and sound-letter combinations (Agnew, Dorn, & Eden, 2004; Gonzalez & Valle, 2000; Mayringer & Wimmer, 2000). It is also found that children with reading difficulties benefit largely from specific phonic lessons. Teachers need to reflect on the effectiveness of their approach and change it if necessary to fit the individual needs of the students.

Theories of Language Development

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The earliest theories of language were initially based on the “nonsense” idea that imitation is
how children learn a language. It does play a part, but only a small one. Toddlers who copy the way adults speak are the ones who show the most rapid vocabulary development, but only in Girl-Imitating-Adultthe first 1/2 years of the language explosion. It doesn’t account for all language acquisition, therefore we cannot say that this is the way children learn. It also doesn’t add up, as it cannot possibly account for a child’s ability to create new words and expressions which they have never heard before.

Skinner’s (1957) reinforcement there argues that parents play a bigger role than just imitation. They are vital in the process of shaping language, gradually improving a child’s speech. However, researchers have found that when parents speak to children, there is no evidence of this shaping, making this a very controversial theory. In contrast to this, (Brown & Hanlon, 1970; Hirsh-Pasek, Trieman, & Schneiderman, 1984), found that parents actually construct children vocabulary in a range of different ways. The most common, when they correct them on the basis of whether they are correct or not.

Developmentalists can tell which children have parents who talk and read to them often, as they use a wider range of vocabulary in their speech. They also tend to begin talking sooner, and developing larger vocabularies quicker. This makes it evident that a child who hears a larger quantity of language is more likely to benefit in this way. Children who don’t hear such a large quantity of language in their early years don’t even appear to catch up in their later years.It has also been found by the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, that poor mothers talk and read to their children less and also use much poorer vocabulary and complex sentences. Catherine Snow (1997) found that children at four years of age brought up in poverty, use shorter/less complex sentences than their better-off peers. Obviously there are other contributing factors, but the variety of language a child hears is fundamental in their language development.

Newborn_talk-600x420Motherese, is the simple language adults use to talk to children. It is now referred to as infant-directed speech. This is done so in a higher-pitched voice and also at a much slower pace. It is believed that babies can tell the difference between people speaking in infant-directed speech and normal speech as early as a few days old. Developmentalists have also found that they prefer to be spoken to in motherese. They like the higher pitch as it catches their attention. 

There are a few issues with the theory of language acquisition. Children who hear their own sentence repeated back to them grammatically correct will learn correct grammar sooner, but recastings are actually really rare (and children still acquire complex grammar eventually. Also, mothers do appear in a range of countries and cultures, it is not evident in all. (Better, 1988) also found that motherese is not used very much by mothers suffering from depression. These children still learn the language and grammar, proving that whilst infant-directed speech does play an important role, it is not always necessary.

Nativist Theorists argue that all a child needs to learn language is already within them. Early theorists such as Noam Chomsky were interested in the size of the task of acquiring language, and the similarities in the stages of language development across every language. Another influential nativist is Dan Slobin. He stated that every child is born already having a basic language-making capacity. 

The Nativist Theory is discussed very well in this YouTube video:

Constructivist Theorists state that built-in perceptual skills are very important in acquiring language. These build skills guide her attention to specific features of language which she then processes and modifies as and when she receives new information. By doing this, the child develops their own set of rules for both understanding and creating language.

The Eclectic Approach is where theorists draw on all the views of language acquisition, to gain a greater understanding on the environments influences. It is especially important to use both the nativist and cognitive theories. This is as the nativists claim that the ability to process to language is already processed in a child’s brain. This claim is best understood when looked at from a constructivist view of language development. 

All these theories are interesting and many have similar ideas, but it is interesting to see the different ideas from different psychologists.

Word Learning

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What are the trends in word learning over the first two years?

Children initially learn words in stages, the first being the pre-linguistic stage. Each singular language, such as English or Italian, has various different dimensions. These are things such as the different uses of language, such as to communicate, the sound patterns each individual language uses and the rules that govern these patterns. These are all known as phonology. Semantics are they ways in which language represents meaning. The rules used to combine words in a language, is the syntax. These terms are all commonly used when describing the development from the early preverbal stage to the stage of linguistic fluency.

This is apparent through observing chimpanzees (Savage-Rumbaugh et al., 1993). They learn to nim-sign_1964009c (1)
communicate through sign language and the process of pointing to sequences of symbols. they can do this, and are good at it, but it takes a great deal of effort to teach them to use other expressive forms of language such as symbols signs and sounds that communicate meaning. Any parent will tell you that once you teach a child how to speak, you will never be able to get them to be quiet ever again! This is due to the fact that the process of language development begins months before a baby even utters her/his first word. This period of time within these few months is the prelinguistic phase.

By the time a child reaches around 12 months, they will typically have started using their first word (Fenson et al,. 1994). Within the next six months, children will increase their vocabulary to around 30 words. Early word learning is very slow and requires a lot of repetitions. Ronald Schollon (1976) studied a little girl named Brenda, and found she used a singular specific word for more than one thing. One example of this being the word “nene” for milk, juice AND her bottle.

The Naming Explosion is another trend that happens between 16-24 months of age which children begin to add new words rapidly. Elizabeth Bates and her colleagues found that a rapid vocabulary growth is not restricted to the language of English, it is the same in other languages. After repeating words a few times, it is easier for children to connect them to different situations. However, other cross-linguist researchers suggest that English speaking parents emphasise nouns more than verbs when reading and speaking to children, compared to Korean-speaking parents who do not. This suggests the noun-before-verb  learning pattern may be influenced by different language characteristics as well as the behaviour of the speaker.

Later word learning happens during the pre-school years when children begin adding words at much higher speeds, with a rise of up to 10 words a day (Pinker, 1994). Researchers believe this “speeding up” of the vocabulary learning process is due to a shift in the way children approach words that are new to them. 

Once a wide vocabulary is developed, children begin to categorise words. Psychologists use the term fast-mapping to refer to this ability. Children begin to categorise after paying attention to words in whole groups.This can be things such as names of different fruit. By identifying what category a word belong to, the child can envisage “mental slots” for these words.Children initially categories things such as animals. However, they can become confused. An example of this may be a child seeing a cat and saying “see kitty”. We are initially unsure on what the child actually means. Is this kitty a kitty, or does she see it as any other furry animal like a dog? She may even use the word to only describe her OWN cat.

This is when under-extension and over-extension become apparent in speech. Under-extension is when a word is used for one specific object in a singular context. This suggests children believe words can only belong to one thing and is mostly common in the early stages of vocabulary development (before naming explosion). Over-extension is when children grasp the idea of categorising words. However, in this case, they do it inappropriately, such as using the word kitty in relation to all animals. (e.g. using a single word for multiple, unrelated categories).

magnetic-wordsThe development of grammar and pragmatics is important when stringing together words into sentences. In the fist instance, putting two words together, then three – and so on. Children firstly begin stringing together two words around the age of 18-24 months. This is not random, it happens when they develop a vocabulary of around 100-200 words (Fenson et al., 1994). 

The holophrase stage is when a toddler begins to combine a single word with a gesture, with a result of creating a “two-word meaning”. This happens before they even use two spoken words together in speech. An example of this is when a child says “cookie” and holds out their hand – indicating they would like one given to them. 

The Grammar Explosion stage is when sentences become longer. The vocabulary development is fundamental to this, as children who have a more complex understanding of grammar will develop complex vocabulary much easier. As they now understand how to construct sentences at this age, they will, therefore be able to understand new words better and be able to integrate them into their language much easier. During this stage, their speech becomes “telegraphic”, which according to linguists and psychologists is when two-word speech becomes evident in speech. Within the following few months, plurals, past tenses and auxiliary verbs are added into a child’s speech.

The Inflection stage is when the form of a word is changed, usually the end of it. Children begin adding inflections into predictable sequences. Roger Brown (1973) found that in the process of children learning English, inflection is most noticeable hone children add “ing” to the end of words. Once they get the hang of this, they begin doing it in order.children-language-development-milestones

Children develop a full understanding of the development of language once they begin to
understand social skills. It is important, from birth, that a child can communicate their feelings through facial expressions and gestures. These are simplistic forms of communication but are important in the sense that the baby has not learnt any words yet. This process of word learning is a coherent process of integrated stages, without which, we would not understand where a child is in their development of word learning.

I found by completing the reading and this associated tutor-directed task from Patricia Thomsons’s lecture to be very beneficial in reinforcing what she spoke about. It has helped me become more knowledgeable on the range of different theorists and the vast amount of other reading out there that is avaible to us as students to enhance our knowledge. It also helped me make the connections between thought and language, and the ways in which language is developed.

Feedback

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The term “feedback” means helpful information which is used in ways to either praise or criticize your work. It is important in order to motivate you to continue, and in some instances, try harder. It is also useful is instances of criticism to get someone else’s view (through constructive criticism), to help you identify which areas to improve and how to do so.

fbThe feedback I received was very positive and I took it to be a positive experience. It gave me confidence that what I am doing is right, and that others can relate to it and agree with my thoughts. It was carefully constructed and I could tell the person had taken their time to read my post and really think about it, which is great to think. I agree fully with the feedback I was given, I took my time to ensure I covered all areas of the success criteria, so they fact they picked up on this is very beneficial to my confidence. However so far at this moment in time I have not been picked up on any areas for improvement. I am sure there are many, and I can understand it is not a nice experience to criticise your peers and therefore very easy to accidently avoid doing so…

Initially I felt great giving peer feedback as I know it is a great confidence boost to hear positive things about your work. As I went on though, I began to realise that where my feedback will be making people feel good, it isn’t highlighting to them any areas for them to improve. i then began delving deeper into people’s posts to try and word things in the nicest way possible which made the situation much easier. Most people however had such fantastic posts I was literally sitting with what I would compare to writer’s block!

From carrying out this task I have learned that whilst it is important to highlight where people are going well, it is of equal importance to give constructive criticism. I have also learned it is very hard to tell your peers of the criticisms you have picked up on. This will be applicable further into my studies when I begin working closer with my peers. When it comes to reading over their work, I will definitely consider what I have learned from this when giving them pointers!

This is also relevant to the classroom. Children do not want to be bombarded with corrections s s was it is likely to defeat them and cause them to lose all hope with their learning. As a pupil at primary, my teachers always used “two stars and a wish” on my word. This is an effective strategy of peer feedback which ensures both praise is given and constructive criticism. There are also other methods similar to this that I was unaware of. One which struck me to be very interesting is “plus, minus, and what is next?”, involving a praise, a criticism, and a pointer of what to do to improve further. There are so many strategies for feedback it is amazing the amount of different ways you can give it.

Overall I find feedback a seriously effective strategy. I feel it is important to give praise in order to motivate pupils, but it is also important to give constructive criticism. Without giving someone a pointer of how to improve, what is the point of the initial feedback in the first place? (Obviously apart from the obvious motivational purposes.) Everyone wants to know how to improve in one way or another.

A little more insight into feedback in the classroom…

Other Professionals: 24 Hours in Police Custody

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For the Developing Professional Skills and Abilities unit on Blackboard, I chose to watch 24 BAJNHours in Police Custody. The serious nature of the issues within this programme really highlighted the professionalism required of the police involved.

In relation to the first part of this unit, I found a lot of the words I had associated with professionalism were evident within this police force. In the first instances, the police officers had to be well informed. Before arriving at the house, they had the responsibility to gather information on why they were going to arrest this person, and gather factual background information to give him reasons for his arrest. It is also important they are skilful in their specific job. For example when they are tracking IP address on this programme to find out who has been accessing the child pornography.

The police’s skills were most noticeable when initially interviewing those in custody. It is very clear that they have to use their patience in order to get answers from suspects. Not everyone is willing to tell the truth right away. They also have to be very knowledgeable on different behaviours. It may be clear from the way a person is acting whether they are telling the truth or not. For example, lying can be noticed when people cannot hold eye contact, or use little to none hand gestures when talking.

The police however did not act professional when the man in question takes a break and leaves the interview room with his lawyer. They express their annoyance to the man who is only replying with “no comment”, by slouching right back in their seats and both throwing their arms over their heads – in such way to express defeat. The woman then jokes with the male interviewer about how he is not wearing a t-shirt under his jumper. This is very unprofessional as the interview recording is still rolling, not to mention the fact they could have used these few minutes in a more effective way – such as discussing any suspicious behaviour or their own thoughts on the situation. 

Their professional behaviour had a positive effect on the safety of his child. When he is first released, they put into action certain plans; including that he cannot return to stay at his own home, and he is not allowed to see his child unsupervised. By using their professional behaviour to consider the safety of others, they have essentially prevented any further issues that may have arisen.

Their professional behaviour had an initial negative effect on the suspect. By using their developed abilities they were able to find out the sick things he was looking up within his own home. The man, a DOCTOR, would never have expected to have been caught, and as the voiceover on this video says; “someone’s world is about to be turned upside down”. This is only however negative to the suspect as it is not what he wanted – to be caught. But it IS very positive for everyone else; for those around him, and the wider community – especially his patients.

DRRES]The dress code of our police force is very important. It is an easily recognisable way of identifying the power of those who wear it, which can be helpful if you need help quick in a busy place and do not know who to turn to. It is also stated within the law that a police officer must be in uniform to use certain powers; however they do not have to wear a hat to warrant an arrest which I have always been brought to believe. I think what they wear is important but they should wear what is relevant to the situation they are in. When undercover and trying to obtain information, it is important they are not recognisable as it has been found the well known uniforms cause people to act indifferently. However, when at an event policing it and ensuring it is safe it is extremely important they are identifiable so people know who to go to in order to seek help.

If I was asked to develop a degree to train police, I would use the following training methods:

  • Lectures. – I would ensure all prospective police officers attend lectures, similar to us as primary teachers, to learn how to act as professionals as well
    as developing their professional views.
  • Background reading. – I would incorporate a list into the programme of essential reading for these officers to read. It would be relevant to their career, helping develop their understanding of what is expected of them as well as making them more well-informed of their role.
  • Work-based training. – I would send these officers on “work-based training” as part of the degree I’d develop. During this training they would take on the role of the specials – where they shadow fully qualified police officers but do not yet have the same levels of responsibility. 

From this activity I have learned that professionalism can be seen in way more aspects of a person’s career (such as the police) than initially thought. In order to be an effective professional, we should develop knowledge on how we should act in all areas of our career, such as when we are not at work but still identifiable – continuing to live up to our professional expectations in our behaviours, attitudes and actions.

I will apply this to my own learning and development by ensuring I live up to my professional expectations ALL of the time. I will continue to participate in further reading in order to widen my knowledge and understandings of teaching. By doing so, I will become a positive role model to those around me, hopefully influencing others to take their professionalism just as seriously.

Practitioner Enquiry

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Practitioner enquiry an important support system for teachers to get them more engaged in supportive research that will aid both their pupils and themselves.

This wheel taken from the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS)’s website was very useful in coming to terms with what practitioner enquiry actually is.

http://www.gtcs.org.uk/professional-update/practitioner-enquiry/what-is-practitioner-enquiry.aspx

http://www.gtcs.org.uk/professional-update/practitioner-enquiry/what-is-practitioner-enquiry.aspx

Practitioner enquiry involves engaging with teaching from a different approach. It is an investigative approach where practitioners (teachers) have a professional responsibility to further their own personal knowledge through their own research. They can then reflect on what they have found and share it with other professionals. It does not just involve a little bit of research though, it involves having the ability to question findings, strengthening the teachers understanding of professional practice.

There are some main areas of focus within practitioner enquiry. These involve clarifying the teacher’s aims, in order to challenge them for discussion. It is important it becomes a daily occurrence for professionals to aid them with their work and own professional development. It should also be used at all levels within education, not just by classroom teachers.

However, what actually is an enquiring practitioner? An enquiring practitioner is someone who has profound knowledge and understanding of their profession whilst still obtaining the ability to critique it. They should then ensure they use their voice to share it with like-minded professionals. They should be clear on the impact of their findings and be able to evidence it, investigating further any points of interest. 

Reflective teachers are important as they have the ability to consider what has happened in their lesson, both what went good and what did not, so they can then come up with solutions to improve their lessons in the future. This allows these lessons to be more concrete with the teacher having clear ideas of what she wants to achieve from them, essentially shaping them to be more effective. These reflective practitioners are the most valuable practitioners, as they can use their reflection to aid them in their profession.

With being an enquiring practitioner, comes the fact we need to work in collaboration with others. By sharing ideas and experiences with those from other areas, we are gaining a wider understanding of those topic areas. This is extremely beneficial to us as teachers to see things from a different perspective. It is also useful as it allows us to gain an insight to where we can gain new sources and what is currently of interest in the education sector.

There are some challenges with practitioner enquiry. Teachers already have a lot of responsibility and it is sometimes hard to constantly do extra work on top of everything. There are also those occasions where those we are collaborating with are not forthcoming and do not appear to be interested. This is very detrimental to a person’s motivation when someone they are working with appears to be disinterested.

As student teachers, we have agreed to be “lifelong” learners. Practitioner enquiry is a great beneficial way of doing so. It means we can develop professional opinions whilst constantly questioning them to ensure we have the best quality of knowledge. As a student teacher I can use this to gain new insights into the latest educational theories. This will then allow me to use them in the near future and within my studies. It will encourage me to keep up to date with our constantly changing education system, and remind me of the importance to continue developing my further knowledge of education.

The Physical Child

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As teachers, we naturally focus on a child’s cognitive development due to many people’s expectations of our role. This means we tend to hone in on the development of their information processing, learning of language and aspects of brain development.

However, with a class full of developing children, there is more than one way to ensure healthy development. It has been found in countries such as Sweden who do not introduce formal education until around the age of 7 that educational achievement standards are considerably high compared to the UK, who, apart from Northern Ireland, have one of the youngest ages in which compulsory education begins. There are thought to many reasons for this and many people believe it is due to a lack of social skills formed at an early age through things such as family interaction.

In their first seven years, children are experiencing the most rapid period of growth in their life. Physical development is important in its own right, but it is also extremely important children develop things such as body awareness, coordination and control. This growth ensures that new behaviours will be possible, and essentially determines the future experiences of the child.

Throughout their lives, children are compared to national norms. As teachers, we need to be aware of what stages children should be at in certain periods of their life. This can be things such as knowing language should start becoming more fluent at age 4, and between the ages of 6 and 8 fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination should increase. We also have to be aware that not all children are the same, and some will develop much faster than others. 

There are many debates out there about the pace of development of children. The Maturational Viewpoint Debate argues that a success in a new behavioural task at a certain age is linked to the maturation of a new region within the brain. The Experiential hypothesis agrees with “A Theory of Experience” by Dewey (1938); whom agrees that practice is fundamental and there is very little need for any theory. The Dynamic Systems theory emphasises the boundaries that we believe to be fixed within development, but are actually just poorly defined.

Our role as teachers is to encourage development, not only within the classroom. Being passionate about sport and physical education, I believe physical education to be of extreme importance. If a child does not get the chance to experience something such as hand-eye coordination when they are younger, they will struggle when it comes to raquet games later in their life. By experiencing this at a young age, they are more likely to be successful in these areas when they are older.

Young children’s develop is cephalocaudal, meaning they learn to use their upper limbs before their lower limbs. This is noticeable as babies are fans of grasping onto things tightly, such as fingers! After this, they begin to develop movement in their lower extremities, such as learning to coordinate crawling. Locomotor skills are the basic ways in which we move. Not all children are physically ready when starting primary school, some start not having developed their locomotor skills as well as their peers, which is important to consider especially when teaching early years. I believe as teachers we have a duty to try and improve this, through basic physical education, to involve them in activities that will encourage the development of both their fine and gross motor skills. We, as adults, have an important role to help these children become aware of their body and the way it works. 

I believe it is important teachers are aware of the normal course of physical development, ensuring their class are not lacking in this essential part of development. This specific area influences other aspects of children’s development affecting it in a positive way, so the emphasis on it is obviously important. Therefore, we should not only focus on a child’s cognitive development which expected and also important, but we should also consider the development of “the whole child”, not just one or two areas.

The Orphans Hidden in the Iron Curtain era

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I’ve always been aware that some children do not have such a fortunate upbringing. However, there is nothing I could have done to prepare myself for the shock of the Romanian Orphans upbringings.

Following Will Berry’s input on the physical child, in particular brain development, I decided to follow up his mention of Romanian orphans and read further into the topic.

To my shock, the first thing I came across was pages and pages of articles, all about the deprivation of these orphans. Many being documented articles on individual cases. It is seriously heartbreaking reading what these children went through. They were placed in state-run orphanages, many receiving only minutes of one to one care each day. Growing up in a small empty room, many being restrained to their beds. Understandably, this caused a lot of problems for these children. Most suffered deformities due to a lack of exercise. With a lack of social stimulation, they did not get the opportunity to develop properly. Some as old as teenagers could be mistaken for eight year olds, due to the fact social and emotional deprivation stunts growth. Many children lacked the ability to even walk properly due to being restrained in a crib staring at a blank ceiling for years. It is so clear to see the lack of development through the blank looks in the poor children eyes in the countless photographs online. Many children suffering from various disorders such as anxiety, depression and reactive attachment disorder, the most common being post-traumatic stress. It really says it all.

This issue within Romanian Orphanages prevailed after Nicolae Ceausescu, a Communist Dictator become President. He was worried about the ageing population, and decided to conquer this by banning contraception and abortions. He even passed a law stating women HAD to have five children, infertility was just not tolerated. Unfortunately, many parents could not afford to bring up all these children and had no choice other than to hand them over to the state. This put pressures on the orphanages which simply could not cope with the amount of orphans. It also caused a serious financial struggle, and due to a lack of equipment needles were shared and many blood supplies were contaminated. Due to this, there are still Romanian children today infected with H.I.V and AIDS, still forced to live without important medicines. It was not until Ceausescu was overthrown in 1989 that this disaster was revealed to the rest of the world.

Luckily due to this publicity, many Romanian orphans were then adopted. Rutter et al (2007) followed the lives of adopted Romanian orphans who were adopted by Western families, assessing their development. it is very interesting to find that even after years of neglect and no sensitive care, these children began to show signs of development, despite having attachment issues, especially with adults but also with peers. The findings also showed that children adopted before 6 months of age developed at the same rate as children adopted in Britain. This showed that once adopted, these children do have the opportunity to catch up, but unfortunately after 6 months of age the negative effects brought upon these children from the orphanages are more permanent. 

The effects of being placed in Romanian orphanages are unbearable to think about, but I feel it is important to be aware of what went on and consider the findings of these reports. A lot of these children have a very low IQ after being left to amuse themselves. This just highlights to me how important it is for a child to experience care and social stimulation, especially in their earliest years. It also brings up the issue that not everyone comes from the same walk of life. Some children come from neglectful backgrounds, and we have to be aware of this as teachers. All children deserve an equal chance in life, and especially in education.

Romanian Orphans

Image taken from: http://magazine.nd.edu/news/9873-traveling-mercies/

The Construction of the Professional

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Many different things reflect on the role a teacher plays in the classroom and their role as a professional. I believe these 5 terms in particular are important in doing this:

Integrity

The word itself means to be honest, and to have strong moral principles. Children are not born with integrity, they develop it as they grow up and learn how to behave. As children learn most of their behaviours they will need in later life such as honesty, respect and social responsibility in the classroom, it is important we show them integrity so they too can pick it up and learn how to be moral citizens.

Compassion

To be compassionate, is to show sympathy and concern for others. By showing compassion to our pupils, it shows we care. It shows we are paying attention to them and acknowledging them. By being compassionate we are passing this trait on to out pupils. It is important they too learn to be compassionate to succeed in later life.

Patience

Different children will learn at different paces, and it is important to realise some children will take a lot more time to grasp concepts than others. So whilst we will have to have patience with everyone, some pupils will require even more. It is important as a teacher to have this skill, as learning from someone who is impatient is frustrating as nothing will be broken down and explained slowly enough until understood.

Kindness

Kindness is important in teaching as it reflects on who you are as a person. Children do not want to learn from someone they are scared of. A kind teacher is approachable and their pupils are more likely engage in lessons and ask questions. Kindness is a characteristic of being friendly. Even though we are not in the classroom to be friends with our pupils, it is important they see us as a kind approachable adult they can trust to learn from.

Fairness

Fairness in the classroom is important to ensure all the pupils are treated equally. It would be unfair to only praise one person when everyone else has done that same thing well too. This would cause upset and even de-motivate some pupils. Everyone in this world wants to be treated equally, and by being fair in the classroom you are portraying to your pupils that equality is important and that you should not favour certain people.

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.

Basic Academic Skills

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Throughout school I have always felt comfortable with my academic skills. I always excelled more in English than Mathematics, which definitely helped me across the whole curriculum. I hope this will also continue to benefit me in my academic writing throughout university.

Prior to attempting the online learning units I felt very knowledgeable about my skills and knowledge. I have always been conscious about my punctuation, and whilst I do try to vary my punctuation I tend to steer clear of things I am comfortable with. By reading The Study Skills Book by McMillan, K. and Weyers, J. I feel I have refreshed my memory and the uses of different punctuations have all came flooding back into my brain! I also found the table of “Twenty basic spelling rules” very useful.

Another basic skill I found useful looking over was sentence structure. I briefly remember my English teacher going over this in Fifth Year, but I never actually understood it fully. It is so much more understandable breaking the sentences down into “simple”, “compound” and “complex” sentences and coming to grips what should be in each.

I hope by refreshing my memory my basic skills will be to a standard suitable for university level writing. I also hope it will make me more conscious of my writing style. 

How can we support one another during our study?

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I believe we can support one another by motivating each other to get things done, and done well. There is nothing worse than being unable to continue studying as you just feel you are getting nowhere. With motivation from your peers it makes it a whole lot easier.

We can support each other by reading over anything someone in unsure of and giving them the best advice we can offer. We can also help by giving them praise when we feel they have done something well, as it will really boost their confidence.

We can offer support when someone just cannot concentrate, by offering to study with them it will stop them from procrastinating. It will also allow you to bring different viewpoints to any discussions that may arise, allowing you to share ideas and allowing you to develop new study skills from each other.

I like to study alone, as it gives me the opportunity to concentrate as I get distracted really easily when with friends. However I do like to collaborate with others and fins out how they are getting on with tasks and how much they have done, as it helps keep me on track and lets me know I am (hopefully) doing things right! I like to regurgitate what I have learned and teach it to others. I think just being able to do this makes you feel so much more confident in what you are speaking about and this subconsciously makes me feel so much comfortable with those subjects!