Category Archives: edushare

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. 

Social Media

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

I do not feel I will be faced with too many challenges, hopefully, as I constantly make sure my social media is acceptable and portrays me in the way I want to be seen. 

I know many people who are teachers or work with young people and have deleted everyone under the age of 16 from their social media accounts. I think this is a good example to be setting, especially as your pupils may be mutual friends with these people and you do not want your posts to appear on their feeds. 

The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) states that they acknowledge teachers have private lives, but it is important to think about how this may reflect on your professionalism and fitness to teach. I agree with this, it is important to stay sociable and communicate through websites such as Twitter and Facebook. However, I also feel it is important when becoming a teacher to be more wary about what you are posting and who you associating yourself with online.

My accounts online were already private prior to coming to university, but after the social media inputs I went on to check the privacy settings. It is amazing the loopholes that you can miss, with things such as pictures still being visible to people you are not friends with. I know teachers who have their accounts set so you can only add them if you are a mutual friend, which I feel is a very good idea. This will hopefully stop pupils and parents being able to request you as a friend or contact you. 

The GTCS codes highlight the impacts that acting unprofessionally online can cause, with things as serious as criminal convictions. They state that you should not compromise your integrity or personal identity by behaving unprofessionally online. One example of this is a group of primary school teachers who went out to let their hair down, and later published pictures online of their antics. As their accounts were not private everyone could see them, and the daily mail even published an article about them http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1389292/Disgrace-drinking-pole-dancing-primary-school-teachers-published-pictures-Facebook.html. This brings to mind another of the GTCS’ codes that you should think very carefully when writing a post before publishing it. They also state you should never post things when you are angry as you may be caught up in the heat and write something you normally wouldn’t. It is much better to save a draft and come back to it later, you will thank yourself in the long run.

I feel teachers are very vulnerable when it comes to the digital space online and they need to be more careful than others to ensure they are still viewed as a professional. Reading the advice on various sites such as the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, http://www.net-aware.org.uk/# and the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre, http://ceop.police.uk/, it has really hit home how unsafe the internet can be.

 

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

Many of the challenges of social media are framed by a deficit view. You always hear about the negative impacts and the horror stories, never the positive side or the opportunities it can bring.

As a teacher I will frame social media with a positive viewpoint. I think it is important, especially with the development of technology in this, in the 21st century, to stay in the digital space. Everything these days is online, even most libraries now have hundreds of e-books instead of paper copies! And it’s not just books, even CD’s and DVD ROMS are on the way out, with many companies such as Apple not even putting disk drives into their newest models. 

Almost everyone these day is on social media. It is a great way to stay in touch with your friends and family, especially those who stay far away, sharing your photos and achievements for them to see. Even most schools now have their own Twitter accounts, which is an excellent way of keeping pupils informed as they are in this space every day.

I will however ensure I teach them of the dangers online, in a way appropriate to their age. Children are vulnerable to a range of different things online, and it is important they know what they are getting themselves in to and how to get out of these risky situations. 

Social media can and is a positive thing, but it is important to realise there are very negative consequences.

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!

What are the most important skills/attributes/qualities we need to develop for successful academic study?

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Many skills and attributes are important to be successful in academic study, but some are more profound than others. I believe some of the main ones are organisation, time management, reading skills, note taking ability and good communication skills.

Organisation is definitely up there with the most important. I feel more at ease when all my noes have been taken down neatly and are put away in order in a folder. This makes it so much easier to look back over them, making studying less hassle.

Time management is also very important. The ability to manage your time can literally be life orstress-cartoon death when it comes to getting things done. There are only so many hours in a week and you need to make sure you can make all your lectures and tutorials, make time for extra reading, save time for studying, whilst still looking after yourself and having a life outside of study. You also need to make sure you know how long you have until assignments are due, so you don’t end up running around at the last minute.

Without the ability to read university would be almost impossible. Saying this, you need to make sure you are taking in what you are reading, and also that you are reading relevant materials.

Note taking is definitely important when it comes to lectures. I believe by taking notes we are not only taking in what is being said, but we are recording it too. This is beneficial when it comes to reflecting on what was brought up in lectures, as having what was discussed in front of you saves so much time remembering. it is also useful when it comes to revision, as these can then form part of your reading materials.

Megaphone-CartoonLastly I feel the ability to communicate well is definitely important for academic study. Especially on a course such as education where we are learning to work within a profession, we need to be able to communicate clearly and effectively from early on. This is also helpful when it comes to studying in groups, as it aids discussing making it so much easier.

By combining all of these factors, and using them in the hope they develop over the course of our study we are driving ourselves to become better learners.

What do you see as the main benefits of working co-operatively? Are there any challenges?

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Working “co-operatively” is fundamentally working well together as a team. Teamwork is essential within any community of practice and certainly brings about many benefits. It sa1_collaborateincreases motivation by working with peers and helps make learning more enjoyable. It also develops oral communication skills through the dialogue needed to communicate. Also, with all the listening and conversing involved with the communicating, these skills will also develop.

There are also some challenges with working co-operatively. Some people within the group may be more dominant than others, causing some to be outspoken and others to not even get a chance to speak. There is also the problem that some people may sit back quiet allowing the others to do all the work, which is unfair and not a fair devolving of tasks.

Working co-operatively is essential for teachers, as they have so many other professionals involved in their school communities such as Social Carers, Community Learning and Development Workers, Police Officers and various others who have to work with teachers in some instances. 

Gender… Did it matter?

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In many ways, I feel as if my gender did not affect me at all as a child. Although I believe this is due to the fact I never had any negative experiences regarding this.

By using the word “gender”, we are identifying and highlighting the difference between the two sexes, and in turn, categorising them. In Jill Shimi’s lecture, she highlighted the difference between “sex” and “gender”. Sex being the biological make-up, and gender the social concept. This was interesting, as I previously hadn’t thought of the definitions of the two terms.

Growing up, I was always subconsciously dressed in “girls” clothes and given “girls” toys as gifts. This gave me messages from the very beginning that this was the norm, and until now I have never really thought about it. However, if I ever wanted to play with the stereotypical “boys” toy, I was never judged and always allowed to do so. By allowing this, I never felt pressured into what I could and could not play with giving me a freedom of choice.

In school, I remember both the girls and the boys being treated fairly. All my teachers were equally as encouraging towards the boys as the girls. This was encouraging to all and I will be doing the same when I am a teacher, every child should be treated fairly and none favoured over others. I believe gender doesn’t matter within the classroom, everyone should have the same opportunities and be given the same encouragement.

Gender Roles

http://blush.com.pk/gender-imposition-on-kids-are-we-taking-it-a-step-too-far/gender_roles_layout111/

 

Why do I want to become a teacher?

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I have progressed through life with a very positive experience from school which has continuously been the basis for my motivation and determination to do well. I have a positive attitude towards learning, and I am so attracted to the idea of a career in which I will continue to learn through continuing professional development and an ever-improving curriculum.

I love hearing my sisters come home from school and speak to highly of their teachers. It’s amazing to see the positive impact their lessons are having on them and how much my sisters look up to them. I hope to be such an inspiring teaching, and have an equally if not better impact on pupils lives.

I enjoyed school a lot, mainly due to a number of inspiring teachers. I have so many chunks of memories from primary school, and looking back I cannot find one in which is not positive. A lot of which were also very engaging and fun. Although I did not realise it at the time, they done an amazing job single-handedly keeping a class of 30 odd so engaged. One of my favourite teachers was in high school, my geography teacher. She was not my favourite because she knew how to engage with our class and relate to us (that was just a bonus!) She was my favourite as I always walked out her class feeling positive and remembering everything she’d went over. I wouldn’t even need to write notes in her class I would just remember everything! When I become a teacher, I want to be like her. To make my lessons so interesting that my pupils grasp on to every word. To change up my lessons and make the learning fun.

I also had some teachers throughout school who I did not click with. I don’t know what I ever done wrong, but I would never get the same attention as certain others within the class. Nothing I ever done would be good enough. Even my efforts and improvements were not praised, and I believe that is important within a classroom. It was defeating to feel as if I was not good enough, and as a pupil as it put me down so much making me resent those classes and straining on my motivation. However, I do not take this as a negative experience. I look on it as a positive. It made me work harder to prove those teachers wrong, that I COULD do it. It was so rewarding to get A’s in those classes knowing I was only predicted low passes. I have promised to myself when I am a teacher I will never make any pupil feel that way. Even if someone is not making the same progress as someone else, or at a completely different level, their personal progression should be praised. My goal is to make sure every single one of my pupil’s potentials are reached.

I have always had a passion for teaching, so I decided to get in contact with a local primary school. I was delighted when the head teacher asked if I would like a placement in their biggest class. It was amazing seeing first-hand how a teacher conducts her lessons and keeps her class under control. It was also so interesting seeing how much she had to differentiate, with their being a larger than average attainment gap within the big class. Her role as a teacher was so positive and she was so interested in every single one of her pupils. Being in the school just made me want to be a teacher even more, I loved every second of it. My favourite thing about the teacher’s role as a primary teacher, was the variation of subjects she taught. I was swithering between primary or going in to secondary teaching and focusing on a single subject such as geography, but this placement completely made up my mind that it HAD to be primary teaching. With being such a sporty person, I am so passionate about physical education, dance, and health and wellbeing. But I am also very creative and I love story telling, drama and art. I think I will thrive in all the curriculum areas from these to music and literacy and so on; due to experiences I have had in after school activities and my academic success. I want to be good at teaching everything, not just one or two of the subjects, and I am willing to work hard to make sure I do so.

I love a challenge, and I will be taking this one on with great deal of excitement. I am looking forward to becoming the teacher I aspire to be. I can’t wait to be shaping young people’s futures and helping them reach their goals. But first, to get through University.

 

Taken from: https://teachingforamericaokedition.wordpress.com/teaching-inspiration/

Taken from: https://teachingforamericaokedition.wordpress.com/teaching-inspiration/