Category Archives: 2 Prof. Knowledge & Understanding

Revitalising Reflection

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Following Derek’s lecture upon our ePortfios, we were asked to review and reflect upon the posts of our peers, and how they structure and present their posts.

For me this was a very enlightening task as I have previously struggled to engage with my own portfolio, for the simple fact that I forget to post when I complete tasks. I was able to see the effort my peers had placed on structuring and presenting their chosen topic ideas in a way that has whole-heartedly motivated me to do the same.

While reading through posts, I noticed that a few things were clearly different between mine and my peers posts. The most engaging posts for me contained; catchy titles, pictures and videos but the most prominent difference between my work and the work of others was the length of posts and the amount of time they have spent crafting each post.

For me, I took this as a kind of wake up call to work on my portfolio more in, order to compete with some of my peers. Following on from this is, and Richard Holmes lectures, I have created myself a SMART target in order to improve the quality of my ePortfolio. in essence I hope these targets I have created for myself will improve quality and heighten my engagement. They are:

S – to write a minimum of two blog posts per week

M – post at least two per week

A – use blackboard posts to help follow up on TDT’s

R – link each post to my development as a professional/teacher

T – weekly evaluation if I have achieved it.

Overall I feel these targets will help me improve my portfolio, and ultimately help me become the professional I wish to be. The benefits of this will undoubtedly help me become a reflective practitioner, something which the SPR guidelines state as a must.

 

 

 

 

 

Being a professional

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In my opinion professionals need to be:

  1. Skilled
  2. Knowledgeable
  3. Happy in their situation
  4. Well mannered
  5. Well presented
  6. Punctual
  7. Understanding
  8. Spontaneous
  9. Good in emergencies
  10. Very strong social skills

‘One born every minute’

Following watching ‘One born every minute’ I have noticed all the skills I previously listed were present in the field of midwifery. Most prominently shown during child birth, the professionals had to be skilled within delivery of a new born, and have an understanding/empathy for the mother and family in order to reassure them of a successful delivery.

During the program, there were times in which the midwives were free and were seen to be messing around in their office. Although some may view this as unprofessional, I feel the aspect of enjoying your job and having fun is key to being any professional. If the midwives acted like this during childbirth, it would be extremely unprofessional, however it was in the comfort of their own office, therefore I feel it appropriate and even vital for team building and moral.  If this playful attitude was taken into the context of childbirth it could be detrimental to the hospital staff in question, the hospitals reputation and even the health of the women giving birth, and the child being born; therefore it is vital to know the appropriate times to have fun within a practice.

For the midwifes, blue scrubs seemed to be the uniform throughout. This uniform is vital for hygiene as they are interacting with babies that can be very susceptible to disease and infection, therefore it is vital to wear a hygienic uniform. Furthermore a uniform shows the midwifes to be a team, something vital in being a professional in both midwifery and even teaching, as it shows clients that you all work toward a common goal.

If I was to create a degree for midwifery, I would place high emphasis on practical’s and placements, as no two days will be the same, and you will never be fully prepared, therefore the more experience in the course will make a person more comfortable in situations that may arise. I would also ensure that students go to all lectures, as when dealing with new born babies, there are many things that a person must have knowledge on to be able to ensure the health of the child and the mother.

Being an enquiring practitioner

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As stated on the GTC Scotland website, being an enquiring practitioner is becoming a foremost important aspect in becoming a successful practitioner. A professional enquiry is an investigation with a rationale that can be explained or defended, this information is then shared amongst likeminded colleagues to enhance knowledge creation. Professional enquiry’s help professionals gain multiple viewpoints upon topics, methods and theories to ensure single-mindedness is decreased. This approach is vital in the teaching and learning world as it gives practitioners a wider span of knowledge to draw on in situations and allows for a collaborative community of practitioners that are acting as a team, not simply individuals. However professional enquiry’s may cause less confident members of a group to feel overshadowed and cast out, therefore it is vital to take every persons views on board and ensure everybody voices their opinion. Professional enquiry’s will help me as a student teacher as I will be able to draw on others ideas and incorporate them into my own methods and rationales. They will also give me motivation to work, due to my competitive nature, making me want to be at or above the stage of my peers.