During my time on placement, I planned a series of lessons as a progression of debating skills. I started off by doing fluency as a debating skill then moved on to rhetorical questions and use of examples before finally how to do counterarguments and debate in a more formal way.
The noisy classroom gave me a whole load of ideas about different debating warm up games and ways which I could plan workshops and was very useful for me and I imagine would be for anyone else ever considering teaching debating at a primary or secondary level.
I found that this was the first question in my mind when I saw our dance workshop early on in a Friday morning. I never would have thought that as a Primary Teacher, this would be a requirement as part of the curriculum. I do not particularly look back fondly upon the many hours of mandatory social dance throughout my secondary and primary school careers but as a teacher, I can try to make a difference to the attitude to social dance and maybe make it slightly more enjoyable for the children being taught by me. I feel like I fully understand the need for enthusiasm when teaching any subject, especially for those that the teacher may not like themselves because pupils can be impressionable and will pick up when a teacher does not like the subject they are teaching.
Therefore why do we need to be qualified to teach dance in primary schools? Well, after looking up the subject, I now understand why it should be included in our curriculum. Here are a few reasons:
Dance can link to other parts of the curriculum
Dance is seen as fun even by the least enthusiastic of pupils, and if you provide a lesson plan which links to the current class project as either an introduction to a new topic or reinforcement of the things that are being learned in class, you may in turn be able to increase enthusiasm for the project and dance itself.
It is a simple way of getting children to expend energy outside the classroom
This seems a simple reason to teach dance but it is an effective way of ensuring that children have burned off energy before they sit down in your classroom and take part in a lesson.
Dance encourage pupils to be creative
Instead of expressing themselves through the standard approach of writing, children are encouraged to be creative and show how they feel through body language and movement. Ken Robinson displays the view that schools squander creativity and I feel that dance is a way of bringing the creative element in to schools.
Dance provides a good team building exercise
Dance can be a form of collaborative learning, and some forms of dance can easily be used as team-building exercises. Group dancing also allows you to see which kids are possibly being left out so you can target your teaching more effectively and provide support for that pupil and help them to become more involved and part of the team.
For me, an enquiring practitioner is a professional who is able to adapt the way they teach or learn based on critical research in to what works and what does not work. It is someone that is capable of reflecting upon their own previous teaching/learning and think critically about how they could better themselves. This evaluative process is intrinsic to being an enquiring practitioner.
The benefits of being an enquiring practitioner are that you are able to develop and improve the curriculum along with other teachers which would stop the curriculum from staying set and rigid and would mean it is constantly being modified to improve upon it therefore providing students with a better education over all. If this is the case for the curriculum then it enables general improvement of the educational institutions themselves and means that every school will not necessarily be teaching the same curriculum. It also provides teachers with a capacity for self-improvement in terms of the way they plan lessons and teach the curriculum. Being an enquiring practitioner would also mean that a teacher would be more likely to take constructive criticism and use it to refine their own lesson plans and style of teaching.
The challenges of being an enquiring practitioner I would imagine would be it would be difficult to align your way of thinking if you were not used to the process of enquiry and evaluation as it is difficult to challenge your own assumptions. Some would also argue that enquiry is fairly limited as it is contextual as even if one approach works in a school somewhere, it does not necessarily mean that the same way would work in a different place. The process of enquiry can also be rather slow as there is no real fixed end point as you can steadily continue to improve yourself for an indefinite period of time. Many classroom practioners who use enquiry can get off topic but the enquiry needs to be connected to teaching or learning.
I believe that if I want to be a successful teacher and continue to improve my teaching style and ability to educate that the process of enquiry and evaluation should be at the core of my planning and practice.
Activity 2: Reflect upon development of skills and abilities
Recognition
Reflection
Action
Skills already developed
How will I use these
How do I know (evidence)**
Make presentations
During lessons with primary pupils.
For interviews with prospective employers.
For assignments as part of my course.
I was required to make a 2 minute talk/presentation for my interview for Primary Education in Dundee and the fact that I have a place seems to attest to the fact that I presented well.
Computing Skills
To keep my lessons up to date and interactive in order to engage pupils in their learning.
During my sixth year, I decided to take a National 5 Computing Science course as I had not continued this line of study since second year. I went on to get an A in Computing Science.
Write for academic purposes
To write essays for assessments or TDTs in the course.
In sixth year, my results improved dramatically compared to my fifth year results and I feel that is because my academic writing improved. For example, I wrote an English dissertation on film that was 4000 words.
Contribute to discussions
To participate in discussions in lectures about issues/ideas in education.
During my group interview for Dundee, it was necessary for me to get my point across in order to be considered for a place but I did not want to interrupt or act in an unprofessional manner. I believe I was able to effectively contribute without coming across this way, hence why I got the place.
Recognition
Reflection
Action
Skills not yet developed
How will I develop these
How do I know (evidence)**
Organising and planning skills
By making lesson plans.
Maintaining focus during my four academic years to make sure I am on top of work.
I have improved my organisational skills over the last few years in order to progress academically so I hope to continue on this upward curve. I have also purchased a student planner for this year which I find myself frequently using.
Sharing opinions confidently
Ensuring I follow and understand the course material in order to form strong opinions that are based in fact therefore giving me the confidence to share them.
I found I was able to talk more in class if I was well-informed on the subject matter.
Take responsibility
By living alone for the foreseeable future therefore making me take responsibility for everything in my life.
I have never lived away from my parents for such a long period before and I am hoping this will force me in to becoming more independent and taking more responsibility in general.
