Monthly Archives: October 2015

What does it mean to be an Enquiring Practitioner?

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What does it mean to be an enquiring practitioner?

Being an enquiring practitioner is important when becoming and being a teacher. It means that we have to be able to work collaboratively and being able to fully commit to working with others. You have to be able to open to new suggestions from your peers and be willing to make changes to teaching and learning styles in which you already have. Making sure that you include all of your pupils within the class and to ensure that all children are able to learn with the teaching style that you have chosen to use. You have to be able to reflect on what you have done in lessons and be open to make changes to things that possibly haven’t worked previously. Being able to be open to suggestion a criticism is key in being an enquiring practitioner as you may have ideas and lessons planned that may not work for some children. Teachers must also make sure that they are sticking to the Curriculum for Excellence.

Being an enquiring practitioner is also important when being a student. In placements we will see so many different teaching styles in which we can adopt if they work or make changes to if you feel that they do not. This will allow us to learn about what kind of teacher that we want to become and will help us to work with our peers in order to succeed.

I think that being an enquring practitioner means that we have to be open to new things and ideas within the classroom, working with our peers in order to achieve and learning new and different teaching styles.

Reflection

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I feel that reflection plays a huge role in teaching. It enables us to progress and possibly change our ways of teaching. Reflecting after lessons is a great way in order to see what you may do differently and what you think is a good way for the pupils of your class to learn. It is also a great way of learning yourself and making changes to the way you learn things.

If there are issues you have had in class, reflection is a good way in order to move on from this. It can help you develop more skills and think about certain things that you need to work on as a teacher and how you can progress and make lessons more interesting and fun for the children in your class.

I reflect on what I have done each day even if it’s just something which isn’t really important. I drove a certain route to university today and it took me longer, maybe there is another route I can take tomorrow in order to avoid traffic and that will get me there quicker. I know that it’s a menial thing but that’s reflection and it is a part of everyday thinking.

I feel that when I start my placements in primary schools I will reflect on what I have learnt and achieved that day and how I can make it better in order for the children to learn more efficiently and to the best of my ability.

Personal vs Professional

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I think that making sure that your personal life maintains personal and does not get involved in your professional practice. One thing that may cause difficulties is social media and the role that it plays in your personal life. Teachers need to make sure that if they have a Facebook or Twitter account that they do not post anything that may endanger their career. I’m not saying that teachers shouldn’t have any sort of social media but I feel that they have to be careful and make whatever they are posting online private and make sure that they do not post anything that can jeopardise their teaching career. Parents and children all have Facebook account these days and they may try to add you as a friend but I feel that this would be an unwise move as you do not want to create relationships with people as this is unprofessional.

I have a Facebook account in which I use daily, it is extremely private and I have changed my name so that no one can find me unless I add them as a friend. I previously worked in a primary school and I did not want parents or pupils to add me as a friend so this is when I changed my name so that they were unable to find me and add me.

Managing my learning – Online Module

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  1. Managing My Learning

Complete the table below to identify and reflect on those factors and plan actions for each.

Recognition/ Reflection Action
What helps my learning? How can I utilise this?
Example: “Discussing the topic with others” ·         Set up a study group of like-minded peers

·         Engage with the online community
Reading ·         Making sure I read up on something I don’t fully understand

·         Reading up on things I have been asked to so in order to be prepared for classes.
Taking notes ·         Taking notes in class and rereading them in order that I have fully understood what I have been writing
Using mind maps ·         Using mind maps helps me as I am more likely to look over something in a mind map and understand that there is a link from other subjects
Using coloured pen ·         As I am a visual learner, the use of coloured pens and highlighters helps me to pick up on key things that I have noted and makes my work more visually pleasing.

·         Its helps me to engage with subjects and can make things more interesting to look at and read.

 

 

Recognition/Reflection Action
What hinders my learning? How can I address this factor?
Example: “I’m easily distracted” ·         Study in a place where distractions are minimal

·         Read lecture notes before the lecture and then take notes lectures to keep me focused
Use of Technology ·         Making sure that I don’t have my phone next to me while trying to work.

·         Turning it off during class and study time.
Others around me ·         Whilst studying making sure that I am alone so that I am unable to get distracted by others speaking to me in order to work to my best ability.

 

What do these terms mean for a teacher?

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Patience – Patience is extremely important as a teacher. They must have the ability to be patient when children may not grasp a concept as quickly as others. They need to understand that all children learn at different paces and that some children may become frustrated if they don’t understand. Being patient is key as the teacher may need to explain something in a slightly different way in order for a child to understand what they mean.

Kindness – A teacher needs to be kind towards all the pupils in the school, even the ones that may not be in their class. This makes a teacher more approachable and respected. It is important that they are kind as there may be children who are having a difficult time inside/outside of school and if a teacher is kind towards them the children are more likely to be able to speak to them about issues that they are having. Similar to being patient, a teacher has to be kind as some children may not grasp things as quickly as others and being kind about that and helping those in a kind way may boost a child’s confidence.

Fairness – Being fair as a teacher is huge. You need to be able to speak to all children in the same manner and not favourite children as this may result in some children feeling excluded. This could also result in the children not performing to their best abilities as they do not feel as if they will get the same response from the teacher as others do.

Empathy – This is highly important to in being a teacher as different children may be going through difficult situations outside of school and they must make sure that they are understanding towards this.

Self-control – Self-control may be a hard thing for a teacher as they may be going through difficult personal situations but need to keep that to themselves and not take out any emotions that they are feeling on their pupils. Also when it comes to parents’ nights the teacher must have self-control in order to speak calmly to parents who may become agitated and angry towards them as they may be unhappy with something. Keeping your personal life and work life separate is extremely important.