Category Archives: 1 Prof. Values & Personal Commitment

Learning from others

Today, we were given links to some of our other peer’s ePortfolios to see what things that they have been writing. I have to say, it is really encouraging to see how they are engaging with blogging and what creative things they are posting. I really admire in them what I would describe as a ‘teacher frame-of-mind’ that is, they see something on the internet/on TV and immediately think about how it links to teaching and write a blog post about it. This is a quality which I really want to develop. One of the key aspects of becoming a teacher is reflecting on our practice and I feel like this is really something which my peers have grasped.

Here is a link to Lauren’s ePortfolio. I really admire her enthusiasm for teaching and her motivation to continually improve. She is great at keeping her blog readers up-to-date with what she is learning .https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/glowblogs/laurenseportfolio/

Here is a link to one of Claire Beattie’s posts. I really admire her creativity in having the idea to use ‘the Sims’ to design her classroom, this is another computer programme which could be useful in teaching to provide a visual aid like Claire has. Even more, I admire her extra reading and how she has incorporated this into her blog post. This is another quality I wish to develop. https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/glowblogs/cebeportfolio/2016/01/06/180/

Here is a link to Rachel’s ePortfolio. As I noted earlier, Rachel is great at linking things that she has heard outside of University to her blog. You can see her care for children and for issues within teaching, as well as in the wider world. https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/glowblogs/myunieportfoliorb/

Here are some links to some more blog posts;

https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/glowblogs/myuniversityeportfoliolayla/2015/11/03/fear-of-feedback/

https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/glowblogs/uodbeckyroomuireportfolio/2015/11/10/my-tired/

https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/glowblogs/uodeportfoliommackie/2016/01/17/problematic-problems/

https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/glowblogs/rsjuodeportfolio/2015/11/25/longitudinal-coherence-and-the-concept-knot/

https://blogs.glowscotland.org.uk/glowblogs/seiuodeportfolio/2015/11/04/there-has-been-a-breakthrough/

From this experience today I have noted some things I could do to improve my ePortfolio work. I will try to include more pictures in my posts as they make them more eye catching and break up the post a bit. I want to post more about things that aren’t just to do with the TDT, I will actively try to keep my eyes open to what is going on in the news/on media and reflect on how it links to teaching.

Professionalism in other Professions

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As part of the online unit I decided to watch ’24 Hours in Police Custody’ and I believe in a strange way it was a real learning experience for me. It has really shown me how important professionalism is across a range of different professions, not just primary teaching. I just felt that there was so much to write about, that so many aspects of a professional were shown in the programme that I should write a blog post about it.

The police officers showed many professional characteristics. For example, they remained calm throughout the arrest/interviewing process despite knowing what pressure was on them and how they had turned someone’s world upside down. They were very organised in their arrest and worked really well together as a team. They supported one another throughout the interview process, for example, when one policewoman admitted that she wasn’t as good at laying into the suspect, another policewoman offered to help her. This point really showed how they all brought their different strengths to the team and how they all respected the fact that they all have weaknesses. As you never really know what a suspect will respond, the police officers showed great flexibility in adapting their questions to respond to the suspect’s comments and also adapted them to suit when they were questioning a child. Two particular characteristics of the police officers which really stood out for me were how polite and respectful they were. They introduced themselves at the door before entering the house to make an arrest instead of just storming in. In the first house, they were considerate of the fact that a child was upstairs sleeping and so were careful to not wake them up. I even appreciated the fact that they simply wiped their feet on the doormat before entering the house. The way that the police officers spoke to suspects, their families etc was just very respectful, calm and collected. Even though the crimes that the suspects were accused of were just awful, they treated everyone as a person of dignity and did not talk down to anyone. They even simply offered the suspects a cup of tea/coffee and a blanket. In some ways, they went above and beyond what I personally would have expected them to do and so I have great respect for them because of this.

However, there were two points in the programme that I believe the professionals did not act professionally. At one point, in private to another policeman, a policewoman called the first suspect ‘an idiot’. I don’t believe that this was very professional as it showed a lack of respect for the suspect who hadn’t even been proven guilty yet. I agree that everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and yes I agree that the man’s actions were awful, but I believe that the policewoman should have been more careful as to not call him an idiot on TV. Also, in the interview with the second suspect, one of the policewoman’s tone of voice and body language came across as a little judgemental and disgusted. However, I can completely understand why given the context, and it did not seem to stop the suspect from continuing on with answering the questions.

The police officers’ professional behaviour had an impact on the people they dealt with. Firstly, the professional respect and support they had for each other enabled them all to work cooperatively together. The respect and calmness they showed, I believe, meant that the family members and suspects were not angry or aggressive.

When out arresting people the policemen and women wore their police uniforms. I think that this is important as it reinforced their power and authority and probably boosted the confidence of those wearing the uniform. However, whilst back at the station, the policemen and women were dressed quite casually. I think that this is fine as long as they are dressed modestly. This may help them to appear less intimidating during interviews, and so suspects may feel more comfortable and willing to answer questions.

If I was asked to develop a course for police officers I would have them attend lectures for probably around 50% of the time. I would have them do background reading for around 20% of the time. I would have them go to practical skills based training for the remaining 30% of the time. After this course, since it is such a practical, ‘hands on’ job, I would then send them on a probationary work based learning year.

After watching and reflecting on this programme, I have realised how important it is to treat everyone with respect. This is particularly important in teaching as I will come into contact with many other people, from the pupils to parents, other teachers, social workers and headmasters, to name a few. I will make a conscious effort to be respectful and polite in how I speak to everyone, and to treat everyone with dignity. This will also be important in motivating my pupils to learn and to help them to achieve their best. I felt on the show that at points the police officers went above and beyond what was expected of them. I want to be the best teacher that I can be and so I am going to try to go above and beyond what is expected. Although this is probably easier said than done.

What does it mean to be a Professional?

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Since the Wordle website would not work on my laptop, I decided to create a mind map with all the words relating to being a professional/professionalism that I could think of.

The Enquiring Practitioner

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After the input by Nikki Doig on the 27th October, I am going to reflect on being an enquiring practitioner and what this means in a classroom.

Practitioner enquiry is defined on the GTCS website as, ‘ as defined by Menter et al (2011), is a “finding out” or an investigation with a rationale and approach that can be explained or defended. The findings can then be shared so it becomes more than reflection or personal enquiry.’ Being an enquiring practitioner is not about reaching an end point. As we all know, new ideas are constantly emerging and so being an enquiring practitioner is a journey, a process of continually progressing and looking for ways to enhance your practice.

For teachers, it involves reflecting on their current procedures and researching what ways they could improve it. For example, it it could be an investigation of a new resource or approach to see if/how it improves their teaching method in the classroom. If it goes successfully, they then could discuss the results with other teachers to encourage them to use it and give their feedback on it. This will help teachers to better understand their practice and to develop their critical thinking, which is an essential part of being a professional teacher.

There are many benefits to practitioner enquiry. As I noted above, it develops our critical thinking and reflective learning which is important in our professional journey. It enables us to take control of our practice and to research, develop it and try to make it the best it can be. Sharing this knowledge with other colleagues can strengthen the relationships within the workplace as you work together to investigate a new initiative. Other colleagues can also then share what they have found through practitioner enquiry, helping you to gain new ideas and see things from a different perspective. This open-mindedness and adaptation is key in improving your practice. As teachers this all, in turn, means that our pupils will be receiving engaging education through relevant, thought-out, lessons.

Some benefits also listed on the GTCS website are as follows:

To empower teachers and encourage them to challenge and transform education

To provide a way for teachers to monitor and develop their own practice

To investigate new strategies and initiatives

To increase their knowledge of teaching and learning thus enabling them to make more professional and autonomous judgements and to enhance their self-esteem and professional identity

However, there are some challenges when it comes to being an enquiring practitioner. Not everything we discover is going to work well, and so it may be tempting to become frustrated if the new methods we have found don’t work. We should the learn from these mistakes and continue trying to improve our practice. Also there is the risk of conflict in the workplace for example, if one teacher thinks an initiative is fantastic but another does not approve of it. This is when we should remember to act professionally and remember that we all have different personalities and so different things work for different people.

So what does this mean for me as a student teacher? Well, on the GTCS website it says that practitioner enquiry is ‘envisaged to become an integral aspect of the day-to-day practice of teachers and other education professionals’, therefore it is definitely something I should start doing in consideration to my own work. It means that I should keep up to date with teaching initiatives when planning for placement (and for future lessons). I should constantly be reflecting on my ideas and thinking of ways to improve them. I should collaborate with other teachers and think about whether I could adapt any of their methods into my teaching practice. Practitioner enquiry is definitely important to me because it will enable me to always improve my practice, so that I can try to be the best teacher I can be.

Values of a Professional Teacher

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The first value that I believe teachers should have is patience. If you are going to be teaching for a very long time you are going to come into contact with a number of different classes containing children with a wide range of abilities and personalities. It is important that a teacher has patience in particular, when teaching a subject that is second nature to them. It can be easy to get frustrated if a child takes a little while to grasp a topic, and so the teacher should be patient in order to maintain a professional standard and to not intimidate the child. This could also include having the patience to take the time to think about other ways they could explain the topic, or just simply using different wording to explain it. If a teacher is patient it means that the children are not scared of taking time to figure out the answer, and so they are also probably more willing to ask questions. Another reason a professional teacher should have patience is when dealing with disruptive behaviour. It is important that the teacher doesn’t shout all the time, but figures out creative ways to encourage positive behaviour in the class and to discipline the children. Professional teachers should also have patience when in contact with other staff that they may not get along with. It is important that they maintain a professional relationship so that they can work together for the benefit of the school.

I believe professional teachers should also be honest. This is mainly so that they can be an example to their class. I personally think that sometimes if a teacher does not know the answer to a question a pupil raises, they should be honest and tell them that they don’t know, but will find the answer out for them. I think that in doing this is reminds the children that teachers are human beings too and they are allowed to make mistakes too. Hopefully this honesty will also rub off on the class. Honesty is also a good quality to have when socialising with other teachers. Professional teachers should be open to constructive criticism, and so by being honest you can share tips with other teachers to improve their practice.

Another value I believe professional teachers should have is respect. It is important that the teacher is aware of the different skills, religions and ethnicities in their class. The teacher can then help the class to overcome any pre-judgements/stereotypes they may have by teaching them to respect one another. By respecting the kids and not ‘looking down’ on them may also improve their confidence and help them to enjoy school more.

I believe professional teachers should also be kind. I believe that kindness is a fantastic quality and so the opportunity to teach children to be kind is a great one. Kindness is a quality that will shine through the teacher in how they speak to the class , how they treat the class and how they treat each other. This will inspire the children to be kind to one another, and so will improve the atmosphere in the classroom. It can help improve the children’s motivation to learn and make them enjoy school more. It is also important to be kind with your fellow teachers and school staff. It enables teacher to not just be colleagues, but to also be friends, improving the mood in the school environment. When people are kind to one another, they work better together and so kindness is such an important quality when entering the world of education.

The final value I am going to discuss is fairness. It is important to be fair and to teach the kids what is right and what is wrong. A teacher should treat all the children in their class as equals regardless of their social class, background, ethnicity, gender, religion and so on. It is easy for a teacher to have ‘favourites’ however it is so important that they discipline and treat all their pupils in the same way. From personal experience, I know that when a teacher has a select few ‘favourites’, not being included in this group is destructive to self-confidence and faith in the teacher. Fairness goes hand in hand with respect and so by treating the class fairly will in turn teach them to treat each other with respect.

The ‘hidden curriculum’ is an unavoidable element of teaching, and so it is very beneficial if a teacher has these values I have discussed, in order to influence the class to be positive pupils with good attributes.

Reflection

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Reflection is an essential part of the primary teaching profession. It is through reflection that we grow and improve as teachers. So what is reflection?

I believe that true reflection involves standing back and seriously thinking about an event. It involves looking at the event from different perspectives. This also means being willing to criticise yourself and to accept constructive criticism from others. It includes drawing on previous knowledge from other events and apply this to present/ future events.

Most importantly, to be truly reflective it involves action. After considering the event and taking other people’s opinions into consideration, you should think of ways in which to improve. This could be applied when planning lessons, writing assignments or preparing presentations.

As I continue to go through my course I hope to engage in my learning and to get the most out of it. I will do this by being reflective on what I have been taught/ what I will teach and by always looking for ways to improve.

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