There are many words/phrases that can be associated with being a professional. These are the ones I though were important and believe are key to a good professional.
Trustworthy
Working collaborative
Approachable
Organised
Do more than expected
Communicate effectively
Share your experiences and knowledge
Have good listening skills
Always have a smile on your face
Dress appropriately
Time management skills
Before starting the online module I felt that my academic skills were reasonable good and met the basics skills required for academic writing. However, by working through this module I have noticed weakness that should be a lot stronger for academic writing. The weakness I noticed were punctuation and spelling. I realised that these were areas that needed developed and improved in order to make my academic writing better. In order to develop these areas I turned to ‘The Study Skills’ book by Wengers, J and McMillan, K. I feel that already this has helped me develop these weaknesses and has gave me tips/ activities to do in order to improve them. Also the online literacy test has helped in developing these areas as it gives you a score at the end of the test and pointers in order to help you develop the areas you struggled with. In order to continue developing these areas I will refer to ‘The Study Skills’ book and attempt the online literacy test regularly.
This online module has also pointed out strengths within my academic writing for example being able to take notes from books and websites. It has also highlighted that I have the ability to reference correctly.
For me reflection is extremely important in order to improve and get better. Although I feel that by reflecting it allows me to see my strengths and the things I am doing well.
Reflection allows you to analyse and learn from experience. By reflecting it allows you to identify the areas of development but also the things that went well. Reflecting is not just about describing what happened, it is about being able to use your thoughts and feelings to evaluate the experience. When reflecting it is important to look at the whole experience picking out the negative and positive things.
As part of the NC and HNC in Early Education and Childcare you had to reflect on activities you did in the classroom and observations you carried out. This was extremely helpful as it gave you guidance on how to improve and make it better the next time you did the activity/observation. It allowed me to see what I was doing well during the activity but what also could have been improved. This reflection allowed me to analyse my own work and make it better rather than not doing anything and just assuming everything went well.
Benefits of working co-operatively
For me when I think of working co-operatively I think of working as a team. By working co-operatively it helps you form bonds and relationships with others you are working with. A benefit of working co-operatively is that it allows problems to be solved using many ideas and opinions. Working co-operatively develops skills such as communication skills, team work skills and time management skills. These skills are all essential for your future career whether it be a teacher or a police officer.
In the teaching profession working co-operatively is essential as it allows people to build on their knowledge and share their own experience and knowledge with others. It also brings people together as a group and allows relationships to be formed between staff in the school.
Benefits of active learning
Active learning allows children to develop their self-confidence and self-reliance. Children who work together on active learning tasks learn to work with other people of different backgrounds and attitudes. Having active learning in the classroom helps engage children in the learning process. By the teacher using active learning in the classroom it is allowing them to base the learning around the children’s area of interest.
A main benefit of active learning is that is creates a sense of community in the classroom which I believe is an essential part of a classroom environment.
Activity 1
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” |
|
| Working/studying on my own | – Set time aside where I solely just study on my own |
| Studying with others | – Get a group of friends together studying the same course and find a place to study for example in the library |
| Discussing tasks and topics with other students | – Communicate with others via email or social networking sites- Meet with other students on my course and share ideas and thoughts |
| Taking notes in lectures and when doing further reading | – Print off the power points prior to the lectures so I can take notes more effectively- When reading have a pen and paper ready and write down relevant and interesting information that could be useful for tasks and assignments |
| Recognition/Reflection | Action |
| What hinders my learning? | How can I address this factor? |
| Example: “I’m easily distracted” |
|
| Getting distracted by my phone | – Turn my phone off while I am studying |
| Using books to enhance my learning | – As we have been given reading lists I will use these as a start to get my self into reading books- I will then start looking for further information from other books |
| I do not ask questions maybe when I should | – If I feel that there is an important question that I do not know the answer to and cannot find the answer, I will email or speak to the lecture relevant |
| I do not take many breaks | – I will make sure I allow my self regular breaks to take my mind of what I have been studying |
As a child in primary school I never seen gender as affecting me or other children, I never seen the split between male and female. Now when I think back I can see it, I can see the split that was made in various ways. We were told to line up in to separate lines one for girls and one for boys. Girls always went first for lunch. When playing outside boys would play football and the girls would play horses. For sports day the races would be split into boys races and girl races. Boys would also get in more trouble than girls even if it was for the same thing. These things never affected me as a child however I feel that if we were mixed boys and girls for these then we would have the experience of mixing more with the boys and have the opportunity to develop friendships with them. Do not get me wrong there were opportunities for boys and girls to mix for example when put into your ability groups for maths and spelling. I do feel that that was not enough and we would have benefited from a more social aspect of boys and girls mixing for example the boys and girls going for lunch at the same time.
My parents were foster carers for many years which allowed me to have contact with a diverse range of children and their families as well as learning how to care for children. It was from this experience that I knew I wanted to work with children.
Through doing my fourth year work experience, I developed a strong interest and passion for promoting children’s learning and experiences within an early years setting. To take this further I decided to do the NC in Early Education and Childcare. By doing this course it improved my understanding of child development, teaching and assessment. During this course I attended 2 placements one in a nursery and the other in a primary school. These experiences taught me how to observe children and plan activities to suit differing needs. It was from this experience that made me want to become a primary teacher. I wanted to be part of children’s learning and help them grow as individuals.
An element for me for wanting to become a primary school teacher was working in a preschool in Sweden for children aged 1-8 years old for 2 weeks, this experience was incredible; giving me the opportunity to become immersed in the culture, learn about their education system and compare it to ours. It was exciting to see how the fun learning environment created through outdoor learning enhanced the children’s experiences. The knowledge I gained from this experience was shared with teachers in primary schools that I had worked with.
From my experience on the NC and my passion to become a primary school teacher, lead me to study the HNC in Early Education and Childcare, as this would provide me with the qualification to apply for primary teaching. I gained a much broader and in depth understanding of childcare, education, children’s rights, theoretical approaches to learning and The Curriculum for Excellence in supporting children’s learning. My combined experience over the last few years and my interest in primary teaching prompted me to apply for Primary School teaching.
Seeing the children’s faces light up when you tell them well done or give them a sticker for completing there work is a huge reward as a teacher. Seeing the children develop and learn new skills makes you say “ this is why I am a teacher.” However it is not all about the positive aspects about being a teacher but also the challenges and obstacles you face is a big part and it is something that I look forward to on my journey as a teacher.
As a teacher I want to provide the children with a fun and enjoyable learning environment. As a teacher I want to be organised and have lessons planned in advance. I want to be able to work in a team but also independently, I feel it is important to have that balance. Building positive relationships with your pupils is something that I want to build as a teacher. I want to be professional and flexible as a teacher.
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