Monthly Archives: October 2015

What it means to be an enquiring practitioner

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An enquiring practitioner conducts research to find out valuable information. The practitioner then shares this information with colleagues. Working together is vital to being an effective practitioner however group work can pose may challenges. Ineffective communication can be a major problem when working in partnership and could cause breakdowns in relationship and misunderstandings. Conflict between team members hinders the amount of work completed and lowers the group moral. It could also isolate members and cause them to show a lack of focus and non-contribution.

There are many benefits associated with group work. Working in groups can raise an individual’s confidence. It also creates opportunities to share and develop ideas, allowing individuals to gain knowledge from their peers. Increased efficiency is also associated with successful group work, tasks and workloads can be shared and any problems can be discussed and solved quickly.

I believe that being an enquiring practitioner is important to consider as a student teacher. Acting as an enquiring practitioner allows student teachers to effectively work with colleagues to plan and develop lessons. Group discussions also highlight areas of improvement, and as a student teacher it is important to recognise weaknesses and learn how to improve on these areas. Working with colleagues in the school environment can also give you the opportunity to observe how other teachers take lessons and perhaps you can use their techniques and incorporate them into your own lessons. Being able to research issues and share your findings is valuable as it creates the ability to learn new ideas, new solutions and ways to enforce your findings. Practitioner enquiry gives teachers confidence to challenge and improve the curriculum. Donaldson states:

“…if we are to achieve the aspiration of teachers being leaders of educational improvement, they need to develop expertise in using research, inquiry and reflection as part of their daily skill set.’”(Donaldson, 2011:4)

In conclusion being an enquiring practitioner can develop our teaching skills and professional attributes. It is important as a student teacher to research and then reflect on research. Student’s can gain confidence and knowledge from working with qualified teachers and should value their opinions as professionals. Working with others helps us improve a number of skills including our teaching technique.

Professional Values Workshop

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I found today’s workshop really interesting. I think what we learned today will be very beneficial for our teaching placement. During the workshop we were split into “home groups”, each group was made up of four people. We were then split into “expert groups”, where we discussed one topic in the GTCS Standards Section 1. After ten minutes of discussion we then went back into our “home group” and shared our thought with the rest of the group. I found this very useful as we had the opportunity to share our own ideas but to also learn from others in our group.

My expert group discussed the “Social Justice” section. We began by deciding to break each bullet point down and share our view one by one.

  • “Embracing locally and globally the educational and social values of sustainability, equality and justice and recognising the rights and responsibilities of future as well as current generations.” As a group, we decided this could mean talking about the environment and how important recycling is to create a sustainable world. Another idea lead us to think about fair-trade and how purchasing these products can do good for struggling communities. Teaching children about how their recycling habits not only impact their future, but the future of generations to come is also important.
  • “Committing to the principles of democracy and social justice through fair, transparent, inclusive and sustainable policies and practices in relation to: age, disability, gender and gender identity, race, ethnicity, religion and belief and sexual orientation.” It is important as a teacher not to have any prejudice when entering a classroom. School councils should be age inclusive allowing children of ay age to voice their opinion. Resources should be available for everyone, no matter what their background. This is important as if a child does not have equal access to resources they may feel excluded. This point may also consider the benefits of teaching children about differences and how to cope with differences tactically.
  • “Valuing as well as respecting social, cultural and ecological diversity and promoting the principles and practices of local and global citizenship for all learners.” As teachers we need to appreciate how social class may or may not affect a child’s achievement. It could also be a good idea to raise awareness of the need for local fundraising. We were all shocked when third years told us that there are children in Dundee sleeping without beds. Children should be aware of what is happening inside their community and the wider world. Upon discussion we think that twinned towns create great opportunities to have pen pals but to also compare the differences between whats happening in your town and your twinned town.
  • “Demonstrating a commitment to engaging learners in real world issues to enhance learning, experiences and outcomes, and to encourage learning our way to a better future.” Learners need to have an awareness of current issues in the world. Talking about what is happening in the news, being able to explain and discuss in an age appropriate manner will be more beneficial to a child than hearing a story in the playground and having no-one to talk about it with. It is also important to relate issues in the classroom to the wider world.
  • “Respecting the rights of all learners as outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and their entitlement to be included in decisions regarding their learning experiences and have all aspects of their well-being developed and supported.” We feel that GIRFEC should be applied at all times in the classroom. Allowing children to have a choice of topic, but making sure you are including everything you find important, is important within the classroom environment. You must treat each child as an individual in order to create a trusting relationship.

When we went back to our home group we were extremely pushed for time and only managed to discuss the Integrity section. However I feel that this discussion was very valuable. The integrity standards include:

  • “Demonstrating openness, honesty, courage and wisdom.” When sharing their ideas the group discussed the importance of seeking help if you are unsure about how to do something. It is also important not to brush off any questions you are asked, if you do not know the answer you should be honest and tell the children. You should use your own life experiences to teach and have the ability to admit where you were right and wrong. As a teacher you must also be open to change.
  • “Critically examining personal and professional attitudes and beliefs and challenging assumption and professional practice.” After discussion I learnt that at times giving your personal opinion may not always be appropriate. As a teacher you must get rid of preconceived thoughts and ideas. It is also important to combat children’s assumptions.
  • “Critically examining the connections between personal and professional attitudes and believes, values and practices to effect improvement and, when appropriate, bring about transformative change in practice.” Being openminded is another important aspect linked to teaching. Children should be given different perspectives. There is sometimes more than one answer and it is important children know this. Use personal beliefs to modify the way topics are taught to allow them to be fully understood.

 

History of Brain Development

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diagram-human-brainAfter today’s lecture we were asked to research the history of brain development from the 20th century to the present date. I found multiple sites giving similar timelines showing how our knowledge of the brain has developed over time. I found BBC Bitesize’s timeline the most useful:

1896: Walter Cannon (America) used a barium meal with x-rays to track the passage of food through the digestive system.

1910: Henry Dale (Britain) discovered the chemical histamine, which is produced by the body during an allergic reaction. This allowed him to understand allergic response and surgical shock.

1921: Frederick Banting and Charles Best discovered insulin, which breaks down sugar in the bloodstream. Thus he found the cause of diabetes.

1923: Edgar Allen (America) discovered oestrogen (the hormone that powers femaleness). In 1935 Ernst Laqueur isolated testosterone, the hormone that creates maleness.

1931: The invention of the electron microscope allowed doctors to see bacteria and viruses for the first time.

1951: The Mexican company Syntex developed norethisterone, which prevents ovulation – leading to production of the first contraceptive pills.

1953: Francis Crick and James Watson (Britain) discovered DNA.

1953: Leroy Stevens (America) discovered stem cells.

1970s: Patrick Steptoe (Britain) developed IVF fertility treatment; in 1978 Louise Brown became the first ‘test-tube’ baby.

1970s: Endoscopes – fibre optic cables with a light source – enabled doctors to ‘see’ inside the body.

1972: Geoffrey Hounsfield (Britain) invented the CAT scanner, which uses x-ray images from a number of angles to build up a 3D image of the inside of the body.

1980s: MRI scans were developed to monitor the electrical activity of the brain.

1986: In the Visible Human project undertaken in the US, the bodies of two criminals (a male and a female) were frozen, cut into 1mm slices, stained, photographed and stored as 3-d images on the internet.

1990s: The Human Genome project undertaken in the US mapped all the genes in the human body – 40,000 of them. Humans share their gene make-up with much of the natural world, leading scientists to joke that because of the genes we share, human beings are 60 per cent banana! In 1997 Scottish researchers bred Dolly, the first cloned sheep.

2002: Gunther von Hagens (Germany) performed live dissections on TV.

My knowledge of the brain is very slim. I hope that through further research and reading I can widen and improve my knowledge.

This timeline can be found at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/history/shp/modern/twentiethcenturyknowledgerev1.shtml

24 Hours in Police Custody – Online Unit

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I believe that the police in the episode of 24 hours in police custody showed great patience, especially when suspects were continually answering with “no comment” as this does not help their investigation. I can imagine this would also be extremely frustrating yet the police officers managed to stay extremely calm and collected which is a greath0QYY39VPt professional attribute. There was a huge sense of cooperation between all departments of the police in organising arrests and interviews. Being a team member is very important in this profession as they are working against the clock and need to communicate and work together to make the most of their time. I believe the officers (particularly the female interviewer) showed compassion and respect to the suspect, especially when she said she was not here to judge. She also shows compassion for the families of suspects. All these officers are extremely determined to protect children. They are very knowledgeable about their career and also how criminals can think, but they also have knowledge on how their presence can impact children in the home which they are entering. I think this is extremely important and contributes to them being good professionals as they have knowledge beyond their profession.

 

What points in the programme are the professional’s skills most noticeable?

I think the professional’s skills are most noticeable in interviews. They show huge amounts of patience and calmness throughout the long interview process. ThthG2R80W6Gey also listen carefully and don’t interrupt suspects when speaking. Another professional skill shown during the interview process is the respect they show the suspect. They allow them to discuss issues with their solicitor and give them the ability to not answer any questions they find inappropriate. The officers are very considerate when entering people’s homes as well and try to minimise the impact their presence will have on children, I feel this is a professional skill. When the suspect leaves the room the officers talk normally and joke, however at no point do they do this in front of the suspect which I feel is important in acting professionally.

Are there any times in the programme where the professionals do not act professionally?

I didn’t feel there were many times the officers acted unprofessionally. However there was one incident were the female custody sergeant referred to a suspect as “what an idiot.” Although the suspect did not hear her, I think the comment is extremely inappropriate and unprofessional as she is casting judgement.

What is the impact of professional and (if you saw any) unprofessional behaviour on the people the midwife/barrister/police officer was working with?

I felt that the professional behaviour of the interviewing officers allowed the suspects to feel more relaxed and at ease. I think the fact they weren’t judging allowed one suspect in particular to be a lot more open about his crimes. I also feel that because they are listening and respecting the suspect, the suspect shows the same behaviour back and has a better interview process because he feels fairly treated. I didn’t notice any unprofessional behaviour which impacted the people the officers were working with, however this could’ve been a different story had a suspect heard the officer refer to him as an idiot.

What about dress code? Does it matter how the midwives/barristers/police officers dress and if so why?

I believe that the custody sergeant was dressed very smartly and this gave the impression that what was about to happen was very serious. However many of the police officers and interviewers were dressed very casually. I feel this gives the impression that the situation is very informal when in reality the people they are interviewing could be going to prison for a long time. I feel their dress code does not reflect the seriousness of the case. I believe that when entering people’s houses officers should be dressed in uniform so that the suspects can identify the potential seriousness of a situation. In my opinion entering a person’s house to investigate in a hoody looks very unprofessional.th8V1FNJMT

 

Having watched the programme, if you were asked to develop a degree for student midwives/barristers/police officers what learning methods do you think would be most relevant? Try and ascribe a percentage of time the students might need to spend on the following learning methods and give a rationale for your percentage.

  1. Attending lectures – 20%
  2. Background reading about relevant subjects. – 35%
  3. Practical skills based training such as role play – 25%
  4. Work based learning – 30%

I found this really difficult to decide. I feel that attending lectures is extremely important in any degree. However I feel that the most important aspect in a degree for police officers could possible be the background reading. The police officers in this episode showed a huge amount of background knowledge and seemed to also have knowledge on other topic areas. I think role play is also an important aspect because some situations may get physical and can often be unpredictable so it is important to train students as best as possible in order for them to deal with any situation. I believe work based learning is of huge importance to any trainee. It allows them to observe and get a taste of their chosen profession. It also allows them to see different ways officers deal with situation. I think a hands on experience would be very beneficial in training any profession.

 

What does it mean to be professional? (Online Unit)

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I believe there are many attributes related to being professional. Unfortunately I can’t get the Wordle app to work so have just had to list what I consider to be the main attributes of being professional.

Attributes of being professional include:

Competent
Knowledgeable
Calm
Skilled
Patient
Respectful
Fair
Trustworthy
Dedicated
Self-motivation
Efficient
Reliable
Team Player
Organised
Punctual
Well-rounded
Good ethics
Role Model
Thoughtful
Responsible
Interesting
Inspiring
Cooperative
Willing to learn
Good Listener

RSA Animate

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I found this video extremely interesting and took several notes whilst watching. I am in total shock at how fast the rate of ADHD is rising and how highly medicated children are becoming, I also find it shocking that as standardised testing increase, the amount of children with ADHD increases. Although this may not be a convincing argument to get rid of testing, I believe that maybe we should begin to take the effect of testing more seriously. This video raises many concerns about how we teach children in the twenty-first century. It discusses the view that we teach children in batches, and perhaps this is not the correct way. Children have different needs and different mentalities, it is important to consider this when planning a lesson. The fact that divergent thinking decreases with age is also very eye-opening. I feel that this is because children are taught what is right and wrong and that for subjects like Maths and Science there can only be one answer. This could potentially narrow a child’s imagination.

In reflection, this video implies that our educational system is not keeping up with the ever growing demands of our children. The system does not change with time and children are suffering. Many children are at a disadvantage through age streaming as they are not as mentally developed as others their age. We need to escape from categorising people due to their ability to pass tests. Instead of basing education on the image of industrialisation, why can’t we base it on the needs of the public?

Social Work Module

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I chose Social Work as my elective as it is something I have always found interesting. Partly because my mum’s best friend is a social worker and has told me many stories about how useful knowing some of their theories will be to me in my teaching career. Our module is all about collaborative advantage and what it means to work together. I feel that the research I am currently doing for my assignment will benefit me in my future teaching career. So far I have researched: GIRFEC, the GTCS, Scottish Social Services Council and CLD standards. I am now beginning to understand how they all interlink and the importance of understanding other professions and their values.

Working alongside CLD and Social Work students is very interesting. I believe this will be beneficial for the future as we will all have to work with each profession in order to solve multiple problems associated within working with children across all three careers. I hope that learning to work together with trainee social workers and CLD students now, will make me more confident in working collaboratively in the future. Collaboration is extremely important amongst many professions in order to avoid tragedies such as the death of Victoria Climbe.

For our placement on the 26th of October. My group will be visiting PAMIS. A Dundee charity which works with children who suffer from multiple disabilities and their families. Through reading up on PAMIS I have discovered that they also raise funds to better the lives of the people they work with. They run several schemes which support families throughout their journey, they also have a bereavement and loss service and try their best to provide accessible leisure to disabled children. I am extremely looking forward to seeing their work first hand and hope that I can learn valuable lessons which I will be able to take forward with me into my teaching career.

5 Professional Attributes

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Integrity is the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. I believe that integrity is an attribute of a profession because it is important for teachers to uphold moral values as their behavior influences the children they teach. Having good/strong moral values is important in my eyes as you have the ability to teach what is right or wrong. As a teacher our behavior directly influences children so therefore being honest could also be regarded as key. We need to be honest in the way we teach, learn and reflect. A sense of honesty is needed for self-reflection and self-criticism in order to improve. Integrity is also in the GTCS standards for registration.

Another attribute a professional requires is a sense of fairness. Fairness is defined as the state, condition, or quality of being fair, or free from bias or injustice; evenhandedness. This is important to being professional as showing signs of preference towards one person over the other, or perhaps letting one child behave in a certain way that others would not get away with can create tension and animosity. Being fair is also a crucial way to build trust, respect and good relationships. Fairness could also mean equality. I think that being professional means you must treat everyone equally. Discrimination for any reason would simply be unacceptable in any work place, and especially in a classroom.

Justice helps create a safe-environment for us to work and live in and therefore could be seen as a vital attribute of being a professional. Justice is the punishment of the wrong and the upholding of the good. Through justice we can improve our morals. I believe that justice creates a better sense of togetherness and can improve people’s self-discipline. Justice in the workplace is important as it shows unacceptable behaviour will not be tolerated and anyone who has felt a victim (through actions such as bullying) can gain more self-esteem knowing that justice has worked in their favour. I believe justice is important in the classroom as it can stop unruly behaviour and teach children that certain behaviour won’t be tolerated.

In my eyes respect is treating others how you would like to be treated. The dictionary defines respect as a due regard for the feelings, wishes, or rights of others. Respect in a profession can help create strong working relationships. Having mutual respect shows that you acknowledge someone’s talents, skills or attributes. This can be helpful as it can broaden opportunities. By showing you respect someone’s skills they will be more willing to show or demonstrate how to do certain things you may be struggling with. Lack of respect creates workplace tension and an atmosphere that can be hard to work or learn in. Respect towards pupils in the classroom is important not only because pupils will then begin to respect you back, but it shows them that they must respect each other and understand the consequences of showing no respect.

Patience is an important aspect in any profession. Having patience means you are less likely to make unrational decisions. Patience is important in building relationships as it provides us time to process other people’s views, tolerate any behaviours we do not agree with and allow us to stay calm in situations. Patient is important for overcoming anger and frustration. Professionals deal with many frustrating situations on a day-to-day basis and through patience we no only tolerate them more, but we can make them more enjoyable. Children can sometimes be unpredictable and behave in ways in which we do not agree with. Patience is key in all classrooms, not all children will understand your explanation the first, second or maybe even third time. Through patience and by keeping calm we can enhance children’s learning experience, being able to repeat ourselves and tolerate persistent mischief is part of the job and without patience frustration would set in much quicker and the learning environment would subsequently suffer.

Professional Use of Social Media (TDT)

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In my opinion the more you use social media and the more personal information you share, the more vulnerable you make yourself to possible criticism. From today’s lecture I now understand how newspapers (such as the Daily Mail) take great interest in the mistakes teachers make in sharing too much personal information and pictures on social media sites such as Facebook.

One challenge that teachers may face when marrying personal and professional presence on social media is knowing what is professional and what is unacceptable. It think that it is good to have guidelines like the ones found in the GTCS code to ensure what you are sharing on personal/professional accounts is appropriate. Another issue may be finding a balance in professional and personal status’ when using a joint site. Personally I would prefer to keep a separate page for the two, as this way I could be sure that I was using media in the most appropriate way without people who you do not know being able to access information about your personal interests. I have also learnt that it is important to make sure your tagged photos are not on public display, as if your friend uploads an inappropriate photo of you, it is out of your control and once something is online it will never be unseen. I think that incorporating social media into lessons can be very valuable, but it is of extreme importance that we teach children how dangerous social media can potentially be.

The videos we watched in today’s lecture, and some of the others I have found online are extremely eye-opening and show how vulnerable children can be when not taught how to use media appropriately. Although it is important to teach children the correct way to use media, it is also important that as teachers, we follow the correct codes of conduct and do not use media in any way that may be deemed unprofessional or risk our position as teachers.

Philosophy

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Before our lectures with John, I had never learnt or really thought about philosophy. I found many of the concepts in our lectures extrememly interesting but at the same time very confusing. It has taken me a while to get my head around some of the key concepts.

In one of the lectures we were introduced to Plato’s theory of forms. John used a chair as an example and we discussed what makes a chair, a chair. Upon further reading I have found out that Plato believes we can get answers to the questions “what is virtue? And what is justice?” To answer these questions he came up with the theory of the forms. Plato believes that if you can find the true being of virtue and of true justice, you can find its true form. He implies that all things have a true being. The world we live in is a poor imitation of the real world. Our world is constantly changing and we rely on our senses to understand what is going on. We as humans are in a constant state of flux. Plato is sure the real world is outside the world we live in. The world is unchanging and eternal.

Another concept of Plato’s I cam across what that the world is divided into two worlds, the visible and the intelligible. We can only grasp the intelligible with our minds. Furthermore, the soul does not change, it is eternal. It is connected with the real world of the forms. The world of the forms is the philosophers world. Only the person who investigates and questions learns the truth of the illusion and normal people are ruled by senses cannot see past the illusion. The material world is simply a shadow of the real world of the forms. It is the job of the philosopher to break away from the real world and find the world of the forms.

We were introduced to many other philosophers in John’s lectures such as, Dewey, Gramsci, Greene and Aristotle. Each have different beliefs and views on education. I hope that by further research I can broaden my understanding of their concepts and philosophy as a whole. I feel that these lectures will be extremely valuable when it comes to our VIVAS. I was not looking forward to the philosophy section as I felt totally clueless, however I know feel slightly more at ease and wish to improve my knowledge through further reading and research.

My understanding of Reflection

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In my opinion reflection is looking back on an experience. I believe that we use reflection to learn and improve on an experience. If we do this our next experience can be more enjoyable. When we reflect we consider new ideas and criticise our past actions and thoughts. I understand reflection to be a critical process, and is an important part in learning. If we didn’t criticise and reflect on previous experiences we would not give ourselves an opportunity to improve. I like the quote in the video “reflection is the key to taking control of our own learning”. I hope that in future reflective thinking improves my learning and writing skills.

Spelling, Puctuation and Grammar – The Study Skills Book

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After reading pages 236 – 280, I have realised that my standard of English may not be as high as I would ideally like. On reflection these few chapters of ‘The study skills book’ have taught me many things which I would’ve classed as basic, however do not remember from higher English two years ago. One of the main things I took from these sections was that whe writing in an academic style you need to avoid the impersonal tone. I am quite prone to writing in this way and realise now that I will have to move away from this when writing my assignments. I also learnt that it is imporant to use words such as “those, these, this and that” followed by a noun.

I think that discovering another way to plan a paragraph will be useful when it comes to writing our essays. I have never used a paragraph plan which is set out as: Topic sentence – Developer Sentence – Modulator Sentence – Terminator Sentence. I prefer this plan to the one I have used previously and hope that it will enhance my writing.

One key tip I took from the book was that spellchecker can often change words, or make mistakes. I normally always rely on my microsoft spellchecker and when proof-reading rarely look out for spelling mistakes. McMillan highlights the importance of spelling and punctuation in conveying a message clearly. In future I think that it would be of best interest to not only proof-read my essay myself, but to get others to also proof-read.

I hope that through further reading of ‘the study skills book’ I gain further knowledge of how to improve and develop my writing style and language.