PART 4: Professional Commitment

1. Engaging with all aspects of professional practice and working collegiately with all members of our educational communities with enthusiasm, adaptability and constructive criticality.

• Focussing on all areas of the curriculum with equal enthusiasm is important to allow children to develop their understanding of which areas make them tick. If you portray maths in a boring fashion, chances are they will probably find it boring too. However, if you approach is with positivity and enthusiasm and constantly look at new ways to help the child engage, you may help a pupil find their forte.
• Working collaboratively with different agencies to provide support for individuals. Putting the child at the core of what you do and pooling resources to the benefit of the individuals. Being confident in your own strengths and knowing when you need extra support from senior teaching staff or external bodies.
• Being able to adapt your teaching styles in line with the abilities and needs of the pupils in your class. As previously mentioned, looking at technology etc and dedicating yourself to learning about new advancements so you can share them with your pupils. For example, video technology… I have a basic understanding of how to use software such as imovie etc but what more can I learn? What other resources are out there that the children could enjoy using?
• Being able to provide constructive criticism when practice is not working effectively. For example, if a support worker is coming into school to see a pupil and he isn’t forming a good relationship with this professional how can we address this? Discuss with the support worker and other appropriate bodies to bring about POSITIVE CHANGE.
• Also having the confidence to provide constructive criticism to pupils. Encouraging the growth mind-set. Rather than looking at a piece of work and saying it is ‘good’ because it fits certain criteria, look at ways in which that pupil can make their work even better. By constantly encouraging this, the pupil is more likely to work towards reaching their true potential.

1. Committing to lifelong enquiry, learning, professional development and leadership as core aspects of professionalism and collaborative practice.

• Looking at your strengths/weaknesses and continually developing. For example, I know I struggle with maths more than any other subject so I would address this and work out a way to develop my ability in this subject. Is there a course I could take?
• On the flip side, I really enjoy modern languages so I could look into developing further understanding of different languages which could be offered within the school.
• Also, looking at different extra-curricular things the school could get involved in. I know I loved working on the Rock Challenge dance/drama project while I was in secondary school and this is something that is now open at a junior level. I would like to commit myself to looking at new opportunities which would stimulate the children.
• Continually looking to develop within your career. I know I have considered Educational Psychology as a career path as well as Primary Teaching. Is there a way I could develop this? What do I need to progress into this career etc.
• Never settling. Setting yourself goals for the term/year. Considering what you want the next 5 years to look like. What skills do I want to develop? Which areas do I have for improvement? What role would I like within a school in the next 5 years?

I really enjoyed looking deeper into the GTCS Standards for Provisional Registration as it really got me thinking about how I should act as a student teacher and what sort of goals I want to achieve. I will revisit the standards as I go along, as I am sure I will see things which spark my interest that I can add into this. Creating targets for myself in line with the standards will help me to be the type of teacher I really want to be.