2.2 Education Systems & Prof. Responsibilities

The SPR section 3.4.2 indicates the importance of and ways in which reflection can play a key part in the development of the prospective teacher. Reflect in one of the most important moments for your professional development in semester 1 and write a post about what you think you have learned from this critical incident and what the process of reflection is beginning to mean for you.

For me personally, throughout secondary (and to a certain extent primary school also), reflection has never really been a large focus and driving point in my education. My prime example of this would be exam/test/coursework feedback S1-S6-but the junior years especially. Like most children, we were assessed in the standard ‘high school’ way; we would learn a module or topic, on the last week of term sit a test and get the results back a couple days later. The problem here was that we never went back to the topic to cover what went wrong or what we didn’t understand and so we didn’t get time to reflect upon our weaknesses and work towards correcting them. As a year we simply took our mark as a way of dividing ourselves into those who were ‘smart’ and those who ‘weren’t’ and moved on.

I vividly remember in Higher Biology studying for a class test and the night before the test really not understanding a concept at all. I didn’t want to ask for help because I was worried I would get into trouble for not asking for help earlier and so I decided to do what so many of us are guilty for: I just left it. Luckily (or maybe not so) for me, that particular topic didn’t come up in the test and generally I did well and so I completely forgot the issue existed… until the actual exam! My nemesis of a topic reappeared and I was clueless and mentally kicking myself in the exam hall for not going over my mistake and lack of understanding. Yet again however, after sleepless nights of worry I managed to pass the exam and so the whole process of forgetting about the topic occurred once more- the Higher ship had sailed, right? Wrong. Instead, I found myself in the exact same boat when sitting my Advanced Higher Biology exam! Because it wasn’t ‘technically’ in the course notes and textbook I didn’t realise it could crop up again and so, flash forward to this day, 2 years later, I still don’t know how to use a genetic cross to predict the genotype and phenotype of an organism.

Whilst this may be a trivial-yet lengthy!- memory, it is one that now at University I can use to remind myself just how essential it is to reflect and from there improve upon my work. This is because the skills and knowledge I am currently learning will one day appear or be required in my own classroom. A classroom where young minds and their families rely on me every day to impart the best learning and teaching as possible. As practitioners, we must bridge any gaps in our knowledge or understanding to ensure our children also do not have gaps in their knowledge or miss out on vital teaching.

In terms of my own reflection of semester 1, I was a little disappointed with my peer learning group’s presentation result for the Working Together Module as I felt that our effort did not represent our final grade. After initially being upset, I decided to read the feedback sheet again once more and started to see clear areas of improvement I could work on next time and in all of my academic work. I am starting to see reflection as an essential stage in moving through my degree and also entire career- unlike the ‘reflection’ page we hurriedly and halfheartedly filled out at the end of the year at school. Being able to effectively reflect routinely is a skill that I am starting to develop and hope to continue to develop in the years to come. Without this reflection, I understand I will not be able to teach to the best of my capability throughout the years. Recently I have learnt that sometimes lessons just won’t work, even with the most organised and tried and tested lesson plans and that’s okay, providing I reflect and work towards improving upon it.

Following on from the Health and Wellbeing input earlier in the week, I watched and reflected upon the suggested videos featuring Dr Suzanne Zeedyk and John Carnochan. Their videos placed great emphasis upon the importance of the early years and it’s significance on a child’s general wellbeing following on from babyhood and even into adulthood.

Dr Suzanne highlighted how all babies are born with an adaptable brain which is ‘shaped’ and ‘moulded’ by their early experiences and relationships. Babies are also born hardwired to be sociable beings and respond to facial expressions naturally. The adaptability of babies’ brains however, means that their brain is naturally ‘moulded’ to be able to cope and survive in their own environment (this could be a negative environment with aggression, volume or neglect or a positive environment where all wellbeing needs are met). By the time a child is three years old, their brain’s plasticity and adaptability starts to decrease and the ‘mould’ of their brain becomes set. It is then very difficult to change this ‘mould’.

This video revealed scientifically just how significant the experiences of babyhood and pre-birth are in a child’s development-and how they go on to deal with their world and society. Hand in hand, the video featuring John Carnochan OBE emphasises the importance of positive relationships with children.

John Carnochan makes clear that violence is an ongoing issue within many age groups in Scotland and he believes that investment into early years is vital in order to decrease these cases. He also states that children require consistency and safety and nursery and primary teachers are key figures in a child’s life who can facilitate this need. As practitioners, we must always be mindful and aware of the fact that some children in the classroom may deal with stressful or challenging events at home and resultingly may miss out on having a vital safe circle and consistency. We must always be striving towards aiding and supporting these children through their struggles and also generating resilience in the hope that these stressful experiences do not negatively impact their lives beyond the classroom.

In terms of the impact this will have on my own professional practice, I believe the knowledge and understanding of the importance of relationships will enable me to comprehend to a greater extent why some children may face multiple different challenges and obstacles in regards to their behaviour and life choices. I also believe the knowledge will prompt me to never give up on a child, no matter how many times they cross and push boundaries. All children deserve and require stability, safety, consistency and love in order for them to develop their own healthy relationships and life choices and with time, effort and passion a teacher may be someone who can provide this.

As teachers, not only is it vital to be alert of any signals of danger or upset within the children; it is also important to develop positive and strong relationships in order for the children to be able to trust us with sharing any issues or problems in their lives. Teachers and schools should be supportive for all members of a child’s family (as well as the child), nurturing and protective so as we can set children up to be happy, healthy and responsible individuals with their own healthy and positive relationships.