Warning!
I’ve not been a good student!
Okay, that is maybe an over exaggeration but in terms of this blog, my engagement has declined severely as semester one was drawing to a close. Having looked back through some of my posts I have realised that most of my posts are influenced by lecturers who are telling me to “write this on you e-Portfolio.” If I’m honest, I only engage with it when I’m told to – I never decide to write a post off my own back. Having looked through some of my fellow students blogs, I am seriously embarrassed to admit that.
The standards of these blogs are incredible and to be honest I am jealous that I have not produced such work! The fact that the majority of the posts that I read are not directly linked to university work – they do not seem to be directed by lecturers but something that they have decided to do themselves, possibly provoked my university work. They make it look so easy and they are so enthusiastic about the topic, their own experiences linked to the topic and their reflection. It has made me question, why can’t I do that?
I have also noticed that most of my blog posts are of the same style – full of text with very few pictures or videos. As a trainee teacher, I understand that children won’t pay attention when they are faced with screeds of text; by adding in pictures it breaks up the text and should hopefully keep them engaged. Adele, practice what you preach!
Reading through others blog posts as well, I’ve come to realise I’m not the only one in certain situations. Reading about how one has struggled with maths and is quite apprehensive about teaching it, I can completely relate. It has made me realise that I’m not the only one who struggles with maths and is anxious about teaching it. I have also read about classroom organisation and it has made me want to look into this area further so that when I am a teacher I can organise my classroom in a way that the children will fully benefit from. I have also loved reading about areas people have a passion for, like dance. I too have a love and a passion for dance and to see how enthusiastic someone is to teach it in and to have their enthusiasm rub off on others is great to see.
So, what have I taken from this? What am I going to do to improve my blog? Firstly, I’m going to include more media in my posts. I feel that it makes the posts more inviting, engaging and intriguing. I am also setting myself the challenge of uploading one blog post every week that has not been directed from lecturers – this will be in addition to any posts directed from lecturers. I feel that one post a week to begin with will encourage me to engage and this will hopefully increase as time goes on. I hope to post on a variety of subjects in relation to teaching and not just academic things.
Wish me luck!
Here are the links to some of the blogs I mentioned in this post:
Adele, this is a really good post! I like that you’re showing that you have the capabilities of getting your level up to the standard you want it to be and are going to try hard at it. I also really like the picture you added of the referee to show that you’re warning yourself to work harder. That’s really creative. Well done and good luck as well with your blog. 🙂
Thank you for your feedback Katie-Rebecca! It makes it so much easier knowing people read them and comment on them haha, thanks again 🙂
Hi, Adele. This is such a good post. I love how you’ve admitted you could perhaps post more and add more media to your posts (having a read through your previous posts, they do look good, though!).
I also really love the goal you have set for yourself. Great idea!
An honest and self-critical post without an overly self-berating tone 🙂 I don’t think it’s a case of ‘why can’t I do that?’ – it’s more a case of building things up over time – provided you commit to it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
I would echo Derek’s comments – I realy liked the Scince Literacy post – but then felt guilty for telling everyone to do this! I’m very interested in learning about what makes a teacher want to engage with profesisonal development and learning and your honest relfection here is very helpful for me. So thanks for this post!