Activity 1
1. Below are a list of skills and abilities. Complete an audit of where you are now. Record this in your learning journal/portfolio.
Rate yourself (1=Not very well developed; 3=very well developed)
| Skills and Abilities |
1 |
2 |
3 |
| Share opinions confidently | X | ||
| Work under pressure | X | ||
| Use technology | X | ||
| Self confidence | X | ||
| Organise and plan | X | ||
| Team work | X | ||
| Take responsibility | X | ||
| Taking risks | X | ||
| Write for academic purposes | X |
Although it is important to identify where we are now, it is not enough to stop there. We need to reflect upon how we can develop the skills where we are less confident and how we can transfer the skills in which we are confident and competent.
Activity 2
Complete the audit below, using the information from the table above.
| Recognition | Reflection | Action |
| Skills already developed | How will I use these | How do I know (evidence)** |
| Share opinions confidently | Sharing my opinions confidently will be useful in group discussions so that all sides of an argument will be covered. It will help me when writing essays as it means that I can argue for an idea and be able to oppose that idea too. | |
| Use technology | Using technology will play a big role in my time at University and when I am teaching. I will use technology at University in order to help me to gain access to lecture notes and any research I wish to undertake. I will also be using technology to keep my E-Portfolio updated and to complete assignments. When teaching, I will use technology for many things: showing the children pictures or other forms of media as a way of introducing or developing a topic; as a way of interacting with the pupil’s by playing games; as a way of bringing the class and lessons together – in a way that is similar to this E-Portfolio I am completing. | |
| Team work | Team work is a vital skill. I will use team work at University when we are undertaking group tasks and group discussions. Team work is essential for making sure things run smoothly. So, in teaching I will work as a team with my fellow teachers in order for there to be a good flow of information – this will also be essential for communicating with parents – and so that we are able to help one another out when we need to. When on placement, I will use my team working skills with the teacher of the class I am with in order to get to know the class and their needs. | |
| Take responsibility | I will use this at University because I have to take responsibility for my own learning – by doing further reading for a topic, creating notes and completing tasks. I will also take responsibility for ensuring that I meet deadlines. I will use this when teaching as I will take responsibility of the class. I will have the responsibility of ensuring they are safe and that they are benefiting from the lesson. I will have the responsibility of setting their homework and ensuring lessons are fun and engaging for the whole class. | |
| Work under pressure | Working under pressure will be useful at University especially near exam time and when assignments are due in. It will be very useful when I have lots of deadlines close together. This will also be useful when I am teaching as things might not go to plan and I’ll need to be able to handle the pressure in order to have things under control and still be able to teach a lesson or deal with the situation. Working under pressure will also be useful when I am being assessed whilst out on placement – knowing someone is sitting in on my lesson assessing me will be nerve racking but having the ability to work under pressure will mean that I can – in a sense- forget that they are there and feel at ease. | |
| Organise and plan | Organisation and planning are essential when teaching. I will use these skills when planning for lessons and possibly when planning excursions. I will use my organisational skills to organise the class into groups for various reasons. Organisational skills will be helpful as having things organised makes me feel in control. At University, organisation will be used when organising for deadlines – organisation will help me to prioritise work and means that I can meet deadlines. Planning will be useful when I plan for assignments. |
| Recognition | Reflection | Action |
| Skills not yet developed | How will I develop these | How do I know (evidence)** |
| Self confidence | I will work on my self confidence by not being scared if I get something wrong and not being too concerned about what people think of me. I am studying this course because it is something I have always wanted to do and I’m studying at University to better myself so I can better others. I shouldn’t let my lack of confidence hinder this. I also think as the course progresses I will become more confident because I am at the beginning of a new adventure and I am still just finding my feet. | |
| Taking risks | As I work on my self confidence, I think I will feel more comfortable taking risks. I think I need to work on coming out of my comfort zone and trying new things – not just doing things because I know they work for me. Taking risks will help me as a student as I will hopefully try things that will help me to become a better teacher. | |
| Write for academic purposes | I will develop my skills for writing for academic purposes through practice. At the very start of my 1st year at University, I am feeling apprehensive about academic writing, so I am hoping once I have done it a few times I will feel better about academic writing. Also by reading so books based on academic writing might help me to develop my academic writing skills. | |
** This section should be completed as you identify when/where/how you have used/developed these skills.
