Category Archives: 1.4 Prof. Commitment

I don’t know, let me find out.

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An enquiring practitioner is ultimately an individual who seeks to gain more relevant knowledge. They further research aspects of interest or need and are then able to relay these to others. This allows the investigative work to become more than reflection, while also consolidating information that has been learned. For us on our journey to becoming teachers, it is of benefit to fully immerse ourselves in this ethos, as it is hoped that practitioner enquiry will become a day-to-day occurrence in Scottish schools.

As a student teacher the concept of being an enquiring practitioner seems to fit nicely with the theories and inputs we have heard so far and indeed what we do as university students- learn. If we expect and encourage student autonomy we have to also be ever improving as teachers. Learning and sharing of information should be on going. As students we use the eportfolios to highlight and hopefully discuss areas of research and interest. It is reassuring for me, as a student teacher that as a qualified teacher there are guidelines in place to justify and encourage ongoing knowledge. We are in a modern society and teachers can come under scrutiny; we are not the once entirely trusted “do as the teacher says,” profession. To have documented and shared research to back up our teaching and methods, will help us fair against any doubts or insecurities parents or colleagues may have. That is of double benefit as through practitioner enquiry we adopt a more critical eye and will therefore be in the position to improve our own practice. An enquiring practitioner can foresee possible routes of research and further study; for pupils and teachers alike. Another benefit is the impact our research can have on the curriculum, to make change we must be the change. It is through collaborative and engaged research that those suggestions lead to action. Being an enquiring practitioner will open the door and be a direct link to the passion we have for our chosen line of work. As a student teacher our grasp on being an enquiring practitioner can benefit us on placements; being able to engage in the wider school community and contribute to any meetings, parents evenings, in-service days, workshops etc. No teacher should rest on the laurels of past techniques, without knowing that is the best current method.

So lets look critically at the concept of the enquiring practitioner. To me, a student teacher, there was that level of assumption that this idea of on-going learning and evaluative investigative research was a given. So giving it a name and a section of GTCS was a bit of an eye opener. For me this highlighted that not all teachers engaged in on-going research or peer interaction and valuable development. Another disadvantage or critique would be the self-serving role of individual research. The want to highlight new ideas and thinking without a critical and professional approach; not engaging deeply enough with these. As a student teacher we will also have to question and practice becoming an enquiring practitioner on placement. This means we will have to take into consideration that what works for one school may not work for another. Don’t blindly adopt techniques without doing further situational research. Indeed it may be hard to focus on research coming to a productive end. Pulling in research when necessary and not allowing tangents, unrelated to teaching, to occur. Also, thinking from a student teacher, perspective; imagine going through hours of engaging research to then be told by peers or higher governing bodies that the work is of no significant value or to go back to the drawing board. It is throughout our student lives that we will gain the expertise to cope with this constructive criticisms and keep the drive.

I’ve found as a student teacher that most lectures are new and exciting, but what can’t be covered in the hour long lecture is up to us to research. To practice becoming an enquiring practitioner I have to take the initiative and engage in conflicting ideas/methods/theories as well as my peer group. By doing I can become.

…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)

There’s reading, then there’s reflecting

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quote-Margaret-J.-Wheatley-without-reflection-we-go-blindly-on-our-100105

Reflection is paramount when it comes to education. Philosophy and theory are underpinned by it. As a teacher, it is needed for: improvement, justification, worth, position and the ability to adapt. As teachers we become part of the GTCS, it is the body we must adhere to and in the Standards for Registration section 3.4 they state that student teachers must, “reflect and engage in self evaluation using the relevant professional standard.” If, as a student I can grasp reflection and utilise this appropriately I feel I will become a better teacher.

It is however, not sufficient to reflect only from a personal viewpoint or to make assumptions about outcomes. It is so easy to over personalise reflective writing, this must be avoided with the input of other sources and the ability to step back from a situation.  If something goes awry it is through reflection it can be avoided again. How did it impact upon others? What would others do differently? Are there theories to support or refute my findings? Reflection leads to adaptation and change and without that we would become stagnant. Honesty and a willingness to step out-with our own values and views is necessary for effective reflection. Education must flow with the times and be a reflection, in itself, of the world we exist within.

To encourage reflective thought in children it is best to practice reflectively. The philosopher Maxine Greene stated “to present oneself as actively engaged in critical thinking… one cannot accept any “ready-made standardized scheme” at face value.” This idea of questioning and being seen to adopt an open standpoint is vital. As a teacher I need to evolve and reflect just as each and every student must. The philosopher goes on to discuss the concept of concious engagement with inquiry. Reflection is about being pro-active and it always leads to something more. Being patient enough to follow up and act upon outcomes, then lead onto action.

In short, reflection is the process of improvement. This blog has helped me tremendously with my reflective approach towards my own education. I can only imagine how reflection will impact my teaching.

 

Me, Me, Me

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Completing a questionnaire about learning styles seems borderline irrelevant when we are geared towards creating holistic individuals, however, I was keen to find out what type of learner they thought I was. I have been reading more and more about how learning styles are detrimental. One of the reasons being, you are catering to a child’s strength not improving upon a weakness. I can see how this can be a hindrance but I found it beneficial to highlight what areas I need to work on.

There are many learning style theorists; Gunn and Gunn, VAK learning styles, Gregorc’s mind styles and Kolb. The questionnaire I took was the Honey and Mumford Learning Styles Questionnaire, influenced by Kolb’s experiential learning styles. The questionnaire has 4 basic experiential learning style outcomes; Activist, Reflector, Theorist and Pragmatist. Out of 80 questions I related to 34 and these are my results

Activist = 14              Reflector = 4           Theorist = 8               Pragmatist = 8

These show that I have, according to Honey and Mumford an Activist learning style. I am in short, a do-er. My criticism’s towards this sort of questionnaire were that I found the questions very non specific and they were hard to give a definite answer to. There was only one question I answered with a whole hearted YES and that was “I prefer to respond to events on a spontaneous, flexible basis rather than plan things out in advance.” Now I know very well that I cannot and do not approach my university work like this… I’d say I utilise aspects of the 4 and want everything as perfect as I can make it.  If I had answered these questions in my youth or prior to having my daughter I know my answers would be very different.  So it is correct in the sense that we all have different ways we think, regarding our overall learning style, but it is not definitive of who I am or the only way I learn. If I reflect, so far, on my time at University I know I have come into contact with at least 4 different teaching styles/methods/approaches. If I didn’t have the skills to decipher those “styles” with my learning style I would be in a pickle.

Children should be seen as individuals and exposure to varying approaches and involvement within their community will hopefully shape them to be all types of learners. They will develop, change and expand their learning the more “styles” they use in their enquiries and as they grow. If a child is solely taught in one teaching style you are not creating the opportunity for praxis and collaboration of ideas. It is imparting on the children a sense of how to do things in the wider world. Take an onus for their holistic learning, not “training” them to seek out chances to use a specific style.

This appears to be a bash at learning styles, maybe my inner Activist took hold. Joking aside, compartmentalising a child is a restriction. That restriction may also apply to the teacher if learning styles are focussed on too heavily. Understanding of learning styles should be used as a primitive base for teachers to comprehend the vast responsibility that is: teaching. We are aiming for inspirational stimulation in the classroom and I believe that concentrated focus and labelling of learning styles detracts from this.