To be a teacher now is very different from what it once was. Gone are the days when a teacher lived inside the ‘bubble’ that was their classroom.
Through the implementation of the CFE we are seeing a shift to a more collegiate way of working. Teachers are encouraged to interact within the school whether it be through: staff meetings, team teaching, joint planning, work parties or school events. As well as this teachers are expected to be enquiring practitioners.
To be an enquiring practitioner is to go beyond personal enquiry and reflection. It is to share your new found knowledge with others, to the benefit of others as well as yourself. It is described by the GTCS as “knowing deeply; knowing what; knowing why; knowing how.” Within the GTCS’s Standards for Registration 1.4.2 it states that one of the Professional Values and Personal Commitments core to being a teacher is: “Committing to lifelong enquiry, learning, professional development and leadership as core aspects of professionalism and collaborative practice.”
“Lifelong enquiry” says it all. As teachers we must question and search for meaning, we must research and make ourselves aware and knowledgeable, and we must pass on our knowledge to our pupils and our colleagues. On top of this we must constantly look to improve our practice through “professional development.” We mustn’t shy away from new ideas and approaches.
Being an enquiring practitioner has its challenges; it is easy to get stuck in a rut and be afraid of change but as teachers we must overcome our fears and embrace change. You may come across others who do not share your views and that can be challenging too but its perfectly fine. These challenges are completely outweighed by the benefits that can be reaped by yourself, your colleagues, your school and your class.
I found your post to be a really enjoyable and informative read! I like the mix of formal/ professional language and the less formal, personal touches that you add such as “Gone are the days when a teacher lived inside the ‘bubble’ that was their classroom.”
Have you considered including some images to make your posts even more engaging to the reader? There are tonnes of free stock images at http://www.morguefile.com.
I completely agree with you that in order to be successful teachers, we need to be open to change and new approaches and I hope that our time at university will help to prepare us to be able to make our own judgements and decisions rather than just accepting things as they are.
Thank you for your feedback. The tip about using pictures is especially helpful as I am rather technologically challenged! I shall be sure to use this in my future posts.
Hannah.
You gave an excellent description of what it means to be an enquiring practitioner and it is clear you researched this well. I liked the use of quotes from other professionals as it gives other views to your own, while also backing up what you have to say. Readers will also be able to visit these sites and read more if they wish to.
I think a strong point to your post was the comparison of what teachers used to be compared to what they are now. It made me think about the differences and the benefits to this which made reading the rest of your post very interesting. Your post was also very well structured and provided a nice flow for the reader. You may wish to reflect further on the benefits and challenges to being an enquiring practitioner, and also how all of this effects you as a student. Your post was very informational and I enjoyed reading it.
Thank you for your comments. I do agree I only touched on the challenges etc. of the enquiring practitioner within this post but I shall go on to investigate this further in my revision for our professionalism essay. Your feedback regarding the quotes is great, perhaps next time I could embed the links within the text.
Thanks again,
Hannah.