November 17, 2015
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Comments Off on Opening Our Arms
As the first plane of Syrian refugee’s touches down in The United Kingdom today, I feel it is important to reflect on how positive it is that our country has opened its arms to these people in their time of need. Britain has agreed to take in around 20,000 refugees over the next five […] Continue reading
November 17, 2015
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Comments Off on Unimaginable Imagination
Imagine an unimaginable imagination. One that no teacher, educator, facilitator, parent, caregiver or learner sets expectations for, standardises for, or… imagines. Sarah Maxine Green, an American educational philosopher, author, social activist and teacher, stated, “We want our classrooms to be just and caring, full of various conceptions of the good. We want them to be articulate, with […] Continue reading
November 16, 2015
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Comments Off on Developing Professional Skills and Abilities: Online Unit 3
Words/phrases relating to professionalism: Competent Knowledgeable Calm Skilled Respectable Punctual Motivating Encouraging Enthusiastic Constructive criticism Passionate Collaborative working Going above and beyond I chose to watch One Born Every Minute and believe that the midwives displayed all the characteristics I associate with a professional. I believe that the midwives displayed a great deal of commitment […] Continue reading
November 15, 2015
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Comments Off on ‘The Secret Life of 4 Year Olds’
I recently watched ‘The Secret Life of 4 Year Olds‘ broadcast by Channel 4 on Tuesday 3rd November (Watch here – http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-secret-life-of-4-5-and-6-year-olds). As the episode progressed, I found myself realising I have definitely been underestimating children as young as four years old. The hour-long duration of the programme was enough to capture the essence of the life of […] Continue reading
November 15, 2015
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Comments Off on Calling out for peace
The terrible news of the terrorist attack in Paris on Friday 13th November will not be new to many people. It is a story that has really struck a chord with me and makes me question; what kind of world are we living in? When innocent lives are being taken, and for what? One of […] Continue reading
November 15, 2015
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Comments Off on Let me speak!
Yesterday, in my place of work, I found myself astonished by the sight and sound of a mother silencing her child. Allow me to contextualise the situation for you. I work in a restaurant located in our City Centre. It is always busy with guests coming in for the first time, the second time, or […] Continue reading
November 15, 2015
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Comments Off on The SPR part one.
Social justice; * Embracing locally and globally the educational and social values of sustainability, equality and justice and recognising the rights and responsibilities of future as well as current generations. When referring to sustainability, we should be thinking as teachers how we can actively engage a child to learn about sustainability in the world, for […] Continue reading
November 11, 2015
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Comments Off on What is personality?
In today’s input by Patricia, I found the aspect of personality very intriguing. Personality, as quoted in Bee and Boyd (2012, p 218) is “The individual’s enduring patterns of responses to and interaction with others and the environment.” Personality is a very difficult area to study, as everyone is different. There are five different dimensions […] Continue reading
November 9, 2015
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Comments Off on Online Unit: 1c
What do you see as the main benefits of working co-operatively? – There are many benefits to working co-operatively. One of these being that it allows you to get an insight into professions or areas of the job which you may never of had the chance to look into before. For instance, as a teacher […] Continue reading
November 5, 2015
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Comments Off on Working Together Visit
As part of our Working Together module we get to go out on a visit to different agencies to see how they work together across different disciplines. We had been preparing for this visit for a few weeks and had prepared questions to ask when we were there. My group visited Baldragon Academy in Dundee […] Continue reading
November 4, 2015
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Comments Off on Born but not wanted…
From various inputs I’ve realised that the topic of the ‘Romanian Orphans’ was brought to our attention several times. I decided to have a look into the topic as I’d never heard of before and reflect on what I found out. The term ‘Romanian Orphans’ raised due to Nicolae Ceaușescu forbidding both abortion and contraception all […] Continue reading
November 4, 2015
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Comments Off on Enquiring Practitioner
What does it mean to be an enquiring practitioner? I believe an enquiring practitioner to be someone who is always keen to seek the answer of something which has a logical explanation and can be defined. They would always go out to find the solution which has the most solid evidence. What does this […] Continue reading
November 3, 2015
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Comments Off on Professionalism: My Views…
After watching these videos and taking my own notes on the different opinions/views on professionalism I have gathered some of my own thoughts on them… Video 1 I completely agreed with everything that was brought up in this video. I think it’s making a very strong, powerful point when looking at professionalism. How the doctor […] Continue reading
October 29, 2015
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Comments Off on Participating in Practitioner Enquiry…
So what is a Practitioner Enquiry? A practitioner enquiry is an individual who actively engages with their own practice based research. They will reflect on their research to help them improve/deepen their own knowledge. Practitioner enquiry is key in when being professional as it will allow you to gain a better understanding of your practice […] Continue reading
October 27, 2015
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Comments Off on The importance of being an enquiring practitioner…
As we learnt today, in Nikki’s input, being an enquiring practitioner is highly regarded within the teaching profession. This is something that I think we should acknowledge as new student teachers. On the GTCS website it states that “Practitioner enquiry is an area of professional learning which was highlighted in Teaching Scotland’s Future (Donaldson, 2011) […] Continue reading
October 26, 2015
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Comments Off on Attachments
From the minute we begin to develop within the womb, we form attachments. Therefore, to me, this is a vital aspect of our learning. It has since been found that for a sound upbringing a child needs to have some sort of attachment so surely this is a great aspect in a child’s holistic development? […] Continue reading
October 25, 2015
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Comments Off on Reflection on GTC Scotland Standards Section 1
SPR section 1 Last week we took part in a workshop as part of the 1CM1 module, looking at professional values. Our main focus was the GTC Scotland Standards Section 1 (found in the above link). We started in our ‘home groups’ and then after being given a number we moved into our ‘expert groups’ […] Continue reading
October 25, 2015
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Comments Off on Is teaching a profession? Are teachers professionals?
Professionalism in the teaching discipline is diversely considered. Many people have the viewpoint that professionals are of high status in society, an example being lawyers. We must acknowledge the responsibility teachers hold in the profession and identify their roles as professionals, deservingly. Teaching is a paid occupation, therefore I believe should be defined as a […] Continue reading
October 25, 2015
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Comments Off on My Philosophy of Education – MA1
It is fundamental for any teacher to have their own philosophy of education, which is made up of their values and beliefs about learning, teaching and education, because this is an influential element of the learning, planning and reflecting process in the classroom, of which the teacher is responsible for. Education is a never-ending, lifelong […] Continue reading
October 24, 2015
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Comments Off on “One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world” – Malala Yousafzai
I’d like you to think back to your first years of education, a time when you were facilitated with materials such as pencils, pens and books. Something to write on, something to write with and someone to teach you how to write. Was this your introduction to an education? Malala Yousafzai, a teenage girl from […] Continue reading
