Category Archives: edushare

Teamwork makes the dream work

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As part of today’s TDT we were encouraged to engage with peers posts which has prompt me to keep on top of my ePortfolio more.  I do engage frequently with mine however it is more for TDT’s rather than professional thoughts and opinions. By looking at my peers posts it has inspired me to engage with my ePortfolio outwith my TDT’s.

Prior to the Christmas break I was beginning to really getting into the swing of writing posts and commenting on my peers posts. However this began to fall away when assessments and presentations were coming up as all my focus was on them. The lack of engagement from my peers and lecturers on my post also made me lose my confidence. When I am posting a blog it takes me ages to write it up as I am constantly re-reading and re-writing it. The amount of time I together-everyone-achieves-more-teamwork-quotespent on my posts and the lack of feedback I received really made me think, whats the point?

However after today’s lecture with Derek my “what’s the point attitude” slowly began to fade. After engaging with my peers post I was made aware that people did not engage on every single post and they still continued to post outstanding blogs so therefore why shouldn’t I?One blog that particularly stood out for me was – 5,6,7.. Dance. I found this post really interesting as Lauren’s passion and enthusiasm for her love of dance really shone through. I liked how she incorporated pictures from her own dance experience into her blog to make it that bit more personal. Her lesson plan really showed how much experience she has in dance and I am sure her enthusiasm would really motivate the children.

For me to improve my blog personally I feel I need to be more open to share my posts on edushare. I still feel very apprehensive when posting my work on their for everyone to see and for my professional development I feel this is something I must work on. I also feel I need to include more interactive sources such as videos, pictures and my professional reading into my blog to show I am really meeting and understanding the Standards for Registration.

The ePortfolio’s are a great tool to use as it is a space in which your thoughts and feelings are gathered. It allows you to reflect and engage in professional dialogue with peers and university staff providing you with the opportunity to expand your professional knowledge, thoughts and opinions.  After engaging with my peers posts this has really spurred me on to engage with my ePortfolio more and also my peers. By working together as a cohort and really engaging with one another’s ePortfolio’s we can flourish and grow together as professionals and make this a huge learning success.

Dance like nobody’s watching..

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Ever since I was a little girl I always loved dancing therefore when I saw we had a dancing input I was excited. I danced from a very young age right through to around 16 so I have a quite a broad experience of dance. My experience however is very much learning how to dance and 13682601-Word-dance-with-colorful-and-funny-letters-Stock-Vector-dance-cartoon-kidsperform rather than actually teaching dance so the prospect of this excited me.

I was very unaware of the amount of skills you actually develop through dance and through gaining this knowledge I feel that Dance is a really important curricular area. Dance allows children to build social skills such as team work and creating friendships. Some of the people I met through dancing have been lifelong friends. You learn to support one another through the good and bad times and this is skill which is valuable throughout life. Dance also allows time for children to really think outside and bring out their creative sides. It can provide a time for children to express their thoughts and feelings through dance movements.

From a teaching perspective I understand the spectrum of ability and anxiety which may appear when planning and teaching a dance lesson. From my own experience of dance in schools, girls liked dance more than boys. In my professional reading I discovered that “dance levels are highest in S1 with 62.4% of girls taking part in dance compared to only 11.5% of boys.” (Get Scotland Dancing, 2012, p17.) I found this interesting as it is around an age range which is similar to those in the upper years of primary schools. There is a stigma attached to dance that it is a “girls sport” and this may be the reason for the lack of male participant in dance. However there also girls who do not enjoy dance. When planning for a lesson I believe you have to consider the confidence of children within your class, their ability within dance and also age. The older children become their self awareness develops and they conform to fit in with their friends. This can prove as a challenge as many may not be fully committed to the lesson. I believe you have to slowly build up their confidence within dance and not make it all performing in front of one another.

For a Primary 5 class and through my understanding of the Curriculum for Excellence I aim to create an exciting and fun lesson for all.

Curriculum for Excellence Outcome: I can explore and choose movements to create and present dance, developing my skills and techniques. EXA 2-08

Learning Intention (LC): To be able to create a short dance routine related to a specific mood through the use of different movements which will be explored in the lesson.

Success Criteria (SC): To successfully create a short dance routine through actions such as travelling, gestures and stillness. To understand how these actions portray the mood which has been chosen. 

How will I achieve my LC and SC:
Warm up: Gather the children in to a circle and begin to warm up the children’s body by loosing off their body. I will also incorporate some rhythm exercises into the warm up by asking the children to walk, run, jump or clap to a piece of music. This allows me to evaluate the stage each child is at and also to examine if a child is carrying any injuries.

Main body: I will talk the children through different actions within dance e.g. travelling and ways ti travel such as; striding, skipping and hopping. This is to show creative ways to travel rather than walking and running. I will also demonstrate different gestures such as twisting, flop and stretching. Stillness is another aspect of dance I aim to examine is stillness. I will explain to the children the power stillness such as a freeze, sleep or pause can have in dance. Finally we will look into different levels of dance such as high, medium and low levels. Once we have examined different actions of dance the children will split into groups of around five to six people. In these groups they will be provided with a certain mood such as happy, sad, worried or excited and work together as a team to put together a short dance routine in which they will incorporate the different actions they have learned. I will half the class and ask them to perform in front of the other half of the class. This will allow the children to see how different actions create a certain mood and also the contrast of different moods performing together. Performing alongside peers rather than one group at a time can reduce children feeling embarrassed or anxious about performing and can allow them to flourish fully within the lesson as it is not all eyes on them.  This lesson may be conducted over the course of a few weeks depending on the pace the lessons go at.

Cool Down: Gather the children back in a circle to stretch out their bodies and to regain their focus. We will then discuss as a group if we feel we have all met the LC and SC. 

Assessment opportunities: Through the children’s performance I aim to examine if they have met the success criteria but also allow their peers to examine if they feel they have meet the success criteria too.

As stated in the Standards for Provisional Registration as a student teacher I must “develop tasks and set pace of work to meet the needs of learners, providing effective support and challenge.” I feel through dance lessons I can achieve this. I understand the range of abilities that pupils in the class will have and to take this into consideration when planning in order to provide a challenging but supported lesson. I understand the challenges I may be faced with also such as lack of motivation to participate, anxiety and also children who have  experience of dance, providing a lesson which can challenge them. I believe I could successfully  support the needs of the pupils in my class by motivating them and encouraging them to challenge themselves and step out of their comfort zone.

 

 

 

 

how secure are you?

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During our psychology lectures one lesson I particularly enjoyed was studying the theory of attachment. I found it interesting that your sense of security and attachment is connected with the development of you as a person. Attachment is a bond in which a person has a special sense of security  and comfort to another person which is usually the Mother. However in the modern day attachment can be formed with many different people such as the child’s father or the child’s grandparents.

I looked further into some studies regarding attachment and one that I thought was interesting was Freud and Dunn (1951) study on war orphans. Freud and Dunn studied six war orphans who’s parents were killed in the concentration camps. The infants were looked after as-well as possible from fellow prisoners however it was difficult to form any sort of attachment as people were never around long enough. The conditions the children lived in were hard and they had limited food and no toys to play with. After the war had ended the children were moved to Bulldogs Bank Reception in the Lake District. The children couldn’t communicate much except a few German swear words. Freud and Dunn found that the children were very hostile to the adults trying to help them and the children would do everything together, if one did not eat nor did the rest. They appeared to have formed attachment to one another. The children progressively developed relationships with adults and slowly recovered from the deprivation they suffered however still remained very much attached to one another. For me I thought this study was a real eye opener as to how key attachment is for development. The infants missed a crucial period for creating attachment therefore their social skills were affected.

An attachment theory I feel can be really beneficial in the classroom is Mary Ainsworth Strange Situation study. Ainsworth studied children’s reaction when a stranger was in a room with and without their mother present.As a result of the experiment she came up with three different attachment types; insecure avoidant, securely attached and insecure resistant. Insecure avoidant  is when the child has little interest in their caregivers and aren’t phased when alone with a stranger, they also aren’t looking for comfort when the caregiver returns. Securely attached is when the child gets upset when their caregiver leaves and seems distressed when alone with the stranger, however is quickly soothed when their mother returns. Insecure attachment is when the child doesn’t want to explore the room and they cry when their caregiver leaves and when left alone with stranger. There is however mixed responses when their mother returns they want to be soothed but they can also reject their mothers comfort and be angry. Children with a secure attachment don’t need all the teachers attention on them and are happy for other children to receive some of that attention. These children are able to wait their turn, with belief that their teacher will be able to meet their needs.  This allows the child to take risks and tolerate frustrations in the learning process. However, children with attachment difficulties will typically show distrust within in their teacher and classmates, and many put this down to  lack of concentration rather than attachment difficulties. A child who constantly talks can be using this a strategy to keep bad thoughts away. These children may also have difficulty dealing with unstructured situations such as playtimes . If they make mistakes, these children may have explosive reactions.

Overall for me I feel that having the knowledge of the attachment theory is crucial for teachers. Having the ability to spot that a child is acting up as they have trust issues because due to not having that attachment figure in their life, and not because they are trying to show off or be the “class clown”. As teachers having the knowledge and tools to deal with this situation can only insure a better learning experience and future for your pupils.

Beneficial or not?

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For me I feel feedback is critical in your learning experience. Receiving someone else’s perspective on your work can really enhance your knowledge as it opens up a whole new way of thinking for you. One of the most effective ways of feedback for me personally is getting someone to read over your work. It is very easy to miss errors in your own writing therefore having someone proof read your work and feedback to you what needs improved or what they enjoyed can be very beneficial.

There can be some barriers when you have to give feedback to other people. It is very easy to focus on the positives rather than giving constructive criticism as well. If you are giving feedback to a friend it can be difficult trying to give them ways to improve without feeling that you are offending them. Although some may appreciate what you have to say finding the correct balance between both can be beneficial to both you and the person you are helping.

My own experience of receiving feedback has been mixed. Many of the people who have commented on my own posts on Glow have been very positive. This is really great as I am glad to see people can relate to my posts and enjoy reading them. However I have not received much constructive criticism which I feel, would also really help me being able to hear areas in which I should improve on.

From this post for me, it is clear that feedback is really crucial in order to help your learning . Taking on people’s opinions and appreciating someone else’s beliefs and views can really broaden the way in which you think and you can then pass these beliefs and views onto someone else. Having the ability to receive constructive criticism without taken offence is a real strength as it is difficult to have your work criticized especially when you feel you have done well. Taking on board what people have said about your work and improving from their feedback, I feel really shows your professionalism and commitment to growing as a learner.

 

What is an Enquiring Practitioner ?

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An enquiring practitioner is some who grows as professional “by challenging or ‘disrupting thinking’ and ‘ingrained habits of mind.” For me this means someone who is open to change, someone who seeks to gain more knowledge and someone who reflects on their teaching styles and aims to better these in order to  provide their pupils with the best learning experience.The best way to better yourself as person is to reflect and learn from particular situations.

Some benefits of being an enquiring practitioner which is stated on the GTCS is that it “enables teachers to bring about fundamental changes in pedagogy and curriculum and thereby significantly improves the quality of students’ learning experiences in educational institutions.” Seeking further knowledge regarding the curriculum and incorporating different teaching styles allows teachers to grow as professionals but also improves the learning environment for children.  Another benefit I thought was of importance was that it “enable teachers to collaboratively develop the curriculum.”  The saying “two heads are better than one” comes to mind for this, working with someone allows you to see a situation from a whole different perspective. By reflecting together it allows people to share different experiences and ideas which can develop whole new opportunities for learning. Also to be a enquiring practitioner you have to ask why and having the ability to challenge certain ways of thinking. There are however some challenges which may be faced when being an enquiring practitioner such as some people may feel uncomfortable. As an enquiring practitioner the aim is to continue to better yourself as a professional through research and reflecting; this means there may be new skills and challenges being faced which can be daunting especially if you have been in the practice for a long-time. Another would be that It can be difficult to question your own assumptions  therefore many can start looking for problems in products, strategies and pupils. To be an enquiring practitioner you have to be critical of yourself to learn how to adapt to different ways of teaching.

I feel that learning now, how to be an affective enquiring practitioner will really benefit me as a student teacher . Within the University set up for example, in lectures not just believing everything you are told. Having the ability to go away and research theories and challenge them will allow me to grow as professional.  Another example would be whilst observing your classroom teacher on placement having the confidence to ask why they done that particular lesson plan or why they dealt with that behaviour in that way. Not just accepting that, that’s the way it is done. Then having the ability to reflect on this and either use it in your own lessons or deciding you may do something differently. I feel this will all set me in good stead for becoming an enquiring practitioner.

Active and Co-operative Learning; Is it effective?

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Personally I am a huge supporter of active learning and co-operative working.I feel that active lessons through things such as play or investigating and exploring are much more effective for children rather than the teacher standing infront of the class dictating to them. I believe active learning is effective because when it comes to a time in which they have to reflect on their learning they can think back to the exciting lesson that they really enjoyed and it will stick with them. I can say this from personal experience; when I was in primary 6 we were discussing Victorian Britain as a topic. My teacher set up a life-like Victorian Classroom at the back of the class. We each got a chance to sit in there for the day to experience what it was like for children in Victorian Britain. That is now a matter of years on and that lesson still sticks with me. Children enjoy interacting with their peers and by creating a environment where are working alongside their friends excites them and really draws them into the content of what you are saying. I can understand that people can argue it is not effective. If we rewind fifty years children were taught by the teacher standing infront of them dictating the lessons and back then it did work. However now we have an amazing opportunity to change the way learning is taught through the use of technology and play.

Through my own experience of learning I believe that co-operative working is really effective. When I could not understand what the teacher was trying to get across I would go to one of my peers who did understand and they would simplify what they were trying to say. As teachers I feel we can sometimes over complicate things so through co-operative learning children have the chance to help their peers. I also feel through co-operative learning a lot of life skills can be taught such as; learning to work in a team, co-operating with other people and listening to other peoples opinions. These are skills that you use in everyday life and by using them from a young age really gives children the chance to develop these. Working together also gives children time to process what you have just taught them. Letting them go away and discuss what they have just been told allows time for the information to actually sink in rather rushing on to the next part of that days lesson.  Once again I understand that this is just my views on active and co-operative learning and that there can be disadvantages to this. One disadvantage I do understand is that children can go off task when working with peers and starting chatting about things other than the lesson. However my personal view is that the advantages to outweigh the disadvantages and when I am planning lessons I will try to make them as active as possible.

Why did I want to become a teacher?

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From a really young age I remember wanting to become a primary teacher. I would come home after a hard day in primary one and would sit my Gran and Grandad down and take a register, ask if they were pack lunch or home dinners and tell them about the day’s lessons. I really enjoyed my experience in primary school and the teachers I encountered played a huge part in this. They made my learning experience fun and exciting. It wasn’t always a case of just working out a textbook. One that sticks with me is when we were studying Victorian Britain and we made a Victorian classroom at the back of our classroom. Even now I still remember everything about Victorian Britain because we actually experienced it.  When I become a teacher I aim to create lessons like that so the pupils are actively learning rather than me dictating to them.

The older I got the ambition of becoming a primary teacher was always there. In S3 at high school I chose to do my weeks work experience at my old primary school. It was strange going back and participating in the teaching aspect of it. At this point I realised that this was what I really wanted to do when I grew up. I remember I was helping a primary one girl with writing her ‘kicking k’s’ and she would always write them backwards. I worked with her for only a small matter of time, helping her write them the correct way. The following week I went back and looked at her jotter, here were a line of perfect ‘K’s’. The feeling I got from this is hard to describe, it’s an accomplishment for yourself as you have taught her how to do something she will use every day for the rest of her life.

When I become a teacher I want to make my pupil’s learning experience as enjoyable and interactive as it possibly can be. Personally when I look back on my time at school, you remember the lessons and the input of the lessons in which you interacted, whether it was in groups or on the interactive white board these are the ones that stick by you. I want to be that teacher, when someone I taught is sitting in my positon now and they are writing something like this, I am the one that they are thinking of because I made there time at school the most pleasurable it can be and played a part in them fulfilling there learning to the highest possible standard.