Teacher Education Standard 9 : Foundations, Reflective Practice, And Professional Development

In everything we do, even if it is our best performance, there is always room for improvement. It could not be different in a career such as teaching. Teachers are always self-reflecting to analyze and evaluate their own teaching methods in order to find out what works and what needs to improve. With this information in hand, teachers can come up with strategies to improve certain areas of their teaching. There are many tools teachers can use to self-reflect. As a teacher, I will continually evaluate the effects of my professional decisions and actions on students through self-reflective journals, video recordings, students’ formal and informal assessments, peer support, student and parent evaluation, and suggestion box.

Essential aspects that underpin the professional and dedicated educator include the revising of knowledge and experience, reflection, and an effort in understanding their students. Within mathematics, these skills are informed by the curriculum chosen, the students involved, and the pedagogy that is selected, that create the professional judgement cycle (as seen in Appendix One) (Department of Education and Training Western Australia [DETWA], 2013a). The more teachers understand about their students, the more they can adapt the learning environment to cater for these different learning approaches (Burns, 2010).

PLCs are an ongoing process in which educators work collaboratively in recurring cycles of collective inquiry and action research to achieve better results for the students they serve (DuFour, DuFour, Eaker, & Many, 2006). The PLCs should be crafted around the idea of cultivating a sense of shared responsibility between all stakeholders.

When I was gaining my Bachelor’s Degree, the key statement throughout my journey through the education program was “I will continue to be a lifelong learner.” As I finalized this program I have reached this goal, and this will continue throughout my journey as a teacher as I become involved with more and more school and district based county activities through which I can use the theories, methods, and strategies I have learned throughout this program. In general, it is best, as Goldhammer (69) stresses, to avoid critical dissection of teaching. Too much criticism and

This standard says, “Teachers reflect on their practice and assume responsibility for their own professional development by actively seeking and participating in opportunities to learn and grow as professionals.” This means that teachers consistently seek to improve their practices and teachings by eliciting feedback from peers, more experienced educators and even the students themselves. In this lesson, I was asked to reflect on what I felt went well and what could have been improved upon. After teaching the lesson, I remember wishing that I had another class period. Therefore, I knew that I could have improved the time management of the lesson and that I could have encouraged faster transitional periods. I also asked my cooperating teacher how she felt the lesson went. She had agreed that the lesson went very well and that it was educationally valuable for her students, but that I could also improve on transitioning the students from task to task. I was lucky enough to have a student come up to me by the end of the class to ask about college and the courses that are offered at our university. He also expressed which areas of study he was most interested in. I was surprised when he thanked me for the lesson and said, “that’s the kind of stuff I want to be learning and talking about.” While I do greatly value the feedback from the teacher, I will always remember what this student said because it solidified my desire to continue doing

I have contributed to the professional growth of my colleagues by being an active member of my PLCs. I am the U.S. History PLC Leader for the first semester of this school year. I have created all the meeting days and times, and lay out agendas for those meetings. We use Google Classroom to stay in contact with one another, collaborate, and share thoughts and ideas.

During our second Bear Creek visit, I observed the English Language Arts Professional Learning Community also known as ELA. When I first heard about the PLC, I was surprised because it is a brilliant concept. I never knew this existed. The English Language Arts PLC ran smoothly because the teacher that was presenting knew the standard she was going to focus on and how she was going to present the content to the students. All of the ELA teachers also had a schedule about how the meeting was going to flow so that no one was confused. They also used technology to present the standards and the content so that all of the teachers could see and make suggestions and ask questions. One teacher was questioned about why she chose a particular book

Charyna pena fortuna “A teacher is a compass that activates the magnets of curiosity, knowledge, and wisdom in the pupils.” -Ever Garrison This week was great, yesterday I create an amazing activity to introduce classroom object in Spanish. My students were extra engaged during this lesson. Some of them never use Quitzel live before so it was a new experience for them. I think it is a great idea as a new teacher to do reflection after you teach the class. I have had the opportunity to reflect on my strengths and weakness as a teacher and a learner. I think that I need to learn how to incorporate a multitude of learning styles and interests into a lesson. On a personal level, I have been able to reflect on my experiences and learn so much more

When I first began teaching over twenty years ago, I do not believe I had a clear idea of what my vision of education was. I was hungry for knowledge myself and took every opportunity I could to attend professional development and implement new curriculum and instructional strategies. During the early part of my career as a teacher, I developed a

In my opinion, implementing reflective practice approach to professional development in order to expand our knowledge is a challenge. This challenge involves teacher’s ability to “reflect on

When PLC is in place teachers will set higher expectations on their student’s achievements. They will also encourage their students that they can reach such high demands while suppling them with the resources to reach their goal. Students will be confident that they can count on their teachers and lean on their peers when trying to achieve ambitions learning goals. Professional learning communities gives professional educators the opportunities to look deeply into the process of teaching and learning where they can learn how to become more effective in their work with their

As it pertains to teachers, Schon (Infed, 2009) has suggested, professional practice could be developed through a spiral of action and reflection, where the teacher acts, reflects on the action and plans new action, which is informed by the results of the reflection. It will not always solve problems. It does however help bring uncertainties to the surface, and provide a means of looking for solutions. If teachers understand and use this process well, they are in an optimum position to teach it to their students, and also examine teaching from the perspective of the learner.

The GTCNI have argued that, “Professional knowledge, by its very nature, is organic and, to an extent, evolutionary, reflecting a synthesis of research, experiences gained and expertise shared” (GTCNI, 2007:10). The GTNCI further reinforces this statement when it states that, “Teaching can never be reduced to a set of discrete skills to be mastered in some mechanical process of assimilation” (GTCNI, 2007:5). Teaching today has moved beyond the outdated view that the most important thing for a teacher was solely to have professional knowledge. Professional knowledge encompasses a range of different forms of knowledge such as knowledge on the curriculum and children and pedagogical knowledge e.g. how to manage a classroom amongst many other forms. Whilst this is still of great importance professional knowledge is of no use if you are not able to adapt this knowledge to meet the ever-changing dynamic situations that you will encounter in the classroom. This essay will examine how reflective practice can be unlisted by teachers to ensure that they are meeting the needs of their pupils as well as

There has been a rapid increase in the ides of critical reflective practice over the last few decades, (Gould, 2004). Before we look at the value and purpose of reflective practice, it is important to take in account ‘reflective practice’ carries multiple meanings from the idea of professionals engaging in self-analysis to that of engaging in critical dialogue with others. For example, with reference to teacher education, Larrivee, (2000) argues that reflective practice is fusing together personal beliefs and values into a professional identity whereby critical reflection can take place without staying trapped in unexamined assumptions and expectations of our professional practice. Therefore, from this, it can be concluded that as a teaching professional, it is important to develop reflections on ones’ professional and pedagogic knowledge to set aspirational goals for a continuing personal and professional development, in other words, it is a way of life.

According to the teachers’ standards (DfE, 2012) “teachers make the education of their learners their first concern, keep their knowledge up to date and are self-critical.” Therefore, this reflection practice will guide me towards the improvement on my lesson planning strategies and delivery. In addition, it will also make an enormous difference in my teaching and learning practice which is vital for teacher training.