In all honesty, although this course has been amazing, I'll be relieved when it's all over and I have some time to put more of the stuff I've learned over the last 32 weeks into practice! Every week I've had so many ideas about how to engage our students and get them collaborating on exciting learning experiences but finding the time to integrate it into our programme properly has been challenging. I'm definitely looking forward to continuing to develop our classroom programme going forward. I've also remembered that I am a shocking procrastinator who is incapable of getting anything done until I'm under pressure (I was hoping I'd magically grown out of that but evidently not!).
In terms of the Practising Teacher Criteria (PTCs) I think the biggest change has been in terms of getting students to take more ownership of their own learning and getting them to work collaboratively. Over the last 32 weeks I have also been involved in setting up our modern learning environment of four classes and helping to develop our classroom programme. From this course I have definitely gained a greater understanding of how we need to change the way we are teaching and how are students are learning to make sure we are setting them up for life in the 21st century and developing skills that will enable them to be successful in whatever they end up doing. The greater focus on collaboration and on enabling students to follow their passions and interests, as well as finding different ways to engage all our students, has driven our thinking as we've been developing our learning programme. This clearly ties in with PCT 7 - "promote a collaborative, inclusive, and supportive learning environment".
In terms of the Practising Teacher Criteria (PTCs) I think the biggest change has been in terms of getting students to take more ownership of their own learning and getting them to work collaboratively. Over the last 32 weeks I have also been involved in setting up our modern learning environment of four classes and helping to develop our classroom programme. From this course I have definitely gained a greater understanding of how we need to change the way we are teaching and how are students are learning to make sure we are setting them up for life in the 21st century and developing skills that will enable them to be successful in whatever they end up doing. The greater focus on collaboration and on enabling students to follow their passions and interests, as well as finding different ways to engage all our students, has driven our thinking as we've been developing our learning programme. This clearly ties in with PCT 7 - "promote a collaborative, inclusive, and supportive learning environment".
This course has also enabled me to start taking more of a leadership role in terms of sharing what we have been learning with other colleagues and helping to develop ICT programmes and use throughout the school. This course has definitely provided me with the tools and strategies to help implement programmes more effectively and has made me more confident in my abilities to help lead ICT and collaborative learning initiatives in the school. This fits in with PCT 5 - "show leadership that contributes to effective teaching and learning."
Future professional development
Where to next? I would love to be able to develop collaboration/interdisciplinary approach to teaching maths within our school. I've found it relatively easy to make changes in other curriculum areas - to integrate them and find ways to engage students using various tools but it's been much harder to do in maths so far (but would be hugely valuable). I think a lot of the ideas we've looked at do lend themselves to maths teaching and learning but in our school we have a pretty traditional approach to maths and I think it will take longer to make those changes - I'd love to shake up what I do and really engage the students.
I also share more of what I've learned with the rest of the staff - due to time constraints and where the staff are right now this has been limited to specific initiatives so far. What we have done has very much been Nicki and I leading from the the front but it would be great to get to a place where we can collaborate as a team and share ideas, building on what others think. We are getting closer as we build the confidence of the less tech savvy but still a long way to go.
This course has given me so many ideas that I think it is going to take me some time to process it all and figure out how to work it into my classroom programme in a way that works for me, my students and my colleagues - I'm definitely excited about what the future in education can look like!
This course has given me so many ideas that I think it is going to take me some time to process it all and figure out how to work it into my classroom programme in a way that works for me, my students and my colleagues - I'm definitely excited about what the future in education can look like!
No comments:
Post a Comment