Reflective Journal free essay sample

What I have pro-actively tried to do is participate in the discussions regarding student groups and what other peers do to motivate, engage and ensure differentiation within their sessions. Avis et al in â€Å"Teaching in Lifelong Learning† was a useful book which has provided me with practical teaching guidance on classroom sessions and what I can do to improve my delivery to students. I have drawn on this resource and it has assisted me with discussing with my peers in the PGCE sessions about what is beneficial to learners and what can be detrimental within a classroom environment. By engaging in these types of debates within PGCE it has given me additional confidence to contribute when in the Higher Education arena with colleagues. In year 1, due to my lack of experience I felt reticent to share comments about how I felt I could inspire learners and contribute to their enthusiasm. In contrast this year I have felt a more active part of the team. We will write a custom essay sample on Reflective Journal or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page This has been further evidenced by me trying to insert new teaching assessments and techniques for example: the snowball event which has been referred to in PDP4. The observations which I undertook to assist with PDP2 have demonstrated further how a tutor should take risks with their delivery and be encouraged to try new approaches. When observing the HND class, although many of the techniques may have been considered basic, the students clearly enjoyed the interaction and the opportunity to be integrated in the session. Feedback from my second teaching observation this year, was I had not interpreted a model correctly to students. I subsequently sought advice from my tutor to ask to discuss my interpretation of the model and how this could be rectified with the students. This was a steep learning curve for myself, asking for help and support should not be seen as detrimental. Reviewing what happened, realistically I need to ensure I review all models and seek advice from colleagues if I am not sure how to approach them. I have taken on board Schon’s reflective model on how you learn from experience and your teaching can improve from ensuring you develop from these action points and improve your practice. One of the modules which I taught this academic year was a lecture as a guest speaker, followed by a seminar and the students were split into two seminar groups. I therefore had to co-teach the seminar group with a colleague. The same lecturer had taught the â€Å"People and Organisation† module previously. I found this situation quite difficult, as although I was preparing the material for both seminar groups the other lecturer did provide feedback, comments on how things could have been done differently. The feedback was not constructive on lesson techniques instead was more a personal opinion on what he would have included in sessions etc. I took this feedback on board and ensured I acted professionally in the meetings; however I did discuss this with my mentor to get feedback on whether I handled it correctly and what way I could approach it in the future. Initially, I began to doubt if I had the confidence and ability to teach the module and evaluated this situation after the first four sessions. I then applied Egan’s model of Explore, Understand and Act and began to discuss with the lecturer what would he do differently, understand what his views were and then act on that. I moved the situation by evaluating my performance, discussing it with a peer and then identifying what is best for the students. In addition, my mentor and I discussed the issue and I explained I was keen to learn from any errors I had made, however I did review the situation that both the colleague and I should be working together to ensure a consistent delivery package and should not be competing as â€Å"us and them†. Roffey-Barentsen amp; Malthouse (2009) (p7) in their model helped me to evaluate and take the necessary relevant action of â€Å"reading about what I was going to deliver† â€Å"planning† for the seminar, â€Å"doing it†, taking time to â€Å"reflect† on it and then the cycle can be undertaken again. By using an academic model it has helped me to understand the process of reflection and how I can move a situation forward in an academic situation. Although I recognise the support of peers and the importance of sharing best practice as a professional I do understand how I need to undertake my own personal development to ensure I maintain my standards. By doing this, it will encourage colleagues to seek support from myself and guidance when requiring information about my subject specialist area. Currently within my department I am the only colleague who is CIPD qualified. I take this qualification seriously and want to ensure my colleagues can draw upon my professional experience to assist them in the workplace. Within the limitations of teaching reduced hours I do aim to try to provide additional support to my colleagues by providing journal articles or other relevant Employment Law information. In addition on three occasions this year I have facilitated on the BA programme as a guest speaker. Based on this delivery, in preparation for next year I have been asked to facilitate on the course next year. A further contribution which I have made to the Higher Education department was a new colleague joined the team. As he was allocated a module which I had previously facilitated on, I provided my entire lesson plans to him, DVD resources etc for the whole module. In addition, we discussed his facilitation during 1:1’s and I explained I recognised he would want to change, amend and update how the resources were his to utilise as he felt appropriate. In summary I feel it is important to work as a co-operative team member to ensure best practice is shared and to provide support and guidance to colleagues. As Belbin’s teamwork theory illustrates the team will include a variety of different personalities and it is essential an effective work practice is undertaken. By working as a team this will benefit the students which should be the priority for all of the teaching staff.