Reflection and Changes to my Practice

Reflection and Changes to my Practice

After being out of university routines for a few years now, the thought of assignments, research and referencing was a little daunting! However, one thing that is course has taught me (or rather, reminded me) is that I love to learn. With BYOD on the rise (first year in our school this year) and  new and different technologies, I felt it important that I upskill and challenge myself to learn, as I expect my students to do.

Studying while working full time was a whole new ball game to what I was used to, and I'll admit it took a little while to find the balance between uni work and my teaching job, ensuring neither one suffered! Now I am at the end of the journey, I am grateful to Mindlab for the tools they have provided me with as I look to the future and where my teaching practice will go next. 

Criterion 4 of the PTC's states that we must "demonstrate commitment to ongoing professional learning and development of professional personal practice." As a result of the Mind Lab course, the reading, research, writing and exploring that I have done is invaluable to my teaching and what I can offer my students. It has meant I can share content, tools, new ideas and strategies with my team and the rest of the school, prompting others to want to sign up for the next intake of the course. I have been reminded of the importance of learning and professional development, not just occasionally but on a daily basis, upskilling, learning and developing is important not just for ourselves but for the children that we teach and the opportunities we provide for them to learn.

Criterion 7 requires that teachers promote a collaborative, inclusive and supportive learning environment. I started this course with the opinion that my Year 1 children could use digital tools "to some extent" and could start to talk about collaboration, coding or computational thinking. Over the last 32 weeks, I have discovered so many different ways that the children in my class can be experimenting with learning and discovering and creating information, just as older children in the school are. Convincing other staff of this has been a challenge, but the resources that we have been made aware of and taught how to use have been helpful in promoting this mindset. I have been reminded that they (the students) can do it and to let them give it a go, I may be surprised by what they will achieve! The importance of collaboration has been something I have looked at this year, as I work with 2 other teachers collaboratively each day in our classroom. Our entire team has grown and developed thanks to the course, as I practise what I have been taught and discuss what has been talked about with my team each week. The more we collaborate and learn together, the more our students do too.

As I think to the future, I wish to continue to learn and upskill to ensure my students are being offered the best education the can under my care. Also for myself - to keep up to date and continue to challenge myself and question my own thinking.