Synopsis of Learning

Throughout the PGCE course, my beliefs and attitudes towards primary school education have continued to be moulded and shaped by my own experiences. I believe that the purpose of education has many strands. It is not as black and white as I first assumed. As well as working towards the attainment side of education it is my responsibility, as a teacher, to consider additional elements of school life. This includes the social development of my class, especially regarding PSHE issues. I aspire to model everything I expect from my class myself, in a positive, respectful and optimistic manner. This is because everything we say and do and how we appear will be copied by students in PSHCE terms (Hackett, 2012). How we act insid e the classroom will influence how the children will act in society. Therefore, I believe strongly in being a positive role model. I also believe that education provides children with a range of skills, outside of academic understanding, that are important later in life. Learning collaboratively, compromising or working to a time limit are just a few examples of the skills I encourage wherever possible. For instance, I have found that placing children into predetermined groups for certain activities can facilitate several crucial skills simultaneously. Using both mixed ability and same ability groupings where appropriate, advantages can include an increased likelihood of enhanced cognitive understanding; promote more achievement in the classroom through co-operation than comparative whole class approaches; and also enhance friendship across ability, gender, and racial divides, as well engender a sense of security, trust and identity (Cambell et al, 1998, pg. 166). Perhaps most importantly, however, I believe that it is my duty to provide a safe and secure environment, in which all children feel valued and happy. I have previously strived to create this within my own classrooms, giving the children the time to speak and respecting their contributions. Having observed a large amount of lessons over the course, it became apparent that teachers who communicated with pupils in a welcoming manner helped the children to feel appreciated and confident. If I can create a safe and social environment, with defined routines and boundaries, then children will see my class (and on a broader level, the whole school) as a role model. Colverd et al, 2011, pg. 12 talks about the affect a school can have on children from unsafe backgrounds, stating that if a child can feel safe, cared for and nurtured in the school environment, then the step leading to belonging and connectedness might be achieved. The school becomes the good parent, who will nurture and keep the child safe. I staunchly agree with this statement, but argue that it is true for all children across a range of backgrounds, not only those from an unstable home life. I believe that the purposes of education are initially addressed in effective and efficient planning. I now appreciate the fact that the potential for creativity I hold when planning is enormous. Through experiences over the last year, I was excited to realise just how unrestricted I am in how I deliver lesson content. Moyles and Robinson, 2004, pg. 108, describe the process for teachers as a way of thinking through what is needed and correlating our own and the childrens interests and dispositions to the overall curriculum. This means that everything I prepare must be tailored specifically to my own class in order to be relevant and build on what has previously been learnt. As long as the demands of the National Curriculum are retained as a foundation, I aim to use innovative and engrossing ideas within my lesson to achieve this. However, as Boys & Spink, 2008, pg. 113, highlight, I must not allow myself to use such activities as time fillers but rather

manipulate them to fulfill our responsibility as teachers to enable learners to move through the periods of uncertainty. This has led to my view that planning is a method of organising my lesson ideas and actual pedagogical knowledge into a controlled approach and paves the way for progression when delivered. From experience, I have also come to realise that a plan will serve only as a loose basis used to steer the teaching and learning in a structured way. In responding to feedback from children and making snap judgments on what direction the lesson must go, it becomes obvious that plans distort and change throughout each lesson. It is my obligation as a teacher to react accordingly and professionally to ensure that the maximum amount of learning and progress can be made, annotating and reflecting on plans after each lesson. As a consequence from delivering lessons through a term-long theme, I have a newfound passion for teaching in a cross-curricular style. This is because it provides so many opportunities for the children to explore and allows multiple areas of the Curriculum to be addressed simultaneously. Barnes, 2011, pg. 12, also suggest that cross-curricular pedagogies infer a particular set of values and attitudesoften liberal, inclusive, constructivist and perhaps more recently also relativist and intercultural. I have witnessed this firsthand in the enthusiastic and willing outlook shown by my Year 6 class during their cross-curricular Victorian-themed lessons. Complementing these advantages, teaching broadly and creatively allows me to employ a greater variety of teaching methods to complement the diversity of learning styles between children. I have come to recognise that when children are put into a thrilling situation outside of their normal routine, they are much more likely to retain new information and make headway. For this reason, I aim to be consistent in including visual, audial and kinesthetic elements in a diverse range of lessons to stimulate and engage every pupil. Regarding the teachers themselves, modeling positive attitudes to work and displaying confidence are traits that children find infectious. Consequently, they will be much more inclined to engage with the work at hand. Stronge, 2007, pg. 28, says that ultimately, the teachers enthusiasm for the subject matter being a factor for student motivation is therefore linked closely to student achievement. I feel strongly about this aspect of teaching and believe it plays a major role in my philosophy of education. Hayes, 2005, pg. 49, summarises my beliefs best, stating that if children see that their teacher has a genuine commitment towards them and a sincere desire to help them, they are invariably more positive about learning than children taught by a technically proficient teacher in an emotionally detached manner. Over the duration of placements, I have become increasingly familiar with the significance of both summative and formative assessment. On how AfL will be utilised, there will obviously be no single ideal way for teachers or children to assess and keep track of activities and learning in the classroomthe important issue is fitness for purpose (Moyles & Robinson, 2004, pg. 210). Therefore, I aim to exploit a range of assessment techniques including peer-assessment, selfassessment and teacher-assessment. In doing this, I am able to tailor future lessons to include the most appropriate assessment techniques, which will ultimately meet the needs of pupils when feeding back into planning. From the start of FPP, I have seen that having secure subject knowledge before teaching any subject can further extend AfL opportunities. Additionally, I felt that my increased confidence in subject knowledge meant that I was much more comfortable when teaching, as it provided me with additional chances to look for key teaching points, slipping in additional information when a child

asks a certain question or notices specific details. This should be the case for every lesson taught, no matter what subject. Corrigan & Dillon, 2010, pg. 54-55, discuss the pedagogical advantages of having a stronger understanding of subject knowledge, stating that where teachers subject knowledge is weak, confidence levels to teach that subject are weak, leading to restricted classroom practices. Sound content knowledge seems to have a positive effect on planning, assessment, implementation of curriculum and curriculum development. With a greater understanding of the content information, I originally felt it more tempting to present information directly rather than facilitate the childrens knowledge. However, from observation feedback and targets set on placement, I have come to value that getting the children to become involved in their own learning is vital. Asking children open-ended questions and teaching in a way that involves all pupils helps to keep interest and maintain the pace of the lesson. For example, on FPP I began to include whole-class games, the use of whiteboards when children were on the carpet to keep focus and the inclusion of mini-plenaries. In discussing the notion of facilitating rather than simply telling information, Kerry, pg. 24, says that teachers have to stand back and surrender some responsibility for learning to pupils something that they may find difficult initially. But they are exercising true professionalism. In doing this, teachers report improved behaviour through increased interest and engagement, providing the opportunity for pupils to adopt their preferred learning styles, and even have fun! As a teacher, I believe I have many roles within the school environment. In terms of teamwork, I feel that communication and collaboration is key amongst both staff and pupils as it provides a communal pathway to follow. Brook et al, 2007, pg. 213, states that the ultimate goal of teacher collaboration is to create a base of pedagogical knowledge that is distributed among teachers within a school as opposed to being held by individual teachers. I have experienced this f irsthand and appreciate that it helped me to better prepare my work both individually and as a team. Taking this further, I believe it is my job to involve myself in the wider ethos of the school. I will take part in outside clubs and assist others wherever possible. These extracurricular activities provide opportunities for teachers to demonstrate caring. This is because the often informal atmosphere that characterises these settings provides both students and teachers with opportunities to interact without constant reference to the usual hierarchy that generally sets the stage for student-teacher relationships (Hargreaves et al, 1996, pg. 67). On GPP I involved myself outside of the classroom through aiding the KS1 team in the Christmas production. While on FPP, I supported all Year 6 staff in the demanding preparation for SATs, ultimately scribing for a child with a broken arm. To conclude my synopsis, I will discuss the importance of going the extra mile. During our final week in university we took part in designing a Fairy-tale Ball for visiting schoolchildren. This experience helped to show me how going that one step further could really make a difference when in a primary school environment. As everyone seemed to work toward a communal goal, it became apparent that each individual and group wanted to complete their tasks to a high quality for the benefit of the children. I feel that teachers, with myself included, are motivated by the real sense of satisfaction when they see their pupils having fun in their work, especially when progression is evident. Perhaps Corbett Burris et al, 2008, pg. 153 summarises this best when mentioning that the teachers who make the best impression on their students are the ones who personally invest in their students learning and will go to great lengths to provide extra help for students whenever they can. When that dedication is combined with a deep belief that all students deserve access to the best curriculum and a willingness to reflect on practice, the teacher i s a school treasure.

References
Barnes, J. , 2011, Cross-Curricular Learning 3 14, SAGE Boys, R. & Spink, E. , 2008, Primary Curriculum: Teaching the Core Subjects, Continuum Brook, L. , Sawyer, E. & Rimm-Kaufman, 2007, Teachers and Teaching: Theory and Practice Teaching collaboration in the context of the Responsive Classroom approach , Routledge Cambell, A. & Muncer, S. , 1998, The Social Child, Psychology Press Colverd, S. & Hodgkin, B. , 2011, Developing emotional Intelligence in the Primary School, Taylor & Francis Corbett Burris, C. & Garrity, D. T. , 2008, Detracking for Excellence and Equity, ASCD Corrigan, J. & Dillon, R. F. G. , 2010, Conceptualizing the Knowledge Base of Quality Teaching, Springer Hacket, S. (10th September 2012), Professional Studies lecture PSCHE, SEALS AND HEALTHY SCHOOLS Hargreaves, A. , Earl, L. M. & Ryan, J. , 1996, Schooling for Change: Reinventing Education for Early Adolescents, Routledge Hayes, D. , 2005, Primary Education: The Key Concepts, Routledge Kerry, T. , 2011, Cross-Curricular Teaching in the Primary School, Routledge Moyles & Robinson, 2004, Beginning Teaching: Beginning Learning in Primary Education 2nd Ed, Open University Press Stronge, J. H. , 2007, Qualities of Effective Teachers, ASCD