500 Word Reflection [PDF]

Citation preview

Personal Growth in Placement. In a career that can be both immensely rewarding and challenging simultaneously, the education system offers a unique career for those with a passion. As someone who has recognised their own passion for teaching and pursued further training, I have had access to a number of fantastic experiences. The opportunity to participate in a varied collection of placements not only a link between theory and action, but begin to hone my skills as an educator. While lectures and theory provide a range of knowledge, the most beneficial experiences for my own personal growth have been those on placement. The access to professionals in the field has allowed me to reflect upon practices and compare them to my own capabilities. With this in mind, I can begin to gain a greater perspective into classroom environments. My first experience working with primary school aged children, I was placed into a 3/4 class in Sebastopol. In this particular shared classroom, there were two teachers with drastically different styles. I very quickly worked out that these teachers, despite having fundamentally different approaches to teaching, created an effective teaching team. As I continued placement I recognised that these two professionals held a mutual respect, and would work through any confrontations towards a common goal and passion. The children. As ‘schools are becoming more collaborative’ (Conderman, Bresnahan, Pedersen, 2009) the ability to reflect and evaluate as part of a team, rather than exclusively independently, is vital. Personally, I have always preferred to work independently, and with a high degree of control. Realising that this mentality was not the most effective one, I worked hard to ensure that I was working with other professionals, rather than just in parallel to them. Sharing and ideas, negotiation and management styles are potential challenges for beginner and experienced teachers alike (Conderman, Bresnahan, Pedersen, 2009). As I slowly relinquished my need for control, I realised that teaching isn’t purely about the students, but rather about interactions with a diverse



range of people. The nature of interactions can drastically change the effectiveness of any teaching program, be it with the greater community, professionals, students or parents. Supported by Friend (2008) ‘In many ways, your ability to work with other adults is as important to your success as your knowledge and skills for teaching’. With a classroom goal, and close working relationships with students and parents, collaboration can become another effective tool in a teacher’s arsenal. Allowing all participants to be able to place aside differences and utilise their strengths as a team to accomplish more than the individual can. Collaboration does not have value unless it is a vehicle for achieving goals for students and their families (Friend, 2008). This placement in particular was a catalyst for change and great personal growth, providing me with a new perspective into education. Teachers should be actively working with other professionals, and consistently communicating with individuals in order to create the best learning environments for students. For this reason, I will continue to actively work towards becoming more collaborative on future placements, and into the working life.



References Friend, M. (2008). Special education: Contemporary perspectives for school professionals. NY: Pearson. Conderman, G., Bresnahan, V., & Pedersen, T. (2009). Purposeful coteaching: Real cases and effective strategies. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press. doi: 10.4135/9781452219189