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Introduction

Reflective Review of Practice. Introduction. Before I outline the reflective experiences that I have undertaken during my second semester of teaching in FE, I feel that it is important to firstly identify how my views of teaching and reflection have developed over the course of this program. Teaching Stance. Upon commencement of this course my views of teaching in FE were very clear to me. Generally I perceived teaching in FE as being much like my experiences of higher education. Like many others on the course, I thought that students were there through choice, they wanted to learn. As a result of this I expected students to be mature and behaved in class. Due to my lack of experience in Colleges and the job title of 'lecturer', I also perceived that most sessions would run in a lecture format. Whilst I knew I needed to vary sessions I believed that upon starting the course I took a pedagogical approach to teaching. This was probably a very naive move on my part, however following my first two lessons I realized that if I was to be a successful teacher I had to adapt my approach. I needed to focus more upon student involvement and participation, getting the students involved in sessions would help to improve the learning process. By varying teaching methods I also developed my approach to teaching. Over the course of this award I have moved away from my initial behaviourist approach towards amore humanistic view. This stance is based on the principle that 'self' is the essential characteristic of the human being on the growth, worth and dignity of a person. As a result this creates a need for the 'self actualization' of the students (Maslow, 1970). Self actualization refers to the top level of Maslows' hierarchy of human needs, the need for self fulfilment (e.g. personal satisfaction, goal achievement). In the classroom this corresponds to students achieving their target grades. ...read more.

Middle

In order to achieve this I will use the three categories of Boud's model of reflection - experience, reflective processes and outcomes. Incidence One: Threatening Behaviour. Experience - One of the key incidences that occurred this semester during my STE placement was a situation which I had feared happening and I know was a concern to many others of my colleagues on the course. This was the threat of a violent situation arising in the classroom. The incident happened approximately four weeks into the semester. I had taken on an extra group on a Monday afternoon to try to increase the number of hours I was teaching. This was only the second time I had been with this group and thus was unfamiliar with the students and still in the 'transition phase'. I had just completed the register when one student burst into the classroom later. I knew this student from the previous week and know he was not the model student, with quite a bad reputation with the other teachers in the department. A matter of seconds after he came into the class two other students followed him in a hurry. I was not familiar with these students but sensed that they should not be in the group. It seemed clear that these two individuals had been chasing my student. A friend of mine on the course had experienced a similar situation previously where students had nearly broken into a fight in his classroom and I feared the same may happen here. I knew I had to react and take control to protect the safety of my students. Fearing the response I quickly asked them if they should be in the class, to which they paused and stuttered. So I quickly turned to them and said then please leave my classroom now. I was confident in my voice and stature but feared there response. ...read more.

Conclusion

It is entirely appropriate for me to use my teachers' authority, as long as I use it in the interests of my students learning. 2) If I use my teachers' authority effectively, I may well upset some students for a short time. If I use it ineffectively, I will upset them for a long time. 3) If I do my best to be strict but fair, eventually I will succeed. Conclusions. In conclusion I feel that throughout this course I have had to undergo a vast amount of personal development in order to make the teacher I am today. Having development my view of teaching, my reflective practice and my teaching skills I have developed into a rounded teacher. This has given me the confidence I require to go out at the end of this course and undertake a new career as an FE teacher. Whilst I am apprehensive and nervous about this move I feel that I now have what it takes to develop into a successful teacher. Having seen how far I have come over this last nine months of this course, I am very thankful of embarking upon this journey. Prior to my enrolment on the course I was close to securing a full time teaching post at a local college, but lost out at the final interview. Whilst at the time this was a great blow to me it is probably the most beneficial incidence to happen in my career to date. Had I got the post I feel that I would not have been successful at the job as I had not got the skills that I have now developed, but more importantly I would not have had the support team that has help guide me on this journey and mould me into the teacher I am today. Whilst I recognise that I have come a long way in my development over the last nine months, I know that this is only the start of my journey. Over the years that lie ahead I hope to further develop into the 'successful teacher' that Rogers (1994) talks about. ...read more.

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