For inspiration I looked towards my peers blogs and found the use of a visual aid - in the form of a mind map used by Sinead McMenemy - to be the clearest route to explore my current sources of information for teaching and begin to arrange my thoughts and to be able to pinpoint the five I consider to be most useful within my work:
Sources of Information most relevant to my work (in no particular order):
Publications: Books & Other Published Articles -
As a teacher I have a duty of care by law, to my students and their parents to be knowledgeable of and then apply to my daily practice guidelines to ensure child safety. For example, having copies of current child protection policies and health and safety at work guidelines is vital to me as without having this information, I would be unable to uphold the relevant policies within my daily practice.
Although such policies are kept accurate and current by the government, they do not change every day and as such, I simply need to be aware of when new legislation is created or altered, in order to carry any changes through into my work, ensuring my practice is always kept within the realms of the law and therefore both professional and ethical.
Publications: Books & Other Published Articles -
As a teacher I have a duty of care by law, to my students and their parents to be knowledgeable of and then apply to my daily practice guidelines to ensure child safety. For example, having copies of current child protection policies and health and safety at work guidelines is vital to me as without having this information, I would be unable to uphold the relevant policies within my daily practice.
Although such policies are kept accurate and current by the government, they do not change every day and as such, I simply need to be aware of when new legislation is created or altered, in order to carry any changes through into my work, ensuring my practice is always kept within the realms of the law and therefore both professional and ethical.
Face-to-face Conversations -
I find conversing with other professionals within the teaching world a vital source of information and something I place great value upon on a daily basis. When I have a problem within my work - for example, managing the behaviour of a particular child in class - being able to converse with a fellow practitioner and talk through possible solutions or reasoning behind a situation is often extremely helpful; they may have knowledge of a certain issue leading to the child's behaviour or may have taught a child with similar difficulties and have found a way to overcome this issue. They may not necessarily have the direct answer, but I often find that through reflecting in this conversational manner, an idea may spring to mind leading me to find a different approach to the situation.
Whilst undertaking the RoL module of this course, I found it particularly inspiring to have face-to-face conversations with my advisor for the same reason stated above. Often, I do know the answer, but talking through reflection in an interactive real life situation has a very positive outcome for me.
Pinterest/Blogs -
When reflecting on blog posts by other BAPP students, I often find new methodology for approaching tasks, helping me find various different lines of questioning in regards to my own work and practice. For example, upon reading the information in the reader regarding the theory of 'social constructionism', I was utterly confused, not seeing the way in which this could possibly link to my professional practice. However, when reading through Dani Tougher's blog post relating to this theory, I was able to see a link to a practical use for these ideas. From there, I was then able to find a situation within my own work to help me understand and then formulate blog ideas relating to this theory. I always find it helpful to see something explained in a different format, from another perspective or, even better, using a relevant example.
As I have discussed in several of my other blogs, Pinterest for me is a huge source of information. There are many ideas on teaching strategies, lesson plans, managing behaviour and even cross curricular ideas (i.e. linking maths and dance) to read, comment on and save onto my network; food for thought at a later date if need be. Reflecting on my first paragraph (Publications), I do restrict what I use Pinterest for as I am fully aware that not everything on the internet can be classed a reliable information; for example, I would never search for child protection policies on this platform as vital information may be lacking, incorrect or simply out dated.
Radio -
Due to my commuting times each day, I am almost guaranteed to listen to the radio at least six, often seven days per week, making this one of my most prominent sources of information. I use the radio to find modern music to choreograph to that will keep the children engaged during classes. For example, I recently choreographed an exam dance to a number one chart song, which the children absolutely loved as they new all the lyrics.
I also listen to the news on the radio, keeping me up to date on current affairs and - reflecting back on the 'Publications' paragraph above - abreast of many policy updates or changes regarding school, health and safety and child protection legislation. I find that as a source of information, radio news bulletins are on point, mostly accurate and ideal for my busy schedule.
ISTD Website -
Having trained through and currently being a teacher of the ISTD association, I find this website a very current and relevant source of information in regards to my current practice. The website is kept regularly updated and the information has always been totally accurate in my personal experience. I often refer back to the pages on exam procedures when organising sessions and regularly attend the courses that are promoted to keep my syllabus knowledge up to date. Any changes to policies, procedures or syllabus examination expectations are clearly outlined and further sources in relation to such changes (where applicable) are also linked on their pages.
The only downside I find with this site is that as yet there are no forums or interactive zones where teachers can discuss problems and ideas or ask questions to specific members of the association. I wonder whether this will happen any time in the near future or whether there is a reason behind not moving the website in this direction as yet.
Conclusion -
Overall I feel that I do currently use a wide variety of sources and I feel this is because I have always enjoyed researching different opinions, allowing ideas to digest and then being able to form my own opinions based on culmination of view points. For example, before investing in 'Kindle' e-reader recently, I read several reviews online comparing different e-readers, posted a status asking friends for their opinion on Facebook and also spoke to colleagues in the staff room about whether they were happy with the e-readers they had. From the pros and cons list I created, I was then able to formulate a decision, which, so far I am happy with.
Although I am happy with the sources of information I currently use, I am aware that over time some of my current sources may become less prevalent or even obsolete; for example, when I go into mainstream teaching, I doubt I will have time to teach regular ISTD classes, therefore I am less likely to view the ISTD website as a main source of information. In this situation however, I hope to discover new sources of information to replace the old, keeping my knowledge both current and relevant to the area in which I am predominately working at the time.
I find conversing with other professionals within the teaching world a vital source of information and something I place great value upon on a daily basis. When I have a problem within my work - for example, managing the behaviour of a particular child in class - being able to converse with a fellow practitioner and talk through possible solutions or reasoning behind a situation is often extremely helpful; they may have knowledge of a certain issue leading to the child's behaviour or may have taught a child with similar difficulties and have found a way to overcome this issue. They may not necessarily have the direct answer, but I often find that through reflecting in this conversational manner, an idea may spring to mind leading me to find a different approach to the situation.
Whilst undertaking the RoL module of this course, I found it particularly inspiring to have face-to-face conversations with my advisor for the same reason stated above. Often, I do know the answer, but talking through reflection in an interactive real life situation has a very positive outcome for me.
Pinterest/Blogs -
When reflecting on blog posts by other BAPP students, I often find new methodology for approaching tasks, helping me find various different lines of questioning in regards to my own work and practice. For example, upon reading the information in the reader regarding the theory of 'social constructionism', I was utterly confused, not seeing the way in which this could possibly link to my professional practice. However, when reading through Dani Tougher's blog post relating to this theory, I was able to see a link to a practical use for these ideas. From there, I was then able to find a situation within my own work to help me understand and then formulate blog ideas relating to this theory. I always find it helpful to see something explained in a different format, from another perspective or, even better, using a relevant example.
Image source: www.bestadsontv.com
As I have discussed in several of my other blogs, Pinterest for me is a huge source of information. There are many ideas on teaching strategies, lesson plans, managing behaviour and even cross curricular ideas (i.e. linking maths and dance) to read, comment on and save onto my network; food for thought at a later date if need be. Reflecting on my first paragraph (Publications), I do restrict what I use Pinterest for as I am fully aware that not everything on the internet can be classed a reliable information; for example, I would never search for child protection policies on this platform as vital information may be lacking, incorrect or simply out dated.
Radio -
Due to my commuting times each day, I am almost guaranteed to listen to the radio at least six, often seven days per week, making this one of my most prominent sources of information. I use the radio to find modern music to choreograph to that will keep the children engaged during classes. For example, I recently choreographed an exam dance to a number one chart song, which the children absolutely loved as they new all the lyrics.
I also listen to the news on the radio, keeping me up to date on current affairs and - reflecting back on the 'Publications' paragraph above - abreast of many policy updates or changes regarding school, health and safety and child protection legislation. I find that as a source of information, radio news bulletins are on point, mostly accurate and ideal for my busy schedule.
ISTD Website -
Having trained through and currently being a teacher of the ISTD association, I find this website a very current and relevant source of information in regards to my current practice. The website is kept regularly updated and the information has always been totally accurate in my personal experience. I often refer back to the pages on exam procedures when organising sessions and regularly attend the courses that are promoted to keep my syllabus knowledge up to date. Any changes to policies, procedures or syllabus examination expectations are clearly outlined and further sources in relation to such changes (where applicable) are also linked on their pages.
The only downside I find with this site is that as yet there are no forums or interactive zones where teachers can discuss problems and ideas or ask questions to specific members of the association. I wonder whether this will happen any time in the near future or whether there is a reason behind not moving the website in this direction as yet.
Conclusion -
Overall I feel that I do currently use a wide variety of sources and I feel this is because I have always enjoyed researching different opinions, allowing ideas to digest and then being able to form my own opinions based on culmination of view points. For example, before investing in 'Kindle' e-reader recently, I read several reviews online comparing different e-readers, posted a status asking friends for their opinion on Facebook and also spoke to colleagues in the staff room about whether they were happy with the e-readers they had. From the pros and cons list I created, I was then able to formulate a decision, which, so far I am happy with.
Although I am happy with the sources of information I currently use, I am aware that over time some of my current sources may become less prevalent or even obsolete; for example, when I go into mainstream teaching, I doubt I will have time to teach regular ISTD classes, therefore I am less likely to view the ISTD website as a main source of information. In this situation however, I hope to discover new sources of information to replace the old, keeping my knowledge both current and relevant to the area in which I am predominately working at the time.
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