Useful website for Critical Reflection

If you are like me and always use the same sentence starters this website could help mix things up a bit. I find it helps tow rite the essay then go back through and look where you can change them.

http://www2.eit.ac.nz/library/ls_guides_sentencestarters.html

My current state

I have plans upon plans of what I want to include in my Critical Reflection but I can't seem to get going!!!! Wish me luck....

Essay Writing

I know there are a few people feeling anxious about writing an essay simply because it has been a long time since we had to write one. I found this website just as little helper for some tips on how to structure it.

https://www.skillsyouneed.com/learn/essay-writing.html

Critical Reflection - Initial Plan

After the initial panic of starting an essay passed, I knew I just needed to get some ideas down in front of me then figure out the formality afterwards. One thing I have learnt, from this course, is I waste a lot of time wondering how to start the tasks instead of just getting on with them. So, here it is, my initial brain explosion of ideas to include in my critical reflection.

As if we are nearing the end of Module 1!!!!!!! Madness!!!

Really would like to see more peoples ideas on how to go about the Critical Reflection, learning through observation really is my go to way to spark ideas.
Please also leave comments on any advice!

Task 3c

Thinking about the most important sources of information I use in my professional practice, I have found I use a variety of Web 2.0 and face to face interaction.

Twinkl, as a teaching assistant I am very lucky in my school that we have a twinkl account. To those not in the education sector this is a most wondrous website with an endless stash of resources to use. You simply click on the year group you require and there are level appropriate worksheets, lesson plans, fun activities and much more. There are a lot of time saving resources as well such as: display headings; visual timetables; lined paper with borders - this may sound trivial but cast your mind back to school and remember receiving the special paper to do an important piece of work on. For children with Special Educational Needs there is a whole section on developing the understanding of emotions and social interactions.

I use this source day to day mainly for back up exercises for those children who have completed the set tasks and need a challenge or for those children who are struggling I can give them an easier format to master first.

Pintrest, I use this source for many aspects in my life not just for my professional practice. This is a network that relies heavily on cooperation as there needs to be many people supplying information to keep it running. As I run the Breakfast Club at school I am always looking for interesting ways to start the day, there are lot of unique ideas on this Web 2.0 site to spark inspiration. The easy format of the mobile app helps me to increase my resource stash and idea bank whilst on the move.

Working in a school, the main way of interacting is face to face, I very rarely receive emails unless it is something important and official that needs to be kept in writing. I value this source of information tremendously as I feel I can delve as deep as I need to with requiring further explanations to gain a full understanding. I can also get feedback to see if I am utilising their advice effectively, which is something I would not get from any Web 2.0 source. I could ask for further advice via forums and comments but I would not got the feedback I need to develop my practice.

Youtube has been a valuable source for me for many years: I have learnt to cook; learnt the piano; listened to talks; watched trailers; been inspired for choreography; used it as a self-promoting tool. My most recent jobs as a performer were achieved by my showreel being posted on youtube, the ability to send a link to employers around the world is fantastic. Now, in my new practice as an educator, I use it to find educational clips to support their learning and for useful exercises in mindfulness and children's yoga and meditation.

One person I feel has helped me immensely, not only on this course but in helping me develop my practice is Lauren Harper. After every skype session, we have had our own skype session to help each other understand anything we weren't brave enough to query and to share our sparks of inspiration derived from the group chat. Reading through Lauren's blog I have had many a lightbulb moment where a concept has clicked and I have then been able to go and look for more information and inspiration elsewhere. As you can see, I have stolen her format of this task by adding icons to indicate each different source! Even though TED is new to Lauren from this course she is the one who enlightened me to its uses, from which I have then noticed when other people have posted links for videos which I have then gone on to watch and develop further. Thank you, lovely!

Task 3b

As I was reading through Reader 3 it became very clear that there were certain concepts that I felt more connected to and understood. When I saw that networking was part of the module I really thought I would struggle as I have always been uncomfortable in situations where I have actively tried to gain contacts and make professional connections. However, as I have gone through the tasks, it has become apparent that I automatically network through my communities of practice in a more sub-conscious way. Which I prefer as nothing is forced or fake, if somebody requires information or advice from me, I can offer it. Additionally, if I require help then I can simply ask for it (Cooperation).

Everyone has a choice to or not to cooperate (game theory) in every aspect of life. I believe in terms of networking, if you get this right, can be really beneficial to your network development. On the same note, if you get this wrong it could have a negative impact on your network. The question is, how long do you cooperate for? When is the right time to take advantage of the connection for your own benefit? Can you not make sure there is a benefit for both parties so no one is 'taken advantage of'?

In my practice cooperation isn't entirely necessary but it is most definitely helpful. The phrase 'I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine' springs to mind. People are always more willing to help if they know that at some point it will be reciprocated, the exchange does not necessarily have to be at the same time, there just needs to be an understanding that one party isn't always taking from the other.

The need for affiliation will be affected by 'psychological determinants and individual and cultural differences between individuals' (Reader 3). As affiliation is defined as a social process that provides us 'with a network of support that will help us when we are in need' (Crisp & Turner 2007 p. 266) and the definition for networking is: a deliberate activity to build, reinforce and maintain relationships of trust with other people to further your goals. It isn't surprising that Affiliation is a key concept for professional networking as without an affiliation there is no network to develop.

'Through social interaction, humans construct meanings of the world and their experience of it.' (Reader 3)

How do we 'know' anything? A lot of things we claim to know are from someone telling us it. How do we know that piece of information to be correct? Where did they find that piece of information? Do we trust the source?

Pupils gain knowledge by listening to their teacher and simply accepting that knowledge to be true. We have been taught to respect figures of authority and we go to school, partake in courses to learn new things. No one goes to school and questions what the teacher tells us in class. Should we accept what we are told to be correct? This is where propaganda can leak in, whether it be a teacher a politician or news reader. They could choose to tell us whatever they want us to believe and if said convincingly enough we will believe it and take on those thoughts and beliefs ourselves. So many catastrophes have happened through our interactions constructing meanings of the world and the people in it.

If there are two conflicting pieces of information, which do you believe to be true? Both parties (blog, individual...) believe themselves to be correct because they 'know' their information to be accurate. They have both chosen to trust the source they received it from. I always ask people 'How do you know that?' not from any suspicions but from my need for verification and clarity. If I am researching on the internet, my first port of call is usually Google, but I won't except the answer I receive from the first website I will check a few until I satisfied with the validity.

Having entered a new professional practice switching from performer to educator. I am constantly interacting and constructing my own ideas through various channels interaction. As a lot of the information I am given is advice, I have tried to gather this from multiple sources whether that be fellow teaching assistants, teachers, senior staff or Web 2.0. From this I can evaluate and reflect on all of the material, piecing together the parts I would like to help in developing my practice and in my internal filing cabinet, store the information accordingly.

Connectivism is highly used due to the expanse of Web 2.0 and how accessible it is. Learning is no longer restricted to the teacher student format. For example, blogs, the reader can feedback thoughts through comments. This may involve an exchange of knowledge or simply provide an opinion on the matter.

In conclusion, I feel all of these concepts are valuable and that they compliment each other. One isn't successful without an element of the other. A network cannot begin without affiliation, without some form of compromise the network cannot develop, without social constructionism we cannot form meanings and without connectivism there will be no knowledge to gain.

I have found an interesting post including tips on how to grow your network.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jonathan-long/8-tips-to-help-grow-your-_b_7562332.html





https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-definition-of-professional-networking

Task 3a

After mapping out my communities of practice, like others who have done this task (Eleanor Byrne, Lauren Harper and Megan Louch), I was surprised to see the amount of branches. Some of these are purely professional but others are more personal. In my day to day life I do not think of these people and channels being linked to my practice they are simply linked to me. Then came the realisation, I am my practice. There is no separation between the me at work and the me at home, just different choices and different aspects of practice.

As Eleanor Byrne said in her blog 'it's not what you know, it's who you know'. This phrase is so true, sometimes hard work just isn't enough, the connections we make can open the door enough to get your foot in, to then be able to let all that hard work shine.

But how do these 'who you know' connections start? It could be as easy as sitting next to a complete stranger on a train and having a conversation; it could be a friend of a friend; it could be an email address passed from someone; it could be a previous or current employer. So why are some people completely different in a work setting? If we can make a new connection anywhere at any time, that could be beneficial to our practice, surely we went to make the right impression from the outset? Of course, in work we put our best foot forward and are maybe a little bit more sensible, but shouldn't we want to be our best self in every part of our lives? Don't get me wrong, I am the first to want to have fun and be a bit silly but our employers or potential employers aren't looking for robots they are looking for humans.

I chose to include 'internet' as a community of practice as if I am ever looking for advice, new ideas or resources my first port of call is usually the internet. There are so many forums linked to websites that you can get an idea of whether what you are looking at has been successful before without having to try it for yourself first. For example, I work 1-1 with a child at school who struggles making connections and understanding her emotions, I have spent a lot of time researching different ways to help her understand how she is feeling in a child friendly manner. I have found games, craft exercises and many more methods to help her with this. I do not simply find a resource and use it, I check the comments underneath and the reviews to see if it has been tried and tested and what parts worked and didn't. This way I can modify the activity accordingly to get the best results for her. At the end of the day, my practice involves enhancing other peoples lives, I want to give her the best chance I can at developing in every aspect of her life.

Looking at the internet to develop and enhance my practice. As my friends list is mainly comprised of performers, my news feed is an endless scroll of fitness videos and healthy eating ideas. I watch and save these regularly, I like to have a bank full of resources to help me develop my body's strength and flexibility and general well being, this enables me to use my time effectively and get the most value out of the time.

I have been asked to start a dance club after school, this will require planning and organising. This one event will benefit from me utilising my communities of practice: I can ask friends who I already know run after school clubs for advice; my Mum's friend is a governor of a primary school, I can ask what she would expect to see in after school clubs of this nature; As with everything, I need a helping hand to get going with choreography, the internet is a labyrinth of ideas: youtube; Facebook; Vimeo. Never mind, my shelves at home filled with past dance show recordings and my hard drive filled with my more recent professional work. By looking at these resources, I will be able to jot down dance moves I would like to use and ideas for possible themes (particular for the younger ones). Watching these resources will also stimulate my own ideas. Even now writing this blog, while thinking about videos I have seen on the internet or thinking about past experiences, I have managed to jot down ideas that I can put forward to the choir leader.

Some communities within your practice could be from years and years ago. my childhood dance teacher will never cease to inspire me even though it has been years since she passed. She planted a seed inside of me and nurtured it until it bloomed. She inspired my passion, my ability and my discipline. I always feel proud when I am commended on my professionalism in the workplace as I know I would not be that way without her guidance.

Networking is very often misused, I think Eleanor Byrne hits the nail on the head, I have copied and pasted two sections of her blog:

Capitalise' sounds harsh, impersonal and it has a slight economic sound to it. It makes it sound as if each actor has a game plan in order to succeed, and it is as straightforward as doing anything we can to accomplish this.

There are too many people who 'use and abuse' for their personal gain. I like to imagine that I can maintain dignity whilst still building on my professional network pool. 

'Maintain dignity' is such a key part of a professional practices and networking. I have always struggled with networking as I do not wish to appear to 'suck up to' or abuse my connection. I used to hate it at auditions when attendees would run forward to someone they knew, I have always wanted to achieve my goals through my talent, hard work and professionalism. This leads us straight back to the start 'its not what you know, its who you know'. Maybe, if I was less proud more opportunities might have opened for me? Saying that, in my dance career I have been incredibly fortunate and I couldn't be more grateful for the opportunities I have been given.

Task 2d Inquiry

What makes me enthusiastic in my daily practice? What do I love about what I do?

The endless possibilities of what could happen (this is also a worry sometimes), with children you just never know how they will react, even if you have already  done a similar activity in the past that was hit, does not mean it will be a hit second time around. The rollercoaster that is childhood, with there many traumatic tales; excitability and fussing, is a never ending source of mystery.
I get excited for that light bulb moment when what I have said has struck a chord and clicked into place whether that be for an academic purpose or emotional. I believe that the emotional state of a child is key to their academic development to be successful. Therefore, I believe it is important to educate children on the effects of their emotions and being aware of how they feel and being able to communicate that emotion is vital for their all round development. This is why I am really interested in mindfulness as it increases there awareness of what is happening to them when a shift in emotion takes place. Here is a link to a website about the effects of mindfulness in schools:

http://www.mindfulschools.org/about-mindfulness/research/

Considering who inspires me, it has to be the children, who better to learn how to educate from than the very individuals you wish to help. I feel this should be mutual, how can I hope to teach effectively if I don't inspire them to want to learn and improve.

What gets me angry?

When a child lets themselves down, in our school we have a few children who have behaviour problems stemming from emotional issues. It is heartbreaking to see them so worked up about a piece of work, when I know their hearts and minds are tormented by something from outside of school. One particular child really battles with their emotions to make the right choices, they strive to do the right thing but once one bad decision has been made they find it really hard to pull it back as they feel angry at themselves for letting their emotions take over. Now, I may not be able to fix their problems from outside of school but I can do my upmost to make them feel valued and important during school hours. However, sometimes they are so lost in their own head it has hard to reach them, this makes me angry and sad as I feel I have failed them in not making them feel supported.

Another thing that is increasingly bothering me, the endless changes that are being made around school to try and fix issues. Instead of stripping back systems before a new one is implemented, more and more are being layered on top. This is leading myself and other staff members to feel confused when trying to implement rules, this in turn leads the children to have less and less respect for authority as nothing is consistent.

What do I feel I don't understand?

Having changed careers, I am very new to the academic surroundings of a school in the role of educator. Consequently there are many things I don't understand. I was hoping to undertake more training when starting the job, but it seems I have been left to learn as I go. This can be a good thing, in the way that I am figuring out what techniques work for me, instead of following someone else's method. I do observe other teachers and assistants around the school to develop my practice and adopt ways to enhance it. I also observe to take note of methods I do not wish to adopt into my practice. On the other hand, I would appreciate some concrete guidance on what is expected of me: am I doing enough? could I be more effective in my teaching and use of time?

A major thing that I am questioning is whether this job is right for me to develop my practice around or are my current skills and methods of practice better suited elsewhere. The main reason for these recurring thoughts are that I am leaving work more and more often with a frantic or stressed emotional state. Now, don't get me wrong, I am all for the pressures of the job and being challenged but I should feel drained because I have worked hard to achieve something and not emotionally drained. Sometimes, I get to lunch and feel as if I have done an entire day. I do feel this is partially down to the location of my school and the types of students who attend but also due to the way the school is ran. I have decided not to renew my contract at the end of the year if this feeling continues as life is too short to dread going to work everyday. I will however, try another school in a different catchment area before I decided whether it is or is not meant for me.

How do you decide the appropriate ethical response in a given situation?

This is a battle I have numerous times in a day. Working with children there are many circumstances that make my brain go into quick think, risk assessment mode. There are children with emotional issues in my class who ask for a hug multiple times in a day. The policy is that I can give them a hug if they initiate it. It is usually the same children that come every day to receive a hug after most sessions, there have been times where I will have opened my arms ready, knowing what they are sneaking over to me for, I then realise this appears that I have initiated it, so make some remark about them always coming over for a hug!  On other occasions my brain goes into immediate spy mode. Spy mode? In a school? YES! Children are very clever and know a lot more these days than they should. For instance, one child  scratched herself and told the head teacher that I did it to her. Luckily for me the head teacher knows my character and the child in questions character and hasn't even acknowledged the accusation.

In conclusion, whilst developing my practice and more importantly, learning about my practice I am on a rollercoaster where at the peaks I feel I have made a difference and take a mental note of all the things that were successfull and all of the things that didn't work. Then at the depths, I am questioning my abilities and feeling pretty useless. I guess this is how it will be until I have gained more experience, I will not quit anything until i have exhausted the possibilities. Let's face it every challenge makes us stronger, every sad moment leads us to joy.