Paul's E-Portfolio

One of the things about mixing with teachers is the vast range of understanding, currency and approaches. It demonstrates the ongoing struggle to, on top of everything else, keep up to date with the trends in the subject matter but also in the teaching of that subject matter.

I know one teacher of 12 years experience who is up to date on cutting edge teaching methodologies in his subject area. Equally coming into the practicum I am having to be careful not to cause issues with another teacher who is teaching technology that is a decade out of date and doesn't want to change.

The explicit opportunities to maintain currency are generally limited to personal development (PD) opportunities. I have experienced a few of these in a teaching context and they range from abysmal to limited. There are many barriers to a good PD including the time to provide a good theoretical grounding and the quality of the person presenting.

Often presenters of PD are tapped from a context that either struggles with the content or struggles with the art of teaching. The content can also be dumbed down to the level of practical items to take away. The deeper authentic learning required to construct your own use of these things is sometimes missing.

In addition in some schools there is a tick the box approach to PD. It is just one more item for the teacher to endure at the end of the busy day. However the box must be ticked for the teacher to meet registration requirements and the school to meet duty of care.

The only solution is to keep an enquiring stance. There is a great deal that can be picked up through osmosis in a professional team. In addition I will need to ensure wide reading in education and content that match my interests and styles. Finally PD has its place but perhaps in preference look at more out there PD opportunities.