Prior to the course I hadn't taken much interest in politics but the lecture on ‘Helping children achieve more’ with Martin Kelly has really highlighted the importance of being up to date on current affairs. I will be taking a closer look at government decisions as I am now aware that choices made by the likes of Michael Gove will impact upon the National Curriculum and ultimately my teaching practice.
In the text, ‘Key Issues for Debate’, Barnes describes how cross curricular teaching allows children to have more of an input into how they learn, which ultimately helps build “self esteem”, “confidence” and helps children discover more about their own personalities, their interests and their preferred learning styles. The visit to Manchester museum (5/9/12) gave me an insight into this, by taking English out of the classroom and combining it with other areas of the Curriculum. This is something I am excited to put into practice in my own teaching as I think is an important part of engaging different learners.
I have also gained a new pang of excitement to teach maths to children. Before beginning the programme I feared maths both as a learner and as a teacher but, Anthony Reddy displayed in his lecture (11/9/12) “Maths isn't something to be feared, it’s about making it fun for you and fun for the learner.” - Reddy (2012). The songs and activities introduced in this session have provided me with the resources to make something that originally seemed scary to teach in to something fun and exciting.
The main message I have gained from the programme so far is that “A good teacher is not just a person with a lot of knowledge; a good teacher needs to strike a balance between subject knowledge and pedagogical knowledge.” - Hicks (2012). Therefore when undergoing my independent learning I am consistently questioning “How would I go about teaching this topic?”
In the text, ‘Key Issues for Debate’, Barnes describes how cross curricular teaching allows children to have more of an input into how they learn, which ultimately helps build “self esteem”, “confidence” and helps children discover more about their own personalities, their interests and their preferred learning styles. The visit to Manchester museum (5/9/12) gave me an insight into this, by taking English out of the classroom and combining it with other areas of the Curriculum. This is something I am excited to put into practice in my own teaching as I think is an important part of engaging different learners.
I have also gained a new pang of excitement to teach maths to children. Before beginning the programme I feared maths both as a learner and as a teacher but, Anthony Reddy displayed in his lecture (11/9/12) “Maths isn't something to be feared, it’s about making it fun for you and fun for the learner.” - Reddy (2012). The songs and activities introduced in this session have provided me with the resources to make something that originally seemed scary to teach in to something fun and exciting.
The main message I have gained from the programme so far is that “A good teacher is not just a person with a lot of knowledge; a good teacher needs to strike a balance between subject knowledge and pedagogical knowledge.” - Hicks (2012). Therefore when undergoing my independent learning I am consistently questioning “How would I go about teaching this topic?”
