In Week 2 you considered the need for teacher educators to model the pedagogy that teachers are expected to use in their classrooms. Teacher educators cannot rely on lecturing and are faced with changing their views and ways of working with teachers and pre-service teachers. Therefore, as a teacher educator, you need to pay attention to your own needs and professional development so that you are better placed to support the needs of others.
The issues that classroom teachers face in changing their practice apply to teacher educators too. For example, more time will need to be spent on planning for active learning. Collaborating with colleagues – such as through joint planning, observation and reflection – can be very beneficial. In Activity 2.2 you analysed the knowledge and skills needed to use active, participatory teaching approaches successfully. As part of planning your own professional development, you need to identify your current skills and the ones for development. A skills audit is a useful starting point.
Allow approximately 1 hour
Not only will the audit and action plan help you to reflect on your current practice and goals, but they are also tools that you can use to monitor your development as you go forward.
Which active learning approaches would you feel confident to try? Which ones are difficult? Where could you get help? How will your colleagues respond to these ideas? It is always helpful to share your ideas with other colleagues to find out their experiences of trying new ideas and ask for feedback on your idea and actions. By working collaboratively, you can learn from each other and draw on each other’s areas of expertise to the benefit of all.
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