The Role Of The Teaching Professional

Across the past academic year my professional development within the teaching field has been substantial and here I will highlight the three key areas in which I have faced the most challenges, before detailing how I came to develop my skill set within each specific area. Cordingley et al (2005) outlined how collaborative Continuing Professional Development (CPD) could impact the teaching and learning process and I will make reference to how this piece of research relates directly to my own developmental experiences, as well as how it has served as a basis for setting achievable and challenging targets for the next academic year. The studies analysed by Cordingley et al (2005) into the professionalism of teachers suggest that the field of teaching is a continual learning process and that successful practitioners should always be willing to learn from experts, more experienced teachers and their peers amongst a host of other employees that work within the school environment. Regarding my own development, it is certainly evident that all of these professionals within the school have contributed to my development as a teacher thus far.

The City of Leicester College (TCOLC) has a total of 1,450 pupils on its roll and with 77% of these classified as having English as their additional language (EAL) I was aware that engaging these pupils and ensuring that the curriculum was accessible to them would be an area that would need developing. Indeed, researchers such as Tucker et al (1976) stressed the importance of adopting school-wide approaches that tackle the barriers faced by EAL learners in the classroom, meaning that I would need to embrace the school ethos towards these students. As TCOLC has strategies in place (developed by the Minority Ethnic Achievement department within the school) I recognised that I would need to research these skills required to meet my learner's needs. This was particularly evident in my lower ability Year 10 class, where four out of the twelve pupils had a below average grasp of the English Language. To improve my position I decided to attend CPD sessions held at the school, focusing specifically on the strategies that could be integrated both in and outside of the classroom environment to ensure the continued progression of EAL learners..

Working with the MEA teachers within the college, strategies were put in place including the use of pictures to accompany instructions; computer based tasks and structured group work. All of the strategies implemented helped to improve the learning environment for my EAL pupils and together with the research I conducted into the area, helped me to understand why such strategies were producing positive results. For example, research conducted by Lambert (1977) highlighted the importance of using the pupil's home language within the classroom. I started to use the MEA teachers more productively by ensuring that they gave the pupils more complex instructions in both their home language as well as English, whilst giving simple instructions in English only. This simple, yet effective strategy produced success, demonstrated in their proceeding controlled assessment task performances. All EAL pupils that I taught together with an MEA teacher demonstrated solid progress as shown by their summative results across the year.

However, not all achieved to the same level, suggesting that other factors can affect the progress of such students. I am intrigued by the research of Horwitz et al (1986) who suggest that teachers are not fast enough at identifying the stresses that an EAL learner can experience within the classroom. Further research into this aspect of EAL learners is required for me to be able to understand the importance of recognising these pupils' needs at the earliest possible stage.

The importance of ICT use within the modern day classroom is something which cannot be underestimated in the current education system. Indeed, without the use of an interactive whiteboard I found that my lessons at the beginning of the year were restricted to using Microsoft PowerPoint slides and the occasional YouTube video clip in an attempt to enhance my pupils learning through the use of ICT. I decided to research the importance of ICT use within the classroom and was intrigued by the work of Harrison et al (2002) who found that across a range of different studies that observed teachers in both Primary and Secondary institutions, the use of interactive and engaging ICT systems demonstrated improvements in the teaching, learning and management processes of the schools involved. It was also interesting to read that after the publication of these findings, only 15% of schools across the United Kingdom were responding by using ICT in the ways that Harrison et al (2002) had suggested. My own barrier of not having an interactive whiteboard in the classroom could be overcome, as suggested by Hennessy & Deaney (2004), through the College ensuring that generic training programmes are in place that covers a wide variety of ICT resources available for use. Applied to my own situation, I decided to investigate the other interactive ICT approaches to teaching and learning that TCOLC could offer.

The use of iPod Touch devices within schools is a relatively new practice and one that I have developed my knowledge of throughout the past academic year. The construction of QR codes which can convert large documents, videos and messages into a single code that can be scanned in by mobile phones or iPod Touch devices, are both engaging for the teaching and learning process whilst offering in lesson communication that is familiar to the students. I have used the technology across a number of lessons and have found its use particularly engaging in starter and plenary activities, whereby the excitement generated at the start of a lesson is continued through to the lessons plenary. I will certainly aim to improve my use of this resource and am in complete agreement with Cox et al (2003) who highlighted the fact that a range of ICT resources, including QR codes, involve a significant amount of input in terms of planning, preparation and follow up. Removing the amount of input needed whilst keeping the ICT use as interactive and engaging as possible will certainly be a target for me over my next year in the college.

My third key area of development this year has been in my teaching of English Literature and the improving of my overall subject knowledge within this domain. I identified this as an area of weakness as early as the application process for the Teach First scheme and began to research the importance of teaching Literature within English lessons. Carter & Long (1991) explained that the teaching of Literature is necessary in the modern classroom as it enables students to understand as well as appreciate the cultures and ideologies from a time different to the one in which they are currently living. This was something that immediately appealed to me as a teacher in a school containing students from a variety of different cultural and ethnic backgrounds. It was research by Maley & Duff (1989), who documented the discussion that universal Literature texts could generate, that also highlighted the importance of teaching Literature texts correctly, enabling students to learn how to analyse the work of great novelists and playwrights such as Dickens and Shakespeare.

The research that I conducted had a vast impact on my teaching practice in regards to such texts. Following guidance from the research of Maley (2001), I planned and delivered lessons that focused on comparison, re-ordering and reformulation tasks, giving pupils the autonomy to work out key themes that were outlined in the plays of Shakespeare as well as in the works of Chaucer. Indeed, it seemed that as my passion for teaching Literature increased, the interactive language work that I set and provided for my pupils brought about progression in their own understanding of Literature. The choice of themes and the relation of these to modern society have also seen development across the year. Hill (1992) summarised the importance of choosing the correct text to teach, whilst approaching texts in a way that would be both stimulating and engaging for the students. The way that I taught 'Macbeth', by linking the storyline to modern themes covered in Soap Operas, marked a huge progression in my own teaching of Literature. Observing the stimulation that a text written over five hundred years ago provoked amongst my Year 9 pupils probably highlighted one of my key achievements this year. I will aim to extend my Literature knowledge throughout the next academic year by reading and selecting the important and engaging themes held within a variety of different Literature texts.

The concept of collaborative CPD was defined by Cordingley et al (2005) as ".teachers working with at least one other related professional on a sustained basis." The research they conducted into CPD demonstrated that its role enhanced the performance of both teachers and learners across an extended period of time, whilst highlighting the importance of 'outside experts' and fellow teachers being involved in the process together (Kirkwood, 2001). It is imperative that the modern teaching professional encapsulates both the practical improvements that can be made within the classroom, as well as the research that underpins the profession. Ross et al (1999) demonstrated the need to make key decisions based on the advice of both academics within the education sector as well as experienced teachers. CPD was most beneficial to the colleagues involved when this was the case and it is something that I will look to establish in my own training.

It is also vital that the professional teacher is a reflective practitioner, as outlined by Cordingley et al (2005). The suggestion that classroom observations, pupil voice and student data should be predominantly used as a means of reflective practices is in agreement with how I have reflected upon my own progress over the past year in school. Without reflections, I would not have been able to improve as a teacher, nor see the impact that I had made within the classroom and across the school. I am also in agreement with Britt et al (2001) concerning the benefit that structured classroom observations can have on teaching practice and feel that the lesson observation process conducted by Teach First allows reflections and improvements to be implemented at a particularly fast and accurate rate. Although described as a 'painful' experience by some colleagues, I feel that the positive impact that observations and there feedback have on classroom practice clearly outweighs the negative feelings that can often just be attributed to nerves.

My progress over the next academic year will be dependent upon me setting challenging and achievable targets. My interest in the subject of Psychology is well known across TCOLC and I want to develop these skills further, ensuring that I can use information on how pupils actually learn within the English lessons that I teach (Q18). Research such as that by Bryant et al (2001) suggests CPD that provides a new teacher with flexibility surrounding the sessions attended could be particularly important in achieving this target as I would be able to focus my efforts towards specific interactions that observe the psychological processes underpinning students learning. This will be my main focus for the upcoming year, although I will also aim to develop the differentiation skills that I put in place within the classroom (Q19). It is an area which I have developed significantly throughout this year, but one that CPD suggests can be continually improved. Revisiting Black & Wiliam's (1998a) research on strategies of inclusion, before using them in classroom observations, is one of the strongest methods of teacher development in this area as demonstrated by Cordingley et al (2005).

References Black, P. and Wiliam, D. (1998a), 'Assessment and Classroom Learning', Assessment in Education, March, p7-74. Britt, M., Irwin, K. and Ritchie, G. (2001) Professional conversations and professional growth. Journal of Mathematics Teacher Education Netherlands 4: 29-53 (study 351).

Bryant, D., Linan-Thompson, S., Ugel, N. and Hamff A (2001). The effects of professional development for middle schools general and special education teachers on implementation of reading strategies in inclusive content area classes. Learning Disability Quarterly 24: 251-264 (study 353). Carter, R & Long, M. (1991). Teaching Literature, Longman. Cordingley, P., Bell, M., Rundell, B. & Evans, D. (2005). "How does collaborative Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for teachers of the 5-16 age groups affect teaching and learning?. In: Research Evidence in Education Library. London: EPPICentre.

Cox, M., Webb, M., Abbott, C., Blakely, B., Beauchamp, T. and Rhodes, V. (2003) ICT and pedagogy: A review of the research literature (London: DfES and Becta).

Harrison, C., Comber, C., Fisher, T., Haw, K., Lewin, C., Lunzer, E., McFarlane, A., Mavers, D., Scrimshaw, P., Somekh, B. and Watling, R. (2002) ImpacCT2: The Impact of Information and Communication Technologies on Pupil Learning and Attainment. (London: DfES and Becta).

Hennessy, S. and Deaney, R. (2004). Teacher perspectives on integrating ICT into subject teaching: Commitment, constraints, caution and change. Journal of Curriculum Studies. Hill, L.L. (1992). "Defining the "Multi-" in "Multicultural" Through Children`s Literature". The Reading Teacher, 48, (8), 728. Horwitz, E. K., Horwitz, M. B., & Cope, J. (1986). Foreign language classroom anxiety. Modern Language Journal, 70, 125-132.

Kirkwood, M. (2001) The contribution of curriculum development to teachers' professional development: a Scottish case study. Journal of Curriculum and Supervision 17, pp. 5-28.

Lambert, W. E. (1977). The effects of bilingualism on the individual: Cognitive and socio-cultural consequences. In P. Hornby (Ed.), Bilingualism: Psychological, social, and educational implications (pp. 15-27). New York: Academic Press.

Maley, A. (2001) 'Literature in the language classroom` in The Cambridge Guide to Teaching ESOL, Cambridge University Press.

Maley, A. and A. Duff. (1989). Poetry in the language classroom. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Ross, J., Rolheiser, C. and Hogaboam-Gray, A. (1999) effects of collaborative action research on the knowledge of five Canadian teacher-researchers. Elementary School Journal 99: 255-275 (study 367).

Tucker, G. R., Hamayan, E., & Genesee, F. (1976). Affective, cognitive and social factors in second language acquisition. Canadian Modern Language Review, 32, 214-226.