[MUSIC] Being a teacher, what does it mean to be a teacher? What kind of identity do you have as a teacher? What have you learned up to now about teaching and about learning? And as a teacher if you think back to your own experience as a learner, what were the most powerful experiences for you? And thinking about your own teaching, what have been the most powerful experiences? In this course we're looking at eight different aspects of being a teacher, and we start with this one, which is about your identity. We go on to look at planning> To what extent does teaching have for learning require planning beforehand? To what extent does it require a deeper understanding of the people you are going to teach, the learners? To what extent do you need to really understand the nature of the curriculum, and what does "curriculum" actually mean? And then there's assessment, assessment for learning, assessment as learning and the common use of assessment, which is assessment at the end of a period of learning. So the distinction among these different kinds of assessment we're going to look at in further depth. And then being a professional, what does that mean, to be a professional and what does it mean for the whole range of different relationships that you have to deal with as an effective teacher? Well, when we start, we start with three questions. You don't come into this raw as if you've never taught, or you've never learned before. So, the three questions, what do I already know? What do I not know? And what would I like to know? And when we think about the learners, who are they? What do they know, feel, and do already? Because they don't come into classrooms as blank slates. They come in with feelings, with knowledge, and with skills and as a teacher, what can I do to engage my students in a way that is actually meaningful for them? And what are the most effective strategies that actually promote learning and underpinning all of that, theories? What are the major theories of learning, and to what extent are they important for me as a teacher to understand and to engage with? And then, that curt thing called curriculum. What do we understand by a curriculum? What does it mean? Are there different ways of understanding curriculum? What are those different ways? And how do I make the connections between a curriculum that is written down and assessed and the life of students and their learning in my classroom. So, if we start with the planning, is that the first place we start? With planning, formulating goals, engaging our students, planning the lessons, organising resources, developing strategies, communicating achievement? So these six verbs, formulating, engaging, planning, organizing, developing, and communicating, these are the key and at the heart of what we do as a teacher. And then assessment. We will talk about three different ways to approach assessment. The diagnostic purposes of assessment, the formative purposes of assessment, and the summative purposes of assessment, and underlying all three of those is the importance of the way in which we give feedback, what feedback means. And then, developing relationships. Who are the people with whom you work on a daily basis? Who are the most important people that you're engaged with? Your students, your colleagues, families, the wider community, and with those who shape policy? The school leaders and people who are in positions of authority within local and national government? What does it mean to be a professional? Well, you'll see here seven different criteria from ethics, code of conduct, legal administrative responsibilities, your own personal philosophy of teaching, being part of a professional community in which you share your idea's, your values, you learn from one another. Seeking advice from your colleagues and perhaps even from your students on how to improve your teaching and planning for your future development as a teacher. And finally the big question, which Howard Gardner, the Harvard psychologist asks, what do we want from our children? Have a look at this slide and have a think about whether this accords with your understanding or your priorities. What do you want for your children? Look at that last sentence. An important part of that understanding is knowing what we are and what we can do. Knowing what we are, our identity as a teacher, and the scope that there is, for us to actually affect children's lives is the greatest legacy that we can give to the next generation. What questions does this raise for you as a teacher, as a learner, yourself? Thinking again about the things that are so familiar to you, learning, teaching, curriculum and the relationship among these. So, having perhaps gone back and had a look at some of the things that you've already been exposed to in this presentation, you might now like to have a look at the think piece at the end, which asks you specific questions about reflection, about review and about the kind of activities that will help to reinforce, extend, and challenge your understanding. [MUSIC] [MUSIC]
