Journal

I have typed up a extracts from my Journal. These specific moments are when I felt a teacher was 'good'. I have presented it in a table that states when? who? what? and why?

Key words
Passion
Enthusiasm
Understanding
Calm
Patient
Prepared
Student Teacher Relationship

Who?	When?	What?	Why?
Colleague at Non Stop Action	Before our PE session	A child had forgotten her PE kit. My colleague pulled them to one side and spoke in a soft voice. “where is your kit?” the child said “Mummy can’t buy me one yet” the child came to our lesson and worked on a non participant sheet.	My colleague pulled the child a side. This prevented the child from feeling embarrassed. Tone of voice was suitable to the situation as this child had ‘forgotten it’ for 3 weeks now. My colleague could have become agitated that this was the third week, but instead she remained calm and was very understanding.
Primary School Teacher	Before we took over the class. Very beginning of the day about 8:55am	The teacher has set out a morning activity for the children as they entered.	This helped the children to settle into the classroom and be prepared for a day of learning. It was engaging and calm. Prepared and planned for the day ahead.
Colleague Non Stop Action	During a Dance PE lesson	A child had removed themselves from the rest of the group and sat by the wall	My colleague went over to them and spoke to them about something that was nothing to do with PE. She asked how she was and whether she had schools dinners today. (lunch was after this lesson). This was an interesting tactic as she made a relationship with the child first before saying “Why are you over here?” It was more time consuming than just saying“WHY are you sitting out?” I have seen teachers before just shout over to the, "get up and join in now!" But this strategy was more rewarding in the end as the child explained the issue and then joined in. Showed patience and the importance of student teacher relationship.
Primary School Teacher	Observing as I was waiting for my next class	A teacher was introducing a new topic	The passion that the teacher had when they were describing the new topic was infectious. I wanted to learn I wanted to be involved and I’m not in that lesson. The enthusiasm oozed out and the children were incredibly motivated. Passion and enthusiasm.

Comparing my stories with my findings from my inquiry has been really interesting. My participants mentioned similar if not the same key words during their interview. 

Literature

I'm starting to build something that I am learning from and it is forming into something really exciting. I have spent the majority of my weekend at Middlesex university going through books. In module 2 I took similar trips however this trip felt different. For module 2 the way I used the library was different. I simply took down  books off the shelf that interested me to help me to build my inquiry. Creativity inspiration led me to different books, I picked up books that spoke of learning theories then I would jump to books with the titles " Primary Aged Teaching" and "Essential teaching skills".

Where as this time around I had analysed my data and I was looking for more information around my topic not completely different topics. Key words or sources I had previously found online was leading my search in the library. I felt like I had more of a purpose not just exploring freely. I continued to pull down books of practitioners. I sat and read through so many different books looking for chapters that matched key words that I have found through my interviewees answers.  Words such as ; Passion, Communication, Effective, Relationships and Planning. This lead me to chapters titled; Ethics, Character, Communication, Teaching Sills, Planning and Preparation, Expert Teacher and Passionate Teaching.

Since my trip I have combined my new literature with old literature my thoughts and my participants thoughts. I am aiming to find information about what is good teaching practise from different perspectives and I feel like I am starting to really build something my professional practice is going to benefit from.

 I am about to send my tutor my findings, it is tough because I have found so much information. I am hoping the feedback from my tutor will help me to finalise key findings and focus on a few key findings.

It is all a bit all over the place I need to still pull it all together but it is a big step forward! The biggest thing I am going to take away is from R. Turner- Bisset's  book ' Expert Teaching',  she talks about how you can not define good teaching, expert teaching or effective teaching. But OFSTED used the word outstanding teaching practise. So you can measure the teaching practise but it will never be finalised it will just be information gathered. This has helped me to remember that I am NOT finding answers only information!

R. TURNER-BISSET (2001) Expert Teaching- Knowledge and Pedagogy to Lead the Profession London: David Fulton Publishers

Tuesday Skype with Adesola

Skype 

The coffee shop chat was a great chance to catch up with other students from all the different modules.

 I really enjoyed the fact that Adesola led the Skype but pushed most of us out of our comfort zone asking us to talk to one another.  At first it was difficult for people to voice opinions, but after a few minutes the conversation was flowing. Adesola gave us a starting point and the conversation evolved from this. This was a good opportunity to listen to where others were and listen to the opinions and advise we gave one another.  I learnt from this Skype to step out of my comfort zone and ask others questions and voice my views.

I learnt a lot from this chat and feel it has helped me move forward in my inquiry. It has helped my inquiry as I have had a chance to ask about semi-structured interviews. The advise I received was to choose a large question where the interviewee could expand on. We also touched on the fact that the interviewee still might give me a YES or a NO to a question, but if the question is large enough there is room for them to delve deeper if they have things to talk about. It's actually quite hard to put what I learnt into words, it just clicked like a light bulb. It has definitely made me more confident moving forward with my interview questions and I have now completed nearly 70% of my interviews.

As the Skype was going on I jotted down key points that arose that really interested me, the pointers are listed below:

• Different ways to present the artefact to suit others, how do they learn?
• Reflection Practices
• "Just letting go you will find a direction" Reflective moto into professional practice.
• Going back to go forward with your journal
• Gain most from an artefact- audiences  
• Semi structure linked to reflection question
• How to be successful in an semi-structured interview

Other students have gone into great detail about this chat I have attached links to their blogs. Unfortunately my blog is just a quick update and simply what I have taken away from the chat. 

I am looking forward to the next coffee shop and Skype.  

http://lizziebell92.blogspot.co.uk/2017/03/module-3-coffee-shop-chat-070317.html

What do I want to know?

Sourcing Literature/Literature Review 

I have gone back to creating a list about what do I want to know from my Inquiry? What information do I want to gain from this? I have to remind myself it is not about finding an answer but about gaining information and valuable learning experiences.

So far I am currently exploring what is 'good' and what is a 'teacher'?  I am also exploring what makes a good teacher from other peoples perspectives- personality qualities, personal experiences etc. Taking a step away from my question I would like to explore different teaching styles and different teaching methods. This would benefit my inquiry for when I am observing teachers I will be able to identify clear styles/methods. This will not only benefit my inquiry but my professional practice. Gaining this knowledge will help me to determine my style and method of teaching. I would also like to be able to look into particular practitioners I am hoping this research will provide me with an avenue to even more literature. 

Teaching Styles 
This website breaks teaching styles in to two key approaches and other teaching theories fall into this- https://blog.udemy.com/teaching-styles/

Teacher-Centred Approach 
"The main focus behind the teacher-centered approach is the idea that the teacher is the main authority figure. The students are simply there to learn through lectures and direct instruction, and the focus is mainly on passing tests and assessments. A teachers’ role in this approach is to pass on the knowledge and information needed to their students."- (Web, 2017 )- https://blog.udemy.com/teaching-styles/

-Direct Instruction
-Formal Authority 
- Expert
-Personal Model 

- https://teach.com/what/teachers-teach/teaching-methods/

Student-Centred Approach
"In this approach, the teacher is still the authority figure, but the student plays an active role in what is learned. The idea is that the teacher will advise and guide the students down a learning path. Assessment involves informal and formal methods – tests, group projects, portfolios, and class participation. The teacher continues to assess a student’s learning even throughout the lesson. The students are learning the information the teacher is giving, and the teacher is learning how best to approach his students. There are two subcategories in this approach – inquiry-based learning and cooperative learning."- (Web,2017) - https://blog.udemy.com/teaching-styles/

Inquiry-based - Subcatorgory 
-Facilitator
-Delegator

-https://teach.com/what/teachers-teach/teaching-methods/

Cooperative Learning - Subcategory
-Facilitator
-Delegator 

https://teach.com/what/teachers-teach/teaching-methods/

Student-Centred Theorist 

Carl Rogers 
"Theorists like John Dewey, Jean Piaget, and Lev Vygotsky, whose collective work focused on how students learn, have informed the move to student-centered learning. Carl Rogers' ideas about the formation of the individual also contributed to student-centered learning. Rogers wrote that "the only learning which significantly influences behavior [and education] is self discovered".^[8] Maria Montessori was also a forerunner of student-centered learning, where preschool children learn through independent self-directed interaction with previously presented activities."- Web, 2017 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student-centred_learning

"Your teaching style says something about you. It’s based on your values toward education and the philosophy you hold about education. Knowing how your students learn can also play a key role in your teaching style. If you can discover your teaching style early on in your  career, both you and your students will be better off for it. You will know exactly what your teaching preferences are and know just how to reach your students’ learning preferences."- (Web,2017) - https://blog.udemy.com/teaching-styles/

I have found all of this literature incredibly informative. From looking at this literature I can say that my approach is student-centred. I feel strongly that this style is most suited to a Primary education environment where you are not only teaching the students the subjects but teaching them a LOVE of learning and HOW to learn. This style suits the different learners that you will have in the class. I can now look out for these different styles during my observation period. 

I am focusing more on Primary Education but my current practise is in primary schools teaching dance and gymnastic which falls under Physical Education. I had a look to see if teaching styles are different for PE educators. In the image below you can see the variety of styles are vast, this image also give you a PE example which is incredibly helpful. From this image I can see that I use a variety of styles whilst teaching depending on the class that I have. My main styles are, practice, learner initiated, inclusion, guided discovery and self-check. You can see similarities between the PE styles and Classroom styles however they have been adapted to suit their environment and subjects. 

Web, 2017- http://www.spectrumofteachingstyles.org/pdfs/literature/TeachingStyles%20inPEandMosstonsSpectrum.pdf

Comparison 
This article compares the two different approached and talks about the pros and the cons of both styles- http://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/classroom-resources/which-is-best-teacher-centered-or-student-centered-education/
The article talks about how most teachers use the student-centred approach however you should use a mix of the two so students can enjoy the positives of both styles of education. 


Teaching Methods 
Looking at teaching methods I am coming across a lot of literature talking about highly effective teaching practices and teaching techniques. The styles and methods cross over a lot and methods doesn't seem to be as clear cut as the styles. However, I have pulled some information from looking into methods going back to the basics of what is a teaching method?  

What is a teaching method? 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teaching_method

Methods of Instruction 
- Lecturing
- Demonstration
- Collaboration
- Classroom Discussion 
- Debriefing 
- Classroom Action Research 

Effective teaching practices
https://www.edutopia.org/blog/5-highly-effective-teaching-practices-rebecca-alber
- Teacher Carity 
-Classroom Discussion
-Feedback
-Formative Assessment
-Metcongitive Strategies

My research is no where near done I feel I have just scrapped the surface into teaching styles and methods. Although the web has been great to source information I feel I need to go to the library and source theorist of Centre/Teacher styles and methods. I would also like to look into the history of teaching methods. 


Bibliography 
https://blog.udemy.com/teaching-styles/

http://www.spectrumofteachingstyles.org/pdfs/literature/TeachingStyles%20inPEandMosstonsSpectrum.pdf

http://education.cu-portland.edu/blog/classroom-resources/which-is-best-teacher-centered-or-student-centered-education/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Student-centred_learning

http://www.mun.ca/educ/ed4361/virtual_academy/campus_a/dykek/page7.html

https://teach.com/what/teachers-teach/teaching-methods/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teaching_method

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/5-highly-effective-teaching-practices-rebecca-alber