Research Essay: Artefact 2

Artefact 2
This research essay reflects on what I believe is important in

teaching. The second paragraph
(highlighted) explains with
evidence why it is important to continue to learn throughout your
career
Research Essay
Tamsin Oski
S00124083
Creating and developing a teaching philosophy is filled with many
challenges. The process of analyzing what you view as the most
important aspects of teaching is quite hard to narrow down and pin
point as there are so many intersecting dimensions to teaching and
learning. Through the development of this personal-professional
philosophy
three
major
components
have
encapsulated
this
philosophy of teaching aside from from the common and traditional

aspects. Teachers as life-long learners is a pivotal aspect of
professionalism in teaching. Ensuring that teachers keep up to date
with new discoveries, latest research and innovations in approaches
to teaching and learning is critical. Having an awareness of and
attentiveness to the characteristics of a safe and inclusive learning
environment
that
fosters
growth,
ensures
that
children
feel
confident to push themselves beyond self imposed their limits to

their own learning and to motivate them to reach new levels is both
necessary and fundamental. Finally, teachers need to place an
importance on and value feedback for improvement. They need to
recognise and engage with peer, student and teacher feedback and
see that, when evidence based and acted upon it has a direct
influence on the development of children and teaching styles. An
extensive body of educational research and my own personal
experiences and observation have found that these three key
factors add further meaning to what it is to be an effective teacher
1
and subsequently powerful in getting students to successfully learn

and succeed in todays classrooms.
The quest for knowledge is a lifetime journey, there is always
something new to discover and explore for those with a curious
mind. As a teacher the continuation of this journey of discovery is
essential to not only keep up to date with new and ever changing
technologies but to also be aware of issues facing our students.
Feiman-Nemser
(2012)
contend
that;
serious
and
sustained
teacher learning is a necessary condition for ambitious student

learning, meaning that in order to get the most out of our students
and to see them thrive we must aid them with the best teaching
strategies and approaches possible - teachers who continue to learn
themselves. There has for a more than five decades been an
educational belief that there is a constant need for teachers to
continue to update their knowledge, skills and aptitude through
further study or personal development so that they may stay in line
with current research and trends (Teachers as learners, 1956). A
great example is the constant new Information and Communication
Technologies (ICT) arising in schools and the need for teachers to
educate themselves on the best way to put these into practice in the
classroom. The range of ICT entering classrooms and the lives of
teachers and students can vary from new Ipad apps, Google docs,
drive, hangout or classrooms, chromebooks or windows based
platforms, social media or video conferencing. There are in fact too
many to list and explore and they continue to develop at a
considerable rate both in the commercial for-profit educational
domain and in shareware and free domains. The courage to explore
and trial this raft of potential valuable resources and strategies to
utilise them requires curiosity, passion and time and these qualities
are not exclusive to teaching, but rather life aptitudes for all. In
order to inspire students to pursue a life of learning it is then
important to show them that teachers are always learning as well

rather than relying on their prior knowledge. Craig (2010) explains
that teachers need to showcase for their students that they
themselves are always learning and improving their knowledge base
so in turn students strive to continue their lifetime quest for new
discoveries and explorations. The learning entrepreneurs of the
future will not put artificial endpoints to their learning journeys as if
to say, done, all finished, they will keep on learning and
discovering and so enhance the communities they live and learn
within.
Safe and inclusive environments should be a pivotal reason behind

the procedures and actions put into place by teachers in todays
schools. Students have the right to enter into a classroom space
where they feel confident, comfortable and included. This is not only
for the students social and physical wellbeing but their emotional as
well. To ensure student growth and learning the environment which
teachers create needs to inspire and excite children. A student who
is anxious and has negative connotations with their learning
environment has shown to not thrive but rather fall behind in their
studies (Krall & Jalongo, 1998). Consequently, those who are
supported in a safe and inclusive environment are seen to maximize
their learning abilities and flourish in their classrooms (Pohan,
2003). More importantly the inclusive nature of a classroom allows
for students with disabilities or extra needs to slide easily in with
the peers and create a dynamic of mutual respect and tolerance
(Mitchell, 2008). Overall, the fostering of a safe and inclusive
environment is essential to the overall wellbeing of students and
pivotal to teachers planning and classroom implementation. When
classroom learning spaces are safe they are also places of and for
learning and as evidenced in many a current teachers reflections,
a place where they can actually teach. By ensuring inclusiveness,

tolerance and diversity are expected norms in classroom spaces
then teachers can focus their attention on personalised and
differentiated learning experiences for all of their students rather
than spending a disproportionate amount of time on discipline and
classroom management.
Receiving feedback has a monumental impact on the foundations of

growth for teachers and students in education. Relevant and direct
feedback is proven to change the way students process their
learning and this correlates to improvement of their academic
results (Leckey & Neill, 2001). With the direct instruction on how to
improve specific dimensions of their learning; students have been
able to improve in their passions, interests, desires and motivations
in learning. They have been able to thrive in their formal education
and show marked change in their academic outcomes as well
(Leckey & Neill, 2001). The same can be said for professional
feedback for teachers. Professional feedback when it is focussed on
improvements to make a teacher aware of what strategies,
awareness and techniques can be employed to enhance student
learning has an unmistakably positive
impact on professional
capacity. In order to improve on teaching style, strategies and

approaches it is a common practice for peer mentoring where
teachers receive oral and written feedback on their actions in the
classroom as witnessed by another professional (Brookhart, 2008).
This allows for a teacher professional to view a lesson and
recommend areas of improvement that they recognise from an
educated perspective. Consequently, both the teacher and students
benefit from this type of feedback as it should instill better teaching
practices which in turn results in better and stronger student
outcomes (Etkina & Harper, 2002). There is also a sense of a strong
relationship between student peer feedback and improvement in

academic performance (Nair & Mertova, 2011). When a student
receives recommendations from their fellow classmates it is often in
a non-threatening, easy to understand way that makes sense to
them. This is where students can understand directly what
improvement they can make as it is usually in a form in which they
understand the learning process and the learning product being
developed to show learning. Overall, feedback in an essential
component to the way in which education works today. By
reflecting, reviewing and acting on feedback learners of all ages
improve and this is at the heart of lifelong learning.
Teaching can be a hard and complicated profession with lots of time
and research put into ways to improve student outcomes. In today's
educational context is it essential to continue the educational
journey with updating knowledge constantly in order to stay
informed in educational practices for all students. Furthermore, the
fostering of a safe and inclusive environment gives students the
best possible context in order to thrive in their academic studies as
well as socially and emotionally develop skills for learning and living.
Finally, the importance of feedback for students and teachers from
both one another and their peers is what continues to create better
outcomes and improvements in both the profession and student
outcomes and ensures a culture of learning exists and grows.

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Artefact 2

This research essay reflects on what I believe is important in

philosophy of teaching aside from from the common and traditional

confident to push themselves beyond self imposed their limits to

and subsequently powerful in getting students to successfully learn

teacher learning is a necessary condition for ambitious student

important to show them that teachers are always learning as well

Safe and inclusive environments should be a pivotal reason behind

a place where they can actually teach. By ensuring inclusiveness,

Receiving feedback has a monumental impact on the foundations of

capacity. In order to improve on teaching style, strategies and

relationship between student peer feedback and improvement in

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