The Path Yet Travelled
As an avid traveler I am always looking out for inspiration to my next journey. Where shall I visit? What shall I do? Where haven’t I been? Where have I traveled that I would like to revisit? As I near the completion of my master’s degree and I sit down to write my future goals, it is exactly these questions I am asking myself.
Where next? |
In all honesty the question stumped me for a while. I have been so driven on the completion of the course that I hadn’t really stopped to think what the next step would be. I love to learn therefore when I originally entered my master’s degree I expected to continue naturally to a PHd. I now realise that learning does not have to come from a formal structured environment, I can take the path less traveled and explore on my own, and who knows perhaps one day I will return to formal education! In the interim I have identified three areas I would like pursue through my own study and professional career: coding, leading change and professional development.
Coding is an area that the more I discover the more I want to learn. I began looking at coding about 6 years ago whilst working on a school Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), realizing I could create my own interactive resources or website “parts” to meet my own needs. The more I understood the more questions I asked, could I create x? How would z work? My coding skills (particularly HTML) have developed over this time, however you will see in my showcase multiple examples of cases in which I still would like to develop in this area. Most of my development has been in terms of trial and error, and on a need to know basis and I would love to expand these skills with an online class (or two!) and further exploration. W3Schools provides many basic tutorials that I have used in the past and is a constant source of information for me, in addition Coursera features almost a hundred free online classes for me to get my teeth into!
Leading change is an area I have become passionate in throughout the master’s programme. Education is an ever changing landscape and as such requires constant developments in pedagogy and methodology. I would like to be involved in the review of teaching and learning in my current and future employments, and ensure that our curriculum provide the best possible education for our students. As part of this, I would like to look to take the National College for Teaching and Leadership qualification for senior leaders (NPQSL). The qualification is an internationally recognized qualification focused on work place study, leadership skills, raising of standards and improvement and understanding of professional development through which participants develop whole school projects and improvement plans. This qualification will be particularly useful in showing my development as a leader to the UK education system (should I choose to return) alongside my current masters qualification.
As highlighted in my goal reflection paper, teacher training has always been a particular interest of mine. I believe in order to create the best education system we must recruit and train the best teachers. Throughout my masters study however my focus has shifted slightly. In line with my future goal of leading change I have realized the need for good quality and relevant professional development for all staff, regardless of their position, role and experience level. Research has shown that an inspiring and engaging teacher is the most important school related factor influencing student achievement. Therefore it is critical that we must train and support both new and experienced educators to become the strongest teacher they can, with the best professional development programmes being ongoing, experiential, collaborative and tailored to the unique needs of each educational establishment. My interest was first piqued in this area by CEP824, Leading Teacher Learning, through which dozens of resources were introduced including Solution Tree, All Things PLC, and Learning Forward. I would therefore aspire to further developing my interest and skills in this area with a view towards future roles of responsibility in this area.
Coding is an area that the more I discover the more I want to learn. I began looking at coding about 6 years ago whilst working on a school Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), realizing I could create my own interactive resources or website “parts” to meet my own needs. The more I understood the more questions I asked, could I create x? How would z work? My coding skills (particularly HTML) have developed over this time, however you will see in my showcase multiple examples of cases in which I still would like to develop in this area. Most of my development has been in terms of trial and error, and on a need to know basis and I would love to expand these skills with an online class (or two!) and further exploration. W3Schools provides many basic tutorials that I have used in the past and is a constant source of information for me, in addition Coursera features almost a hundred free online classes for me to get my teeth into!
Leading change is an area I have become passionate in throughout the master’s programme. Education is an ever changing landscape and as such requires constant developments in pedagogy and methodology. I would like to be involved in the review of teaching and learning in my current and future employments, and ensure that our curriculum provide the best possible education for our students. As part of this, I would like to look to take the National College for Teaching and Leadership qualification for senior leaders (NPQSL). The qualification is an internationally recognized qualification focused on work place study, leadership skills, raising of standards and improvement and understanding of professional development through which participants develop whole school projects and improvement plans. This qualification will be particularly useful in showing my development as a leader to the UK education system (should I choose to return) alongside my current masters qualification.
As highlighted in my goal reflection paper, teacher training has always been a particular interest of mine. I believe in order to create the best education system we must recruit and train the best teachers. Throughout my masters study however my focus has shifted slightly. In line with my future goal of leading change I have realized the need for good quality and relevant professional development for all staff, regardless of their position, role and experience level. Research has shown that an inspiring and engaging teacher is the most important school related factor influencing student achievement. Therefore it is critical that we must train and support both new and experienced educators to become the strongest teacher they can, with the best professional development programmes being ongoing, experiential, collaborative and tailored to the unique needs of each educational establishment. My interest was first piqued in this area by CEP824, Leading Teacher Learning, through which dozens of resources were introduced including Solution Tree, All Things PLC, and Learning Forward. I would therefore aspire to further developing my interest and skills in this area with a view towards future roles of responsibility in this area.
Setting out my goals for the future has reminded me of the need to set aside time for future learning, just as I would for the next vacation of a lifetime. My master’s programme has given me the tools to plan my path to success, and only time will tell the end point!
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Image Credits
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