Workshop 1

Communication is the most important thing you will do as a teacher.

Most of it is non-verbal, but still requires a voice. Protect your voice
its an irreplaceable tool.
Successful communication = intended message of sender is
received.
o Intra-personal with yourself only, internal dialogue/reflective
self talk.
o Inter-personal

with

others;

verbal/non-verbal

&

intended/unintended.
Communication complex due to variables (power, gender, race,
expectations etc).
Effective communication requires clarity, practise, showing respect,
assertive (not aggressive), check for understanding, look for signals
and use feedback.
Questioning = specific subset of communication that you use most
as a teacher direct questions and answers with positive feedback
most effective method.
o Many different kinds of questions; each child will respond
differently.
o Good = control pace, stimulate/challenge & encourage sharing
ideas.
Questions = open/closed or convergent/divergent & high/low order
Best = one at a time, right question, wait for answer, interesting,
dont repeat, no binary questions (yes/no), distribute evenly, positive,
redirect & be polite.
Listening = attending,

responding,

clarifying,

reflecting.
Conflict management

of

pinnacle

paraphrasing

communication;

&

mixes

questions & listening.

You have power no put downs/aggression. Negotiate & collaborate.
Ethics
also
forms
important
part
of
teaching

applied/meta/normative.
Ethics = right thing to do; duties, obligations, responsibilities &
rights.
o Distinct from values, not just facts for ethical decisions - need
principles.
o Ethical obligations often independent of wants/choices MUST
do them.
o Prof standards main source of ethical obligation MUST do to be
teacher.

Duty of Care = legal obligation teachers MUST put students

first.
DoC = Changes in different contexts, cant prevent unforseen, must
take reasonable steps which factors in age, phys/int impairment,
medical issues, behaviours, nature of environment/activity & standard
practises.
Responsibility with you if steps not taken, protect yourself & your
students!
Be especially vigilant with internet/social media, acceptable
reason to use it? Does your school have a policy? How would

parents feel if learn about contact?

What does your internet footprint communicate about you?
Employers will likely check, nothing is truly private anymore.
Teachers are expected to hold themselves to the highest
standards Always model the best practise for your students in
everything you do; its the only acceptable habit to develop.

The content summary does little to demonstrate or reflect my

interpretation of this material. No matter how hard I tried, without
getting into details the best I could manage was a summary. This is
a real shame, because seeing all the theoretical material above put
into action within our first workshop, I was blown away. From the
very first discussion we had of the arrangement of the furniture
influencing everyone entering and choosing a seat, I found myself
constantly challenged to explain myself accurately. This really drove
home the need to be a precise and confident communicator; your
students may only give you 1 chance to get a point across, and if
you miss this that isnt their fault. Communication is a dynamic
process (Groundwater-Smith et al, 2015) so it evolves with use and
in an increasingly connected world this only happens faster and
faster.
While there is an almost inexhaustible list of factors affecting
communication, what I took away from our discussions is that as the
teacher I need to be mindful of how these things affect my students.
If I want to successfully communicate with modern students I cant
operate

from

traditional

power

base

as

Learning

about

communication is a lifelong process (Groundwater-Smith et al,

2015). I have always thought myself a fantastic communicator, but
this entrenched belief, no matter how accurate, could be what
prevents me reflecting appropriately and accepting that I will
inevitably need to change over time how I communicate.
As a current a DoE employee I am acutely aware of the ethical
obligations faced by anyone who works closely with children. This
doesnt mean to say that there werent areas of weakness, but I felt
I was able to disengage my personal values while considering
ethical dilemmas. This really brought to the fore the interaction
between ethical obligations and reflective practise. By having
ethical obligations we are forced to constantly reflect on whether we
are doing the right thing, rather than just what is expedient, easy,
desired

by

your

pupils

or

recommended

by

colleague

(Groundwater-Smith et al, 2011). Ethical dilemmas require reflective

thinking, which in turn requires self-awareness and as this increases

we may see ethical dilemmas and their potential consequences

differently, leading to different choices!
My final watchword from this workshop was that most ethical
dilemmas boil down to context and setting and we must always
seek to resolve them at the appropriate time and place, not when it
suits us. By always striving to resolve these dilemmas in the best
way, we will become better practitioners.