JAMES NEWTON

17500975
Team B12
Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qT6NPWyw6-E

Across the course of studying the Masters of Teaching (Secondary) at Western Sydney
University I have been presented with numerous important experiences. Things such as group and
individual assignments, lectures, class discussions and practicum opportunities have helped me to
develop a professional identity. This professional identity will continue to change and develop over
the course of my teaching career, as new experiences continue to alter and change my views, beliefs,
skill set and career goals. The following critical reflection will discuss this professional identity, with a
focus on developing working relationships in a community of practice and the concept of school
change.

Researchers suggest that 30-50 percent of new teachers leave the profession within their
first 5 years of teaching (McKinnon, 2016). One of the views that I have developed over the course of
the Masters of Teaching is that a strong support network is integral to a new teachers success within
their place/places of employment and future career. For me, a strong support network is based
around good working relationships with other members of staff. Through my experiences I have
developed the opinion that these relationships help teachers to overcome difficulties and problems
they may face early in their career. Le Cornu (2013) supports this assertion, suggesting that strong
relationships based around trust, respect, care and integrity help new teachers develop resilience.
This resilience supports new teachers to work through difficulties that may otherwise find them
wanting to leave the profession. Kearney, (2014), further stresses the importance a strong support
network for new teachers, stating that the use of mentor teachers, teacher collaboration,
professional discussions and networking, regular communication and time for professional
development are paramount to new teacher success.

The group assignment for this unit allowed the opportunity to develop these sorts of
relationships and support networks. For this assignment, we were to develop a project to be
implemented into a school with the aim of school improvement. The project we chose was a school
musical that had the opportunity for multiple faculties, staff and students to be involved. In order to
successfully design and implement this project, strong teamwork and good working relationships
were needed. We achieved this, with the members of our team working well together to reach our
goals. Each of us was happy to take on different tasks and roles necessary for completion of the
assignment, and supported each other through regular discussion and collaboration. Aspects of
successful working relationships such as trust, respect and care were present within the group as we
all respected one another enough to trust we would complete our given tasks to our highest ability,
also showing our integrity. This experience proved invaluable for all of us as we move into our
teaching careers. Staff within faculties will work together on things such as programming, organising
events and faculty projects. Staff across the school will work together on things such as sporting
carnivals, excursions, school events and professional development opportunities. The ability to
develop good working relationships with other members of staff and to be able to work in a team is
paramount to a new teachers future success. Opportunities such as the aforementioned group
assignment are extremely helpful in developing these skills.

The new Australian Curriculum, NAPLAN testing, national school reporting through the My
School website and the Gonski review amongst others are showing how education in Australia is
currently going through a significant period of change (Bentley and Savage, 2017). In this climate of
school change it is important that educators new and old ensure that they keep up to date with the
latest research into theories, models and approaches to learning. Initial teacher education such as
the Masters of Teaching I have studied at Western Sydney University are paramount in preparing pre-
service teachers for their future career. Just as important are the professional learning opportunities
teachers are presented with, with these being paramount for all teachers in their continuing
professional development over the course of their teaching career. Weisrock (2017) states that
successful professional learning has far reaching educational benefits for students, solidifying its
importance.

Many theories, models and approaches to teaching were covered across the duration of the
Masters of Teaching course. Experiences around these theories, models and approaches helped me
to and are continuing to help me develop my professional identity. One of these is an approach to
teaching called Project Based Learning. Project Based Learning is a model where the learning centres
around answering a driving question/goal through participating in authentic and tangible experiences
(Krajcik and Blumenfeld, 2006). Students use problem-solving skills to find solutions to the driving
question/goal, with their learning being scaffolded along the way. By deciding on a musical as the
project we were to implement into a school, we have used the Project Based Learning approach.
Students have been given the driving question/goal of Campbelltown Performing Arts High School
presenting a musical to the public. Rather then more traditional methods of classroom instruction
such as rote learning, the use of a Project Based Learning approach to teaching via the musical will
provide students with real life, tangible experiences. Students must find solutions to an array of
problems that need solving for the success of this musical, such as business/feasibility considerations,
music and drama considerations, costume design, set design and build, catering and more. These
experiences will ensure this learning is adaptable for their future lives as they develop their personal
and social capabilities. Choosing this approach to learning shows how theories taught during the
Masters of Teaching are being put into practice in real world contexts.

This critical reflection has analysed how the group assignment in this unit, the project we
chose for our group assignment, and different theories, models and approaches to learning have
affected my professional identity, with a focus on developing working relationships in a community of
practice and the concept of school change. During my time completing the Masters of Teaching
(Secondary), numerous experiences have helped me to develop a professional identity. This
professional identity will continue to develop and change as I move into and through my teaching
career.
 References

Bentley, T., & Savage, G. (2017, February 2). Educating Australia why our schools arent

improving. The Conversation. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/educating-

australia-why-our-schools-arent-improving-72092

Kearney, S. (2014). Understanding beginning teacher induction: A contextualized examination

of best practice. Cogent Education, 1(1). doi:10.1080/2331186x.2014.967477

Krajcik, J., & Blumenfeld, P. (2006). Project-Based Learning. In The Cambridge Handbook of

the Learning Sciences. Retrieved from

http://tccl.rit.albany.edu/knilt/images/4/4d/PBL_Article.pdf

Le Cornu, R. (2013). Building Early Career Teacher Resilience: The Role of

Relationships. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 38(4).

doi:10.14221/ajte.2013v38n4.4

McKinnon, M. (2016, January 11). Teachers are leaving the profession ? here's how to make

them stay. Retrieved from http://theconversation.com/teachers-are-leaving-the-

profession-heres-how-to-make-them-stay-52697

Wiesrock, M. A. (2017). Professional Learning in High Achieving Elementary

Schools(10600430) (Doctoral dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and

Theses database. (10600430)