1.1 Reflecting on Ethics & Standards of Teaching
In this discussion forum, you will:
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Write an introduction of self-as-teacher and self-as-learner.
Reflect how your assessment and evaluation practices relate to the Foundations
of Professional Practice.
Use the following prompts to guide your response:
1) Describe one key experience where you were a learner who was evaluated. What
happened? Why is this experience memorable to you? What supports did you require
and benefit from? What did this experience reveal about your self-as-learner?
When asked to reflect on myself as a learner, I am always drawn to consider the experiences I
had as a student myself. I believe this stems from the learning environment I was fortunate to
attend for sevens years from the age of 12-18. School was particularly meaningful for me as a
youth as it was a place where I could escape the difficulties that existed within the home
environment. The school had a strong pastoral care system in place to support both personal
and social development as well as the academic work. A happy and caring atmosphere existed
at the school so it was a place where I felt secure and motivated to learner and wanted to do
well for not only myself but my teachers, too.
The final year of my secondary school, on a personal level was an incredibly difficult time.
Preparing for exams in preparation for entrance into university felt practically impossible at
home. However, working alongside my teachers enabled me to address and explore specific
problems, cope with crisis and work through feelings and issues of conflict to improve
relationships, gain a deeper understanding of myself and the situation I faced, and develop
strategies to cope. I experienced first-hand during adolescence a caring supportive team of
teachers who recognized and helped to build inner strength, agency and strategies to navigate
difficult times out of the classroom beyond the usual adolescent years but that had a direct
impact on my learning in the classroom. The ability for my teachers to view life through my lens
and for them to adjust their assignment and assessment deadlines along with accommodations
in order to meet my needs at a crucial time is something I will be forever grateful.
2. Describe a recent and memorable assessment you used as a teacher. What
happened? Why is this experience as an educator memorable to you? What supports
did your students require and benefit from? What did this experience reveal about your
self-as-teacher?
It is a goal each year to ensure my students leave at the end of the year equipped to become
advocates for themselves as learners. Last year, I implemented student-led conferences. The
hope was that my students will have at least start their journey on recognizing how they learn
best and what they need in order to be successful.
Preparation for the conference begins to happen informally in September. Basically, students
begin to reflect on their own work, and that of their peers, with each assignment, task or activity
they participate in. Students become familiar early on with the concept of thinking about their
thinking. Prior modeling, scaffolding and taking part in self-reflection makes the transition and
preparation to student-led conferences much smoother.
As the students’ teacher, I support the students in their individual collecting of samples of work
to show personal evidence of growth and goal progress. The students’ digital portfolio also
contains examples of personal reflections, strengths and weaknesses. As we begin to move closer
to the actual conference date, I meet with students individually to discuss and collate information
from their portfolio.
During the actual conference, parents are encouraged to participate appropriately and I provided
cues as to the types of questions and comments they can use as they encourage their child to
explain their thinking and their learning.
Once preparation is complete, the students are given ample opportunity to role play with their
peers this includes making introductions, asking possible questions parents might ask, and
discussing what their parents may want to know and learn more about.
The pride in accomplishment that student, parent and teacher feel when the student has a
positive story (student-led conference) to tell and tell it well can be immensely motivational and
it’s wonderful to be able to share these with parents in a meaningful setting.
3.Reflect on the Foundations of Professional Practice:
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How does your assessment and evaluation practice demonstrate elements from
the Ethical Standards for the Teaching Profession? What would you like to grow
and strengthen in your existing practice?
How does your assessment and evaluation practice demonstrate elements from
the Standards of Practice for the Teaching Profession? What would you like to
grow and strengthen in your existing practice?
How does your assessment and evaluation practice demonstrate elements from
the Professional Learning Framework for the Teaching Profession? What would
you like to grow and strengthen in your existing practice?
As an educator I am committed to providing a safe and respectful working and learning
environment in which students and community members are treated with respect and
dignity. We all have role to play in ensuring environments are fostered where all are
welcome by building a culture where we all learn and work harmoniously with mutual
respect and understanding. We must provide our students with fair, equitable and
transparent feedback practices. Perhaps the most important aspect of this is our
expectation that we provide ongoing and varied assessments for our learners that are
clear, specific, meaningful and timely.