Learning Outcome b) Recognise the ethical, professional and legal responsibilities of teachers.
Evidence One
Thursday 24th January 2013, Session One.
The role of the teacher & Teaching: A responsible profession.
Notes taken in class.
Teaching is a very public profession that undergoes much scrutiny and regulation in the public eye and media.
Currently teaching and the education system features heavily in the media.
- Novo-pay debacle.
- Charter Schools.
- National Standards controversy.
- No smoking in school grounds.
- Need parental consent for many things as the school is accountable for the child.
- Need accident and safety forms and risk management plans for activities and camps.
- High need for child privacy and confidentiality Teachers can't disclose information about children to others. Need to be especially careful about this in the staff room as you shouldn't talk about children outside of the professional situation.
- When taking photographs of children, teachers need to have permission As student teachers, we will need to get permission from associate teachers also.
- Health and Safety laws also apply heavily - ie. need to be careful about students climbing trees etc.
- Need appropriate adult-child ratios at all times.
- May need to fill out an accident book at many schools if an accident occurs.
- There are many policies about who can administer medication to children - may need training for allergies.
- Copyright Act - especially when downloading material, this should not be done illegally.
- In situation where parents are divorced, the teacher needs to be informed on who collects children etc.
- Need to be careful in cases of child abuse. If abuse is serious and you are sure, you can report but always seek backup and support.
- School needs wheelchair accessibility.
This shows that there are many regulations that teachers must abide by - these are the legal responsibilities of teachers that they must adhere to. It is there duty as a teacher to do so.
Teachers also have a duty of care. This means it is a teachers responsibility to get to know their students and form relationships with learners.
Teachers also need to practise professionalism. This consists of:
- Abiding by the law in all aspects of life, not just at school and in the classroom.
- Dressing appropriately for the classroom.
- Being on time.
- Being sufficiently planned.
- As students this means having done our readings to be adequately prepared for class.
- Relating to children in an appropriate manner.
- Being reliable, mature, thoughtful and using our initiative.
The NZ teachers council has a code of ethics that teachers must abide by. Ethics are at the core of teaching and mostly involve knowing your learners and making a caring classroom.
The code of ethics for registered teachers can be summarised into four sections:
- Commitment to learners.
- Commitment to parents/caregivers and family/whanau.
- Commitment to society.
- Commitment to the profession.
As a class we discussed the qualities of a good teacher. Some qualities that occurred frequently were:
- Passion
- Knowledge
- Acceptance
- Adaptable/Flexible
- Empathy
Evidence Two
Friday 25th January 2013, Session Two.
The New Zealand Curriculum and Schooling in New Zealand.
Notes taken in class.
What is the purpose of schooling?
This question can be answered in New Zealand through National Education Goals (NEGS). NEGS provide 10 goals that reflect the purpose of schooling in New Zealand.
When looking through the list the class found that emotional skills and real world skills are not featured as a goal of education. To produce happy, confident people is also a goal that seems to be missing. These were ideas that the class had for what the outcomes should be for schooling in New Zealand.
We also talked about the additions to the list of goals especially in relation to goals surrounding physical education. This was enacted in order to target obesity rates in New Zealand. This shows the strong influence the government has on education in New Zealand.
The New Zealand education system also has National administration Guidelines (NAGs) which features what the board of trustees and subsequently teachers must do in schools in terms of administration and reporting school details and student achievement.
In groups we read the eight sections of the NAGs and summarised them for easy reference. This was presented in a origami piece. This enabled us to learn about what the NAGs comprised of while also seeing a unique activity for learning (the origami).
The eight sections of the NAGs summarised:
When looking through the list the class found that emotional skills and real world skills are not featured as a goal of education. To produce happy, confident people is also a goal that seems to be missing. These were ideas that the class had for what the outcomes should be for schooling in New Zealand.
We also talked about the additions to the list of goals especially in relation to goals surrounding physical education. This was enacted in order to target obesity rates in New Zealand. This shows the strong influence the government has on education in New Zealand.
The New Zealand education system also has National administration Guidelines (NAGs) which features what the board of trustees and subsequently teachers must do in schools in terms of administration and reporting school details and student achievement.
In groups we read the eight sections of the NAGs and summarised them for easy reference. This was presented in a origami piece. This enabled us to learn about what the NAGs comprised of while also seeing a unique activity for learning (the origami).
The eight sections of the NAGs summarised:
- The board of trustees must ensure the curriculum is being taught and assess achievement and identify those who need more help through guidance. They must also consult with the Maori community.
- The board of trustees along with the principal and teachers must plan, review policies and review curriculum and work out how they will implement this in a school. They must also use national standards.
- Human Resources - Must keep with employment legislation and promote staff performance.
- Finances and Property - Board of trustees controls finances and property, allocates funds and monitors school expenditure.
- Board of trustees must make sure school is a safe environment, both physically and emotionally. Need to promote healthy food and nutrition and safety for students and employees.
- Board of trustees must comply with legislation surrounding attendance and the length of school day and year.
We then discussed the purpose of National Standards - to assess, interpret, and report children's abilities in curriculum areas.
After that we discussed and looked at the New Zealand curriculum. The New Zealand curriculum is quite general now so teachers can mould it to fit with their classroom. Good teaching involves deep learning where an idea is explored in depth. Therefore teachers can choose a topic to focus on and fit it with the curriculum where they can then explore it in deep.
Features of the New Zealand Curriculum:
Five parts:
There are 8 principles that relate to the things that are important to make good citizens.
The values of the curriculum relates to teaching students to have values towards themselves and others. This involves encouraging tolerance and acceptance.
The key competencies are the skills needed for living and lifelong learning. They are needed as skills in themselves but also to help develop other skills and abilities.
The five key competencies are:
The essence of the curriculum is the key competencies as teachers must show which competencies they are aiming to teach when planning a lesson.
We also talked about the hidden curriculum. This what teachers teach and show through implicit messages they give in the classroom. It encompasses what we do, say and who we spend time with in the classroom. This means we need to use the right language in the classroom. Eg. it is more important to say "Are we listening" then "Are we sitting up nicely" as the latter will cause children to think the most important thing is to sit up nicely and wont focus on paying attention to the lesson.
As a teacher I will need to create a positive hidden curriculum. This will involve encouraging respect, non-sexism non-racism, listening skills, non-bullying, not favouring students. This will create a positive classroom environment for my students.
Evidence Three:
Reading Reflection.
Fraser, D. (2012). The work and artistry of teaching. In C. McGee and D. Fraser, (Eds.), The professional practice of teaching (pp. 55-75). (4th ed.). South Melbourne, Victoria: Cengage Learning.
This reading talks about the qualities of a good teacher.
We talked about this in class so while reading I compared the ideas from the author with the ideas we came up with in class.
Both the reading and our class said that teachers should have passion, content knowledge, flexibility, care and commitment to students. We also believed teachers should show acceptance to all. This relates to the readings idea of rejecting deficit theorising which is very important in a multi-cultural society such as New Zealand.
There were also a number of qualities that were featured in the reading that we did not come up with in class discussions. These were to be explicit, intuitive and to continuously reflect on your learning.
The text also highlights that although content knowledge is important to have as a teacher, it is not enough to only have knowledge and have no strategies or abilities to know how to teach this knowledge to students. Without these teaching approaches, the knowledge that you possess is useless.
The text also discusses the stereotype of a good teacher as being warm and effusive. Although it is important to be caring towards students, it is okay to be quiet and firm, as long as students know you care and you have high expectations from all students.
From this reading I was able to reflect on the qualities I possess and how these match up with those of a good teacher. I believe I have the passion, flexibility, care and commitment to students. However throughout the year and as a starting teacher I will need to learn the content knowledge and work on ensuring I have high expectations of all students and am explicit in my teaching.
Evidence Four:
Reading Reflection.
Hall, A. (2012). Teachers and professional ethics. In C. McGee and D. Fraser (Eds.), The professional practice of teaching (pp. 266-290). (4th ed.). South Melbourne, Victoria: Cengage Learning.
This reading talked about the profession of teaching and the responsibility teachers have to do the best for their students. A teachers duty is to keep students safe and free from harm and to treat students ethically.
The reading highlighted how as a teacher I may need to separate my own morals and values and when in the teacher role, abide by the code of ethics when making ethical decisions.
The reading featured a decision making guide that helped me to see how best to solve ethical decisions. From this guide, the most important advice that was given was to seek support and guidance from colleagues rather than going alone in making an ethical decision. Having this support will ensure that I do not make any rash decisions and that I am following the code of ethics on not my own morals or values.
After that we discussed and looked at the New Zealand curriculum. The New Zealand curriculum is quite general now so teachers can mould it to fit with their classroom. Good teaching involves deep learning where an idea is explored in depth. Therefore teachers can choose a topic to focus on and fit it with the curriculum where they can then explore it in deep.
Features of the New Zealand Curriculum:
Five parts:
- Vision
- Principles
- Values
- Key Competencies
- Learning Areas
There are 8 principles that relate to the things that are important to make good citizens.
The values of the curriculum relates to teaching students to have values towards themselves and others. This involves encouraging tolerance and acceptance.
The key competencies are the skills needed for living and lifelong learning. They are needed as skills in themselves but also to help develop other skills and abilities.
The five key competencies are:
- Thinking - meta cognitive processes to make sense of information, experiences and ideas to develop understanding, make decisions, shape actions and construct knowledge.
- Using Language, texts and symbols - making meaning of the codes in which knowledge is expressed.
- Managing Self - this involves self motivation, allowing students to see themselves as capable, managing themselves and their learning.
- Relating to Others - Interaction with others.
- Participating and contributing - involved in communities, being a good group member and making connections.
The essence of the curriculum is the key competencies as teachers must show which competencies they are aiming to teach when planning a lesson.
We also talked about the hidden curriculum. This what teachers teach and show through implicit messages they give in the classroom. It encompasses what we do, say and who we spend time with in the classroom. This means we need to use the right language in the classroom. Eg. it is more important to say "Are we listening" then "Are we sitting up nicely" as the latter will cause children to think the most important thing is to sit up nicely and wont focus on paying attention to the lesson.
As a teacher I will need to create a positive hidden curriculum. This will involve encouraging respect, non-sexism non-racism, listening skills, non-bullying, not favouring students. This will create a positive classroom environment for my students.
Evidence Three:
Reading Reflection.
Fraser, D. (2012). The work and artistry of teaching. In C. McGee and D. Fraser, (Eds.), The professional practice of teaching (pp. 55-75). (4th ed.). South Melbourne, Victoria: Cengage Learning.
This reading talks about the qualities of a good teacher.
We talked about this in class so while reading I compared the ideas from the author with the ideas we came up with in class.
Both the reading and our class said that teachers should have passion, content knowledge, flexibility, care and commitment to students. We also believed teachers should show acceptance to all. This relates to the readings idea of rejecting deficit theorising which is very important in a multi-cultural society such as New Zealand.
There were also a number of qualities that were featured in the reading that we did not come up with in class discussions. These were to be explicit, intuitive and to continuously reflect on your learning.
The text also highlights that although content knowledge is important to have as a teacher, it is not enough to only have knowledge and have no strategies or abilities to know how to teach this knowledge to students. Without these teaching approaches, the knowledge that you possess is useless.
The text also discusses the stereotype of a good teacher as being warm and effusive. Although it is important to be caring towards students, it is okay to be quiet and firm, as long as students know you care and you have high expectations from all students.
From this reading I was able to reflect on the qualities I possess and how these match up with those of a good teacher. I believe I have the passion, flexibility, care and commitment to students. However throughout the year and as a starting teacher I will need to learn the content knowledge and work on ensuring I have high expectations of all students and am explicit in my teaching.
Evidence Four:
Reading Reflection.
Hall, A. (2012). Teachers and professional ethics. In C. McGee and D. Fraser (Eds.), The professional practice of teaching (pp. 266-290). (4th ed.). South Melbourne, Victoria: Cengage Learning.
This reading talked about the profession of teaching and the responsibility teachers have to do the best for their students. A teachers duty is to keep students safe and free from harm and to treat students ethically.
The reading highlighted how as a teacher I may need to separate my own morals and values and when in the teacher role, abide by the code of ethics when making ethical decisions.
The reading featured a decision making guide that helped me to see how best to solve ethical decisions. From this guide, the most important advice that was given was to seek support and guidance from colleagues rather than going alone in making an ethical decision. Having this support will ensure that I do not make any rash decisions and that I am following the code of ethics on not my own morals or values.
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