Essay

Section 1 – critical evaluation of literature

Professional development in teaching is a lifelong activity and it might well require a lifetime to achieve even the most tertiary appreciation of the Qualified Teaching Standards (QTS) identified by the pertinent Quality Assurance Agencies advising and promoting on the best practice to maximize teaching effectiveness.   As such I was presented with a host of professional development areas that I could gain competence and confidence in because I am still in my professional infancy.   My teaching experience both prior to, and during my formal teacher training, had principally been demonstrating practical, lab-based teaching and over-seeing the pupils’ efforts to replicate the same. (Leat, D and Higgins, S, 1997) My other most frequently utilised technique had been the traditional, teacher-led instruction and explanation of theory, facts and expectations in the various science disciplines and topics covered in the National Curriculum.   As a student in secondary school, and again while at University, I had occasion to undertake group-work; again this was usually in practical classes where space and physical resources are at a premium and must be shared between individuals.   But I recognised an interesting phenomenon in my groups; we all adopted roles and alternately recognised our own, and each other’s, skills such that it was obvious on successive tasks and over time in modules, which group member would take the lead on specific areas of work and who would focus on the other aspects.   It was hugely satisfying to share the responsibility and effort required on our practical work, and I often wondered if other, more mundane and less proactive, i.e. teacher-led instructional techniques, might similarly benefit from some form of collaborative or group-based learning procedure as a supplement or adjunct to the teacher-directed style.   While I was acquiring my initial training, I began to inwardly feel less able to even...