Whether you have completed an undergraduate or a postgraduate qualification in teaching in Scotland, it’s important to remember that the “I” in ITE stands for “initial”.
You are by no means the finished article after your initial teacher education - indeed, you probably never will be. There will be a variety of ways for you to continue to develop your professional knowledge and understanding and your skills and abilities, while also exploring your values.
If you are in your probation year then your school or local authority will no doubt have organised a series of professional learning activities for you. However, over and above this there are various sources for developing your knowledge and skills.
If you want to develop subject-specific knowledge and teaching strategies, for example, then support from subject associations is invaluable; for instance, the Association for Science Education (ASE) or the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC).
CPD for new teachers
If you are a primary teacher, look for subject associations for areas of the curriculum where you would like to develop your knowledge and skills. You will probably find resources, face-to-face and online professional learning events, funding for school-based activities and so on.
If you enjoy reading, there are a number of books available to develop all aspects of your practice, such as The Teaching Delusion and its sequels by secondary headteacher Bruce Robertson. Often these books distill some main findings from education and psychology research and provide ideas on how to implement the findings in your classroom.
Teachers can also develop through carrying out a professional enquiry into an aspect of their practice. The General Teaching Council for Scotland’s Standard for Full Registration states that teachers should “have a depth of knowledge and understanding of research and engagement in practitioner enquiry”.
This has the benefit of being completely personalised because you can identify a specific part of your teaching practice with a particular class. Here’s just one example: “How does increasing wait time during questioning affect the quality of answers provided in my National 5 geography class?”
Social media can be a great source of professional learning. Twitter has many edutweeters sharing blogs, resources and ideas that will support you in developing your practice. You will also see many debates over various aspects of education that will encourage you to reflect on your own viewpoints and explore your values.
And finally, a career-long dedication to reading Tes Scotland will, of course, have a huge benefit on your teaching practice.
Dr Colin McGill is a lecturer in teacher education - specialising in chemistry - and PGDE (professional graduate diploma in education) programme leader at Edinburgh Napier University
