ABSTRACT

This chapter discusses the importance of being a reflective practitioner and examines how the dispositions we present and the relationships we develop on placement are key factors to becoming an effective teacher. As the quotation from Chris suggests, classroom experiences provide crucial, yet sometimes challenging, learning opportunities, and we offer vignettes from trainees who provide insights into significant elements of their school placements. Being involved in professional conversations about our teaching with school colleagues and tutors is essential to supporting our professional development. Beginning teachers tend to make broad judgements about the successes of the lesson. The Department for Education defines a mentor working with a trainee teacher as ‘a suitably-experienced teacher who has formal responsibility to work collaboratively with the Initial Teacher Training partnership to help ensure the trainees receives the highest-quality training’. Initially, analysing our teaching tends to be easier than reflecting on children’s learning.