1. What means the term CPD to you?

CPD is a term that was introduced to us in the ProPIC Course. The more I started to think about CPD the more sense it made to embed it in my practice as a teacher to-be since it facilitates superior results in the classroom through continuous improvement of my own teaching practice.

 

2. What does teacher’s development include (activities, etc.) in your country and your personal teacher training so far?

Part of my personal teacher training in my teaching studies includes three internships. One of them is supposed to be in a primary school which serves as a first insight into the school routine and previous knowledge and studies of the students before they enter secondary school. After this there is another internship of the duration of four weeks, one week longer than the first one, at a secondary school. The final internship is called “practice semester”, but took only eight weeks.

 

3. Why do you think CPD is important for teachers in general and your personal development?

The importance of CPD can be seen in the expectations which are higher for teaching of higher quality. A Continuing Professional Development also helps teachers to become more motivated for their profession. Besides, teachers have the ability to share their ideas in a collaborative way which is beneficial in search of advice. And eventually they end up being well-qualified, knowledgeable and skillful teachers who are willing to pass this to their students by which those individuals benefit in the end.

 

4. What means reflective practice and what can it look like in a teacher’s everyday life? Where might be challenges?

Reflective practice is the way of raising awareness of your own teaching practice by making an effort to improve yourself steadily. By doing so, you may turn to account the methods and tools which are already at hand. Challenges might occur when the process of reflection gets interrupted for any reason, such as lack of incentive or motivation to continue with reflecting yourself and thus, you finally lose track of the development, or the method does not apply to you in a way you hoped it would. In this case, you might think about trying other tools you can work with.

 

5. What kind of tools have you used for your personal reflection so far? Which way of reflecting do you prefer?

For me has worked the traditional way of personal reflection very well so far, that is, making notes about my actions and thoughts on a piece of paper before and after an event, a presentation or a given lesson. Sometimes I also use my computer to jot something down. I like this way better as it is environmentally friendly and more durable than notes on paper which you for the most part never find again as soon as you need them again. Aside from that, I happen to record myself when I am on a rush and want to hold on to a thought that I otherwise won’t remember later on or in the course of the day. To be frank, I am indecisive whether one of the tools I prefer. I like best to combine all three tools and decide spontaneously which one to use on occasion.