School Placement 4 2020/2021

Student: Sean Gallagher Topic: Career Development because of Online Learning

Student ID: G00354679 Date: 2nd February 2021

CRITICAL REFLECTION

As the duration of our placement is reaching its end in the final year of our college course, it is important
that we start to professionally develop ourselves as teachers. “The COVID-19 pandemic has been a huge
challenge to education systems”, [CITATION Sir20 \p 1 \l 2057 ]. As a result of this global pandemic, we
have been forced out of our comfort zones once again. These comfort zones being the familiarity that is our
beloved classrooms and schools' spaces. We find ourselves in the situation where we are teaching online for
the first time in our careers. However, I believe it will not be the last time in our careers that we are teaching
online.

We have completed the biggest development of our careers during a time of uncertainty, and I believe that
we have had a better experience because of it. No other group is gaining the career development like
ourselves while they are still training. They have had to do it under the pressure of their jobs. This
placement block has offered us so much. “The Code has been developed in the context of the Council’s
future role in relation to continuing professional development”, [CITATION The161 \p 5 \l 2057 ]. Here we
are gaining the biggest professional development that you could want as an upcoming educator. We have
dealt with the pressure of placement on top of learning how to teach in a completely new space.

I believe that professional development is key for a teacher and it is important that we never rest on our
morals. We strive to be the best form of educator that we can be. We want to be valued by our students and
colleagues. It is this value that makes you feel the reward behind your job. “Strive not to be a success, but
rather to be of value” [CITATION Alb19 \l 2057 ]. I feel that the feeling of value in your school situation is
only one that will lead you to develop yourself to become the best educator that you can be.

My placement has been nothing short of a vast experience, I have been opened to so much because of the
schools closing and teaching online. I feel that it has added to my knowledge and I can now say in future
interviews that I have developed professionally in my career whilst still being a student teacher. It gives me
magnificent pleasure that the word student in that phase is nearly gone and under the development I have
gone through in this placement it feels like the student has gone and I am a professional teacher now.
School Placement 4 2020/2021

References
Council, T. T., 2016. The Code of Professional Conduct for Teachers. Volume 2nd Edition, p. 5.

Daniel, S. J., 2020. Education and the COVID-19 pandemic. Springer Link, Volume Prospects 49, p. 91–96.

Einstein, A., 2019. AZ Quotes. [Online]

Available at: https://www.azquotes.com/quotes/topics/strive.html

[Accessed 2 2 2021].