It can be easy to feel like you are floundering during your teaching certification.
If you aren’t 100% sure of what you should be doing in your Centre or how you can further your teaching practices, then confusion is bound to happen.
So, how can you clear the confusion, ground yourself and gain clarity?
Well, it’s all about defining a purpose and following it. Today, we are going to explore how you can do that. Let’s get started.
Grounding Yourself And Gaining Clarity During Certification
Define Your Purpose
When you have inquiries to complete and certification requirements to meet, it is easy to fall into the trap of simply ticking things off a list. What we mean by this is to go through the motions of choosing and completing inquiry goals just to get credit for it and to move on to the next step.
You will find it is much easier to ground yourself when you are completing things for a purpose. Instead of thinking that you need to prove your teaching practice through your certification work, consider it as a journey to improve your practice so you can set yourself up for a successful career.
With a purpose in mind and a direction to work towards, you can squash those floundering feelings and consciously move forward, completing your goals along the way.
Follow Your Purpose
Once you discover what you want your purpose to be, it’s time to devise a way to stay on track and follow that purpose. Here are some of the ways you can do that:
Explore Expectations
While every ECE Centre in NZ will adhere to the standards set by the Ministry of Education and Te Whaariki, each will have a slightly different approach to the day-to-day running and education strategy. That will mean that expectations of teaching, strategy and responsibilities will also vary.
In order to ground yourself and ensure you have clarity around your role in the centre, explore those expectations so that you know exactly what is expected of you (and what you can expect in return).
Some centres will have these expectations documented, but in others, you will need to discuss them with key team members. Once you have clarity in this area, it will help to reduce the risk of feeling lost and allow you to move forward productively.
Collaborate With Your Mentor
As you well know, your mentor will be a key influence throughout your provisional teaching period. While the individual may be experienced in mentorship, it’s important to remember that they are also human and cannot possibly be an all-encompassing source of knowledge when it comes to certification. They will also not be a mind reader, so they will not necessarily know the areas of teaching practice that interest you and what will also forward your career goals.
That is why it is vital that you work collaboratively with your mentor on your inquiry goals and reflective practice. That way, you can always be sure to align your learnings with your purpose. Educative mentoring is also really valuable as it allows the opportunity for you both to develop various perspectives, beliefs and knowledge, furthering both of your teaching goals.
Keep Teaching Practice In Mind
The whole objective of your provisional teaching period is to become aware of and develop your own teaching practices for your career ahead. During this time, you will continuously “inquire” into the impact of your teaching practices and how they enhance the learning of the children at your centre.
So, as we mentioned earlier, don’t consider your inquiry work as something you simply have to get through to obtain your teaching certification.
Rather, use it as an opportunity to maximise the learning opportunities for the children in your care and to further your own development in a strategic way. Choose inquiries that are going to help you get a deeper understanding of principles that will not only further your own practice, but positively align with the strategic focus at your centre.
Build On What’s Been Done Before
Chances are, there will have been provisional teachers undertaking their certification at your centre before you. So, there will be plenty of inquiry work that has already taken place. Rehashing the same inquiry topics is of no benefit to anyone. However, you can take what has been done before and explore different perspectives or how you can better align those topics for the strategic benefit of the Centre.
Beat Overwhelm
Provisional teaching is an exciting period in your career and you likely have lots of big ideas. But, trying to do too much at once can lead to overwhelm and lack of progress. That’s why it is far better to be practical with your decisions to keep things targeted and manageable.
Here are some questions to ask yourself to keep your inquiries focused and achievable:
- Does your chosen inquiry align with your purpose?
- Are you aware of the current practice and do you have a clear direction for your inquiry?
- What are the most important areas to invest your time to get the best results for the centre, the children and yourself?
- Where can you make small changes to create a big impact?
- Is your inquiry specific, focusing on one clear aspect?
Stay On Track
A big part of remaining grounded is staying on track. Don’t give yourself opportunities to get overwhelmed as that is when the wheels can come off. Keep yourself on track by always coming back to your purpose. This can help give you clarity in muddy moments.
Also, it’s vital to always have a plan for what you are working on. That plan should set out your objectives and the key steps you need to take to achieve your goal. Consider potential obstacles and how you might overcome them. By being prepared, half the battle will be won already.
Finally, you want to surround yourself with the right people. Choose people with a calming and supportive vibe who will help you stay on track. Minimise the time you spend with chaotic influences who might impact your focus and progress.
Your mentor will obviously be one of those key support people. But also make sure you have support beyond the four walls of your centre for a healthy external perspective. It might be from family and friends or an ECE expert like myself. If you feel you need additional support, then that is exactly what I can provide. Book a time to chat with me now to find out more.
Looking for a resource to support your teaching certification journey – Check out the Roadmap resource here: https://steppingforwardtosuccess.co.nz/roadmap-navigating-ece-provisional-teaching/
Click here to read more about the Roadmap or click here to purchase the Roadmap to Certification ebook for Provisional Certified Teachers. Alternatively, if you are wanting to learn more about my packages, reach out today.
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