Teach-Secondary-14.1

F or those who are motivated, teaching can offer an incredible career that’s rewarding, varied and energising. Yet retention continues to be a significant issue, withmany leaving the profession disillusioned and disenfranchised from their own development. This is particularly the case for early career teachers (ECTs). Professional development can be a critical factor in keeping colleagues in the profession, but also a daunting task that has the capacity to overwhelm. Knowing what to prioritise can be challenging. Here, we’re going to offer some advice for ECTs on how to thrive in the early years of your teaching career, and build solid foundations for continued development long into the future. Meet and greet Our first piece of advice is to see as many people as you can. Whatever your route into teaching, training often involves observations of teachers in and out of your subject specialism. This will usually be your first opportunity to see teaching and learning in action, and form ideas about the type of teacher you wish to become. However, once you’ve qualified and commenced a full teaching timetable, it’s common for these lesson observation opportunities to reduce significantly. In fact, it’s conceivable that many ECTs will rarely leave their own classrooms – yet the benefits of getting out to see others teach are considerable. These include, but aren’t limited to: • Reassurance – Observing others can provide you with peace of mind that the issues youmight be facing are common, and that even more experienced teachers need to navigate similar challenges • Targeted professional development –When struggling with a specific issue, it’s good to observe colleagues who are strong in that area. If you’re unsure who to observe, seek advice from a mentor or line manager who can guide you. Observing with a specific development focus inmind can provide practical strategies for you to trial in your own classroom. • Idea generation – It’s easy to become comfortable in your own routines as a teacher; observing others can provide that spark or moment of inspiration for you to advance your teaching, ensuring that student engagement doesn’t dwindle. Observing colleagues in any area of the school, regardless of discipline or age taught, can be beneficial. Take time afterwards to reflect on what you’ve observed and how it might change your teaching. Check the evidence Our second piece of advice would be to ground your pedagogy in research. As an ECT, it’s likely that you’ll have been exposed to anecdotal tales of great teaching by others considerably more experienced than yourself. Whilst there can be some contextual value in this information, a research- informed approach is a more rigorous approach to developing pedagogy. ECTs will often begin their careers in teaching with a good foundation of theory, but soon become disconnected from academic research once they’ve qualified. Online media can provide an effective way of re-engaging with this evidence base, through listening to podcasts, using platforms like Google Scholar and utilising AI to locate and summarise literature. Staying connected to research will, firstly, reduce the challenges of re-engaging and ensure that youmake informed decisions regarding your pedagogical approaches. Likewise, when you have a specific concern with your practice, or would like to develop a particular area, utilising an Action Research approach – whereby you implement evidence-based strategies, evaluate their success, review and then redevelop – can help youmaintain a strategic focus. Strong subject knowledge developed throughout one’s career is a fundamental building block of effective teaching. Teaching is a profession that’s constantly evolving; having a strong knowledge base to draw from will enable you to avoid misconceptions and answer questions that fall outside of the planned curriculum. Attending subject- specific courses and conferences is a great way of developing your subject knowledge, and can facilitate networking with like-minded colleagues. Likewise, joining professional associations and engaging with online communities can also be hugely beneficial. Staying focused on the content of what you’re teaching in your personal reading, and keeping up with contemporary STARTING STRONG Craig Lomas and Professor Geoff Baker share their thoughts on what it takes to survive and thrive as an ECT “Teaching is ademanding profession – andcanbe all-consuming, ifyou’re not careful” 28 teachwire.net/secondary