Assess3.+professional+issues

**__3 issues:__**

 * Changes within the section** with Jim leaving

As a direct result we are planning for reduction of teaching hours for all classes, the impact will be great and in particular will by limiting the time we spend researching, discovering and constructing our understandings together. Traditional lecturers have one clear advantage over more elaborate techniques: time
 * Economic downturn** with 10% less funding available this year


 * The students lack of motivation and self believe**s.

A development plan to help me understand how group development plans are created and the theories linked to their successful implementation.

I feel I am at a professional cross-roads created by many factors: economic, social, politic, personal and group expectations. These are creating professional issues which needs to be critically analysed and reflect on in order to prepare and adapt myself and the team. Some of these changes are factual where others maybe conceptual so concepts and ideas and pre-conceived ideas will have to be carefully looked on before setting up any plans. I have identified three main topics: My function within the team, the funding available to the college due to the economic downturn and the lack of motivation and general attitude to the students.

Many changes are coming my way and in order to adapt and keep our team from falling apart I believe I need to prepare myself for playing a different role in it. This new role is by no means a certainty but we are going to lose our curriculum leader who has shaped and influence the team for the past 35 years and this will affect all of us but potentially me more than most as I am next in the chain of command.

Another professional issue: lack of motivation? lack of questioning? an attitude to education by students which have not been able yet to find a goal in life?

reflection must lead to action..

The people working together, students, staff and me the group dynamic the team team building understanding of people emotions problems dialogue happiness fulfilment

Mizirow thinks that people become trapped in their own world and that they are not able to fully develop because of it, he speaks of emancipation and transformation and believes that it should be our mission to open people to new ideas.

"Mezirow’s levels of reflectivity provide further focus and explanation of learners’ inner experience as proposed by Confucius:
 * **Reflectivity:** an awareness of a specific perception, meaning, behavior, or habit;
 * **Affective reflectivity:** awareness of how the individual feels about what is being perceived, thought, or acted upon;
 * **Discriminant reflectivity:** the assessment of the efficacy of perception, thought, action or habit;
 * **Judgmental reflectivity:** making and becoming aware of value judgments about perception, thought, action or habit;
 * **Conceptual reflectivity:** self-reflection which might lead to questioning of whether good, bad or adequate concepts were employed for understanding or judgment;
 * **Psychic reflectivity:** recognition of the habit of making percipient judgments on the basis of limited information;
 * **Theoretical reflectivity:** awareness that the habit for percipient judgment or for conceptual inadequacy lies in a set of taken-for-granted cultural or psychological assumptions which explain personal experience less satisfactorily than another perspective with more functional criteria for seeing, thinking or acting (as cited in Jarvis, 1987, p. 91)."

using your "new" awareness gained by being a more aware reflective practitioner

the real issues I face: A system faulty and or necessary? my lack of expertise... the staff working in FE...lack of any form of teacher training (this is changing (spoke to Richard) the staff working with me, our system to improve our practice, L and L the system in place to remedy this problem ...staff training etc cpd, recording online of our own notes (never discussed, mentioned) Richard's inputs on the system and myself Jim ... our students lack of self believes.

A reshuffle of the management structure at the college was just announced by the principle, the impact of which could be felt along the all structure. The state of the Europeans countries economy is affecting all of us, like a wave it is now hitting our chores.
 * 1) Money available to our section for equipment
 * 2) Lecturer's timetable are affected (Primary schools scheme stopped, 24 hours in my timetable)
 * 3) Students are finding it harder to find employment
 * 4) Political changes on population movement in Europe
 * 5) Funding, grants are now subjected to a 90% attendance rate
 * 6) Increase numbers of young students going into further education (less employment, curriculum for excellence ...going to F E until 18)
 * 7) Retirement of the current Curriculum Leader
 * 8) Refurbishment is causing major problems
 * 9) Rooms availability is a major issue even with booking in place, the actual setting of the rooms is not uptimum
 * 10) computers availability a major issue, the wireless network is improving but has still many issues
 * 11) the temperature in the games hall or weight training room is unsuitable in the winter for anything else but physical activities, when the students have be less active it is an issue.
 * 12) Open policy...all students are accepted ...creation of a new class (B group|)
 * 13) Moodle and management's view on I T (lack of support...bandwidth)
 * 14) My own projects...
 * 15) the modules time frame and expected outcomes restrict my freedom as a teacher (the constructivist approach of learning makes it less easy to fit in every single criteria, less structured classes where we reflect and discuss topics relevant to the actual needs of my students are less predictable with regard to outcomes or ...)