Subject Name

Teacher's Professional Profile

Study

Grado en Maestro de Educación Primaria (Grupo bilingüe)
ECTS Credits
4
Year and four month period
Second year, first four month period
Type of subject Basic

Presentation

In this subject we will face the personal challenge of discovering the relevance that lifelong learning will have in your profession, as well as the responsibility that comes with teaching. For this purpose, the subject will explore real research and practical experiences, as well as significant tips for succeeding.

We will study how social change affects teaching and all aspects of education in general. The subject will also focus on the importance of what is come to being called ‘lifelong learning’, as well as the relationships between the identity that every individual forms as a person and as well as its relationship with the identity as a teacher. The characteristics of effective teachers and what kind of evaluations are currently carried out to try to guarantee educational effectiveness are other topics that we will study in depth.

Comprehending and understanding ourselves as individuals with a specific identity, in a changing and digital society, within the specific field of teaching that we have chosen as a profession, will be our objective in this subject.

Competences

Basic competences

  • BC2. Students know how to apply their knowledge to their work or vocation in a professional manner, and possess the skills that they usually demonstrate through the development and defence of arguments, as well as the resolution of problems within their area of study.

General competences

  • GC12. Understand the role, possibilities and limits of education in today's society and the fundamental competences that affect Early Years education and their professionals. Know models of quality improvement with application to educational centres.

Specific competences

  • SC19. Understand that the daily dynamics in Early Years education change according to each student, group and situation and know how to be flexible in working as a teacher.
  • SC20. Assess the importance of stability and regularity in the school environment, timetables and frame of mind of teachers as factors that contribute to the harmonious and comprehensive progress of students.
  • SC21. Know how to work as a team with other professionals inside and outside the school in the care of each student, as well as in the planning of learning sequences and in the organisation of work situations in the classroom and in the play space, identifying the special characteristics of the age range of 0-3 years and 3-6 years.
  • SC22. Address the needs of students and convey security, tranquillity and affection.

Program

Unit 1. Social change, school and teachers
Introduction
An economy that evolves
Network-organized institutions
New family configurations
Cultural and ethnic diversity
'Expiration date' knowledge
School institutions in crisis
The profession of knowledge

Unit 2. Some constants in teaching
Introduction
The content taught generates identity
Some areas of knowledge are more valuable than others
Learning how to teach by teaching
One manual for each teacher
Students as the centre of motivation
Leaving the classroom means not coming back

Unit 3. Identity and profession
Introduction
A personal and collective construction
Lack of social valuation: appearance or reality?
Cracking and identity crisis
Professionalization in debate
Between the vocation and the mastering
Teachers as artisans
The 'fast food' behaviour
Good unrecognized and bad unknown
Teachers have competitors

Unit 4. The process of becoming a teacher
Introduction
Initial training matters
At the beginning, the harder, the better
Between routine and adaptation
Different stages, different needs

Unit 5. The characteristics of effective teachers
Introduction
What literature tells us
Added value methods
Classroom observation and ethnographic approaches
Dreaming of countries with good teachers

Unit 6. Beliefs and change
Introduction
The analysis of beliefs
Many actions and little impact
Searching for models

Unit 7. Notions and scope
Introduction
Deepening into the definitions
A complex and multidimensional phenomenon
Other times, other points of view

Unit 8. Areas and contents
Introduction
What teachers should know
What are the most recent findings?
Quality of both teachers and contents
Teaching training and learning communities
Distribution of knowledge and connectivism

Unit 9. Teacher evaluation Introduction
Evolution through the last decades
International references
Evaluation models in the United States
Innovations in Australia
The situation in South America
Learning from the process

Unit 10. Teacher professional development programmes
Introduction
How to learn from practice
Nine principles that guide effectiveness
Utilitas, finitas and venustas
When proposals work
But what if the student was the indicator?
Evaluation of the programmes and the improvement
Feedback from the technologies

Unit 11. Successful cases and initiatives I
Education initiatives in other countries
OECD countries

Unit 12. Successful cases and initiatives II
Introduction
Teaching practice in Norway
Teachers' professional development in Spain
South America's teacher professional development

Unit 13. Towards excellence in teacher professional development
Introduction
Premises and basic principles
A good recipe for education
Some suggestions for policies
As a way of conclusion

Unit 14. The lifelong training of teachers: motivations, achievements and needs I
Introduction
What does lifelong trainig mean?
The teacher as an object of research
Methodological approach
Motivations to carry out activities of lifelong training

Unit 15. The lifelong training of teachers: motivations, achievements and needs II
Introduction
Level of involvement in teacher training
Fields in which training is most requested
Recommendations and implications


Methodology

Metodología

The different tasks and activities programmed during the semester have been developed with the goal of adapting the learning process to the different capabilities, necessities and interests of the students.

The activities included in the subject are:

  • Work. These are activities of different types: reflection, case analysis, practice, etc.
  • Participation in events. Events are scheduled every week of the semester: virtual face-to-face sessions, discussion forums, tests.
  • Reading commentary. This is a very specific type of activity that consists in the analysis of texts of articles by expert authors in different units of the subject.

In the weekly program you can find the specific tasks you need to complete in this subject.
Descarga el pdf de la programación

These activities are combined with the following aspects:

  • Personal Study.
  • Tutoring. The tutoring class can be implemented through different tools and means. During the course of the subject, the teacher-tutor plans the individual tutoring on specific days for the resolution of academic-oriented doubts through “Consultation sessions”. Supplementing these sessions, students have also available the “Ask your teacher” forum through which they can formulate questions and check the corresponding answers on general aspects of the subject.  Due to the very nature of the media used, there are no fixed schedules for the students.
  • Mandatory on-site final exam.

 

You can personalize your study plan choosing the type of activity that best matches your profile. The tutor will advise you and help you elaborate your study plan. S/he will always be available to guide throughout the course.

Bibliography

Basic bibliography

The section Basic Bibliography is essential for the course. If any document (reading, article,…) is not available in the virtual classroom, you will have to find it by other means: UNIR bookshop, virtual library…

The necessary texts for the study of this subject had been elaborated by UNIR and are available in a digital format for consultation, download and print in the virtual classroom.

  • Association of American Educators. (2018). Code of Ethics for Educators. Mission Viejo: Association of American Educators. Retrieved from: https://www.aaeteachers.org/index.php/about-us/aae-code-of-ethics
  • Cambridge International. (2014). Evaluating teaching. Retrieved from: http://www.cambridgeinternational.org/images/271311-evaluating-teaching.pdf
  • Cisco System, Inc. (2010). The Learning Society: Moving from Education Systems to the Learning Society. Retrieved from: https://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en_us/about/citizenship/socio-economic/docs/LearningSociety_WhitePaper.pdf
  • Coolahn, J. (2002). Teacher Education and the Teaching Career in an Era of Lifelong Learning. OECD Education Working Papers (N.2). Retrieved from: http://repositorio.minedu.gob.pe/handle/123456789/2553
  • European Council. (2013). Supporting teacher competence development for better learning outcomes. (N.1). Retrieved from: http://ec.europa.eu/dgs/education_culture/repository/education/policy/school/doc/teacherc omp_en.pdf
  • Froyd, J. (2010). Student-Centered Learning Addressing Faculty Questions about Student-centered Learning. Retrieved from: http://ccliconference.org/files/2010/03/Froyd_Stu-CenteredLearning.pdf
  • Gomes, C.A. & Palazzo, J. (2017). Teaching career’s attraction and rejection factors: analysis of students and graduates perceptions in teacher education programs. Universidade Católica de Brasilea, 25 (2), 90-113.
  • Hiatt-Michael, Diana B. (2001). Schools as Learning Communities: A Vision for Organic School Reform. School Community Journal. 11 (N.2). Retrieved from: http://www.adi.org/journal/fw01/Hiatt-Michael.pdf
  • Mora, A., Trejo, P. & Roux, R. (2014). English language teachers’ professional development and identities. PROFILE Issues in Teachers’ Professional Development, 16(1), 49-62.
  • Walker. R.J. (2008). Twelve Characteristics of an Effective Teacher: A Longitudinal, Qualitative, Quasi-Research Study of In-service and Pre-service Teachers’ Opinions. Educational Horizons, 1, 61-68.
evaluación

Evaluation and assessment

The evaluation system is based on the following numerical chart:

0 - 4, 9

Suspenso

(SS)

5,0 - 6,9

Aprobado

(AP)

7,0 - 8,9

Notable

(NT)

9,0 - 10

Sobresaliente

(SB)

The grade is made up of two components:

calificación

On-site final exam (60 %). At the end of the semester, you need to assist a mandatory on-site final exam. You need to pass the final exam so the grade obtained from the assignments (continuous assessment) is summed up to the final grade of the subject. 

Continuous assessment (40 %): this type of assessment will be measured through the different assignments you need to complete during the course:

    • Active participation and involvement in forums, online classes.
    • Tasks. The completion of the different activities the students need to send through our virtual classroom such as research, critical thinking, practice cases.
    • Self-evaluation tests. At the end of each unit, students will find a short quiz which will help the students to check the knowledge acquired during the course.

Remember that you can check the points (value) of each assignment in the weekly program.

Take into account that the sum of the grades of the assignments included in the continuous assessment is 6 points. You can do as many as you want to until a maximum grade of 4 points (which is the maximum grade you will be obtaining in the continuous assessment)In the weekly program, you can find the grade of each assignment. .

Assessment method
Min. Score
Max. Score
Participation in forums, classes, etc.
0 %
10 %
Task, practice cases and activities
10 %
40 %
Self-evaluation test
0 %
10 %
On-site final exam
60 %
60 %

 

Bear in mind…
That if you decide to only take the final exam, you will need to have 5 points out of 6 to pass the subject.

Tips

Orientación para el estudio

Studying online means you can organize your study as you wish, as long as you meet the due dates of the different assignments (activities, tasks and tests). In order to help you, we propose the following steps:

  1. From our online platform you will have access to each of the subjects you are enrolled. Apart from this, the virtual classroom of Lo que necesitas saber antes de empezar (All you need to know before starting). In this section, you have available all the documents on how to use the different tools included in the virtual classroom, how a subject is organized and you will also have the possibility to organize your study plan with the tutor.
  2. Do not forget to check the weekly program. You will see which part of the content of the course you have to work on every week.
  3. After knowing your work for the week, go to Temas in your virtual classroom. There, you will have access to the study material (theory and practice) from the unit you need to study throughout the week.
  4. Start by reading the Key ideas of each unit, there you will find the specific study material and it will help you understand the most important points of the unit. Afterwards, check out the In Depth section, where you will find more resources in order to deepen on the topic of the unit.
  5. Devote some time to the practical cases and tasks in the subject (assignments and test). Remember that in your weekly program you find all the information related to the schedule for each assignment and the maximum grade you can obtain in each of them.
  6. We strongly recommend you to participate in the Events of the course (online classes, forums….). To know the precise schedule of the events, you need to check the communications tools in the virtual platform. Your teacher and tutor will inform you on the updates of the course.
In the virtual classroom of Lo que necesitas saber antes de empezar (All you need to know before starting) you will always find available information on the structure of the units and information on their sections

Remember that in Lo que necesitas saber antes de empezar (All you need to know before starting) you can check how the different tools of the virtual classroom work: email, forum, online classes, sending the tasks, etc.

Please, take into account the following tips…

  • Whatever you study plan is, go often to the virtual classroom so that you are always up to date about the course and you are in contact with your teacher and your tutor.
  • Remember you are not alone: send an email to your tutor if you have any doubt. If you attend the online classes, you can also ask your teacher about the contents of the unit. Also, you can always write your doubts and questions about  the contents in the Forum of each subject (Ask the teacher).
  • Be active and participate!  Whenever it is possible, attend the online classes and take part in the forums. The exchange of information, opinions, ideas and resources enrich us and the course.
  • And, remember, you are studying online: your effort and perseverance are the key element to obtain good results. Don’t leave everything to the last minute!!!