Foundations of Professional Practice.
The foundations of professional practice iterates the ethics behavior, professional practice, and dedication to life long learning that all teachers in Ontario must follow. The purpose of the foundations is to fostering student learning and preparing Ontario students to participate in a democratic society. Below are the sections that make up the foundations of professional practice.
Ethical Standard:
There four ethical standards we as teachers need to keep in mind – Care, Respect, Trust and Integrity. When teaching the genetics unit, it is important to honor human dignity when discussing controversial issues such as gene therapy and gene testing. We need to be compassionate, accepting, interested and insightful for students by guiding them through the topic and trusting in their judgments. It is key to be honest went discussing issues regarding genetics so that all students can be exposed to the real issues that are occurring around us. Being fair and open through all the suggested lessons, and taking students opinions and thoughts under consideration is essential for student growth and development.
Standard of Practice:
The five domains of the standard of practice include – Commitment to Students and Student Learning, Professional Knowledge, Professional Practice, Leadership in Learning Communities and Ongoing Professional Learning. In this unit, sensitive issue are discussed in terms of "designer babies", health care, insurance, abortion, employment, birth and death. Therefore, teachers need to be aware of the dynamics of their classroom before conducting discussions that may affect students. We must be considerate to student emotions while being committed to their learning. Through activities in the suggested lessons, we must promote an environment of collaboration, respect and support, where mistakes are seen as a learning opportunity and the leadership role is shared among all students. To provide students with the best learning possible, we must come prepared to class, keeping on top of the growing field of genetics so students receive and discuss the most relevant topics to impact our society. We must use different methods that strive to reach all student learners and continue to work on our pedagogy, curriculum, ethics and
educational research.
educational research.
Professional Learning Framework:
As educators, it is our duty to pursue opportunities for on going professional development. By taking courses and programs offered by the college, we must strive to improve our pedagogy and knowledge of content. Through self indulged research, joining professional organizations, engaging in research activities and reading books, we must keep up with the growing field of genetics so that our students benefit and learn from us being life long learners. Through collaboration with staff and improving the way we teach material such as genetics, we can better the youth who will play a big role in decisions in the future. We as teachers must also not forget to reflect on our practices. This is crucial is improving pedagogy and providing students with the best learning environment possible for them. By reflecting, we are assessing our weaknesses, which allows us to go forward and look for solutions so that we can be more effective educators.