Teachers have a responsibility to prepare students for successful, productive lives. As an educator, I will have a powerful impact on students so I must strive to continually improve my teaching practice. My ability to meet standards will underpin my accreditation of Initial Teacher Education ( Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, 2018). My ability to make decisions will depend on the extent of my professional knowledge. My ability to respond to students within an educational context will rely on my ability to reflect on my professional expertise (Churchill et al., 2019). It is not enough to think of myself as a prepared teacher solely based on a pre-service degree. I need to continually update my knowledge and awareness of a vast range of subject areas (Churchill et al., 2019). To be an effective teacher, I must be an active participant in my learning, as continual learning is an essential part of teaching (Whitton, Barker, Nosworthy, Humphries, & Sinclair, 2016). Reflection on who I am now and the teacher I aspire to be is crucial as it is through observation that I will be able to enhance my professional practice. 

At the moment, I struggle with implementing content. I have knowledge in several different subject areas; however, I need to improve on teaching it. Another area I can improve on is Information and Communication Technology. I have had little experience working with ICT. I must learn more in this area so that I can implement strategies in using ICT to expand curriculum learning opportunities for students. Technology is continuously enhancing so I too need to enhance my knowledge with it. 

I will always strive to gain more knowledge across as many subject areas as possible. It is essential that I continually meet standards and engage in professional development. I have set at personal goals across several Australian professional standards for teachers which are outlined in my digital professional portfolio. I will endeavour to continually update my knowledge across all areas of the Australian professional standards for teachers. 

                                                           References 

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (2018). Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. Carlton South: Education Services Australia.

Churchill, R., Godinho, S., Johnson, N., Keddie, A., Letts, W., Lowe, K., . . . Rogers, J. (2019). Teaching Making a Difference. Milton, QLD, Australia: John Wiley & Sons Australia.

Whitton, D., Barker, K., Nosworthy, M., Humphries, J., & Sinclair, C. (2016). Learning for Teaching: Teaching for Learning. Melbourne: Cengage Learning, Australia.