Beginning Teacher Fears

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As a beginning teacher I worry about / feel confident about / need to know about… (Word Count: 970 words) Teaching, as a career, is a journey with many diversions, bringing both satisfaction, as well as its fair share of challenges. Considering the nature of the job, the learning journey never ends, as asserted by Shulman (1986) who uses the term “pedagogical content knowledge,” “and the importance of this knowledge for successful teaching” (Marsh, 2010, p.196-197). In this journal, I will focus on my fears, areas of confidence and professional development required in becoming a good teacher. As a beginning teacher, there are a number of issues that concern me, four in particular. Reflecting on my past experience however, as a TAFE lecturer, there are some aspects of teaching that I am fairly confident in as well. Being a beginning teacher, there are multiple areas of teaching that vastly concerns me. “The eight problems perceived most often are classroom discipline, motivating students, dealing with individual differences, assessing students’ work, relationships with parents, organization of class work, insufficient and/or inadequate teaching materials and supplies, and dealing with problems of individual students” (Veenman, 1984). Classroom discipline or management, I understand, is a key component of teaching. I see it as techniques which we, as teachers apply to make the classrooms work. Lack of strategies to address the above issue, I believe, can lead to disruptive behaviour amongst students. I’m hoping that by undertaking a teaching degree it will provide me with great ideas in relation to classroom management. This concern is supported by recent research. “Given that beginning teachers continue to identify classroom management as a prominent concern and an area in which they seek more preparation (Meister & Melnick, 2003; Melnick &

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