Welcome to the WJETT blog
What is WJETT?
The WJETT blog or Warwick Journal of Education - Transforming Teaching blog is designed to encourage staff and students to disseminate good practice and to engage with their peers on academic cultural critique or areas of research that they find interesting. With the increased focus on ‘teachers as researchers’ in the sector, many qualified teachers are expected to publish the outcomes of any action research projects they undertake. The WJETT blog can be the first step on your journey towards publishing and enables you to experience publishing and reviewing in a friendly and supportive environment.
You will need to scroll down the page below the tags to see the posts.
My Teaching Touchstone
I have always been interested in environmental science and conservation since I was very little. By the end of high school, I enjoyed science, but it was not as strong as I wanted to study biology or chemistry. Instead, I went to a university in the US where I studied sustainable development. A part of my program requirement was to complete an internship. I completed an internship at an environmental education organization called Change is Simple. I was initially drawn to the fact that I can work on projects about environmental science and conservation with a local community. Yet I ended up being placed with the education team where I went into elementary schools in the Greater Boston area to conduct environmental science activities for K-5 students.
I was able to integrate my love of nature with creative activities to spread the importance of conservation to children. I discovered that I really enjoy teaching through this opportunity. However, I was initially hesitant about becoming a teacher. I never excelled in schoolwork partially because I constantly moved around as a child (I have moved about 15 times in my life). Every time I moved, the curriculum changed, and I never felt comfortable as a learner. I wondered about the existence of teachers as to why teachers need to be there when in a digital age, information is obtainable in various methods.
My mindset for teaching slowly started to shift as I continued my studies in Sustainable Development. A few months before graduating from my undergraduate degree, I had an opportunity to study the concept of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals in depth. I chose to focus on the number four goal: providing quality education to children all over the world.
I discovered that teaching is such a multi-faceted discipline. I realized that the art of teaching is both science and art. Teaching is more than passing on knowledge; “[t]he development of a powerful lesson plan is desirable, but the quality of the teacher-student relationship is the foundation of a deep learning experience” (McGuey, Moore 40). I learned that teaching is such a flexible discipline. Creativity and multi-discipline focus are essential for "no longer is a teacher just a teacher. Today a teacher must wear many hats. A teacher must be a counselor, parents, advocate, mediator, confidant, adviser, and more" (Doucet 6). Teachers have so much potential to be a vibrant part of the community through "...build[ing] relationships to help everyone develop to their full potential.” (Doucet 17).
I felt like I took a detour by coming back to school and student teaching after completing my undergraduate degree. However, I am realizing that all of what I studied and experiences I gained are an important part of who I am as a teacher. I hope to grow as a teacher who not only provides solid subject knowledge, but also emphasizes forming communities and relationships. I want to stimulate their curiosity and learn together the wonders of the world in a safe community.
Works Cited
Doucet, A. (2019). Teaching Life: Our Calling, Our Choices, Our Challenges. New York: Routledge.
Moore, L., McGuey G. (2016). The Inspirational Teacher Second Edition. New York: Routledge.
Writing guidance
Can I write about anything in my blog post?
Yes pretty much. Academic cultural critique (Thomson and Mewburn, 2013) is always a good source of content for academic blogs. This can include (but is not limited to) comments and reflections on funding; higher education policy or academic life. You might also want to consider blogging about:
- Academic practice (Saper, 2006)
- Information and/or self-help advice
- Technical, teaching and careers advice
- Your research or practice
- How you’ve undertaken research
- The impact of research on your practice
- An area of research/practice that interests you
- Your teaching experiences/reflections
How long can my blog post be?
Each individual blog post should be no longer than 500 words. Long blocks of text are sometimes hard for readers to digest. Break up your content into shorter paragraphs, bullet points and lists whenever possible. Also include a list of keywords or tags as this makes it easier for Google to find your work.
Do I need to use citations?
No, this is a reflective piece so it does not need to include citations (but you obviously can include them if they are relevant).
Can I include links or images?
We would encourage you to include links to any articles that you have considered whilst writing your blog post. We also welcome the use of images (as long as you have permission to use them) as they can often help to illustrate a point and obviously will not be included in the word limit. Please remember this is a public site so if you want to include images of your students in your classes then you will need permission to do this.
What is the process for submitting a piece of work?
Your blog post should be emailed to A.Ball.1@warwick.ac.uk. Once the submission has been reviewed it will either be uploaded at the beginning of the next available week or sent back to you for editing if it requires amendments. You should then send the amended work to me once again and I will then upload it.