What have you learnt from your participation in the FFOUT Program?

Participation in the FFOUT program has highlighted that there are a wide variety of issues that influence teacher and the way they teach. Teachers have philosophies and beliefs that impact on how they do their job. I was reminded that there are many ways that are effective and context is an important factor in successful teaching. The opportunity to connect and discuss issues with other teachers was valuable. 

How has it influenced your teaching?

As a result of having gone through the self-evaluation and the peer review of teaching exercise I am now thinking more consciously about the way I teach. I have been able to make some changes as described in my philosophy of teaching in action report.

What challenges have you faced in completing this Program?

The FFOUT program is quite a lot of work and fitting it in on top of my regular workload was challenging. Procrastination was the archenemy especially when it came to writing the personal learning portfolio. Having no due date for the PLP and a lack of motivation added to the challenge of getting it all done. 

What were the particular strengths and weaknesses of the Program from your point of view?

The strengths of the program are the diverse activities that are offered and having had the opportunity to talk to other people about their struggles and their successes in teaching. The program also gave me an opportunity to get a more in-depth perspective on what academics are faced with. I thought all aspects of the program are of value for anyone who has a genuine interest to improve their teaching practice. For the future development of the program it might be worth considering the use PebblePad to develop the PLP. For example, the PLP is as a living document could be integrated into a webfolio that would enable sharing of my progress, linking the FFOUT program into the broader context of professional development. Any feedback could go into my personal learning space and as I continue in my professional development may skills can be validated within PebblePad. I recommend this in the future development of the FFOUT program.