What teaching and learning means to me.

As a teacher I intend to be a compassionate, thoughtful and effective role model for my students. My enthusiasm for learning and the acquisition of new knowledge will help me to model and promote good learning habits to my students.

Current pedagogical models advocate reflection as a vital skill for effective teaching and I believe that via my experiences songwriting, I have developed these skills on a personal level and have been applying them to my professional experiences. Further development in critical reflection of my teaching practice will aid me in the future and assist me to develop meta- cognitive skills in my students to help them identify and assess their own learning styles.

The World is our Sandpit - visual interpretation of educational theorists; Eisner, Steiner & Dewey.

I believe that learning is the complex procedure of organisation and application of new knowledge, supported by current understandings and past experiences. I relate this process to the intricacies of song, and the diverse selection of melodies on offer to the listener just as there is a diverse selection of knowledge to choose from as learners.

I am aware that my future classrooms will include a diverse range of students with various learning capabilities, socio-cultural contexts and dimensions of difference. I will be endeavouring to consider my approach to learning from many different levels which will ideally result in my becoming a teacher who inspires in my students a love of knowledge and learning, and a healthy respect for their fellow human beings.