Saturday, 1 March 2025

Advanced Teacher Status (ATS): A Reflection of My Journey

Purpose-Driven Staff Development

 

Advanced Teacher Status (ATS) is not a formal qualification, but a rigorous developmental process designed to refine pedagogical expertise. Attaining ATS requires a structured 14-month period of professional development, during which educators must demonstrate mastery in teaching and learning. This process comprises of two key components: constructing a professional portfolio and participating in a VIVA interview upon completion.

Having previously completed an NPQLT, I sought a Continuing Professional Development (CPD) pathway that would allow me to immediately apply theoretical insights to my classroom practice. CPD that remains theoretical without practical implementation loses its transformative potential, making it less effective in influencing long-term teaching practice. After exploring different avenues -discussed in my Aug 2023 blog on staff development- I chose the ATS route as it aligned with my goal of evidencing advanced teaching competencies.

The ATS process is divided into four phases, each providing an opportunity for self-evaluation, targeted planning, research, instructional refinement, and broader stakeholder engagement within my educational institution. While detailed procedural information is available through the Society for Education & Training, this article focuses on my personal experiences and reflections throughout my ATS journey.

Self-Assessment and Reflective Practice

Upon acceptance into the ATS program, I undertook a comprehensive self-assessment against the 20 ATS professional standards. This evaluation incorporated feedback from three students, a senior colleague, and my manager, who collectively completed a 360-degree feedback report on my teaching practice. The most insightful aspect of this process was the student feedback, which provided nuanced perspectives on my professional values, subject knowledge, and instructional skills.

A developmental lesson observation further complemented this self-assessment, allowing me to pinpoint areas for meaningful improvement. Two follow-up observations facilitated an iterative process of reflection and refinement, ensuring that identified areas of development translated into tangible enhancements in my practice.

Strategic Professional Development Planning

Using insights from my self-assessment, I formulated a Personal Development Plan (PDP) that targeted key areas for improvement. My objectives included:

  • Enhancing my ability to support students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND)
  • Expanding my expertise in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)
  • Strengthening my digital literacy to create more engaging and inclusive learning materials
  • Disseminating my pedagogical knowledge by mentoring colleagues and integrating NPQLT learnings into institutional practice

To achieve this, I attended several webinars to improve my knowledge and understanding of each topic, conducted key research, read different books and journals on the subjects, and applied this knowledge in my everyday teaching.

These areas of focus not only contributed to my personal growth but also had a cascading effect on the professional development of my peers.

Quality Improvement Project (QIP) and Mentoring

Given my strong interest in teaching and learning methodologies, I designed my Quality Improvement Project (QIP) around lesson observation protocols. Specifically, I developed a lesson observation framework tailored to my organisation’s needs, ensuring alignment with best practices in instructional assessment.

Throughout the process, I was mentored by a senior leader from my school, whose guidance was instrumental in refining my approach. Their recommendations on pedagogical literature and journal articles enriched my theoretical foundation, while our regular professional discussions provided critical insights that shaped both my QIP and digital project development.

A crucial aspect of ATS involves mentoring, coaching and developing colleagues. Engaging in this role significantly enhanced my listening skills, particularly my ability to pose probing questions that fostered critical reflection among mentees. My background in journalism proved beneficial in this regard, allowing me to consider diverse perspectives and facilitate more meaningful professional dialogue. This iterative exchange of ideas not only contributed to the growth of my colleagues but also deepened my own reflective practice.

Digital Project and Pedagogical Advancements

The digital project component of ATS provided me with an opportunity to enhance both student literacy and my own digital competencies. I learned to use varios digital platforms and have been leveraging them to convert my worksheets into electronic formats. Additionally, I explored the use of Artificial Intelligence to create educational songs that support teaching and learning in Spanish.

By designing interactive digital resources, I fostered a more engaging and differentiated learning environment, ultimately boosting my confidence in using technology to support diverse learners.

The ATS journey underscored that this process is not a structured course with prescriptive content but rather an individualized professional growth trajectory. While webinars offer general guidance at key stages, the onus is on participants to generate substantial evidence of their professional development through portfolio submission at the end of the process.

The ATS VIVA and Final Reflections

A defining aspect of the ATS process is its emphasis on critical and analytical narrative construction. My engagement with reflective writing throughout the program was instrumental in refining these skills, culminating in my VIVA interview. During this final stage, the panel prompted me to critically assess my ATS journey, evaluating both my achievements and areas for ongoing growth.

Ultimately, I successfully met the portfolio and VIVA requirements, earning Advanced Teacher Status. Beyond the formal recognition, the ATS process has been a transformative experience, deepening my pedagogical expertise, enhancing my reflective capacity, and reinforcing my commitment to continuous professional development.

Attaining ATS has also conferred upon me Chartered Teacher Status, a prestigious recognition of excellence in teaching, evidenced-based practice, and effective leadership in the field.

The journey of an Advanced Teacher is one of perpetual learning and evolution. By engaging in structured self-reflection, strategic planning, and collaborative development, educators can not only elevate their own practice but also contribute meaningfully to the broader educational landscape.

By Isabel O'Donoghue at 2 comments:

Saturday, 1 February 2025

How to use augmentatives in Spanish

Augmentatives: A Key to Enrich Language Learning

 

According to the Spanish Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy, an augmentative is an adjective or a noun that expresses an increase, intensity, or excess of what is denoted by the word to which it is attached to. Augmentatives are formed by adding suffixes to nouns and, to lesser extent, to adjectives. They are opposite of diminutives.

The term augmentative comes from the Latin augmentare, which means to increase. In Spanish grammar, augmentatives are derived words that contain specific suffixes, modifying the meaning of the base word to indicate an increase in size, importance, or intensity.

In addition to expressing size, augmentatives help add emotion or context, making them common in colloquial communication and literature to enrich language. They are very essential in Spanish language for several reasons that contribute to a better understanding and effective use of the language.   

Augmentatives enrich vocabulary

Augmentatives help students expand their vocabulary by introducing not only basic words but also their variants that convey size or intensity. For instance, after learning the word casa (house), students can they say casucha (shack) and casón / casona (big house), enhancing their descriptive abilities.

Augmentatives improve oral comprehension

Many authors and artist use augmentatives to emphasize certain aspects of their work. Similarly, native speakers frequently use augmentatives in everyday speech, music, literature, and other media. Understanding these forms enables students to better grasp the context and emotions being conveyed, deepening their appreciation of both literature and art.

Augmentatives facilitate emotional expression

They are powerful tools for expressing feelings, opinions, and attitudes. Augmentatives allow students to communicate admiration, mockery, affection, or disdain, which is essential for effective communication with native speakers.  Additionally, the use of augmentatives can change a word’s meaning or connotation, helping students understand nuances and emotions.  For instance, perro refers to a dog, while perrazo suggests a big, strong dog.

Augmentatives encourage linguistic creativity

Using augmentatives gives students the opportunity to play with the language and experiment with various ways of describing things, fostering creativity and interest in Spanish. Moreover, since Spanish is spoken in many countries and regions with unique idioms and linguistic nuances, knowing augmentatives and their variations help students to adapt to diverse contexts and better understand the richness of the language.

Let’s explore some of the most important and commonly used augmentatives in Spanish. 

 Tone and Context: The pejorative tone often depends on how the word is used and the speaker's intent. In some regions or countries, these terms may sound harsher than in others.

Cultural Variations: While some of these words are universally pejorative, the degree of negativity can vary across different Spanish-speaking regions or countries. These suffixes may carry distinct nuances depending on the cultural and geographical context within the Spanish-speaking world.

In summary, augmentatives are a fundamental aspect of learning Spanish, as they not only expand vocabulary and expressive ability but also help students better understand and engage in everyday communication as well as in richer and more varied contexts.

 

Bibliography:

By Isabel O'Donoghue at No comments:
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