How being a dynamic practitioner impacts your career progression

I have passed another milestone; I have completed my 16th year in teaching!

During that time I have taught nearly 15000 lessons, read over 10 million words, laughed, cried, been embarrassed, and overall enjoyed the highs and suffered the lows of a teaching career which is now in its prime.

I am a teacher and I will remain a teacher, but my friends have all progressed from credit control clerks to chartered accountants, from tea boy to chief executive and from Corporal to Captain and beyond!

There are definite career paths and trajectories which aren’t quite so obvious in teaching. Indeed as I have moved up the career ladder, I have strangely moved away from the thing I am good at ‘teaching’, but my most enjoyable moments are still when I am in front of a group of knowledge-thirsty students, doing what I do best.

Being dynamic is hard work, it’s not like you are able to sit back and rely on all of your old resources and lesson plans or indeed run lessons which are characterised by ‘death by powerpoint’. How dynamic you are in the classroom can help you move up that career ladder purely by you being confident and bloody good at what you do.

Becoming a dynamic teacher is a developed skill, but when you have it you will never look back and the sense of pride in your work is reflected in the engagement of the students and the enthusiasm within your lessons.

So here are some tips to make sure you stay ahead of the game:

1. Embrace the modern way

I have seen plenty of outstanding lessons where the teacher has stood at the front of the class and simply imparted their knowledge, but these are few and far between. Dynamic lessons allow the students to take control of their own learning outcomes so that you can loosen your control and allow them to be autonomous in their learning. Trust them!

2. Maintain high standards

How well you know your students and the ability to adapt lessons from one to another will really demonstrate your dynamism. Being able to differentiate is one thing, doing that without anyone noticing is a real skill and will unlock the passions of learning. Alongside this, how you present yourself and the way you communicate your ideas are the rock-solid foundations from which you can build.

3. Be opportunistic

Do not be afraid to showcase your lessons, teach with the door open and embrace learning walks and book checks as a way of celebrating your dynamism rather than viewing it as a means of checking up on you.

Much is made in the teaching of growth mindsets and how we can encourage greater engagement amongst pupils. The same can be said about the teachers themselves. Are you open-minded and ambitious enough to turn even the grayest and wettest Monday into a bright sunny reflection of your spirit, be dynamic in the classroom and watch your career trajectory rise?