Theme 2 - Professional Practice
Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning
Throughout my 4 years at university, I have had a number of planning and teaching experiences that have enabled me to become a more effective teacher. Having the exposure and experience of planning and teaching for a number of different year levels (grades prep to six) and student capabilities has assisted in developing necessary teaching skills.
For example learning how to plan for and differentiate content for grade 3 and 4 students working at a prep level. I have also had the experience of engaging in the development of daily, weekly, term and unit plans as well as planning with other teachers and staff. Being organised I found made such a difference, and if I planned everything in advance I felt that I was alot more confident which also allows the lesson to run smoothly. Planning and implementing effective teaching and learning will be evident in my future teaching.
For example learning how to plan for and differentiate content for grade 3 and 4 students working at a prep level. I have also had the experience of engaging in the development of daily, weekly, term and unit plans as well as planning with other teachers and staff. Being organised I found made such a difference, and if I planned everything in advance I felt that I was alot more confident which also allows the lesson to run smoothly. Planning and implementing effective teaching and learning will be evident in my future teaching.
I had the wonderful opportunity of developing a small Italian unit of work for my placement in third year teaching 3-4 lessons a week including cultural aspects such as making home made Italian pasta, learning words, numbers, and songs in Italian which the children absolutely loved and wanted to continue learning. I would love to have the opportunity to possibly teach it again.
Italian Units/activities I developed for my grade 5/6 last year (third year, 2013)
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Throughout my placements and in society in general, I have noticed the increase use of technology. With this in mind, I believe it is important to incorporate ICT into teaching, as it often facilitates teaching and learning and is an excellent tool. Completing the unit of 'computers in education' at university allowed me to think about my teaching practices, learn new technological things I was not aware of and understand the role technology plays in current and future education. In past and current teaching, I have enjoyed using technology in my lessons if I believe it is going to be beneficial for the students and the intended lessons purpose.
Timetable/Plan for my full week of teaching - March 2014
Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments
The classroom environment I believe is a place where students need to feel welcome, the room is colourful, pictures/or student artefacts on walls, safe, warm, happy and engaging, lots of resources, students feel motivated to learn, building of independence and effective communication. I believe its important for students to have a say in how they would like their environment to be and discussing ways of effectively functioning in that space.
Being a new developing teacher I have been open to the aspect of taking lessons out of the 'normal/traditional four walls of the classroom' thus taking kids outside etc. I have had the experience of teaching at the Wetlands in Gippsland as part of a University excursion which allowed me to consider many important things about the environment we were in such as possible dangers, safety, weather conditions etc.
Being a new developing teacher I have been open to the aspect of taking lessons out of the 'normal/traditional four walls of the classroom' thus taking kids outside etc. I have had the experience of teaching at the Wetlands in Gippsland as part of a University excursion which allowed me to consider many important things about the environment we were in such as possible dangers, safety, weather conditions etc.
A simple poster/anchor chart on the first day of school was created listing a number of different goals/rules ‘they’ believed were important to have in the classroom and how ‘they’ want to feel when at school. Each child then signed it and is now used as a reference point when needed for things such as misbehaviour etc. I like to allow students to discuss things with one another, as I believe the traditional 'everybody working in silence all the time' approach does not allow students to learn effectively. I believe students need to be active in their learning and often experiment with things themselves, as well as interact with others.
Other important aspects I believe are important are being inclusive and active student involvement, giving them positive feedback and trying to increase their motivation and engagement. I found this year that many students in my class lacked confidence in their work and feared the notion of being wrong or making a mistake. After identifying this problem, I reflected on different ways I could assist them in overcoming this barrier by persistent encouragement, telling them to give it their best shot and emphasising the fact that making mistakes is a way of learning, everybody makes mistakes! With these strategies, encouragement, the correct scaffolding assistance and development, they have now improved and increased independence as well as learning to succeed at their level, which is a great achievement for me.
Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning
I have been exposed to a number of different assessment and reporting methods such as; Gentry spelling testing, running records, benchmarking, pre/post tests, anecdotal records, conferencing with students, maths online interview, developing/referring back to rubrics and verbal feedback. This year I had the opportunity of assisting with parent teacher interviews with my mentor teacher, which helped understand the types of things that are reported on and discussed. By meeting the parents of the students I have been teaching this year, it has allowed me to build a rapport with them and get a deeper insight of who they are as a family and what parents can do to assist their stduents learning at home.
Engaging in different types of assessment has allowed me to understand where students are at in their learning and their abilities, also establish what I need to do or work on in my teaching by also using the curriculum as a guide. I plan to work on more assessment strategies and engage in it more throughout my internship as I feel that is the area that I need more practice in.
As a student and developing teacher, I have found that feedback is extremely important in being able to make improvements and assist in learning. From all of the positive and constructive feedback I have received from my lessons that I have taught they have all been of assistance to me in reflecting on and improving my teaching. With this in mind, I have, currently do and will continue to give continuous feedback to my students.
Engaging in different types of assessment has allowed me to understand where students are at in their learning and their abilities, also establish what I need to do or work on in my teaching by also using the curriculum as a guide. I plan to work on more assessment strategies and engage in it more throughout my internship as I feel that is the area that I need more practice in.
As a student and developing teacher, I have found that feedback is extremely important in being able to make improvements and assist in learning. From all of the positive and constructive feedback I have received from my lessons that I have taught they have all been of assistance to me in reflecting on and improving my teaching. With this in mind, I have, currently do and will continue to give continuous feedback to my students.