Standard 3: Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning

Standard 3.3

Use teaching strategies

The strategies we use as teachers are critical to the success of our students. My lessons include a range of teaching strategies to facilitate deep learning and encourage students to adopt an extensive range of skills and abilities such as problem solving and reflection.

As a classroom teacher, I aim to be innovative, creative, engaging and always learning (developing professionally). This requires me to implement a large variety of teaching strategies. AITSL Standard 3.3 refers to incorporating resources which assist teachers in varying teaching strategies to account for different learning styles, promote student-based inquiry, and provide a means of collaborative knowledge construction.

Furthermore, ICT  gives teachers a range of different strategies they can call upon to design engaging and differentiated lessons. Many ICT tools allow students to control their own learning, learners become self-directed and have greater ability for collaborative learning. This is particularly the case when using tools such as wiki spaces, group blogs and Edmodo, which are safe and secure tools that can be integrated into lessons that engage and excite students.

In a Stage 2 Psychology Social Cognition unit of work I employed different teaching strategies. Particularly successful was an excursion to view a film which helped students both contextualize and synthesise  elements of the topic.

SOCIAL COGNITION The Great Gatsby

Also successful was a summary table I designed to aid students revision in the topic. This was received well by students and highly commended by my mentor teacher.

Summary Table (2)

As mentioned previously, in a depth study of WW1 in year 9 History I designed an assessment task that gave students choice. This accounted for the different learning styles of students and all students produced work of a high quality. To demonstrate and share their success I displayed student work in the foyer of the library and their work was included in the School Newsletter, celebrating their achievement.