Standard 3: Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning

Standard 3.7

Engage parents/ carers in the educative process

It is important to remember that parents are partners in their child’s education and thus need to be involved in the educative process.

Maintaining contact with parents and caregivers is essential to ensure that students needs are met at school. Using appropriate language is imperative when communicating with parents, and essentially the school and its staff is an extension of the care given to students – the school and parents are ultimately in partnership in caring for students. The use of telephone calls, email, Edmodo and regular attendance at parent/teacher interviews are all important to ensure standard 3.7 are met. Effective feedback on assessment and reporting is also a way of communicating with parents and caregivers.

Keeping parents up to date and informed of excursions must be done is a professional and timely manner:

Providing students with the appropriate school communications:

Communications

I have participated in Course Counselling which was done in partnership with students and parents. This gave parents the opportunity to be involved in the educative process and gave me the opportunity to meet with and discuss with parents the educational needs of students:

Standard 3: Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning

Standard 3.6

Evaluate and improve teaching programs

Asking students to rate lessons for a topic is a useful way to evaluate and improve teaching programs. Poll Everywhere or Survey Monkey can be used much as Student Evaluation of Teaching is used at University. Having students perform reflection tasks either online or in hard copy can be useful – not only from the teacher’s point of view but also from the student’s. Asking students to reflect on their learning aids the teacher in knowing how students knowledge has expanded and any areas that need further assistance, by having students address, ‘I used to think, but now I know….’ after the delivery of a unit of work.

I have used reflective practices in all my teaching experiences. I record reflections after each lesson to assess the effectiveness of learning activities and to keep track of student progress:

Reflection:

The text book learning activities used to assist student learning by applying the new knowledge learnt were not highly useful – particularly 3.2. These were not given as homework as we have covered in class.Will need to recap at the beginning of next lesson.More engagement needed – change pace and task, not just noting from PPT. PPT slides were printed and given to students for noting, unsure if this method will be sustained as students may not take notes as they are given slide information.

Reflection:

This double lesson was focused on attitude change and formation; specifically introducing students to advertisement campaigns and the psychological principals they adapt to persuade. This task was engaging and seemed to be effective in consolidating knowledge of the factors that affect change. The revision task was used as a recap of what we have covered thus far and to identify and areas that need further clarification. Working in groups worked well and students were on task for the most part. More examples of bi-directional needed – will recap next lesson.

I have had students reflect on their understanding after completing a unit of work:

I have had students reflect on and provide feedback on my teaching:

Standard 3: Plan for and implement effective teaching and Learning

Standard 3.5

Use effective classroom communication

Effective communication is at the heart of positive teaching and learning. It benefits both the student and the teacher and helps sustain student engagement and successful classroom management.

Visual communication via Prezi/PowerPoint/video clips are great ways of supporting student engagement, especially for visual/kineasthetic learners. Standard 3.5 involves using a range of digital resources to support effective communication of relevant information and ideas, taking into account individual student’s learning needs and backgrounds and learning context and teaching area content. Furthermore, any ICT tool used must conform to the standards of appropriate language styles, and for it to have any effectiveness it must be pitched at the correct level.

One example of a digital tool to support effective communication is email. Providing students with up to date information regarding assignments, lesson content and material, due dates etc can be effectively conveyed through email. Emails can be used in order to communicate on a one-to one basis with students. Edmodo is also useful in supporting effective communication with the students. Uploading lesson material onto Edmodo allows students to work at their own pace which takes into account individual student’s learning needs.

Different verbal and non-verbal strategies I have employed in the classroom:

Standard 3: Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning

Standard 3.4

Select and use resources

Standard 3.4 addresses the need for teachers to be able to select and use appropriate resources that engage students in their learning.

It furthermore refers to the requirement of teachers to understand and remain vigilant in providing students with access to digital resources within the classroom learning environment. As practicing teachers it is crucial that we provide our students with clear explanations and directions when using digital resources.

Just as we educate students when researching primary and secondary sources, it is important to consider the reliability and validity of digital resources used in the classroom. Some sources are more useful than others and students can be made aware of how to determine this through looking at the origins of the sources, whether it is biased, from a professional organisation etc. Many school libraries have excellent resources for helping students search for valid and reliable information online. For example:

http://www.noodletools.com/debbie/literacies/information/5locate/adviceengine.html

I have consistently consulted with library staff in order to access the most useful and appropriate digital and non-digital resources to enhance the learning experience of students:

Using digital resources

A comment from my mentor teacher in Stage 2 Psychology:

 “Ruth’s ability to find relevant and engaging resources to enhance her presentations was outstanding”

Providing students undertaking the Research Project with the skills and tools to locate valid and reliable resources is imperative. Working with students undertaking the Research Project I was able to successfully facilitate their learning in selecting and using resources effectively.

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.

Standard 3: Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning

Standard 3.2

Plan, structure and sequence learning programs

Designing lessons along Bloom’s taxonomy is an excellent way to determine how much students have understood and to foster inquiry based learning. My lessons are designed to question students:

1.      Knowledge – to check learner ability to recall basic information

2.      Comprehension – confirm understanding

3.      Application – use or apply knowledge

4.      Evaluation – assess, critical thinking

I use resources such as prezi, PowerPoint, online textbooks, Survey Monkey and Poll Everywhere, which are integrated into lessons to assist me to meet the requirements of standard 3.2.

I also like to use the Understand By Design (or Backwards Planning) approach to planning learning programs. UBD is a logical (albeit backwards) way to plan, structure and sequence learning programs. Understanding the key language abilities the students need by the end of the year, the assessments they need to complete and by when is fundamental to planning appropriate learning programs that flow.

In a year 9 Civics and Citizenship unit I first consulted both SACSA and ACARA documents. The activities I sequenced throughout the unit where a direct result of my understanding of what students should know at the end of the unit and the type of inquiry students should endeavor in order to answer the questions posed in both documents. This was my entry point into the unit of work and the sequence of activities and the choice of activities included followed.

As can be seen below, I have used backwards design to move from what students should know by the end of the unit of work as a starting point to sequencing learning activities and assessment:

The inclusion of formative activities to facilitate student success in summative tasks is an important aspect of planning. Below are examples of formative activities undertaken in a Stage 2 Psychology unit I designed and delivered:

Social Cognition Friday task

Psych revision sheet

Psych Revision Wednesday

Standard 3: Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning

Standard 3.1

Establish challenging learning goals

Firstly, I have undertaken Professional Development whilst on my first teaching practicum in TfEL. I have in particular incorporated reflective strategies and techniques in order to continue to develop skills in establishing challenging learning goals. At the end of each lesson I have recorded reflections on lessons and the success of activities and students ability to access the content.

For example:

Reflection (optional)

If time allows there is a second film including real footage from WW1 that can be used Remember roll Give copy of lesson and planning prior to lesson Make sure students listening before speak positive – good pace Portfolio good idea Students responsible for laptops – remember to turn on, takes 10 mins to log on Yard duty as consequence for students who do not bring their laptop to class

Reflection

Did not get to look at online book. Some students falling behind already with portfolio – need to address and follow with students who have been away etc. Students slow to find primary and secondary sources but once underway were mostly in task. Most completed letter and enjoyed writing letter.

Reflection

Trench task was difficult for some students to understand as they were unsure of which view to choose. After assistance all students were on task and completed activity. There are two students who have not completed most of the worksheets, either in or out of class – the two ESL students. After discussion with the mentor teacher I spoke with the Year 9 coordinator who said that they had refused to work in all their classes across all subjects. One of the students was referred to the coordinator for follow –up.

AITSL Standard 3.1 refers to our ability to structure learning programs which invite students to pursue their individual interests and educational goals by responding to challenges using their preferred learning style.

Planning engaging lessons that satisfy the requirements of standard 3.1 is possible through having a sound understanding of the differentiated learning needs and styles of all students in the class. Designing classes that scaffold ideas is an excellent way to achieve this standard.  Some students require more assistance (scaffolding) than other students. This can be managed through using different levels of the same resource or tool – for example, online textbooks. Pearson, for example, produces online textbooks for use in history and geography. Students can work at their own pace and extension activities are included to pique the interests and challenge students who require little to no scaffolding. I found the interactive activities embedded within the year 9 history books to be engaging and students enjoyed being able to work at their own pace. Providing choice in assessment can also acknowledge the  different  learning styles and abilities of students.

In a Stage 1 Psychology film analysis task for the Social Behaviour topic I provided students with a preparation document that successfully scaffolded the summative assessment task for those students who required extra assistance. This, along with the performance standards required for the task enabled students to produce work of a high standard across the whole class.

Hairspray prep

Hairspray task