Professional Knowledge
1. Teachers know how students learn and how to teach them effectively.
Within the context of four years of tertiary education including at least one year of pre-service teacher education and specific subject guidelines, graduating teachers will:
1.1 have a sound knowledge of current theories and of pedagogical models from which they draw their practice
The constructivist teacher provides tools such as problem-solving and inquiry-based learning activities, with which students formulate and test their ideas.
My English as an Additional Language (EAL) students engage in inquiry-based learning to solve grammar problems. See p. 3 of EAL inquiry based grammar lesson
In my Year 11 unit of work, students engage in inquiry-based learning to solve grammar problems:
Year 11 inquiry based grammar activity
Activity explained (in English)
A further aspect of constructivism, upon which I base my praxis, is socio- constructivism. Here students are given appropriate support so their learning traverses their ZDP (zone of proximal development). As students develop in proficiency the support is removed. This is evident in my German lessons in which students write a fairytale:
Fairytale structure scaffolding task
Apart from teacher directed scaffolding, I set up learning environments which allow for peer scaffolding in my EAL and German classes. This is important for my EAL learners especially those from African countries with less literacy to bring to their learning.
Constructivist classrooms allow students to become autonomous learners and to make an intellectual contribution to their learning. In line with this pedagogy, I negotiate assessment rubrics with my students:
A further pedagogy which informs my practice is behaviorism. Although not an integral part of my teaching practice, aspects of behaviorism are affective for behavior management. I chose Canter’s assertive discipline model which is informed by behaviorism. See pp. 2-5 of my classroom management plan
As all learners have different learning styles, lessons should therefore comprise various delivery modes to cater for all students. One mode particularly important for EAL learners is the visual as it enhances learning. In my EAL lessons on weather and weather patterns this year, I used the following power point to highlight areas and to explain ideas and concepts:
Presentation one climate zones version 2
1S1 Humanities Climate and Weather Work Sheet
Indigenous pedagogy can also be used to map out lessons and units of work for students. I used the pedagogy in an integrated unit of work this year on WWI. Learning Map for WWI unit of work
1.7 have knowledge of effective pedagogical approaches specific to the content areas they teach.
Specific to language learning is the need for students to be familiar with and competent in different genres belonging to the culture. The deconstruct-reconstruct approach allows students to deconstruct and analyze the structure as well as other features of the genre, before constructing one independently.
This was the approach I used with my English as Additional Language (EAL) Learners whereby they analyzed the structure of a model letter before attempting one independently.
Powerpoint with letter structure
Likewise, my Year 11 German language students studied the structure and features of a well known fairytale before creating one independently.
A further approach, specific to teaching literacy, is the contentious top down versus bottom up approaches to reading. While some educationists argue a holistic, global approach, others continue to assert that starting with basic decoding is the best method. I argue, there is no one size fits all approach; some students may benefit from a top down approach while others need a more sequential methodology. This was the case with my EAL learners: the more advanced learners with more L1 literacy were able to benefit from the predictive reading strategy while my weaker students with little or no L1 literacy needed to start with basic decoding.
Advanced learners studied picture and title and predicted the gist of text:
3. Teachers know their students
Within the context of four years of tertiary education including at least one year of pre-service teacher education and specific subject guidelines, graduating teachers will:
3.3 know how to identify the prior knowledge, strengths and weaknesses of students, and other factors which impact on learning.
Knowledge through the process of inquiry
This year I demonstrated my competency in this area by designing a questionnaire as part of my ACP for the language teachers to send out to new students in relation to their prior learning. The results of the questionnaire now inform the language teachers of the students’ prior language exposure and hence their readiness for the target language. questionnaire A
A further questionnaire I developed as part of my ACP this year also demonstrates my competency in this area. The results of the questionnaire have informed the language department of the students’ prior learning and how that affects their target language acquisition. questionnaire B
The results of the questionnaire can be found on pp. 9-23 of my ACP report
Needs Analysis and consultation with colleagues
A further way I found out about my students this year was through a needs analysis survey and consultation with colleagues. This was the process I used at Footscray Nicholson TAFE to acquire information about my mentees prior language exposure and first language acquisition. This was important as these are both variables which affect second language acquisition. Through acquiring this information I was able to better assess their needs and plan lessons accordingly. See the document My mentoring Assignment for information I acquired through my process of inquiry.
Professional Practice
4. Teachers plan and assess for effective learning
Within the context of a course of Pre-service teacher education which provides at least 45 days of supervised professional practice, gradually teachers will:
4.2 design lesson and unit plans which integrate a range of activities, resources and materials to support learning, including the use of ICT and other learning technologies.
During my teaching of Year 11 German, I designed a unit of work comprising ten lessons which included a range of activities, resources and materials. As the end product for the unit was the writing of a fairytale, the activities, resources and materials were designed to support students so they could achieve the outcome. All resources are embedded into the following document. ICT was also used in the unit to support students’ learning. For ICT specific please see p. 15 Year 11 German Unit: Fairytales
During my teaching of Year 11 German at Luther College, I developed the following resources to aid and test my students’ understanding of verb tenses, an important grammatical component of the VCE curriculum. Click on the following link in order to download these resources:
Yr-11-Worksheet-mein-langes-Wochenende-zu-Hause
During my time at Ballarat Clarendon College, I rewrote and improved the Year 9 curriculum including many resources and assessment tasks. Please click on the following links to download samples of these:
Year 9 Term 3 Unit Plan: KS 2 Chapter 5: zu Hause
Year 9 Term 4 Unit Plan: KS2 Chapter 6: ‘Geld verdienen und ausgeben
During my teaching of English as an Additional Language (EAL) this year, I planned a series of lessons around the mystery novel Brown Eyes. In this unit also, I used a variety activities, resources and materials to support learning. As the end product for this unit was to write a letter, the activities were designed to help students achieve this outcome. The lessons also included power point presentations which supported the students’ learning. All resources are embedded into the following documents:
Writing task and rubric for 1P4 literacy
Within the context of a course of pre-service teacher education which provides at least 45 days of supervised professional practice, gradually teachers will:
4.3 evaluate student responses and work samples, using a variety of strategies and tools to make appropriate assessments of learning and plans for future teaching and learning activities.
During my teaching of English as an Additional Language (EAL) this year, I needed to assess students’ reading skills in preparation for mainstream school. This required the development of tasks which would test the macro skills of reading for gist and specific information as well as their ability to read literally and inferentially. In order to do this, I designed tasks using authentic materials including newspaper articles. Careful analysis of the results would determine the student’s readiness for the mainstream. Task
The following are samples of students’ work: and my assessment of their readiness for mainstream school (this assessment was performed in close consultation with my mentor)
According to Dewey, each day of teaching ought to enable a teacher to revise and better in some respects the objectives aimed at in previous work. With this in mind, this year I set out to examine student data in order to improve my praxis.
In my year 11 German unit of work, I taught the imperfect verb form after which students’ knowledge was tested: Test paper Examination of students results revealed, that although most students were prepared for the test scoring above the average, with two students on 85% and 94%, two were well below. Upon reflection, I may have tested the students’ knowledge too soon or without consideration to individual learning styles. In future lessons, I will include an interactive Computer Aided Language Learning (CALL) program in my unit through which students can test their grammar proficiency in an interactive, visual and fun way.
In order to find out from my Year 11 German students, what they learnt, enjoyed and did not enjoy about the fairytale unit, I asked students to complete the attached evaluation.
The responses were insightful, although they had enjoyed the topic and learnt much in the unit, the majority said that there was too much grammar. In addition two students said that it had not been taught in ‘a fun way’. In future lessons, I will look at reducing the grammar component and using an interactive CALL program such as Language Perfect to support my teaching of the imperfect verb form.
Within the context of a course of pre-service teacher education which provides at least 45 days of supervised professional practice, gradually teachers will:
4.4 plan learning sequences and units which are consistent with curriculum statements, frameworks and assessment structures commonly used in schools
I demonstrated my competency in this area by following the Victorian Certificate of Education Study design when developing my Year 11 German fairytale unit Curriculum design
5. Teachers create and maintain safe and challenging learning environments.
Within the context of a course of pre-service teacher education which provides at least 45 days of supervised professional practice, graduating teachers will:
5.3 be aware of and can use a range of strategies to establish a positive and inclusive environment where all students can learn and are challenged.
Integral to my praxis this year was my classroom management plan which was based on a positive and inclusive learning environment in which all students have the best possibility of learning: Classroom Management Plan
A further way I established an inclusive environment in which ‘all’ students could learn and were challenged this year was through scaffolding students’ learning. This was particularly important for my English as Additional Language (EAL) students who had less literacy to bring to their learning. These students were paired with their more literal peers who supported them and drove their learning forward. The more literal students were also challenged as they assisted their peers in their learning. Group work in a grammar lesson see bottom of p. 3
A further strategy for establishing inclusion is by recognising the pedagogical practices of our students. In my integrated unit of work this year, I used the indigenous pedagogy of Learning Maps to explicitly map out the unit so students could see it in its entirety along with the connection of ideas, concepts and assessment tasks throughout. The advantages are two fold: not only does it have pedagogical merit but also creates an inclusive culture by recognizing and valuing the pedagogies of our students. Learning Map of Year 9 unit of work: WWI
A further way I demonstrated my competence in establishing inclusion was in my EAL Humanities lesson. Within the context of a geography lesson on continents, countries and climate zones, students shared their stories of their homelands and recounted their routes to Australia. This initial ‘getting to know you lesson’, set up an inclusive learning environment in which all students were prepared to take risks in previous sessions. EAL 1S1 Humanities lesson
6. Teachers use a range of teaching practices and resources to engage students in effective learning.
Within the context of a course of pre-service teacher education which provides at least 45 days of supervised professional practice, gradually teachers will:
6.5 access and use a range of teaching and learning resources and technologies to support student learning.
I demonstrated this competency this year by accessing and utilising a range of resources including:
ESLlibrary
Language Perfect
http://www.languageperfect.com/worldchamps/SiteShell.html
Languages on line
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/languagesonline/
Interactive whiteboard http://www.cambridge.org/au/elt/teachers/satellite_page/item2701632/How-to-use-an-Interactive-Whiteboard/?site_locale=en_AU
Year 9 German Kindergeschichte (children’s stories)
Professional Engagement
7. Teachers reflect on, evaluate and improve their professional knowledge and practice
Within the context of professional studies, graduating teachers will:
7.1 recognize the value of regularly reflecting on their professional knowledge and practice, and develop strategies for reflection individually and collectively
Individual Reflection
Evidence of my competence to reflect on my praxis ‘individually’ can be found in my reflections at the end of lesson plans:
Year 11 German Unit of Work: Fairytales: lesson reflections
Year 11 German Unit of Work: Fairytales: unit reflection
Year 5 German lesson reflections
Year 5 German Case study
English as an Additional Language (EAL): class SVY Humanities: Geography lesson reflections
Collective reflection
I also developed an effective strategy this year for teachers to reflect collectively. This was part of my Applied Curriculum Project (ACP) for my practicum school. Through the results of my survey, the language department as a whole could reflect on its praxis: Please refer to hard copy of ACP pp. 14 – 23
My Remote Teaching Journey
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