This standard requires teachers to make learning engaging and valuable. To make learning engaging and valuable teachers should have a range of teaching strategies and use these strategies within their lessons to create well structured, designed and programmed lessons. Lessons should involve an array of strategies and a range of resources to cater for different students and different learning opportunities. It is important to evaluate all aspects of our teaching practice to ensure that we are meeting the needs of all students and constantly striving for improvement. Involving parents and carers in the educative process keeps parents and carers up to date on their child's education and helps promote the value of learning at home.
Focus are 3.1 Establish challenging learning goals
Set learning goals that provide achievable challenges for students of varying abilities and characteristics
This piece of evidence was used from a placement I did at Warragul regional college where the classrooms are levelled. I was teaching three year 7 classes the same topic. 7-3 was the 'ace' class and 7-5 and 7-6 was made up of funded and non-funded students. Each of these lessons involved students exiting the lesson with a common knowledge point, students just got to these common knowledge points in different ways depending on the class they were in and their abilities.
Focus area 3.2 Plan, structure and sequence learning programs
Plan lesson sequences using knowledge of student learning, content and effective teaching strategies
I designed this mini English unit with the help of my supervising teacher. It was designed after having observed and reviewed formal and informal assessment data of students in all three of the classes. Each lesson was planned prior to the next class which allowed me to observe and reflect on the engagement levels and effectiveness of the previous work.
This lesson outline includes a range of teaching strategies to engage students in their learning. It incorporates teacher modelling and explanation, questioning, collaborative group work, independent work and ICT activities.
Focus area 3.4 Select and use resources
Demonstrate knowledge of a range of resources, including ICT, that engage students in their learning
This lesson includes a range of resources for enhancing student learning including a focus on the inclusion of ICT. In this lesson students watched a trailer to a movie. Students then worked in groups to identify the persuasive techniques of the film, including the 'what', the 'how' and the 'why'. Students then collaborative in groups created their 'what', 'how' and 'why table into a paragraph. These paragraphs were then uploaded onto the classes google document file, which all students have access to, ensuring that they will always have access to it as will the students who were away. Students then rearranged the paragraphs appropriately, creating a class example of a language analysis.
Focus area 3.5 Use effective classroom communication
Demonstrate a range of verbal and non-verbal communication strategies to support student engagement
I believe that verbal and non- verbal communication is vital and I have worked on these quite strongly throughout my placements. I believe that the comments on left demonstrate my ability to effectively communicate verbally and non-verbally through a range of strategies.
Focus area 3.6 Evaluate and improve teaching programs
Demonstrate broad knowledge of strategies that can be used to evaluate teaching programs to improve student learning
The below comments are a reflection of a year 7 lesson I was to be teaching twice. It identifies specific ways I could improve my next lesson based on mine and my supervisors thoughts and observations of the lesson and student engagement.
Focus area 3.7 Engage parents/ carers in the educative processm
Describe a broad range of strategies for involving parents/ carers in the educative process
I have worked at Wodonga South Out of Hours School Care for three years and have developed relationships with students parents over this time. I often will discuss with parents what their child has done at the service that morning or afternoon or what their teacher had told me they had done at school. One of our main forms of communication to parents is through our observation folder (A3 folder) which we fill in every morning and afternoon with photos and observations of what students have done for that time period. These photos and observations are then linked to the 'my place, my time' programming syllabus, so parents can see how the activities are linked to their child's learning.