How would you describe yourself as a ‘teacher’? 

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I want to be the best teacher I can. I want to relate to my students, put a smile on their faces by inspiring and guiding them in the beginning of a lifelong love of learning.

My teacher practice is driven by that motivation: that as a democratic teacher, I foster humanistic values of mutual respect, co-operation, shared responsibility and social equality – and strive to have a pile of goodwill, even on the tough days.

To build up this goodwill, Ramon Lewis (2008) is specific: “Teaching them, listening to them, encouraging them, recognising their strengths, helping them, putting yourself out for them; showing interest in their lives outside the classroom and the school; supporting their sporting interests; showing interest in their problems and generally conveying to them that you respect, value and like them, and are genuinely interested in their welfare” (p.38).

This relationship that comes from the abilities of the teacher to respond to the “inside” student and not just react to the “outside” behaviour is captured beautifully by the “positive emotional bonds” described by Larry Brendtro and Mary Shahbazian (2004), who have focussed their research on helping adults better serve children in emotional pain.

For them, even brief encounters with students provide powerful teaching moments for developing connections and promoting inclusion.

Inclusion allows us to celebrate our uniqueness, broaden our knowledge base and makes life so much richer. That’s why, for me, it is the socio-cultural pillar of effective learning and the most crucial of all teaching principles.

Internationally, the right to an inclusive education is articulated in both the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with a Disability. Consistent with ratifying these, the Australian Government expresses its commitment to inclusive education in many documents and policies, including the National Disability Strategy, Australian Curriculum, Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, National Quality Framework and the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia.

To make the curriculum relevant to all children it must be differentiated accordingly.

Francoys Gagne’s Differentiated Model of Giftedness and Talent (2008) recognises talent emerges through a number of influences, including teaching and learning opportunities. Howard Gardner (1997) suggests, even if we could figure out how to make everyone a brilliant violinist, an orchestra also needs top-quality musicians who play woodwinds, brass, percussion and strings.

Explicitly promoting inclusion and diversity also benefits class behaviour management. Rudolf Dreikurs’ (1963) belief that all individuals need to belong, to be with peers, provides the basis of a group-oriented class management model with rules of conduct like “mutual respect, co-operation, shared responsibility and social equality.”

As a democratic teacher I would set clear-cut expectations and parameters and encourage ­­­­­effort. I would recognise inappropriate behaviour comes from attention seeking, power, revenge or withdrawal, and observing my reaction, “modify the motivation, rather than the behaviour” (Balson p.1). I would be prepared for the daily challenge of maintaining class cohesion, but take faith that “shared responsibility is one of the most powerful means of integrating a class” (p.4).

Lastly, I realise as a teacher I do not live in isolation and that I have a professional responsibility to my students. Part of this commitment is learning from our peers, our colleagues and developing relationships with the community, families, and in particular parents and care-givers.

After all, teaching is at heart a communicative activity and about relationships that enable learning (Metcalfe & Game, 2006).

 

REFERENCES:

Balson, M. (1989). Discipline: An Old Problem in a New World. The Best of Set: Discipline. Hawthorn, Victoria: Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER).

Brendtro, L. & Shahbazian, M. (2004). Retrieved from https://reclaimingjournal.com/sites/default/files/journal-article-pdfs/13_2_Brendtro_Shahbazian.pdf

Dreikurs, R. & Dinkmeyer, D. (1963). Encouraging Children to Learn. New York: Brunner-Routledge.

Gagne, F. (2008). Retrieved from http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/studentdiversity/gifted-and-talented-students

Gardner, H. (1997). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYgO8jZTFuQ

Lewis, R. (2008). The Developmental Management Approach to Classroom Behaviour: Responding to Individual Needs. Camberwell, Victoria: ACER Press.

Metcalfe, A. & Game, A. (2006). Teachers who change lives. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press

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Assuming you have adequate equipment and software, how would you incorporate technology into your classroom? 

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For the digital native generation the digital age is their language, so it follows that education should meet the demands of a changing world where information and communications technology (ICT) frames our very existence.

In many ways, our world today is about connecting the digital dots. As Barbara R. Jones-Kavalier writes, to successfully connect the dots at any level in cyberspace means we must be literate, both digitally and visually.

In 1996, the New London Group, recognised these challenges in their paper, A Pedagogy of Multiliteracies.

Acknowledging the growing significance of cultural and linguistic diversity, multiliteracies recognises the shift to a common language of global commerce, media and politics (Bill Cope, 2008). And secondly, a major shift in the influence of new communications technologies. Meaning is made in ways that are increasingly multimodal, in which written-linguistic modes of meaning are part and parcel of visual, audio and spatial patterns of meaning.

For me as a preservice teacher, the implications of digital literacy are challenging and exciting.

Teaching “headware” (not hardware) skills makes sense. Every digital device should be considered for its academic potential but the goal is not to teach technology but to teach thinking skills and challenge students to communicate their understanding of the learning outcomes in whatever way that speaks to them.

So successful technology integration is more than just getting the tools into the classroom; engaging students, enlivening lessons and enhanced learning is what it is all about.

Ways I would incorporate technology include:

• With an interactive whiteboard alone, I could show online videos related to the lessons, read a novel together chapter by chapter as a class, use Skype to connect beyond the classroom.

• With only one computer in the classroom, as was the case in my early years placement, it was all about collaboration and a rotating schedule. We had a class blog for Year 3s and used Google Docs to create collaborative stories. During a Foundation lesson on patterns, I used the Tux Paint program as an assessment tool by creating colour sequences and getting the students to complete the pattern. I did this during maths group rotations where I worked with a group of five as the others did work.

• Where students had their own laptop, iPad or MacBook, and took them home each day, the opportunities would be endless! In the simplest but most effective way, students would use technology as multifunction devices: as e-book readers, calculators, platforms for taking notes. At the other end, students could explore student-created multimedia presentations using Microsoft PowerPoint, LibreOffice, Prezi and build websites with students using Weebly or Wikispaces. They would organise their day, week and term, workload and excursions etc, through Google classroom. My children, in Years 5 and 6, use this as their go-to diary or planner, and it’s also where they contact their teacher. It’s where they access course content and also helps with accountability and continuity.

Lastly but not leastly, teaching the digital native to be a digital citizen is paramount. Even though our students are immersed in technology it’s not a given that they know how to use it for learning nor how to use it responsibly. Social media makes it crucial we take the time to explicitly teach about cyberbullying, copyright, plagiarism, digital footprint, and proper conduct online depending on year level. “We probably wouldn't teach first graders about the nitty-gritty details of copyright law, but we might teach them what kinds of information are safe or unsafe to share online. Likewise, while we may quickly review safe and unsafe information with high school students, we are more likely to focus on digital footprint and plagiarism” (Edutopia, 2007).

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REFERENCES:

Cope, B. (2008). Language education and multiliteracies. Retrieved from http://newlearningonline.com/_uploads/springerhandbook.pdf

Edutopia, (2007). How to Integrate Technology. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration-guide-implementation

Jones, B. (2010). Connecting the Digital Dots: Literacy of the 21st Century. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.452.8713&rep=rep1&type=pdf

The New London Group, (1996). A Pedagogy of Multiliteracies: Designing Social Futures. Retrieved from http://www.hepgjournals.org/doi/abs/10.17763/haer.66.1.17370n67v22j160u

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This school has a large number of Indigenous students and many of these students have not performed well on the Year 7 NAPLAN literacy and numeracy test. How would you cater for the learning needs of these students in your class and explain what strategies you would implement to improve the literacy and numeracy levels of these students?

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While all students are taught Standard Australian English, it is important to realise that indigenous students are coming from a different starting point, with different developmental processes.

According to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework 2014 Report, while the 2011 Census reports 83% of Indigenous Australians speak English at home, many Indigenous Australians use a distinctly Aboriginal form of English that differs from the Standard Australian English used in educational settings (Hall 2013; Eades 2013).

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students whose first language is an Indigenous language, including traditional, creoles and related varieties, or Aboriginal English will be learning SAE as a second or additional language (EAD/ESD), and require specific support to build the English language skills needed to access the general curriculum, in addition to learning area-specific language structures and vocabulary, and other learning areas including numeracy.

According to the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA 2016), EAL/D students also have other similar characteristics, ones that can assist teachers and schools in identify their learning needs. These include:

• they come from diverse educational backgrounds.

• they have limited or no previous education

• little or no literacy experience in their first language (or in any language)

• excellent literacy skills in their first language (or another language)

• learned English as a foreign language and have some exposure to written English, but need to develop oral English

• already speak one or more languages or dialects other than English

• may live in remote, rural or metropolitan Australia

• may live in advantaged or disadvantaged socioeconomic situations

• may have experienced severe emotional or physical trauma that will affect their learning

So to improve their literacy and numeracy skills I need to cater for their learning needs as a whole. Thus strategies I would use include:

• I would consult Government Literacy Programs (2016) targeted at indigenous students such as the Indigenous Literacy Foundation, MULTILIT Cape York Schools, the Western Australian Aboriginal Literacy Strategy and the Northern Territory Maximising Improvement in Literacy and Numeracy program.

• Put in place a well-structured daily literacy and numeracy session that addresses all components of learning.

• A two-way approach that includes explicit ESL/ESD instruction where required.

• Establish relationships with students and use language to encourage participation.

• Use metalanguage that gives students the vocabulary that helps them make connections between what they know and the new concepts.

• Support students, including scaffolding, and constant authentic feedback.

• Differentiate and individualise instruction as far as possible, monitor progress and build on learning through carefully designed follow-up activities.

• Create a social context in the classroom that focuses on welcomes students and provides them with positive support and builds confidence.

• Provide learning experiences that reflect their identities and experiences.

• Increasing the involvement of Indigenous families and community members in learning, including in the classroom and community. In Victoria, for example, Koorie Education Workers helped to increase participation of local community members in teaching and learning forums, as well as guided teacher knowledge and appreciation of Indigenous cultures. Improved school attendance will not “close the gap” on its own but it will help (Health Performance Framework 2014 Report).

• Other programs taken up across the country including First Steps, Walking Talking Texts and Show Me the Way, an online mentoring program in high schools.

Above all I would have high but realistic expectations. Sky News editor and Wiradjuri man, Stan Grant, remembers: “Aboriginal kids like me were too often denied opportunity, ignored or held captive to the low expectations of others. Indeed at age 14, I along with my black cousins and mates, was encouraged to leave school, our principal said there was no meaningful place for us” (Creative Spirits 2016).

 

REFERENCES:

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), (2016). Retrieved from http://www.acara.edu.au/_resources/eald_overview_and_advice_revised_february_2014.pdf

Australian Government (2014) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Performance Framework 2014 Report. Retrieved from https://www.dpmc.gov.au/sites/default/files/publications/indigenous/Health-Performance-Framework-2014/tier-2-determinants-health/204-literacy-and-numeracy.html

Creative Spirits, (2016). Teaching Aboriginal students, Teaching not by the book. Retrieved from https://www.creativespirits.info/aboriginalculture/education/teaching-aboriginal-students

Macquarie University, (2016). Government Literacy Programs, Overcoming Indigenous disadvantage. Retrieved from http://www.multilit.com/about/multilit-in-the-community/government-literacy-programs

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You are qualified as a teacher who can teach across the primary and second stages of schooling. As a P-12 teacher explain the educational theories that underpin your practice.

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As a P-12 teacher, I find myself putting into practice the principles of constructivism. Children, in fact all of us, learn through constructing their own understanding and knowledge of the world, through experiencing things and reflecting on those experiences.

When we encounter something new, we have to reconcile it with our previous ideas and experience, changing what we believe, or discarding the new information as irrelevant. In any case, we are active creators of our own knowledge. To do this, we must ask questions, explore, and assess what we know. 

I don’t think constructivism dismisses the active role of the teacher or the value of expert knowledge, as some traditional educators argue. Constructivism modifies that role, so that teachers help students to construct knowledge rather than to reproduce a series of facts. The constructivist teacher provides tools such as problem-solving and inquiry-based learning activities with which students formulate and test their ideas, draw conclusions and inferences, and pool and convey their knowledge in a collaborative learning environment. 

I would encourage students to use active techniques (experiments, real-world problem solving) to create more knowledge and then to reflect on and talk about what they are doing and how their understanding is changing.

Jean Piaget's theory of cognitive development, in particular, can be applied in a constructivist classroom. His early work formed the basis of all that followed in the constructivist movement.  As a teacher, I would:

• Encourage students to learn from each other, provide activities with opportunities for paired work or small group work.

• Act as a guide in the learning process and ensure that the curriculum should be adapted to pupils' individual needs and understandings.

• Assess cognitive development and set work that is appropriate to their needs and attainment (will be motivating).

Social constructivism in particular adds emphasis on the interaction of the learner with others and “gives high priority to language in intellectual development. Talking becomes the vehicle by which ideas are considered, shared and developed”. As a teacher, I can:

• Stimulate and maintain conversation, to engage pupils in conversation

• Support the development of their understanding, in a planned way. Cooper and McIntyre (1996) write, channelling Levi Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and Albert Bandura, “scaffolding needs to be done at appropriate levels of sophistication to meet the needs of the individual, and enabling them to apply existing skills in new ways to gain new knowledge”.

A great example of how constructivist theories are influential throughout the formal and informal learning sectors outside the classroom, and in a real life context is at the Investigate Centre at The Natural History Museum in London. Here visitors are encouraged to explore a collection of real natural history specimens, to practice some scientific skills and make discoveries for themselves.

As a constructivist teacher, I would rely on the ideas of more modern-day theorists and researchers to support a democratic teaching model, particularly in the middle and later years of schooling when behaviour management is important. I could:

• As Ramon Lewis (2009) explains, establish group interest: guidance, discussions and encouraging students to make the correct choices would be pro-active. Praise speaks volumes and sanctions are forgotten. As relationships build, through routines and meeting established expectations, the teacher will be able to recognise external factors influencing their well-being.

• Identify intelligences developed by Howard Gardner (1993) to provide insight into class dynamics and distinguish “between a frustrating educational experience and one that has purpose” (p. 57).  He maintained his theory should empower learning.

• Rudolf Dreikurs’ interactionist ideology engages students through encouragement and social acceptance and promotes a practical approach to behaviour by acknowledging motivation.

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REFERENCES:

Cooper, P. & and McIntyre, D. (1996). Strategies for effective teaching and learning: teachers' and pupils' perspectives. Washington: Open University Press

Dreikurs, R; Dinkmeyer, D. (1963). Encouraging Children to Learn. New York: Brunner-Routledge.

Gardner, H. (2006) Multiple Intelligences: New Horizons. New York: Perseus Books Group.

Lewis, R. (2009). Understanding Pupil Behaviour Classroom Management Techniques for Teachers. Oxfordshire: Routledge

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Describe how you will build a supportive learning environment in your classroom.

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Building a supportive and positive class environment is an essential precursor for holistic teaching and effective learning, but creating one is much more than bricks and mortar; to me it is a process that is fluid, and follows and changes with the needs of the individuals in my class.

I think it’s important to provide students with a range of options for demonstrating what they can do (Tomlinson & Eidson, 2003) and supporting them in reaching their potential. Lessons and plans should have clear, challenging, and specified criteria for success, based both on grade level expectation and individual student need.

“When subject matter is dynamic, intellectually intriguing, and personal — when it bestows power to the learner — the details also become more important and memorable,” writes Carol Ann Tomlinson.

But while children are different in many ways, they are also similar; strategies that support one child with cognitive, emotional or behaviour difficulties can also benefit another.  Above all, I want my children to be happy and fulfilled at school, so differentiating to encourage self-efficacy and being a master in their “field” is my aim. I am inspired by Sir Ken Robinson when he speaks of revolutionising education by changing from a mechanical process to one that is more organic, like farming, allowing students to flourish. We need to feed the spirit of all students and recognise that talents and aptitudes are diverse. So I will differentiate learning as best I can.

I also want my students to feel that they belong, to feel included no matter who they are or where they come from. Alfred Adler believed we all have one basic desire: to belong and to feel significant.

Ways that I would support diversity and personalised learning, inclusion and mastery include:

• Using effective strategies like collaborative discussion teams (Salend, 2004), class-wide peer tutoring (Fulk & King, 2001), book discussions (Berry & Englert, 1998; Martin, 1998) and jigsaws (Aronson, 1978).

• Staying true to the teaching standards by specifically adjusting the environment, the teaching and learning processes, the content they learn, and the products that record their achievement.

• Tomlinson suggests many starting points for reflection like The Teacher Offers High Expectations – and Lots of Ladders and The Teacher Clearly strives for Student Independence.

• “Differentiate What, Differentiate How and Differentiate Why”.  Strategies to support differentiation, including compacting, choice boards, tiered activities, agendas and stations. She gives an example of a Year 4 maths class where students “are all over the place” but through signing in and out of formal or informal work areas, students are given “extra opportunities to apply their understandings in varied situations”.

• Using the school’s Student Code of Conduct to help define my actions in class, particularly with regards to behaviour management; anti-bullying strategies will help students overcome feelings of insecurity and isolation and encourage resilience.

• Be aware of other supportive government initiatives such as Special Learning Needs and drug education strategies. The support network within the school is a crucial tool as well, from welfare workers to integration aides and occupational therapists.

• Fostering positive interaction between teachers and parents, in and outside the classroom, and at home, will help me as a teacher support their children. Also part of our commitment to students is developing relationships with their families. Teaching is, after all, at heart a communicative activity and it is at heart about relationships that enable learning (Metcalfe and Game, 2006).

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REFERENCES:

Adler, A. (1930). The Education of Children. Chicago: Gateway

Broderick, A., Mehta-Parekh, H., and Reid, K.  Differentiating Instruction for Disabled Students in Inclusive Classrooms. Retrieved from http://cmapspublic3.ihmc.us/rid%3D1H1QYB8K5-128JL7K-5C6/Broderick_DI.pdf

Metcalfe, A; & Game, A. (2006). Teachers who change lives. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press.

Tomlinson, C; & Cunningham Eidson, C. (2003). Differentiation in Practice: A Resource Guide for Differentiating Curriculum, ASCD.