Focus Area 1.1Use teaching strategies based on knowledge of students’ physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics to improve student learning.
As knowing your students and catering for their needs is a priority when planning, I commenced my teaching journey through profiling the students in my class. I made observations during the initial teaching days (and throughout the year), consulted school data and requested that students complete questionnaires to obtain a range of valid data and responses. The profiling data demonstrates the varying levels of physical, social, intellectual characteristics within my class. Understanding student needs is a crucial element of planning in terms of selecting effective strategies within the classroom.
Below is an image of data which I have consulted to determine the diversity within a class that I teach: This is a snapshot demonstrating the consolidation of school profiling data. The evidence includes the identification of physical, social and intellectual characteristics of students within a particular class.
Focus Area 1.1 Evidence: Classroom Profiling and Strategies
Your browser does not support viewing this document. Click here to download the document.
*Please note: the names of the students included in this data are false to ensure the protection of student privacy
|
In order to cater for the diversity in my classroom, I researched and consolidated differentiation strategies according to their needs: support provisions and AIMS.
The document below details the characteristics of physical, intellectual and social learning needs of the student who identifies as AIMS. In addition, it encompasses an array of strategies that can and have been utilised within my lessons to cater for the student's needs.
Your browser does not support viewing this document. Click here to download the document.
In my class my AIMS student has Asperges and therefore, I implemented the strategies in my lessons. Despite having solid cognition, students with ASD syndrome are often perceived as unusual, and socially marginalised (Philips, 2003). They are aware of their social isolation and do not know how to comprehend their social situation. If they are taught the rules of a specific situation, they tend to adhere to the rule in social circumstances where it is not appropriate which at times can create a sense of social awkwardness (Philips, 2003). In order to teach my student social mannerisms, I have implemented a rigid cuing system within my classroom. "Pens down, eyes on me" is a cue I use to ensure that I have the students' attention before commencing instruction. "I am speaking, you are listening" is another clear and concise verbal instruction as they need to have one instruction at a time. I always say my cues twice allowing the appropriate time for the student to process and respond to the instruction. In addition, I always use visual images to assist with verbal instruction. All of these strategies are effective in the classroom, particularly for junior and middle phase learners.
Focus Area 1.1 Evidence of Classroom profiling and strategies is a snapshot demonstration of how students' needs, interests and data is consolidated and utilised to inform the planning and the encompassing teaching strategies. This document encompasses various strategies to address students' physical, social and intellectual needs and justifies the use of particular strategies utilised throughout a unit of English. |
Focus Area 1.2
Understand how students learn
Structure teaching programs using research and collegial advice about how students learn.
1.2 Teaching Programs using research and collegial advice
|
Once I attended the above professional development session I reflected on my understanding and implementation of the framework in the classroom. As in the power point, the Art and Science of Teaching is beneficial to students as it provides them with a structured and engaging way of processing content. The strategies recognise the learners' need to organise and engage with content in a meaningful and purposeful way to ensure that the content and the skills they are learning is transitioning from their short term memory into their long term memory. My role in the learning process is to design and facilitate lessons which encompass effective strategies that engage students' involvement in the lesson (the science). I need to adapt strategies to my teaching style and the needs of students with a creative and engaging flair (the Art). An example of how I used this particular professional development session to enhance my teaching is through the use of an 'X diagram'. Usually I would set character analysis in the form of a table (you can probably tell that is my preferred way of organising data - look at all of the tables on this weebly!) or comprehension questions. Instead, I asked my students to use the 'X diagram' when examining perspectives. We read a segment of 'The Boy in The Striped Pyjamas' and then examined Elsa's perspective about her husband's involvement in Auschwitz (reading between the lines):
1. What did Elsa see? 2. What did Elsa hear? 3. What did Elsa think? 4. What did Elsa feel? This organiser provided students the foundations to collaborate and identify key information. Students were required to actively select information, and then deliberate and further detail and refine their responses during collaboration. This in turn allowed the students to progress into comprehension questions the 'You do' phase with a deeper level of comprehension and consideration of perspectives as they considered not only what the text states but the inferred meaning through examining Elsa's thoughts and feelings (the novel is not told from her perspective). Students found the X diagram made the learning task "easier" even though I did not adjust the complexity, just the instruction. To enhance the activity further, I showed students the selected scene from the film, 'The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas' and they provided even more detail to the diagram. This scaffold showed me that using simple instructions and appealing to students senses engages students and deepens their understanding as they could then progress with linking the knowledge they gained through their senses with the words in the novel. |
Focus Area 1.4Design and implement effective teaching strategies that are responsive to the local community and cultural setting, linguistic background and histories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
It is paramount that teachers incorporate Indigenous perspectives in their learning experiences. Teachers need to acknowledge that indigenous students learn best when their cultural, home and community experiences are incorporated into their educational settings. The following document details researched and evidenced strategies which are effective for indigenous students and is often drawn upon when designing lesson plans. The Power Point illustrates how I have incorporated acknowledgement and examination of Indigenous perspectives in a Year 11 Novel Gazing unit. Students are to examine aspects of indigenous culture and complete the hand out in accordance to the subheadings. The graphic organiser also encompasses a visual image to assist with students gaining the understanding that the land is intrinsic to aboriginal culture. In doing so, students are able to gain an understanding of the detrimental impact that the colonial era had on indigenous Australians. They then compare the indigenous perspective and relationship to teh land with the colonial perspective of Terra Nullius. To enhance their understanding further, students are required to listen to (pod cast) and read a poem written by an indigenous author, Oodgeroo Noonuccal and answer comprehension questions (questions structured using blooms taxonomy lower order to higher order) to explore how perspectives are conveyed through imaginative writing. The following lesson progresses into reconciliation and examining and evaluating the relevance and controversy surrounding historical fiction and the novel, 'The Secret River'. Focus Area 1.4 Evidence- Research and Strategies
Your browser does not support viewing this document. Click here to download the document.
Focus Area 1.4 Evidence: Classroom Practice
Your browser does not support viewing this document. Click here to download the document.
Your browser does not support viewing this document. Click here to download the document.
Focus Area 1.5Differentiate teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities
The following image is a snap shot of school data which provides some indication of the varying abilities within a class that I teach. Based on this profiling data, and data which identifies students who have specific needs it is evident that I need to cater for students who require extension through to students who require extra support. The following evidence is a word document which encompasses a range of evidenced differentiation strategies to utilise in the classroom. I often use this document to inform my lesson design.
Focus Area 1.5: Researched Strategies for Differentiation
Your browser does not support viewing this document. Click here to download the document.
The following document contains a some of the extension comprehension questions I issued to students who have a higher level of literacy competence within the classroom. The questions require students to engage in a higher level of inference as the questions are structured in accordance to Bloom's Taxonomy. Students are required to analyse, evaluate and predict. All students should engage in higher order thinking on a regular basis however, some students require more time and support to develop into higher order thinking. Through providing extension questions, I am ensuring that I am challenging the students who are capable of approaching and commencing this thinking process at a faster pace and a higher level of competence than their peers.
Focus Area 1.5: Evidence of extension opportunities
Your browser does not support viewing this document. Click here to download the document.
Focus Area 1.5: Multiple Intelligences and Bloom's TaxonomyThe following document provides evidence of how I have differentiated comprehension questions (with the help of my mentor teacher) for this particular class. I have utilised Bloom's Taxonomy to structure the level of thinking that questions require students to use when answering the questions. However, I have also changed the 'product' or medium of which students are required to demonstrate their understanding through incorporating Multiple Intelligences.
Your browser does not support viewing this document. Click here to download the document.
Through the True or False activity, students are required to recall what they have read however, instead of writing a sentence answer they need to identify whether the statement is true or false. Thus, even though some students may have difficulty expressing their understanding through written sentences, this activity allows them to examine and then demonstrate their knowledge of the text in an effective way. The statement guides them to the information or inferences that they should make when reading. Students are required to list the dialogue Kotler uses to speak to Pavel and therefore, prompts students to select specific information and make an inference about such information. In the chapter ten questions, instead of asking students to write sentence answers, they are required to draw their understanding appealing to those students who are visual and creative learners. In addition, those students who are visual learners and prefer logical mediums to communicate their understanding are required to present their understanding through creating a graphic organiser. It is evident that all students are provided to engage in higher levels of thinking however, the level of support and scaffolding varies in addition, to the medium of which they communicate this knowledge. To improve the way I taught this unit, I needed to incorporate a higher level of ICT, allocate more time for critical reading strategies and to explicitly teach such strategies and incorporate a greater level of collaborative activities.
|
Focus Area 1.3Students with diverse linguistic, cultural,
religious and socio-economic backgrounds Design and implement teaching strategies that are responsive to the learning strengths and needs of students from diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds. The learning experiences have been designed for a class of year ten English students studying the unit Conflict and Change with a specific focus on the theme of Multiculturalism and Identity. This unit has been designed to address and develop students’ socio-cultural competencies as it explores multiculturalism through the text of Looking for Alibrandi. Specific Dimensions of Learning strategies have been selected in the design, sequences and implement learning experiences to successfully address the overall learning requirements. Students need to feel accepted in the classroom and school environment. Through engaging within the lessons of this unit students are provided an opportunity to celebrate their cultural heritage. In addition, students examine the positive aspects of diversity and negative aspects of racism and cultural misunderstandings. Within the unit, a range of strategies have been incorporated to support the learning of a diverse range of students. Differentiation is utilised through the process, product and content. Students, particularly, EALD students are supported through explicit instruction, the use of verbal and visual aids, scaffolding, a range of strategies to appeal to different learning styles and students are provided the opportunity to construct meaning for vocabulary terms.
Your browser does not support viewing this document. Click here to download the document.
Evidence: EAL/D scaffoldingThe following scaffold, Story Pyramid was used to assist EALD students with deconstructing key elements of the novel, 'Looking for Alibrandi'. It provides the opportunity for them to develop not only vocabulary but identify the information they needed to use in sentences when discussing the plot in an essay. The Story Pyramid was an achievable scaffold for students. In addition, it allowed all students to identify that racism and prejudice were complications for Josie throughout the story. This provided students insights into the negative emotions and experiences of those who are subjected to racism.
Your browser does not support viewing this document. Click here to download the document.
Focus Area 1.6
Strategies to support full participation of students with disability
Design and implement teaching activities that support the participation and learning of students with disability and address relevant policy and legislative requirements. Focus Area 1.6: Researched Strategies for students with disabilityThe document below contains a range of research differentiation strategies for students with vision, hearing and intellectual impairments. I utilise the strategies within the document to assist me when planning to cater for the needs of my students. Students with disability have a higher potential to develop learner helplessness (Hyde, Conway & Carpenter, 2010). It is my responsibility to ensure that I implement learning experiences where students who have disability are able to experience a sense of success and accomplishment to prohibit them from experiencing lack of motivation and low self- esteem.
Your browser does not support viewing this document. Click here to download the document.
Focus Area 1.6: Evidence of guided practice, scaffold and support for students with disabilityExplicit instruction is an effective instructive method which can enhance students with disability ability to understand curriculum. Explicit instruction enables clear and concise communication, modelling of communication, skills and knowledge and furthermore guided practice. Read (2013) found that explicit instruction markedly enhanced students' with disability literacy skills. The following evidence demonstrates how I have incorporated a range of strategies to cater for the needs of students with special needs. This lesson was designed for my second year nine class which consists of students who have Independent Learning Goals (as they have not met the minimum standards of achievement). It have differentiated through adjusting the amount of content students are expected to achieve in the lesson. Students receive a more advanced level of guided support through the explicit instruction of answering comprehension questions (SQ3R). Students address one question at a time with my guidance. I guide students to select the information to answer the question. I explain each question and based on the information I discuss possible answers with students. I start their written response through a sentence stem and then progress through of explicit guided practice (we do, you do) We check every answer and when it is correct we proceed forward. I only show students one question at a time to chunk the comprehension process. I break the 70 mins lessons down into mini skill sessions: spelling, comprehension, punctuation. I differentiate the spelling and punctuation rules that this class learns as they need to demonstrate a competency in basic spelling and punctuation. In this instance, capital letters and full stops as opposed to ellipses and the dash.
Your browser does not support viewing this document. Click here to download the document.
The evidence below is an example of how I have utilised sentence stems and explicit teaching for students with disability to assist them with meeting learning outcomes.
Your browser does not support viewing this document. Click here to download the document.
The following document is a sample of a students work. It demonstrates how I have guided the student to progress through the assessment completing section by section, commencing with the hook. Each lesson I spent time with the student completing the tasks I set her within the scaffold. This student can tell me about the text and has insights into the quality of the novel. However, she has trouble communicating through written and verbal communication. Therefore, she made a book trailer through movie maker to demonstrate her knowledge of the text (unfortunately I couldn't embed it into the weebly).
Your browser does not support viewing this document. Click here to download the document.
|