Halfway Through Placement

Halfway through placement

22nd November, 2015

Alex talks about his placement experiences at a rural school

Given some pre-service teachers may never get the chance to complete a rural placement I thought it would be interesting to share my experiences. I’ve just finished my first two weeks of teaching and I can assure you the school and learning environment is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before.

The school is based in an extremely small town, about two and a half hours west of Melbourne. The current student enrollment is 38 and there are only two classes; foundation to year 2, and year 3 to 6. While I knew some of these details going in, the true reality of the size only hit home when I was standing at the whole school assembly on the Monday morning with 30 children. Needless to say, after my introduction to the school, everyone knows my name and who I am. In fact, I spent more time talking with the principal in one week, than I did with all the other principals of my previous placements combined!

The school is one of a few who are trialing a new integrated software platform that basically uses an online platform to create and store work. Every student has a computer and the school is well resourced; they even have a Polycon (a high quality camera system with monitor that allows them to video conference with other schools!).

But what does the school feel like?

From my first day I have become immersed in what can only be described as a truly community focused atmosphere. The teachers are genuine and the students are incredibly well behaved – it all feels like one big family. The outdoor area is huge and well utilised; they have a campfire area, sprawling veggie garden, chickens, basketball court and football oval. The other day in a garden lesson my associate teacher got the students to harvest some broad beans and leeks. The next day, during lunchtime, he cooked them up with some rice and the whole school had a communal feast.

Another interesting element is the kindergarten – it’s attached to the school! There are little ones running around during lunchtime and the transition to school is seamless. Perhaps all of these things add to the feeling of community and sense of belonging. While there was initially a sense of isolation (especially for me, being a city slicker) it becomes apparent that the internet and technology has connected people and communities to the essential resources they need. This school has an extremely strong and rigorous strategic plan for information technology, and makes excellent use of the online resources that are available.

My classroom itself is one of the most positive learning spaces I’ve ever encountered – largely due to my incredible associate teacher. He has made a point of not only encouraging a community of learners, but expecting students to support each other and regulate themselves. The students are incredibly proactive in seeking knowledge and managing themselves.  And the kids are fantastic. I thought teaching such a large composite class would be difficult, but my associate teacher has created an environment where students can progress through the curriculum at their own rate and focuses on 1:1 conferences with students about their learning.

All in all I’m in love with this school and the community it has created; I think there is a lot to be learned from their style of teaching. In my next post I will look more closely at what I’ve been teaching, how to work with a composite class, and how to create a positive learning environment.

Until then, all the best!

-Alex

Schedule Change

Schedule Change ... Again

22nd November, 2015

Unfortunately due to placement and general life events taking place I haven't been able to write a post to the quality I would have hoped! I will be posting one at the end of this week that will be a summary of the first fortnight of my rural placement. I'm hoping the extra time will give me a chance to truly reflect on the placement and write an informative/engaging piece! I hope all other pre-service teachers on placement are having a great time and working through any challenges!

-Alex

Off to placement

Off to Placement

15th November, 2015

The time has come for many pre-service teachers, including us here at the PST blog team, to take off to their next teaching placement! No doubt we are all looking forward to the fantastic experience of meeting new students, teachers and parents. However, as many would know, placement is an extremely busy time and so we not be following our usual posting schedule. Alex is taking off on a rural placement and will be posting weekly updates of his experience there. So please stay in touch and to all the pre-service teachers about to start their placements, good luck! We hope you have a fantastic time and gain some new experiences!

- PST blog team 

Circular planning

Circular Planning to Inform Lesson Planning

12th November, 2015

Aaron looks at the term 'Circular Planning' and how may it provide some assistance to pre-service teachers  

For anyone who has worked in the child services field, the term ‘Circular Planning’ won’t be new to you, it may be annoying at this point, but it certainly won’t be new. For those of you not familiar or irritated with the term, it basically functions as a tool to plan activities, games and experiences for children that are founded in their personal experiences, interests and ideas. The idea is that through careful observation, interaction and conversation we develop an understanding of how we can jump off and extend upon a child’s interests and ideas to create the opportunity for children to flourish in the activities we plan for them.

Since my first placement in a school, planning lessons has always been the most daunting task for me. It’s something that I’m never 100% certain I’m doing right, and something that due to the strict nature of the paperwork we are required to plan with, is something that I’m never quite comfortable with how I’m being asked to plan out. However, this has changed in the last year or so since I realised, “Wait a minute; I effectively plan lessons for children on a daily basis at work!” Now these lessons may not relate directly to the Australian Curriculum, but none the less they require planning, and thoughtful consideration about how they will develop a child’s learning – and that really is the goal with lesson planning in the classroom.

In a recent unit at University, we spoke at length about ensuring students had the opportunity to relate their personal experiences to the lessons we plan for them, and how this was important for them to place value or interest in what we as teachers are teaching. Hearing this really helped me confirm my idea of using this Circular Planning technique in relation to my lesson plans for placements, and made me realise that I wasn’t just pinching ideas from work! Since this discussion as well, I have found myself really looking forward to the observation dates for my upcoming placement as this will really be my chance to soak up the interests and ideas the students in the classroom have, and use these observations to inform the planning that I have to do for the class.

I think this is something that really needs to be discussed more, and perhaps brought to the light a bit for PSTs, as we are regularly expected to plan lessons for students we don’t know, nor have any experience gauging their interests and how these interests will affect our lessons. I look forward to the opportunity to take notes on things I see in the classroom, and interactions the students in the classroom have to develop my lessons, and implementing this newfound realisation. Again I might just be harping on here, but I can’t stress enough how my experiences in Childcare inform my Education practices, but this one was too obvious not to bring up. I think the real thing this has made me realise though is that I’m excited about a skill I have developed through experience in the workplace informing my education and helping me in my further career aspirations, even though the two areas may not seem intrinsically linked. Further suggestions for anyone reading, look into the recesses of your mind, what experiences have helped you with your teaching in the past? Implement things that may not seem to link, it might help you in the long run!

- Aaron

Approaches to Technology in the Classroom

Approaches to Technology in the Classroom

10th November, 2015

Will discusses the simplicity of incorporating technology into the classroom. 

In my experiences in classrooms I have seen many different approaches and attitudes towards technology in the classroom. They can be broadly grouped into the three categories below which will be discussed in detail over my next three blog posts. At each stage I discuss implications for students and some suggestions for moving forward into a technology rich environment. No matter what stage you might consider yourself at, there are always opportunities to incorporate technology into the classroom. 

• Cautious - “I stick to using the same technology as new technologies are unpredictable” 
• Excuses (lazy) - “I don’t want hassle of dealing with technology breaking down – I teach how I have always taught” 
• Welcoming - “I am confident with technology and want to always try new things”

This post will delve into a cautious technology teacher. These teachers might let students publish work using word processing software or know the basics of the interactive whiteboard, but they are reluctant to venture into the world of ever changing and advancing technologies.

Yes, new technologies can be unpredictable but so is anything ‘new’ – new students, new content or new strategies. If students are using the same technologies every day, in every curriculum area, are they really developing any ICT skills? What opportunities does this provide the students to become 21st Century learners? The beauty of incorporating technology is that it can take simple tasks that are familiar to students and make them incredibly powerful. 

As an example, a popular introduction to any unit of work is a brainstorm to establish prior knowledge and to question what content needs to be learnt. A conservative teacher might have students sketch this in their workbooks. A cautious technology teacher may even let students create the mind map in a program like Word or Inspiration. However, through the use of a mind mapping application, students are suddenly exposed to authentic technology use. An application such as Popplet (available on iPad and Web) allows students to easily create mind maps filled with text, colours, images and even videos; this appeals to a range of learners in Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences.

The most exciting part about using an application like Popplet is that it allows students to communicate their ideas and work collaboratively. They can invite classmates to view or collaborate on their map by entering their email address. But why stop there? Think of the benefits and possibilities or collaborating with another grade, another school, even another country? Now THAT would be ‘unpredictable’ - but imagine the learning, collaboration and motivation in your 21st century students!

In summary, if you are cautious about using a new technology, don’t over complicate it. Start small and simple and the outcome can be far greater than if you confined students to their stable, familiar, ‘always perfect’ technology.

- Will

In Conversation With Louisa

5th November, 2015

In Conversation with ... Louisa

Louisa is a year 6 teacher, as well as the sustainability and years 5/6 co-ordinator at her school. She completed a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Teaching in 2008 and is in her seventh year of teaching. Her favourite aspects of teaching are being able to perform a multitude of different roles, and sharing in the joys and struggles of her students’ lives. Louisa’s specialty is mathematics teaching; it’s one of her passions and she is involved in developing the school’s mathematics curriculum.

Hi Louisa, thanks for chatting with us!

Can you remember your first day teaching? How did it feel?

I was a crazy mixture of nerves and excitement. I remember feeling like a bit of a fraud and waiting for someone to realise that I should not be left in charge of a class of 22 seven year olds all by myself; surely everyone would find out I had no idea what I was doing! Of course I was more than prepared to teach that class but being left on my own with a class for the first time, being the one that was completely responsible for them was pretty daunting. I have almost no memory of what happened throughout the day but I remember it all went well and I was exhausted at the end of it.

Did you feel unprepared? If so, in what way?

I don’t know that you can ever feel fully prepared when you first start teaching – there is an enormous amount that you learn on the job. In fact that is one of the things I love about teaching; it is always a challenge and you are always learning, not matter how long you have been teaching. I remember the main things I felt unprepared for was the administrative side of teaching. When you are a student teacher you really only have to worry about the lesson planning and teaching so I felt prepared with that, but as a student teacher you don’t really have to deal with all the other stuff that makes up teaching – the record keeping, the reporting, permission forms etc. It was that stuff that I didn’t feel prepared for.

What do you know now that you wish you had known on your first day?

I wish I knew that I wouldn’t use the majority of resources that I spent hours printing, cutting and laminating. I was so excited to finally be a ‘real’ teacher so I spent the summer holidays scouring the internet and books for resources and then making them. However you don’t know what is going to be useful until you know the kids and are planning your lessons. Plus most of the best resources are really simple like playing cards or kids books or are the resources that the kids make themselves. Most of what I made when I first started teaching spent a couple of years gathering dust before I finally got rid of it.

Do you feel your qualification adequately prepared you for your first few years teaching?

Overall I felt like my qualification had prepared me. There were definitely things that I learnt at uni that I have never referred to again but those things probably did help to shape my philosophies. It was definitely what I learnt on my rounds that prepared me the most. I do think that my uni prepared me really well for maths teaching and is why I became so passionate about it.

How have you developed as a teacher?

That is a really tricky question because I’m constantly developing my teaching practices. I’m getting better at being a tidy teacher with a neat desk but that is still a work in progress. One day the phrase “does anyone know where I put such-and-such” will not come out of my mouth.

What are three essential tips that you would give to any Pre-Service Teacher about to start their first day?

On my first day of teaching my principal gave me some really good advice: she told me to not worry about teaching anything on the first couple of days but to just focus on building a positive classroom environment. She said to me that as long as the kids and I left the first day smiling then it was a success.

Three essential tips:

1. Be consistent – set up your expectations from the start and stick to them. You need to be firm but fair and the kids should always know what to expect from you (kids love boundaries). If you say you are going to do something then make sure you do it because kids never forget.
2. Get to know the parents from the very first day. Be out in the yard saying hello and introducing yourself. Building a rapport with the parents is really important.
3. Don’t live at school - Even if you spent 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at school, you’d still find things to do. Learn to prioritise and let go. Set a reasonable time to leave school each day and stick to it. A tired, overworked teacher is a bad teacher so take care of yourself and get enough sleep.

And here is one bonus tip – keep the receipts for anything that you buy for your classroom so that you can claim it on tax.

What do you think are the most important elements to being an effective teacher?

You need to be flexible and expect the unexpected. Rarely do things go to plan in schools so you need to be prepared to adapt and think on your feet.

You need to be rich in patience and have a sense of humour.

You need to love learning new things and be reflective about your own practice. What is working well, what isn’t and why. It is ok not to know things and you need to be willing to seek help from your colleagues.

You also need to be organised.

How could we improve Pre-Service Teacher education courses?

This is another tricky question. I would say the main thing is that there needs to be more emphasis on the practicalities of planning – looking through the curriculum to make yearly overviews and term overviews and taking these to make unit planners and then most importantly creating your weekly teaching program. How are you going to organise your week to fit in the maths and literacy you need as well as specialists and the myriad of other things that happen in any given week. Creating your weekly plan is something that I think unis need to spend more time teaching.

Really though, unless you have a class most things are just theoretical and easily forgotten, you learn best by doing. That is why rounds are so important and the more time pre-service teachers spend in a range of classes the better.

Louisa, thanks for taking the time to respond to our questions and good luck with the remainder of term 4!

Louisa has also been kind enough to answer some questions regarding the interview process of getting a teaching job, but they weren’t included here in an effort to keep the article short! Her responses will feature in an upcoming blog post.

-  Alex

Although Alex has regular contact with Louisa this interview was conducted via email, with the view in mind of allowing Louisa time to consider the questions and respond when she could.
 

Progression of learning a language

Progression of learning a language

3rd November, 2015
 

Adelle explores the natural progression of learning a new language

Update: the French student I am tutoring in English has his test this Saturday! I haven’t been able to see him face to face in the past two weeks, but regular phone calls and sending writing samples has kept up communication and he has improved so much! We have moved on from structures and now focus on specific vocabulary and grammar in his writing. He continues to use the structures I offered him and his writing now comes a lot more fluently. I am proud of what he has achieved and wish him all the best for this weekend!

When learning or teaching a new language to students, referring to the natural progression of language learning is a “can’t go wrong” structure. Coincidentally, the four key skills of the literacy curriculum are the same as the natural progression of learning a language. We focus on all four when teaching in schools.

Each language skill has a different set or coinciding set of sub-skills taught to master the main skills.

The natural progression is as follows;

• Listening
• Speaking
• Reading
• Writing

It makes sense!

The importance to communicate and understand aurally and orally before text skills is of great concern to any human.

I have been lucky enough to do some travel and have visited France frequently. I have connections with various teachers of primary school aged students and due to the common bi or tri-lingual skills of the majority of Europeans; they have been faced with some challenges. One in particular had a student who didn’t know a word of French. I asked her how she taught that student. Body language and voice was her response. Before pushing this student to meet the demands of a curriculum she had to first ensure he could understand direction and develop his communication. Through constant use of and exposure to the French language, as well as her using gestures and body language, her student had progressed so much in four months that he was level with her French national students. She nurtured his development of the language and put the curriculum aside until he was ready or she felt she could challenge him further. Indicating things, using actions and relying on body language was vital.

This inspired me. Children have the ability to learn so much and be influenced so quickly. They are brilliant beings who can absorb so much and I feel it’s so important to remember this. We as teachers have the responsibility to know our students and what level they are at. This French teacher knew her student and helped him in what he needed before conceding to pressure from the designed curriculum. Prioritising is a part of the profession most definitely.

There is quite a long video from 1983 by the BBC. It explains various techniques when learning and teaching languages. It is really interesting and I’d encourage viewing it if you have a spare hour.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utDs2tI14IQ

A key thing to remember, listening is a developed skill and through exposure listening will progress to speaking. Babies listen before they speak, crawl before they learn to walk. Having patience and giving opportunities for language students to progress on that natural scale is significant.

My upcoming entries will be coming from France when I have the opportunity to observe some different French classrooms. I am also learning French and will see how quickly my own language learning skills will advance being immersed in the language.

Just as doctors make the worst patients, they say teachers make the worst students. However, our profession is one that is constantly updated, changing and we need to have a growth mindset that enables us to adapt and change with it. We are always learning.

- Adelle