Two's Company

Two’s Company

14th July, 2016

Alex talks about his first experience of team teaching at placement and some of its positive aspects

Coming up to this placement I had never been in a team teaching situation before and was feeling a little apprehensive about my first experience. However, I’m now two weeks in and I can say that team teaching, when done well, can be an absolute delight! I think it’s also of benefit to students too. In the school I’m at team teaching takes place in all year levels, except foundation and year 6. Grades are paired up into open plan learning pods which basically mesh two classes together. In my pod there are two main spaces; one is utilised for direct instruction and is where the projector is, the other is designed for working space and contains all the tables.

Students in the two classes do everything together, apart from specialist lessons such as PE and arts. It was a bit of a shock on my first day to watch a teacher leading a class of around 45 students, as I was accustomed to working with around 25 students. However, as my first week went on I noticed a few distinct positive aspects which work for both teachers and students.

Team teaching provides freedom. It only takes one teacher to lead the introduction or direct instruction part of a lesson – so when you team teach it provides a great opportunity for one teacher to be free to conference with students, organise other sessions and generally be available to observe what’s going on.

Two brains are better than one. This may seem like a corny cliché, but it truly helps out to have someone with you when you’re brainstorming ideas, planning, and implementing new concepts. A situation where two teachers have different ideas, but can work together, means a constant flurry of creative spark.

More support for everyone. In my view the most positive aspect of team teaching is the support network both the teachers and students have. There is always someone else there to help you through and another person the kids can turn to when they need assistance.

While I acknowledge that the basis of team teaching relies on you getting on with your partner, I must say that when it’s working well, it truly works. Team teaching is becoming more and more prevalent in our schools today and I hope it continues this way!

- Alex  

Placement Reflection

Placement Reflection

7th July, 2016

Aaron looks back on the first week of the last placement round for his final year

Placement, the time where we finally get to put all the hours of reading, listening, writing and falling asleep in front of the computer late at night to good use! I’m always pretty excited about placement; I think after spending a long time working with children, this is actually the part of studying education that makes the most sense to me now. I feel confident when I walk into a room of total strangers, all of which are much smaller than me, and can at times be a challenge to manage. I think this challenge is rapidly becoming one that I enjoy the task of completing. This first week out was a great way to get to know the students, and as much as I’d prefer this all to be done in one go, I’m starting to understand why the final placement has been laid out in 3 sections – it’s easing me into it quite well.

As with my previous round, I have been placed in a Prep classroom and once again appear to be pretty fortunate with a class that has a very loved and respected classroom teacher. I spent the week observing as much as I could to take in all the intricacies of how the teacher runs her lessons and manages behaviours and routines in the classroom, as to not cause too much of a stir when I take control, and I think this week was a good chance to see it all. Final week of term can always be a bit hectic, and seeing Prep students at that stage in the year attempting to cope with disruption and change to their learning is quite eye opening. In the last round, we had students at the end of the year, excited and eager to move on, this time we are seeing them smack in the middle, and their resilience is really tested at this point and it shows that at this stage in their learning you really are teaching them a lot more than just numeracy and literacy – you’re preparing them to deal with the unexpected and the unknown, something they likely have had little experience with at this stage.

Similarly to last time as well, I have been placed in a classroom that does a lot of team teaching, and with another PST – this will be a good way for us to support one another and I think will work to both of our benefits having someone their to assist and pick up some slack where needed. I’m looking forward to getting into running some lessons and planning classes with the team when we return from the break next week, I’m feeling pretty antsy at this point, like I’m sure a lot of other final year students are, as we’re so close to the finish, and so close to getting paid for our time – which at this point is getting pretty necessary! I think all lessons you learn in life are important, and the task of completing a degree at University has been a lesson I have been learning for a while now – I’m ready to use the fruits of this labor to start planting seeds and starting down a path that I haven’t been fully expecting, much like the Preps before the holiday break! 

- Aaron Osborne

Observation Weeks

Observation Weeks

30th June, 2016

Matt discusses the value of observation time on placement and how to make the most of it.

With placement looming on the horizon for both myself and other education students all over, it is time to begin discussing it. Placement is many things to many people; to me, it is what I participate in university for, and a true test of my ability as a teacher. However, a feature of placement that will not change from year to year is the one known as the observation round/week. This is a week where teaching lessons is not the focus; instead we are to observe the processes, procedures and behaviours of the teachers we accompany. This time, especially for those students who have already taught in previous placements, may seem like a free week or a wasted one, but it provides the opportunity to promote success later in that or other placements. The following are a few short tips about getting the best out of your observation week or round. 

• Get to know the students: when you begin teaching a class, it is easy to become wrapped in making sure that the lesson works without a hitch. In such cases, it can be difficult to find the mental space and focus to really get to know the students you are teaching. Observations weeks are a great time for this. There is, generally, no obligation for you to organise or teach lessons, unless you want to, and as such more time can be devoted to this crucial area of teacher knowledge. Showing interest will help the students warm up to you, as well as providing information that will assist in your lesson planning and implementation. 

• Write down everything: some universities mandate that pre-service teachers take notes on classroom happenings as a placement-related assessment task. The fact that this is mandated can make it feel like a chore; however, it has been mandated for a reason. You have the time during an observation round to take notes about everything that you see and hear in the classroom, which will provide you with crucial information which teaching strategies and classroom management procedures are utilised in that classroom. It is also useful to revisit these notes and categorise them in the evening each day, to aide in recalling that information.

• Get to know the staff: as with learning about the students, learning about the staff (particularly your associate or supervising teacher) can only result in improving your placement performance. It will also help you to feel like part of the school community, which can be a significant factor in your overall emotional wellbeing during a placement, as anyone who has felt frozen out by staff can attest to.

• Have fun!: Now, I know that telling you to ‘have fun’, is one of the most cliché statements in the book regarding any assignment or task. However, when it comes to the observation round, it absolutely applies. Teaching lessons is fun, but it is also accompanied by some measure of stress. In the observation week or round, you are at liberty to really get involved with lessons in a way that will increase the enjoyment of both students and yourself. Put yourself out on a limb early and help wherever you can! 

These tips might be fairly basic, but I feel that they are important to revise before heading out on placement in order to get the most of the experience. For now, however, I must sign off, as myself have some placement tasks to do! Good luck to all!

- Matt

Image credit: University of Colorado 

Surprise! The Power of the Unexpected

Surprise! The power of the unexpected

27th April, 2016

Matt explores the potential for engagement and personal growth that lie in the unforeseen

During our university education, we pre-service teachers are often told about the importance of planning; planning units, planning lessons, planning the layout of our classrooms and so forth. Planning and preparation are the joint backbone of successful teaching, we are told, and I am not going to say that this is inaccurate. In fact, some of the best teachers I have seen at work are those whose planning is deep and whose preparation is complete. However, there is a foundation for successful teaching that is generally given lip-service but not explored; that of flexibility in the face of the unexpected.

Think back for a moment to times in your teaching experience where you have been honestly taken by surprise. How many of these are negative, and how many are positive? When I do so, it seems that there as many moments of positive surprise as negative. For every time I have realised that I’m missing important materials for my lesson, there has been a time where a student has stepped up to tackle content in way you wouldn’t have expected. Surprise can actually be a powerful font of personal growth and introspection, for you and your students. It is one of the more powerful emotions that we can feel in teaching, and it can be used to your advantage when applied to students.

Allow me to illustrate with two brief anecdotes:

The first concerns a student I had for a short placement who didn’t talk much. Let’s call her Sarah (not her real name of course). I spent a number of weeks in this Year 3/4 classroom, but beyond asking and answering occasional questions Sarah did not participate very much in class, at least vocally. At the time, Sarah and her classmates were studying poetry, which can be extremely dry for students. Although I was only there for a short time, I suggested to the teacher of that class that we could try to have a ‘Poetry Slam’, where each student memorises and performs a short piece of poetry as part of an in-class competition. In the days leading up to the end of my university-scheduled time there, we talked about how to read poetry; using expression, rhythm and projection and such. We provided a few set poems that they could choose from also, ranging from limericks about smelly flies to a passage from ‘The Man from Snowy River’. Although my placement ended, I promised to come back the following week to adjudicate the competition, and so I did. Imagine my surprise when Sarah, as shy as she normally was, busted out the passage from ‘The Man from Snowy River’, difficult enough for professionals, with just the right rhythm, lots of expression and in a loud voice. Not to mention that she was the only student in her class who even attempted that passage. It was a wonderful moment, and she was very deserving of her prize.

The second concerns a lesson exploring nets and faces, edges and vertices for 3-D objects. Instead of looking at pictures of the shapes or basic models and counting each, this lesson involved the students constructing their own 3-D objects from the nets and recording the faces, edges and vertices in their workbooks. This may not be an extremely innovative lesson, but the response to the somewhat unorthodox lesson was amazing. The children wanted to make one of every shape, and even requested to stay in at lunchtime to make more.

I bring attention to these anecdotes for what they taught me about the advantages of surprise. In the first situation, the surprise was mine, the teacher’s, and not only was it personally gratifying but it also showed me the potential performer that Sarah was, showing me strengths and motivation that I had not yet seen from her. If I were the full-time teacher of that class, it would show me a way to engage her in the future and promote her confidence. This was an unexpected moment rife with future potential.

The second was surprise for the students. Entering that maths lesson, none of those children expected to do something so hands-on, and the pleasant surprise was enough to engage them and likely promote their understanding of both nets and the properties of 3-D shapes.

I can’t provide a step-by-step guide to leaving room for surprise in your current or future classroom, but here are two things you can do.

1. Try not to just restrict yourself to the curriculum. Giving yourself a chance to teach something entirely different, even for just 30 minutes, can give you a chance for surprise on both sides of the teacher-student relationship.
2. Try teaching content in ways that are fresh to you and to the children. Sometimes this may not work well, but when it does both you and your students may find yourselves to be more engaged and motivated within the lesson.

I know this was a long post, but if you are still here I thank you for reading. Remember, surprise is not always a bad thing; in fact, it can be extremely interesting for you and your students.

- Matt

Employment after graduation

Employment after graduation

April 6th, 2016

Adelle has spoken to some recent graduates on their experience with

employment as a graduate teacher

As many of my year level are looking to graduate and gain employment at the conclude of this year, questions about resumes, applications, cover letters, portfolios and criteria are floating around.

Attend the universities workshops on resume writing, interviewing, speaking workshops and cover letter writing. These are designed to assist you in getting that job which is ultimately the aim of many who are completing a university degree.

However,

Due to my extra experiences while at university my graduation date has been extended by my own accord and while I am perfectly happy with being older when I graduate and gaining more life experience before starting a career, others respectfully have different plans.

My original year level's classmates graduated last night and although there is a pang of jealousy that they all got to celebrate together while I went to a 9am class this morning, it is apparent that more than a few of them haven’t been successful in obtaining a job.

I asked a few of them why they thought they hadn’t found that job yet and I got mixed responses.

A few are doing emergency teaching and loving the variation and experience they are gaining through that. Others feel they don’t interview well and need work in this area. Some have reviewed revised and redone their resumes and cover letters countless times and with the feedback they are getting from potential employers, identify that as an area that needs work also.

However, each of the graduates I have spoken to have one thing in common. Although they feel quite sad at times about not securing that dream position yet, that is the reality. They will wait, apply and use their gained skills for other uses until that dream job presents itself.

The main message they all tried to convey was, that just like getting into uni or working your way up through a company, there are always pathways and options to get to a result. If things aren’t going to plan straight away, bide your time, use your skills for other purposes, obtain feedback and get a mentor for applications, apply for a CRT agency to gain experience, teach overseas, explore other options, your degree isn't going to expire. The job market is always unfavourable with the amount of graduates in one area from various different universities so if your applications aren’t receiving the praise that you feel they should or your interviewing skills aren’t quite what the employers want, try again. If you fail, learn from that and remember why you want to be a teacher in the first place. If you put in the work, your chance could come at any time and you have to be ready.

I have recently read a book by Daniel Flynn who is a co-founder of the company thank you (responsible for thankyou water and various other products) he himself was a university drop out because he had an idea and dream that he thought would work and ultimately it was a game changer. He followed this dream, failed and learnt from that and took action and risks to make his idea come to life. He is very successful in his field and has funded and aided an incredible amount of people living in poverty. This number is still increasing and he is quite an inspirational young person whose story can be very relatable to a lot outside of his own business. I would highly recommend this book, you can purchase it from their website https://thankyou.co/ or from any airport in Australia and New Zealand.

Remember that things can always be better and hidden opportunities reveal themselves through our ‘failures’.

-Adelle

Applying for Jobs

Applying for Jobs

22 March, 2016

Applying for and acquiring jobs seems to be increasingly difficult for teachers in Victoria. Kristen explores what it means to be finishing her course and the job application process.

I’m in the final year of my Bachelor of Education (Primary) in Melbourne and most weeks I’ll get asked the question ‘So when do you finish?’ and I’ll say ‘this year!’ enthusiastically, and then I get the comment ‘ahhh, so you must be nearly ready to apply for jobs!’. All of a sudden, I’m feeling daunted, stressed and anxious, much like the lady in the picture. I’ve heard bad things about applying for teaching jobs fresh out of university.

Firstly, I think back to a friend who finished her Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood and Primary) degree three years ago - one of the most lovely, friendly girls you’ll ever meet. She applied for over 100 jobs, and had only 4 interviews come out of it. The problem with the interviews was that they were for a position that had already been ‘filled’, but government required the schools to interview at least two other candidates before they could hire/re-hire that candidate. She was offered a position in a country location, however chose not to accept this position.

Secondly, another friend finished her Bachelor of Education Secondary, specialising in English and Drama two years ago. A similar story, applied for what seemed like tens of hundreds of jobs, writing unique key selection criteria suited to each school, without much success. It is important in this case to consider that drama is a specialist field, and these jobs are hard to come by at the best of times. She has a theory though (which she claims to be true), that a school will receive hundreds of applications, split the pile in half, and throw away one of the piles without so much as a glance. I really hope this isn’t true.*

Now, I’m not telling you these stories to scare you - I’m telling these stories to help us explore how we can set ourselves apart in the application process. Keep reading to find out what happened to these two friends (there is hope, don’t worry!). These stories do however beg the question: How to we get schools to look at our application?

If there’s one thing that I know for sure - schools want you to have a range of experience. Experience that may not be limited to placements required by your course, but experience working with children in other settings too. This indicates that you’re proactive and have demonstrated the necessary skills to work with children on a regular basis. 

For the duration of my course, I’ve been volunteering at a children’s art class that runs weekly after school, as well as a breakfast club at a local high school. Every time I mention that I’m studying Primary Teaching to one of the parents, they make the comment ‘that’ll look great on your resume!’ and I (mentally) pat myself on the back. Perhaps you’re like Alex who volunteers in a classroom (see below) - or perhaps you’re a swim teacher or maybe a nanny. What I’m trying to say is - whatever experience you have working with children is experience that schools want to hear about because these experiences will inevitably have helped to shape you as a teacher.

Back to my two friends - the first spent some time working as a casual relief teacher (CRT), and secured an ongoing contract at her dream school 6 months later. The second has worked as a CRT and had three term-long contracts at different schools filling long-service-leave positions. The feedback that she has received from schools is that they are looking for someone with experience, so she will continue to try and gain some more experience. 

*if you’ve heard of some other myths like this, feel free to leave them in the comments and I’ll see what I can find out about them.

- Kristen

The Value of Helping Out

The Value of Helping Out

12th March, 2016

Alex talks about his experience helping out at a local school and how it has improved his teaching confidence

Early on in my teaching course I realised that while the various placements we had coming up over our four years were going to be fantastic experience, I still didn’t think they would be enough to get me comfortable with the classroom environment.

When you’re on placement it can be quite intense; teaching, planning, assignments, and generally getting to know everyone. It’s a new school, new staff and new kids – and it’s only for a few weeks! I knew I would benefit from seeing a classroom in action and helping out over a longer period of time, but I wasn’t sure how. I ended up volunteering for a charity who worked to place people in low socio-economic schools, to help students in need. Through a little bit of planning, and some luck, I found myself in my local primary school – only a few minutes walk from my house! I’ve been helping out there in various classrooms for the last year and I can tell you the experience has not only been personally rewarding, but has improved my teaching confidence and familiarity with schools.

Being a volunteer at a school has numerous benefits, but here are the main ones:

• You get to see the progression of a school year. You get the chance to witness what happens day-to-day in classrooms, as well as units of work as they progress over a term. It gives you a sense of the scope of teaching and the long-term planning that shapes each lesson.
• It’s free observation. There’s no such thing as too much observation. As you progress through your teaching course you will begin to notice new things and change your focus. As a volunteer I’ve been able to see numerous lessons, including maths, inquiry, reading, art class, and book club. You won’t believe how much you will pick up without realising, plus it’s a wonderful chance to experience some different teaching styles.
• You get to work one-on-one with kids and in small groups. This may change depending on where you volunteer, but many teachers are more than happy for you to work one-on-one with a child or small group. I’ve been lucky enough to work with a boy and girl developing their literacy, and help a year 6 class with their maths skills! It’s a great way to develop your teaching skills and put theory into practice.
• It’s more relaxed and flexible than being on placement. Forget university supervisors. Forget teaching folders. Forget assignments and taking a whole class who you’ve only just met! Volunteering is a relaxed way to build your skills; most teachers understand you are learning and are more than happy to provide you with support and advice. You wouldn’t believe how much fun being in a classroom can be when the stresses of placement aren’t there!
• You’re helping out. Truly. Many of the teachers I’ve volunteered for are so grateful for an extra pair of hands, especially when those hands are well on their way to becoming a qualified primary school teacher! You offer the chance for teachers to get help to those students they know are struggling, but just don’t have time to work with one-on-one. The children and the teacher will appreciate your support.

 
I hope I’ve convinced you to give volunteering a go – and it doesn’t have to be through a charity! Just head down to your local school and ask! You do have skills and you can be of value. Why not help out in a classroom and develop your teaching ability in the process? Trust me, you’ll enjoy it. And you might just land yourself a job.

- Alex

Aaron's Placement Reflection

Placement Reflection or, how I intend on making the next one even better!

9th March, 2016

Aaron reflects on his placement and makes some suggestions on how to approach the next one

I started out writing this blog post as a reflection on the teaching placement I undertook in Term 4 of 2015, and then, like usual with these things, I deleted half of it…However this time it wasn’t for lack of confidence with what I had written, more that I noticed I wasn’t actually reflecting, I was planning different things for how to approach my next placement.

I’m not too sure what my peers’ experiences on placement were like as yet, however I have to say this most recent one has been my most enjoyable and rewarding round to date. Not only was it a more relaxed environment, that I felt very comfortable in, it was just a great working community that actually made the PSTs feel comfortable and I really felt like I was a part of the teaching team at the school. I was paired up with another PST during my time, as we were both in Prep classrooms, and it was great working together on lesson plans, team teaching and bouncing ideas off one another while out at the school. Which leads me into my planning for the next round, so here’s a list that I’m going to try and keep for myself this year, and one that I hope to stick to while I’m out in my final placement school.

1. Don’t be scared of sharing your opinions on, and ideas for lessons – I found with a teacher that was very welcoming to my thoughts I had a lot more confidence about what I planned when it came from an amalgamation of my ideas, the teachers plans and the school curriculum. This confidence was clear in more successful delivery of lessons than I have ever experienced before.
2. Plan using your strengths – with my background in Out of School Hours Care, this most recent round I tried to ensure I used as much of the skills learned in this field in the classroom as possible, and it really paid off. Behaviour Management strategies, Activities, Outdoor games and planning tools all came in to play here and helped me confidently conduct my lessons and time with full control in the class.
3. Ask as many questions as you can, no matter how stupid they may seem – in the past I have been quite reserved in talks with the teaching team, and perhaps was afraid to look like I didn’t know what I was doing. This isn’t the way to go, remember we are still there to learn, so ask questions, try and make sense of the answers and ask again if you need clarity, this will make for a better understanding of everything when you’re faced with 28 children waiting for your instruction!
4. Find a way that works for you and the Classroom Teacher, and use that method – at University we are inundated with different paperwork we need to use and templates that we are encouraged to work off, and I’m not suggesting to abandon these or the systems we are taught, but use your own judgment. I found far more success working with my AT on shared documents in the format she was comfortable working with, that the school used and working within the guidelines and teaching styles that have been established in the school, and the classroom, than those we are instructed to base our teaching off, at University.
5. HAVE FUN, DON’T WORRY ABOUT WORK AND OTHER STUFF, ENJOY THE EXPERIENCE, C’MON, YOU NEARLY HAVE TO GO BE A REAL ADULT! – Self explanatory, just relax, it’s 8 weeks in a year, learn something, have fun, then go back to the daily grind and bummer that is having to work for a living.

Now I don’t know if these points will be useful to everyone, but from my experience in the last round, these are some things that I’m going to try hard to remember and stick to my plan to try and make my last placement the best one yet. I’m not sure where my future career path will take me, and whether I’ll even end up as a classroom teacher in a Primary School setting. But while I’m paying for an education and a hugely important part of that is spending time in schools on placement, I intend on having my final round be as successful and enjoyable as possible – and hopefully I teach the children a thing or two in the process.

- Aaron

French School Experience

ABOVE TRANSLATION: Adelle, Australian placement school teacher will be present in the class all week.

International school placement

4th February, 2016

Adelle explores the differences between children aged 4 and 5 in French and Australian schools

I have been lucky enough to have a week placement in a French school in the city of Grenoble, the capital of the Alps, in France. This experience was really interesting. You see, the class I was in had children from two levels, a composite class, and the children were 4 and 5 years old. In Australia these children would have been in grade prep, starting their first year of school. This is the first point of difference in France. It is not mandatory to put children into school until they turn six and they do not technically start their curriculum education until this age. They can however, and most do, start in a school setting called maternelle which is comparable to three years of kinder before. In these years before, children speak, are taught to recognise letters and numbers, they develop their fine motor skills and use a lot of play to learn.  Below is a table I have constructed of a day comparison from a grade prep placement in Australia to maternelle placement in France.

Notice the times that school starts and ends as well as how many play times there are as well as lunch breaks.

**Note. This may not a typical day in every French or Australian school, it is just from the experiences I have had in my French and Australian placements of the same aged children.

French school day AGE 4/5 maternelle	Australian school day AGE 4/5 Foundation
8.45am school starts	9.00 School starts
9.00 Gym. Exercising in the morning using games for muscle development	9.15 literacy, perhaps game and play based
10.00 Recreation, students play outside	10.00 Maths skills
10.45 Cross curricula activity, eg: maths and literacy, science and literacy * I experienced drawing observations and verbally explaining how a carrot top grew leaves resting in water	10.30 Recess
11.45 LUNCH BREAK	11.00 Music
·      Students have the choice to go for lunch with their parents or eat in the school cafeteria ·      Lunch break is 1 hour and 45 minutes	12.00 Language * specialist subjects
1.30 resume school with quiet time, (music or audio story) while some children finish their ‘after lunch nap’ in the sleeping room.	1.00 LUNCH BREAK
1.45 Spanish lesson in small groups, all teachers and some extra helpers teach Spanish.	1.45 Religion
2.30 Recreation, students play outside	2.45 Whole school assembly
3.00 cross curricula activity, eg: maths and literacy, science and literacy	3.20 FINISH SCHOOL
4.00 FINISH SCHOOL

As you can see Australian children are guided during the day with the necessary curriculum and as I have seen in the French school it is possible to only do two activities over the whole day. Grade prep children in Australia, I feel, are taught to read and write a lot earlier and are perhaps less free inside the classroom than the French.

Inside the classroom is much the same. Colour and work is displayed, the room is filled with books and art supplies, educational games and desks. However in the classroom I observed in, children did not sit on the ground in front of the teacher. Instead they all shared large bench seats in the class. Children would either call the teacher Maîtresse or by their first name. Calling teachers by their first name is something I have started to see more of in Australia and I think it creates a more open trusting and familiar relationship between teachers and students.

France is general is more ‘touchy’ country. They do not have ‘hands off rule’ as Australian schools do. Touching is a part of social normalities here and it is important for school aged children to learn to respect each other. The act of touching or not touching when appropriate is a part of their education early on. Instead of saying hands off completely they are taught respect and boundaries without the banning of touching at all. It is a part of everyday life to greet friends and family with two kisses on the cheeks, or three depending on the region of France. Normal for male-male, female-male and female-female connections.

After just a week I have observed a lot of differences as well as similarities within the French school and I think its important to remember that there are multiple ways for students to go through their schooling lives. The goal in a school is to educate regardless of the culture, country, age or system.

I am researching into more international school systems and it is clear that there are successful stories and processes from all of them. As educators, our field of work is constantly updating or changing and although there is not one perfect system there are countless ways to teach and it’s important to find the one that works for your classroom. We are aware of different teaching styles and maybe you have one that is natural for you or one you prefer. However, does that style suit the needs of your students?

- Adelle