Nathan Wynder1040024EDU401

Personal Reflections and Professional Development Plan

Nathan Wynder

1040024

EDU401

Introduction

Over the course of a four-year undergraduate program of Primary Education, pre-service teachers are required to completefive Supervised Professional Experiences (SPE). These take place in a variety of schools and year levels to allow teachers in training to be exposed to the diverse range of students they will soon be responsible for teaching. The following reflection will outline some key lessons I have learnt over the past 30 days of placement with a year 5 class at Unity College, Caloundra. I have chosen to focus on this placement specifically as I feel it best represents my current teaching ability.I will also discuss my strengths and weaknesses in relation to the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, administered by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). Finally I will outline my professional development plan, which will include how I intend to improve my pedagogical practice over the next three years.

Background

My fourth SPE, undertaken in April-May of 2015 was with a year 5 class at Unity College, in the Bellvista Estate of Caloundra West. The prep through year 12 college is noteworthy for providing an ecumenical private schooling experience while falling under the jurisdiction of the Catholic Education System, Archdiocese of Brisbane (Brisbane Catholic Education Office, 2015). The staff and students are comprised of many different Christian denominations with the Celtic background bringing these together under the banner of ‘unity’. Set in a predominantly Caucasian suburban area, Unity College is well known for its rugby union and other sporting development programs. They also pride themselves on the calibre of academic achievements from students in the school.

The year 5 teaching team was comprised of three full-time teachers, a full-time teacher aide (who rotated through the three classes) and myself, a pre-service teacher. All three full-time teachers had more than 10 years of teaching experience, with my mentor having taught for 29 years, the last 10 at Unity College (since it’s opening).

Students from the school have a good reputation among the local community, however, the leadership team was preparing for change in the second half of 2015. This meant that the acting deputy was taking on a more active school leadership role. His leadership was received well by the rest of the teaching team.

My class was made up of 30 students. Two students were from homes where English is their second language, however, having been schooled at Unity College for their entire primary experience they had remarkable English skills, even better than some native speakers. Twoother students in the class had very severe medical conditions. These two girls were in constant pain and adjustments had been made to their learning plans to ensure they were as comfortable as possible. There were no real behaviour issues in the class, except for normal year 5 excitability, but with clear expectations set, all students would endeavour to complete the work that was set for them. There were three students who were achieving well below the expected year 5 level and four students requiring extension due to their high ability level.

Reflection

This was one of the most valuable SPEs of my pre-service career. Because I didn’t have to focus on behaviour management excessively (like in previous placements) I was able to focus on content and my implementation of pedagogical practices. I have divided my experiences into four main sections: Socioeconomic, Cultural, Religious and Linguistic. I have includedcase studies of particular students (names have been changed) and situations used to demonstrate how I met their diverse needs.

Socioeconomic Diversity

There are no doubts that a family’s financial situation can have great bearing on a student’s ability to achieve. A close examination of data from various sources demonstrates the clear link between the socio-economic background of a student and their ability to achieve. I have examined the My School web page of a school inone of the most wealthy suburbs in Australia, Bellevue Hill, and compared that to one of the poorest, Delungra (Chung, 2015). In doing so we can clearly identify the pattern of students’ financial, or socioeconomic background influencing their academic results. These results are shown in Appendix A. There are various theories about why this occurs, but for education professionals, we know that we are responsible for helping all students, regardless of their background, to improve.

Unity College is situated in a reasonably new estate and as such is made up of a mostly mid to high socioeconomic constituency. Because it is a private school, run by Catholic Education, Archdiocese of Brisbane, parents pay additional fees to send their children there. However, I found in my most recent placement that some students, while attending a private school, came from a low socioeconomic background. One particular student, Jess, was from such a family. She was attending the school on a compassionate scholarship and her family had significant financial difficulties at home. Despite this difference,when I was teaching the class it was my responsibility as the classroom teacher to cater to her needs. Students were required to present a role play account of what life was like on the Australian Goldfields in the mid 1800’s for the assessment of a history unit. This required the use of costumes and props to meet the criteria. While it wasn’t initially prohibited, many students discussed how they were planning on buying or hiring a costume and props to use to make it more realistic. In my observations during the introduction of the task it was clear that Jess was becoming nervous about the expectations. I had assumed she was nervous about writing the script. Through a discussion with her it was clear that while she was excited about the prospect of a dramatic performance for assessment she was disheartened by not being able to afford a good costume. She needed to feel successful despite her financial constraints. After consultation with my mentor teacher it was decided that we would put a restriction on using anything store bought. All students would be responsible for either making or sourcing all props and costumes from home. Appendix B is an excerpt from my lesson plan with special note to discuss with the students the conditions of their costumes/props. This would serve two purposes; it would level the conditions for all students, regardless of their financial background and would allow us, as assessors, to see the effort invested into the performance. This was discussed tactfully with the class and they were supportive of the concept. In that discussion many other students expressed their relief at not having the pressure to have a perfect costume.

Cultural Diversity

This was a particular challenge during this placement, as over my past teaching experiences I had only experienced different Australian cultures rather than international cultures. In my most recent class we had Andrew, a Chinese student whose parents had immigrated to Australia more than five years ago and Peter, an Indian student whose parents had immigrated to Australia less than two years ago. While they were both classified as ESL students, they were easily able to complete the work assigned to them. The difficulty arose when teaching about the Australian gold rush and the treatment of the Chinese miners by the European and Australian miners. One example of the mistreatment was the Australian and European miners cutting off the queue (pigtails) of the Chinese miners. The majority of this class was confused as to why this was seen as such an offensive act. Andrew expressed that he knew a little bit about it and after class was invited to research and ask his parents why this was considered so heinous. He went home, researched it and during the next history lesson led a short discussion about what the long hair symbolised in Chinese culture (eternal life). Appendix C contains an excerpt from my reflection from that day about Andrew’s presentation. This concept led to many positive discussions about why the Chinese were treated so badly and what our cultural responsibilities are today. Andrew was very open to these discussions and I believe I set the class up for success in treating the issue with respect and kindness. My ability to cater to different cultural needs is evidenced in my interim report written by Kerryn Poncini. ‘In our class we have a diverse array of cultures represented. Nathan has been able to cater for these differences and ensure the learning outcomes of all students is maximised’ (See Appendix D).

Religious Diversity

My most recent placement afforded me a unique opportunity as the school is one of the few ecumenical schools in the state. While it is administered by Catholic Education, the staff and students are comprised of many different Christian denominations, with a Uniting Church Pastor responsible for religious instruction on campus. Our class had a mix of Catholic, Uniting, smaller denominations and atheists. This information surfaced during a particularly difficult Religion lesson. The outline for the lesson was to discuss Judaism and compare and contrast their beliefs to Catholicism. During the lesson students began volunteering information about what their denomination beliefs are. While I hadn’t prepared for this, I was able to identify the students’ need to have their beliefs heard. I stopped the class for a moment and discussed how we would all be free to share what we believe but there was no pressure to do so. I endeavoured to create a safe space where they could share without needing to be right or prove someone wrong. The lesson culminated by focussing on the similarities of each religion, comparing them to Judaism and concluding with the concept that each region has peace and love as a fundamental principle. From my observations it seemed that each student was content and there was no awkwardness from students who were not willing to share, instead some just listened intently (see Appendix E).

Linguistic Diversity

I have been fortunate during my placements to have students with relatively simplistic linguistic needs. During the most recent placement I was teaching a student named Peter. He was a student who spoke English as a second language with his family at home speaking Bengali. While he was technically an ESL student, he was able to speak as well as the rest of the class. His difficulties arose when trying to access support for his homework at home from his predominantly Bengali speaking parents. He occasionally struggled to translate the tasks from English into Bengali for his parents to help. This meant that he normally left tasks he needed help with unfinished. To meet these needs, I organised a homework helper for him. This was an extension student from the class he was already friends with to be accessible via email and at school lunch breaks to discuss the homework tasks with him in English.

Areas of strength

Throughout my development as a teacher I have reflected on where my areas of strength lie. Below are aspecta of my pedagogical practice and knowledge that I feel I demonstrate effectively and consistently.

  • Making all students feel welcomed and supported in my classroom.

AITSL standard 4 states that teachers will ‘create and maintain safe and supportive learning environments’ (AITSL, 2014). I feel that this something I have accomplished on each of my placements. For each of my lesson plans consideration is given to how I can cater for each student and their diverse needs.

  • Classroom management

AITSL standard 4.2 states that teachers will manage classroom activities and ‘Demonstrate the capacity to organise classroom activities and provide clear directions’ (AITSL, 2014).

This was evidenced most recently by the needs of two students in my class with severe medical issues that often needed access to specialised furniture, ice packs, heat packs, and a variety of exercises. I feel that I managed this well, while minimising distraction to the class.

Areas for improvement

  • Working with colleagues other than my mentor.

I haven’t had the opportunity to seek out expert teachers as I have treated my mentor as the expert. In the future I will endeavour to engage professionally with colleagues to improve student outcomes.

  • Behaviour Management

I have had lots of practice but I want to be an expert at this. I recognise that there are still many situations I still need to be challenged with. I don’t want to feel powerless in crucial behaviour management situations.

  • Differentiating in class

I find it difficult to meet both the needs of the low and high achieving students in the one class. I would like to learn how to do this more effectively. To cater for the needs of low achievement students and extend high achievement students. All mentors have said I do this satisfactorily but I want to be better.

  • Understanding how students deal with grief and loss in the classroom.

While on placement a student was faced with a family member being diagnosed with cancer. As we discussed her feelings I realised I am unequipped to help her to deal with this major life altering issue. The same situation goes for divorce and other major life events in the life of students.

Professional development plan

AITSL Standard 6.2 states that teachers will engage in professional learning and improve practice. To assist me in meeting this standard I have created the following professional and personal development plan. It outlines professional development activities that I intend to undertake over the coming months and years as I transition from university into the teaching profession. The goals are designed to improve my areas of weakness and help me to excel in my areas of strength.

1

Nathan Wynder1040024EDU401

Time Frame / Goal To be reached / Action to develop capability / Indicators for success

1
Month /
  • Become more confident with helping students deal with grief and loss.
/
  • Attend Rainbows* training each Wednesday to discuss needs of students suffering from loss
  • Research
/
  • Certificate to place in folio
  • Know strategies and role of the teacher in helping students deal with grief and loss


3
Months /
  • Understand the teacher’s role and limitations of religious discussions in state schools.
/
  • Read Policy Documents of religion
  • Discuss with the leadership team of the school at next placement
  • Study and summarise Appendix F
  • Create a class guide for religious discussion. This should be treated with respect as one of the class rules.
  • Create a plan for discussing with students at the beginning of the year what we can and cannot discuss in the class.
/
  • Confidence in dealing with religious questions/concerns when they rise
  • Clear understanding of my policy responsibilities in regards to religion in the class.
  • Class religion policy (informed by DETE policy)
  • Discussion plan for beginning of the year


5
Months /
  • Become confident in my behaviour management strategies
/
  • Re-examine Micro Skills
  • Re-examine Skinner’s Choice Theory
  • Research other noteworthy behaviour management techniques
  • Create a toolkit of behaviour management strategies
  • Create a small folio before final placement and refine kit during four week placement
/
  • Confidence in dealing with negative behaviour
  • Physical behaviour management toolkit filled with my refined strategies.


1
Year /
  • Work better with colleagues, develop professional relationships in the workplace at first paid teaching experience
/
  • Discuss mentor opportunities with leadership team at time of interview
  • Seek out a colleague mentorship to assist in transitioning to the profession
  • Discuss strategies for continuing performance improvement
  • Walk through annual performance development plans at least twice in the year
/
  • Comfortable discussing difficult situations or students
  • Annual performance review forms completed x 2:

development/performance/pdfs/annual-performance-development-plan.pdf

5
Years /
  • To develop strategies to effectively differentiate between academically gifted students and students needing support
/
  • Order and read Susan Winebrenner’s text, Teaching Gifted Kids in the Regular Classroom
  • Research and become acquainted with the ‘Multilit’ program. Seek additional coaching if required
  • Re-examine Gardners ‘Mutiple Intelligences’ theory and discuss with colleagues how to effectively use in my classroom
/
  • Student results will show distance travelled forward at both ends of the academic spectrum
  • Confidence in creating engaging lessons that meet students’ needs regardless of ability level

* Rainbows for All Children (RFAC) is dedicated to being the premier source of support for all youth as they navigate grief and heal from loss, whether from death, divorce, deployment, or other trauma. RFACfosters awareness that youth require support to heal. We nurture a community of effective RFAC-trained Facilitators, supported with a repository of resources designed to guide youth in their grieving process (Rainbows For All Children, 2015).