Sample 1.1 - Seating Plan |
1.1 Physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics of studentsUsing information gathered by observing the interactions of my learners, I created a seating plan that I believed would best optimize their learning (Sample 1.1). I began by having students list three potential students that they would like to sit with, guaranteeing that they would sit with at least one of the people on their lists. I used the information gathered from this task in conjunction with the list of restrictions identified by observing students' behaviour during group tasks and in the playground (recorded in profile sheets such as those recorded in Sample 1.3) to begin placing students. The students who had any restrictions identified were placed first, and so long as it didn't conflict with any of their restrictions, a person from their lists was placed. This also happened to coincide with my goal of grouping students by ability level in order to differentiate tasks more effectively using data gathered from from assessment tasks as seen in Sample 5.1. The group directly in front of the whiteboard consists of students that all require support academically. Shuo, a student with autism, is situated near the Teacher's desk, as the education assistant identified that it would be good for him to stop relying solely on her for support. The education assistant's desk, while not displayed on the seating plan, is situated directly under group in the top left. This group also has some learners who require support and the positioning of the education assistant in between these two groups enables her to work with either group as needed.
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1.2 Understand how students learnOne of the professional learning sessions I have attended was of Judy Willis explaining the various neurological structures in the nervous system, how these structures affect learning, and how technology is affecting the use of these structures (Sample 1.2). This session proved insightful into the minds of the current generation of students, many of whom are simply given a device as a form of babysitter while the parents are busy. The session also described how video games affect the child in that it causes them to develop a stimulus-reward system, where students are rewarded for their achievement upon completing a task and are then given a similar, yet harder task to complete. I have used this model in my differentiate groups, where students who have completed a set task at one level may progress up to the next. This has resulted in some students who were initially disengaged and requiring support to become engaged with a task to master a skill, only for them to have to use that skill in other ways on a harder task.
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Sample 1.2 - PL Certificate |
Sample 1.3 - Profiling Example |
Sample 1.4 - Culturally Appropriate Text Example |
1.4 Strategies for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander studentsStudying my degree and completing my practicums in a rural town has allowed me to be exposed to a wide variety of students, including those of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent. In order to achieve the best outcomes for these students, I make sure to choose texts and experiences that they could connect with on a personal or cultural level (see Sample 2.3). This was recommended in one of our units of study during university, which focused on teaching and learning in aboriginal education (Sample 1.5). Furthermore, several activities were undertaken during NAIDOC week which had all students dot painting, eating traditional Aboriginal foods and investigating symbols and their meanings. In addition to this, consultation with an outside agency, the Western Australian Centre for Rural Health, resulted in two presenters of Aboriginal descent coming in and running the Mooditj program (see Sample 7.3) with all boys in the year level. This program is tailored towards sexual health and maintaining positive relationships with those around out.
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Sample 1.5 - Teaching and Learning in Aboriginal Education |
Sample 1.6 - Differentiated Maths Groups
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1.5 Differentiate teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilitiesUsing data similar to that seen in Sample 5.1, I can differentiate my program to meet the learning needs of my students. Sample 1.6 showcases an example of differentiated maths groups and some of the tasks that were used to engage students. Task 1, aimed at students who needed the most support as they did not understand place value, was guided by the education assistant. Task 2, a task aimed at students who got some of the basics of converting between fractions, decimals, and percentages but were still reliant on help, were aided my the mentor teacher. Task 3 had students creating a number line between zero and one and placing the conversions in the correct places. Task 4 saw students creating their own number line using digits over a whole. Task 5 was an attempt to challenge those learners who grasped these concepts, many of which enjoyed the challenge. Students who successfully completed one task were to move onto the next in order to further develop their skills. These differentiated groups enabled me to target the weaknesses in each student's abilities in order to ensure that learning occurred.
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