Standard 1 - Know Students and How they learn
1.1 - Use teaching strategies based on knowledge of students’ physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics to improve student learning.
Improving Social and Communication Skills Through Group Tasks
To further the students' social skills in Year 10 Science, I introduced a groups debating task. This particular class generally rigidly maintains friendship groups in group tasks. This task was designed to mix these groups along with students of different working styles, cognitive abilities and language abilities together.
The work groups were chosen for the students to ensure their skill sets were evenly distributed. They were given two lessons of class time to work on the assignment and presented in the final lesson of the week.
Tasks such as this are also valuable the whole way through middle school. During these years, teenagers' social and language skills are still developing, and continually using them throughout assessments helps them to develop further.
Using verbal skills in particular allows students to share and and consolidate their own understanding of topics.
To further the students' social skills in Year 10 Science, I introduced a groups debating task. This particular class generally rigidly maintains friendship groups in group tasks. This task was designed to mix these groups along with students of different working styles, cognitive abilities and language abilities together.
The work groups were chosen for the students to ensure their skill sets were evenly distributed. They were given two lessons of class time to work on the assignment and presented in the final lesson of the week.
Tasks such as this are also valuable the whole way through middle school. During these years, teenagers' social and language skills are still developing, and continually using them throughout assessments helps them to develop further.
Using verbal skills in particular allows students to share and and consolidate their own understanding of topics.
1.2 - Structure teaching programs using research and collegial advice about how students learn.
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University Assignment on The Effect of Teacher Implicit Bias on Autistic Students and their Educational Outcomes
During my recent Psychology degree, I centered my assignments around educational issues where possible to improve my understanding of those issues and improve my practice. In this assignment I conducted research on the effect implicit bias can have on autistic students and their educational outcomes. I chose this as investigating potential barriers to student learning and how they can be overcome as well as their impact on learning is an essential part of understanding how students learn. If barriers are not first identified and removed, any other understanding about how students learn will have minimal effect. |
Collegial Advice Regarding IEP Student Programs
In my current position I have a number of IEP students in need of individualised teaching programs. As these students each have a diverse array of needs, I had meeting with their previous teachers as well as my heads of faculty, and the head of Additional Learning to gain advice on how to tailor programs to maximise their learning outcomes. Below is an IEP which was written as a result of these meetings. The document has been de-identified. 
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1.3 - Design and implement teaching strategies that are responsive to the learning strengths and needs of students from diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds.
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Group work in Year 7 Geography
During the Water unit, the class was re-introduced to the Water Cycle. This class had large differences in learning abilities and language skills. In this task, the students were put into groups to evenly distribute students with different skill sets and language abilities. One group member at a time was shown the coloured image below for 40 seconds and asked to go back to the group and draw as much of what they had seen as they could remember. 
The following students were given decreasing amounts of time to view the diagram and fill in the blanks on the team's emerging diagram, an example of which is shown below.
Tasks such as this help to build language and communication skills in the students and help build team work as the student apply strategies to deal with problems.
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Scaffolding Tasks in Year 8 Mathematics
This task was taken from a published work book, but the questions were very broad and the students found it difficult to interpret them. Looking at the previous year's Yr 8 answers, I re-wrote the assignment to better accommodate students with differing learning styles and needs. The questions were more scaffolded and prompted the students in what was required to answer each question fully. 
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1.4 - Design 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.
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Potential Barriers to Indigenous Education
There are a number of potential barriers the education of Indigenous students. In some cases, access to education can be reduced due to geographical isolation in rural or remote communities or economic issues associated with the costs of schooling (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2011). Indigenous students' attendance and engagement can also suffer as a result of discrimination and students can struggle if Standard Australian English is not their first language (Chigeza and Whitehouse, 2014). These factors can also contribute to lower rates of secondary school completion than non-Indigenous students. Strategies for improving educational outcomes for Indigenous students include increasing cultural awareness in the school community and leadership, and tailoring educational strategies to specific students according to their needs. This can be seen in the school's involvement with the Narragunnawali program and Reconciliation Action Plans. I currently teach one student from an Indigenous background. It is well documented in the school database that this student receives special consideration, and time off school to fulfil their cultural obligations. While the student does not struggle with a a language barrier, due to family issues and cultural obligations, the student occasionally has difficulty completing work on time. They are however, very proactive in informing the staff of any required alterations to due dates. Due to this students' background, they also receives access to learning support should he need it. References: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (2011). Closing the school completion gap for Indigenous students. Retrieved from: http://www.aihw.gov.au/uploadedFiles/ClosingTheGap/Content/Publications/2011/ctgc-rs06.pdf Chigenza, P. and Whitehouse, H. (2014). Incorporating Indigenous Students' Knowledge More Productively in Mathematics and Science Classrooms: One Focus for Pre-Service Teacher Education Research and Practice. Leadership in Indigenous Research Special Issue. Vol. 45. Retrieved from: http://etropic.jcu.edu.au/ET13-1/Chigeza.pdf |
Creating Differentiated Tasks in Year 7 Mathematics
An important strategy in fostering inclusion of Indigenous students is to differentiate tasks and instruction so that any linguistic, social, or socio-economic barriers to education int he classroom are minimised as far as possible. In Year 7 Mathematics these have included group work to foster social inclusion, tasks with multi-modal presentation to support students with differing language abilities, and tasks that can be completed in different ways to accommodate students who may not have access to ICT resources at home. One such activity was producing board games at the end of a unit on Fractions, Decimals, and Percentages. Students were required to construct a board game in groups, linking the three concepts. At the end of the year, I also ran this activity with another Year 7 class. The students were able to select any maths topic from the year and create a game based around that concept. 
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1.5 - Develop teaching activities that incorporate differentiated strategies to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities.
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Year 8 Body Systems Research Assignment
I constructed this assignment to target the different ability levels in my Year 8 Science class in 2017. Through the tasks, the students are able to communicate their understanding through drawing and labeling images, explaining links between body systems, and explaining complex links using information gained through research.
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Modifying Assessments for Lower Ability Students
The Body Systems assignment was also further modified to accommodate students with lower end abilities. This assignment was more heavily focused on visual representations of the necessary information and labeling rather than complex explanations.
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1.6 - Design and implement teaching activities that support the participation and learning of students with disability and address relevant policy and legislative requirements.
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Government Regulations Regarding Students With a Disability
The following is an excerpt from a Charles Dariwn University assignment dealing with inclusion of dyslexic students. While the compilation of government regulations has been linked directly to dyslexia for the assignment, the regulations are applicable to any student who suffers from a disability. As dyslexia can often go undiagnosed, there are few specific government guidelines and policies which address dyslexia inclusion strategies directly. There are however, sections of legislation and government initiatives which aim to prevent educational exclusion due to learning disabilities and can be applied to dyslexia. One such section is Part 2, Division 2, section 22a of the Disability Discrimination Act (1992), which states that it is unlawful for an educational institution to discriminate against a student with a disability or learning difficulties “by developing curricula or training courses having a content that will ... exclude a person from participation”. The South Australian Government has recently held a policy roundtable to elucidate the position of dyslexic students in the education system, and the best ways to improve their education. Recommendations from the associated 2014 discussion paper encouraged teacher to adhere to the AITSL Professional Standards (2014), particularly those relating to differentiated learning and student inclusion (Standards 1.5, and 1.6), and encouraging schools to work with dyslexia advocacy groups to create dyslexia friendly learning environments. The discussion paper also indicated a coming review or the Australian Curriculum, during which these advocacy groups would be consulted on ways to better include dyslexic students (Policy Roundtable, 2014). The curriculum already encourages acknowledgement of student diversity and support for students who learn and develop at different rates (ACARA, 2014). References: Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA). (2014). Student Diversity. Retrieved from: http://www.acara.edu.au/curriculum/student_diversity/student_diversity.html Australian Dyslexia Association (ADA). (2014) What instruction is appropriate? Retrieved from: http://dyslexiaassociation.org.au/index.php?page=what-treatment-is-appropriate Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) (2014). Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. Retrieved from: http://www.aitsl.edu.au/australian-professional-standards-for-teachers/standards/list Disability Discrimination Act (1992). Retrieved from: http://www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/C2014C00013 Policy Roundtable - Students with Dyslexia Discussion Paper June 2014. (2014), Australian Government Department of Education. ISBN: 978-1-74361-678-9 |
Legislative Requirements for International Students
My current school has a large proportion of international students. While some can perform well in some subjects, the quality of some students' English means that they can struggle in the more language rich subjects. There are many legislative requirements and school policies for hosting international students to ensure that the receive adequate academic assistance, and do not fall behind. These requirements also ensure their health and social care. The Education Service for Overseas Students (ESOS) oversees the registration of international education service providers through the Commonwealth Register for Institutions and Courses for Overseas Students (CRICOS). Part D of the ESOS National Code has several standards which providers must address for the care and support of international students. The school's International Student policies are structured to address these standards. While the school policies adequately cover the day-to-day needs of the International Students, as far as their academic performance is concerned, teachers have a responsibility to ensure the students revise adequate academic support. This includes making lessons accessible to students who struggle with a language barrier, and reporting to the leadership of a student is not performing well, and deemed "at risk". This will lead to the student reviewing further support in addition to classroom support, and support from the Student Success Team and ESL teachers. References: Department of Education and Training. (2015)National Code Part D: ESOS Standards. Retrieved from: https://internationaleducation.gov.au/regulatory-information/education-services-for-overseas-students-esos-legislative-framework/national-code/nationalcodepartd/pages/esosnationalcode-partd.aspx |