I believe to have strong relationships with students, it is imperative that we as teachers understand how each individual student learns, their characteristics and what makes enables them to learn in the best way possible. I do this by ensuring I use educational and psychological theories such as Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive development, to accurately assess a student's ability, it is imperative to understand and have knowledge of the student’s level of achievement. It is imperative that the teacher takes the time to use multiple assessments to gage where the students are in their cognitive ability. This can be done by short answer responses, questions, self and peer assessed tasks, and collecting information on the students learning. Furthermore, it is imperative to learn students names; at a conference “Christian Schools Association” three day professional development, they stated that if a teacher was to know the name of every student, it not only builds rapport but also minimizes the risk of depression, increases social inclusion and encourages student engagement and participation.
Understanding how students learn is paramount in achieving student success. Lev Vygotsky's theory of constructivist knowledge is imperative and provide a great source of information towards my pedagogy. He claims that each individual student retains knowledge and learns in unique ways. In my classroom, I used a range of different learning and teaching techniques such as using ICT whenever I could, asking students to respond to short answer questions, learn visually by drawing pictures and engaging in textbook photographs. I organised constructivist lessons that allowed students to work in small groups in order to prepare and present a poster on their findings. This allowed students to work at their own pace and encouraged the lower achievers to become active in their own learning. Despite this type of lesson working for most students, it was hard to keep track of where every student was up to, with some students finishing in a double lesson and other students needing a week.
My core subject areas are English and History. Allowing students from diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds to feel engaged in the class was at the forefront of my learning. I did both of my placements at a Christian school, yet I understood that not all students identified with this religion. Furthermore, I had a student who identified as an Aboriginal person; however, this did not affect her learning in any way. I also had a student who was from the Philippines, whilst she had a slight issue with her speech, she generally was an excellent student and produced fantastic work in both English and History. Overall, I believe all students from whatever background have to the right to a safe, engaging and inclusive learning environment, and rather than highlighting their differences, I noticed it was better to fluidly engage them into the class, so they knew they were equal to every other student.
I believe it is imperative that every student, whether they identify as aboriginal or Torres strait islander or not should have a deep understanding and respect for the traditional custodians, traditions, practices and influences of this culture. I believe as a teacher we can set the tone for how students respond to these topics and ensuring there is a mutual respect for one another. Whilst we can recognise the differences between the two cultures, this should be seen as something to celebrate rather than differentiate. Closing the gap between the two cultures can start in the classroom, with inclusive activities, understanding their traditions, and not being afraid to ask respectful questions, and have meaningful class discussions.
Each individual student as unique and individualised learning requirements and needs. I recognised this on my final teaching practical where up to five students in the class had “individual learning plans” or ILP’s. This was a challenge for me at first as it required me to think outside the box in terms of how I would deliver the information to these students. My mentor encouraged me to do individual learning plans and cater for these students individually, whilst still including them in the class. For example, I had one student in year 8 that was tested as illiterate however he had excellent spatial thinking and great communication skills. So, for the writing tasks, I was able to work one on one with him, writing down what he spoke to me, and if I wasn't able to, there would be an SSO in the class helping him as well. Furthermore, my moderating the assignments, it allowed the ILP students to feel like they could achieve the standard of what the assessment was asking of them, and still doing what the other students were doing in class. Furthermore, rather than doing all written work, I organised in class debates and quiz games, where all students could inclusively learn about the topic and verbally answer the questions. I hope to continually improve in this area, as I believe it is important for all students to learn in their own individual way whilst still having an inclusive classroom.
Fortunately, I have experience with working with students that have a range of social, intellectual and physical disabilities, as I worked as a swimming instructor for 8 years. Whilst this gave me an insightful understanding of these students it was still challenging on my placement. However, I enjoyed the challenge and happily took on the responsibilities for catering for individual student’s needs. We are lucky as teachers that most students with high needs have the help of an SSO worker, yet despite this it is still the role of a teacher to accommodate for their individual needs. I was able to work one on one with the students and also work collaboratively with the SSO’s in order to achieve the best possible outcome for every student. In my classroom, I was able to modify the assessment, stay in at recess and lunch and work individually with student’s. Whilst it required extra hours work, it was a rewarding experience as the students all achieved their best possible work and i was able to get to know the students on a more personal level.