Megacity Lesson Plan Megacity PPT resource Wonder Lesson Plan and Wonder PPT resource NAPLAN lesson plan Mentor Comment
My passion for teaching stems from a personal adoration for the disciplines of Geography and English. My Bachelor's degree in both these subjects areas has equipped me with a deep understanding and knowledge to meet the requirements of both the ACARA and SACE curriculum. It is for these reasons; I am confident in my ability to willingly uphold the high-quality education objectives for each student. During my practicum, my mentors commemorated my passion for, and excellent understanding of the content area. In Geography, I aim to create all lessons that reflect 'one of humanity's big ideas' using diverse strategies and ICT to create a compelling case for geography's place in the curriculum. In a Megacities unit for Stage 1 Geography, I ensured lessons showed the value of thinking geographically. I demonstrate this through careful planning of lessons and creating relevant resources to support student engagement. In turn, students were able to provide essential reflections on the changing role of cities and urbanisation, demonstrating the practical importance of the 'real world' geography. Similarly, in English, I aim to develop the knowledge, skills and understanding to interpret and use language confidently for learning and communication. In turn, students can productively learn in school and prepare for their role as active citizens of society. An example of this involved the development of grammar and comprehension booklets to guide a Year 7 literary text study. The lessons aim for students to be self-sufficient, working harmoniously with peers and reflect on the ideas and perspective after each chapter of the text. Furthermore, in the lead up to the annual NAPLAN testing, I dedicate time each lesson for both Year 7 and 9 English students to prepare and identify the skills required to undertake the test. Success in both Geography and English depend on real-world relevance and being able to use the significant literacy that is important for learning and representative of the content of both learning areas.
Indigenous Unit Plan, Learning Assessment Plan Design and Lesson Plan with Uni Liaison Feedback Mentor Comment
Content selection, organisation and planning are at the heart of effective teaching. My mentors and university tutors often commemorated planning and organisation as one of my strongest professional assets. I recognise planning as a creative process that allows educators to synthesise the knowledge of our learners, the curriculum, and the teaching context. It is a time when I can envision the learning process and analyse how the content of the learning experience should work together to make my vision transition into reality. During my practicum, I prepared detailed unit plans, learning assessment plans (LAP) and lesson plans before initiating each course. Having structured learning sequenced produced more unified lessons, due primarily to clear, lesson objectives, careful selection of resources, both material and digital, to sequence learning. For example, my Year 10 Geography unit on Biomes and Food Security explored distinctive aspects of biomes, food production and food security. Students investigated using case studies drawn from Australia, Indigenous Australian methods and across the world. In Year 9 Advanced English, a LAP plan, I chose relevant texts that suit the needs and interests of the class. This allowed for a greater understanding of developing an understanding of film and cinematic techniques used to engage an audience. Ultimately, organisation and planning allowed for reflective practice on the relationship between the current lesson and many past or future lessons, and the correlation between learning activities and assessment practices. As a result, I was able to consider these connections and make the content, both explicit and meaningful to the learners.
Summative, Formative Diagnostic Assessments WASSN Moderation Task
Designing flexible assessment practices ensures students work towards standards-based learning goals within a targeted time frame. I believe it is essential to determine the student’s prior knowledge to assist in designing appropriate learning sequences. Examples of diagnostic assessments include K-W-L charts and digital brainstorming platforms like Menti, Kahoots or Quizlet. Learning sequences should always be open for modification. The use of assessment for, as and of learning allows for adjustments and review to planning and learning sequences. In Stage 1 Geography, I designed summative assessments against the SACE standards. The performance standards offer opportunities for both teacher and student to improve the quality of teaching and learning. Above all, they aim to guide students in demonstrating their learning at the highest possible level of achievement. To review methods of learning sequence and design can be done through assessment standardisation and moderation. During the WASSN collaborative moderation day, I participated in moderating Year 9 English learning design, assessment and strategies against achievement standards. This process provided clarification and consistency of teacher judgement for the design of learning sequences. The employment of diagnostic assessment, formative assessment and teacher moderation practices develop a picture of a student’s learning
Classroom Posters Immersing Perspectives, Debunking Myths SACE Acknowledgement of Country Video
Climate Change Round Table Discussion Mentor Comment
Demonstrating understanding and respect of Indigenous history coincides with promoting reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians, both in the school and community. At the start of each introductory lesson, I present the SACE Boards’ ‘acknowledgement of country’ developed by students in South Australia. The acknowledgement provides a useful model for communicating together with ATSI people and respecting their place as traditional custodians of the Adelaide plains. During my practicum, I established a strong rapport with the Aboriginal Education Team. Consultations with the members of the AET lead to obtaining several resources I used in many lessons. Examples of these include distributing posters and analysing resources that immerse ATSI perspectives and debunking myths in the classroom. As a result, I developed an integrated curriculum, where ATSI knowledge, culture and history is aligned with national standards to improve learning outcomes for all young Australian. An example of this was done in Year 10 Geography roundtable discussions. In this task, I allocated four students to represent ATSI perspectives in the debate topic of ‘climate change is a myth’. Students took an empathetic approach through demonstrating correct use of terminology and rebutting other teams by ‘debunking myths’ in their response. It was inspiring to see the power of young people acknowledging the gap between their ATSI peers and their voice in Australia’s policy and environmental management.
NAPLAN Comprehension Activities and Geography Population Pyramids.
Literacy and numeracy are fundamental focus areas in all subjects. They are required to develop other skills and prepare students to be active participants in twenty-first-century society. For this reason, I focus on the quality of teaching literacy and numeracy and continue to improve their outcomes for all students. I have worked closely with a Literacy Impact Coach to embed professional learning opportunities that strengthen my use of specific knowledge, skills and strategies. This was particularly helpful in preparing Year 7 and 9 English students for NAPLAN testing. I prefer to reinforce student focus on NAPLAN as not something that is merely passing or failing, rather an assessment of their on-going progress. Nonetheless, I supported NAPLAN preparation, developing comprehension activities in line with the class text study. Students used the guide to develop skills in reading, writing, spelling and grammar skills and keep the context relevant to their learning. In Geography, students develop numeracy capability as they investigate concepts fundamental to geography. For example, the implications of variables such as location, distance, spatial distribution and the organisation and management of space within places. In Year 11 Geography, students constructed their known population pyramid using spatial technologies. Using numerical concepts such a quantitative population data, students used excel to interpret their case study using split graphs. I understand I need to work in Achieving Excellence and Equity in Literacy and Numeracy within all subject areas.
Shakespearean Snapchats, Population Density ARCGIS, Volcanic Hazard Mapping Task, Epicollect, Menti Mindmaps
The rise of globalisation and innovations in technology have led to the increased use of ICT in education. It is the medium of young people and plays a pivotal role in almost every aspect of human life. Therefore, ICT in the classroom environment supports the delivery of curricula in a way that makes it highly engaging. I completed the ICT Integration Course with Walter Barbieri and recognised the use of ICT adequately as a handy tool in pupils learning and achievement. My classes always consist of a diverse range of students with mixed abilities, and I find ICT to be particularly beneficial for all students and their learning styles. In Geography, I promote the use of maps, digital fieldwork simulations and powerful spatial technologies. Some examples include using the Epicollect5 App for data collection and analysis, ArcGIS for creating interactive maps, Geocaching, Google Maps, and to name a few. In Stage 1 Geography, students used ArcGIS to formulate a Hazard Map in preparation for their summative assessment task. Students developed their skills using spatial technologies as a formative task and could identify the spatial impact, location, risk and vulnerability of the region. The additional scaffold was provided, such as links to relevant online tutorials land resources to break down the process and support their progress. The Australian Curriculum also includes ICT as a general capability to be included in all subjects across the Foundation Year 10 curriculum. An example of this was demonstrated in a mixed-ability Year 9 English class. Students participated in the ‘Shakespearean Snapchat’ activity to bring relevance, context and excitement to the text study of Romeo and Juliet. Students worked in small groups to take a photo of the student re-enactments one of the key acts in the play. Students then wrote a 140-character tweet and hashtag to reflect the scene, characters, themes, symbols of motifs from the text. The activity enhanced students’ language acquisition and substantially motivated them to continue learning and stimulated their creativity to understand the text study. Using ICT invites students to the complexity of attitudes and values which shape the way humans communicate. I am passionate to continue developing my knowledge and understanding of ICT resources to promote diverse teaching strategies that will support curriculum learning opportunities suitable for all student capabilities.