Professional Statements

These statements will change and develop over time.
Last updated: August 2016 – during my 3rd year of teaching.

1: Know students and how they learn

My understanding of knowing my students and how they learn is formed at the beginning of the year and continues to develop and grow throughout the school year. There are things I know about my students prior to them entering my classroom from collected data, reports and from conversations with their previous teachers but for me to really know my students I need to spend time with them. This involves having conversations with them and seeing how they work in our classroom. All of my students have the right to learn and this means that when planning I need to consider everyone’s abilities. This may mean working closer with some students in Literacy (for example), planning lessons that can be done through movement/physical activity or allowing students to work in a group or individually. I consider the physical, intellectual and social develop of my students so that they have the chance to grow in our classroom. I will structure my lessons to include tasks that follow ‘Gardeners Multiple Intelligences Theory’ especially at the beginning of the year so I can see which ‘intelligence’ my students work best in. This is not to say that they only fit into one; they don’t. I have noticed that students learn in different ways in different learning areas, so I accommodate for this throughout the year.

2: Know the content and how to teach it

For me, the content is so much more than the Australian Curriculum and the TfEL framework. While considering these two key components I also consider my students and their interests and their capabilities. It is also important to consider what our year will look like. How will my students retain the content? Ask yourself: how will your students retain the content? Teaching content throughout the year instead of in a four-week block is intended for students to be able to make varying connections with a concept. While I will make a year plan for when topics will be covered this does not mean that the plan is in concrete. Things may take long or shorter and they will also be revisited throughout the year when it is relevant for our current learning in our classroom. Key concepts are originally integrated, taught and focused on for a period of time and then throughout the year this will be revisited when necessary and the other content allows for a connection between the two.
My lessons vary from explicit instruction lessons to discovery, from guided investigations to hands-on learning tasks. Not only does this help reach multiple students it also allows students to learn new ways of learning and discover their learning styles. My lessons may also incorporate many strategies which would see students working on different tasks; whether that be doing something hands on, working in an explicit learning group or seeing students creating from their knowledge; following the idea of ‘Gardeners Multiple Intelligence Theory’.

3: Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning

This is where standard 2 roles over into standard 3. Whilst knowing the content it is the planning and the implementing that will help to engage your students in your classroom. Like previously stated I will make larger yearly and term plans these are not set in concrete and I am flexible when it comes to addressing the needs of my classroom. These idea roles over into weekly and daily lessons. It is fundamental as a teacher to be flexible in your planning and your delivery to best reach your students.
I use Gardeners Multiple Intelligences Theory along with my knowledge of my students, during my planning stages throughout the year, so that they are able to reach the intended outcome but not necessarily in the same way. When you walk into my classroom, often my students are working on different tasks leading them to the same outcome. I believe it is also important to let your students know the outcomes intended of the lesson/unit so they know what is expected of them. Having a visual display of these concepts and goals for students will help them focus on the lesson/unit intention. This avoids confusion from the students as it is clear and stated what is expected of them. Goals for some students may be different to others taking in consideration of the physical, social and intellectual learning needs of my students. The use of ICT is integrated into my planning so it is to be used effectively, responsibly and creativity. I also incorporate digital communication in our class as well as visual classroom displays to share resources, reminders and day plans for all students.

4: Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments

Setting clear and fair understandings at the start of the year sets the classroom feel for the year. I enjoy having a fun with my students while learning but they learn and understand the boundaries that it comes with. There is a time for focused learning and a time for fun focused learning depending on the topic focus, learning areas and learning intention of the lesson. I like to have a community feel in my classroom where student voice is not only heard but acted upon. Student voice can affect our physical learning environment, our digital learning spaces or the way that lessons are delivered. This can be through verbal feedback from students or simply seeing how they respond to different delivery methods. Our learning space constantly develops throughout the year to suit our learning needs, lessons and how we are responding to our space.
As well as giving time for critical feedback to peers through feedback, small group conversations or community circle talks I also give my students a chance to give positive statements to one another for things that they have noticed about their peers. This can be done to start the say on a sticky note/whiteboard or done verbally in a small group or community circle.

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