A summary of my overall portfolio in
progress
Lachlan Lean
As part of EDF 5808 - Fostering student
engagement in education; we were
tasked with researching 10 learner types
and providing engagement strategies for
each type.
In completing this assessment I
researched the current theories and
explained how I could then use
these to create engaging activities
for students. This has greatly
enhanced my knowledge and
understanding in this area; thereby
meeting standard 1.3 and 1.5
requirements.
1.3 Demonstrate
knowledge
of teaching strategies
that are responsive to
the learning strengths
and needs of students
from diverse linguistic,
cultural, religious and
socioeconomic
backgrounds.
1.5 Demonstrate
knowledge
and understanding of
strategies for
differentiating teaching
to meet the specific
learning needs of
students across the full
range of abilities
Year 11 Accounting Student Feedback
Feedback from both my
mentor and students during
my first placement
reinforced my belief that I
had the content knowledge
to become a successful
teacher.
Mary Mackillop Mentor Comments
I recognise the importance of
using ICT in the classroom and
have successfully implemented
this during many classes. I am
also continually looking for new
ways ICT can be incorporated into
my classroom to improve my
students learning experience.
ACCOUNTING UNIT 1
An introduction to Excel for VCE
Accounting Unit 1 students
Using Excel to prepare cash journals
Download the Seoud’s Suit Hire (Excercse 7.14 – Excel template). Save this file into your Excel
folder. Open the file.
At the bottom of the page are a number of tabs, as shown below:
This feature of Excel makes it possible for one file to hold all journals, graphs and reports relating to
one business.
You will now use functions in Excel to complete the totals. Click on the cell where the total for the
Bank column will go. In the top menu bar, click on the Formulas tab, then click on the AutoSum tool.
The cell will then look like the following:
2.6 Implement teaching
strategies for using ICT
to expand curriculum
learning opportunities
for students
“According to research conducted by
numerous researchers including Carroll
(2011) And Krause, Bochner, Duchesne, and
McMaugh (2010), one of the most
substantive and pervasive effects of
technology on learning is an increase in
children’s engagement. Studies conducted
by Vardy et al.(2007), Couse and Chen
(2010) and Wallace
(2008) all showed a significant increase in
children’s motivation and engagement with
Digital learning tasks”(Carabot 2013) as
cited in (Carabot 2014)
Throughout my practicum I put
together 85 individual lessons plans;
with clear lesson aims and student
knowledge and skill learning
outcomes. In putting these plans
together I was constantly referring to
theorists such a Bloom to stretch all
students.
Blooms Taxonomy
3.1 Set learning goals
that provide achievable
challenges for students
of varying abilities and
characteristics.
Through my studies
and practicum I
developed engaging
Teaching and
Learning strategies
3.3 Include a range of
teaching strategies.
3.4 Demonstrate
knowledge of a range of
resources, including ICT,
that engage students in
their learning.
5.
4.
1.
2.
3.
“While we use all of our
senses to take in
information, we each seem
to have preferences in how
we learn best. In order to
help all students learn, we
need to teach to as many
of these preferences as
possible.”
(Cuaresma, 2008) as cited in (Gilakjanji,
2012) page105
Managing challenging behaviour was a challenge for
me during practicum. However in modelling teacher
as reflector and researcher; I continually sought out
new techniques that could be adopted to successfully
manage challenging student behaviour. I was very
proud to significantly improve in this are as
highlighted by my practicum reports.
Mary Mackillop Catholic College – 1st Round
4.3 Demonstrate
knowledge
of practical
approaches
to manage
challenging
behaviour.
Leongatha SC – 2nd Round
I found the Bill Rogers
Videos and texts
provided significant
assistance in helping
my behaviour
management skills.
“The overriding message that I took from Bill Rogers is to
recognise explicitly that behaviour is about emotions and
associated traits: confidence, self esteem, peer
relationships, group acceptance, empathy, belonging,
resilience, .. and all the opposites. Crucially, this is for the
teacher and the students. There is just no excuse for an
angry outburst that has no resolution; for forcing a child
into an emotional corner through power or using sarcasm
to humiliate. We are the adults. BUT –we are human and
we sometimes fail to manage. Sometimes, things go
wrong and as teachers we put ourselves on the line
emotionally all day. No other job is like that – where you
risk being burned by a teenager just because you ask them
to do some work. So, Bill Rogers urges us to acknowledge
our emotions – and, for me, this helped hugely
(Sherrington, 2013).”
I agree wholeheartedly with this quote
• Assessment of learning (summative) – “gathering evidence of student
learning to make judgements about students achievement of objectives,
goals and standards.”
• Assessment for learning (formative) – “ drawing inferences about student
progress from observations and work samples to inform your future
teaching”.
• Assessment as learning (self reflection) – “requiring students to reflect on
and monitor their progress to inform their future learning and your
teaching”. (Churchill, 2011) p. 215.
During my practicum I
continually used a variety of
assessment strategies to
assess student learning. The
information was invaluable
in helping modify my
teaching approach.
(Pham, 2014)
Examples of some of my assessments strategies include:
Formative Exit Polls
Formative
Games as quiz’s
In putting these assessments
Peer
Assessment together I was again trying
to use Bloom’s Taxonomy to
test students abilities across
the full spectrum of learning
Student Self
levels.
Reflection
Summative
Tests
5.1 Demonstrate understanding of
assessment strategies, including
informal and formal, diagnostic,
formative and summative
approaches
to assess student learning.
The Power of Feedback: “To be
effective, feedback needs to be
clear, purposeful, meaningful,
and compatible with student’s
prior knowledge and to provide
logical connections (Hattie &
Timberley, 2007) p. 104.
Reports on student
achievement
5.2 Demonstrate an understanding
of the purpose of providing timely
and appropriate feedback to
students about their learning.
A key learning from my practicum was the
importance of using constant and timely
feedback allowing students to monitor their
own learning. I observed a colleague marking
and recording students work almost every
afternoon after class. When asked the
importance of this he advised “To ensure I
know I’m teaching effectively, the students
are aware of their learning and I can report to
colleagues and parents if and when required”.
I attempted to model this behaviour and
found it beneficial for my teaching. As a
consequence I am confident of demonstrating
the graduate standards under this criteria.
It is only through discussing and sharing
with colleagues and my own continual
learning that I will become a better
teacher. During placement it was
invaluable to receive mentor feedback
after each lesson. It allowed me to be
aware of areas of my teaching that I
could then improve. The tone of my
voice was a great example, I was not
aware that I was always talking loudly.
Therefore I constantly worked on
changing my tone during my lessons.
This allowed me to better engage with
students during class.
6.3 Seek and apply
constructive feedback
from supervisors and
teachers to improve
teaching practices.
Colleague Feedback
During my short journey to becoming a teacher this
year I have engaged in professional development
both during practicum and through University. I’m
also a member of the VCTA (Victorian Commercial
Teachers Association) and will be attending their
annual conference in November. Therefore I
believe I meet both the graduate and proficient
levels of this standard.
Cybersmart PD
PoLT PD
6.2 Understand the
relevant and
appropriate sources
of professional learning
for teachers.
I believe my 15 years working as a professional
has given me the experience and confidence to
appropriately deal with people from all levels of
an organisation. During practicum both schools
graded me an ‘excellent’ in relation to the
question “engage professionally, respectfully
and ethically with colleagues and other
members of the institution”.
7.4 Understand the role
of external professionals
and community
representatives in
broadening teachers’
professional knowledge
and practice.
I have reviewed the VIT professional code of
conduct and appreciate the importance of
complying with this code.
Example of scenario and response
1.4 Teachers maintain objectivity in
their relationships with students
Social networking sites are the major forum through which teenagers communicate. Is
it appropriate for teachers to accept students as ‘friends’, or former students as
‘friends’?
I do not believe this would be appropriate, as teachers should maintain professional
relationships with the students.
6.2 Understand and
apply the key
principles described in
codes of ethics and
conduct for the
teaching profession..
As a preservice teacher I believe I
maintained these standards however also
question how much I was actually tested
in this area. Therefore I have reviewed a
number of potential scenarios and
determined my likely responses. This has
prepared me for what may occur during
my teaching.
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Carabot, K. (2014). - Lecture 4 Engaging through popular culture and technology, EDF 5808
Fostering student engagement in Education, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria.
Churchill, R. (2011). Teaching: making a difference. Milton, Qld, John Wiley and Sons 1st
Edition
Gilakjanji, A. P. (2012, February 1). Visual, Auditory, Kinaesthetic Learning Styles and Their
Impacts on English Language Teaching. Journal of Studies in Education, 2(1), 104-113.
doi:10.5296/jse.v2i1.1007
Hattie, J., Timperley, H. (2007): The power of feedback, Review of Education Research; Mar
2007; 77; 1; p 81-112. DOI: 10.3102/003465430298487
Pham, T. (2014). - Lecture 4 Theory and practice of teaching and learning, EDF 5807 Theory
and practice of learning and Teaching, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria.
Sherrington, Tom (2013). Behaviour Management: A Bill Rogers Top 10. Retrieved from
http://headguruteacher.com/2013/01/06/behaviour-management-a-bill-rogers-top-10/