Learning Content
Teachers know the content they
teach
Learner Context
Teachers know about learner
contexts and diversity
Professional Practice
Planning & Teaching
Teachers plan and implement
teaching strategies for successful
learning experiences
Feedback & Reporting
Teachers assess and report learning
outcomes
Learning Environment
Teachers create a safe, challenging
and supportive learning environment
Jess strongly demonstrated a working knowledge of the ACARA Framework
appropriate for the level of the learner group. While planning her science with the
PRIMARY CONNECTIONS document she realised that it didn’t match ACARA and
made the necessary adjustments to her planning. Jess would often give the
outcome of each lesson either as a reminder of the concept they were learning or
posed as a question before her lesson. She was able to support and adjust the
content and make allowances for the two children with Asperger’s Syndrome. She
would encourage peer tutoring and work with each child until they were confident
that they knew how to complete the task. Jess thoroughly immersed herself in the
topic, Chance and Probability. She accurately structured a maths unit which
included finding out where the students were at, some built in revision, new
concepts being introduced, small group intensive work with those who needed it,
extension activities, an assessment task and reflective sharing at the end of each
lesson, “Tell me the story of this lesson.”
Jess was keen from the outset of her teaching practice to gain a detailed
knowledge about the learners for whom she would be responsible. She made
many keen observations about the learning styles and behaviour patterns of the
students and assisted me in setting up strategies to assure that the students
worked cooperatively and productively while under her care. These included the
structure of learning teams, the layout of desks and equipment in the room, her
positioning in the room with regard to explicit teaching and her level of enthusiasm
to engage and provide feedback to student while working on learning tasks.
Comments
Jess was eager to familiarise herself with the resources available in the school right
from the outset of her teaching practise. Then she went about incorporating
appropriate resources to enhance the lessons that she presented. She borrowed
appropriate resources from the Library and sought the advice of our maths and
science coordinators to assist her in planning. She borrowed a science box of
equipment and actually added to the resource before leaving. I was impressed by
her ability to help other student teachers in their implementation of the same
science unit.
Jess used a diverse range of authentic assessment strategies and tools to evaluate
student progress including peer and self-assessment, anecdotal notes, goal
setting, using rubrics and checklists, benchmarking in regards to Reading levels,
closer monitoring of students who were struggling with specific skills, using
concepts maps for inquiry-based learning, and performance tasks. She monitored
each student’s progress and kept accurate student records. A credit to Jess is the
value the students placed on her as their teacher and I believe this is because each
piece of work collected was marked and before the next lesson she gave them
feedback that was positive and constructive.
Jess established clear learning expectations with learners and engaged them in the
process. She set achievable expectations for learner behaviour within the learning
environment and showed flexibility depending on the task and situation (indoor,
outdoor, resource centre, school gym, oval area). Safe practises and an emphasis
on students displaying the school core values of caring, responsibility, excellence,
and respect were strongly reinforced and acknowledged. Jess also familiarised
herself with Play is the Way games and the strong language that is used to convey
and support caring and respectful student behaviour.