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What considerations do I need to give to risk management?

As a teacher it is an integral part of your job to make sure that you and your students are safe, physically, mentally and emotionally. A key part of this is completing risk management forms when deciding to involve student in incursions and excursions. It is your job to look at the risks verse the benefits of activity, decide upon if it is worth doing, then put in preventative measures to avoid any unnecessary risk. For example, student will wear their school uniform on the excursion to make it easier to identify them. Teachers should also be monitoring risk inside the classroom as well. Within a high school setting the different speciality areas will have specific safety measure in place. However, most teachers will be looking out for minor things such as lose cords students trip on etc.

The mental and emotional safety of the students, especially during the current climate is of a more pressing issue. Teachers are on the front line, engaging with students on a daily basis and are a significant part of their teen years. Teachers need to be activity looking in to, what can I do, to support my students? Furthermore, you need to be exploring how to best support yourself.

MATHEMATICS and ENGLISH

In both Mathematics and English, the physical risk inside the classroom in minor, yet it is important to be aware of potential hazards. When taking students on incursions or excursion appropriate documentation needs to be filled out and filed.

Both subjects are very content heavy and it can be easy to get stuck slogging out the content. However, it is vital to make time to create lesson that engage your students. To adjust your teaching methods when necessary and build a relationship with your students. Relationship is key to managing a student’s mental and emotional wellbeing in a classroom. Understanding what is going on in their lives and working with the student to overcome hardships will allow them to develop a safe environment where they can learn.

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How do I stay connected and current?

Creating connections as a teacher is fundamental to being a quality teacher. There are six key areas teachers should stay connected with: students, parents and community, colleagues, governing bodies, current research and most important have a voice into the education landscape.  The first three are best done by making time to develop relationships with your students, colleagues, the parents and community. While the last three are requirements to help you be up to date with the information surrounding your teaching area and teaching in general. As a teacher you are required to complete one hundred hours of professional development hours, at least fifty that are NESA accredited and the rest can be elective. Attending professional development days helps you to form connections outside of your school and develops your skills and knowledge. As a teacher we should be continually striving to learn more and create lasting connections with individuals that can help us become a better teacher.

MATHEMATICS

There are association and groups for teachers to connect about their specific teaching areas. For mathematics the main one is AAMT (Australian association of math teachers). However, within your own sector, i.e., independent schools, Christian school they also have their own platforms for teachers to talk and share resources.

ENGLISH

For English there is the ETA (English teachers association), for teachers to connect and share resources. Similar to mathematics there is also platforms within the different school sectors that allows teachers of specific teaching areas to connect.

In both Mathematics and English, it is vital for teachers to develop relationships with their student, to get to know what works well for their learning and what doesn’t. To connect with them and understand the world from their perspective. To develop professional relationships with your students’ parents to be able to share information and talk about how to best support students. Most importantly teachers need to develop relationships with their colleagues, so they have someone to support them through the tough days and someone to celebrate with them during the good days.

REFERENCES

NESA. (2021). PD requirements | NSW Education Standards. Nsw.edu.au; NSW Government. https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/teacher-accreditation/professional-development/pd-requirements

aisnsw. (2021). Courses and Events. Www.aisnsw.edu.au. https://www.aisnsw.edu.au/Courses

ETA. (2021). English Teachers Association NSW. Www.englishteacher.com.au. https://www.englishteacher.com.au/ AAMT. (2021). Homepage. AAMT. https://aamt.edu.au/

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How can I ensure all students have equal opportunities for success?

As seamlessly put in the lecture, the “principal goal is for all students is to achieve their own highest level of success in supportive classrooms, taught by teachers who give them the tools to overcome obstacles and learn to their fullest potential. (NESA, 2019a)” To achieve this goal teachers must then endeavour to provided equal opportunities for all of their students to achieve success. This is done by both mandated requirements for learning differentiation by NESA, using a wide range of teaching strategies, creating personal learning plans in necessary for students and building a strong, professional, relationship with your students. NESA within the curriculum and the syllabus of differentiating learning for student with varying learning abilities/gifts. For example, students with a very low level of academic ability have to option of their learning outcomes coming from the ‘life skills’ section of the syllabus. Outside of the legal documentation of providing equal opportunities for students to achieve success, teachers need to develop their own strategies for their teaching. This can be achieved by going to personal development days, these can provide skills not only about how to teach your content but how to help student that are challenged or gifted learners. For students that need extra support with their learning, creating a personal learning plan in conjunction with teachers, parents and the student can be very beneficial. However, it is important that every student is given equal opportunity, not just those with challenged or gifted learning abilities. The best two ways to provide this to your students is using a wide range of teaching strategies, and developing a relationship with students. Having a relationship with students helps you as a teacher to understand who they are and what makes them tick. Knowing this leads to your ability to create lesson that interest the students and get them to engage in deeper learning.  

MATHEMATICS

Mathematics is streamed throughout high school, the content within the syllabus is explicitly differentiated in stages five and six. Within mathematics there isn’t always time to stop and just talk with your students. However, to help them reach their potential it is important to get to know your students and develop your lessons in conjunction with strategies that will help them learn the best. Having a relationship with your students also creates an environment where the students feel safe and ready to learn.

ENGLISH

English is also streamed throughout high school, explicitly in the syllabus for stage six. English is a topic with a reasonable amount of choice in content and the types of assessments that student can be given. Working with your students to decide between two texts, to give students choice in an assessment between a creative piece or an analytical piece, will allow for students to have equal opportunity for success.

REFERENCES

NESA. (2019a). Differentiated programming | NSW Education Standards. Nsw.edu.au; NSW Government. https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/understanding-the-curriculum/programming/differentiated-programming Health Department. (202 C.E.). Department of Health | Developing a learning plan. Www1.Health.gov.au; NSW Government. https://www1.health.gov.au/internet/publications/publishing.nsf/Content/drugtreat-pubs-front6-fa-toc~drugtreat-pubs-front6-fa-seca~drugtreat-pubs-front6-fa-seca-dev

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What value do feedback and evaluation processes add to teaching and learning?

The feedback and evaluation processes only add value to teaching and learning when it is implemented effectively. Effective “feedback enables students to recognise strengths as well as areas for improvement, and to identify and plan with their teacher the next steps in their learning.” (NESA, 2020) The following image from the NESA website outlines what effective feedback consists of:

“Dylan Wiliam (2010) states that studies on feedback typically note that the pace of student learning is accelerated by at least 50%, meaning student learning is increased by an additional six months or more over a year” (aistl, 2016). Therefore, providing effective feedback to students is essential for improving learning in the classroom.

Students should also be taught how to evaluate their own work and the work of their peers against the rubric provided. Teaching your students this skill will improve their ability to tackle the assessments that they are given, reviewing their work to look for ways of improvement independently. Students should also be engaging in evaluation sheets at the end of a handful of assessments throughout the year that unpack where they did well, why they think they did well in that section, and where they did poorly and how they think they can improve.

The feedback and evaluation process is an important part of a teachers evaluation process of their own teaching. Looking over the feedback that you are providing to the students will revel areas in the content that you could’ve spent more time explaining and areas that you did well teaching to the students.  

MATHEMATICS

In mathematics students should be, where possible, receiving marked tests with appropriate feedback within a two – three-week window. Outside of this the students have lost interest in how they went and forget the processes they used to get their answers in the test. Therefore, in mathematics the most important part of effective feedback for the students is for it to be timely. Teachers can also easily evaluate their teaching strategies as well by looking over the tests and seeing where students collectively did well or poorly. 

ENGLISH

In English it is also imperative to get student feedback, where possible, in a two-three-week window. Each students’ final grade should be given to them with a highlighted rubric to show the students where they got their marks. There should also be a short paragraph provided that outlines how the student can improve. Teachers can evaluate their teaching strategies by looking over how effectively the students engaged in the assessment. 

REFERENCES 

NESA. (2020). Feedback | NSW Education Standards. Nsw.edu.au; NSW Government. https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/11-12/Understanding-the-curriculum/assessment/assessment-in-practice/feedback

aistl. (2016). Reframing feedback to improve teaching and learning. NSW Government. https://www.aitsl.edu.au/docs/default-source/research-evidence/spotlight/spotlight-feedback.pdf

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How do I engage in professional conversations to address current issues in my subject?

Learning to engage in professional conversations – knowing what to say, where to say it and who to say it to is essential to develop professional relationships with colleagues, students’ parents and guardians. Information within an education setting can be delicate or confidential, so knowing how to proceed in these conversations is a skill teachers need to acquire. When learning how to communicate with parent, it is important to: try and put yourself in their shoes, be proactive, don’t take things personally, ask parents for advice, choose your battles and admit when you’re wrong. When learning how to communicate with students, take time to get to know them, communicate the purpose of tasks, show students the curriculum and syllabus requirements, and solicit student feedback.

Beyond those teachers also are required to engage in professional conversations about their subjects and teaching strategies to help them to improve. Teachers can do this by talking with teachers that both do and do not work at the same school. Talking to professionals in their subjects and engaging in professional development programs. These programs are a requirement of proficient teachers to complete a minimum of fifty hours of NESA Accredited PD across all priority areas or twenty hours for highly accomplished and lead teachers.

MATHEMATICS In mathematics there is currently a lot of conversation surrounding the methods of teaching and testing students. Currently the majority of teachers continue to choose to teach mathematics with a classical approach, predominately requiring students to rope learn concepts and formulas. The syllabus also doesn’t require teachers to give students diverse assessment types, like other subjects, so students end up doing over 80% of their assessments in test form. Changing these approaches to teaching and testing would be great to help students learning in this subject, however it is still up for discussion.

ENGLISH In 2017 the English syllabus went through a major overhaul to minimise rope learning of essays and require students to further develop their analytical and creative writing skills. Currently teachers are engaging professional conversations about strategies to improve their teaching for these new requirements. In English teachers can also conversive with students about how they wish to approach the syllabus requirements where appropriate. For examples teachers can give students the opportunity to choose the texts they wish to engage with for the different topics. Making the students feel more engaged in their learning.

REFERENCES

aitsl. (2015). Professional conversations. Aitsl.edu.au; aitsl. https://www.aitsl.edu.au/lead-develop/develop-others/coach-others/professional-conversations Eichholz, T. (2017, February 27). New Teachers: How to Talk to Parents. Edutopia; Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/new-teachers-how-talk-parents-terri-eichholz Information Technology Serveses. (2017, September 6). Communicating Effectively with Your Students | Office of Teaching, Learning & Technology. Uiowa.edu. https://teach.its.uiowa.edu/news/communicating-effectively-your-students EDUFOLIOS. (2021). Teacher Professional Development Requirements By State and Territory. Edufolios. https://edufolios.org/teacher-professional-learning-requirements-by-state-and-territory/

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What resources can help support quality teaching and learning? (Include a focus on ICT)

Collecting an arsenal of resources to be able to implement throughout your teaching is fundamental to provided quality teaching and learning for all students. It is important to possessing a multitude of resources for different learning intelligences and ability levels, so all students have the opportunity to reach their potential in your classroom. Within the twenty first century it is imperative to have ICT (Information and Communication technology) resources for the content covered within your subject. As outlined by NESA: “Students live in a rapidly changing technological world. Information and communication technology (ICT), including hardware and personal digital devices, software, and systems that manage, store, process, create, produce and communicate information, has become an important part of everyday life.” (NESA, 2019a) ICT allows for teachers and students alike to have fast and easy access to information and extra learning tools. ICT also allows students with learning difficulties more opportunities to be supported within an overcrowded schooling system. Students with dyslexia for example can have programs that read their maths test to them.

Today the majority of the population carries around a device with them everywhere they go, the world at their fingertips. However, with so many people with the ability to post information up on line it is important that as teachers we not only use ICT as a resource but teach out students how to appropriately source information. This is a critical skill for students to develop as they graduate and move forward into their chosen careers to be able to locate accurate and reliable information.

MATHEMATICS

In mathematics ICT is a great resource to use to help students to advance their abilities in “creating patterns, creating and interpreting graphs, investigating compound interest, and solving equations graphically.” (NESA, 2019a) Students also use scientific calculators throughout high school and aid in areas such as trigonometry and calculus. ICT also allows student to record and display various forms of data and explore geometric properties. 

 ENGLISH

In English ICT allows students to have access to an assortment of diverse resources that can be used to develop their critical and imaginative writing skills. ICT gives opportunities for students to watch, read or listen to texts. To help develop spelling and grammar skills. 

REFERENCING

NESA. (2019a). Integrating ICT Capability | NSW Education Standards. Nsw.edu.au; NSW Government. https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/understanding-the-curriculum/programming/integrating-ict-capability Strategies for Gathering Reliable Information. (2019). 2012books.lardbucket.org; Creative Commons. https://2012books.lardbucket.org/books/successful-writing/s15-04-strategies-for-gathering-relia.html

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How do I deepen student learning through PBL and other engaging teaching strategies?

PBL – Project Based learning “is a teaching method in which students learn by actively engaging in real-world and personally meaningful projects” (Buck Institute for Education, 2019). Unlike traditional teaching strategies where students are required to memorise information, formulas, quotes etc. and recreate that knowledge in their test, assignments and examinations, students are required to engage in more self-guided learning. Either individually or in a group student are given a problem to solve, using the content they are been learning in their KLA and in other KLA’s. PBL is a great way to engage students in cross curriculum thinking.  

The structure of PBL creates an environment to foster deeper thinking, however to do this successfully required the great design and teaching practices.

The framework for high quality project-based learning steps out six important areas when developing a project for your students. These are: intellectual challenge and accomplishment, authenticity, public product, collaboration, project management and reflection. Applying these different elements into your PBL creates depth of thinking, students will be using ‘life skills’, such as communication and research skills to successfully complete their project. As PBL is founded in real-world and personally meaningful projects the students are being given opportunities to contribute to real world problems that mean something to them, that can have a positive impact on the world around them. Creating a personal interest in learning for the students, and when they have that personal interest they will engage positively, creating an effective environment for learning.

MATHEMATICS

Mathematics can easily become a rope learning environment where students are memorising content for their upcoming test and forgetting it as they walk out the door. The questions - “where will I use this in life and “why are we learning this’ are commonly heard coming from inside a maths classroom. Project Based Learning in mathematics is a great opportunity to get students using the content to solve real life problems. Using PBL in mathematics is also a great way to engage in cross curriculum learning to make the ‘problem’ the student are solving have multiple dimensions. For example, students could be analysing data about pollution in the oceans and in English work on an essay to send to their local government about what needs to be done about it.  

ENGLISH

English can seem like a bunch of texts that have to be read or viewed and then dissected into an essay. Making learning in English hands on allows students with different intelligences become more actively involved, leading to deeper learning. Students could for example write a song, or do a performance rather than write an essay.

REFERENCES

Buck Institute for Education. (2019). What is pbl? PBLWorks. https://www.pblworks.org/what-is-pbl The Framework for High Quality Project Based Learning. (2018). Hqpbl.org; HQPBL. https://hqpbl.org/

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How do I create wholistic and relevant learning?

First, let’s define what wholistic learning is – “wholistic education is a comprehensive approach to teaching where educators seek to address the emotional, social, ethical, and academic needs of students in an integrated learning format. (What Is Holistic Education? Understanding the History, Methods, and Benefits, 2020)” When using a wholistic approach to learning teachers need to consider these four things: • the syllabus/curriculum documentation • the graduated teaching standards (GTS)   • the school system and students • making learning vast and varied

Wholistic learning teaches students more than just the content of a subject, but expands to skills that will benefit the student outside of a school setting, for example teaching a student manner.

Other areas addressed in wholistic learning is looking at cross – curricular priorities and developing general capabilities, literary and numeracy skills within the classroom. It can feel that wholistic learning is just piling up more requirement onto the teacher and the students. However, the using this approach to teaching allows students to become more present in the classroom and willing to engage in the content. As seen in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, an individual can only achieve ‘self-actualisation’, the need to learn, when their other needs are meet. Which is essential the basis of wholistic learning

To develop wholistic and relevant learning teachers have to be creative and think carefully about what content they chose (if there is a choice) and how to present the content. Teachers also need to develop a positive attitude towards flexibility and change. Students all learn differently and so what has worked in the past may need to be changed. When choosing content teachers need to be aware of students’ perspectives and background concerning controversial topics. To support students emotionally you may have to compromise learning time for reflection time or down time. Teachers who allow for these times will see great success in the student’s motivation in the subject and a more positive attitude towards the content.  

MATHEMATICS

Mathematics is a content heavy subject and so doesn’t leave much time for ‘down time’ or breaks. However, making time for an activity day or revision periods helps students to feel more positively about the subject. Mathematics doesn’t engage in cross- curricular very often, and so this is an area that needs further development. When incorporating numeracy and literacy into mathematics numeracy is a no brainer. However, literacy skills are fundamental for students in mathematics too just less obvious, for examples students need to understand definitions of new terminology.

ENGLISH

English naturally takes on a wholistic learning approach as it engages students in thinking about themselves and the world around them. Requiring them to reflect both academically about content and emotionally. English also engages in cross-curricular areas commonly, for example students read texts that include history and sustainability. The opposite to mathematics English lends itself easily to literacy skills and not so much to numeracy. However, numeracy is used in poetry, finding rhythms and problem-solving skills are used in short answer question simultaneously with analytical skills.

REFERENCES

What Is Holistic Education? Understanding the History, Methods, and Benefits. (2020, May 13). Soeonline.american.edu; School or Education. https://soeonline.american.edu/blog/what-is-holistic-education

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How do I approach this thing called a unit plan?

As adequately said by Tiani Page approaching a unit plan is similar to approaching a puzzle. First you start with the edge pieces then separate it into similar colours, use a bit of trial and error. When developing a unit plan it is important to make sure that all the framework (edge pieces) are there first to help structure it. Teachers need to be knowledgeable about the how the curriculum and syllabus are structured for their subject, this information is the foundation used to build a unit plan. Next break it down into the different areas of a unit plan the: content, assessments, resources, learning experiences etc. Different schools and subjects modify their unit plans to include things such as values and key terms. As a teacher you are required to decide what you think is important to include and exclude in your unit plan.

A unit plan is further development from a scope and sequence, focusing on a specific content area. Therefore, it is important to have developed a scope and sequence before creating unit plans to be aware of the time period the content will be taught in and the prior knowledge the students will have. When developing unit plans it is important to have a structured approach.

As a teacher you are a part of a community, with lots of experienced individuals. So don’t do it alone! Reach out to your fellow colleagues, swop resources and ideas so to develop the best learning experiences for your students as possible.  

MATHEMATICS

In Mathematics the syllabus explicitly steps out how to approach the content including examples and a clear structure to follow. However, where possible try to be creative, mathematics is a subject a lot of students find tiresome, brainstorm with fellow colleagues how to complete the content and outcomes creatively.

ENGLISH

Within English there is a lot more freedom to the approach of how to complete the outcomes. However, there is a lot of outcomes and requirements to complete within the course. Therefore, it is very important to have a detailed scope and sequence to follow, to then develop the unit plans.

Page, T. (2021). Curriculum Studies [Lecture/ Power Point to Annalea Bishop].

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What can I learn about meeting student and governing authority needs in my teaching? What does assessment compliance look like?

In Australia the State and Territory Parliaments make the laws that govern education and schools. The State and Territory Parliaments operate in compliance with the Education Act 1990.Within NSW the organisation that works in conjunction with the education minister (Sarah Mitchell) and the schools is NESA (NSW Education Standards Authority). “The functions of NESA include providing advice and making recommendations to the Minister about the registration of non-government schools and making decisions about the accreditation of non-government schools under Parts 7 and 8 of the Education Act respectively.” (NESA, 2019) Each school is required to attain a certificate of accreditation for NESA that will late one to five years. However, NESA has the authority to examine how the school is meeting the standards at any time.

As a teacher I am a part of the line of education accountability, with the role of “delivering the quality educational service at the coalface.” NESA requires teachers to: deliver education in line with the NSW NESA curriculum documents, provide teaching programs for each course, provide assessments to students that follow the NESA guidelines and proof that NESA requirements are being met. Teachers are required to develop and keep record of the following documents to provide evidence of compliance to NESA:

Scope and Sequence

A Teaching Program for each unit in the Scope and Sequence

Assessment Schedule (Plan) for the year

Assessment Records (formative and summative)

Samples of Student Work for each unit

A list of resources used to teach each unit of work

Assessments outlines must be provided to students with outcomes and explicit instruction in line with NESA assessment requirements. Teachers are also required to engage students in, for, as and of learning assessments. Schools are required to develop handbooks and policies that govern assessments at each stage in secondary. Students from seven to eleven receive A-E grade for each KLA. Whereas HSC requires a mark out of 100 for each subject in year 12 (ranking).

Within a classroom teacher not only have to be fulfilling the requirements of the government but that of the students. Students require more than just an influx of information, they need to feel physically, emotionally and culturally safe, while being taught subject specific skills.

MATHEMATICS

When developing the scope and sequence for Mathematics the curriculum content must all be completed. However, the depth of learning in each content area differs depending upon the students’ abilities levels. Teachers are required to record the marks students achieve and keep samples of work.

ENGLISH

When developing the scope and sequence for English teachers are required to engage with a range of different literature and topics. Teachers are allowed to choose which type of literature they wish to pair with which topic. However, each are must be covered throughout the year. Students are slip into ability levels for English and this reflects the content chosen by the teacher to engage with.

REFERENCES

The Hon. Sarah MITCHELL, MLC. (n.d.). Www.parliament.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved October 30, 2021, from https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/members/Pages/member-details.aspx?pk=93

NESA. (2019, January 17). Responsibilities of NESA :: RANGS. Rego.nesa.nsw.edu.au. https://rego.nesa.nsw.edu.au/responsibilities-of-the-minister-and-nesa/responsibilities-of-nesa

NSW Government. (2020). Proficient Teacher Evidence Guide. In NSW Education Standards Authority. NSW Government. https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/wcm/connect/84c181d8-ac08-4758-8c5b-7f60ea336a71/proficient-teacher-evidence-guide.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CVID=

Education Standards Authority. (2020). Assessment | NSW Education Standards. Assessment; NSW Government. https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/understanding-the-curriculum/assessment