Reflections
Week one:
It was interesting to look at the three case studies presented and to decided what my responses would be to all three. The different approaches and responses from other students not he discussion board was also food for thought. Most people were in general agreement on how the three situations should be handled. The fourth scenario of the student who is on Facebook and talking about having sex is very topical and unsurprisingly generated a lot of conversation. The states differ in their definitions of mandatory reporting, different people have very different ideas on the appropriateness of technology including Facebook in young people's lives, and of course adults are always going to differ in their views on what the best approach to teenagers and sex is. The policies of the school are also going to influence the teacher's approach to this situation. Week two:
I found a lot of interesting material in the second module. It is good that there are professional standards, and I also was interested to read 'A graduate is not yet recognised as a competent and capable practitioner with full professional standing. Full professional standing or registration will be offered to graduates who actively seek professional development post completion f their course work.' The videos on the AITSL were of varying interest, and hard to view. There were a few memorable quotes: The best educators are the best learners School leaders have a responsibility to foster the ambition of their staff to grow and to nurture a learning culture Every young Australian should experience quality education and the best opportunitites in life From the reading I agree that it is important to have a willingness to listen, to offer suggestions, be an active participant and a willing learner, to accept constructive criticism and act on advice. This will be valuable when getting to know my mentor teacher. I need to make sure that I am an active listener in the classroom. Week three:
I am really enjoying complimenting the course material with material on Steiner and Waldorf teaching. I have included links on the numeracy page to the teaching of Waldorf mathematics by an Waldorf mathematics educator at a Steiner school in Colorado. I was really moved and inspired by his lecture. I hope I am close to finalising my placement with the Newcastle Waldorf School. I am looking forward to being involved in the classes, although a bit nervous at this stage in reconciling the technology- heavy and mainstream approach of the University's guidelines and requirements with a Waldorf pedagogy and the different way in which their days and lessons are structured. Teaching Reflection One
My first teaching experience, Year 10 Algebra Today Pete asked me if I would take the morning’s class. I was of course more than happy to do this but did feel very unprepared. Pete then gave me an outline of what I would need to go through. I knew this was a great opportunity in my first week of practical placement in any school. I was nervous but knew that my confidence will grow. The major purpose of the class was to explain why we can expand brackets out, rather than just learning the process as I had learnt in a mainstream school. I was great to see the students grasp this, and it gave them motivation to keep learning. The feedback from Pete was really positive. He said when working a problem on the board with a student’s direction, if they tell me something incorrect, to write it on the board. While writing it, I need to go through how they came to reach that answer. I can ask the class if they are happy or if anybody got a different answer. I can then go back to the original student and understanding his or her thought process, guide them through the method to end up with the correct answer. This is a wonderful way to teach, to understand the way the student is thinking and I know I can apply this to all of my teaching. |
Week four:
I visited the Cooks Hill Campus this week, the second school where I will be doing some of my placement. I was really encouraged to see the way in which they operate, and am excited that I will be able to be a part of teaching one of the year 10 classes for four weeks. The time I am there will include the presentation of the first project the students have completed. This will give me a good insight into how they are all travelling and where I can most make a difference in their education and life paths. It was great to meet my mentor teacher. He is young and enthusiastic, and by the virtue of him choosing to teach at a school adopting the Big Picture Education Program he has 'strayed' from the mainstream approach, which is really encouraging to me. I am happy to see that more and more schools and teachers are not only recognising that there are more and more kids who are 'falling through the cracks' of mainstream education, and that the approach currently taken by the education department in Australia just isn't what our kids need. Of course I am nervous about being there, but I love the fact that it is not run as a 'formal' classroom situation. I won't be standing out the front delivering lessons according to a lesson plan the way we have put them together for assignment one. There are 17 young people there who all have different needs, interests, abilities and levels of belief in themselves. I aim to get to know each and every one of them and to find the way that I can really make a difference to each one. I'm excited! Reflection:
I am finding the process of putting a lesson plan together quite difficult. Not having done a placement yet, and not being in communication with my mentor teachers until after the school holidays, doesn't help. Doing my first placement at a Steiner school also changes things a lot. They don't run to the bells, assemblies, six or seven lessons per day timetable that most schools do. There are three lessons per day and things are taught in three week blocks. Until I become immersed in this in late May, it is hard to translate this into the lesson plan temple that has been provided by CDU. Oh well, I'll just do one and submit it, lol. Then I can at least pass the unit and go on to actually learn how to teach when I am in the school. Teaching Reflection Two
More teaching, Year 7 Science Today I taught the class for the beginning of their work on water. The major objective of the class was to explain the Water Cycle and to conduct an experiment to observe the changing states of water. Before the class I went in to the class to draw up a diagram for the Water Cycle. I asked Troy for his feedback and although he said it was a great drawing, that Steiner had written that drawings should be beautiful and realistic. I happily took this on board and altered the drawing to include a beautiful sun that radiated heat, a lovely Mulberry tree blowing in the wind and an ocean with lots of white caps and blue waves. It was really helpful to be able to have a discussion with Troy about how to incorporate the Waldorf teaching method with the ‘nuts and bolts’ of science as it had been taught to me in mainstream schools and universities. I found it really helpful and can see how I can incorporate this into other topics and lessons. It was wonderful to see each of the students put their own artistic spin on the diagram. One girl drew ducks and other birds on the lake, another made the whole diagram fit into a circle to enhance the message of the water going through a cycle. They all really enjoyed the drawing process and asked great questions about the Water Cycle. The experiment also went really well and the students were able to relate the properties we observed back to the topics we had done earlier in the block on fire and air. |