Provisional Teacher Evidence Eryn Smith

APPENDIX

Unit Plan

Provisional Teacher Evidence Transitioning to Full Registration

Eryn Smith

STANDARD 7.

Engage Professionally with Colleagues, parents/carers and the community

7.1 Meet professional ethics and responsibilities

Meet code of ethics and conduct established by reglatory authorities, systems and schools.

7.2 Comply with legislative, administrative and organisational requirements

Understand the implications of and comply with relevant legislative, administrative, organisational and professional requirements, policies and processes.

I understand that to have students photos displayed on a public forum (ie the school facebook page) I must first ensure that the students I am featuring have photo approval previously sought by the school. Above is an email to administration confirming students are who authorised to have their photo feature on the school facebook page. I understand importance for teachers to recognise the vital role of consent and to commit to best practice in this area.

Upon beginning at ay new school I ensure I read the schools policies and procedures. I clarify aspects of policies and procedures I am unsure of with senior staff and have regular discussions about how decisions as educators are guided by policies and legislative requirements. The above comment is endorsement from a previous principle.

7.3 Engage with the parents/carers

Establish and maintain respectful collaborative relationships with parents and carers regarding their children's learning and well-being

7.4 Engage with professional teaching networks and broader communities

Participate in professional and community networks and forums to broaden knowledge and improve practice.

As mentioned in 3.7, I recognise parents as the child's first teacher and value the important role that parents and carers play in education. I value the strong relationships that I uphold with my children's teacher and therefore feel I have a well-rounded perspective. In any classroom that I teach I ensure that I make an effort to connect with parents. I foster positive interactions through formal and informal discussions. These interactions assist me to earn the trust of parents and carers and has highlighted the important role that both teachers and parents/carers have in fostering positive attitudes towards learning. I have been able to develop strategies that enable me to work effectively, sensitively and confidently with parents/carers. This is evident in the feedback I have received.

I recently attended a professional development session about the Zones of Regulation presented Speech Pathologist Julie Liptak with an experienced teacher collegue. I referred to my notes taken from the professional development regularly during professional conversations between myself and other staff members on how to best incorporate the strategies into the daily routines, practices and units of work. I understand and value the vast opportunities that are available to me within the wider community that can benefit my teaching practice. These images are evidence of how I have utilised the role of external professionals in broadening my professional knowledge and practice.

STANDARD 6.

Engage In Professional Learning

6.1 Identify and plan professional learning needs

Use the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers and advice from colleagues to identify and plan professional learning needs.

6.2 Engage in professional learning and improve practice

Participate in learning to update knowledge and practice, targeted to professional needs and school and/or system priorities

Prior to leaving Victoria, I asked a colleague to assist me in planning professional learning needs and setting some goals. She suggested using the APST to help guide and highlight strengths and areas I felt I needed to or would like to work on. Together we reviewed my past observations from previous mentors and leadership. We identified where these areas of improvement could align within the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers and from there created attainable, realistic goals. My mentor and I discussed in-depth about how I would achieve these goals and what these goals meant to my professional growth. This is an example of some goals that I set at the beginning of last year. Setting goals and tracking improvements enabled me to have a greater understanding of the Professional Standards and their role in identifying professional learning needs.

STANDARD 5.

Before taking on the role as Digital Technology teacher, I had not taught Digital Technology previously. To ensure I would be confident in teaching the key concepts correctly. My son is on the spectrum and I work in a special school so I am very interested in understanding neurodiversity and inclusive education- this year I have made a large effort to participate in professional learning activities. The above list is some of the Professional Learning that I have participated in.

5.2 Provide feedback to students on their learning

Provide timely, effective and appropriate feedback to students about their achievement relative to their learning goals

Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning

Feedback provided to student audio recording

Automatic Start

6.3 Engage with colleagues and improve practice

Contribute to collegial discussions and apply constructive feedback from

colleagues to improve professional knowledge and practice.

Transcript-

Hi Jess, Mrs. Smith here. Thank you so much for submitting your writing today. You did such a great job using you knowledge of the capilisation and punctuation rules. Also your use of paragraph writing strategy was really effective. Your paragraphs were well organised and they communicate your message really, really well.

It does look like the check for spelling strategy that you are using for your writing, isnt working so well for you so in the next webex meeting lets see if there is another way to check your spelling. Overall this is a great piece of writing. Thanks so much Jess. Bye

6.4 Apply professional learning and improve student learning

Undertake professional learning programs designed to address identified student learning needs.

I have been able to apply my understanding of effective, meaningful feedback which aims to assist and promote students learning. During remote learning, I found voice recording my feedback was meaningful and offered personalisation. I was able to provide both written and verbal feedback. Providing feedback in various forms highlights how it supports students to take ownership of their learning and provides an avenue to improved their future learning. This recording is feedback that was provided to a student during my last placement and shows my ability to provided meaningful feedback to students.

5.1 Assess student learning

Develop, select and use informal and formal, diagnostic, formative and summative assessment strategies to assess student learning.

Note- Students names have been removed for privacy

Many other teachers I have worked with in the past have been teaching for over 20 years so their feedback and perspectives, I feel, are very valuable. I ensure I seek feedback about my ideas, planning and lessons, and ensure I note areas of improvement. I have had many professional conversations regarding how to teach specific content within the Digital Tech curriculum. These meetings provided me with an opportunity to explore a variety of approaches and develop self-awareness and self-evaluation. Skills that are highly valued as a teacher. Feedback has assisted with my professional growth and has highlighted the importance of reflective thinking. The above evidence highlights my open attitude towards receiving and acting upon constructive feedback.

5.4 Interpret student data

Use student assessment data to analyse and evaluate student understanding of subject/content, identifying interventions and modifying teaching practice.

After attending the Zones of Regulations PD my mentor and I had numerous conversations about how to implement the Zones into the classroom routine to further support the emotional well-being of students. We decided that introducing a unit about emotions would be the best way to introduce these routines to assist students to have the background understanding that is required to effectively use the Zones of Regulations. Using the Zones as a part of the routines within the classroom assisted with students emotional behaviour and provided them with the tools to regulate themselves. Through attending and implementing learning from this PD, I can demonstrate an understanding of continued professional learning and the impact it has on student learning.

These assessments were used in conjunction with reading records and observations to help indicate what reading level students are working at and if they were ready to progress to the next level. Students who achieved an accuracy rate of 95% in the Running Records and were successful in the anecdotal records were able to progress in reading levels. These assessment strategies enabled me to utilise my understanding of assessment and effective approaches to assess students learning and understanding.

During my time with preps, leadership had newly introduced a new way to track letter and letter sounds knowledge. This screenshot shows a table which is to record and interpret students learning and data obtained from reading groups across the prep cohort. As students progress, it is tracked within this spreadsheet. I routinely updated and utilised this spreadsheet, which gave me great insight into students progress and learning. In addition to this, it highlighted students who may require intervention with the Learning Enhancement Leader. Every week when the team met we shared the data, highlighting areas of importance. I was able to use this data to evaluate learning and alter my teaching practice to suit the needs of the students.

5.3 Make consistent and comparable judgements

Understand and participate in assessment moderation activities to support consistent and comparable judgements of student learning.

5.5 Report on student achievement

I used this rubric in a year 2 class for narrative writing which was developed as part of the teaching program to assess students achievement of learning goals. It assisted me in making judgements to identify elements of a students works and where on the achievement continuum the students were placed.

This guide not only ensured I was marking student work fairly and accurately, but also helped to clarify improvements and changes could be made in order to help students progress in their learning.

Report clearly, accurately and respectfully to students and parents/ carers about student achievement, making use of accurate and reliable records.

I have utilised effective reporting strategies throughout my teaching career. A majority of results tracked through spreadsheets where assessment results are entered into these spreadsheets which allow data to be organised systematically and is used to easy to track students achievements. Feedback and comments are also input for each student. Through the results of students assessment, I can analyse and then use the outcomes to reflect and use for future planning and assessment development. The data that is recorded is included in students reports for parents and carers to view.

STANDARD 4.

Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments

4.1 Support student participation

Establish and implement inclusive and positive interactions to engage and support all students in classroom activities.

STANDARD 3.

4.2 Manage classroom activities

Establish and maintain orderly and workable routines to create an environment where student time is spent on learning tasks.

I understand that to effectively reach all students, educators need to know students as individuals. I spend time observing behaviour during lessons and ensure I request further information about students and their needs. I take the time to build students trust and get to understand their personalities which enabled us to build a strong teacher-student relationship. Comments from previous mentors acknowledge that I know students as individuals and supports the participation of all students.

Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning

3.1 Establish challenging learning goals

Set explicit, challenging and achievable learning goals for all students.

3.2 Plan, structure and sequence learning programs

3.3 Use teaching strategies

Plan and implement well structured learning and teaching programs or lesson sequences that engage students and promote learning

Select and use relevant teaching strategies to develop knowledge, skills, problem solving and critical and creative thinking

Integrated Unit Plan located in the appendix

Example of various teaching strategies used- Automatic Start

I ensure that I alter the instructional level to suit the developmental level of the students, such as providing short, simple instructions which are important for the lower school levels and students who require altered instructions. When planning and implementing lessons I ensure that I follow consistant lesson routines such as beginning/opening/input, the body and then the conclusion. The time frames within the lessons that I write are accurate and appropriate to the task and focus level. This lesson plan highlights the transition to each stage which are easily identifiable which demonstrates my capacity to organise classroom activities and write lessons that have a clear structure that students know how to follow.

4.3 Manage challenging behaviour

Manage challenging behaviour by establishing and negotiating clear expectations with students and address discipline issues promptly, fairly and respectfully

Writing examples and observations help plan for future writing lessons and assist to inform new writing goals. I allocated each student new writing goals as their work progressed and ensured my strategies included highlighting these goals and motivating students to work towards them. These goals highlight my ability to identify areas of improvement within students writing. I used these goals to inform future planning, inform assessment and highlight students who may require intervention or extension. I understand the importance of setting learning goals that are realistic, authentic and measurable to support students to strive to be their best.

Design of inquiry unit called Master Chef. This unit was designed for students to explore the many disciplines used when cooking (maths, science, creative thinking). This unit of work allowed students to explore ongoing thinking, inquiry, and questioning while enabling them to relate to the content in a real-life context in an engaging manner. The unit's big ideas are based on the foods we eat fuels our bodies and we use our understanding in other areas of our learning when we cook, exploring eating options and how these options are prepared. This unit plan demonstrates my ability to organise content into effective learning and teaching sequences as well as demonstrate knowledge of relevant curriculum standards which are highlighted in the intended outcomes.

Throughout lockdowns I planned many activities and lessons using a range of strategies. I found that when I designed lessons that targeted many individual learning preferences, such as visual and auditory, students engagement and participation was increased. It was clear that students enjoy learning through a variety of strategies. This lesson was written for our online content was apart of the inquiry unit Forces are at work in everything we do. Lessons such as this can be used as evidence to demonstrate my ability to plan and implement lessons that encourage critical thinking, creativity and problem-solving.

I spend the first term establishing classroom behaviour expectations within my classes. I ensure that I have clear expectations that all students have agreed to. These routines and classroom expectations allowed me to use proactive behaviour practices within the classroom through using positive behaviour reinforcements which reduced negative behaviours. Establishing clear guidelines and implementing consistent policies demonstrates my knowledge and understanding of practical approaches to manager challenging behaviour. Above are observation comments in relation to my behaviour management strategies.

4.4 Maintains students safety

Ensure students’ wellbeing and safety within school by implementing school and/ or system, curriculum and legislative requirements.

3.4 Select and use resources

3.5 Use effective classroom communication

3.6 Evaluate and improve teaching programs

Select and/or create and use a range of resources, including ICT, to engage students in their learning

Use effective verbal and non verbal communication strategies to support student understanding, participation, engagement and achievement

Evaluate personal teaching and learning programs using evidence, including feedback from students and student assessment data, to inform planning.

I am committed to fostering a safe and caring learning environment and I aim to encourage positive self-esteem, growth and self-confidence with all students I interact with. I am conscious of implementing positive classroom practices. Observations of negative social behaviours in a particular class prompted me to explore the concept of "bucket filling" which encourages kindness and fosters positive interactions between students. I also observed students with low resilience levels and negative self-talk. I incorporated positive interaction statements into our day and taught a series of lessons on fixed vs growth mindset, using visual cues on students desks to prompt positive self-talk. Over the course of my time in the class, I witnessed many changes in students interactions with each other and overheard student using the positive self-talk language which displayed a change in mindset. Implementing these lessons have assisted me to manage safe engagement between students and deliver lessons that address the students well-being.

Lesson will automatically play

4.5 Use ICT safely, responsibly and ethically

Incorporate strategies to promote the safe, responsible and ethical use of ICT in learning and teaching.

I use a wide range of teaching resources that support and improve my teaching practice. I enjoy using both ready-made resources as well as sourcing and developing my own resources such as flip charts and Power Points like this Schema mini lesson. Understanding students developmental level, I am able to make decisions about what resources were suitable for year level/phase. I understand that having the ability to make informed decisions about the quality of resources through determining whether they support students in achieving the expected learning outcomes is extremely important for educators. These resources prove my ability to seek out and use a range of appropriate resources which are both ready made and created.

I have shown the ability to relate and work with students in a great capacity during my time within classrooms. I understand the importance of utilising the whole classroom when teaching and how important it is to have the ability to change volume, pitch and tone when talking and engaging with students. Above are lesson obeservation notes supporting my interactions with students using verbal and non verbal communication strategies.

During my time as a graduate, my mentor or supporting teacher and I collaboratively reflected on lessons that were being observed. We would both complete and compare a reflection form such as the one above. During these meetings, we would analyse and reflect my content delivery, behaviour management, communication and teaching strategies. I found these meetings highly valuable to my teaching practice as they guided and informed future lessons and assessments and, assisted in the refection and development of learning opportunities for students. Participating in collaborative reflection has had a significant impact on my teaching practice and demonstrates my knowledge of strategies that can be used to evaluate teaching programs.

3.7 Engage parents/carers in the educative process

Plan for appropriate and contextual relevant opportunities for parents and carers to be involved in their child's learning

I am currently teaching digital citizenship and online safety with year 1 and 2 with the focus being communication safety. Students extending their understanding about online safety and how to communicate safely in online communities. I incorporate strategies into my lessons that promote responsible technology use that provides the ability to engage positively in various digital environments. An example of a students work on sharing personal information online and lesson plan help support 4.5.

I understand and value that a child's first teacher are their parents. I therefore value the relationship that teacher and parents can have and the positive impact that that relationship can have on a students learning. In the past, where suitable, I have encouraged parents to be active in their child's learning by inviting volunteers into the classroom where required. This email is a record of communication between myself and a past students parent where I am encouraging the parent to be involved in the classroom activities.

STANDARD 2.

Know the content and how to teach it

2.1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area

Apply knowledge of the content and teaching strategies of the teaching area to develop engaging teaching activities

STANDARD 1.

This inquiry unit plan demonstrates my ability to apply knowledge of the content and teaching strategies of the teaching area to develop engaging, rich learning opportunities. The plan was developed as part of the students Master Chief inquiry unit which identifies a range of knowledge, skills and behaviours, reflecting interdisciplinary areas. The learning areas of Science, Design and Technology and Mathematics are integrated, as well as critical and creative thinking. These lessons engage students in their learning while exploring important skills for the future. While planning this unit, the learning activities that I included were designed to engage students through authentic learning opportunities. Learning experiences such as these had a positive influence on the student's attitude and learning, therefore justifying my choice and prompting me to use engaging activities of a similar nature in the future.

2.2 Content selection and organisation

Organise content into coherant, well sequences learning and teaching programs

Know students and how they learn

My knowledge and understanding of both the Australian and the Queensland Curriculum have assisted me to plan and implement lessons that have been organised into effective sequences. I utilised the Australian and Queensland Curriculum to plan lesson's and lesson sequences which ensure that these lessons reflect the Curriculum Learning Outcomes and Year Level planning. This piece of evidence is an example of the stages in a mathematics lesson plan that I have written as part of a wider unit of counting on and counting all. The stages of the lessons are set out in a systematic way which enables the lesson to smoothy transition in-between stages in combination with transition routines, which enables a sense of safety through predictability. I utilised the backward design planning process which has proven to be an ideal method when planning both sequences of lessons and individual lesson.

1.1 Physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics of students

Use teaching strategies based on knowledge of students' physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics to improve student learning.

2.3 Curriculum, assessment and reporting

Design and implement learning and teaching programs using knowledge of curriculum, assessment and reporting requirements

vocal assessment- automatic play

2.4 Understand and respect Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to promote reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian

https://app.seesaw.me/pages/shared_activity?share_token=19C1D-dgQJG6qfZXIbhylQ&prompt_id=prompt.290125f5-4f10-423c-94d0-70cb9dcbccd0

1.2 Understand how students learn

My teaching experiences have shown me that to support student's physical, social, and intellectual development it is imperative to understand how each student learns and what strategies work for them. Comments from a mentor teacher highlights my ability to adjust and modify experiences to suit student's needs. This was evident within one of my planned experiences in the lower years. Through reflecting on this student's interest, I was able to alter the project to suit the student and his strengths (imaginative play- racing cars in paint to make patterns), successfully engaging him in the experience and achieving the learning outcome.

Structure teaching programs using research and collegial advice about how students learn

Provide opportunities for students to develop understanding of and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and languages.

I understand that providing a visual representation of the day's classroom schedule helps children understand the structure of their school day, and prepare themselves accordingly. This is true especially for anxious students who find comfort in knowing how their school day will look. Visual schedules reduce stress and anxiety, aswell as promotes self-regulation, engagement, focus and a positive learning environment.

The use of visual schedules within my teaching practice assists students to understand sequences of events and routines. Furthermore, I have found they assist to develop the concept of time – now, next, later, and to relate words to pictures, supporting their comprehension.

The evidence notes outline my professional conversation with a collegue who previosuly taught a student who was now in my class who was highly anxious and diagnosed with ADHD. My collegue explained the benefits of introducing such a timetable to this students and how the reduced stress of understanding what was next was able to have a positive outcome on the students learning.

Throughout literacy blocks I have integrated Indigenous Histories and Cultures into my lessons to assist students to develop an awareness and appreciation for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives. This has included storytelling traditions and contemporary literature. Using traditional stories within my lessons prompts understanding and respect towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and languages. For example, during a unit based on storytelling, I planned a lesson using Indigenous storytelling rocks where students created Dreamtime stories. Students then were able to make their own storytelling rocks. These lessons assisted students to understand the importance of storytelling and promote understanding and recognition of Indigenous issues.

The activity above displays students work samples from the pre-test I assigned during teaching through the pandemic in Melbourne. Utilising pre-tests highlights the importance of using assessment to inform the development of learning opportunities and how curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge all contribute to designing effective learning sequences and lesson plans. This activity provided me with information about students prior knowledge and what students already know and understand. In addition to this, it assisted to inform my future planning through extending prior knowledge and explicitly teaching areas of development. The pre-test showed students had a basic understanding of what persuasive writing was.

1.3 Students with diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds

Design and implement teaching strategies that are responsive to learning strengths and needs of students from diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds.

2.5 Literacy and numeracy strategies

Apply knowledge and understanding of effective teaching strategies to support students' literacy and numeracy achievements.

2.6 Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

Use effective teaching strategies to integrate into learning and teaching programs to make selected content relevant and meaningful

Attched is observation notes that reflect my understanding of how to cater to the diverse linguist, cultural, religious, and socioeconomic backgrounds and improve students learning experiences. Strategies such as modeling, questioning, and explicit teaching provide me with the tools to cater to the various learning strengths and needs of students. Understanding students various and many experiences assists me to design my lessons so all students are able to relate and access learning.

I understand the strong foundation of literacy and numeracy is essential for every child as it can have lifelong impacts. Therefore, I recognise the importance of using a range of teaching strategies for literacy and numeracy that foster understanding for all students. Teaching in many classrooms where there is a wide range of learning abilities and levels in both numeracy and literacy, as well as learning styles means that I need to constantly evaluate my practices and methods against the student's needs. Through observations, I have been able to significantly extend my understanding of teaching strategies in both numeracy and literacy and begin to implement them into my own lessons. One of the many strategies I used included cued articulation to develop grapheme-phoneme correspondence by explicitly teaching graphophonics relationships. This supported the many visual learners in the classroom and students that struggled with auditory processing. I was able to track the progression of students learning and therefore the significance of this strategy. This photo was taken in a reading lesson and highlights my knowledge and understanding of literacy and numeracy teaching strategies and their application in teaching areas. I have also included an email discussing the advantages of cued articulation for a student who had speech and language difficulties.

1.4 Strategies for teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students

Design and implement effective teaching strategies that are responsive to the local community and cultural setting, linguistic background and histories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.

I integrate ICT through the use of BeeBots, Ipads, Interactive Whiteboards and online platforms which allow my students diverse learning opportunities and assisits in making the content more meaningful. This lesson plan utilises opportunities for using ICT to expand curriculum learning opportunities for students. I demonstrate the use of a wide range of digital resources and ICTs in the planning and delivery of the curriculum that enables students of all abilities to access learning.

Students A had a Culturally Inclusive Education Plan (IEP) in place which had been designed to assist in literacy and mathematics and help this student reach achievable learning goals. The IEP also outlines adjustments- for example no more than two directions at a time and requires additional assistance. The IEP assisted to inform my planning and teaching, and provides me with a greater understanding of individual needs. These written notes reflect information about this students and their learning needs. The screenshot captures the research that I undertook to assist my understanding of culturally inclusive IEP's. These pieces of evidence show my ability to proactively ask about cultural backgrounds and the impact it has on students learning.

1.5 Differentiate teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities

Develop teaching activities that incorporate differentiated strategies to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities

extension tasks/early finishers

1.6 Strategies to support full participation of students with with disability

small group intervention

Design and implement teaching activities that support the participation and learning of students with a disability and address relevant policy and legislative requirements

This mathematics lesson plan shows how I have differentiated my teaching practice to meet the learning needs of all students. I understand that all student's strengths are wide-ranging, as are their learning styles. For early finishers I have provided a meaningful, relevant extension activity that are aimed at keeping students who have completed their work engaged. Throughout my experiences, both professional and personal, I have found that understanding time is a concept that some students find hard to grasp, therefore utilising small group instruction for students who require additional support and scaffolding allows for targeted intervention specific to the learning needs of students. Small group instruction has been valuable as I can reteach and reinforce concepts and skills and observe students who require additional support. Through differentiating my lessons, I am able to reach all students and can enhance student learning by offering support based on individual needs.

Student B is on the Autism Spectrum. She is nonverbal and has many sensory needs and therefore requires specific individualised teaching strategies that support her participation and learning. During my time working with her, I met with her full-time aide to gain an understanding of the student's strengths and areas they were working on, as well as how to best plan and deliver individual learning opportunities. She requires a individuale timetable which contain modified learning opportunities to support her ability and used the student's Individual Learning Plan as a guide to work towards learning outcomes and objectives. For example, during reading lessons she would work with sentence builder matching words to pictures assisting to develop word recognition, which was outlined as a goal within her Individual Learning Plan.

Observing this students' progress through the implementation of modified learning opportunities and how these strategies allow the student to participate in classroom activities, reinforces the importance of utilising strategies that support full participation of students with disability. This image highlights my ability to plan independent learning opportunities, as well as modified learning opportunities which promote teaching strategies that support participation and learning of students with disability.