Graduate Standard 2: Know the content and how to teach it
2.1 Demonstrate knowledge and
understanding of the concepts, substance and structure of the content and
teaching strategies of the teaching area.
Standard Elaboration:
As educators of the future, it is crucial that teachers have a sound knowledge of their subjects and know it well enough to present it in an engaging, exciting and easy way for students to grasp and understand. As no student learns exactly the same way; it is the teachers’ role to teach in a number of styles that benefit the class as a whole and more importantly, students as individuals. They can do this by practising a number of teaching strategies. Some examples are shown in AITSL standard 2.1
ICT Relationship
For modern day schools, the relationship between the student and teacher reaches beyond the classroom. Now days, students and teachers have huge communication through ICT and much of the classroom feedback, assessment and work is done through ICT. Programs such as Prezi are useful as a production tool for students and teachers, especially for students wanting to present their assignment in a format similar to that of powerpoint.
Padegogical justification:
For ESL, a program such as Prezi would be really beneficial to some of my lessons. An example of a lesson plan using Prezi would include using real life examples of a practice using English as a language, for example going to the shops and what to say in a demonstration like this. I would use you-tube videos like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ_KEkakt7I- except I would make them myself so that I can show the students. We would then work off this ICT demonstration to practice the students own ‘shopping experiences’.
Evidence
· Completed a Bachelor of Arts specialising in linguistics and history.
· Qualified to teach Senior English as a Second Language and Senior History.
· Taught ESL, Research Project and History to year 8, 10 and 11 students during both practicums.
2.2 Organise content into an effective learning and teaching sequence.
Successful unit and lesson plans are the key to good organisation and a structured and well behaved class. To assist with the organisation of class, modern day teachers can use ICT tools such as online timetables and diaries to assist with organisation as well as all keeping on the same table as the students in the way of organisation. As a future history and ESL teacher I would use a program such as Prezi to help with class organisation and keeping on the same organisation level as the students so that everyone is aware of key dates, when assignments are due, class times etc.
Prezi would be useful for ESL and history in that I could keep a timeline with reminders of upcoming dates for myself and the students to see. I could also incorporate a history timeline for different eras on the sight. Edmodo could also be useful as I could incorporate different history dates into the site and relate those dates to todays date and make it a bit of a fun fact exercise.
Evidence:
2.3 Use curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge to design learning sequences and lesson plans.
When designing a successful lesson plan, it is important that teachers use assessment, curriculum and report knowledge when planning. They must ensure that what they are teaching and assessing fit into the standards of AITSL and the Australian National Curriculum. There are a number of ICT and online sites that provide teachers with useful resources and guidelines to design lesson plans. TES is a useful Australian website designed for sharing resources covering a number of subjects for Australian senior schooling.
As an ESL teacher I would use a website such as http://www.australiancurriculumlessons.com.au/2013/01/18/esl-lesson-around-australia-map-cardinal-points-prepositions-to-describe-location-on-a-map/. A website like this provides interactive activities and lesson plans that fit in with the Australian Curriculum. This is an activity which teaches the students the cardinal points (north, south, east, west) and describe where different places are. This website also has an array of lesson plans for History, science, maths etc which could be very useful.
Evidence
2.4 Demonstrate broad knowledge of, understanding of and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and languages.
Understanding and respecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture is a crucial aspect of teaching in Australian Schools. As this AITSL standard concentrates on education with a focus of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, it allows students to be able to look at the world from an Aboriginal point of view and have an understanding of different Aboriginal points of views on a range of issues. It is important in teaching that Aboriginal cultures are recognised as entities themselves. Embedding Indigenous perspectives all subjects is important, especially through their culture, respect of land, kinship relationships and stories. The schools values can also embed Aboriginal values and respect to Aboriginal land should be mentioned at the beginning of assemblies etc.
The use of videos and ICT resources should be shown and used with respect to Aboriginal culture. Aboriginal culture does not allow the showing of deceased Aboriginal people and this should be carefully respected within the classroom. The sensitivity of talking about Indigenous people and culture should be taught to students and the schools and be well known and respected.
When teaching ESL it is important for the teacher to be aware of the different cultures and communities students come from. It is important that Indigenous culture is well educated in the classroom, including the invasion of Australia by the Europeans, the impact it had on the Indigenous, the history of Australia and how important Aboriginal culture is to Australia and Indigenous People. A great source for incorporating Aboriginal culture into the classroom is seen in: www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/.../Relationship_to_place...- I would use this source as a starting point in my classroom.
Evidence:
· Worked with Aboriginal Students in Alice Springs
· Attended University of Adelaide Education, Culture & Diversity lectures entitled 'Whiteness & Race', 'Dreaming & Indigenous Epsitemologies' and 'Aboriginal, Indigenous, Islander Students and Our Needs'.
2.5 Know and understand literacy and numeracy teaching strategies and their application in teaching areas.
Literacy and Numeracy is the backbone of successful classrooms. As part of the Australian Curriculum and the AITSL it is a national standard that Australian classrooms incorporate literacy and numeracy in every subject. This often means that teachers have to think outside the square when creating lesson plans.
For ESL teaching, there are a number of ways to incorporate literacy and numeracy into the classroom. I would incorporate English and maths games such as http://www.coolmath-games.com/ and http://www.eslgamesplus.com/ to make the classroom more fun and enjoyable.
For history I would use activities such as seeing what percentage of students are from different countries and then incorporating where the students’ parents came from and grandparents etc. This would lead to tallies and percentages and then I could lead it into an activity such as family histories.
Evidence:
2.6 Implement teaching strategies for using ICT to expand curriculum learning opportunities for students
In the modern teaching world, ICT teaching and incorporating it into the classroom is a necessity. ICT programs such as Edmodo allows students of all strengths to work in a comfortable environment where they can feel confident and comfortable in asking questions, answering questions, showing their research etc. Programs such as power point allow visual learners to incorporate and demonstrate their skills in a fun and interactive way. For ESL I would use ICT as an interactive tool but not the basis of learning. I still think working in a paper book using handwriting and pen and paper are vital. I like the idea of using ICT for history for visual resources such as power point and video, internet research and internet classroom resources such as Edmodo for organisation wise. For more information relating to the successes of ICT in history : http://www.ijcnwc.org/papers/vol2no42012/1vol2no4.pdf
Evidence:
Standard Elaboration:
As educators of the future, it is crucial that teachers have a sound knowledge of their subjects and know it well enough to present it in an engaging, exciting and easy way for students to grasp and understand. As no student learns exactly the same way; it is the teachers’ role to teach in a number of styles that benefit the class as a whole and more importantly, students as individuals. They can do this by practising a number of teaching strategies. Some examples are shown in AITSL standard 2.1
ICT Relationship
For modern day schools, the relationship between the student and teacher reaches beyond the classroom. Now days, students and teachers have huge communication through ICT and much of the classroom feedback, assessment and work is done through ICT. Programs such as Prezi are useful as a production tool for students and teachers, especially for students wanting to present their assignment in a format similar to that of powerpoint.
Padegogical justification:
For ESL, a program such as Prezi would be really beneficial to some of my lessons. An example of a lesson plan using Prezi would include using real life examples of a practice using English as a language, for example going to the shops and what to say in a demonstration like this. I would use you-tube videos like https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZ_KEkakt7I- except I would make them myself so that I can show the students. We would then work off this ICT demonstration to practice the students own ‘shopping experiences’.
Evidence
· Completed a Bachelor of Arts specialising in linguistics and history.
· Qualified to teach Senior English as a Second Language and Senior History.
· Taught ESL, Research Project and History to year 8, 10 and 11 students during both practicums.
2.2 Organise content into an effective learning and teaching sequence.
Successful unit and lesson plans are the key to good organisation and a structured and well behaved class. To assist with the organisation of class, modern day teachers can use ICT tools such as online timetables and diaries to assist with organisation as well as all keeping on the same table as the students in the way of organisation. As a future history and ESL teacher I would use a program such as Prezi to help with class organisation and keeping on the same organisation level as the students so that everyone is aware of key dates, when assignments are due, class times etc.
Prezi would be useful for ESL and history in that I could keep a timeline with reminders of upcoming dates for myself and the students to see. I could also incorporate a history timeline for different eras on the sight. Edmodo could also be useful as I could incorporate different history dates into the site and relate those dates to todays date and make it a bit of a fun fact exercise.
Evidence:
- Completed two practicums where I developed units of work on a number of topics including WW2 and Cooking and Safety in the Kitchen, .
- Devised units of work in ESL and Senior History Curriculum & Methodology at the University of Adelaide.
2.3 Use curriculum, assessment and reporting knowledge to design learning sequences and lesson plans.
When designing a successful lesson plan, it is important that teachers use assessment, curriculum and report knowledge when planning. They must ensure that what they are teaching and assessing fit into the standards of AITSL and the Australian National Curriculum. There are a number of ICT and online sites that provide teachers with useful resources and guidelines to design lesson plans. TES is a useful Australian website designed for sharing resources covering a number of subjects for Australian senior schooling.
As an ESL teacher I would use a website such as http://www.australiancurriculumlessons.com.au/2013/01/18/esl-lesson-around-australia-map-cardinal-points-prepositions-to-describe-location-on-a-map/. A website like this provides interactive activities and lesson plans that fit in with the Australian Curriculum. This is an activity which teaches the students the cardinal points (north, south, east, west) and describe where different places are. This website also has an array of lesson plans for History, science, maths etc which could be very useful.
Evidence
- Devised lesson plans in English as a Second Language Methodology and Senior History Curriculum & Methodology at the University of Adelaide.
- Completed two practicums where I developed lesson plans on a number of topics.
- Worked with mentors to do scaling for ESL students and develop marking rubrics.
2.4 Demonstrate broad knowledge of, understanding of and respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and languages.
Understanding and respecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture is a crucial aspect of teaching in Australian Schools. As this AITSL standard concentrates on education with a focus of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, it allows students to be able to look at the world from an Aboriginal point of view and have an understanding of different Aboriginal points of views on a range of issues. It is important in teaching that Aboriginal cultures are recognised as entities themselves. Embedding Indigenous perspectives all subjects is important, especially through their culture, respect of land, kinship relationships and stories. The schools values can also embed Aboriginal values and respect to Aboriginal land should be mentioned at the beginning of assemblies etc.
The use of videos and ICT resources should be shown and used with respect to Aboriginal culture. Aboriginal culture does not allow the showing of deceased Aboriginal people and this should be carefully respected within the classroom. The sensitivity of talking about Indigenous people and culture should be taught to students and the schools and be well known and respected.
When teaching ESL it is important for the teacher to be aware of the different cultures and communities students come from. It is important that Indigenous culture is well educated in the classroom, including the invasion of Australia by the Europeans, the impact it had on the Indigenous, the history of Australia and how important Aboriginal culture is to Australia and Indigenous People. A great source for incorporating Aboriginal culture into the classroom is seen in: www.curriculumsupport.education.nsw.gov.au/.../Relationship_to_place...- I would use this source as a starting point in my classroom.
Evidence:
· Worked with Aboriginal Students in Alice Springs
· Attended University of Adelaide Education, Culture & Diversity lectures entitled 'Whiteness & Race', 'Dreaming & Indigenous Epsitemologies' and 'Aboriginal, Indigenous, Islander Students and Our Needs'.
2.5 Know and understand literacy and numeracy teaching strategies and their application in teaching areas.
Literacy and Numeracy is the backbone of successful classrooms. As part of the Australian Curriculum and the AITSL it is a national standard that Australian classrooms incorporate literacy and numeracy in every subject. This often means that teachers have to think outside the square when creating lesson plans.
For ESL teaching, there are a number of ways to incorporate literacy and numeracy into the classroom. I would incorporate English and maths games such as http://www.coolmath-games.com/ and http://www.eslgamesplus.com/ to make the classroom more fun and enjoyable.
For history I would use activities such as seeing what percentage of students are from different countries and then incorporating where the students’ parents came from and grandparents etc. This would lead to tallies and percentages and then I could lead it into an activity such as family histories.
Evidence:
- Attended University of Adelaide Professional Experience lectures and Core Curriculum Methodology lectures.
- Focused on teaching skills as well as content during my practicums. For example, I focused on grammar strongly in the ESL lesson plans and used graphs and mapping to incorporate numeracy into both subject areas.
2.6 Implement teaching strategies for using ICT to expand curriculum learning opportunities for students
In the modern teaching world, ICT teaching and incorporating it into the classroom is a necessity. ICT programs such as Edmodo allows students of all strengths to work in a comfortable environment where they can feel confident and comfortable in asking questions, answering questions, showing their research etc. Programs such as power point allow visual learners to incorporate and demonstrate their skills in a fun and interactive way. For ESL I would use ICT as an interactive tool but not the basis of learning. I still think working in a paper book using handwriting and pen and paper are vital. I like the idea of using ICT for history for visual resources such as power point and video, internet research and internet classroom resources such as Edmodo for organisation wise. For more information relating to the successes of ICT in history : http://www.ijcnwc.org/papers/vol2no42012/1vol2no4.pdf
Evidence:
- ·Taught on practicums using a range of ICT resources including powerpoints, documentaries and interactive websites
- Developed assessment tasks that allowed students to showcase their own knowledge of and ability in ICT.