Reflection Of Teaching In Practicum Experiences In The Classroom

1. Commentary

Note: Artefacts are included under the ‘Teaching Philosophy’ tab on the website.

Through thorough engagement with teaching theories and applied applications in practicum experiences, I have concluded that my teaching manifesto is centered on the student. This move towards student centered teaching is shown to be a natural progression in the thinking of a teacher as a result of understanding the student as an individual, rather than an overall class (Anspal et al. 2012, p. 207). In this way, as proposed in artefact 2 when conducting a lesson, I am sure to vary activities in the classroom to allow individual learners who learn best ‘visually, auditorily, tactually, or kinesthetically’ to engage with the information (Dunn & Dunn

33). Accordingly, this practice aligns with ‘the social constructivist’ view of believing that students do not just learn from egocentric tasks but rather through social activities (Steffe & Gale, 1995). Through incorporating group work in the class, students with varying academic abilities are able to interact and ‘learners can benefit from the interaction with a more knowledgeable other’ if partnered well (Vygotsky 1978). In this way, my practices have been evolving from class to class as I critically reflect on each lesson; analysing what was successful and what needs further improvement. Flores & Day (2006) support this notion that ‘identity is a dynamic, ongoing process and that teacher identity is influenced by a range of external experiences, such as life experience’. As a result, I believe it is critical to continue reflecting on every lesson and question why it is that I taught in a certain manner or reacted in a certain way as reflective writing allows thoughts ‘to become more explicit’(Anspal et al. 2012, p. 205). Furthermore, I am acutely aware that my current teaching identity has been informed through the specific school and students I was placed with, however, I am flexible to adapt my practices to another

174). Accordingly, every lesson builds on the previous class, allowing a student at the end of the unit to say “I can’t believe how much we have learnt over the past few weeks”. This sequence has therefore been successful due to creating a final assessment report which is the summation of every task completed in the class, thus making every task relevant. Some of the factors explicitly being taught include a neighborhoods’ social connectedness and perception of crime and safety in the area. Students will also be required to ‘apply their knowledge and understanding of scale, legend and direction to use large-scale maps’ in their final assessment, as well as apply their knowledge ICT skills through research and excel tasks (VCAA 2015). In this way, students will be participating in ‘E-tivities’ to create ‘frameworks for enabling active and participative online learning by individuals and groups’ (Salmon 2013, p. 5). Students were able to do through most of the course with the inclusion of self-directed research, interactive programs and online game creation. Accordingly, at the conclusion of this unit, students will be more informed global citizens. Additionally, the unit has been created with the cross-curricular priority of civics and citizenships, ensuring students ‘consider the