“Reflective practice is a dialogue of thinking and doing through which I become more skilful.” Donald Schön
This is a sample of the reflections I undertook during my placement. Being a reflective practitioner allows educators to better their practice by identifying areas for improvement. It also provides the opportunity to celebrate successes and achievements.
Day 1
1/04/2016
Site: Modbury West
Mentor: Jason Page
The year 6/7’s did not seem as intimidating as originally expected. They were friendly and seemed interested in why I was there and what I was doing in their classroom. It is different from junior primary in that you need to make more of an effort to make connections and approach them, however, I felt as though I was able to make connections with the students by showing interest in their hobbies and what they were working on at school. They were open to asking me questions and I ensured I was approachable by walking around and asking them if they needed any help.
An interesting part of the day was sitting in on a meeting my mentor had with the girls in the class. It was interesting to see how issues such as puberty facing students of this age are discussed in a sensitive, appropriate and clear way. The issues facing students of this age was a concern I had going into this practicum and is something I look forward to consciously developing throughout.
At the end of the day I was fortunate to have the opportunity to sit in on four parent-teacher interviews. This was an eye-opening and valuable experience. Of the four students there was a variety of discussion points with all students at varying places in their learning. It was good to see the diagnostic tools used my Jason to discuss key points he was discussing with the parents. There were results from reading running records, minute mental math’s in the four operations, spelling results and results from their first assignment- an exposition on an inspirational person. Issues such as attention, homework engagement, class engagement and questioning were discussed. It was good to meet some of the parents as well. One thing I realized was the nerves of the students in the interviews. This is something to remember to future practice- to make the students feel comfortable and confident. Another point to note was that Jason had the students fill out a personal assessment of their progress. This was an important self-reflection and students were able to identify areas of improvement and areas of success, which Jason expanded on. This was certainly powerful for the students and parents as they could see areas of improvement and identify areas to work on. The parents were responsive to supporting the students learning and particularly seemed impressed with Jason’s use of Class Dojo. * NOTE ask for copy of self-assessment.
Class Dojo is an online behavior management strategy used in the classroom. It instantly rewards or takes points for good or bad behavior. It seemed effective in this context and students seemed to know when they were off task- if the noise was heard, and self-manage their behavior. It was interesting to know that the parents had access at all times. Relief teachers can also update the dojo and Jason has permanent access meaning he can keep and eye on it. Spelling words and homework tasks can be uploaded. *NOTE research class dojo
1/04/2016
Site: Modbury West
Mentor: Jason Page
The year 6/7’s did not seem as intimidating as originally expected. They were friendly and seemed interested in why I was there and what I was doing in their classroom. It is different from junior primary in that you need to make more of an effort to make connections and approach them, however, I felt as though I was able to make connections with the students by showing interest in their hobbies and what they were working on at school. They were open to asking me questions and I ensured I was approachable by walking around and asking them if they needed any help.
An interesting part of the day was sitting in on a meeting my mentor had with the girls in the class. It was interesting to see how issues such as puberty facing students of this age are discussed in a sensitive, appropriate and clear way. The issues facing students of this age was a concern I had going into this practicum and is something I look forward to consciously developing throughout.
At the end of the day I was fortunate to have the opportunity to sit in on four parent-teacher interviews. This was an eye-opening and valuable experience. Of the four students there was a variety of discussion points with all students at varying places in their learning. It was good to see the diagnostic tools used my Jason to discuss key points he was discussing with the parents. There were results from reading running records, minute mental math’s in the four operations, spelling results and results from their first assignment- an exposition on an inspirational person. Issues such as attention, homework engagement, class engagement and questioning were discussed. It was good to meet some of the parents as well. One thing I realized was the nerves of the students in the interviews. This is something to remember to future practice- to make the students feel comfortable and confident. Another point to note was that Jason had the students fill out a personal assessment of their progress. This was an important self-reflection and students were able to identify areas of improvement and areas of success, which Jason expanded on. This was certainly powerful for the students and parents as they could see areas of improvement and identify areas to work on. The parents were responsive to supporting the students learning and particularly seemed impressed with Jason’s use of Class Dojo. * NOTE ask for copy of self-assessment.
Class Dojo is an online behavior management strategy used in the classroom. It instantly rewards or takes points for good or bad behavior. It seemed effective in this context and students seemed to know when they were off task- if the noise was heard, and self-manage their behavior. It was interesting to know that the parents had access at all times. Relief teachers can also update the dojo and Jason has permanent access meaning he can keep and eye on it. Spelling words and homework tasks can be uploaded. *NOTE research class dojo
A change in reflection format to be more concise and create a working document.
Day 10
20/05/2016
Site: Modbury West
Mentor: Jason Page
Lesson of the day
Pushing through Friday despite being under the weather and tired from a long week is required as a professional. Regardless of personal situations the students in the class have the right to an effective educator.
What I did well
Demonstrating backtracking in mathematics on the board and discussing this with the students.
Reading teacher information and researching the night prior to gather information about content knowledge.
Being informed and confident before teaching.
Asking and valuing student input.
Working with a small group to slowly work through steps of a task.
Scaffolding students understanding.
Acknowledging distractions that students experience and work to minimize them
What I can do to be more effective
Cater for diversity of learners- when students need extra assistance provides this by sitting with a small groups and going through the concepts.
Continue working on behavioral management strategies
Challenge and how it was managed
A student was engaging in off task behavior by drawing pictures in the back of their diary and messing around.
After consistently reminding this child to get back on track they were not inserted (same student that was off task previously this week)
The class was quite noisy as they were all working towards finishing off different tasks. I asked the child if they were feeling distracted. To which they said yes. I then suggested the student worked quietly and read their book in the corridor on a table outside the room. Once the student was out there we sat a target of 5 pages to be ready before recess. This goal setting was an effective strategy. Even once the recess bell went he wanted to finish what we had set. Once he came back in the room I asked him to come and see me to which I awarded him 2 dojo points and thanked him for his efforts and changing towards making ‘ strong choices’.
Successes
Being informed on a topic to assist student knowledge.
Observable teaching points
20/05/2016
Site: Modbury West
Mentor: Jason Page
Lesson of the day
Pushing through Friday despite being under the weather and tired from a long week is required as a professional. Regardless of personal situations the students in the class have the right to an effective educator.
What I did well
Demonstrating backtracking in mathematics on the board and discussing this with the students.
Reading teacher information and researching the night prior to gather information about content knowledge.
Being informed and confident before teaching.
Asking and valuing student input.
Working with a small group to slowly work through steps of a task.
Scaffolding students understanding.
Acknowledging distractions that students experience and work to minimize them
What I can do to be more effective
Cater for diversity of learners- when students need extra assistance provides this by sitting with a small groups and going through the concepts.
Continue working on behavioral management strategies
Challenge and how it was managed
A student was engaging in off task behavior by drawing pictures in the back of their diary and messing around.
After consistently reminding this child to get back on track they were not inserted (same student that was off task previously this week)
The class was quite noisy as they were all working towards finishing off different tasks. I asked the child if they were feeling distracted. To which they said yes. I then suggested the student worked quietly and read their book in the corridor on a table outside the room. Once the student was out there we sat a target of 5 pages to be ready before recess. This goal setting was an effective strategy. Even once the recess bell went he wanted to finish what we had set. Once he came back in the room I asked him to come and see me to which I awarded him 2 dojo points and thanked him for his efforts and changing towards making ‘ strong choices’.
Successes
Being informed on a topic to assist student knowledge.
Observable teaching points
- Dr. Seuss book ‘The Sneetches’ used to display the importance of individuality and changing- significant for this age group of children.
- Students teaching the class as a method of recall and sharing ideas- mathematics.
- Mathematic resource- iMaths