STANDARD 6: ENGAGE IN PROFESSIONAL LEARNING
6.1 Identify and plan professional learning needs
6.1 Identify and plan professional learning needs
Demonstrate an understanding of the role of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers in identifying professional learning needs.
Evidence
'By the end of my placement, October 15th, I will have an understanding of which teaching strategies are most effective when working with 1-2 students, with practical examples of how these can be implemented in the classroom'
Annotation
My evidence for this focus area is the SMART goal I set for myself prior to commencing placement. This goal is aligned with the APST focus area 3.3: Use teaching strategies.
Reflective statement
The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership [AITSL], 2017) assists teachers to identify areas for development in their professional practice and set goals to improve these. The SMART goal I set for myself prior to completing placement was focused on observing and implementing age-appropriate teaching strategies. This is aligned with Standard 3: Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning, particularly Focus Area 3.3 which mandates teachers to “include a range of teaching strategies” (AITSL, 2017). This goal is relevant to my professional learning needs as a pre-service teacher because effective teaching strategies have a positive correlation with student engagement and teachers’ self-perception (Han, 2021) .
Due to the online learning environment and student’s technology skills, the range of possible teaching strategies were somewhat limited compared to in-person teaching. For example, small group collaborative activities could not be utilized during classes that occurred over remotely Google Meets. Despite this, I was still able to observe a number of teaching strategies being employed effectively by my mentor teacher. These included, but were not limited to, the High Impact Teaching Strategies (Department of Education and Training, 2020) of questioning, feedback (with a particular emphasis on praise), multiple exposures and structuring lessons. Observing these strategies in practice has helped me to become more confident in my own ability to apply them.
References
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership [AITSL]. (2017). Australian professional standards for teachers. AITSL. https://www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards
Department of Education and Training [DET]. (2020). High-impact teaching strategies. DET. Retrieved from https://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/teachingresources/practice/improve/Pages/hits.aspx
Han, F. (2021). The Relations between teaching strategies, students’ engagement in learning, and teachers’ self-concept. Sustainability, 13(9), 5020. http://dx.doi.org.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/10.3390/su13095020
