Standard 2: Know the content and how to teach it
Focus Area: 2.1 Content and teaching strategies of the teaching area
Reflection:
During my professional placement at Mawarra Public School I always ensured I looked at the K-6 NSW syllabus while planning my lessons, this was to ensure I planned activities which linked to the appropriate content and learning outcomes. Throughout my practicum I learnt the importance of not only knowing the content but also how to teach it, and how using a wide range of teaching strategies is effective for helping students understand what is being taught (Loewenberg Ball, Thames & Phelps, 2018). According to Rice and Kitchel "Teacher and teaching quality, including teacher knowledge about content and pedagogy, can greatly impact student achievement" (2016, p. 86). This is why I ensured that even after the planning process I spent time revising the content to feel confident enough to teach it to the students in an effective way. I believe it is important to be confident when teaching and know exactly what you are teaching about, and for me this was done by deep planning and reflection.
During my professional placement I utilised a vast range of multi-modal resources to engage and give students hands on and pictorial experiences using concrete objects to help understand the content. I learnt the importance of modelling, discussions, questioning and the use of visual aides when teaching students. Over the weeks I began feeling more confident and felt as though I could structure the lessons more effectively. I began each lesson with a clear introduction, this is where I explained students' goals, gave explicit instructions and modelled activities. I then had the middle of the lesson where students would explore the content independently through different hands on activities. To finish the lesson, I would ensure to conclude with some sort of reflection for the student.
References
Loewenberg Ball, D., Thames, M., & Phelps, G. (2008). Content Knowledge for Teaching. Journal Of Teacher Education, 59(5), 389- 407.doi:10.1177/0022487108324554
Rice, A., & Kitchel, T. (2016). Influence of Knowledge of Content and Students on Beginning Agriculture Teachers’ Approaches to Teaching Content. Journal Of Agricultural Education, 57(4), 86-100. doi: 10.5032/jae.2016.04086
During my professional placement at Mawarra Public School I always ensured I looked at the K-6 NSW syllabus while planning my lessons, this was to ensure I planned activities which linked to the appropriate content and learning outcomes. Throughout my practicum I learnt the importance of not only knowing the content but also how to teach it, and how using a wide range of teaching strategies is effective for helping students understand what is being taught (Loewenberg Ball, Thames & Phelps, 2018). According to Rice and Kitchel "Teacher and teaching quality, including teacher knowledge about content and pedagogy, can greatly impact student achievement" (2016, p. 86). This is why I ensured that even after the planning process I spent time revising the content to feel confident enough to teach it to the students in an effective way. I believe it is important to be confident when teaching and know exactly what you are teaching about, and for me this was done by deep planning and reflection.
During my professional placement I utilised a vast range of multi-modal resources to engage and give students hands on and pictorial experiences using concrete objects to help understand the content. I learnt the importance of modelling, discussions, questioning and the use of visual aides when teaching students. Over the weeks I began feeling more confident and felt as though I could structure the lessons more effectively. I began each lesson with a clear introduction, this is where I explained students' goals, gave explicit instructions and modelled activities. I then had the middle of the lesson where students would explore the content independently through different hands on activities. To finish the lesson, I would ensure to conclude with some sort of reflection for the student.
References
Loewenberg Ball, D., Thames, M., & Phelps, G. (2008). Content Knowledge for Teaching. Journal Of Teacher Education, 59(5), 389- 407.doi:10.1177/0022487108324554
Rice, A., & Kitchel, T. (2016). Influence of Knowledge of Content and Students on Beginning Agriculture Teachers’ Approaches to Teaching Content. Journal Of Agricultural Education, 57(4), 86-100. doi: 10.5032/jae.2016.04086
Above is evidence collected from my final report and lesson feedback sheet, it demonstrates how I met the Australian Professional Standards of Teaching 2.1.