Evidence set 3
Engaging in Professional Learning and Practices
Context
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Teachers are also lifelong learners and continue to improve in their professional growth while also improving student learning. As teachers we have high expectations to be up to date with our knowledge and different ways of teaching. Teaching is constantly evolving through educational standards, student diversity and technology (Kasperski et al, 2019) Therefore it is important to use opportunities provided for teacher development in the school. I was fortunate to have many opportunities to improve my pedagogy within the teaching field by engaging with staff and families.
Action
Prior to teaching I developed a learning plan that identified specific AITSL standards ( 2.4 and 4.3) that I wanted to improve in my teaching practice. I was able to achieve standard 2.4 on the Professional Development day, as I engaged in the workshop about Indigenous ways of teaching and learning. The workshop involved a variety of teaching strategies and resources to use such as music, poetry, dance and storytelling.
Attendance at weekly staff meetings helped me build connections with other staff and learn more about the school and their values. In particular, one of the staff meetings had a focus on working with children with additional needs in the classroom both diagnosed and undiagnosed (see figure 1). This involved using a school mapping tool for children requiring additional need adjustments. The category of assistance a child might need was determined as either supplementary, substantial or extensive. This helped me gain new insight into how to better support a child with additional needs and covered my second learning goal (standard 4.3). Another key staff meeting topic was on Artificial Intelligence (AI), showing how technology is evolving and how this can benefit us as teachers.
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Each Thursday was dedicated to planning within the reception cohort including link teachers. This allowed productive planning for lesson content, problems to address and sharing different resources. I was able to discuss students behaviours and learning needs with other teachers, while maintaining student confidentiality. I also attended a gymnastics excursion with the 3 reception classes. I was involved with the planning process of the ratio of staff to children, risk assessment and bus times.
Results
Research shows there are many opportunities for teacher learning in the workplace through collegial relationships, principal leadership and school culture (Floden et al., 2020). This was evident in my practice as I was a part of productive working relationships with colleagues. I took pride in the mutual trust, respect and openness to the school community and values. Not only did this help improve my teaching practice but also allowed me to communicate and share ideas with a broader network. I learnt a lot through each teacher and their own styles of teaching, which helped inspire my own pedagogy.
Evaluation
I was aware of the importance of professional development for teachers. Although I underestimated the depth and vast opportunities for development presented in schools. Each workshop/ staff meeting/ Professional Development day I attended helped me gain new insights and ideas into key topics. This helped me feel confident in teaching some of the key areas that were previously in my learning goals to improve on. In the future I would aim to attend more Professional Development days to further benefit my knowledge, particularly in areas I feel need improvement. I am aware there is so much still to learn, especially in the first years of teaching and I am intrigued and motivated to do so.
Standards
6.1 Professional learning needs - By creating professional learning goals to improve on key focus areas of indigenous teaching and behaviour management. As well as continuous reflection of teaching to improve my practice.
6.2 Professional learning practice - Engaging in professional development days allowed me to be more knowledgeable and confident particularly about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders teaching practices.
6.3 Engaging colleagues - Attended and contributed to staff meetings, team planning (reception teachers) and also attended an excursion.
6.4 applying learning to improve learning - Asked for feedback from my mentor, liaison, deputy principal and other staff and used their feedback into future teaching practices.
7.1 meet ethics and responsibilities - Gained required certificates to adhere to meeting ethics and responsibilities to provide children with a safe duty of care and also maintain student confidentiality.
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7.2 Legislation, administration and organisational requirements - Kept certificates up to date and engaged on professional development training days.
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7.4 Broader communities and networks - contributed to professional teaching discussions with colleagues and learnt about different styles of teaching.
Figure 5. This is an image of School Mapping Tool for Children requiring Additional Adjustments. 6.1,6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 7.1,7.4