Reflective Journal
charting the journey as a year-long intern
As I am on a term break at the moment, I decided to dedicate three days to space out my engagement in this professional learning module, and keep a record of the main points in each module that included a heading entitled "What the experts say", so that I could keep a record of research-based information on the topics addressed throughout the modules. Outcome: ReflectionIn retrospect, this professional learning module would have been extremely helpful for me before I even started the internship, as it contains a wealth of information on a range of issues relevant to me as a pre-service teacher. I'm glad that I completed this module at this point in time rather than much later, as I still have Term 2 to improve my professional practice, my professional engagement with colleagues, and my choices regarding my own professional learning before Term 3. Some of these issues included how to navigate and engage effectively in a new school environment as a member of staff. This made me think back to my first School Development Day before Term 1 started, and how I was quite lost and hesitant to ask for help as I did not want to appear inconsiderate. I wrote: "One key struggle that I faced was that I was so lost in the vast majority of conversations that take place." I did not have a plan of action back then as to how to gather the information that I needed, as I wrote: "I think I will just have to just keep my eyes and ears open during the first weeks of school, and ask questions at appropriate times." This was quite vague, in retrospect, and I should have considered asking my mentor teachers about which relevant persons I should have approached with specific questions if I did not want to burden the two of them with a barrage of questions. Despite noting down what I did not yet know, I did not intentionally construct a plan of action as to how to get the answers to my own questions. Thus, this module helped me to see the importance of taking initiative and being an active problem solver instead of being passive and waiting for someone to fill me in. I also read about more possibilities around how to work more effectively and professionally with my mentor teacher and other colleagues, and how to increase the productivity of our time together through goal-setting in advance and using the APST to frame the feedback I receive, amongst other very valuable tips. These would have been extremely helpful for me as I started off Term 1, but I am glad that I still have Term 2 to make some changes to our patterns of communication. Furthermore, I learned about how to develop a system of reflection on an ongoing basis, which I may consider adopting in my future reflective blog posts as well. The questions include:
Ultimately, I believe the information I gleaned from these modules will help me to make a much more effective start to Term 2, as I endeavour to work more closely with my mentor teacher and other colleagues, and take more initiative than I did in Term 1. I would definitely recommend this program to any pre-service teacher, as it has helped me even at the end of my first term, and would certainly be beneficial for pre-service teachers yet to begin their placements. References:
How does this information apply to our students?The above resource definitely helps me to better make sense of the diversity in expressive language abilities within my Kindy group. My mentor teacher and I identified one of our Kindy children who has been struggling with articulating the 's' sound at the beginning of words (e.g. land [sand] lircle [circle], lissors [scissors] lilly lory [silly story], pider [spider], lix [six], leven [seven], etc.). When we raised this issue with the speech pathologist conducting the session, informing that this child was 3 years and 8 months old at the time of this workshop, the speech pathologist encouraged us that it was nothing to be concerned about, and we should be intentional in modelling the 's' sound for her in the context of our conversations. This was helpful information, as my mentor teacher was doing parent meetings that same week, and she was able to pass on that information to the child's parents to assure them that the child was developing at a reasonable pace. On Tuesday this week, during outdoor play, this same child said to me, "She's not sharing the sand," when referring to another girl. I was so overjoyed to hear this child use the 's' sound correctly there, and even using the 'sh' sound as well! In about less than a month's time, this same child had already been successful in using the 's' sound to pronounce a word she had previously been pronouncing differently! I will be monitoring her speech more closely to observe what kinds of sounds she is becoming better at articulating over the next few weeks. References:
Fellowes, J. & Oakley, G. (2014). Language, literacy and early childhood education (2nd ed.). South Melbourne, VIC: Oxford University Press ANZ. Deeper End of Kindy Classroom ManagementThe Kindy classroom that I am currently interning at has a unique classroom structure, as it has an outer section that once used to be a verandah, but is now enclosed to expand the indoor play area. Due to the nature of this classroom structure, it makes the teacher's line of sight limited to either the main classroom area or the outer play area. As such, there is always one adult in both of these areas when the students are allowed to engage in free play in the home corner (leftmost photo) and in the block corner (rightmost photo). Today my mentor teacher required me to conduct a small cutting and drawing activity with two students at a time in the centre of the outdoor area (see middle photo). It seemed quite straightforward to me at first, but I soon realised that I had to familiarise myself with what I needed the students to be doing during this activity, while also being alert to what the students in the home corner and the block corner were doing. During the small activity I realised that while I had become quite comfortable with instructing and helping my students hold their scissors and paper correctly, I had not known what to expect in terms of the students' behaviour in the outer play area. In my mind, I foresaw potential volume control issues and possibly misuse of toys. However, my mentor teacher had to come out to remind the students every now and then about the mess that they were making on the floor, which I had not even noticed, and so I realised that I also need to be very sure of what my mentor teachers' expectations are for students' behaviour, as I may be more tolerant of certain behaviours than she is. As a result of this experience in growing to better manage the students' behaviour and multitask in such a complex environment, I have come to appreciate the importance of having a more expanded and heightened awareness of students' behaviours within the classroom space, in terms of factors like volume, safety and cleanliness. With more practice in managing this outer play area, I will be able to gain more confidence in managing complex learning environments where there are a lot of different activities going on. I see the importance of setting a strong foundation in behavioural expectations early on in the school term, especially in Kindy when it comes to specific areas and how to treat classroom materials safely and with respect. Numeracy Blocks Professional Learning WorkshopAfter school, a representative from the West Australian Primary Principals Association (WAPPA) came to deliver a professional learning workshop for the staff today, which was intended to equip the staff with principles and strategies aligned with the new whole-school Mathematics policy this year. She will be working with the school as a whole, doing regular visits in classes to observe the progress towards structured Numeracy blocks that incorporate key elements from the research-based frameworks that she introduced to us. Some frameworks that she shared with us included:
However, some questions were raised by the Early Childhood teachers that I have been working with. To what extent is this feasible in Early Childhood classrooms, and how can this be balanced with play-based learning? Is it possible for this sort of structure to be fused with play-based learning, or are they diametrically opposed to one another?
Considering that this is a whole-school approach, it may not be developmentally appropriate for some Kindy students or even Pre-Primary students. Students of these ages are still developing their phonological awareness, oral language skills, social skills and self-help skills, so strategies like introducing word walls or making learning intentions visible in print may not be as meaningful to students in Kindy and Pre-Primary. Surely there must be a way to work around these limitations, but it would take a lot of commitment and willingness on the part of the teachers to experiment with new ideas throughout the Early Childhood sector of the school. Until then, this is still a dilemma and contested subject. |
AuthorA final-year student teacher working towards a Bachelor in Education (Early Childhood and Primary) and currently engaged in a year-long internship. Archives
June 2016
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