A New Experience

‘You don’t know what you don’t know’ pretty much sums up my first five weeks of Term Two at St Luke’s Catholic College. Having spent my entire career teaching only Literacy and Mathematics to the twenty per cent of students who find learning a challenge, I suddenly found myself teaching Dance to Stage Two and Visual Arts to Early Stage One – Two areas of the curriculum that I am very unfamiliar with and quite frankly never saw myself ever in need to become accustomed to. Needless to say my experiences have been both challenging and enlightening.

I decided to complete the Dance Program during the two-week break, which allowed me to undertake a ‘crash course’ on all things dance, thus providing me with a better understanding of what the outcomes of this curriculum would look like. A former colleague of mine provided me with a lot of guidance and advice, which assisted me in deciphering the curriculum support document, after which I had created a program that I was proud of and ready to implement.

Learning ways to analyse and interpret dance sequences and understanding the story behind it was inspiring. I will never watch dance performances the same again! By utilising tools and resources such as YouTube and film, I am able to better demonstrate to the students the common sequences of folk and creative dance, thereby providing them with a strong visual aid to develop technique.

Visual Arts in Early Stage One is proving to be another big learning curb for me this term. I now know that art in Kindergarten is a lot more than drawing and colouring in pictures and making Mother’s Day cards and Christmas decorations. Children in Early Stage One are introduced to artists such as Salvador Dali and asked to discuss what aspects of their art resonates with them, and what techniques they dislike. I am also learning how to navigate around water paints and the mess that follows, the mixing of colours, the water spills and the scrubbing of paint from little hands. I think the most important learning so far is the preparation needed prior to the lesson.

These two teaching experiences have given me the opportunity to interact with students in a very different setting, thus allowing me to get to know different aspects of their personalities, which Mathematics and Literacy might not necessarily uncover. Although I find it more rewarding to teach Literacy and Mathematics to students who require extra support, it is refreshing to see the students I teach enjoy and excel in other areas. I am grateful for the experiences and look forward to using what I have learnt about our students in a beneficial way, in particular tailoring their learning to their interests.

My Teaching Philosophy

Extensive EMU Specialist and Reading Recovery Training have significantly impacted my approach and philosophy on teaching in a positive way. I have been an EMU Specialist and a Reading Recovery Teacher for over seven years now and when I reflect on my past experiences, I am able to see clear differences between my approach pre-training, to my present outlook.

I have always had a fondness for Mathematics, so I was grateful for being presented with the opportunity to undergo this training. Although challenging at times I soon grasped the thinking behind the growth points and analysing the MAI (Mathematics Assessment Interview). I understand the importance of rich open-ended tasks to assist students to make their own discoveries through problem solving, thereby building conceptual understanding.

My experience with Reading Recovery was quite different in that the challenge was observing reading behaviours, analysing running records and providing correct prompts to promote strategic thinking and problem solving abilities. My motivation was the potential success of helping to equip children with the skills they need to become independent readers.

In a changing world with an unpredictable future it is crucial that children learn to become independent problem solvers. As one of my Reading Recovery tutor’s, Caroline Broadband said, “The aim is to make them independent readers from day one.”

Although the subjects are very different, similarities can be seen in both programs. For example, both focus on developing independent problem solvers, both discourage unnecessary teacher talk, and both stress on understanding the unique learning needs of each student so that learning is personalised and success is achievable.

I now believe in providing personalised learning experiences that make children active participants in their own learning as opposed to passive receivers of teacher knowledge. Tasks and activities implemented should be child-centred which assists learners to build on their own prior knowledge and experiences. I have realised that as a teacher, I never stop learning myself. As a result, I need to reflect and ask that if a child is not learning, then how can I change and tailor my approach to that child. Most importantly, I believe not only keeping up to date with new research and insights, but an opened mind as well, is paramount in promoting change and growth to our teaching approach.

Challenge to Change

 

My first day at St Luke’s was a staff development day packed with information central to working at St Luke’s. I sat with mixed emotions of excitement and apprehension, whilst feeling privileged to be able to contribute and make a difference to the education of future generations. The day was filled with positive energy, which showcased a determined and motivated community driven to establishing a new normal in education, something I have been passionate about ever since I became an EMU specialist. Having been involved in introducing the new thinking around Mathematics as a method of promoting a growth mindset, I felt that I was up to the challenge to be apart of this new team.

One particularly interesting event on my first day was the panic I felt during the induction presentation when the words ‘no bells’ appeared on the screen. I am almost certain that the text was getting bigger as I stared at it. Anyone who knows me would recognise how dependent I am on bells to break up the day. But with an open mind and a strategy in place, I began to understand the reasoning behind it. Now, five weeks later, I reflect on that day and marvel at how far I have come with that small challenge which seemed so huge at the start.

I can now see improvements in my own time management and prioritisation of tasks, especially with the structured nature of Reading Recovery.

Another challenge I faced in my first five weeks at St Luke’s is the classroom experience. As a Learning Support Teacher, my involvement with students was on a one on one basis and on the majority of occasions in small group situations, so taking a whole class in the absence of the classroom teacher, is a challenge that I am slowly overcoming. Apart from the trials of classroom management, for which I am steadily getting a handle on, having the experience in a flexible learning environment is inspiring. It gives me the opportunity to be part of a team, and to be involved in creating and implementing a learning environment personalised to every child, irrespective of their starting point and promoting self-directed learning which holds collaboration, problem solving and creativity at its core.

The first five weeks have definitely been challenging at many levels but as Fred DeVito said, “If it doesn’t challenge you, it doesn’t change you.”

On that note I find myself exactly where I want to be.