5 Strategies I chose to focus on during EDN4100 placement:
1. Using 'thank you' and/or 'appreciate' notes: recognising efforts, behaviours and results. Give them during the natural flow of the day, in the form of a sticky note or folded letter. Keep it relevant by making notes timely in relation to reason. 2. Place-mats: using this as a formatting for recording group work and holding students accountable for their work. 3. Questioning: to develop student engagement and accountability - increasing higher order thinking. 4. Explicit expectations: make instructions explicit, expectations for students, and also the reasons for these expectations by modelling them for the class. 5. Connecting with parents: establish a positive relationship with parents as you would with students. Make contact early in the year, share your aspirations, teaching strategies and processes. |
Reflections after placement:
1. I didn't get the chance to use this strategy during the placement, and opted more for verbal appreciations as I was still getting to know students. As I get to know them better, and have more control over the classroom during my final placement, I will be able to implement this strategy. 2. My mentor teacher's methods are quite directional and not a lot of collaborative learning takes place. This would also be due to the sheer size of the class (54 students) making collaborative group-work difficult to manage. Therefore, I did not have the opportunity to do this. 3. I always try to use as much questioning as possible in my lessons, to allow students to come to their own conclusions, without my assistance until/if it is required. This encourages independent learning and autonomy. 4. This was vital during this placement as students are transitioning into the senior roles in the school, and expectations in terms of behaviour and abilities are higher. I aimed to give explicit instructions, and often had written instructions either on the whiteboard or smart-board to support my verbal instructions. I have very high expectations and I reinforce these with behaviour management strategies such as proximity and using names, and I always told the class if I was disappointed with their behaviour or listening to instructions. It is however something that I will continue to build upon. 5. This was difficult during the two week period as most students walk to school or get dropped off and parents don't come to the classroom. When I am at the school for the long term placement, I will be able to establish better relationships with parents. |