School and Classroom Context
Prior to teaching
I have thought of becoming a teacher for a long time. I am a dedicated husband of a long serving primary school teacher, I am a father of two young children, and I am keenly interested in many aspects of our wonder filled existence. I have always held a deep level of respect for children, recognising that they are growing beings that need to be nurtured well to mature into balanced, happy and strong adults.
I carry over 10 years of knowledge from my previous profession as an environmental scientist, and a wealth of positive experiences from my 40 years of living. As a teacher I will look to impart my passion for real world science to children, including my understanding of the vital field of environmental sustainability.
My Teaching Experiences
Through practical internships during my degree, I have taught at three different schools in a variety of year levels, including a grade 3, split grade 4/5, split grade 5/6, grade 6 and a split grade 11/12 in high school. This large range of student age, along with the growth of my own children, has allowed me to appreciate the incremental maturity progression of children, and the differing relational approaches needed for differing age groups. Three of my early practicums were based at a school with a focus on educational support student integration, and one practical was based at a highly successful senior high school.
My Professional Internship
My final practicum was based in a large Primary School in Perth's south eastern suburbs. With over 70 staff, well over 800 students and being located in a lower to mid socio-economic area, this school forms a challenging teaching environment. If trends continue, this school will grow in student numbers, although this will be alleviated somewhat in 2015 with year 7 students moving to high school. The student ethic mix is diverse, with most classes containing Indigenous and EAL/D students, and the student attendance rate is similar to the state average. Although not an IPS, this school is financially well managed, and is well funded by an active P & C, but will likely be affected by recent state budget cuts to education.
The staff list includes a number of Level 3 and Advanced Skill Teachers, specialist teachers for Italian, Library, Music, Art and Physical Education, and a large number of Education Support Assistants. This school is a Teacher Development School for Mathematics, and other whole school programs are adopted such as the Aboriginal Tutorial Assistance Scheme, the Department of Education Behaviour Management and Discipline Strategy, the BIRD reading program, and the Primary Extension and Challenge Program for gifted students (including Maths Olympiad). The school also adopts the ICT educational programs of Mathletics and Reading Eggs.
From the 2012 School Report, NAPLAN literacy scores were consistent with similar schools, but Mathematics was substantially stronger when compared to like schools. NAPLAN results are actively scrutinised to determine above and below deviations from the expected school mean, which then informs strategic planning in subject area working groups.
My Classroom
My class within this setting was a split year 4/5 of 32 children. In addition to this in an arrangement in place for the regular teacher, I taught a year 6 class for history on Tuesday afternoons. During my eight weeks on practicum over a very busy term 3, many and varied activities were required to be considered when planning my teaching including athletics carnivals, NAIDOC Week celebrations, Book Week, a fund raising lapathon, a football clinic, a full day excursion to the zoo, a stop work meeting, middle sport carnival practice and regular class fitness. As the fulltime teacher with full duty of care, I effectively balanced these and many other priorities with the needs of teaching the Australian Curriculum, in all subject content areas. This included full teaching of the school science program, which is based on the professional science package Primary Connections.
My children were a fantastic mixed group of young people, with varied abilities academically, socially, physically and emotionally, and I completely enjoyed my time with them. I feel it is a good measure of my success that one boy emotionally told me I was the best teacher he had ever had. I really value my successes in building motivation in several of my weaker students. Looking back there were many learning experiences for me, and the reality is I will be learning from the experience for some time yet. With a mentor teacher that was both enthusiastic to educate me and a highly experienced practitioner especially with regard to English, I was able to experience a fulfilling practicum that enabled me to identify my strengths and weaknesses, and begin to develop myself into a successful and well regarded teacher.
I have thought of becoming a teacher for a long time. I am a dedicated husband of a long serving primary school teacher, I am a father of two young children, and I am keenly interested in many aspects of our wonder filled existence. I have always held a deep level of respect for children, recognising that they are growing beings that need to be nurtured well to mature into balanced, happy and strong adults.
I carry over 10 years of knowledge from my previous profession as an environmental scientist, and a wealth of positive experiences from my 40 years of living. As a teacher I will look to impart my passion for real world science to children, including my understanding of the vital field of environmental sustainability.
My Teaching Experiences
Through practical internships during my degree, I have taught at three different schools in a variety of year levels, including a grade 3, split grade 4/5, split grade 5/6, grade 6 and a split grade 11/12 in high school. This large range of student age, along with the growth of my own children, has allowed me to appreciate the incremental maturity progression of children, and the differing relational approaches needed for differing age groups. Three of my early practicums were based at a school with a focus on educational support student integration, and one practical was based at a highly successful senior high school.
My Professional Internship
My final practicum was based in a large Primary School in Perth's south eastern suburbs. With over 70 staff, well over 800 students and being located in a lower to mid socio-economic area, this school forms a challenging teaching environment. If trends continue, this school will grow in student numbers, although this will be alleviated somewhat in 2015 with year 7 students moving to high school. The student ethic mix is diverse, with most classes containing Indigenous and EAL/D students, and the student attendance rate is similar to the state average. Although not an IPS, this school is financially well managed, and is well funded by an active P & C, but will likely be affected by recent state budget cuts to education.
The staff list includes a number of Level 3 and Advanced Skill Teachers, specialist teachers for Italian, Library, Music, Art and Physical Education, and a large number of Education Support Assistants. This school is a Teacher Development School for Mathematics, and other whole school programs are adopted such as the Aboriginal Tutorial Assistance Scheme, the Department of Education Behaviour Management and Discipline Strategy, the BIRD reading program, and the Primary Extension and Challenge Program for gifted students (including Maths Olympiad). The school also adopts the ICT educational programs of Mathletics and Reading Eggs.
From the 2012 School Report, NAPLAN literacy scores were consistent with similar schools, but Mathematics was substantially stronger when compared to like schools. NAPLAN results are actively scrutinised to determine above and below deviations from the expected school mean, which then informs strategic planning in subject area working groups.
My Classroom
My class within this setting was a split year 4/5 of 32 children. In addition to this in an arrangement in place for the regular teacher, I taught a year 6 class for history on Tuesday afternoons. During my eight weeks on practicum over a very busy term 3, many and varied activities were required to be considered when planning my teaching including athletics carnivals, NAIDOC Week celebrations, Book Week, a fund raising lapathon, a football clinic, a full day excursion to the zoo, a stop work meeting, middle sport carnival practice and regular class fitness. As the fulltime teacher with full duty of care, I effectively balanced these and many other priorities with the needs of teaching the Australian Curriculum, in all subject content areas. This included full teaching of the school science program, which is based on the professional science package Primary Connections.
My children were a fantastic mixed group of young people, with varied abilities academically, socially, physically and emotionally, and I completely enjoyed my time with them. I feel it is a good measure of my success that one boy emotionally told me I was the best teacher he had ever had. I really value my successes in building motivation in several of my weaker students. Looking back there were many learning experiences for me, and the reality is I will be learning from the experience for some time yet. With a mentor teacher that was both enthusiastic to educate me and a highly experienced practitioner especially with regard to English, I was able to experience a fulfilling practicum that enabled me to identify my strengths and weaknesses, and begin to develop myself into a successful and well regarded teacher.