Standard

Interpretation and ICT Integration

1.1

Physical,
social and
intellectual
development
and
characteristics
of
students(Demo
nstrate
knowledge and
understanding of
physical, social
and intellectual
development and
characteristics of
students and
how these may
affect learning.)

One of the most important, but perhaps

undervalued, aspects of a student's school life
(particularly in secondary school) is their
development not just as a student, but as a
person. This involves their physical and social
development as well as their intellectual
development. As well as biological changes,
students will often change their personality, and
thus the way they interact with others, quite
dramatically through their schooling and a
teacher can be an important influence and
possibly also mentor through this process.
In recent times, social media has been a
predominant factor in social development,
particularly for teenagers. Though it is possible
to use social media platforms like facebook as a
teaching tool to deliver content, questions and
resources, I would be hesitant to use it as it
may open the door to cyber bullying or other
inappropriate activities. For this reason I would
favour a virutal classroom like Edmodo
(https://www.edmodo.com/ ) as it is easy to
control the space and ensure it is safe for all
students. It is also possible to monitor and
identify the student responsible for any
inappropriate behaviour.

Below are some pictures of

gifts and farewells I
received from one of my
year 8 classes from my
placement at Cabra who I
had a great relationship
with (despite their
somewhat disruptive
tendencies!).

1.2
Understand
how students
learn(Demonstr
ate knowledge
and
understanding of
research into
how students
learn and the
implications for
teaching.)

It has been known for some time now that

students can learn proficiently in different ways,
and therefore that if a specific style of teaching
is overused, that some students may struggle or
disengage with the content. Gardner proposes
that there are 'multiple intelligences' and that
every student has each of them to varying
degrees. It is important to create activities for
the class that engage with each of these
intelligences so every student has a strong
chance of learning the material well.

When writing unit plans I

endeavour to consider the
specific learning styles of a
classroom and individual
students.
Here is a unit for a Stage 2
English class I wrote
collaboratively in my
studies. When writing it we
ensured to develop a
classroom with a realistic
learning style and geared
our lessons towards that
style.

Personally, I am predominantly an interpersonal

learner so it is my instinct to create activities
that favour this learning style. On the other
hand, I am not a very musical learner so
activities that use music to teach would not
come to me naturally. One ICT resource I would
use to try and incorporate more musical style
learning into my classroom would be the
AsapScience periodic table song for a chemistry
classroom ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?

Evidence from Teaching

Practice
I feel the best evidence I
am able to give for this
evidence is the intangible
but extremely positive
relationship I have had with
students. If you have a
positive affect on their
physical, social and
intellectual development,
your relationship with a
student will be a positive
one as well.

1.3
Students with
diverse
linguistic,
cultural,
religious and
socioeconomic
backgrounds (
Demonstrate
knowledge of
teaching
strategies that
are responsive to
the learning
strengths and
needs of
students from
diverse
linguistic,
cultural, religious
and
socioeconomic
backgrounds.)

v=zUDDiWtFtEM ). AsapScience also has several

other science and chemistry related songs
which could be used in the classroom.
Recognising differences in students situations
from linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic perspectives is important when
considering how content will be delivered to
students. While it is impossible for a teacher to
deliver completely individualised content to
every student in the class, allowing for these
diverse backgrounds in the delivery of content is
important in being an effective teacher.
In a chemistry class, if there were a large
number of students with first languages other
than English, I would tend to use more visual
examples so they could visualise the concepts
rather than having to understand them purely
through words. To do this I would use a resource
such as the Khan Academy chemistry section
(https://www.khanacademy.org/science/chemistr
y) as it has many visual learning resources
which could easily fit alongside regular
classroom learning and help cement content for
students who may struggle with English

1.4
Strategies for
teaching
Aboriginal and
Torres Strait
Islander
students(Demo
nstrate broad
knowledge and
understanding of
the impact of
culture, cultural
identity and
linguistic
background on
the education of
students from
Aboriginal and
Torres Strait
Islander
backgrounds.)

When teaching in any subject, it is important to

be aware of cultural and linguistic factors which
may impact the learning of Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander students. Currently, in general,
the educational system in Australia is limiting
Aboriginal students from reaching their full
potential as students. There are a myriad of
factors coming into play in this area but the
dominant one seems to be the cultural discord
between the student's needs and the
educational system (including the teacher).

1.5
Differentiate
teaching to
meet the
specific

It has been known for a long time that different

students require different activities to learn the
same concept, as each student learns slightly
differently. This is true of both 'uninhibited'

In incorporating ICT into the classroom it is

important to be aware of cultural factors which
may come into play for Indigenous students. For
example, if showing a video from
www.youtube.com it is important to check that
the video does not depict any deceased
Indigenous people. For some Aboriginal groups,
even the name of a deceased person can cause
offence.

While on practicum at
Marryatville High School, I
had a number of students
who had English as their
second (or third) language.
On one occasion a student
enquired to the meaning of
a fairly simple word which
caused murmurs from his
peers. In order to deal with
both the question and to
avoid any bullying, I
addressed the question as
a I would any other,
answering it calmly and
simply.

During reconciliation week

while on practical at
Marryatville High School I
was able to incorporate
poetry by Oodgeroo
Noonuccal into my lesson
plan (found in the unit plan
here). Though there were
no Aboriginal or Torres
Strait Islander students in
my class, this could be a
way to integrate Aboriginal
perspectives and cultural
identity.

During my placement at
Cabra Dominican College, I
had a number of students
with dyslexia and ASD. One

learning needs
of students
across the full
range of
abilities(Demon
strate knowledge
and
understanding of
strategies for
differentiating
teaching to meet
the specific
learning needs of
students across
the full range of
abilities.)

students and differently abled students and

while some students may require a certain type
of activity to learn a concept (e.g. groupwork),
some may require additional help or a
completely new approach (e.g. oral work rather
than written if they were dyslexic).

1.6
Strategies to
support full
participation of
students with
disability (Dem
onstrate broad
knowledge and
understanding of
legislative
requirements
and teaching
strategies that
support
participation and
learning of
students with
disability.)

Many students in Australian schools suffer from

at least one disability. These disabilities can
range from a physical disability to a learning
disability and any of these may affect the
students' learning to a greater or lesser extent.
As teachers we are required to be aware of
these disabilities and use appropriate strategies
for the students affected by them.

2.1
Content and
teaching
strategies of
the teaching
area

Delivering content effectively is absolutely core

to a teacher's (and thus a student's) success in
any subject area. Clearly different subject areas
tend to lend themselves (and have traditionally
used) different teaching strategies to deliver

If I had an English class with a dyslexic student,

I would endeavour to find them audio-books
where necessary to save them the time and
anxiety of reading the full text. In some cases I
would also try to find a text with a film
adaptation. If the class was studying poetry, I
would look for recordings on youtube as there
are many channels such as Classic Poetry with
Lark
( https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCekMac_m
k731bIMjw1Y5USw ) which have recordings of
various poems.

Though sometimes not thought of, mental

health issues can come under the umbrella of
disability and it can be important to be aware of
these issues and what strategies can be used.
For example, for a student with severe social
anxiety, group discussion may be daunting for
them and as well as impacting their learning, it
may impact their mental health to be forced to
speak in front of a class. If there were a class
where this were the case, I would consider using
facebook in the classroom (www.facebook.com)
as a virtual learning environment. Though there
are some hurdles, in the right class the chat
function could be used in small or larger groups
to promote discussion without the potentially
daunting image of the entire class for the
anxious student.

class in particular had

approximately 25% of the
students with a learning
difficulty. As a result, when
it came to assessing them
with a test, I created a
second modified test (found
here) which allowed
students to best
demonstrate their
knowledge.

While volunteering in the

Special Needs centre at
Marryatville High School,
during and after my
placement, I have worked
with students with a range
of learning disabilities. I
have therefore been able to
help students participate
and learn more actively,
despite their disability.

In teaching Organic
Chemistry in Stage 1 SACE
on placement, I used a
variety of teaching
strategies to convey a

(Demonstrate
knowledge and
understanding of
the concepts,
substance and
structure of the
content and
teaching
strategies of the
teaching area.)

content. It is important to constantly be

expanding and testing these strategies as a
teacher and there are many ways that ICT can
be used to deliver or support the delivery of
content to students. While it can be as simple as
using a digital library or e-book to have students
refer to, there are also both more subtle and
more explicit ways of using ICT in classrooms.
One example which I would consider using in a
Chemistry classroom would be Avogadro
( http://avogadro.cc/wiki/Main_Page ), a
chemical visualisation tool. This could be used in
a demonstrative way, siply using it to create 3D
images of chemicals, or have the students use it
to build the chemicals they were looking at and
understand them better. This could be
particularly useful when learning about
functional groups in organic chemistry. This
could promote visual learning or intrapersonal
learning quite easily and as it is fairly
unstructured, could easily be used and
expanded to favour other learning styles.

2.2
Content
selection and
organisation
(Organise
content into an
effective learning
and teaching
sequence.)

2.3
Curriculum,
assessment
and reporting
(Use curriculum,
assessment and
reporting
knowledge to
design learning
sequences and
lesson plans.)

Organisation and easy access of appropriate

content is vital for teachers when dealing with
students, other staff and also importantly for our
own organisation. Appropriate content can be
found from a variety of areas, but should all be
connected to the curriculum based on the SACE
curriculum
( https://www.sace.sa.edu.au/learning/subjects ).
In terms of organising relevant curriculum, I
would strongly consider using a simple cloud
based file sharing service like Dropbox
( www.dropbox.com ). In this format all relevant
content can be uploaded and accessed at any
time by students and edited by the teacher.
Access can be given and taken away as required
and it would be a good way of showing students
the relevant curriculum and how it relates to the
content they have been shown in class.
Planning is vital as a teacher as it becomes very
obvious to students when a lesson is not well
structured and prepared. In the planning phase
of a lesson, it is important to always be aware of
how the lesson fits in the curriculum, where it is
going in terms of assessment and how, as a
teacher, one can comment on a student or
class' outcomes. In planning a unit or lesson I
would use a piece of mindmapping software
such as XMind https://www.xmind.net/ in order

broad range of concepts to

students. For example in
order to develop an
understanding of IUPAC
naming conventions, I used
some basic worksheets
(found here). I also used an
issues investigation on Fuel
Alternatives (found here) to
give a different style of
learning in a different
content area.

In the Teaching Resources

page of this E-Portfolio you
will find a range of
resources that I have
created and used many of
which are plans which
organise content into
effective learning
sequences. One particular
example is a unit I wrote to
look at Authors in the
Adelaide Writers week
( found here)

In the Teaching Resources

page of this E-Portfolio you
will find a range of
resources that I have
created and used which
relate to curriculum,
assessment and reporting. I
used a test for a year 8
class on Digestive and
Waste Systems which was

2.4
Understand
and respect
Aboriginal and
Torres Strait
Islander people
to promote
reconciliation
between
Indigenous and
nonIndigenous
Australians
(Demonstrate
broad knowledge
of,
understanding of
and respect for
Aboriginal and
Torres Strait
Islander
histories,
cultures and
languages.)

to visualise and connect the content as a whole

from the perspectives of curriculum, assessment
and reporting as well as learning goals and
pedagogy. It is therefore easy to follow and easy
to organise for later use or when showing
another teacher.
Though positive changes are being made, by
and large, the Australian education system has
been largely failing Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander students for as long as Indigenous
children have been in schools. Much of this is
unfortunately due to lack of cultural
understanding between the majority nonindigenous population and the indigenous
students. In order to effectively teach
Indigenous students, both broad and deep
understanding of and respect for Indigenous
culture and values must be had by the teacher.
This includes things like limiting eye contact and
being aware that English may not be their first
or even second language.

quite effective (found here)

During reconciliation week

while on practical at
Marryatville High School I
was able to incorporate
poetry by Oodgeroo
Noonuccal into my lesson
plan (found in the unit plan
here). Though there were
no Aboriginal or Torres
Strait Islander students in
my class, this could be a
way to integrate Aboriginal
perspectives and cultural
identity.

The State Government has an area on their

website dedicated to understanding and
respecting Aboriginal culture and it is a good
starting point for any teacher (or anyone else!)
looking to gain a better understanding and
familiarisation of Aboriginal
culture. https://www.sa.gov.au/topics/educationskills-and-learning/aboriginaleducation/aboriginal-culture

2.5
Literacy and
numeracy
strategies
(Know and
understand
literacy and
numeracy
teaching
strategies and
their application
in teaching
areas.)

Ultimately literacy and numeracy are core

knowledge in every subject taught at schools,
hence why they are identified as a key area in
the teaching standards. To a greater or lesser
extent, teaching any subject area makes you a
teacher of both numeracy and literacy and it is
important to be concious both of this fact and
students abilities.

2.6
Information
and
Communication

As students use ICT in their lives on a daily

basis, it is important to use digital resources and
influences regularly in classes. The use of ICT in

One ICT support tool I would use in my English

class to encourage analysis of stylistic literary
techniques is Spark Charts list of literary devices
( http://sparkcharts.sparknotes.com/sat/satcritic
alreading/section4.php ). The list allows for
quick definitions of each device and gives an
example.

While teaching a unit on

Microscopes and Cells
(found here) at Cabra
Dominican College, I found
that while discussing the
concept of magnification
that the students had not
covered exponentials. I
briefly covered the concept
in appropriate depth for the
unit with the knowledge
they would later cover it in
Maths.

On both my placements I
was able to integrate ICT
strategies into my

Technology
(ICT)
(Implement
teaching
strategies for
using ICT to
expand
curriculum
learning
opportunities for
students.)

3.1
Establish
challenging
learning goals
(Set learning
goals that
provide
achievable
challenges for
students of
varying abilities
and
characteristics.)

3.2
Plan, structure
and sequence
learning
programs
(Plan lesson
sequences using
knowledge of
student learning,

teaching strategies and expanding curriculum

can vary hugely based on the subject, unit or
lesson being taught, as well as the class it is
being taught to. ICT strategies can be used as
organisational tools with which to frame a class
or unit as well as core interactive tools with
which to assess students understanding. A site
like Edmodo (www.edmodo.com) is a good
example of the former as it can be used as a
digital classroom with which take deliver
content, receive answers and take polls on
student opinion. One example of a tool which
could be used to directly enable engagement
with the curriculum could be Hank Green's
Crash Course in Chemistry on youtube
( https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=FSyAehMdpyI&list=PL8dPuuaLjXtPHzzYuWy6f
YEaX9mQQ8oGr ). It provides a very fun and
quick summary of a lot of topcis in the SACE
chemistry curriculum and could be used for
expanding students learning as well as revisiting
topics.
Recognising learning levels and identifying
suitably challenging learning goals for both
classes and individual students is crucial in
being an effective teacher. Though things like
tests and exams are effective in putting a
numerical value on a student's performance,
they are limited in that they may not show a full
understanding and many facotrs may affect an
individual student's performance on the day. For
these reasons, I would use a piece of ICT
integration such as Plickers
(https://plickers.com/). Plickers allows a quick
and simple survey of students understanding by
asking a multiple choice question and having
students raise a card with their answer. You can
then use a mobile device to scan the room and
immediately get the results. As well as using it
for direct answers to a content question, it could
be used to have students self-assess and
identify whether they understand a concept
without having to say they don't understand it
out loud. This is beneficial to less extroverted or
confident students.
A well planned and structured lesson not only
makes the class more manageable, but also
helps aid in student learning. As teachers, preplanning units and lessons is vital in creating a
well organised and effective learning
environment. As well as planning what content
will be covered, planning ahead for any issues

classrooms in both simple

and complex ways. I used
powerpoints and videos to
deliver content as well as
finding web based activities
and games (e.g.
http://www.stopdisastersga
me.org/) .

In all classes I have taught,

establishing learning goals
is a constant and largely
passive task. The need
however has become most
evident to me while
working in the Special
Needs centre at
Marryatville High School.
While working with
students with severe
learning disabilities,
challenging but achievable
goals are vital in motivating
students to work.

In the Teaching Resources

page of this E-Portfolio you
will find a range a of
resources that I have
created and used many of
which are plans which
organise content into

content and
effective
teaching
strategies.)

which may come up regarding student learning

(students with disabilities etc.) is important
because when unforeseen, these things can
detract from the whole classes learning.
One piece of ICT which can be used for
structuring a class and promoting a positive
learning environment is Planboard
(https://www.planboardapp.com/), a free lesson
planning app. As well as being a useful
organisational tool, it can also help track
student performance.

3.3
Use teaching
strategies
(Include a range
of teaching
strategies.)

In the modern age, the use of varied and

effective teaching strategies is vital in
promoting learning for all students. As we've
moved away from the classic lecture-style
classroom and become more aware of different
learning learning styles, the implementation of
teaching tailored to individual students.
Theories like Gardner's theory of multiple
intelligences have helped teachers to identify
and put into practice teaching strategies that
will lead to better understanding in students.
In a Chemistry class, if I had a strongly visual
learning class I would use molecular modelling
software such as Avogadro (www.avogadro.cc)
to show molecular structure in an interactive
and visually stimulating way. This would offer an
alternative to the regular learning style and be
helpful to students.

3.4
Select and use
resources
(Demonstrate
knowledge of a
range of
resources,
including ICT,
that engage
students in their
learning.)

3.5
Use effective

Resources for both professional development

and content delivery are vital in day to day
teaching. The use of these resources will help
develop teaching styles, promote student
learning and encourage students to go and look
for their own resources, thus promoting
independent learning. Teachers in the modern
age frequently share resources in various ways,
through social media and other websites. Two of
these websites I have found particularly useful
so far, Scootle
(https://www.scootle.edu.au/ec/p/home) and
Khan Academy (https://www.khanacademy.org/).
In boht you can search for resources by subject
area, year level and resource type, making them
convenient to navigate.
Tailoring content and content delivery to

effective learning
sequences. For example,
here is a unit I
collaboratively wrote on
Multimodality and Womens
Rights which has a
progression of lessons
which looks at the two
concepts, slowly bringing
them together.

When teaching I try to

include a range of teaching
strategies in order keep
students interested as well
as deliver content
effectively. One strategy I
find works particularly well
with junior high school
students is to use an
interactive game to deliver
content, the outcomes of
which can then be
discussed later. When
teaching the digestive
system to year 8s I used a
game (found here) in which
the aim was to digest food
through a series of organs.
After they had played the
game, I discussed the
complexity of the digestive
system with them.
In the Teaching Resources
page of this E-Portfolio you
will find a range a of
resources that I have
created and used. These
include unit plans,
powerpoints, games and
worksheets.

A year 8 class I took for

classroom
communication
(Demonstrate a
range of verbal
and non-verbal
communication
strategies to
support student
engagement.)

3.6
Evaluate and
improve
teaching
programs
(Demonstrate
broad knowledge
of strategies that
can be used to
evaluate
teaching
programs to
improve student
learning.)

3.7
Engage
parents/carers
in the
educative
process
(Describe a
broad range of
strategies for
involving
parents/carers in
the educative
process.)

individual student needs is as important with

digital resources and tools as it is in a
conventional 'analogue' classroom. Verbal
content delivery can be supported by ICT by
using presentation software such as powerpoint
or prezi to highlight key points. During my
practicum, I had a class with several students
who had auditory comprehension issues, so it
was important to have written instructions to
support the verbal ones. Non verbal
communication can also be heavily supported
by ICT. Apps such as Google Classroom can be
heavily relied upon to deliver content. With this
software, students have access to documents
containing content which they can discover at
their own pace. It also can serve as a reminder
for assessment details including due dates.
Understanding and improving teaching is vital in
improving student learning and performance.
This evaluation extends to the use of ICT
resources in the classroom as while they may
offer an enjoyable alternative to students, they
must also be effective in delivering content. The
recently made program Science by Doing offers
units on various science areas aimed at junior
science. It includes a broad range of activities
and methods aimed at engaging students with a
variety of learning needs. Therefore, as the year
progresses a teacher can evaluate which
activities contributed best to student
understanding and focus on similar activities.
Another piece of software I would integrate in
order to evaluate teaching programs is Plickers
which is a smart phone app designed to poll
students quickly and effectively. It scans the
room as students hold up their answer to a
multiple choice question. This can be used to
directly find how much the class understood of a
topic, or to have the class evaluate how
effective they found a lesson.
Ensuring a student has a positive school
experience is a task managed by three main
parties: the student, the teacher and the
parent/career. By engaging all three actively in
the education process the student is more likely
to engage with content and enjoy learning. As
well as general email communication between
parent and teacher, there is a huge range of
software available specifically designed to
facilitate this interaction. Google classroom is an
app which sets up a virtual classroom allowing

both English and Science

while on placement at
Cabra Dominican College
were known to be one of
the more disruptive year 8
classes. In order to manage
this misbehaviour I used an
approach of discussing with
the students that they
knew better than to
misbehave. This level of
respect and
acknowledgement of some
maturity was effective in
encouraging engagement
with content.
In writing tests and other
assessment pieces, I
generally look at existing
resources within a school or
online and use them to
develop my own resource.
One example is an Ester
Production Practical I wrote
(found here). As it is a very
common practical for Stage
1 SACE organic chemistry, I
took pieces from a range of
other resources to develop
a guide which was tailored
to my students and the
content we had covered.

During my placement at
Cabra Dominican College, I
encountered a serious
instance of plagiarism from
one student. After
discussion with my mentor,
I was able to contact the
parent via email, explaining
what had happened and
how I intended to resolve
the situation with the

4.1
Support
student
participation
(Identify
strategies to
support inclusive
student
participation and
engagement in
classroom
activities.)

for students to access content and assessment

simply and digitally. It can also allow for
parent/carer interaction as the teacher can set
documents to be available to just students or
publicly available in order to allow parents and
carers to engage more directly with student
work.
Student participation is vital for learning in the
modern classroom as we move away from the
bland, lecture-style classroom of the past. This
participation can occur in small groups or as
part of the whole class and must be tailored to a
student's aptitude, capabilities and confidence
levels. Obviously some students learn better by
interpersonal interaction while others prefer
working alone, possibly due to confidence issues
or potentially learning disabilities.
A task such as a class or group presentation
may cause anxieties in with students who are
less confident or have less good interpersonal
skills. Using software such as Prezi
( http://prezi.com/ ) allows those students to
perhaps rely a bit more heavily on the work and
presentation they have done in preparation,
which more outgoing students may focus more
on their own spoken content.

4.2
Manage
classroom
activities(Demo
nstrate the
capacity to
organise
classroom
activities and
provide clear
directions.)

4.3
Manage
challenging

Classroom management is arguably the most

frequently used and over-arching skill behind
modern teaching. The use of ICT in schools and
classrooms can often be a distraction for
students and is, in some schools, rejected
because of this. If used properly however, ICT
can be used to aid not only content sharing, but
also classroom management. Many students will
use laptops or tablets as their own learning tools
during class. It is firstly important to establish
when students should be using these and when
they should be closed and attention should be
on the teacher. When being used however they
can provided order and organisation within a
classroom. A virtual classroom like Edmodo can
be used to quickly share information and
assessment tasks. As it is online and very
responsive, one can also quickly adapt to a new
situation or unplanned discussion point which
may arise without having to print new content
or worksheets. This ability to adapt will ensure
students do not lose focus between tasks.
Though at certain ages or in certain schools
challenging behaviour may be more prevalent, it

student. The resolution was

ultimately a positive
experience for myself, the
parent and the student.

In several classes I have

experienced teaching
students who are less
willing to participate either
through general shyness or
perceived inability. With
these students I generally
try to encourage them to
participate in class
discussions by asking them
a simple question which
they know the answer to.
This allows them to be sure
of themselves and lets
them become more
confident.

As a science teacher,
running potentially
dangerous practical
experiments is a necessity
to improve student
understanding. As a preservice teacher I was able
to run a range of practicals
with year 8 and 9 science
classes and year 11
chemistry. At these times it
was essential to create a
calm environment and
explain the experiment in
detail before beginning and
then constantly circle the
class while conducting the
practical to ensure safety
and efficiency for the
students.

While at Marryatville High

School I had one year 8

behaviour (De
monstrate
knowledge of
practical
approaches to
manage
challenging
behaviour.)

is a problem that all teachers will face in more

or less all classrooms. ICT can be used to dispel
this negative behaviour by creating a new focus
for the particular student and the entire class.
Sites such as facebook can provide a learning
platform in which all students can actively
participate as well as being familiar to most
students and simple to use. The use of facebook
can pose other issues as it is easy for a student,
particularly one who may have a learning
disability such as ADHD, to be distracted and go
off task. A dedicated virtual classroom such as
Edmodo provides a more structured ICT
environment

student who was displaying

quite challenging behaviour
including aggressive
arguing with library staff.
He was experience serious
issues at home and this
was affecting his behaviour
at school. To manage this, I
separated him while other
students were completing
work and discussed his
behaviour with him,
focussing on the fact that
the library staff were not at
fault in this situation. He
responded well to my calm,
reasonable approach and
his behaviour improved.
I have also addressed some
of my favoured behaviour
management strategies in
a handbook (found here)

4.4
Maintain
student
safety (Describe
strategies that
support
students wellbeing and safety
working within
school and/or
system,
curriculum and
legislative
requirements)

In any classroom environment, safety of both

students and staff is paramount. Threats to this
safety can come from various places including
the students themselves either by violent
behaviour or a simple accident. One of my
subject areas is Chemistry, so clearly with
practicals a lot of potential risks come in to play
as students use Bunsen burners and a wide
variety of chemicals. In practicals it is important
the students are aware of the safety issues that
come into play and a piece of software like
ChemWatch Gold
( http://www.chemwatch.net/products/goldffx )
can be useful as it allows students to look up the
MSDS of the chemicals they are using and
assess the relevant safety risks. This is also
good practice for the students as if they are
interested in pursuing a career in science,
MSDS' are an important and common part of
that work.
In the modern era, virtually all students are
familiar with ICT and in particular the internet.
Often however they are not always aware of
how easy it is to fall into unsafe or illegal ICT
usage. As a teacher it is important to set an
example for safe and ethical usage of ICT. This
can be done simply by acknowledging and citing
where a piece of content comes from. While it is

When writing practicals I

ensure to include notes to
students about safety
issues which may arise. For
example in an Ester
Production practical I wrote
(found here) I included
information on how to
properly investigate the
smell of the Esters.

4.5
Use ICT safely,
responsibly
and
ethically (Demo
nstrate an
understanding of
the relevant
issues and the
strategies

Both schools I did

placements at had
stringent ICT policies I read
and signed before teaching.
These involved student
safety with ICT as well as
professional ICT practice.

available to
support the safe,
responsible and
ethical use of
ICT in learning
and teaching.)

5.1
Assess Student
Learning
(Demonstrate
understanding of
assessment
strategies,
including
informal and
formal,
diagnostic,
formative and
summative
approaches to
assess student
learning.)

easy to illegally download films that could be

used in the classroom, it is important to teach
students that these materials should be found
legally through sites such as Netflix or iTunes
movie rental. This active acknowledgement can
then be used to reinforce that students should
acknowledge sources in their own work and not
plagiarise. If need be, software such as Turn It In
can be used to check whether a student may
have plagiarised their work.
Assessment has always been an important part
of teaching and learning. What has changed
most significantly in this area is the style of
assessment. While they are still used (and are
quite important), traditional exams have been
somewhat relegated as an assessment
technique as they do not necessarily allow
students to show what they have learned and
understood. Frequent and varied assessment is
important to a successful classroom as it allows
the teacher to be aware of what has best been
understood by which students, allowing us to
evaluate what aspects of a lesson worked the
best.
There are many digital assessment services
available with a range of applications. One of
these is Quizlet which allows for the creation of
simple multiple choice quizzes which allow
students to demonstrate their understanding an
identify themselves where they are having
issues. They can then approach the teacher with
the issues they were having with content and
retake the quiz when they have reviewed the
material.

5.2
Provide
feedback to
students on
their learning
(Demonstrate
an
understanding of
the purpose of
providing timely
and appropriate
feedback to
students about
their learning.)

Feedback (and more generally communication)

between teacher and student is extremely
important in promoting student learning. This
feedback is not exclusive to response to
assessment; feedback on behaviour, attitude
and improvements are also important. One ICT
method which could be used would be to use a
service such as dropbox or google docs to have
an individual feedback document for each
student which is only accessible by the teacher
and that student (a parent/carer could also have
access depending on the situation). This would
allow for private detailed feedback and would
make it easy to track changes in student
learning and behaviour, thus allowing for further
tailoring of tasks.

In the Teaching Resources

page of this E-Portfolio you
will find a range a of
resources that I have
created and used many of
which are assessment tools
with both formative and
summative focus.
One resource I have used
particularly with junior
classes for formative
assessment has been
Kahoots (kahoot.it) which
proved very successful as
the students enjoy it, and it
allows you to see which
students are struggling and
which areas of content the
class is weakest in. Here is
one example of a Kahoot I
created.

On placement I marked a
variety of assessment
pieces in the form of tests,
orals and written work. I
always aim to provide
valuable feedback both
written and verbal. Here is
one example of feedback I
have given to a student
(permission granted by
student).

5.3 Make
Comparable
and Consistent
Judgements
(Demonstrate
understanding of
assessment
moderation and
its application to
support
consistent and
comparable
judgements of
student
learning.)

Consistency in marking is an extremely difficult,

but necessary, thing to maintain. Various
influencing factors can sway a mark for a
particular student so moderation can be a useful
tool to ensure fairness within a class and
between classes. Using a document storage
service such as dropbox (www.dropbox.com)
allows for easy sharing, editing and noting of
student work between teachers.

5.4
Interpret
Student Data
(Demonstrate
the capacity to
interpret student
assessment data
to evaluate
student learning
and modify
teaching
practice.)

Designing assessment that can be both

independently looked at as well as compared to
other assessment from the student in other
units is important in developing a strong
learning plan. Part of this development involves
tracking and interpreting student performance.
Spreadsheeting software such as Microsoft Excel
allows for easy management of student grades
and can include notes about specific issues that
may arise. Google classroom also features
similar capabilities but also includes the ability
to automatically transfer assessment to a
tracking spreadsheet allowing for quicker and
more simple comparisons.
Awareness of a student's achievement and
progress for both the student and parent/carer is
important in creating a positive learning
environment both at school and at home. End of
term/semester report cards are a well
established way of doing this but can be quite
limited as they are often brief considering the
amount of time they cover. Using Google Docs
to create an ongoing feedback document which
is only available to the teacher, student and
parent/carer would be an effective way to
provide in-depth and current feedback on a
student's progress. It would also include the
student in that feedback process further
promoting a positive relationship inside and
outside the classroom.
By using deep self reflection and comparing
ourselves to the officially recommended
teaching standards in the APST program, we can
work towards and achieve challenging but
realistic targets in our teaching. As every class
and every teacher is different, your own

5.5
Report on
student
achievement
(Demonstrate
understanding of
a range of
strategies for
reporting to
students and
parents/carers
and the purpose
of keeping
accurate and
reliable records
of student
achievement.)

6.1
Identify and
plan
professional
learning needs
(Demonstrate an
understanding of
the role of the

Cabra Dominican College

has a particularly strong
culture of peer moderation
between teachers. As a
result, while on placement,
I was able to participate in
a moderation session in
which teachers compared
their marking to other
teachers for the same task.
This was very valuable as it
allowed me to see a variety
of student work from a
variety of classes and see
the consistency of marking
between teachers
When using Kahoots as a
formative assessment tool,
I have used the output data
to better understand
individual student learning,
and class learning. From
the results, it can become
clear where there are
misunderstandings from
the class and content may
need to be looked at again.

In participating in parent
teacher interviews at Cabra
Dominican College, I was
able to provide feedback on
student achievement
directly to parents and
carers.

In order to better
understand the Professional
standards and their role in
my professional learning
needs, I have kept a
reflection on my teaching

National
Professional
Standards for
Teachers in
identifying
professional
learning needs.)

teaching ability is constantly evolving and it is

important to consciously use this evolution to
become a better teacher.

6.2
Engage in
professional
learning and
improve
practice
(Understand the
relevant
and appropriate
sources of
professional
learning for
teachers.)

Engaging in up to date professional learning

programs is very important in maintaining good
professional teaching practice. Many schools will
ensure their teachers attend these sessions
publically and there are many courses available
from the AEU
( http://www.aeusa.asn.au/events.html ). TED
Talks also have many very interesting and well
presented talks about Education theory both on
a societal and classroom scale
(https://www.ted.com/topics/education)

See the Professional

Development page of this
E-portfolio for evidence of
my professional learning.

6.3
Engage with
colleagues and
improve
practice
(Seek and apply
constructive
feedback from
supervisors and
teachers to
improve teaching
practices.)

Engaging with colleagues, particularly more

experienced colleagues, can be a valuable
experiences in improving our teaching and thus
students learning. In the upcoming placements,
we will have a mentor teacher who will help
guide us through our first few weeks of
teaching. Though perhaps not explicit, this is a
role which will be present for much of our
careers as teachers whether the mentor is
senior by title or just experience. It is also
possible however to learn better practice from
similarly or less experienced teachers and it is
important to engage and share with all
colleagues. One of the easiest ways to do this in
the modern age is through a video sharing
space like youtube (www.youtube.com). If I
wanted in depth constructive feedback on my
teaching skills, I would look to record a video of
one of my lessons and have a supervisor or
mentor watch it and offer advice on areas I am
struggling with.
For the most part, better teachers produce more
successful students. By constantly improving
our teaching, we will better serve the students
we teach. By continuing to learn and apply new
teaching practice, learned from a variety of

During my placements at
Marryatville High School
and Cabra Dominican
College, I formed strong
relationships with my
mentor teachers. This
allowed me to gain valuable
and deep feedback on my
teaching practice and
therefore improve it.

6.4
Apply
professional
learning and
improve
student

experiences in the form of a

blog, found on this eportfolio.

As well as using an E-Portoflio to publically show

how I feel I stand against the APST standards, as
well as my interpretation of them, a more in
depth fluid method of tracking and assessing my
own progress could be mind-mapping software
like XMind could be used
https://www.xmind.net/. This would allow for
notes to be added about issues I have
experienced and positives from other teachers I
may want to incorporate into my own teaching.

Here is one example of a

report on my performance
in my first practicum

I was introduced to Science

by doing as a resource
during the 2015 East
Adelaide Schools Science
Cluster. This added

learning
(Demonstrate an
understanding of
the rationale for
continued
professional
learning and the
implications for
improved
student
learning.)

sources, not only will student learning improve,

but classes will remain fresh and interesting.
This evaluation and learning can come from
many sources including colleagues, supervisors
and online resources.

7.1
Meet
professional
ethics and
responsibilities
(Understand and
apply the key
principles
described in
codes of ethics
and conduct for
the teaching
profession.)

As teachers, remaining professionally ethical

and responsible is vital to both student learning
and safety of students and teachers. This
involves respect and responsibility in all aspects
of teaching and interaction with students,
parents/caregivers, other teachers and others.
The teaching Code of Ethics can be found
here http://www.trb.sa.edu.au/sites/default/files/
Code-of-Ethics.pdf and details professional
expectations for teachers.

If the professional learning undertaken leads to

a need to try a different method or different
activity to promote student learning, a resource
bank like Khan Academy
(www.khanacademy.org) can be a useful place
to look for learning resources, particularly in the
sciences.

Safety in the learning environment for both the

students and teacher is paramount in creating a
positive learning environment. This extends to
ICT and digital learning environments and also
covers digital interaction online, such as when
using social media. The Department for
Education and Child Development has a cybersafety document (found
here: http://www.decd.sa.gov.au/docs/document
s/1/CyberSafetyKeepingChildre.pdf ) which
details appropriate behaviour for students and
teachers online as well as the processes to be
followed when a breach of safety, or an illegal
online activity may have occured.
7.2
Comply with
legislative,
administrative
and
organisational
requirements (
Understand the
relevant
legislative,
administrative
and
organisational
policies and
processes

exposure to resources was

extremely valuable as I was
then able to use aspects of
it in later classes I taught.

As with virtually all jobs, as teachers, we must

comply with legislative, administrative and
organisation requirements in order to safely and
professionally work. This is particularly
important in teaching however because the
safety of wellbeing of children is involved. Each
various governmental body for teachers has its
own requirements and documents (DECD, TRB
etc.) however most schools also have their own
administrative and organisational documents
which outline expectations for students,
teachers and the community. Marryatville High

I understand and
consistently meet
professional ethics and
responsibility requirements
while teaching. The student
safety aspect has been
particularly relevant to me
while teaching science as
there are many hazards to
be evaluated and
understood before, during
and after practicals.

In commencing placements
at both Marryatville High
School and Cabra
Dominican College, as well
as meeting relevant
legislative requirements
such as mandatory
notification training, I also
had to understand and
comply with school policies
relevant to the school I was
in.

required for
teachers
according to
school stage.)

7.3
Engage with
the
parents/carers
(Understand
strategies for
working
effectively,
sensitively and
confidentially
with
parents/carers)

7.4
Engage with
professional
teaching
networks and
broader
communities

School for example features some of these

documents on their website
(http://www.marryatvillehs.sa.edu.au/schoolpolicies/) and these documents list their policies
as well as what happens when policies are
breached.
Discussions with parents about student learning
has been an important aspect of teaching for a
long time. This discussion may deal with a
student's performance, behaviour or simply to
ensure the parents give permission for a class
activity. This communication has become far
easier with the influence of ICT into schools.
Email services such as Gmail www.gmail.com or
Microsoft Outlook http://www.microsoft.com/enau/outlook-com/ make it easy to contact parents
effectively, sensitively and confidentially. The
level of confidentiality is particularly useful as
older methods of contacting parents such as
notes home or phone calls could lead to the
student being aware of the contact and
becoming anxious about it, possibly
exacerbating an existing issue.
Engaging with other teachers, whether from
your own school, within South Australia or even
internationally, is an important part of
developing as a teacher. Discussion, information
and resource sharing and learning can all help in
bringing new and better ideas into the
classroom.
Social media sites such as Facebook are
common areas in which teachers share
information and experience with pages such as
'Teachers of
Adelaide' https://www.facebook.com/groups/166
238006739313/?fref=ts having more than 3000
members. The Australian Education Union also
sponsors the website TES Australia
( http://www.tesaustralia.com/ ) which promotes
resource sharing and connects teachers with
each other as well as jobs and important
information for teachers.

During my placement at
Cabra Dominican College, I
encountered a serious
instance of plagiarism from
one student. After
discussion with my mentor,
I was able to contact the
parent via email, explaining
what had happened and
how I intended to resolve
the situation with the
student. I also emailed the
student separately, copying
in the parent, explaining
what I expected of them.
The resolution was
ultimately a positive
experience for myself, the
parent and the student.
I am a member of the AEU.
I also engage with
numerous facebook pages
dedicated to teaching,
resource sharing and
strategy sharing.