Essay Instructions: Rewrite these areas of strength using the guidelines below:
(question) Select two areas which you described as strengths.
1. Describe what you do and how you do it. Give examples to illustrate it.
2. Refer to set text- briefly summarise what ideas and practices you could adopt from text to enhance and improve these strengths. (such as Queensland Outcomes Based education).
(1) The first area of strength within my teaching, I believe would be my use of resource, which I believe is innovative and this maintains the students interests. By using different teaching Items and using such things as computers and videos such as movies and TV shows a teacher can relate a subject in this case a science or biology issue. Also by using different teaching mechanisms an educator can teach to his/her students in a Varity of teaching styles. This can be best explained by a problem I had teaching a junior science class where most of the student were not understanding the subject matter. I was given a subject by my mentor teacher to teach a year 8 science class, the issue was Newton?s third law (physics). My first attempt had many students not understanding what I was teaching. My problem was to come up with a way to help clarify Newton?s third law, so in my lunchtime patrol I asked what the students were interested in, and half the class was interested in space travel. After giving this Idea a lot of thought I came up with a few concepts. I brought in a video (the movie the Right Stuff) and a couple of experiments such as taping a straw to a balloon and placing that balloon on a piece of string and having the student observe what occurs by doing this the students could see this law in action not just hear about it. This gave better results than I could have ever hope for , with every most students gaining and understanding and doing very well on the end of week formative test.
(2) I believe that my second area of strength lies in my behaviour management of a class. I believe that an excellent way of establishing and maintaining behaviour management is to have the student?s line up outside of the classroom, until students are quiet. The students should then be required to arrange themselves into two lines before being allowed into the classroom. By doing this, students are kept to a certain behaviour level from the start of the class time period. This is one of the simple techniques to maintain class behaviour and by doing so having more teaching time in each period. When a student begins to act out of turn, I simply stand out in the front of the class with out saying a word (using effective non-verbal communication). By doing this, the class easily comes under control and this works to calming the students much more quickly than if I approached behaviour management by standing in the front of the class and yelling at the class at the top of one?s voice. (Which achieves very little as observed with other educators)? By trying to keep every student attention on myself, I maintain control of the classroom using simple teaching techniques, such as asking every student in the class a question at random and using many different forms of asking these questions. By doing so, I am able to solicit many different opinions and ideas from students, and keep other students actively engaged. This simple technique brings out information through questioning and help?s the student to learn at an increased pace, while at the same time keeping the class within limits of behaviour.
(Question)rewrite this area for personal improvements
Select an area in which you need improvement.
1. Describe what you do and how you do it. Give examples to illustrate it.
2. Refer to set text- briefly summarise what ideas and practices you could adopt from text to enhance and improve these improvements. (such as productive pedagogies).
(B1) The area that needs most improving for myself in teaching is my questioning, I am asking question that are open end and I have asked question to find out prior knowledge. I asked question that start off with ?who can tell me? or ? what are they doing now? and this leads to many responses that are not related to the subject at hand and by doing so take the students attention away from the issue that I wish to teach. I had one class where I was teaching sedimentary rocks on how it is mad and I asked the students who can tell me what occurs with sand on the beach, asking such an open end question lead to where sand comes from?, Is sand dirt?, can sand make coal?, and when a student answer with a more compacted answer, I did not react and link this answer into what I had already talked about and losing a very important opportunity to reinforce some of the information I had presented.
Set text
Greenaway, R, 2002, ? Your guide to the why and how of active reviewing? , Active reviewing tips for dynamic experimental learning? & ? Active reiewing guide : how to facilitate active learning, Stirling, < http://reviewing.co.uk> .
Malouff, J , 2002, fifty problem solving strategies explained, Armidale. http://www-personal.une.edu.au/~jmalouff/problem.htm
Reushle, S 2002, using technology to facilitate learning, USQ, Toowoomba, pp. 1-5.
Linhart, R 2002, accessing, evaluating and using information, Usq, Toowoomba, pp2-23
Ballantyne, R & Packer, J 1995, making connections: gold guide no 2, Hersda, Canberra, pp 4-14
Schon, DA 1983, ?From technical rationality to reflection-in-action?, the reflective practitioner: how professionals think in action, Basic Books, New York, pp. 49-69.
Helpful References
http://www.eddept,wa.edu.au/centoff/outcomes/policy/index.htm
www.mml.co.za/general/curriculum.asp
Spady, W. (1994). Outcomes-based education: Critical issues and answers: Arlington VA: American Association of schools Administrators.
www.teachers.ash.org.au/bec/obe.htm
There are faxes for this order.
