OBSERVATION OF

GPS ACTIVITY

During my practicum I saw a teacher take stu-

dents out on a field activity in the park adjacent to

the school. Groups shared GPS devices to track objects

which they hid around the park.

This was for a Geography Lesson. Students were monitoring and measu-

ring on charts designed by the teacher. All students were engaged and learning.

It evoked further reflection as I could see that the outdoor activity was effective in

generating learning and meeting outcomes effectively.

I followed up my observation with research into the benefits of outdoor learning

and started to gather ideas for approaching outdoor learning in other KLAs.

See related BLOG post here:

http://albikaadi.wordpress.com/2013/11/01/more-on-professional-teaching-standards/

During a recent Conference I attended on Envi-

ronmental Sustainability in Education as a representa-

tive of the University of Technology Sydney, I noticed a work-

shop on using GPS devices. Due to my observation on prac, I deci-

ded that it was a great opportunity to participate in learning about this

technology from a student perspective.

The workshop imparted the following skills and applications:

• Tracking peoples’ movements

• Locating places and objects

• Calculating distances

• Recording incident/event locations

Although I do not have the finance right now to purchase an iPhone or some

other device with GPS applications, as soon as I am in a position I will make

sure that is a priority.

OBSERVATION OF

GPS ACTIVITY

EXTRACT OF TEXT

NON-ENGLISH

During my practicum I also had the fortunate

opportunity to observe and assist with LOTE: Arabic

lessons. In combination with this insight, I noted the chall-

enges being faced by other students with reading comprehen-

sion challenges (ESL or impairment related).

I chose this artefact to demonstrate what it might feel like to these students

as they attempt to make sense of the texts we place before them. It is a

stimulus for the development of my own skills of empathy and ability to

transform that empathy into practical solutions.

Again, I followed-up this line of inquiry with further research as presented and

explicated on my BLOG post.

EXTRACT OF TEXT

NON-ENGLISH

In our lectures on teaching students with

Special Needs, we were equipped with a number of

strategies for scaffolding and creating support materials

that assist with developing comprehension skills for learners who

find reading a challenge. These include but are by no means limited to :

• Creating close passages with dashes to show number of letters per word

• Breaking texts up into jigsaws

• Teaching the skills of highlighting, underlining, or noting new vocabulary and concepts

• Scaffolding generic components of a text (ie. Introduction, body, conclusion)

• Pairing up struggling students with a study buddy

• Conveying concepts graphically through images or diagrams

I will utilise both the resources provided us in this course, as well as those I

have collected over the years when teaching TESOL courses here and

abroad, to help in this area as required.

SAMPLE OF

STUDENT’S

REMIX

It was important that during this course I engag-

ed students with ICT. I struggled due to the poor-

maintenance of the equipment at the school; a result of lack

of funding. I noted other teachers had the same struggles and

helped each other to overcome related challenges as best they could.

In an effort to stretch myself beyond my comfort zone of PowerPoint, QR

codes, and Digital Stories, I experimented in having students create remixes.

The aim was to summarise their understanding of the impact—both short and

long term—of colonialism on indigenous peoples, as seen through the lens of

Aztec/Mexican society.

To be honest, I was surprised how effective the task was in evincing learning

outcomes. For an example of the multimodal dynamism of the remixes view

my own sample (created using the same imagechef.com tool) here:

I was unable to embed audio into the students’

remixes this time round. I know it can be done, but I

have yet to find the best way. As such, I will keep searching

for alternative providers of remix construction tools and keep ex-

perimenting to extend my skills and my ability to pass those skills onto

my students, who—as research suggests—will require multimodal literacy in

their futures.

SAMPLE OF

STUDENT’S

REMIX

MAPS OF

DEMOUNTABLE

In order to “organise class activities” and give

clear instructions, one should know what kind of room

they will be teaching in, how it is arranged, how it could be

Potentially arranged, where it is located, and how to get to it.

Schools can have complex pathways and sometimes classes are taught in un-

usual rooms like Business Studies in an Art room or History in a Science lab.

My experience on a particular day during prac highlighted the multitude of

things that can go wrong when you do not know the above information ahead

of time.

I made a number of mistakes that impacted on my ability to create and

maintain a supporting and safe learning environment for a year 10 History

lesson.

Firstly, I left it till the last minute to ask someone

where the room 64 was as it did not appear on the

map of the school. The teacher pointed out the window to

two demountables down a stairwell and said, “its one of those,

not sure which one.”

I had seen a teacher head down that stairwell so I confidently stormed down

the spiral stair case toward my destination, equipment in hand. When I got

down to the bottom a senior teacher reprimanded me for using the fire exit and

firmly pointed out that I needed to use the exit near the library. I apologised

and proceeded to the demountable that logically should have been 64 but was

not. The students told me to go to the next one across.

When I got there, students had already been seated by my supervising

teacher for the lesson. And then I noticed, the IWB and regular white board

were at opposite ends of the room to each other. I had planned my lesson

around using the whiteboard in conjunction with a PowerPoint. Needles to say

the lesson did not go very well.

MAPS OF

DEMOUNTABLE

In future, I know that it will not always be easy to

find and enter a room before I teach in it—especially

if doing relief teaching. However I will make sure to either

make the time to get in there and survey it early, or enquire if

there is anything I should know about the room well in advance.

I have discovered how much the physical learning environment determines

what can and cannot be done in terms of teaching pedagogy and learning

tasks. One must work with the available space and supports to create effective

lessons that enable the students to meet achievable goals and successfully

acquire the set learning outcomes.

MAPS OF

DEMOUNTABLE

EXCEROT FROM

CONTRACT

In the excerpt presented here, mention is made

hours of work on a daily basis. I believe this relates

both mandatory and voluntary professional develop as part

of ongoing professional learning formally during inservices and

staff training, and informally on the job such as staying back to discuss

how to help a particular student or how to develop a better marking criteria

outline for an assessment task.

As teaching is a very responsible job, there will be times when responding to

daily demands cannot be put-off for another day but have to be dealt with

immediately. I remember being kept back very late to correct comments on my

student reports in my early years of teaching. I recall having to accompany a

student to hospital after an incident during a soccer game.

If I were wanting a 9-5 job where I could work blindfold and then clock-off and

go my marry way to a separate homelife, then teaching would not be the right

career path. We need to prioritise time to model life-long learning to others.

From my own experience it is important

to plan well and plan EARLY. Many anecdotes tell

how vital this is—a stitch in time saves 9; make time

your friend; when you fail to plan you plan to fail, etc.

Teachers do not get wonderful, long, carefree holidays. Before and after

term many hours are spent culling, organising, creating, corresponding,

modifying, filing and so on ad infinitum to ensure successful and rewarding

learning experiences all year long.

I remember that even while on holiday I often had my eye out for useful

teaching resources and learning opportunities. I would bring home bags of tiny

Balinese trinkets to use as lucky dips for LOTE Indonesian lessons.

Time management skills “in and out of season” are essential for the successful

development of all aspects of this profession.

EXCEROT FROM

CONTRACT