Week+8

 = = Issues from the Coal Face (VIT and Planning) Diane Powell - Assistant Principal (Kismet Park PS) LINDSAY: 

Well I don't know about you guys but first day back the lecture was very hard to concentrate. Thank goodness it was a nice easy topic, which was even more relevant now that we have been in classrooms. The topic that Diane touched on which I found the most interesting and indeed helpful was the ideal teacher and what students believe make up a great teacher. • Someone who listens to what I have to say • Someone who bothers to get to know me • Someone who doesn’t yell at me • Someone who understands my feelings • Someone who praises my efforts • Someone who talks to me in the yard Is this so hard? I don’t think that it will be but I also think that as a first year teacher we are going to have to remind ourselves of these and make an effort to do them. I think it’s going to be very stressful first year out. While on placement I got a great idea of classroom management and how much fun it is to be in a classroom but full time will be very very different. Planning, marking, preparing all multiplied ten fold when we get our first job! Another great slide was the one highlighted below. • Empathy = intellectual identification of oneself with another • Energy = vigour, force, activity (passion) • Efficacy = power to produce (desired) effects • Evidence-based = interpret, analyse and reflect upon data Again as discussed earlier in the year this should all come easy to us. But again with the previous discussion I also think this is going to take some conscientious effort to uphold every day. It may not be possible to be passionate 100% of the day 100% of the year but if teaching is what I think it will be for me… its not going to be that difficult to stay passionate..
 * The Ideal Teacher**
 * Some Key Characteristics of Effective Teachers**

 I agree Lindsay, it is not going to be hard to stay passionate, especially after having such amazing practicum experiences; which all three of us were fortunate to have.
 * __HEIDI__**

I particularly enjoyed todays week 8 lecture on **Performance & Development Culture **. Our guest speaker Diane Powell spoke to us about a number of areas of concern for new teachers, in and out of the classroom, but most particularly what makes an ideal teacher. It was intersting to hear from Diane that the feedback to taken directly from primary school students. The feedback in which was obtained in reards to what makes the ideal teacher are all elements that each person/child would expect from their classroom teacher; and i would be extremely surprised if any of these points came as a surprise to any soon to be teacher.

Furthermore, i found Diane's insight on evidence based learning quite interesting. Diane outlined a number of ears of particular interest which included the following - I look forward to my first year of teaching and applying all the knowledge i will learn on this journey to the best of my ability.
 * Assess, monitor and record each child's progress - so as to make informed decisions not just judgements
 * Assess to ensure curriculum is being acknowledged and learnt by students
 * Ensure Pedagogy is based on consistant and sound research findings and reflective practices
 * action research should be operating in all schools to address local needs

Steve's Reponse: 

I really enjoyed Diane's lecture also Heidi, where earlier lectures were interesting, i struggled to make the connection between lecture and the classroom, which was primarily due to the fact that i had not yet had any classroom experience. However, since being in the classroom during practicum, this lecture and previous lectures now make more sense and will provide an invaluable resource during out 1st year of teaching and beyond.

These two areas outlined in Diane's lecture:
 * Assess, monitor and record each child's progress - so as to make informed decisions not just judgments
 * Assess to ensure curriculum is being acknowledged and learnt by students

Both these areas while i was out on practicum were quite at times 'up in the air' and surrounded by confusion, with many teachers lacking direction and consistency in terms what would have to be assessed to be placed in reports etc.

The feedback provided by primary school students was interesting but after spending 4 weeks in the classroom, none of the feedback came as a real surprise to me at all.