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ASSESSMENT TWO
Teaching in Australian school

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Part 1
School structure

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Organisational chart

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Rationale
The school offers a variety of learning spaces for all students, they can be used for individual or collaborative
learning. The importance of such spaces was stated in the Victorian school design report (2013). They can also be
used as a common area to help students learn to share and interact. Proving students with different types of
learning places promotes interdependence and impacts effective learning (Fisher, 2005).
All classrooms have a sunroof encouraging the use of natural daylight, it not only saves electricity but
according to a study conducted with 2000 classrooms helps students progress faster in maths and reading (The
department of education and training, 2006).
The school facilitates a range of activities that can be shared by the community and the school. Connecting
the school to the wider community via services and activities has found a positive impact of student outcomes
(Wilkin, Kinder, White, Atkinson and Doherty 2002).
A strong student support and learning background can immensely impact student well-being and help create
a supportive school environment (The department of education and training, 2006), which this school organisation
has aimed at achieving.

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Part 2
Curriculum
English
Mathematics
Health & Physical Education
Science
Humanities and social sciences
Arts Music, media studies, dance, drama,
Religion studies- upper primary 3-6
ICT/technology
Library
Language- mandarin and Japanese

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Statement
The school curriculum is based on the Australian curriculum. The
Pedagogical approaches used will be play based, inquiry and problem based learning approach (PBL).
Rationale
As per the Australia curriculum, literacy and numeracy will be the main focus of the curriculum. Students in prep to
1 will be guided via inquiry and PBL however play based learning will also be a consistent part of their learning.
According to the Early Years Learning Framework, play based activities have found to be beneficial for consolidating
new information in young children (Every child, 2010).
Inquiry learning encourages students to discover their own learning opportunities (Gormally, Brickman, Hallor &
Armstrong, 2009). It helps create students who are inquisitive, who ask questions, analyse data, draw conclusions
and make decisions, just like little scientists. Rather than passively waiting for information to be given to them
(Killen, 2009). Problem based learning on the offer hand compliments inquiry learning by providing tasks which
challenge students. It highlights the importance of the way we approach a problem not the importance of getting it
right, this deepens understanding of the material and engages learners in purposeful learning (Killen, 2009;
Dahlgren &Oberg, 2001).
Having language offered not only addresses the cross-cultural priority but also offers students a valuable skill in
the face of strong Asian Australian economic era. It will prove to be a desirable skill for student future career
(Shiffman, 2015).
Library programs have documented higher student achievement and mastery in literacy skills. A school where
library programs are encouraged is a good predictor of student success in comprehension, vocabulary growth, &
grammatical ability (Lonsdale, 2003).
ICT is necessary for students growing in the 21st century. Technology is embedded all around us and it will help
students become aware of the many operating systems they use in their everyday lives. ICT also incorporates
other learning areas via providing numerous activities online to develop skills such as reading, information
processing, number recognition and typing skills (Vota, 2011; Andews, n.d).

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Part 3
Mission statement: Our school takes a holistic approach towards helping children reach their full potential. We are
committed to providing every student with a diversely rich supportive and nurturing academic environment where
they can flourish.
Values:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Respect
Integrity
Excellence
Teamwork
Endurance/persistence

School policies:
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Sun-smart policy
Bullying prevention
Student code of conduct
Student resilience and well being
Cyber safe policy
Teacher conduct policy
First aid
Healthy eating
Inclusion policy
School community

Sun smart policy is an important policy given the geographic location of Australia. All students need to be literate
about sun safety and safe play. It encourages a healthy UV exposure balance to help Vitamin D intake which is a
large deficiency in the Australian population. And also educate students about skin & eye damage as well as
cancer risks (Education and training, 2014). A no bullying campaign that states 0 tolerance for bullying behaviour,
given the demographics of the students this is an important measure to assure students that they are safe. It helps
students feel physically and emotionally secure, as they know the staff, school and community will stand against
bulling (education and training, 2014). Student resilience and wellbeing is essential for both academic and social
development, it is optimised by a safe, secure, supportive, respectful learning environment that is created by the
school in partnership with parents and wider school community (department of education and training, 2015).
Cyber safety policy helps instil confidence within students to be able to use technology responsibly and cautiously.
Making sure they keep themselves safe and be able to detect or communicate when they feel uncomfortable,
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threatened or bullied (department for education and child development, 2009). Student uniform provide a sense of
belonging and inclusivity. The can help ensure the health and safety of student specially when engaged in school
activities (NSW government,n.d).
Due to the rising concerns of childhood obesity in Victoria, healthy eating policy ensures student access to
healthier foods and drinking options. Foods eaten by children in early years and at school impact lifelong
development of growth, energy levels and eating habits support healthy eating environment (department of
Educational training, 2013). Inclusion policy ensures all student regardless of background are catered for and have
equal access ((New South Wales Government, 2005). School community policy helps to develop and strengthen
relationships with their school community (Department of Education and training, 2013).

Part 4

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Rationale:
Student tables set in a U formation allow for productive class discussions and creates an inclusive environment
where students are able to see each other clearly which will help them collaborate more effectively (Atherson,
2013). Allowing for a sunroof and windows allows natural sunlight to enter the class which has been found to affect
student performance & health positively. It adds to a better quality of learning and increases student performance
(Katerina, 2012). Having indoor plants help teach responsibility. Apart from adding novelty and colour to the
classroom it teaches students about animal care and welfare (Clarke and Pittway,2014). Having multiple
collaboration zones helps spread out students and minimize distraction plus supervision. It can help set up for
differentiated instructional teaching (Tomlinson, 2008) and provide an opportunity for students to be able to work
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collaboratively, participate in several activities and become engaged (Bitter and Pierson, 2005). Having high traffic
areas at a distance such as bookshelf, book tubs, ICT equipment can help make the space accessible (Emmer,
Everton and Worsham, 2003).

Part 5

My peer, Harshini Adams, suggested that I might need to add a music and art room, I did take on this advice as I
had overlooked these 2 subjects when planning the school structure, hence I added additional rooms in my plan as
it is important to have a place where musical instruments maybe stored safely and a place where art education can
have its own environment. My peer, Mark Legauly, suggested that a U shape formation of the tables may result in
the back row of students not being able to see the interactive white board properly, this is something I had not
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considered hence without actually changing the table formation, I have decided when presenting information on
the whiteboard, to ask the back row to move to the floor mat. My peer, Harshini Adams, also suggested reducing
the amount of natural sunlight within the classes as it may have a negative effect when there is too much light.
However I did not take on this advice as firstly I dont think there is too much sunlight entering the classroom also
through my research it clearly states that sunlight positively effects on student wellbeing and academic
performance (Katerina, 2012). Matthew, raised a great point on how religious studies would be conducted in a
multi-faith community, which made me really think about what it is I am trying to achieve by introducing this
subject. Which is how I decided to introduce religious studies from grade 3 rather than prep.
I had substantial hardship when completing this assessment as I was physically suffering from a disc slip
issue and nerve impingement. I had to overcome this by taking lots and lots of breaks as I couldnt sit or stand or
even walk for too long. It was difficult sustaining attention on the task while, managing constant throbbing back
pain. Another challenge this task posed for me was the succulent rationale that we were expected to develop,
there is just so much to write about and so much information I had to justify the answers. It was a challenge having
to cut down on the word count. I dealt with this by constantly reading my work out loud and highlighting the main
points, then deleting everything that was excessive.
If I could do this assessment again I would want more time to research about more polices and learn more
about the positive and negative attributes of a school structure and classroom. I would like to have a more
confident and stronger approach when I finished my final design as I am not 100% confident in all the elements I
have written. I wouldve liked to also have the time to read every single submission that my peers had posted and
incorporate more of the great ideas that others used.
I have learnt that the Australian schooling system is a very complex structure that encompasses multiple
issues to be addressed and considered. There is so much we need to be cautious about and think about in advance
to make sure that the system is fair and equal at the same time caters for the vast individual needs of students. It
really makes me wonder if there ever can be a perfect school system where everything goes exactly as planned
and helps students become the best they can be in that environment.
I think I would award myself a credit as I think my overall plan is quite coherent, the school structure, polices,
classroom plan all go well together. I think the use of appropriate and relevant literature has been utilized
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throughout the assessment when justifying answers also some issues affecting Australian schools such as obesity,
bullying have been made mention of. My own learning has also been challenged this has been discussed within the
reflection part of the assessment.

REFERENCES

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Andrews, C. (n.d). The importance of ICT. The school run. Retrieved from http://www.theschoolrun.com/importanceict
Atherton J S (2013) Learning and Teaching; Physical Layout [On-line: UK] retrieved 14 January 2016 from
http://www.learningandteaching.info/teaching/layout.htm
Bitter, G.G., & Pierson, M.E. (2005) in Clarke, M., & Pittaway, S. (2014). Marsh's becoming a teacher (6th Ed.).
Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson
Australia.
Clarke, M., & Pittaway, S. (2014). Marsh's becoming a teacher (6th Ed.). Frenchs Forest, NSW: Pearson Australia.
Dahlgren, M. A. & Oberg, G. (2001). Questioning to learn and learning to question: Structure and function of
problem-based learning scenarios
in environmental science education. Higher Education, 41, 263282
Department of education and child development. (2009).cyber safety- keeping children safe in a connected
world. Guideline. Retrieved
from http://www.decd.sa.gov.au/docs/documents/1/cybersafetykeepingchildre.pdf
Department of education and training. (2006). the impact of school infrastructure on educational outcomes:
A literature review. Office

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of learning and teaching. Retrieved from

https://www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/assetman/bf/Impact_School_Infrastructure.pdf
Department of Education and training. (2010). Sun and UV protection. School policy and advisory guide. Retrieved
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http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/principals/spag/health/pages/sun.aspx
Department of education and training. (2013) school community. School policy and advisory guide. Retrieved from
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/principals/spag/community/Pages/community.aspx
Department of education and training. (2013). Healthy eating. Student health and well-being. Retrieved from
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/school/teachers/health/pages/healthyeatingadvisory.aspx
Department of Education and training. (2014). Bullying prevention policy. Bully stoppers. Retrieved from
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/bullystoppers/Pages/prinprevent.aspx
Evertson, C.M., Emmer, E.T., & Worsham, M.E. (2003). Classroom management for elementary teachers. (6th
Edition). Boston: Allyn and Bacon
Every child. (2010). Play and Learning. 16 (3). Retrieved from http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/ourpublications/every-child-magazine/every-child-index/every-child-vol-16-3-2010/

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Fisher, K. (2005). Research into identifying effective learning environments. Evaluating Quality in Educational
Facilities. Retrieved from
http://www.oecd.org/edu/innovation-education/37905387.pdf
Gormally, C., Brickman, P., Hallar, B., & Armstrong, N. (2009). Effects of inquiry-based learning on students science
literacy skills and
confidence. International Journal for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 3(2), 16.
Katerina, M (2012). Natural light in learning environment. University of Nicosia Department of Architecture. Retrieved from
http://www.academia.edu/2018655/Natural_light_in_learning_environments_by_Michaelidou_Katerina

Killen, R. (2013). Effective teaching strategies: lessons from research and practice (6th Edn.). South Melbourne,
Vic: Cengage Learning Australia.
Lonsdale, M (2003).impact of school libraries: on student achievement- a review of the research. Australian council
for educational research.
Retrieved from http://www.asla.org.au/site/defaultsite/filesystem/documents/research.pdf
NSW government. (2005). Inclusive policy. School policies and procedures. Retrieved from
https://online.det.nsw.edu.au/policiesinter/category.do?level=Schools
NSW government. (n.d).School uniform policy. Education. Retrieved from
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https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/policies/student_admin/uniforms/school_uniform/PD20040025.shtml
Shifman, A. (2015). It's time to teach our school kids a new language: Code. Financial review. Retrieved from
http://www.afr.com/technology/its-time-to-teach-our-school-kids-a-new-language-code-20150304-13v4qp
Tomlinson, C. (2008) in Clarke, M., & Pittaway, S. (2014). Marsh's becoming a teacher (6th ed.). Frenchs Forest,
NSW: Pearson Australia.
Victorian government (2013). Victorian school design. Victorian government. Retrieved from
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/school/principals/infrastructure/vsdintro.pdf
Vota, W. (2011). What ICT can improve reading skills of learners in primary schools? Reading Skills in Primary
Schools. Retrieved from
http://edutechdebate.org/reading-skills-in-primary-schools/what-ict-can-improve-reading-skills-of-learners-inprimary-schools/
Wilkin, A., Kinder K., White, R., Atkinson, M. and Doherty, P. (2002), Research Summary: Towards the
Development of Extended Schools, United Kingdom Department for Education And Skills and the United
Kingdom National Union of Teachers from Department of education and training. (2006). the impact of school
infrastructure on educational outcomes: A literature review. Office of learning and teaching. Retrieved from
https://www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/assetman/bf/Impact_School_Infrastructure.pdf

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