Reflective Entries:

1. Catering for difference.

Situation: I had a year two class of mixed ability, with two students at the extreme lower end of the
ability spectrum. These students were representative of the typical achievement level expected in a
pre-primary setting. Both students struggled with literacy and numeracy, although the gap between
them and their peers was greater in literacy. The class had funding for an education assistant (EA) for
two days per week, and she assisted these students on those days. When teaching narrative writing
(without the EA) it became extremely difficult to engage and motivate these two students because
they had difficulty reading the instructions for any given task, had poor fine motor skills which
impacted their writing, and they became a distraction for their peers when they became
bored/disengaged. The challenge was to address classroom practices and incorporate a strategy or
strategies that would allow for some level of independent work for these two students without
impacting on the learning outcomes for the remaining students in class.

Action: From informal assessment and observations, it became clear that the two students were both
able to communicate ideas orally for most writing tasks. Each lesson began with a whole-class session
on the floor to set the tone, expectations, topic and recap previously taught material (if applicable).
The two students joined in this session with their peers, and I sought out their answers to my questions
more frequently than other class members, to ensure they understood. On returning to their desks,
with a learning task set, I immediately positioned myself near to both students (they sat near each
other in class) and asked them to orally express their answer (for example, a great starter sentence
for a story) before giving them relevant feedback. Once they had a sentence prepared, I would write
challenging words on a mini whiteboard and place it on their desks, as well as hand them their set of
pre-prepared sight-word cards. Their challenge was to write their sentence, using the scaffolding
provided, in the correct word order/sentence construction, within a specified time (I used a digital
timer). This took between 5 and 10 minutes, which then gave me the rest of the lesson to circulate
amongst the other students, answer questions, provide assistance and mark work. The work
expectations for the two students were modified when compared to the expectations of the rest of
the class.

Outcome: Both students responded extremely well to the oral story-telling component of the
differentiation and could express their ideas clearly and show an understanding of narrative story
telling. Once direct supervision was removed, however, one student (student A) continued with off-
task, distracting behaviours and had to be re-focused regularly. The other student (student B)
responded well and completed the task, although extremely slowly. In future I would offer a
reward/incentive for student B for completing work in a set time. On reflection, I think the challenge
was still too high for student A. For a future situation, I would scribe the oral component for the
student A and have him copy it to practice fine motor skills/handwriting technique. As a follow up, I
would use his own sentence, print out the words and cut and mix them up and set a challenge for him
to unjumble/reorder his own sentence. I think this would break down the task into more manageable
chunks and allow a steady transfer between oral and written skills.
 2. Evaluation and improvement of teaching programmes.
Situation: For my whole-term placement, as part of my internship for the Masters of Primary Teaching,
I designed and implemented full 10-week teaching programmes in multiple subject areas. Minor
changes were made throughout the term, due to timetable interruptions and modifications in
response to student learning. I felt that my assessments were thorough for each individual student,
and felt confident in reporting on their achievements to my mentor teacher. However, I had not
addressed the class achievements as a whole, and therefore not assessed my teaching practice and
evaluated the quality of my programme design overall. This was highlighted by my mentor teacher,
who suggested gathering whole-class data to make those assessments.

Action: On receiving this feedback from my mentor, I collected whole class data across the range of
taught subjects based on the grade received for each descriptor in the SCSA judging standards. For
example, for writing I tabulated the number of A, B, C, D or E grades in each of the following areas:
creating texts with supporting images; creating texts using experiences, imagination and learnt
information; spelling; and punctuation. The data was then represented visually by creating a bar graph
to easily spot any weaknesses. In this case, the writing data showed a whole-class weakness in the
areas of spelling and punctuation. This led to further investigation, using more focused data from the
Words Their Way spelling assessment, to pinpoint the students difficulty with long vowel sounds. A
similar process was followed for the other subject areas taught across the term to give me valuable
information, from which I can evaluate my own practices and modify future programmes to target
specific weaknesses in the student cohort.

Outcome: This process was extremely valuable in teaching me the benefits of collecting good quality
data, not only for individuals, but for the whole class. It allowed me to recognise weakness in my
students and therefore weaknesses in my teaching programmes, which can be addressed in future
programme design. Moving forward, I see the benefit of making whole class assessments regularly
throughout the year, to target specific areas and modify teaching programmes continually to reflect
the information that the data highlights. Schools and classrooms are dynamic, and although being
organised and planning thoroughly are essential for teachers, it is equally important to recognise the
need for change, make continual professional evaluations and modify programmes if they are not
proving effective or optimal
 3. Assessment
Situation: My ten-week programme design for measurement involved a large proportion of small
group, investigative tasks to encourage cooperative and inquiry-based learning. I rearranged the
classroom to reflect the amount of small group work I had planned, and students were sat in groups
of four (around one table). I gave the seating layout and placement of students considerable thought
and tried to ensure a mix of abilities, genders and cultural backgrounds to optimise the learning
environment. The learning activities were a great success with the students and they loved completing
hands-on tasks involving filling containers with water, measuring the area of shapes taped onto the
floor, and using different types of scales to weigh classroom objects. I could provide continuous
feedback to students whilst moving around the room, occasionally highlighting a successful strategy
of one group to the rest of the class. The difficulty was in assessing the ability of the students to
complete the tasks, against the standards set in the Western Australian Curriculum, in this group
setting. I made observations about group dynamics; such as who emerged as a leader/ideas person,
strategies they came up with for completing the task, and individuals who seemed to just go through
the motions and not really contribute. However, this did not seem like enough information to form
the basis of a final assessment of their abilities.

Action: In order to gain more information, and more individualised assessment information, I decided
to incorporate a formal, paper-based assessment into my teaching programme. The assessment was
completed individually and still utilised some concrete materials (such as counters for measuring
length). I wanted to make a more focused assessment of each students capabilities, that I felt I didnt
get during the group activities. The assessment was then marked and filed in each students
assessment file to be used as evidence for grading and reporting. Whilst I felt this test was necessary
to gain valuable information, it was definitely not as popular as the group activities and I recognise
the limitations of testing of this type (lack of authenticity, lack of engagement, distraction, data
representative of one day only, absent students etc.)

Outcome: I made a judgment at the time that reflected my need for more individualised assessment
data in measurement. The test administered provided me with that information, but with limitations
(addressed above). In future, I will plan my cooperative learning activities with more care for
assessment strategies. Within the groups, individual students will be given a role to perform
(depending on the task), or it will be specified that each student is given a chance to complete the task
(for example, filling a container with water and measuring how many cups it holds) to ensure equal
opportunities to be assessed in the skill, and ensure the consistency and comparability of judgements
made. I will design checklists with assessment criteria clearly set-out, to indicate which students have
shown evidence of their ability to perform the skill/understand the concept, and to illustrate which
students have not had the opportunity to showcase their abilities. In this way, student assessment can
take place alongside engaging and authentic tasks that allow the practical abilities of the students to
shine through, whilst not compromising on the quality of assessment data collected. The data from
these small group activities can then be used to inform the grading and reporting process, with the
checklists and observations used as evidence to corroborate these judgements.
 4. Professional Learning Needs
Situation: During my internship, my classroom was a year two cohort in an independent primary
school. The class comprised of 20 students, with 9 males and 11 females. The cultural mix included 5
students from New Zealand (including one student from the Cook Islands). One student was
diagnosed with Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and one student with
Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD) as well as a history of family trauma. There were many social
issues within the classroom such as broken/blended families, foster children, children with one parent
incarcerated, extreme socio-economic difficulties and families with a history of addiction and/or
abuse. The ability level of the students was also diverse, with two extremely low ability students
(approximately pre-primary level) and two/three students working significantly above grade level. An
EA was present in the classroom for two days per week to assist students of lower ability. This melting
pot of diversity made for a challenging teaching environment. Differentiation was key, and I made
several plans to differentiate according to student abilities and backgrounds, and some modifications
during the term to further differentiate when gaps in student learning became apparent.

Action: I utilised several strategies for differentiation throughout my placement. These included using
the classroom EA as support for students of lower ability, modified learning activities to suit the
spectrum of abilities in the class, supporting resources/scaffolds to use for students of lower ability
(for example, sight words cards, number charts and concrete materials such as counters, blocks etc.)
and small ability-based groups with targeted activities at an appropriate level. These strategies were
utilised as a result of a combination of university teachings, consultations with my mentor teacher and
my participation in a professional development (PD) session on SMART goals. SMART goals are a
strategy for providing lower ability students, students on an Individual Education Plan (IEP) or students
with a disability, attainable learning goals. SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic
and Timely. Whilst I did not design specific SMART goals for any of my students, the characteristics
heavily influenced my differentiation strategies. In particular, using modified tasks reflected my use
of incorporating realistic and achievable goal setting into my programmes.

Outcome:

Despite the modifications made and differentiation strategies utilised, I still feel that this is an area I
need to develop as a teacher. I recognise that no two classes will be the same and that differentiation
takes on many forms and is continually evolving. For that reason, I feel that I need a bigger toolkit of
differentiation strategies that I can utilise in my future classrooms. By expanding my knowledge of
differentiation, I can be more prepared for diverse student cohorts and have the ability to change
strategy if something is not working, creating a dynamic, responsive and optimal learning environment
for my students. I have found two online courses in differentiation (links below) that I intend to
complete and have developed a reading list of academic literature (see below), pertinent to the topic
of differentiation to further my professional development.

Online courses:

https://teacherprofessionaldevelopmentservices.com.au/courses/differentiation/

http://tta.edu.au/products/300/494
Reading list:

Allen, L., Turville, J. and Nickelson, L. (2010). Differentiating by readiness: strategies and lesson

plans for tiered instruction grades K-8. New York, NY. Routledge.

Bearne, E. (2006). Differentiation and Diversity in the Primary School. New York, NY. Routledge.

Ferguson, S. (2014). Student choice: A powerful strategy for differentiation. Prime Number. 29(2),

18-22.

Jones, J, S., Conradi, K. and Amendum, S, J. (2016). Matching interventions to reading needs: A case
for differentiation. The Reading Teacher. 70(3), 307-316.

5. Professional Engagement Parents/Carers

Situation: During my internship, my classroom was a year two cohort in an independent primary
school. I began this placement at the start of the school year, doing one day per week, before
completing a whole-term, full-time in term three. During the early stages of my placement, it became
apparent that not many of the students in class had parents/caregivers that were involved in the
school community. Some worked full-time, some dropped their children off without coming to the
classroom, others would come to the classroom but rarely came in or engaged with the teachers.
There was a parent/teacher meeting held at the start of the year, where approximately seven (out of
twenty) students were represented by a parent or caregiver. The classroom teacher chooses to
communicate via written notes placed in students homework folders and/or by email. The email is
an option and not utilised as a regular form of contact. The classroom was friendly and welcoming,
and parents/caregivers were encouraged to make informal contact by approaching teachers
immediately after school with any concerns, or scheduling a more formal meeting at a later date.

Action: I was introduced as a student teacher in an initial communication to parents/caregivers at the

start of the school year. Parents/caregivers became used to my presence and would often greet me
in the mornings or after school and occasionally ask questions regarding classroom activities. Once
term three began, I felt I needed to explain my role further as it had changed, and I would now be
fulfilling most of the teaching duties. I wrote a brief letter containing information about myself, my
studies and my research that I would be conducting as a part of my studies. I made it clear that I was
willing to answer any questions that parents/caregivers had regarding either myself or their children.
I also initiated the use of a communication whiteboard that I updated daily with a welcome message
in the morning and a summary of classroom activities for the day in the afternoon. I also utilised this
notice board as a way of communicating important information regarding upcoming events, such as
school swimming lessons, assembly performance or learning journey. Parents were informally asked
to come into the classroom to see what we had created that day, if something exciting had been
produced by the students.
Outcome: I felt that there was a noticeable improvement in parent engagement, with more parents
coming into the classroom both before and after school. Many parents chose to approach me with
queries and/or paperwork regarding their children. The learning journey event, held in week 9 of
term, was a great success with every student having a family member come through the classroom to
see their work. I had direct communication with most of those family members, alongside my mentor
teacher. In future, I see communication with parents/caregivers as an essential component of my
teaching practice. As a parent myself, I understand the importance of regular information and
feedback, and value being connected to the school community. The daily notice board is something I
intend to continue, and I would endeavour to set up an electronic communication network, where
parents/caregivers would be contacted regularly with information regarding classroom/school
activities. I understand that many students are from working families who cannot attend school
regularly, making accessible communication even more essential. This would be done either via a
regular email (newsletter style) update, or by utilising an online system such as Class Dojo.