Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Assignment 2 – Part A
Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3Gs1cUI4zo&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR0emue9
WkdmHF0yLL8gnx7wpvfJFWsSzR99ElV3iXEpR5mVOW3tzc2j6C8
The job description of a teacher is more than just educating students, there are many other
roles that consist of professionally interacting with fellow colleagues. The Contemporary
teachers to benefit schools, teachers and the students. Additionally, this unit looked to build
holistic teachers in correspondence with the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers
(AITSL, 2014). This critical reflection aims to discuss my personal understanding from this
unit regarding the roles and responsibilities of a teacher. As part of this reflection, reference
will be made to relevant literature and the teachings/group work required in this unit.
The first main take-away from this unit is that teachers need to work together in order to
successfully mould the future. As part of the learning materials, this collaboration between
teachers was described as building a community or teacher network. Conway and Andrews
(2016) covey this message in their article, conveying the importance of community in
enhancement. McDonald and Klein (2003), identify that the learning environment does not
only reach students but also teachers. The learning environment needs to be one that is
constructive and accommodation to all members of the of the teaching network. Lee,
Hallinger and Walker (2012), discuss the theory of distributed leadership. This article places
an emphasis on creating an environment that aims to provide equal roles to each teacher,
this would allow everyone to demonstrate leadership qualities and reduce the need for a
sole leader.
As part of the Contemporary Teacher Leadership unit, pre-service teachers were required to
demonstrate collaboration through a teacher network. Much like actual school faculties,
you cannot always choose the groups you work with. The tutorial groups forced individuals
to work together and build a work-based relationship with the goal of working
components delivered in this unit as it put theory into practice. By put in a situation that
required pre-service teachers to simulate the actions of teachers inside of schools placed
Upon reflecting on the group assignment, collaboration was required to meet our goals of
producing a video of a high standard. This meant that students need to demonstrate clear
and effective communication skills with fellow group members, something that is discussed
in Starratt (2005). One challenge that the group faced was finding time to meet face-to-face
to complete particular video tasks. This was due to the busy schedule each member of the
group had however, it was nullified through the use of zoom meetings and messenger
and evolving. As teachers it is up to us to ensure that the landscape evolves for the better
and not the worse. In particular this can relate to how teachers collaborate for assessment,
planning and instruction. Broemmel, Jordan and Whitsett (2015), discuss the importance of
planning in terms of teacher leadership. Chapters 10-12 discuss teacher leadership and the
implementation of plans. The need for planning comes with the ever-changing landscape of
school and the need to prepare for these changes coming. Breaking down the process into
three macro stages allows for the distribution of roles and leadership for all teachers
(Broemmel, Jordan and Whitsett, 2015). What this means is that when implementing new
programs (assessment or units), initiatives or even teacher timetables requires thought. This
are agents of change within the realms of a school environment (Taylor and Klein, 2015).
Once the ideas have been discussed as a group, the action can be researched and designed.
Once the objective is completely thought out and designed it can be pulled together and put
into action.
This is relative to the group assignment presented in this unit as it required an action
research plan to be designed. In designing a new initiative, it was open to the group as to
what would be the target, what the aim was, and how we would plan this. As part of this
assignment, the group posed the question ‘what kind of initiative can we implement that is
relevant to schools and the outside world?’. This question was the base for the thinking
process. It was identified that in a selected school, sustainability isn’t given enough focus
and the way it is taught in different KLA’s is very dull and not very engaging. This thought
process allowed the group to share creative ideas that could implement engaging
sustainability in the school the group selected. The action design phase included each pre-
service teacher to become a leader in each specific aspect of the initiative. As a result of this
assignment and the unit, the importance of addressing contemporary issues with other
The final aspect this unit has provide me is the need to constantly reflect and improve upon
teaching pedagogies to meet the needs of the student. By adapting to modern and up-to-
date teaching methods targets a variety of professional standards teachers are required to
meet (AITSL, 2014). Leadership can be applied to how teachers teach students and by
demonstrating positive qualities that connect with student on a social level but also have
student efficiently work is a method of leadership. This can then lead to improved
classroom, the teacher is meeting standards 1.5 (AITSL, 2014). Differentiation has been
linked to improving engagement and bring out the best possible results for all students
(Katz, 2013). When discussing with fellow teachers, sharing effective pedagogical
approaches is a way of collaboratively working with teachers. By doing this, a teacher opens
themselves up to a variety of different pedagogical approaches that can be very helpful for
reflection on their own pedagogy. By reflecting on your own pedagogy, a teacher opens
themselves up to improvement (Biktagirova and Valeeva, 2014). This was evident in the first
constantly evolving. As a pre-service teacher about to enter the teaching world, it is crucial
that relationships and networks are built with other teachers. This can include collaboration
in program building, teaching pedagogies and meetings. By doing this, not only can a
teacher thrive and successfully navigate the early years of their career but also, set
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). (2014). Australian
http://www.aitsl.edu.au/australian-professional-standards-for-
teachers/standards/list
Biktagirova, G., & Valeeva, R. (2014). Development of the teachers' pedagogical reflection.
Broemmel, A. D., Jordan, J., & Whitsett, B. M. (2015). Learning to be teacher leaders: A
Conway, J., & Andrews, M. (2016). A school wide approach to leading pedagogical
139
Katz, J. (2013). The three block model of universal design for learning (UDL): Engaging
Retrieved from
https://searchproquestcom.ezproxy.uws.edu.au/docview/1440186282?accountid=36
155
Lee, M., Hallinger, P., & Walker, A. (2012). A distributed perspective on instructional
McDonald, J. P., & Klein, E. J. (2003). Networking for teacher learning: Toward a theory of
Starratt, R. J. (2005). Cultivating the moral character of learning and teaching: A neglected
399-411.