Record of Professional Learning Experiences Date Ongo ing 11/2/ 13 Activity Level Meetings Staff MeetingIrlen Syndrome Info

session Parent Info Night Mathletics Info session (lunchtime) Reflection Attending ongoing weekly Prep Planning meetings allows me to observe the planning of teaching and learning, and the sharing of ideas among different teachers. This meeting was very interesting, and becoming aware of such a prominent but unfamiliar syndrome like Irlen Syndrome is very valuable for my teaching development. This session was a good opportunity to meet some of the students parents, and also become aware of the questions, concerns and feedback in which the parents had regarding their childrens introduction to school. A mini information session on how to use Mathletics effectively for teaching and learning in the classroom was run by two teachers. It was good to become more familiar with the program, as I have not yet had a chance to use it in my teaching, and there was many good ideas for using the program as a good teaching tool both at school and at home. Attending this PD gave me a huge amount of insight into Aspergers/ Autism, and I felt I gained a much clearer understanding of the syndrome and the ways in which to help children in the classroom. It was also very beneficial not only to learn strategies for managing children with this syndrome, but gaining a better understanding of their perspective and how they experience the world. The prep team was one teacher short for the planning day, so I was allocated a unit alongside a Prep teacher (Jane Relph) and together we created a planning document for the integrated unit of all about me for term 2. This not only gave me an opportunity to see how planning is structured for the following term, but I was also able to have an input in the planning of the unit. Volunteering (face painting) for the morning, as well as just experiencing the school carnival gave me a good perspective of the school culture. It was incredible to see such a wellorganised event with an overwhelming community support. This day included; Mindsets seminar, Applying for government schools, Applying for Catholic and Independent schools, Making the most of your APP, and a Behaviour Management seminar. The day was incredibly inspiring, and full of fantastic information. I particularly enjoyed the Mindsets and Behaviour Management seminars, as there were so practical for using in the classroom and made some excellent points that I had never before considered. This was an incredible valuable experience, and the ideas and insight gained was very inspiring. Simple tools and aids

12/2/ 13 13/3/ 13

14/3/ 13

21/3/ 13

Imagine having Aspergers Syndrome/ Autism seminarFrankston Arts Centre Planning Day

24/3/ 13 5/4/1 3

School Carnival AEU Student Teacher Conference Day

26/4/ 13

Curriculum Day

(Southern Austism School) 3/5/1 3 Level 2 First Aid Course

22/5/ 13

Special Friends Day

28/5/ 13

THRASS info night

Ongo ing

Peninsula Connection s Professional Learning Community Meetings

Ongo ing

seemed to make such a difference with these children, and it was really beneficial to see these approaches in action. It was also great to return to Pearcedale Primary and share everyones experiences at different schools for the day. After completing this course, I feel much more confident about the prospect of applying first aid. It was fantastic that the trainer focussed on our ability to respond in an emergency situation, and as a result I feel much more able to do so if needed. For the last 2 hours of the school day, as well as between 5:30-6:30pm, students were able to invite a special friend (parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle, sibling etc) to show around their classroom and school. We set up the classroom with activities that the children could visit with their special friend (ipads, tracing activities, puzzles, IWB) and displayed the childrens work. The children took a lot of pride in showing off their classroom and work/achievements, and it was great to have that connection between school and home within the classroom. This was a fantastic opportunity to hear some of the anxieties which parents experience around assisting their children in Literacy at home, and the information provided seemed to really help understanding and encourage involvement. Being involved in the planning and implementation of a 5 week Claymation class through the Peninsula Connections program was a completely new process for both my mentor teacher and I, however we took on the challenge together and the results were fantastic. These meetings allow for collaboration among teachers, and support a shared responsibility for the learning of all students. I gained much insight of this approach to education through these meetings, and hope to foster a collaborative and communal approach to teaching and learning in the future.