4.

1 SUPPORT STUDENT PARTICIPATION

My first piece of evidence is written feedback I received from my mentor teacher on placement about a “phone a friend strategy I used
continuously. My second piece of evidence is a screen clipping from my fourth-year university liaisons comments which highlights my
strength in supporting full student participation. My third piece of evidence is a screen clipping taking from my third year inclusive
education assignment which differentiates a learning experience for a student with Cerebral Palsy.

“Phone a friend” was a strategy I used on placement to encourage students to participate in class discussions. This allowed students to put
their hand up and attempt to answer questions, however if they were wrong or needed help from a more knowledgeable other, they
could “phone a friend” to help them. I was commended by my teacher for the phone a friend technique as seen in this written feedback.
At the beginning of placement, I introduced this term to encourage students to participate and never be afraid to have a go. This meant
they felt more comfortable to put their hand up in what was a safe, non-judgmental classroom environment. If students are not
participating, they become disengaged and can then become disjointed from their peers and as a result their learning and personal
development can suffer. My second piece of evidence demonstrates that I am at the graduate level as my University liaison (who sat in on
a 30 minute lesson) wrote “he encourages the participation of all individuals and implemented lessons with a wide range of resources and
support strategies”. In my third year of University I had to complete a compulsory course called inclusive education. This course involved
preservice teachers each completing a PowerPoint presentation to the entire class and two written assessments that focussed on a variety
of disabilities and how we as teachers could be inclusive (support participation of all students) of students with these disabilities. My
PowerPoint presentation was about Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and my written assessments were about Cerebral Palsy and vision
impairments. My final piece of evidence is a screen clipping of a unit plan I found online and adapted so that it was inclusive of a student
with cerebral palsy (red writing). Whilst I only completed personal assessments about these two disabilities I actively engaged as an
audience member in my peer’s presentations. These presentations included what the disability is, hands on activities that enabled us to put
ourselves in the shoes of these students and most importantly strategies to be inclusive of these students in a classroom context. At the end
of these presentations we shared them with others as electronic copies and I now have access to them all and can use them when required
throughout future practice to be inclusive and support full student participation.
4.2 MANAGE CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
I took many approaches and tried various strategies to manage classroom activities during my third year placement. One thing I did was
always write steps of lesson instructions on the board e.g. handwriting, spelling, mental math ETC. another was re arranging the seating
plan within my classroom to minimize unproductive behaviours.

I acknowledge as an educator that just telling students what to do isn’t an acceptable practice. This can be an issue for students in
particular who have learning difficulties. For example, the kids in my class with processing difficulties in my class would constantly ask
what they needed to be doing unless they had multiple avenues of knowing what they were doing. By writing steps on the board in an
ordered fashion I found this student remained on task more often than not as when they became lost they could re-read their instructions
on the board. Having seating plans also helped students stay on task and minimize unproductive behaviours. These seats were allocated at
the beginning of my full-time teaching as I had by then developed an understanding of who does and doesn’t work well with one another.
This demonstrates I am at the graduate level as I am able to use multiple strategies to manage the classroom environment.
4.3 MANAGE CHALLENGING BEHAVIOUR

My first piece of evidence is a rewards system I introduced during my third-year placement to condition student behaviours. My second
piece of evidence is a classroom expectations list I created with my fourth year placement class.

In my class I implemented a rewards system known as Wegener dollars. As a behaviour management measure these dollars were given
and taken from students. In all circumstances provoking a dollar worked and they were also used to reward good behaviour. This
conditioned the children to do the right thing self-consciously. When I was in school it is fair to say I was not the best-behaved student.
This meant I received many behaviour management strategies. Some of which made my behaviour even worse whilst others were
effective. I identified rewards systems prior to placement that rewards systems were a simple way that saw a positive impact on my
behaviour. These systems were so simple and didn’t have to involve parents, sending students to neighbouring classes/the office etc. This
demonstrates my ability at a graduate level as I took a practical approach I’d learnt from my own experience and turned it into a successful
reality enjoyed by all children. I saw serious change in class dedication to learning and kindness to one another after this currency was
introduced.

My second piece of evidence is a draft list of classroom expectations I constructed with my fourth year placement class on my first day of a
25 day block. It is important that this happens at the beginning of the year as these expectations can form the foundations for productive
behaviour (Carter & Pool 2012). Bohn et al (2004) state that classroom expectations and procedures enable students in your class to
understand what they are required to do throughout an entire school day. This includes things such as transitions from one lesson to
another as well as coming in from recess and so on which can often be moments of difficulty for students and educators. By having
students involved in the construction of these expectations I am able to ensure they all understand them and thus are more inclined to
follow them.
4.4 MAINTAIN STUDENT SAFETY

My first piece of evidence is a photo of my third-year placement schools emergency evacuation plan that is visible in every class
throughout the school. My second piece of evidence is a risk management form I went through with students.

During my third-year placement we underwent a fire and lockdown drill. This meant I was required to run students through the
procedures of each to ensure their safety prior to the drill. As I was new to the school I had to study these safety practices in order to
ensure I was confident enough to explain them to children and keep them safe in real life scenarios. This demonstrates that I am at a
graduate level as I put student safety at the forefront and took time away from lessons to provide them with the knowledge they would
need in a real-life fire scenario. I wasn’t required to run them through the procedures prior to the drill as that was its purpose, however I
took the time to do this in case between that time and the drill there was a real-life fire. I like to go by a saying “it is better to be safe than
sorry.” My second piece of evidence is a risk assessment form that is completed by teachers for each student prior to going on an
excursion to calculate if they are a risk to themselves or their peers if they attend the excursion. Whilst on my fourth-year placement I had
to go through this form with all students so they could complete it honestly about themselves. This process involved explaining each
category to them and explaining how to complete each row following the category. After this had occur I collected each students form and
moderated them as I deemed necessary e.g. moving a student from minor to moderate for a risk assessment.
4.5 USE ICT SAFELY, RESPONSIBLY AND ETHICALLY
Leading up to placement there was an iPad application I wanted to utilize. This application was a reading one called Epic that is free and
gave children reading suggestions based on their Lexile level and interests. To ensure this could occur I had to get it approved by my
mentor teacher, the deputy principal and then ICT staff.

Prior to placement I received my introductory email from my mentor teacher that stated that the class I was entering was a part of an iPad
program. This meant I had to incorporate the iPads wherever possible. After receiving this email, I began to explore learning-based
applications and found this reading app. This app met all my wants and needs, however before incorporating it into my planning I knew
that I would have to get it approved. In order to make this possible I had to first see the ICT staff and ensure the app was safe and met
school policies in order for it to be allowed on the students iPads. Once this process had occurred, I instructed the children to download
the app and put in a specific pin given to me by IT staff. By following the school’s guidelines for technology and informing ICT staff of my
intentions I demonstrated that I am at the graduate level for this standard.