3.3- Use teaching strategies
Include a range of teaching strategies
3.4- Select and use resources
Demonstrate knowledge of a range of resources, including ICT, that engage students in their learning
Whilst on my final professional experience placement in a prep classroom I taught a mathematics unit on time and sequencing. The class was very diverse with two EAL/D students, three students on personalised learning plans, and a number of other students with trauma backgrounds, speech difficulties and disabilities. This made teaching challenging at times and required careful consideration of teaching strategies and resources.
To support the various needs within the classroom and maximise engagement, lessons were planned that incorporated a number of High Impact Teaching Strategies [HITS] (Hattie, 2017) and Age-Appropriate Pedagogies (Queensland Department of Education and Training [QDET], 2015) (APST 3.3). To maintain consistency and predictability, each of my lessons followed the same structure by beginning with whole-class instruction to revisit prior learning and introduce the new concept before breaking into small groups for rotation activities. Each day the rotations consisted of 4 activities: explicit instruction with the teacher (myself); a practice activity with the teacher aide to build fluency; an open-ended, collaborative inquiry activity; and a play-based collaborative group activity (Artefact 3.1). Well-planned and consistent lesson structures have been shown to have a positive impact on learning by reinforcing routines, scaffolding learning, and maximising time on task (Hattie, 2017), whilst the characteristics of Age-Appropriate Pedagogies such as explicit teaching, active, collaborative and playful learning have been proven to actively engage young learners and build positive dispositions for learning (QDET, 2015).
As this was an early years classroom, the resources for each of the activities were carefully selected to align with the students’ interests and support development of the mathematical concepts, as well as fine motor and social skills (APST 3.4). Most of the activities included manipulatives and visual representations (Artefact 3.2), which are essential for helping students to make sense of abstract mathematical concepts (Reys et al., 2012). During some of the lessons I also incorporated the use of technology through iPad games and apps because technology has been shown to increase student engagement, as well as providing opportunities for innovation and developing crucial 21st century digital literacy skills (Lacruz, 2018). As a result of these strategies, I found the students were more engaged than in whole class teaching sessions and were able to learn from and with each other (Vygotsky, 1979). I also found it easier to differentiate my teaching to target specific needs for individual students.
