| Focus area 6.1 Identify and plan professional learning needs Demonstrate an understanding of the role of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers in identifying professional learning needs. Focus area 6.3 Engage with colleagues and improve practice Seek and apply constructive feedback from supervisors and teachers to improve teaching practices. |
Reflecting on my own practice, combined with feedback from my mentor teacher, are strategies I used on my last placement to improve my teaching practice (6.3). My mentor teacher recorded observations of my teaching practice for Years 7 and 10 mathematics, and Year 10 Career education. We discussed her observations and my own reflections of the lesson (6.3). During this experience, I was able to connect my mentor’s observations with the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) (6.1). At the end of placement, I received direct feedback on how my mentor viewed my achievement in these standards, through the end of placement report (Artefact 6a). This report, combined with my own observations, helped me identify areas for improvement and where to focus my professional development needs (6.1) for the next six months.
My mentor promoted the importance of reflection and feedback, which has been documented in the literature as being integral for effective teaching (6.3) (Letts, 2016). I recorded my lesson reflections, noting elements that I felt I needed to improve, and which activities engaged students. My mentor also recorded substantial feedback, which we discussed the same day that I taught the lesson. During these discussions, I was asked to articulate my own reflections to compare with my mentor’s comments and suggestions. This not only provided feedback to me on the lesson, but also modelled to me how to reflect (6.3). This reflective exercise informed my lesson plans for the next day (6.3) and my mentor commended my inclusion of her feedback to improve my teaching practice. I also observed and recorded pedagogical practices used by my mentor during lessons (6.3). These were recorded in a learning journal that I kept for the duration of the practical experience, and have used to reflect on lesson planning since (Artefact 6b).
The results of taking time to reflect on my practice, combined with mentor feedback and observations of my mentor’s teaching practice, has enabled me to adjust my pedagogy to improve my teaching. This improvement is reflected in my end of placement report (Artefact 6a), which shows my level of achievement for the relevant APST (6.1). I have used these resources, combined with AITSL’s Self-Assessment Tool (AITSL, 2017), to identify areas for improving my teaching practice (6.1).
During my GTPA next semester, I will seek opportunities to obtain mentor feedback using the APST as guidance (6.1). When I start teaching, I will also seek feedback from fellow teachers and ask a trusted mentor to observe my lessons and provide feedback (6.3). I will use a journal to record my reflections at the end of each day, so I have evidence of my progression in my first year of teaching. I will also record my reflections in a template showing the APST, so I have the standards front and centre when I am reflecting, and to serve as a reminder to embed the standards in my teaching and to collect evidence of my development (6.1). Benchmarking my progress against the APST has been useful as it has allowed me to identify areas where I need to improve my practice and which professional development areas have the highest priority (6.1).
References
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). (2017). Self assessment tool. Retrieved July 22, 2021 from https://www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/improve-practice/teacher-self-assessment-tool
Letts, W. (2016). Reflective practice. In R. Churchill, S. Godinho, N.F. Johnson, A. Keddie, W. Letts, K. Lowe, J. Mackay, M. McGill, J. Moss, M.C. Nagel, K. Shaw, P. Ferguson, P. Nicholson, & M. Vick, Teaching: Making a difference (3rd ed., pp. 480-507). Wiley.
