Standard 1.2 – Understand how students learn: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of research into how students learn and the implications for teaching.
Standard 1.3 – Students with diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds: Demonstrate knowledge of teaching strategies that are responsive to the learning strengths and needs of students from diverse linguistic, cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds.
Standard 1.5 – Differentiate teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities: Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of strategies for differentiating teaching to meet the specific learning needs of students across the full range of abilities.
Throughout this experience I was in a prep classroom at a local Toowoomba Catholic School. There was 26 students aged 4-6 years. It was important for me to be able to adhere and support all students including those with diverse linguistic, cultural, religious backgrounds (1.3). It was fundamental to learn the individual characteristics of each student to allow them to learn to the best of their ability, so I understood how they learn (1.2) allowing me to differentiate my teaching to support all students (1.5). To do this, I completed a class data grid (example 1) allowing me to learn about their general background, academic strengths, social/emotional, physical and their reading levels. This grid was used in relation to English focusing on literacy, reading, and writing. The grid allowed me to plan, make activities and assessments, supporting students and their individual learning needs. Through the grid I identified which students needed support or can work independently through a writing activity, evident through artefacts.
Artefact 1 demonstrated a student’s writing skills and abilities relating to a writing activity about Tiddalick the Frog. This student, a higher order learner (1.2), can independently transfer knowledge and skills into new contexts, demonstrating this through other tasks (Victoria Government, 2022). Evident in the grid as well as her sample, she used correct sentence techniques such as capital letter, full stop, one idea and using a variety of words. In collaboration with my mentor, we agreed she could work independently to further demonstrate her skills and understanding so she wrote about what Tiddalick was doing in her directed drawing picture, demonstrating how I differentiated the learning (1.5) to support this student. Artefact 2 demonstrated a student who we differentiated learning (1.5). He is an English second language (ESL) needing support with getting his ideas down. To support him with his cultural background (1.3) he benefited from small group work (1.2) with adult support to be able to write about his picture, shown in artefact 2. While his writing is basic and repetitive, he still showed correct sentence techniques.
As a result of the data, I was able to understand in collaboration with my mentor which students could work independently or need support. Evident through the artefacts, both students were supported with how they learn (1.2) and how teachers used different strategies to support students with ESL (1.3). Students were supported with differentiating their learning through a higher order learner as well as an ESL student who needed additional support (1.5). As a beginning teacher, it was rewarding to be able to show and see how all students learn differently and how to support each student according to their abilities.
