Standard 6.2 – Engage in professional learning and improve practice: Understand the relevant and appropriate sources of professional learning for teachers.
Standard 6.3 – Engage with colleagues and improve practice: Seek and apply constructive feedback from supervisors and teachers to improve teaching practices.
Throughout this professional experience I was in a prep classroom at a local Toowoomba Catholic School. There was 26 students aged 4-6 years. During this experience I was able to participate in a consistency teacher judgement (CTJ) day on my last day of placement, a great opportunity to learn and engage in professional learning (6.2). This allowed me to engage with colleagues and improve my practice (6.3) whilst on my professional experience. Through the CTJ Day agenda (example 6) it showed what teachers would be engaging in throughout the day. Through the CTJ day I was able to learn and unpack reading and writing data which allowed me to engage in professional learning (6.2) which allowed me to understand relevant data for prep in term 3. Through the CTJ I engaged in comparing writing samples between each prep class and showing the rubric what was used in relation to writing samples. I found this opportunity great as I could understand and really engage in professional learning for teachers in a real-life school setting.
Through the CTJ day there was a reading data analysis (artefact 11) that needed to be filled out in relation to all students and their reading abilities. This was created in collaboration with all 3 prep teachers and me on CTJ day. This gave me the opportunity to engage with other colleagues (6.3) not just my mentor to improve my practice. Through the reading data analysis, it showed strengths and weaknesses within student’s reading abilities. It showed how many children were progressing as well as how many students were not reading at all. It gave me the opportunity to explore and use appropriate sources (6.2) to help support students who are not progressing. It is fundamental to be involved in professional development and learning as it helps to improve teacher knowledge and teacher practice, it helps students to thrive in their classrooms (Department of Education VIC, n.d). Referring to artefact 12 it showed that I engaged in many professional conversations to improve my practice (6.2). The final report from this professional experience said that I already had a broad range of strategies to support and engage students within the classroom. I also was open to feedback (6.3) to improve and further my knowledge in the classroom.
As a result through this professional experience I had the opportunity to be involved in many different professional learning opportunities as well as opportunities to engage with my mentor teacher and other colleagues around me. As a beginning teacher I think it was great that I was able to be involved in a CTJ day to be involved in how teachers make consistent judgements in the classroom.
