Classroom Teacher Art/Ceramics

Organisation: Norwood Secondary College

Job Title: Classroom Teacher Art/Ceramics

Location: Norwood Secondary College, Ringwood VIC 3134

SC1 Demonstrated understanding of initiatives in student learning, including the Standards, the Principles of Learning and Teaching P-12 and Assessment and reporting advice and the capacity to implement curriculum programs consistent with their intent

My recent completion of a double degree, acquiring a Bachelor of Teaching (Secondary) and Bachelor of Arts has ensured that I am well versed in the professional standards and guidelines that apply to current teaching practice. In my educational roles to date, I have demonstrated my understanding of these materials and my capacity to deliver positive curriculum outcomes. This is evidenced through:

• Ensuring that the curriculum intent of each lesson is clearly formulated and expressed. When creating units of work, I follow the framework of the Australian Curriculum and Victorian Essential Learning Standards (AusVELS) to provide clear expectations and goals for my students. Incorporating these standards, domains and dimensions into my lesson plans, ensures that I maintain a clear intent of learning in each lesson. When conducting my lesson planning, I start by referring to the required curriculum outcomes for the subject and work to develop activities and teaching materials that will allow students to progress toward the outcomes. In my classroom teaching, I commence each lesson by stating, either verbally or in writing, often in the form of a checklist on a whiteboard, the learning outcome that is being sought by the lesson. Students are then provided with a workbook to record their learnings. This results in students taking ownership of their learning, as well as being more accountable for their learning themselves, thus increasing positive learning outcomes. Depending on the context, individual learning intentions may be assigned to individual students. Having this clear expected outcome allows me to develop a range of formal and informal assessment activities that accurately measure student understanding and knowledge.
• Ensuring that where possible, students’ needs, backgrounds, perspectives and interests are reflected in the learning program. It is critical that as a Teacher, I work within the educational framework provided. The AusVELS enable teachers to develop units of work for students, within these standards. For example, because of the demographics of a group of students at Cranbourne East Secondary College, there was great interest in understanding the Year of the Dragon, as part of the Chinese Zodiac. This presented an outstanding opportunity to use cross-curricular teaching methods. At the beginning of my visual art classes, I would greet students in Mandarin with students replying in traditional Mandarin. During this particular art lesson, I discussed the primary colours used in art of these dragons. Whereas, in conducting Mandarin language lessons, we learnt terms and phrases related to the festival, whilst creating a dragon mask. Combining both mental and tactile learning approaches simultaneously, was not only greatly enjoyed but also assisted in students’ knowledge retention.
• Establishing a supportive and productive learning environment. I have demonstrated this ability at the commencement of each year, by identifying students that are less productive or disruptive to my classes. Methods that I use to create conducive learning environments involves changing the seating plans of students, to couple students that will provide positive peer pressure, as well as rewarding good behaviour with time to engage in an activity of the student’s choice. Employing these strategies has contributed to class harmony and increased learning.

My classroom teaching experience to date demonstrates my capacity to understand and apply initiatives in student learning and provide an appropriate focus on curriculum outcomes. I will continue to be guided by the Standards, the Principles of Learning and Teaching P-12, and Assessment and Reporting Advice in planning and delivering teaching and learning activities that reflect and achieve the intended curriculum outcomes, especially in the arts.

SC2 Demonstrated high-level classroom teaching skills and the capacity to work with colleagues to continually improve teaching and learning

My teaching experience thus far has provided me with exposure to team-teaching practices and working collaboratively with colleagues, as well as the opportunity to develop and display my classroom teaching skills. My capacity to effectively work in these contexts and continually improve my teaching practice has been demonstrated through:

• Enabling students to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways. Through providing students with alternative methods of displaying their ideas, I not only cater to the multiple intelligences of individual learners, but I am also able to gain insight into the thought processes that the students are experiencing. For the last 3 years at Cranbourne East, the school has held a creative arts festival that has been showcased to the wider community. No prizes are awarded, however the students simply gain the personal satisfaction of knowing that their piece of artwork is on display. Currently, at Cranbourne East, there are five house teams, each with a house leader. For each house, there is a winner for the best piece of art. The winning student is presented with gift vouchers to local establishments, as well as an achievement award. During my visual arts classes, students prepare for the festival, resulting in high productivity and increased intensity of efforts on behalf of the students. No matter the students’ art abilities, I provide effort-based praise as opposed to talent-based praise, since this form of positive reinforcement helps the students to recognise that effort is more important than results.
• Providing for differentiation of learning activities. Currently, at Cranbourne East, I have a Year 10 student diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder in my visual arts class. This student was compelled to constantly draw cats no matter the art subject at the time. During one particular lesson, the topic was that of landscape drawing. To provide differentiation for this student, I asked this student to research via the Internet the dream location, in the form of a landscape, for his cat. Armed with that goal, he excitedly engaged in the online research. Upon finding the landscape of his choice, I printed the landscape in colour. Next, he found an image of the cat he wanted in his landscape, and likewise I printed this for him. After sticking the cat onto the landscape, he was then tasked with drawing the landscape, along with the cat. This form of differentiation satisfied the learning intent, as well as his emotional need to draw a cat, which he thoroughly enjoyed.
• Demonstrating appropriate classroom management strategies. In a large learning community, I have found that it is important to be observant and aware of the potential for behaviour management to become challenging. Currently, the art class that I conduct at Cranbourne East Secondary College is 75 minutes in length. After 35 minutes, I allow the students to get out of their seats and walk around looking at each other’s work, while sharing ideas and offering comments, usually positive. I encourage them to stretch as they walk, incorporating kinaesthetic learning by stimulating the senses, both mentally and physically. This mid-lesson break assists with students maintaining attention to the remaining part of the lesson.
• Liaising with a team of colleagues to share knowledge and resources. Each Thursday, myself and the two other art Teachers at Cranbourne East share in a session aimed at sharpening each other’s teaching skills. We discuss the week’s classes, the methods that were used, and moderate each other’s approach on topics, such as how long the theory part of the lesson should last in comparison with that of the practical. The benefit is a greater understanding of methods used, as well as teacher continuity.

As my teaching experience grows, I intend to continue to refine and develop my practice through seizing opportunities to collaborate with, learn from and teach alongside my more experienced colleagues, as well as through engaging in thoughtful reflection on the outcomes of my teaching activities. In this way, I will continue to build upon my high-level teaching skills that will benefit students.

SC3 Demonstrated ability to monitor and assess student-learning data and to use this data to inform teaching for improved student learning

In my developing practice, I incorporate a range of formal and informal assessment tools and methods to observe student learning to inform my teaching and learning activities. Having had the opportunity to provide teaching and learning activities in my current places of employment, as well as during my various practicum placements, my capacity to monitor, assess and utilise student-learning data has been demonstrated through:

• Determining clear expectations and measurable success criteria for each lesson. Through making students aware at the commencement of each lesson of the intended outcomes of that class, I enable them to self-assess their own progress toward curriculum outcomes. To prepare for my arts classes at Cranbourne East, I asked the Year 7 English Teacher to provide the results of her NAPLAN literacy test. By doing this, I identified quite a number of students in the class who were achieving below-average standards. As a result, instead of conducting a ‘chalk and talk’ theory lesson on art analysis, I created a worksheet to modify the learning level, rather than elaborate on definitions and art identification. This particular lesson was based on types of lines. Toward the end of this lesson, I roamed the room, asked various students to ‘air draw’ a particular line, and then devise a well-structured sentence to accurately describe the line. This method assisted in their sentence-structure skills, as well as helped them to process the information learnt and articulate their thoughts, thus concreting the learning objective into their knowledge. Through this process, I was also able to identify the need for more student-specific instruction. This allowed my fellow teachers and I to monitor student learning and ensure that students were aware of how to increase their learning capacity.
• Undertaking ongoing observation of classroom activities. As I roam the classroom during my art lesson, I keep on the lookout for how productive or on-task each student is. This form of observation allows me to notice if a particular student is not using their time wisely. When I identify such a student, rather than speaking to them from across the room, I will come in close proximity to the student so what I ask is not heard by all. I will ask the student; “Where are you up to in the learning objective? Why are you doing such-and-such?” On one particular occasion, I asked these questions to a well-known disengaged student. The student was tasked with drawing a rabbit, but lost interest because of low self-esteem in relation to his perceived lack of ability. I allowed this student to use tracing paper any time he felt this way in this and subsequent lessons. Over time, this method has boosted the student’s confidence, as well as slowly increased his attention span during my classes, resulting in improved behaviour and engagement.
• Utilising appropriate assessment tools. I enjoy utilising Compass School Manager, an online resource that can be accessed by teachers and students, as well as their parents or caregivers. Lesson checklists are uploaded into this software, along with weekly tasks, assignment due dates and learning objectives. Parents have constant access to their child’s program and are able to see how they are performing, and whether they are handing in work early, on time or late. This method has helped students to engage with their parents and increase their achievements and positive learning outcomes. Often, I take photos of students’ work, also making this available online for parent viewing.

My ability to incorporate assessment appropriately into my practice and to respond to assessment data ensures that my teaching practice evolves and develops in response to the particular needs and abilities of my students. This leads to increased student engagement and positive student learning outcomes.

SC4 Demonstrated high-level written and verbal communication skills and high-level interpersonal skills including a capacity to develop constructive relationships with students, parents and other staff

Through my employment and practicum placements, I have had great exposure to communicating and interacting with a wide range of students, parents, colleagues and community networks. Utilising my well-developed communication and interpersonal skills, I have developed successful and constructive relationships that will be an asset in my future teaching practice, as demonstrated through:

• Incorporating specialist communication practices. Currently, I have a Year 9 student at Cranbourne East that has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). For every art class that he attends, an Education Support Teacher accompanies him. This teacher is well informed regarding his learning limitations and has a long-standing relationship with him. The ASD student trusts this teacher implicitly. By observing this teacher displaying trust in me as the art Teacher, the student follows her lead and allows me to direct and guide him. I have observed that this student is very tactile. Bearing this in mind, with confirmation from the Support Teacher, I scaffolded an art lesson for him. During this particular lesson, the task was to paint a ceramic sculpture with a brush. Knowing that the ASD student was very tactile and using a brush would be difficult to achieve good coverage, the student used a sponge. Before applying paint, he enjoyed squeezing the sponge and feeling its texture in his hand. He then used the sponge in a dabbing method to paint the ceramic sculpture. He was very satisfied with the outcome and completed the task at a similar rate to the rest of the class, while thoroughly enjoying the lesson and sensation of the sponge on his skin.
• Communicating effectively in a learning environment. I believe that relationships cannot be forced, and feel that I have the natural ability to create effective interpersonal relationships with students, parents and staff. By maintaining an open-door policy, I make myself constantly available to any who wish to speak with me. My preferred method of communication is face-to-face, which I find to be far more personal and enlightening. In speaking directly to a student, fellow teacher or parent, I am constantly on the lookout for non-verbal forms of communication and adapt my message accordingly. With my colleagues, we regularly come together at a pre-arranged time to discuss ideas. Before the meeting an agenda is created, a chairperson is designated, as well as a person to take minutes. During one such session an upcoming sports event was discussed. As the visual art Teacher, I was assigned the creation of house banners and related signs and notices. This method of communication and planning aided the successful organisation of the event, which all thoroughly enjoyed.
• Gaining knowledge about students’ individual interests and backgrounds. During a Year 10 art class at Cranbourne East, I encouraged the students to brainstorm amongst themselves to identify topics of interest. As a class cohort, they came up with subjects such as family, friends, movies and food, amongst others. I then asked them to identify ten particular examples for each of these topics. After this session, it was decided that the greatest common interest was music. Therefore, I assigned students to draw a symbol related to music, whether that was the symbol of their favourite music band or another symbol. The benefit to me as their art Teacher was that I came to learn about different students’ interests, and armed with this knowledge, could plan further lessons that I knew would thoroughly engage them.

My interpersonal skills and commitment to the wellbeing of my students has allowed me to establish productive and supportive teaching and learning relationships in my career to date. Through maintaining effective communication with students, their parents and my peers, I will continue to develop constructive relationships to aid the delivery of my teaching activities.

SC5 Demonstrated commitment and capacity to actively contribute to a broad range of school activities and a commitment to ongoing professional learning to enable further development of skills, expertise and teaching capacity

Throughout my career as a Teacher, I have had the opportunity to participate in formal and informal professional development and engage with professional networks in order to strengthen my own teaching practice. I have demonstrated my capacity to contribute to the school community and my commitment to continued learning through a variety of activities, including:

• Undertaking personal reflections on my teaching activities. This is a very effective method when it comes to behaviour management. During an art lesson that identified different eras that various pieces of artwork originated from, I had a collection of laminated artwork on my desk, with the year the artwork was created on the back. I asked all students to approach the desk, select a picture and then line up next to each other according to date order. Utter pandemonium set in. Needless to say, the learning intent was not achieved. Upon conclusion of the lesson, I employed serous self-reflection to identify why chaos occurred, devising a different method for the same activity for the next lesson. This time, I handed out the pieces to the students, and then invited students holding artwork from various periods to come up and assemble themselves in date order and I continued in the same manner until all students joined the line. After the line was formed in an orderly fashion, I asked each student to lay their pieces on the floor in front of them. Next, they looked at the pictures on the floor, while remaining in line and discovered the differences in styles. I asked them to rearrange themselves into art themes, such as art nouveau, pop art and the renaissance. Much to my delight, the class went far more smoothly, with little disruption to the learning objective and all the students enjoyed the lesson.
• Demonstrating a commitment to participating in extracurricular activities. As the visual arts Teacher, I have had the pleasure of being involved in four school productions: Junior Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Wizard of Oz and Alice in Wonderland. As a Teacher and student cohort, we created backdrops, posters and tickets to support the production of the year. I assisted the junior students, in contrast with the senior students, whom I only needed to supervise and provide limited direction. Each year has been a very enjoyable experience for myself, the students and fellow teachers, along with the parents or carers and family members of all. This kind of extracurricular activity allows students to grow and develop, taking a whole school approach to their learning. I have been proud to share in the school and students’ achievements, creating a sense of connectedness as a school and wider community.
• Engaging with colleagues for the exchange of professional knowledge and ideas. At Cranbourne East, regular house meetings are held with a variety of Teachers to discuss innovative teaching methods and new ideas. Included in this meeting is the English Teacher, the mathematics Teacher, science Teacher, as well as the active health Teacher. As a group, we collaborate and share discoveries. As a result, I learnt of an online game called Minecraft that teaches students real-life skill, something I plan to use in the future.
• Utilising technology and current trends to positively influence my teaching. By doing this, I have been able to demonstrate and share my positive influences toward the school community in a 21st Century learning environment. With the advent of hand-held devices, applications such as Pinterest and Instagram have become an unlimited resource for ideas for new art activities. On more than one occasion, these resources have inspired an art project within my classes.

My participation in self-reflection, sharing of professional knowledge, as well as involvement in extracurricular activities thoroughly demonstrates my willingness, capacity, and commitment to enhance my teaching. As a committed and enthusiastic Teacher, I will be delighted to take any opportunity offered to me to undertake professional development and engage in a wide variety of activities in order to assist me in the further development of my teaching practice.