Organisation: John Paul College
Job Title: Teacher
Word Limit: 3 page statement
Location: Gungahlin, Canberra
Catholic School for girls which, in a caring atmosphere of Christian love and understanding,
encourages excellence in all things and provides educational programs relevant to the individual
needs of its students. During my placement I attended the weekly worship and prayer services
with the students, and I upheld the Catholic ethos and values of the school.
A strong foundation in community values and participation is a key part of my ability and skills in
supporting and promoting Catholic values. To quote Mother Teresa of Calcutta, “To show great
love for God and our neighbour we need not do great things. It is how much love we put in the
doing that makes our offering something beautiful for God.” I believe the love within our Godly
nature should be used for the good of community and society. This strong belief is evidenced by
my voluntary community work, where I organise a children’s holiday program each school holiday
period for neighbourhood children. This involves planning and leading a two or three day camp for
children, including activities such as martial arts, cooking, sewing, language, and sharing moral
stories from both the eastern and western worlds.
My teaching experience to date has included both individual and group situations, with the groups
ranging from 5-10 students, to larger groups of up to 30 students. For example as a Mandarin
Language teacher at the Australian School of Contemporary Chinese (ASCC) I planned and
delivered engaging and stimulating lessons for both children and adults, from across Chinese and
Australian backgrounds. My students were primarily children aged 4 to 12, and I introduced them
to conversational Mandarin along with Pinyin and characters, as well as developing their
knowledge of Chinese culture. I conducted classes in a lecture-tutorial format and focused on
developing language communication skills through a variety of learner-centered activities. These
included warm-ups, discussion starters, games, quizzes, songs, group and pair work, role plays,
guided conversations and natural conversations in hypothetical situations. I used multi-media
teaching and learning resources to assist learning, and assessed outcomes through the completion
of in class tasks, homework, participation in different activities, mid-semester tests and final
semester exams.
At the ASCC I also planned and delivered conversational Mandarin and cultural knowledge lessons
for adults, with a focus on practical language skills and developing cultural knowledge. I used a
diverse range of learning activities in order to provide students with the ability to use the
conversational language skills in real social and workplace contexts, including written exercises,
oral presentations, role plays and engaging students in group discussions. I have also taught
individual students. For example I tailored a series of lessons for a student prior to their travelling
to China. The lessons focused on developing knowledge of Chinese culture, society and history,
along with developing conversational skills covering a range of practical everyday topics, including
making telephone calls, shopping, and going to the airport.
When I am planning I am always aware of the need to consider numerous factors including the
curriculum, the priorities set out by the school, and the learner cohort. As part of my Graduate
Diploma in Education, I completed a series of pre-service teaching roles. Pre-service teachers
assume responsibility for planning and teaching a proportion of their supervising Mentor
Teacher’s workloads. As a pre-service teacher I successfully designed and delivered class units
across key learning areas that aligned with the curriculum, using a range of resources including ICT
and integrated collaborative and hands-on activities to foster student engagement and learning.
During a placement at Camberwell Girl’s Grammar School I planned a multi strand project for the
year 7 language other than English (LOTE) class. I assigned the research topic of Chinese cuisine
and set students the task of making a chart of at least ten Chinese cooking words, including
illustrations for each word or expression. I collaborated with the IT teacher, arranging for students
to carry out research as part of their IT studies, and provided a range of resources, including
suggested relevant websites and links. I also set the students the goal of translating a Chinese
recipe into English and preparing the recipe at home. Students recorded the steps they took in
making the dish, reviewed their food and recorded family member’s reviews, and identified any
way they could improve their dish. In class, students worked on their charts and illustrations, and
completed their write ups of the project. The outcome was a project that engaged and excited
students, with many adding photographs of the dish they prepared, and some students even
having family trips to their local Chinese restaurant to try the restaurant version of their dish,
stimulating their interest in Chinese cuisine and culture.
In the above example I collaborated with the IT teacher in planning the Chinese cuisine project,
and we were therefore able to carry the topic across two subject areas and employ a variety of
resources. As a pre-service teacher, I observed each class that I would teach, and then discussed
with my mentor teacher what topics she had covered, and what ideas and topics I proposed to
focus on. We discussed my lesson plans and ensured that I was building on prior learning and
delivering to the curriculum, and that I was flexible in taking my more experienced colleague’s
advice and support to ensure that I delivered consistently high quality learning experiences.
I have taught in a team teaching situation, in the Cambridge Kindergarten and Language School,
Tao Yuan, Taiwan, where I worked with a teacher whose first language was not Mandarin, flexibly
dividing up our lessons to make best use of our joint skills and expertise. Generally we discussed
our focus for the upcoming classes, and my colleague took responsibility for the phonics elements,
while I developed topics and resources to engage the students in practicing the chosen phonics.
My knowledge and skills in selecting and using ICT with effective teaching strategies are
particularly demonstrated by my extensive use of Quia web as part of my teaching practice at
ASCC. As computer use was a widespread part of ASCC learning and teaching, I used Quia to
design class pages, quizzes and activities, which expanded learning opportunities both in the
classroom and at home. Students who carried out extra learning and revision at home tended to
have improved grades, through expanding their content knowledge and familiarity with the
material.
I have excellent interpersonal and communication skills, which I have used to facilitate productive
and caring relationships with students and staff throughout my career to date. Having taught
students across a range of ages and backgrounds, including adults, I have developed significant
abilities in tailoring my communication style to the individual and understanding diverse points of
view. The ASCC is quite a large school, spread across four campuses with over forty teachers
altogether, and five teachers on my campus. I communicated with my colleagues through regular
team meetings and professional development activities, sharing pedagogies, teaching materials
and resources, as well as working with colleagues on a day to day basis to plan lessons and provide
student support.
For example, following discussions with a parent who was concerned about her son’s progress on
phonics and his ability to keep up with the other students in his level, I worked with a colleague to
provide a tailored solution for that student. We arranged that for the first half hour of each day he
attended the other teacher’s class of younger pupils to work on phonics, ensuring that he was
mastering a good foundation. He then rejoined my class for the rest of the teaching time, learning
new material and building on his existing skills. In addition to working with parents and colleagues
to discuss children’s learning progress and outcomes, I support their general well being through
being alert for bullying or other inappropriate behaviour, and working with colleagues, parents
and the school support system to quickly and appropriately address such issues.
In addition to my Graduate Diploma in Education I have completed the Chinese Language Teachers
Training Program, plus undertaken significant ongoing professional development, including
collaborative learning with my colleagues. This includes opportunities such as the challenges of
multi level classes workshop, which included speakers from China sharing professional learning on
Chinese grammar teaching, Chinese traditional culture and Chinese writing pedagogy.
In summary I have a combination of skills, knowledge and experience which make me ideally
suited to a teaching position with John Paul College. I am a passionate and energetic educator with
extensive teaching experience in Australia and overseas, and a commitment to developing
students’ unique capabilities and building community through generous participation in school
and community.
