I use a range of teaching practices and resources to engage my students in effective learning

I use a range of teaching practices and resources to engage my students in effective learning

By Leigh MurphyBy Leigh Murphy

Attributes I bring to your schoolAttributes I bring to your school

Presentation and communication skills

I feel that effective communicating is essential in delivering engaging lessons and in passing on information. It is certainly a skill I feel is aided by developing sound relationships with each student. I feel my communication with the whole class and the individual is strong and clear.

Diverse Teaching Practices

I establish relationships with and teach each student.

I model the skills and behaviours I wish to see in my students.

“You closely observe students during lessons and use this information well to improve individual learning.” (EXP301 Supervising Teacher assessment comment)

Attributes I bring to your schoolAttributes I bring to your schoolDiverse Teaching Practices

I have knowledge of and ability to set up reward systems which develop extrinsic and intrinsic motivation for personal achievement.

I have taken part in and note of effective reward systems on rounds this and last year which I will adapt and implement in my own classroom. Last year I saw a great reward system called ‘earn and learn’ which encouraged behaviour and effort whilst teaching real life money skills. I am also keen to bring this concept to level planning meetings.

Intrinsic motivation is also important to me but I feel this is often addressed in class meetings and discussions about life and future responsibility and independence, particularly prevalent in middle years education. I have a focus on inquiry learning which aims at gaging and feeding on student interest and providing opportunities and support to assist students to reach understanding independently.

Attributes I bring to your schoolAttributes I bring to your school

I Teach to the individual needs of the students

In activities and tasks I set, I aim to give students the opportunity to reply in a way of their choosing. For instance they may complete a task visually in a drawing, verbally in a speech, role play, song or poem, in a written response in their handwriting or on the computer. That said I would make sure then that students varied their means of response so as to obtain a variety of skills and abilities over the year.Its also important students choose varying areas within a topic which interest them. This helps engage the student but also extends the information gathered by the whole class.Needs and abilities are also an area I consider when planning, as will be mentioned the use of a class website has been great for gifted students and also enables further one on one time spent with students who require further instruction or assistance.

Diverse Teaching Practices

Attributes I bring to your schoolAttributes I bring to your school

Focus on student health and well being Student physical and emotional health and well being is an issue of supreme importance to my teaching style. It is a particular focus and one I will aim to address every day. I am aware of a number of activities and programs which target physical health and movement as well as nutrition within and outside of the classroom. I aim to start every day with a form of kinaesthetic activity, guided with a reward system and documented programming.

I wish to have weekly class meetings lead by the students to address class needs and issues, which focus on creating intrinsic desires in the students to be happy and enthusiastic learners in an environment they feel safe and secure enough to take risks and share ideas and opinions.

Diverse Teaching Practices

I focus on social skills and understandings of society

ICT has always been an area of interest. I know that the only constant in the field is change so I endeavor to keep up with incoming and updating technologies and their positive contribution to effective learning.

Contemporary ICT knowledge and incorporation

Attributes I bring to your schoolAttributes I bring to your schoolDiverse Teaching

Video and Audio technology

Electronic whiteboard

Image editing/graphic design

Member of teacher talk, an online forum for teachers to share ideas and experiences

“Leigh used good curriculum resources to assist him in lesson planning.” (EXP401 Supervising Teacher assessment comment)

Resources

Attributes I bring to your schoolAttributes I bring to your schoolDiverse Teaching Resources

Projector screen

Education software see http://www.csu.edu.au/education/software.html for great Australian education resources

Webdesign experience http://www.mr.leighmurphy.googlepages.com

Use of Ipod and other electronic media

I have gathered and created a huge array of internet resources. One example is a secure class website (which carefully monitored) has been hugely successful in class communication and student ICT interaction. The students in my grade on practicum this year have been able to reply to homework tasks online, contribute to and learn from their own database, created to tabulate the information they have gathered on their integrated units of Space, Asian studies and Civics and Citizenship.

Internet Use

Administrator (me) only

Capabilities

The resource has also been a great way to guide students to other appropriate web resources. So far I have added 52 great web links to some fantastic interactive websites which focus on literacy, numeracy, science, art, music, geography, history, health, wellbeing, human rights…

And the list goes on and I am continually on the look out to contribute to what is a growing classroom resource.

The possibilities for something like this are endless. I am always in the process of pushing it’s role into new places.

Attributes I bring to your schoolAttributes I bring to your school

Diverse Teaching Resources cont.

Various means and methods of assessment, for, as and of learningIncluding an understanding of VELs reporting software

I aim to create lessons and an environment that caters for need and differences

I have had a diverse range of sporting experiences-Coaching, -Head Bayswater Football Club Social Committee, -EFL (football league) young leaders development program, -Established BFC mentor program

I have knowledge and teaching experience across a wide range of domains “You have taught across a number of domains and have done so with a good knowledge of what is expected at this level.” (EXP301 Supervising Teacher assessment comment)

How can I improve? Identifying and targeting best practice.

How can I improve? Identifying and targeting best practice.

Like I said earlier I understand that ICT knowledge is about training and retraining, with this in mind I have just participated in the ‘INTEL: Teach to the Future’ PD with Deb Bateman, which is an intensive course that ran for 5 days from Mon 4 – Fri 8 June.It’s a highly respected and accredited ICT based program in which the main focus is for teachers to develop a unit of work that can be used in the classroom that incorporates ICT.

View my unit