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Pre-Service Teacher's Experiences
... their projects and reflections ... |
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Leanne & Tristan
THE COMIC BOOK HEROES
 Students developed a comic booklet containing information that would benefit
students in Years 7 – 9. The booklet focuses on; bullying and fitting into
school, drugs and alcohol issues, and sex and relationships. Students in the
project work in small groups researching, creating artwork, writing the content
and proofreading the booklet, and desktop publishing skills. The completed booklet
was then presented to the school/community library as a resource.
Reflections
Although my previous teaching experience was also an eye-opener I did feel that
this practicum was more challenging in that I had to really learn how to MANAGE
the class.
Even though we were not in a classroom setting getting these students
attention or keeping it rather seemed more of the challenge. I have learned new
and creative ways of delivering content. I also found that with these students
extra praise and setting very achievable goals is more important for them, given
their circumstances, than their school peers.
Building their trust was also essential.
I was more willing to spend time on this area. I found that it did not bother
me that we seemed to slow down on the project idea some days. |
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Alexandra
DRAGSTER – DESIGN,
MAKE & RACE ELECTRONIC MODEL CARS
Students learn about and construct a model
electronic car. They design the cover based on a theme of their choice and decorate
it using paper mache and paint. Watching an American Chopper video provides inspiration.
Preparations for the race are included in the project, including creating marketing
posters advertising the race based on their theme..and the grande finale – the
race!
Reflections
From the project my perception of teaching has changed as i found
that by getting down on the students level and being an active participant rather
than the dominant enforcer had a surprising affect on the students ability to
relate to the material and motivated them to complete the work. |
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Kaleshri
& Hari
Paige
 MAGAZINE
PROJECT
The project involved creating a magazine
with students about their program. This
involves designing articles and pictures
using advanced graphic and multimedia tools
on computers. Articles were submitted to
an editorial board of students. Magazine
layout was also covered and the final product
printed.
Reflections - Kaleshri
I have learnt that at times your lesson
plans don’t go as planned and it should
be adjusted to suit the needs of the young
people. Also as a teacher you have to be
approachable and communicative so the young
people can approach you if they don’t
understand what you are trying to teach.
Furthermore, humour and talking to the young
people about things that they like doing
or do is so important to them. This opens
a line of communication and young people
are willing to respect you as well as learn
during your lesson.
Towards the completion of the project, I
had to complete my second practicum at a
secondary school. I was more relaxed because
the project gave me an insight of young
people. I tried not to assume that students
had background knowledge of what I was teaching.
In addition during my first week of teaching
I told the students that if they don’t
understand or grasp a concept, they needed
to let me know and I would help them (I
was trying to be approachable). At first
some students were unsure but in passing
weeks students came up to me during the
breaks for help. They were also not shy
or embarrassed to put their hand up in class
to say that they did not understand a concept.
As a result, I sometimes, tried new ways
of explaining concepts so as to make it
easier for them to understand. I also talked
about things that young people like to do
and that was great. Using humour in the
class was phenomenal- students were surprised
at first but they loved it!!!!. My lessons
were great – students respected me
and made an attempt to learn.
Reflections - Paige
The project will certainly affect the way
i teach in a positive light, as i now have
a better understanding of students who are
dealing with learning difficulties and beahvioural
problems. It has allowed me to gain strategies
to teach effectively to those who may be
experiencing difficulty in the classroom,
and given me the tools to encourage and
support them.
This project has uncovered my interest in
working with students who need extra support,
and i may choose in the future to pursue
further training in special education or
a Links to Learning style Program |
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Susan & Kay
FOOD, EATING AND COOKING
 Students will learn basic food
skills, safety in the kitchen and food handling. Areas covered include equipment,
food preparation, food composition, marketplace, nutrition, healthy eating choices,
and jobs in the food industry. A visit by a professional chef could also be arranged.
A combination of practice and theory, students will prepare a number of recipes
and also write up some recipe cards. The project will culminate in a celebration
buffet with friends and family invited.
Reflections – Suzanne
Through the
project i also learned how much young people desire to be able to have their
own say in their learning - they want to share their own opinions and experiences,
and have them acknowledged and valued and incorporated into the teaching.
I think
it has also helped me recognise that not all students learn in the same way and
that using a range of strategies, particularly kinesthetic activities, are of
great benefit. Students will have varying levels of motivation for the subject
matter, so it is very important to engage them and explicitly teach them why
what you are teaching them is important and can benefit their lives.
Reflections
- Susan
The boys were a challenge, all of them were there because they were experiencing
problems at school. They were all very intelligent in their own ways, they all
had something to offer and if encouraged were terrific to work with. I enjoyed
the boys and although they were sometimes hard to work with I feel it made me
come up with different ways of teaching them. My perception of young people,
boys in particular has changed, I have realised with encouragement they will
engage in learning. These boys wanted to learn, as the teacher I just needed
to find different ways to make the learning environment as exciting as possible.
Students want school to be engaging, they want us to grab their attention and
they are easily bored with theory. I have learnt that if one style of teaching
does not work keep trying, they really do want to learn. I also learnt that year
8 boys still enjoy cutting out / sticking and really want to be creative. Young
people want to stretch the boundaries and they will continue to do this so as
a teacher we need to keep trying new ways. Importantly listen to them, keep them
on track, but they all have experiences that are relevant and they want to share
them. This project has given me experience in teaching harder to teach boys -
having between 15 and 25 challenging students in one room meant you had to alter
your teaching strategies fast as once they became bored the whole class was lost. |
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| Other comments from
2005 Next Generation student-teachers |
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Elizabeth
This experience showed
me that young people need a connection to what they are learning. Teaching isn’t
all about rules and regulations or syllabus outcomes. Teachers can give opportunities
to young people that they might not be able to experience anywhere else. Teachers
should be able to give them skills that will be useful not only in the classroom,
but also when they finish school and want to pursue music as a profession. My
perception of young people now is that they will learn if what they are learning
interests them. They need to be able to see the reason of doing something before
they even start. Even though these students were from backgrounds that included
juvenile justice, this course gave them a focus and a goal to work towards.
Kane
Teaching needs to be adaptable, flexible, current
and enjoyable, the same can be said for learning. Young people generally do want
to learn, the kids i worked with were eager to learn, not necessarily about Maths,
Science, English etc, but more about life, about what it takes to do certain
things, why we choose the careers we do, and where we come from. My students
were as interested in me as i was in them, they wanted to know who i really was,
and why i really wanted to teach. My students wanted to learn something new,
different and exciting, they wanted to do something that had meaning and a purpose.
Adam
It has also shown that students are often embarrassed
about their inability to achieve their goals and try to hide this by being disruptive.
I have found that if you can help them be successful then their self esteem will
rise and their behaviour will improve.
In the future with my teaching I will
try new strategies in the classroom which worked while undertaking this project.
I will also try to make myself aware of what other influences may be affecting
a student’s inability or reluctance to meet their outcomes. Influences
may include what sort of background they come from, what circle of friends they
socialise with, what sort of interests the students have, etc. |
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The following extracts are from interviews with student-teachers
who chose to do Next Generation for their PE3 subject. This was completed as
part of the review of the Next Generation pilot project in November 2005.
I am
glad that I got to experience this part of teaching. Often the teachers in school
do not get to see these students as anything other than 'bad kids'. I probably
would have been like that too had I not seen students that have been suspended
so many times and who have very little respect for teachers complete our project.
It was a unique and challenging experience.
The principals in regular schools
are running a business now. NG was fantastic. When I go into a school, I’m
going to ensure that every kid knows their potential, no matter what others tell
them. I’m going to inspire them!
I became confident about communicating
with, and motivating, kids who choose whether or not they are going to participate.
I did the placement in between my 2 regular practicum sessions and felt the benefit
when I faced my Yr 11 Class in my final practice teaching.
It was good seeing
troubled students treated with respect.
We could enjoy the kids’ sense
of humour– because we weren’t in a regular school setting.
I watched
successful interactions between staff and the students and I modeled my communication
on them. Still do.
The kids said to me: ‘We can’t believe you don’t
yell’.
It should be promoted, like (the speaker’s hands here cupping
her mouth): ‘IMPROVE YOUR TEACHING PRACTICE IN CONCRETE WAYS!!!’
My
area is Maths and Science – I’m a former Geologist (from India) – but
they wanted me to do a computerised magazine, so I said, ‘OK, I’ll
do it’. We had the students learning along with the teacher!
The PC said, ‘Don’t
remind them of school!’ One of the students said, ‘If I’m naughty
at school, I can get kicked out again and come back and do this. Cool!’
There
are opportunities to slip in some career advice. You know: ‘If you’ve
enjoyed this work’ (as a kitchen hand) ‘ where do you go from here?’
I
no longer have any fear about getting a tough school.
I improved my communication
with, and ability to motivate, non-academicallyinclined students.
It’s
like an apprenticeship for teaching and for the students they were working with,
The students’ performance did improve: Rache said she was about to leave
school, but at the end of the project, she told me she’d decided to do
Yr 11 and 12 at TAFE.
Ari said: “Lasagna! That’s my favourite food!
Is that all there is ( to cooking it)?” At the end of the program, he came
and told me he’d decided to become a chef! |
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