Practicum Reflection

I completed my practicum at Glenunga International High School. Located in the south eastern
suburbs of Adelaide, Glenunga is an academically high performing public school. In 2018, they had
99% of year 12 students achieve their SACE. Being an international school, 55% of students speak a
language other than English. During my practicum I taught a variety of classes. I had a year 9 health
class, a year 10 practical HPE class and also a year 10 advanced HPE class. Throughout my 5-week
practicum, I experienced some challenges, however had an extremely enjoyable and memorable
experience. I felt that throughout the 5 weeks, I was able to develop my teaching ability immensely.

Professional Knowledge

During my two lead in days, I was able to observe several classes, however the classes I was to teach
were not formed. This meant that I was unable to get to know any students prior to our first lesson. I
was able to get access to information around class size, cultural backgrounds of individual students,
personalized learning plans etc. This assisted me with constructing my unit and lesson plans.
Through conversations with my mentor teacher, he informed me of what to expect from each class,
and different ways of getting the best out of different students who he knew well. This information
was highly beneficial and will come more naturally when I am permanently in a school, developing
relationships with students and engaging in discussions with other staff members.

During my placement I taught a variety of subjects in each class. Leading into the placement I had
varying levels of content knowledge per subject. In my first practical unit’s I taught basketball and
volleyball. I had a relatively large amount of prior knowledge of these topics, particularly basketball
due to personal experience. Although I was competent in performing the skills and technique’s, I
needed to refine my teaching of the topics and expand my knowledge of activities of each. Launder
& Piltz 2013 suggest that quality and appropriate planning is critical to deliver quality instruction.
‘Proper planning ensures that the principles of safety, inclusivity, engagement, enjoyment and
success are evident. It also encourages participation, minimizes potential problems while maximizing
the chances of success.’ Launder & Piltz 2013, p 64. Upon professional engagement with other
teachers at the school, I realized that after many years of teaching, the reliance and important of
planning decreases due to experience. Being my first placement, planning was extremely important.
Through developing unit and lesson plans, I was able to increase my teaching quality which therefore
increased student learning. This was evident through student responses, engagement, supervisor
comments and my own self confidence in the topic. I also taught a year 9 health class. This began as
a nutrition and well-being unit which progressed into drugs and alcohol. Although having prior
knowledge of these topics, I needed to expand my knowledge through research to promote student
learning. At the completion of each unit, I had gained valuable experience of the content and
different ways of effectively teaching it

Professional Practice

Throughout my practicum, I completed a variety of practices in a professional manner to develop my

understanding of what is expected by a secondary teacher in today’s schools. Firstly, before
undertaking my practicum, I was required to produce a unit plan for each subject, as well as
assessment items, activities and lesson plans. Through this prior planning, I was able to organise
effective teaching and learning strategies in each class as well as establish a quality learning
environment. Pendergast 2013, suggest that how teachers prepare a class before students arrive is
one of the most influential factors, affecting student learning.
Creating and maintaining a safe and supportive learning environment is important in all classes,
especially in a health class, where students may feel extra pressures or feelings of discomfort. When
planning for my year 9 health class, I understood the importance of establishing a safe and
supportive learning environment. Launder & Piltz 2013, suggest that students learn best when they
feel safe and supported. Mcdonald 2013, suggest implementing the ‘positive learning framework’
when planning for a new class, can assist with creating a safe and supportive learning environment.
Some of the strategies I used to achieve this was establishing clear rules and expectations for the
class. I created a list with the help of the students of expectations that the students would need to
abide by. Including the students in establishing this list meant that I could hold them accountable to
it throughout the unit and we could also have discussions on the importance of each expectation.
Another strategy I used for establishing a safe learning environment was ‘get to know you’ games.
By participating in these activities, students formed more positive relationships with one another.
Having strong relationships within the classroom, assists with maintaining a safe learning
environment, I believe that I achieved this in all of my classes, especially the year 9 health class.

In my last week, I was given the responsibility of assessing student work. In all classes, I had set an
assignment that was due before I completed my placement to ensure I was able to experience
assessment. Through assessing student work, I was able to reflect on my own teaching. Areas that
many students struggled in, may have been to do with my explanation or teaching. I was able to
provide students with a brief comment on their assignments. I used this opportunity to provide
feedback for students to improve future assignments. More commonly, I provided students with on
the spot augmented feedback. For example, in my practical classes, I would see an individual
displaying incorrect technique, and would immediately move over to them and offer them advice on
how to improve. Launder & Piltz 2013, suggest that augmented feedback is a necessity for students
to develop their technical ability as it gives them instruction of what to do to improve.

Professional Engagement

Throughout my placement, I engaged professionally with staff members on a day to day basis. This
ranged from general discussion and observations to staff meetings. I was able to gain valuable
information and experience through these engagements. I wasn’t able to engage with parents and
the community much throughout my placement. I was however, given permission to observe a few
course counselling sessions. This gave me the opportunity to observe other teachers engaging with
parents in a professional manner. Pendergast 2017, suggest that there is a decline in parental
involvement in secondary schools, despite playing an important role in the academic success and
social development of students. GIHS understands the importance of involving parents in student
learning wherever possible. One of the ways they achieve this, is by running ‘mini lessons’ for the
parents. This gives parents the opportunity to come to the school after hours and engage in a
structured lesson that informs the parents of the content and expectations of each subject that their
child is undertaking. This helps to not only assist the parent with developing an understanding for
what their child studying, it also strengthens the relationship between parent and teacher which is
another influential factor of student learning. Through observing these activities, I was able to
develop my understanding of the importance of parental and community involvement and learn
about ways of achieving this.

Describe one change you made in your practice because of feedback or your personal
observations, include a description of the stimulus for the change.

My biggest change and improvement over the 5-week journey was my level of energy and
enthusiasm to engage students. In my first lesson of each subject, I observed low levels of
engagement and energy in the students. After a brief discussion with my mentor teacher, we
concluded that a lot of this disengagement could be influenced by my won energy levels. My lack of
enthusiasm was due to being unfamiliar with the situation, somewhat nervous and hesitant to ‘put
myself out there’. As my practicum progressed, I was able to make beneficial changes to my own
actions to increase student engagement in my lessons. Not only did I change my behavior, but I used
a variety of teaching strategies and tools to assist me with increasing student engagement. Gibbs, R
& Poskitt, J 2010, suggest that using a variety of tools will engage students that posses a variety of
learning needs.

I was able to instantly see the impact that I had over student engagement. Comparing the first week
of lessons to the last week. I found that students really feed of my energy and that they often also
feel nervous when beginning a new subject. My mentor teacher highlighted to me that the students
often feel nervous and hesitant to put themselves out there, just as I felt in my first lessons of
teaching. This is valuable for me to understand moving forward in my teaching journey as It further
highlights the importance of being energy and enthusiasm to the class as the teacher.

References:

Gibbs, R & Poskitt, J 2010, Student engagement in the Middle Years of Schooling (years 7-10): A
literature review, Ministry of Education New Zealand, Auckland, New Zealand

Launder & Piltz (2013) Play Practice – engaging & developing skilled players from beginner to elite
(2nd ed) Human Kinetics, Ill, USA.

Mcdonald, T 2013, Proactive teacher behaviours. In Classroom management: engaging students in

learning, Oxford University Press, South Melbourne, Victoria, vol. 2, pp. 106- 154.

Pendergast, D et al. 2017, Teaching middle years: rethinking curriculum, pedagogy and assessment,
Crows Nest, N.S.W.: Allen & Unwin