Professional Experience 4

Teacher as Inquirer
SP5 2018
Professional Practice Presentation

Melissa Hylan 110137261

 Classroom Context
• Public Primary School with a population of 389 students.
• Composite year 5/6 class.
• 1 main teacher. Separate teachers for specialist subjects: P.E and
Indonesian.
• 29 children.
• 3 students have NEPs.
• 1 student ESL (new migrant from Korea).
• Very diverse range of educational abilities.

The school has a strong focus on Maths for 2018, with a focus on Big
Ideas in Number and Trust the count.
 Learning Area:
Literacy: Information Reports
The Australian Curriculum:
YEAR 5:

English: Literacy: Interpreting, analysing, evaluating (ACELY1701).

Identify and explain characteristic text structures and language features used in imaginative, informative and
persuasive texts to meet the purpose of the text.
Elaborations: Use comprehension strategies to analyse information, integrating and linking ideas from a
variety of print and digital sources (ACELY1703).

YEAR 6:

English: Literacy: Interpreting, analysing and evaluating (ACELY 1711).

Analyse how text structures and language features work together to meet the purpose of the text.

Elaborations: Use comprehension strategies to interpret and analyse information and ideas, comparing
content from a variety of textual sources including media and digital texts (ACELY1713).
 PLANNING
To begin my planning for this learning area I:
1. Looked at the students’ literacy books to gain knowledge about their writing skills and previous work. Students had
worked previously on narratives.
2. Spoke with my mentor teacher to gain information on students abilities and needs.
3. Read the Negotiated Education Plans of the students who have them.
4. Observed the students during their literacy lessons.
From my investigations I discovered:
1. There were many different ability levels of writing, reading and comprehension.
2. That there was a lot of individual work completed, and a limited amount of group/ pairs work.
3. That students did not often present their work to the class, which meant that a lot of students were not confident to
share their thoughts, opinion or work in front of their classmates.
For me this meant:
1. That I would have to offer different entry levels for the varying abilities in my lessons.
2. Utilise varying forms of group/ pair work to encourage collaboration.
3. Provide opportunities for sharing to help students develop confidence.
4. Scaffold each lesson in order to reach a summative assessment piece of work.
5. Differentiate the summative assessment task so that all students could achieve their personal best.
6. Know the content I wanted to teach well, in order to ask questions that promoted student learning.
Unit Plan Overview:
The unit plan scaffolded students by examining one part of an
information report in each lesson. The students then completed
learning experiences that allowed them to practice these.

The lessons were:

1. What is an information report?
2. What is a fact and an opinion?
3. The language features of an information report.
4. How do we structure a paragraph?
5. Practice writing an information report.
6. Research and write an information report.
Strategies included in lessons:
This unit included a variety of pedagogical strategies to include and practice the four skills of literacy ‘reading, writing,
listening and speaking’ (Gershon 2013) using Derewianka & Jones (2012, p. 45) teaching and learning cycle ‘Building knowledge
of a field, Modelling the genre, joint construction and independent construction’.
• Questioning: Open-ended questions were used whenever possible this provided ‘opportunities for learners to explain what
they are thinking and doing’ (Ground-water Smith et.al 2011, p. 229). To develop my questions I used Fusco’s 2012 (as citied
in Baker et.al 2014, p.64) 7 step process for effective questioning; planning, asking, wait time, listening, evaluating, asking
a follow up question and planning the next question based on the students’ answer.
• The use of wait time increased the amount of students that responded to questions that were asked, I found the students who
never raised their hands began to as they had ‘the opportunity to consider the issue, which (sic) created greater interest and
anticipation, thereby increasing attending behaviour’ (Jones 2011, p.115).
• Information display on power points were used to model the genre and to increase student interest with visuals. This helped
the visual learners in the classroom. Modelling helped develop the ‘students’ conscious knowledge of language and how it
works’ (Derewianka & Jones 2012, p. 48).
• Examples of information reports were used to examine and discuss the different parts. We examined 3 introductions and as a
class the students used the marking rubric to give a mark to each introduction. This created great understanding of
expectations of the assessment task.
• What am I ? animal question at the beginning of lessons, this covered information about what the animal looked like, where it
lived, what it ate and an interesting fact. Each of these areas were discussed about the questions, as these areas linked directly
to what was expected in the assessment report.
• Throughout the unit students were given opportunities to work independently, with a partner, as a group and with the
whole class.
• Research: Students were encouraged to utilise both media and text to complete their research.
• Information recording was completed in different ways and students were shown and scaffolded in how to use the different
techniques. These included: Venn diagrams, notes, tables and concepts maps.
• Sharing was encouraged during lessons through different strategies: group work, think: pair: share and sharing at the end
of each lesson. This provided opportunities for ‘shared informal talk between students’ and ‘is important for developing
students’ academic literacy (Derewianka & Jones 2012, p. 45).
 Summative assessment task:
The summative assessment- information report was differentiated to enable all students to achieve their personal best. Sentence
minimums were decreased for students who are still developing their writing abilities. This included differentiated assessment was
given to 11 students in the class.
‘.

Differentiated assessment task

Summative assessment task:
Differentiation:
This template was given to
students who were on
NEP’s, the ESL student
and 8 other students who I
had (with the help from my
mentor) identified as
needing extra support and
guidance. A differentiated
task ‘gives individuals a
chance to advance in areas
where they are the weakest’
(Gershon 2013)
Assessment
Assessment for this unit was both formative and summative.

Formative assessment occurred throughout the unit and a checklist

was used to indicates students achievements and guide lessons to follow.

Informal questioning was used throughout each lesson to gain an

understanding of whether the content we had covered was understood.
Thumbs up/ sideways/ down was used to check understanding. Students
who were unsure would then work directly with the teacher to complete
the task of that lesson.

Summative assessment was differentiated for students with additional needs and abilities. The marking
rubric was the same for all students.
Each section of the rubric was shared in class time, this enabled students to understand expectations and
ask questions.
 SOUTH-EAST ASIAN ANIMAL INFORMATION REPORT ASSESSMENT SHEET Name_________________________
Comment:
Criteria Excellent Good Satisfactory Needs Improvement
Title A creative title that effectively states what is being An interesting title that states what is being A basic title that states what is being reported. Title not provided or topic
reported about. reported. not clear.

Includes a highly engaging introduction to the general Includes an engaging introduction to the Introduces the topic briefly. Includes a No clear opening sentence
Introduction topic. Contains a definition or classification or general topic. Includes a definition, definition or classification. that attempts to explain
categorisation of the topic. classification or description. the topic of the report. No
description or definition.

Main paragraphs A sequence of highly engaging paragraphs which include A sequence of paragraphs which include Includes basic paragraphs which include Minimal evidence of any
detailed descriptions and facts. detailed description and facts. descriptions and facts. The sequence of facts related facts about the
may not be logical. topic. Incorrect of no use
of paragraphing.
Conclusion A highly creative summary of information in the report. A creative summary of the information in the A brief summary of the information in the No clear concluding
The main ideas of the body paragraphs are linked. report. The main ideas of the body paragraphs report. Some of the ideas of the body statement about the topic.
are linked. paragraphs are included.
Glossary A comprehensive list of technical words used in the A list of most technical words used in the A list of some technical words used in the Writing does not contain
report to support the reader to understand the text. report to support the reader to understand the report. An attempt made to define the words. any topic or technical
Precise definitions of each word which are easy to text. Definitions of words written clearly. language.
understand.

Bibliography A comprehensive list of 4-5 resources demonstrating a A list of 3-4 resources demonstrating a range of A list of 1-2 resources demonstrating a limited The citing of one or no
broad range of references to support information references to support information gathering. range of references to support information references used to support
gathering. gathering. information gathering.

Images/ Diagrams Excellent image/ diagram, with annotation supports Good image/ diagram with annotation, Image/ diagram included, no annotation, Limited or no image or
report. supports report. supports report. diagram. No annotation.
Not relevant to report.
Editing/ layout No errors in spelling and grammar. Carefully edited, but with a few errors. Some evidence of editing. Little evidence in editing.
Clear easy to read font. Excellent balanced layout. Clear easy to read font. Clear easy to read font. Little evidence of attention
Good balance layout. Consideration of a balanced layout evident. to suitability of font.
Little consideration to
balanced layout.

Time Excellent organisation. Good organisation. Could have used time more effectively and Wasted valuable lesson
Worked diligently in lessons and utilised homework Generally on task during lesson and used some balance workload throughout lessons. and homework time.
time. homework time. Needed constant
prompting to get report
completed on time.
Lesson 2 Lesson Reflection:
I felt well prepared for this lesson and confident in knowing the content I
was teaching. This was evident in the way in which the lesson flowed
smoothly. The students were responsive to the content of this lesson and
several students were eager to take the opportunity to read paragraphs out
in front of the class. The content and learning outcome of this lesson was
straightforward and therefore in conclusion I think that this could have
been completed in less than a whole lesson. I could have added more to this
lesson and worked on paragraphs as well. I am finding it challenging to
gain the students attention when they are off task. It is hard to keep them
at a quiet talking level whilst they are working and I feel like I am forever
asking them to lower their voices. There is a good level of chat about the
topic, however there seems to be more socialising than I would like.
Teacher Feedback:
The feedback I received from my mentor was not as good as I would have
liked. She commented on the level of noise that the students were making
and that the content was too simple for the students. Whilst I had
recognised this myself I did feel it was successful, as the students were
engaged and I there was little guidance needed once the development of
the lesson began.
Lesson 4

Lesson Reflection:
I was well prepared for this lesson and found that the use of the power point was a great
way to engage the students in the content. By using the power point to rearrange the
paragraph to make sense gave the students a clear demonstration of what was expected of
them. I taught in front of a relief teacher today, which made me feel more at ease than what
I do with my mentor teacher. Initially the students appeared to struggle with deciding the
order in which the paragraph would make sense and I found it hard to ask questions which
explained why it didn’t make sense (sometimes it did). The group activity worked well,
except I found some students did not participate and let the other students do it. Some
students also appeared to not have listened and this was shown by them asking questions
about what to do. Overall I was happy with this lesson. Once again noise was an issue.
Teacher Feedback:
The feedback from the teacher was that my lesson was well planned and the resources I used
were well presented. She gave me some positive feedback on the way I interacted with the
students and about the questions that I asked to engage their learning. She said that I
scaffolded well by completing a task with the whole class and then in groups and the
individually. Her positive feedback makes me feel better about what I am doing.
Lesson 5 Lesson Reflection:
I felt this lesson ran smoothly and my preparation was good. The students
respond really well to the engage part of this lesson about what animal am I
and ask for more. The students were on task in this lesson and appeared to
enjoy the fact that they were able to write a draft report. I feel as though it
has taken a lot of lessons to get to this point and maybe we have spent too
much time on previous points. However on the upside of this I feel as though
they know what they are doing and this is evident in their ability to work
independently. Some students asked about how to write an introduction, so I
think I address this in the next lesson. The work that I received back was of a
good standard. Two students who wanted to work in the hall completed very
little today and told me that they didn’t know what to do. I am unsure of
whether this is the case or whether they chose to do nothing. I need to
remember to keep an eye on them. Several students were eager to share again
with the class. I can see that more students are developing confidence to want
to do this. It takes a bit of the lesson, but I feel that this is a good practice for
them and will come in useful for their design and technology assignment
presentations. I feel nervous with my mentor teacher watching me teach and
feel as though the classroom is not quiet enough. I feel that most of the time
the students are on task, yet miss the off task students that my mentor is
noticing.
Teacher Feedback:
The feedback from the teacher was again about behaviour and the level of
noise. I am receiving very little feedback about my actual lesson content and
more about how I manage the class.
Lesson 2, 4 and 5
Student 1 Work Samples:

Lesson 2: fact or Lesson 5: report on an Lesson 6: research notes

Lesson 4: paragraph writing
opinion animal student knows for summative assessment

Student 1 has a NEP: they require extra scaffolding to develop

understandings. Support was given and extra explanation was
provided where needed. The structure of the lessons and the way
that they built upon one another really helped this student to
develop a sound understanding of the structure of an information
report. They choose not to use the writing template when writing
their final report- which indicated to me that they had confidence in
their abilities. Their final information report was independently
researched and written and completed before the due date.
Lesson 7-8: draft Lesson 9: final information report Student feedback: ‘I liked how you helped me and explained the
information report things I didn’t know how to do’.
Student 2 Work Samples

Lesson 4: write a
paragraph on an animal Lesson 7-8: draft information
you know about report
Lesson 1: brainstorming
ideas for an information
report
Student 2 was confident in their abilities in writing and was
working on improving their spelling.
Due to absence this student was unable to publish a final copy of
their information report. We proof read and edited their draft
together, which they then submitted as their final piece of work.
The students development from their first attempt at writing a
paragraph compared to the ones written in their report shows
great research and an increased understanding of the structure
of a paragraph.

Lesson 9: final Student Feedback: ‘This was fun, I liked being able to write
information report about horses and then about the animal from my South-East
Asian country. I wish I could have finished on the computer’.
Student 3 Work Samples

Lesson 3: reconstructing an
information report Lesson 5: report on an animal Lesson 6: research notes Lesson 7-8: draft
student knows for summative assessment information report

Student 3: was confident in their abilities in all of the tasks

within this literacy unit. They were easily distracted and
required a lot of redirection back on task, their final copy is
different to their draft. This has resulted in some errors in
their final copy and some missed information.

Student Feedback: ‘I really enjoyed writing about the

Rottweilers as I have one. It was fun to learn about another
animal. I feel that I can know write a good information report’.
Lesson 9: final information report
 Evaluations of my practice
Overall:
Using the teaching and learning cycle of Building knowledge of a field, modelling the genre, joint construction and independent
constuction sequence scaffolded all students in my classroom to succeed. All students handed in a researched information report that
was about an animal from the South-East Asian country they had completed an assignment on for Geography.

Through inclusion of paired work, group work and sharing in each lesson, students who were not confident in speaking in front of
the class began to answer questions and share their work with the class at the end of a lesson.
Encouraging student discussion helped students to ask questions to clarify their understandings. Students were actively engaged in
their learning; discussion during class time was about what they were doing.
I felt my questioning was effective in extending students thinking as I had a good knowledge of the content area and an
understanding of the curriculum content descriptors that I was looking for.
The lack of positive feedback on my lesson content and the feedback on my behaviour management challenged me to find the positives
myself. I found I was continuously self-reflective on my lessons and how I could improve them. I was always nervous about noise levels,
even when I felt they were constructive. Implementing a noise meter in the classroom was an effective way for me to control noise.
On reflection of the unit, there were areas where I could have spent less time and areas (language features) where I could have spent
more.
Linking this assessment to a previous assessment built upon the students prior knowledge and interest. This gave them confidence in
their abilities, as they had previous research skills that they were able to utilise.
What I learnt:
That there are unforeseen things that may impact on due dates and limit class time that has been planned for in units. To overcome this
I had to change the due date, however this still did not give some students enough time and this meant that I accepted drafts as their
final assessment piece with the intention to mark in accordance with the time limitations.
 References
• Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA), 2018, F-
10 Curriculum, English: Year 5 & 6Literacy, v8.3, Australian Curriculum,
Assessment and Reporting Authority, viewed 20 September 2018,
https://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/f-10-curriculum/english/
• Baker, AH, Chair, KS, Evanshen, P, Geiken, R & Isbell, R 2014, ‘An exploratory
critical study of questioning strategies posed by early childhood teachers during literacy
blocks’, ProQuest LLC.
• Derewianka B & Jones P 2012, Teaching Language in Context, Oxford University
Press, Victoria, Australia.
• Gerhson, M 2013, ‘Classroom practice - Literacy: it's time to go back to
basics’, The Times Educational Supplement Scotland, , no. 2336, pp. 30.
• Jones, V, 2011, Practical Classroom Management, Pearson.