Third Year Undergraduate and First Year Master of Teaching

SELF- REVIEW- PROFESSIONAL LEARNING PLAN: COMPLETED BY THE PST

Pre-Service Teacher Sarah Mutch Student ID:
2153178
School Pasadena High School Date
30/08/18

Learning Goal: To develop my ability to stimulate group discussion and support the students in feeling
confident to attempt to answer questions.

How I worked towards achieving this goal:

I spoke with my mentor teachers about how to stimulate group discussions during class. My mentor
suggested the following:

 Develop classroom norms around group discussions, e.g. all students will have to have an input
into the class discussions.
 Begin with an open-ended question.
 Pause to allow time for the students to respond to the question before speaking again.
 Call on individual students and use what they have said to build a conversation with the class.

Throughout the last week of placement, I practised implementing these strategies. I made it known that
all students will have to have input into group discussions. For example, in Visual Arts, we went around
the room, and each student explained the meaning behind their artworks. Additionally, I also tried calling
on students during discussions. This worked well as I could positively reinforce the student's engagement,
which increased their confidence and I could call on other students to build on what the student had said.
After my lessons, I reflected on how useful my discussions were with the class and explored what worked
and what didn’t.

How I will continue to work towards this goal in my fourth year:

During my fourth-year placement, I will continue to develop my ability to ensure that students feel
comfortable to engage in group discussions. I can continue to research and explore different teaching
strategies to promote students’ engagement in whole class discussions. For example, how I can use small
group discussions to develop my students’ confidence before exploring whole-class discussions.
Furthermore, I will continue to reflect on my ability to guide whole class discussions and develop ways to
scaffold class discussions.

Learning Goal: I would like to have the opportunity to engage in professional relationships with parents.

How I worked towards achieving this goal:

I had the opportunity to sit in on the school's student-led conferences with my mentor teacher. The
conferences provided me with the opportunity to engage in professional relationships with some of the
students' parents. I observed how my mentor interacted and communicated with the parents and then
had the opportunity to have an input into the discussions. This experienced allowed me to develop a
greater understanding of the individual students' contexts.

How I will continue to work towards this goal in my fourth year:

I hope to continue to explore professional relationships with parents/carers and community members
during my final placement. This may involve making phone calls home to parents and exploring
community partnerships.

Learning Goal: I think that I can continue to improve my behaviour management strategies. Additionally, I
would like to ensure that my behaviour management is consistent and that I follow up on any
inappropriate behaviours in the classroom.

How I worked towards achieving this goal:

I continued to seek feedback from my mentors on how to improve my behaviour management strategies
during the final week of placement. Some feedback I received included:

 Continue to develop my understanding of the classroom dynamics, e.g. understanding what

students may require more behaviour management.
 Continue to build positive relationships with the students.
 Make sure to gain the students’ attention before speaking.
 Work on my presence in the classroom.

I utilised my mentors' feedback and began to implement it within the classroom. I used a range of
techniques to gain the students’ attention, e.g. selective pausing, calling on students and proximity.
Additionally, I adapted several behaviour management strategies from my mentors. For example, one of
my mentor teachers would change the tone and volume of her voice to redirect the student's attention.
Furthermore, I researched an array of teaching strategies that could be implemented for individual
students. For example, for a student with low literacy levels, I scaffolded the task to cater for his abilities,
used regular praise for on-task behaviours and delivered the content in a variety of ways.

How I will continue to work towards this goal in my fourth year:

In my fourth year, I aim to continue to develop the quality and consistency of my behaviour management
strategies. I can complete further research on behaviour management approaches, such as adjusting the
classroom layout and using labels to identify table groups instead of referring to individual students, e.g.
each table is named after a country and is called upon using the countries name. Additionally, I would like
to make sure that I follow up on behaviours in the classroom, e.g. if I ask a student to do something, make
sure it happens.

Learning Goal: I want to continue to develop my ability to scaffold learning experiences to cater to
diverse students' needs.

How I worked towards achieving this goal:

I have continued to develop my ability to scaffold learning experiences for diverse students' needs. I was
able to use my knowledge of the students to adapt learning tasks to cater to their individual learning
needs. For example, I researched and implemented an array of strategies to support EAL/D students. I
was able to assess the effectiveness of these strategies through one-on-one communication with the
students, assessment of their work and the feedback I received from my mentor teachers. Additionally, I
described learning tasks in a variety of ways to ensure all students understood what was expected of
them. For example, I modelled on the whiteboard, explored the use of ICT and used videos, visual and
text examples to scaffold the learning tasks and support the students learning.

How I will continue to work towards this goal in my fourth year:

During my fourth-year placement, I hope to continue to improve my ability to scaffold learning

experiences to cater to diverse students' needs. I will continue to develop my understanding of the

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students’ diverse learning needs and will develop a variety of scaffolding approaches that cater for
students’ diversity, e.g. a three-phase process, where students begin the learning task at different phases
and can then progress.

Learning Goal: I want to improve my ability to provide clear and concise explicit teaching instructions.

How I worked towards achieving this goal:

I continued to build my confidence in delivering content to the class throughout the final week of my
placement. I used a variety of techniques to support and improve my explicit teaching. For example, I
used the whiteboard to reinforce what I was saying, I repeated essential instructions, I asked the students
questions to ensure their understanding, I used related real-life stories to reiterate what I am saying, and I
used an array of hook activities to draw the students’ attention.

How I will continue to work towards this goal in my fourth year:

In my final placement, I hope to explore further teaching strategies that can support my explicit teaching.
For example, I could use student focus sheets were the students can write notes and reflect on my explicit
teaching. Additionally, I want to continue to draw the students’ attention before delivering instructions
and work on my presence in the classroom.