Jasminka Kumbaric

S00104004
EDFD452: Essay, Second draft of individual teaching philosophy & Critical reflection
1
Part B: Essay
The initial draft of the Individual Teaching Philosophy (ITP) was used as a starting
point to uncover the three main themes that required undertaking further
investigation informing the second draft of ITP. This essay aims to highlight those
three main themes by unpacking what the key ideas are. The first paragraph looks at
how a teachers effectiveness can influence the overall achievement of student
learning experience. The second paragraph will be discussing the importance of
making sure that all children are effectively included in all aspects of schooling, and
how critical it is to form partnerships with all members of the community for
successful implementation. Finally the third paragraph will be devoted to explaining
how critical a role the learning environment plays in determining how and what kind
of learning will take place.

Often teaching happens to be the way in which the teacher organises their
practice and sorts priorities as to what they think is important and in which order it
should happen. Song and Looi, (2012) suggest that a teachers effectiveness
substantially depends on their own beliefs and influences of practices and how it can
subsequently reflect on students achievements. A teachers beliefs are considered
to play a vital role in establishing how learning happens and evidence of student
understanding (Song & Looi, 2012, p. 131). A teachers beliefs are dependent on
how the teacher thinks learning should happen and what evidence they have to
support that the learning of students has occurred. (Song & Looi, 2012).
It is important that teaching practices demand that a teacher be critical of
pedagogical content to ensure that the right teaching approach is selected for
students learning achievements because, as Hattie (2004) indicated, there is
evidence shown to support that the first primary influence for students
achievement outcome is from the teachers themselves. Teachers should
demonstrate a higher level of quality teaching and hold higher expectations that
student can meet appropriate challenges (Hattie, 2004, p. 24). However,
Skourdoumbis (2013) goes on to suggest that the teaching practices is not just a
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matter of simply presenting a lesson and expecting a certain result (students
achievement). Rather, it is far more complex, because a teachers effectiveness is
about having the excellent capabilities to be a reflective practitioner.
The reflective practitioner becomes critical of how students learn effectively,
and according to Hattie (2004), an excellent teacher will be able to identify essential
representations of their subject, guide learning through classroom interactions,
monitor learning and provide feedback, attend to affective attributes, and influence
students outcomes. (p. 26). For excellent teachers, the pedagogical content
knowledge should be thoughtfully considered on the way it is used to ensure that a
successful learning outcome of the students occurs (Hattie, 2004). The research
conducted by Skourdoumbis (2013) suggested that an excellent teacher can be
difficult to achieve because of the challenges and pressure that the whole school
community faces to achieve certain performance outcomes. For example,
NAPLAN/My School. Teachers becomes a subject of measurable variable
(Skourdoumbis, 2013, p. 355), which can have a significant influence/impact on
teaching practices.

The success of inclusion in education heavily depends on the overall attitude
of the teacher, and how they display that attitude will affect the students attitude
toward children with disabilities or special needs. (Varcoe & Boyle, 2014). According
to Loreman, Deppeler and Harvey, (2011) attitude is recognised as an aspect of
human life and it is made up of the groups of feelings, likes, dislikes, behavioural
intentions, thoughts, and ideas we all have about people (Loreman, Deppeler &
Harvey, p. 36). It is critical that teachers and members of school are provided with
the right type of training and partnership within communities to ensure that the
teachers gain the right attitude toward inclusive education. (Poon-McBrayer &
Wong, 2013; Varcoe & Boyle, 2014). This will allow teachers to be more self-aware
and informed in order to educate others better. This can be achieved by working in
conjunction with extended members of the community, e.g. students themselves,
teachers, parents, health professionals, organisations, and government
departments. They all provide extensive knowledge and resources that can
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contribute to having the students needs recongised and supported (Loreman,
Deppeler & Harvey, 2011).
It is important to establish a continuing partnership with the extended
members of communities. This is done to ensure that the best possible support is
provided so that learning outcome are achieved for the child in inclusive education.
(Poon-McBrayer & Wong, 2013). Poon-McBrayer and Wong, (2013) recognise what
an important role teachers play in building and promoting a positive school
environment to help meet public education goals in the 21
st
century. (p. 1522).
Collaboration is really important because by establishing those goals, teachers can
work together to empower and implement inclusive education effectively. (Poon-
McBrayer & Wong, 2013).
As a reflective practitioner, Loreman, Deppeler and Harvey, (2011) indicated
that good teaching ideas need to practice the skills in the classroom and to follow
them up with reflection on their outcomes... (p. 245). Teachers are called to
revaluate whether the effective implementation of inclusive education has occurred.
There is no doubt that teachers, schools and members of communities will continue
to face challenges in implementation of effective inclusive education and that can be
due to lack of resources, support, training and school banding. (Poon-McBrayer &
Wong, 2013).

It is very important that the learning environment is a place where all
students feel that they belong (where they can go) and can grow as learners.
Research (Read, 2010) indicates that the learning environment needs to be able to
allow the students to choose what they will learn, how they will learn, and how they
will assess their learning. (Read, 2010). A good learning environment needs to be
able to simulate a high level of students engagement, which is dependent on
students behaviour, affect and cognition. (Goldspink & Foster, 2013). Firstly, the
observation of students behaviour can assist in determining whether students are
engaged with the activity. Secondly, it can help to underpin the students overall
justification for motivation and reasons for their behaviour. Finally, the cognition can
help to reveal what the learner thinks about his/her situation and for providing a
focus on how deeply he or she is engaging with the subject of the learning
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(Goldspink & Foster, 2013, p. 293). It is therefore critical to ensure that the learning
environment is created to stimulate and engage participation by promoting role
modelling good behaviour, enhancing motivation for participation and reflecting on
the learning. OECD (2009) reinforces that the studies conducted in different regions
of the world have shown that classroom climate is one of the most important
predictors of student achievement. (p. 103). The learning environment needs to be
highly supportive and respectful environment to enable learners to validate and
express their personal goals (Hanrahan, 1998, p. 738). Students personal goals
need to be facilitated and catered for, by providing valuable skills for different
learning styles, to ensure all students successes out there in the real world. The
learning environment needs to engage students to work independently as well as
collaboratively and cooperatively with other students. (Hanrahan, 1998, p.738).

The three main themes discussed in this paper provide a number of
significant insights as to what is important in the education system. Teachers
effectiveness plays a critical role in establishing the best possible outcome learning
experiences for both the teachers and students in the school community. Inclusive
education, to be effective implemented, needs support from not only the members
of the school but also established partnership with rest of the community to
maximise the learning potential for both teachers and students. Establishing an
effective learning environment is essential to ensure that all students feel that they
can learn freely, independently, cooperative, collaboratively, and most importantly
to reach their personal goals.

Word counts: 1293
References
Goldspink, C., & Foster, M. (2013). A conceptual model and set of instruments for
measuring student engagement in learning. Cambridge Journal of Education,
43(3), 291-311.
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Hanrahan, M. (1998). The effect of learning environment factors on students'
motivation and learning. International Journal of Science Education, 20(6), 737-
753.
Hattie, J. (2004). Its official: teachers make a difference. Educare News, 144, 24-31.
Loreman, T., Deppeler, J., & Harvey, D. (2011). Inclusive education: supporting
diversity in the classroom. Allen & Unwin: Crows Nest.
Lewis, A., & Norwich, B. (2005). Special teaching for special children?: Pedagogies for
inclusion. Open University Press: Berkshire.
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). (2009). Creating
effective teaching and learning environments: First results from TALIS [PDF].
Retrieved from http://www.oecd.org/education/school/43023606.pdf
Poon-McBrayer, K. F., & Wong, P. (2013). Inclusive education services for children
and youth with disabilities: values, roles and challenges of school leaders.
Children and Youth Services Review, 35, 1520-1525.
Read, M. A. (2010). Contemplating design: listening to children's preferences about
classroom design. Creative Education, 2, 75-80.
Skourdoumbis, A. (2013). The (mis)identification of ineffective classroom teaching
practice: critical interrogations of classroom teacher effectiveness research.
Asia-Pacific Journal of Teacher Education, 41(4), 350-364.
Song, Y., & Looi, C. (2012). Linking teacher beliefs, practice and student inquiry-
based learning in a cscl environment: A tale of two teachers. Computer-
Supported Collaborative Learning Environment, 7, 129-159.
Varcoe, L., & Boyle, C. (2013). Pre-service primary teachers' attitude towards
inclusive education. Educational Psychology: An international journal of
experimental education psychology, 34(3), 323-337.

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Part C: Second draft of Individual Teaching Philosophy
I teach because I wish to make a difference in childrens lives. My passion for
teaching comes from the personal experiences that I have had during my schooling
as a young child. Because of these experiences, I endeavor to show my future
students that no matter what obstacles we face in our lives, whether it is disability,
hardships or challenges, with will and determination we can accomplish, overcome
and achieve anything we set our mind to. I believe children learn by observing,
reflecting and enacting others, which is why I think it important that the positive role
modeling is promoted to ensure that all children gain good social skills and self-
esteem. This will prepare them to succeed in the world. It is important for me to
make sure that all children are given an opportunity to express themselves in a
manner that is respectful, safe, and responsible. I believe that it is essential that the
students are aware of their roles and responsibilities within their classroom and
school so that they can be accountable for their actions.
I believe that a learning environment should encourage all children to explore and
discover the world around them. I believe that this will generate motivation,
inspiration and equip them with the necessary tools to achieve their personal goals
in lives. I approach my teaching passion with the notion of learning to love learning
and I believe that it is critical that I facilitate and guide children by providing learning
opportunities and challenges to grow. Learning can be creative, fun, enjoyable,
meaningful and relevant for their future success. I strongly believe that learning by
doing, and extending on childrens prior knowledge and experiences is a powerful
teaching approach to ensure that maximum learning occurs. I believe that the
learning environment needs to able to create learning opportunities for students to
work collaboratively and cooperatively amongst their peers to achieve common
goals. It can be vital for whole team rewards, individual responsibility and equal
opportunities for success. I believe that it is critically important to maintain high
expectations of my students especially that they are aware of what is expected of
them.
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I believe that it is very important to form and build relationships with students,
parents or guardian, colleagues, and members of communities. This is done to
ensure that the learning achievement of the child is effectively communicated,
supported, guided and developed. I strongly believe that by sharing common goals
amongst our community we can foster and promote change.
Learning is an ongoing cycle that continuously occurs for both students and
myself as a teacher. This is why I strongly believe that it is very important for me to
keep developing the necessary skills and tools to be able to support the learning
needs of my students by extending and connecting with members of
community/organisation to enhance my professional practices on a regular basis. I
believe that as a reflective practitioner that it is very important to me to make sure
to reassess and regularly update my teaching practices, values and theories.

Word counts: 503
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Part D: Critical Reflection
As the starting point, the feedback provided by my following peers helped me in
focusing on how the next ITP should be formed. The noticeable changes are that my
first draft lacked connections it was all jumbled up and unclear. It was just
statements, it had no feel to it. As I started to rewrite my second draft of ITP, I
noticed that my statements were becoming a lot more clear and meaningful. My
investigation of inclusive education has helped me establish how important it is to
form relationships with students, parents, and organizations etc. This statement was
not included in my original ITP. This was from an article by Poon-McBrayer et al.,
(2013) who talk about how shared vision and leaders effect (p. 1524) can
dramatically influence how changes occur in our schools. Recognizing how people
such as parents, students, and other members of a community are valuable
resources and how important it is to use them. I also noticed that in my original ITP, I
didnt talk about my teaching practices and how important it is to be critical of how I
teach to always be willing to change my beliefs about my teaching practices. Song
et al., (2012) cannot stress highly enough how important it is to be critically aware of
how our beliefs really can shape our final decisions on how we plan and interpret
teaching documents. In my final draft of ITP, I talked about how important it is to me
to go back, revaluate and critically reflect my teaching practices so that I can
continue, as Hattie (2004) states, to be an excellent teacher.
Word counts: 270