Brenton Hawken 11538282 Due Date: Friday 7th April 2017

EED408 Assessment 1 Value 50%

EED408: Successful teaching

Assessment 1
Professional Practice Interview and
Statement

Brenton Hawken 11538282

Wordcount: 2194

Value: 50%

Due Date: Friday 7th April 2017

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Brenton Hawken 11538282 Due Date: Friday 7th April 2017
EED408 Assessment 1 Value 50%
Contents page

Title page1

Contents page.2

Introduction3

Roles and Responsibilities of a Professional Teacher....3

Distinguishing features of a successful teacher......4

Australian Professional Standards supporting teachers professional teaching and learning...4,5

Effective teaching and learning strategies used to address diversity within the classroom5,6

Influences of the Australian Curriculum and 21st Century Learning Approaches.6

Australian Curriculum.6,7

21st Century Learning Approaches.....7

Conclusion......8

References......9

Turnitin Similarity Report........................................................................................................10

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EED408 Assessment 1 Value 50%
Introduction:
This professional practice interview was conducted with a teacher who has 17 years of
experience teaching in High Schools across the Central West of New South Wales. When I
hear the term successful teaching, their name immediately pops into my head. John always
developed authentic learning experiences whether inside or outside of the classroom, and
always sort to understand and know his students. The responses received covered a range of
aspects including the roles and responsibilities of a professional teacher, the distinguishing
features of a successful teacher, the professional standards, ideas on teaching and learning
practices, the Australian Curriculum and influences on 21st century teaching and learning.

Roles and Responsibilities of a Professional Teacher

Due to the complex nature of teaching, the roles and responsibilities of professional teachers
vary greatly within the classroom and profession. John explains that the key role of a teacher
within the classroom is to: maintain a safe environment where every child has the
opportunity to learn to their full potential (John, personal communication, March 31, 2017).
Creating a safe learning environment helps motivate and encourages students to succeed in
their education, by taking full advantage of the opportunities presented to them. An extensive
list of the professional responsibilities of professional teachers is provided on the NSW
Department of Educations website. The Depatment of Education declares that teachers:
have a responsibility to ensure that students gain the knowledge and skills they require to
become effective learners and ultimately responsible citizens (NSW Department of
Education, 2017). John makes the point that to do this, teachers must first maintain a safe
environment to allow students to learn to their full potential, helping them to become
effective learners and responsible citizens (John, 2017). Within the profession, John
emphasises that the main role here is: supporting colleagues and helping build the talents
and skills of other teachers, to make teaching a valued profession (John, 2017). As a pre-
service teacher, I highly respect this approach and feel this is important in order to maintain a
highly professional and successful profession. The NSW Department of Education (2017)
identifies: demonstrating the highest standards of professional behaviour; collaborating in
the development of school plans, policies, and programs; and undertaking appropriate
ongoing professional development as some of the responsibilities of professional teachers
within the profession. As the roles and responsibilities of professional teachers continues to
grow, it is imperative that teachers know what these are to ensure every student is provided
with a quality education.

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EED408 Assessment 1 Value 50%
Distinguishing features of a successful teacher
There are a myriad of different ideas and opinions about what constitutes a successful
teacher. We look at teachers from many different perspectives, with every individual having a
different view on this. From a teachers perspective, John easily lists many characteristics of
a successful teacher including being approachable to students and colleagues, having a good
sense of humour, the willingness to adapt to changes, being able to think on their feet and not
give up, knowing their students and being knowledgeable in their subject area (John, 2017).
The most important reason put forward by John is that a successful teacher is: someone who
has chosen teaching for the right reasons. They want to be an educator, not because of the
money or holidays, but because they genuinely want to educate other people (John, 2017).
From a students perspective, as listed by the year 7 students at Mill Park Secondary College,
a successful teacher is: energetic, humorous, cares about students learning, understands
their students, and is smart/knowledgeable about content and their subject (Teach for
Australia, 2012). From a parents perspective, a successful teacher is someone who genuinely
enjoys working with young people, has high expectations of students, knowledgeable and
passionate about the subjects they teach, displays enthusiasm and energy, creates an orderly
classroom environment and is accessible and responsive to parents (Holmes, 2011, p. 12).
While examining these different perspectives, two attributes stand out: knowing students and
how they learn and knowing the subject content. These are the first and second attributes in
the professional knowledge domain of the Professional Standards for teachers. A successful
teacher truly knows their students, understands who they are, where they are from, what
interests them and the contributions they can make to the classroom (Tvoparents, 2010). They
are also proficient in their content area and understands that learning isnt just about
delivering information. Its about helping people understand, connect, network, make
transitions and think differently about knowledge so they can use it and not just replicate it
(Maharaj, 2015). As indicated above, there are many perspectives on what makes a successful
teacher, making it difficult to condense into a single statement.

Australian Professional Standards supporting teachers professional teaching and

learning
The Australian Professional Standards (APS) for teachers aim to improve educational
outcomes for students by outlining what constitutes teacher quality, and clearly defining the
work of teachers and effective teaching in 21st century schools (Board of Studies, Teaching
and Educational Standards NSW, 2015). The standards focus on three domains of teaching:

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Professional Knowledge (teachers knowledge of their students, knowing the curriculum and
subject content); Professional Practice (how to make learning engaging and valued for
students); and Professional Engagement (teachers identifying their own learning needs)
(Clarke & Pittaway, 2014, p. 412). During the interview, John expressed his concerns on
many aspects of the standards. John feels the APS are not supporting him as an experienced
teacher, as the focus for the standards is to justify my existence as a teacher (John, 2017).
John has 17 years of teaching experience and was teaching before the standards were
introduced. He explains that he feels: we are being forced to do extra paperwork, ticking
boxes for the sake of it and jumping through hoops just to prove we are a decent teacher or
not (John, 2017). He adds that the standards can be useful for justifying going on
professional learning courses and they do help when writing his professional development
programs (John, 2017).

Do you think for a pre-service teacher coming into the career knowing these
standards, it would be more helpful and beneficial to me? (supplementary
question)

Hearing these concerns from an experienced teacher worried me, so I followed up with the
above supplementary question. John pointed out that: the standards will help you get your
accreditation during the early years, but after that I feel to maintain your accreditation, you
are just going to be looking at these standards and trying to tick a box (John, 2017). As a
pre-service teacher, it is important to remain open minded and accepting of many different
views. Although Johns opinion of the Teaching standards is rather negative, I must continue
to explore the standards to form my own opinion on whether they are useful to me. I believe
the standards are a helpful tool in developing quality teaching in Australia, and are useful in
helping me succeed whilst on my journey to becoming a successful teacher.

Effective teaching and learning strategies used to address diversity of learners and
differentiated learning needs
Professional teachers must be aware of a wide range of teaching and learning strategies and
how to implement these effectively in the classroom. As Grover explains: every new class
brings new opportunity to develop strategies for a new group of students who possess their
own unique combination of interests, abilities and learning needs (Grover, 2017). Therefore,
it is important to continually evaluate the effectiveness of selected teaching and learning
strategies, to ensure students are learning to their full potential. The concept of the
differentiated classroom has been developed to meet the diverse needs of students in the

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EED408 Assessment 1 Value 50%
classroom. This is where: teachers engage students in instruction through different
approaches to learning, try to accommodate a range of students interests, present information
with varying degrees of complextity and provide differing support sytems (Killen, 2016, p.
23) John plans effective learning strategies around his students knowledge, interests and
literacy skills. He explains he tries to: come up with many examples that relate to the kids in
my classroom (John, 2017). For example, when discussing the origin of the earth, John
incorporates Indigenous and Asian perspectives into the topic as he has students with these
backgrounds. If John is discussing forces and his students have a keen interest in motorbikes,
he will link this to their prior knowledge so they understand the relevance of the topic (John,
2017). John uses the inquiry based learning approach integrated with other strategies such as
cooperative learning and problem solving in his classroom. Inquiry is a form of: research
that promotes student-directed learning by helping students to develop the skills necessary to
aquire and reflect on their new knowledge and understanding (Killen, 2016, p. 273). This
type of learning strategy can be challenging to implement as: students are use to being told
what is right and wrong. I use it to enocurage students to find something that they are
interested in (John, 2017) to drive learning. There are a myriad of teaching and learning
strategies that can be employed in the classroom. Teachers need to know their students and
what makes them tick to implement successful strategies that support learning.

Influences of the Australian Curriculum and 21st Century Learning Approaches

The Australian Curriculum
The purpose of the Australian Curriculum is to: set the expectations for what all Australian
students should be taught, regardless of where they live or their background (Australian
Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority, 2014). Students are delivered the same
content across the country, with their achievements being measured against consistent
national standards. Depending on what best meets their students needs and interests, schools
and teachers are responsible for choosing the contexts for learning. John states that: apart
from telling me exactly what I have to be teaching, with the new curriculum theres a bigger
push to understand how the Indigenous Australians approached my subject area and to
understand the role of Australia in Asia (John, 2017). John highlights a shift in the focus of
the old curriculum to the new curriculum, stating: before my focus was on the history of
Europe and America, whereas now I have to understand whats been happening in Asia and
make that link (John, 2017). This shift of focus aligns with current events in the world
today. The Australian curriculum: acknowledges that the ways in which young people learn

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EED408 Assessment 1 Value 50%
will continue to change and that their future learning will be shaped by many challenges
(Killen, 2016, p. 5), the expansion of Asia being one of these challenges. The new Australian
curriculum describes: a learning entitlement for each Australian student that should provide
a foundation for successful, lifelong learning and participation in the Australian community
(Killen, 2016, p. 4). The Australian curriculum is an important tool that schools and teachers
must follow to ensure every student has access to quality education. Schools and teachers
then have the responsibility to decide on contexts that best meet their students needs and
interests to deliver this quality education.

21st Century learning approaches

The purpose of our education system in the 21st century is: to equip young people with the
capacity to think, solve problems and respond to and thrive within a changing society
(Bruniges, 2015). More than ever before, pedagogy: has put the emphasis on the 4cs-
collaboration, critical thinking, creativity and communication (Bruniges, 2015). The
challenges of todays increasingly complex and global society require students to be able to
access information globally available, work collaboratively, and apply innovative solutions to
problems (BOSTES, 2016). As 21st century educators, our challenge is to: ensure quality
pedagogy works within the world of contempory students and to keep upskilling our teachers
to meet those needs (Bruniges, 2015). John emphasises that 21st Century learning approaches
focus on the implementation of technology into the classroom, however this is not always
possible. He explains: theres a massive push to use technology in the classroom, although
this is not being supported by a budgetary point of view (John, 2017). He emphasised the
need for students to bring their own device (BYOD) to bridge this gap, however class work
needs to be relevant and interesting to avoid students getting distracted. Incorporating
Information Communication Technologies into class activities helps guide student learning
effectively as many students now start school technologically literate. Evidence based
learning strategies such as inquiry based, cooperative and problem solving learning are
becoming popular in 21st century classrooms as they: promote student-directed learning by
helping students to develop the skills necessary to aquire and reflect on their new knowledge
and understanding (Killen, 2016, p. 273). Students interact with the world by exploring and
manipulating objects, solving questions and controversies or performing expereinments.
Professional teachers who integrate technology and evidence based strategies in a 21st century
classroom, will best encourage and facilitate learning amongst students.

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EED408 Assessment 1 Value 50%
Conclusion
Throughout the professional practice interview, the teaching practices and methods of the
interviewee have been analysed and evaluated against the practices and methods discussed
thus far in my university studies. It is evident that there have been many similarities and
overlap between what the interviewee said and the recommended practices. I have found this
interview to be extremely beneficial and rewarding, growing my passion and love for the
teaching profession.

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EED408 Assessment 1 Value 50%
References
Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority. (2014, March 14). Australian
Curriculum. Retrieved April 3, 2017, from ACARA-Australian Curriculum,
Assessment and Reporting Authority: http://www.australiancurriculum.edu.au/
Board of Studies Teaching and Educational Standards NSW. (2016). Inspired Learning.
Retrieved from Teacher Acceditation: http://www.nswteachers.nsw.edu.au/great-
teaching-inspired-learning/blueprint-for-action/inspired-learning/
Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational Standards NSW. (2015). Australian Professional
Standards for Teaching. Sydney: Board of Studies, Teaching and Educational
Standards NSW. Retrieved April 1, 2017, from
file:///C:/Users/User/Downloads/Australian%20Professional%20Standards%20for%2
0Teachers%20Feb15%20(3).pdf
Bruniges, M. (2015, March 11). 21st century teaching & learning. Retrieved April 5, 2017,
from NSW Government Education: http://www.dec.nsw.gov.au/about-us/key-
people/secretarys-update/21st-century-teaching-learning
Clarke, M., & Pittaway, S. (2014). Marsh's becoming a teacher. Frenchs Forest: Pearson .
Grover, P. (2017). Teaching and learning strategies and approaches for the classroom
[EED408 Module 1.5]. Retrieved April 3, 2017, from Charles Sturt University
website:https://interact2.csu.edu.au/webapps/blackboard/content/listContent.jsp?cours
e_id=_23688_1&content_id=_1309073_1&mode=reset
Holmes, B. (2011). What parents say about teachers, schools and family-school
relationships. Weston Creek: Family-School & Community Partnership Bureau.
Retrieved March 31, 2017, from http://austparents.edu.au/2014/wp-
content/uploads/what-parents-say.pdf
John, J. (2017, March 31). Professional Practice Interview. (B. Hawken, Interviewer) Parkes,
New South Wales, Australia.
Killen, R. (2016). Effective Teaching Strategies: Lessons from research and practice (7th
ed.). China: China Translation and Printing Services.
Maharaj, S. (2015, October 8). Faculty of Education #teaching campaign [Video file].
Clayton, Victoria, Australia. Retrieved March 31, 2017, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dmryxOfIn8
NSW Department of Education. (2017, January 29). Professional responsibilities. Retrieved
April 1, 2017, from NSW Government Education: http://www.dec.nsw.gov.au/about-
us/careers-centre/school-careers/teaching/your-teaching-career/approved-
teachers/casual-teacher-induction/professional-responsibilities
Teach for Australia. (2012, March 13). What makes a great teacher? [Video file]. Retrieved
March 31, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26yzsSrsg2k
Tvoparents. (2010, May 10). What Makes Great Teachers Great? [Video file]. Retrieved
March 31, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXaLGt460e4

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Turnitin Similarity Report

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