FINAL PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE REPORT 2017

Student ID
Pre-service Teacher Damon Read 2134351

School Aberfoyle Hub R-7 School

Year Level
Mentor Teacher(s) Kate Zampogna 6/7

School Co-ordinator Sarah Magnusson

Coordinator
University Liaison Sandra Starkey Jackie Thomson

Please delete those not applicable Please select

Teaching Days 10 introductory days + 30 day block: 40 days

CONTEXT Please add brief context statements about the school and class:
School sector; size and composition of campus (R-12, Area, Primary); particular
features or unique characteristics; index of disadvantage.
School

Aberfoyle Hub R-7 School is a Category 7 school within the South Valley Precinct
Partnership. It is situated in the southern suburbs at the foot of the Adelaide hills. The
school has 320 students who live in the surrounding suburbs of Aberfoyle Park,
Happy Valley and Flagstaff Hill. Current leadership configuration is a Principal,
Deputy Principal, Curriculum Coordinator and an Administration Officer. The school
consists of 13 classes. 11 of these are mainstream composite classes from Reception
to Year 7, all of which have students with additional needs of disability, trauma and
learning difficulty. The school also hosts 2 Regional Special Classes; Reception to
Year 2 and Year 3 to Year 7. There are Specialist Teachers in the learning areas of
Spanish, the Arts, Health and Physical Education. The Hub also has a Pastoral Care
Worker two days a week, School Counsellor one day a week and hosts a resident
Psychologist from In-School Psychology service once a week. Specific populations of
the Hub community include School Card between 20%, NESB - 2.2%, SWD including
Special Classes 12%, ATSI 0.2%, English as an Additional Language or dialect
(EALD) - 5%, and GOM 2.2%.
Class (including children with special needs)

Damon worked in a class of 28 year 6 and 7 students (17 year 7s, 11 year 6s). The
class is very manageable and includes 8 student exec reps. The children in this class
respond to relationship based discipline; two in particular rely heavily on having an
established rapport to elicit positive behavioural and academic outcomes.
Our classroom includes one student in year seven with an intellectual disability. He is
working at a year 1/2 curriculum level and has 9.5hrs of SSO time per week.
Another student suffers from severe anxiety and during Damons placement he
witnessed an extremely modified approach to schooling and assessment put in place
for the individuals changing needs.
Damon also taught year y6 math for one week, this cohort has many additional needs
including students on various Negotiated Education Plans with sensory and ASD
needs.
ASSESSMENT AGAINST THE AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS
Please place an X at the point along each continuum that best represents the development of the pre-service
teacher towards each of the standards at this time.

PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE

Standard 1 Know students and how they learn

I I I I__
Complete Novice Emerging Graduate Proficient

Standard 2 Know the content and how to teach it

I I I I__
Complete Novice Emerging Graduate Proficient

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

Standard 3 Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning

I I I I__
Complete Novice Emerging Graduate Proficient

Standard 4 Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments

I I I I__
Complete Novice Emerging Graduate Proficient

Standard 5 Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning

I I I I__
Complete Novice Emerging Graduate Proficient

PROFESSIONAL ENGAGEMENT

Standard 6 Engage in professional learning

I I I I__
Complete Novice Emerging Graduate Proficient

Standard 7 Engage professionally with colleagues, parents/carers and the community

I I I I__
Complete Novice Emerging Graduate Proficient
SUMMARY STATEMENTS (You may choose to comment on both personal and professional characteristics)
School Coordinator/Principal
Damon has adopted a very professional attitude throughout his practicum and is to
be congratulated on his total commitment and interest to teaching here at The Hub.
He very quickly settled into the school community, establishing and maintaining an
excellent rapport and trust with staff, students and families. Damons friendly and
cooperative manner has reflected a genuine interest in the welfare and learning
needs of each student. Damon capably demonstrated his knowledge and
understanding of how to differentiate his teaching to meet the specific learning
needs of all students. He successfully programmed using the Australian
Curriculum. He has continually analysed and evaluated his own teaching practice
as well as welcomed feedback from other colleagues. Damon has made excellent
use of his time here; he has been actively involved in the Hubs extra training and
development activities as well as an active member of the Primary Levels of
Schooling teams, Professional Learning Communities and extra curricula activities,
for example, excursions. Damon is well suited to this age bracket. I wish Damon all
the best in his chosen career.
Name: Sarah Magnusson Date: 13/6/17

University Liaison
Damon exhibited an enthusiasm for teaching and encouraged student engagement.
He was able to evaluate and assess personal performance and set personal learning
goals. Damon demonstrated an understanding of providing timely and appropriate
feedback to students about their learning. Damon demonstrated knowledge of
practical approaches to manage challenging behaviour .He implemented teaching
strategies for using ICT to expand curriculum learning opportunities for students
Damon demonstrated the capacity to organise classroom activities and provide clear
directions.
All the best for 2018

Name: Sandra Starkey Date: 21/6/2017

SUMMARY STATEMENT (May be used as a referee statement)
Classroom Teacher/Mentor
Student Name: Damon Read

Professional Knowledge
Damon taught in a variety of curriculum areas, with an early key focus on (ancient)
history and comprehension. Throughout Damons placement I observed his
understanding change regarding what students need from him in order to learn their
best. Damon worked toward addressing their varied and fluctuating needs. Damon
developed his content understanding and, through mentor feedback, established the
importance of being explicit with instruction and topic knowledge.

Professional Practice
Damon planned units and collaborated on planning that differentiated student entry
points. Damon further developed an understanding that he must start with the
achievement and work backwards to plan a successful unit of work. With feedback
and support Damon was able to break his history unit in to scaffolded lessons,
culminating in an engaging dramatic assessment. The students enjoy Damons
friendly presence in the class. Damon was encouraged to follow through
behavioural warning steps in order to maintain classroom learning outcomes and
expectations. Damon valued reflection on his professional practice and enjoyed
seeing the benefits of positive re-enforcement.

Professional Engagement
Damon relates well to other staff members, worked with several Temporary Relief
Teachers and engaged with our coordinator to work on a small class activity.
Similarly he has attended two pupil free staff development days in which he
engaged successfully in professional learning. Damon liaised with the parent
community using our Class Dojo app and invited parents to share in an ancient
Greece cooking lesson. He has also attended aquatics and two other excursions
where he provided supervision support.

Written by: Kate Zampogna Date: 13/07/2017

 SUMMARY ASSESSMENT (To be agreed by the School Coordinator and the University Liaison)

In our opinion Damon Read

has demonstrated the following overall level of performance in this final professional experience:
(Please click on appropriate box below)

Fail

Pass

Credit

Distinction

High Distinction

NOTES FOR COMPLETING THIS REPORT

The pre-service teacher may wish to submit this report with an application for employment. Please avoid the use of
acronyms as student reports are often viewed by interstate and international employers who are not always familiar
with South Australian nomenclature.

Please keep an electronic copy of this report and submit the report to the University Liaison.

If this is not possible then please email it directly to: primaryprofexp@flinders.edu.au