Re: Utilising your strengths, skills and interests to your advantage in the classroom. 

Dear Amy,

               It seems you are using the valuable tool of reflection to help you unpack and delve into some of the positive and negative results of the past 8 weeks of the school term. Reflection is an essential and fundamental part of every teachers work life and it is great to see that you have started to critically reflect upon your own teaching practice and ‘reflect in action’ (Schon, 1983).This type of reflecting is vital as a teacher, because we are constantly faced with changes and challenges, throughout the school day, and it is through ‘reflection in action’ that we will be able to overcome these barriers.Some of the things you have reiterated as being positive improvements show that your teaching is making a difference in the lives of your students. The fact that they are now developing the skills to work well in groups and have enjoyed a range of activities that you have designed shows that you are developing good routines and structures in your classroom. Your students are obviously starting to respond to your creative and dynamic approach to teaching, however you must ensure that they remain focused in other aspects of the school curricula. The singing, role playing and hands on activities that you have implemented are great aspects of your teaching and have been thoroughly liked by the students. Using these skills and interests will not only have positive effects on your students engagement and behaviour in the classroom but will also make your job as a teacher far more straightforward and rewarding.

Amy, it seems you have the dreaded ‘Assembly item performance’ coming up at the end of the term. Well, don’t fret, this is a great chance for you to show the other staff members, students and parents what great things you have been doing in your classroom. Make sure when you are choosing an assembly item performance that you pick something that you are comfortable teaching and that you know your students will enjoy. It would be fantastic if you could preferably tie the item into some of the classroom learning you have undertaken in the past 8 weeks. This way, your students will be more engrossed in the performance and take ownership of the presentation. You have mentioned in the past that your students enjoy performance and singing activities so maybe look at designing an item that incorporate some of these aspects. It is very important that your students feel confident and motivated when preparing for an assembly item because it is a time when they get to showcase their talents and personalities to the wider school body.       


Amy as you start to re-write your program, do not see the first attempt as a failure, but rather a work in progress. There are probably numerous aspects of the original program that can be merged and reused in the second edition. As you now know and understand the students in your class a whole lot better, use this as a basis to form a program that will be creative, inventive and reliable. Refer back to the advice we have given you in previous weeks on resource use and teaching styles, to help you develop lessons that are both engaging and constructive. Also keep in mind the Professional Teaching Standards and use the seven elements as a framework to guide your program and teaching style.  Most importantly use your strengths, skills and interests as a base to direct the way you teach and show your students what you are passionate about.


Kind regards and best of luck for the future.
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