Foundations of Teaching

1. Foundations of Teaching My Journey so far…. By Tracy Scott

2. My Literacy Development • My literacy development, I believe is coming along steadily, I do have an amount of learning to go to become an academic writer but I feel I have improved since the start of the semester here’s why: • I am using a dictionary more to check spelling and definitions of words that I am unfamiliar with. • I feel that my editing and proofreading skills are improving as I am finding that I read and re-read my work changing words here and there to make it more grammatically correct. • My writing is flowing a lot better than when I first started University as is my understanding of the activities and lectures. I don’t seem to panic as much when I see the activities on MyLo.

3. Oral Communication Development • To further develop my oral communication skills, I have been recording myself reading stories and texts, listening to them back and reflecting on how fluent and expressive I sound. As scary as it is I have noticed improvement since I first started recording myself. My tone has improved, I’m clearer and my expressive language is becoming more animated. • I have been reading to preps and kindergarten children as a whole class on a weekly basis since I started University, togain confidence in speaking to a large group of children. At first I found this challenging and a little intimidating but now I thoroughly enjoy it, the feedback from the teachers is positive and encouraging. They have commented on how much I have improved and how my confidence has grown.

4. Learning Environment • The learning environment I wish to create will be vibrant, colourful and welcoming. It needs to meet the needs of myself as the teacher and that of my students. I wish to create a place of wonder, where students can use their imaginations. I want to give students an abundance of learning opportunities and for them to feel comfortable and confident to be themselves and interact with their peers. • I have a home corner for imaginative play, a comfortable reading area. Computer area, science area and an art area. I have added a sensory area consisting of riceand water play. • I have the desks grouped together for student interaction and group work, these are placed close to the middle of the room so as to be seen from all areas of the classroom as well as students being able to see the board.

5. My Ideal Kindergarten Classroom

6. The Learning Environment cont.. • I have placed a large rug on the floor in front of the teachers chair which will be a focus and destination point for students to go to when its mat time. • A class pet would also be a focus in our class, to study and to learn responsibility of taking care of animals. • My classroom would have lots of natural light with students art work displayed around the classroom to give students a feeling of ownership for their environment. • Lastly our class rules, rights and responsibilities would be displayed vividly as well as our class motto.

7. I used photographs taken of the students during the excursion and cut them out in the shapes of leaves. I then placed them on the tree, as you can tell I’m pretty proud of this one. These are the sorts of interesting displays that I would love to have on my classroom walls as it explains our whole excursion and purpose in one go. Here is a display that I created in a prep/1 class after an excursion to the Botanical Gardens. It was an exercise to collect leaves and discover interesting things about Autumn.

8. Information Literacy Skills Development • My information literacy skills have been developing widely as I have found that I have had a lot more research to do leading up to assignment time. • I have become familiar with the National Curriculum website as well as the UTAS Library, Google scholar, TRB website and not to forget navigating my way around MyLo. As this is my first year at University MyLowas defiantly something I wasn't sure about. I feel pretty confident with MyLonow. • I have a folder on my favourites list on my laptop where if I come across a good site that I think I could use in the future I add it so that I can come back to it later if needed.

9. Knowledge of Teaching • My knowledge of teaching is growing every time I log onto MyLo, listen to a lecture or participate in an activity or quiz. Everyday that I go to work in a school environment I am learning from the teachers, includingthe way they teach and interact with their student’s it is an invaluable tool for me. Some of the skills I have learnt so far to be an effective teacher include: • To be open to new ideas and not worry about change but expect it. • To respect diversity in the learning environment and different cultural backgrounds. To know about the developmental stages of children so as I am able to assist with learning difficulties as well as students with special/additional needs. • To be calm, spontaneous, flexible and most of all to create an inviting learning environment where children feel safe and confident to use their imaginations and to discuss their ideas freely.