Brendan Passmore

Reflecting on a literacy lesson with the associate teacher and university liaison officer Tanya Harvey was beneficial in developing my understanding of classroom strategies (AITSL, 2014). Tanya was extremely supportive and congratulatory in regards to the lesson. In our discussion Tanya recognised the literacy and behaviour management strategies (AITSL, 2014) which I worked into my lesson. Tanya's prescence actually set off one of the young girls with behavioural difficulties in the class. I was eventually able to engage this young girl in the lesson, despite her extreme resistance. I was consistently supportive of the young lady, treating her with dignity and respect as outlined by the 'Strengths Based Approach' (McCashen, 2005, p.3)

 

Tanya recognised my knowledge and understanding of the concepts, substance and structure of the content and teaching strategies of the teaching area (AITSL, 2014), which were evident in the literacy lesson. The lesson was designed to provide students with the tools they needed to differentiate between an autobiography and a biography and subsequently write their own. By the conclusion of the lesson, the students could clearly demonstrate the difference, within hearing one sentence of an example. They also all produced their own autobiography which were extremely well written.

 

I had already developed strong relationships with all of the students prior to Tanya's arrival, so behaviour management was not a common concern. I had planned the lesson with clear steps and outcomes (AITSL, 2014) as to keep student engagement (McDonald, 2013, p.37). The students who require more supervision were seated next to me whilst we were having group discussions. I was able to give subtle cues to these students through body language, gestures and quiet corrections throughout the lesson.