As a teacher I am responsible for knowing the students in my class and how they learn. This encompasses knowledge about students medical conditions including any disability or conditions affecting learning, academic strengths, needs and interests, continuum and plan data, sporting groups, religious and cultural background information, language barriers including both oral and written language, creative arts groups, Individual learning Plan (ILP) data, assessment data, relevant family information and student individual learning goals. This information is vital for future planning and assessment for each student and for the whole class across all curriculum areas.

 

My university placements have provided me with the opportunity to work with many students across all stages from ES1 to Stage 3. In each placement I have developed class profiles as a reference point for more detailed individual and whole class data. Various methods and strategies were utilised to gather this information including sociograms, discussions with teachers and students, jottings and other observations.  At the beginning of each placement I sent home a letter to introduce myself to families that included a form for parents/carers to complete in regards to their childs' strengths, interests and needs. I found this extremely beneficial and received lots of positive feedback from families. This information was also used as a cross reference between the school planning data and the families goals or needs for their child, and importantly helped to create the beginnings of a respectful relationship with families.

 

Students are always involved in this process through informal discussions, formal learning and assessment tasks and participating in an 'About You' creative arts activity. This activity provided students with the opportunity to disclose information that they might not otherwise talk about during the school day, for example, students have disclosed their likes, dislikes, their worries, fears, hopes, aspirations, what they enjoy outside of school and in school and what opportunities they would like to have at school. This has helped me to plan engaging, inclusive and meaningful lessons for all students, including some students who were disengaged during other lessons.