Reflection 5:

The importance of parents/caregivers in the educative process of their child: 

The impact on student learning is enormous, where parents and/or caregivers are supportive and pro-active in the process of education and learning. 

Research indicated in the Communicating with Parents lecture (Moran, ACU, 2010), that parents/caregivers want their children to excel, and are prepared to discuss issues and resolve problems to assist in the educative process. Where the teacher and parents/caregivers form a united front to assist the student, positive learning outcomes are enhanced and a clear message of support and encouragement is sent to the student. 

During my practicum experience, I witnessed the power of parental support first hand whilst attending the parent/teacher interview evening. On this evening a parent and her daughter, a student in year 9, spoke to my colleague teacher who was the student’s regular Visual Arts teacher. Prior to the interview, the student concerned had shown gradual deterioration in her efforts in the classroom. Whilst being a highly capable student, her behaviour and attitude to her class work had begun to wane largely due to the peers she was associating with. During the interview the teacher proceeded to explain that the student had great potential but that her usual high standards of work and her attitude had deteriorated of late, which was disappointing. The parent showed concern and firmly discussed with her daughter and the teacher what her expectations were, and how they might be achieved. Both parent and teacher agreed that a change of attitude in work ethic was required from the student so that she could achieve her goals and lay the foundations for a bright future. Open lines of communication were established between the parent and teacher to monitor progress and resolve any further problems should they arise. The student realized that both her mother and her teacher were looking out for her best interests and that they believed in her ability to excel and achieve her goals. From the next lesson a marked change in attitude, standard of work and engagement in learning was evident. Her change in attitude not only benefited herself, but also influenced her immediate peers who proceeded to raise their work standards. Throughout the remainder of the term I taught the class that this particular student was in, and she not only achieved her goals but also became a mentor to other students, thus building her confidence and self-efficacy. 

In maintaining strong lines of communication with parents/caregivers, teachers may ascertain student interests and strengths outside of the classroom and any other discerning factors which may assist in the learning process of the student. Using this information to bring relevance to the student in terms of the learning environment, is a powerful tool for the teacher, to motivate and stimulate student learning. 

The power of parental support and encouragement in learning is clearly evident and highlights the importance of teacher/parent communication (element 7.1.2).   

References:

 Dr. Moran, W. (2010). Lecture: Communicating with Parents; The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. Australian Catholic University. 

NSW Institute of Teachers. (2009). Professional Teaching Standards. Sydney: NSW Government. 

Level of achievement of goals: 

Goal 1, addressing Element 4.1.5 – Use a range of teaching strategies and resources including ICT and other technologies to foster interest and support learning, was achieved and successfully engaged and motivated students to achieve learning outcomes. 

Students used ICT to research specific artists and create presentations on the Conceptual Framework using Power Point. They also used Smartboard to present information about focus artists. Information on artist practice was presented using Youtube videos which thoroughly engaged students and motivated them for their own art making tasks. Further use of digital technology included digital photography and photo manipulation using Photoshop, which was highly successful. Students produced some extremely creative photographs and developed skills to combine elements of composition with digital enhancement. These tasks informed designs which were then transferred to collagraph printing, using a printing press and tools for incising a collagraph block. Overall, goal 1 was achieved and successfully fostered student interest whilst achieving set learning outcomes. 

Goal 2, addressing Element 5.1.1 – Demonstrate a variety of strategies to develop rapport with all students, was achieved with most, but not all students.

During my practicum, I actively pursued to learn student names as quickly as possible which helped to gain respect and rapport with most students. When addressing a student in class, during questioning or when commenting on work, I made every effort to address that student by name. As I became more familiar with them and they with me, I began to learn about their strengths, weaknesses and their interests and dislikes and took opportunities to relate to these, thus imbuing student trust and mutual respect. As this rapport developed, I found that students were more eager to please and motivated to do well in their work. I made a point of the whole class celebrating each class member’s achievements both inside the classroom and their achievements outside of the classroom e.g. grand final win in tennis. I made a point of having the whole class wish a fellow student happy birthday. During question time, students were only permitted to answer a question if their hand was raised and no-one else was speaking, thus instilling respect for fellow classmates and the teacher. Having said this, there were a small amount of students who remained aloof and interestingly, these were the students who presented behaviour issues in the classroom. On reflection, I realize that not every student will make a connection with their teacher, but at least I know that I have made every effort to relate and build a positive teacher/student relationship with every student. 

Goal 3, addressing Element 6.1.5 – Accept constructive feedback to improve and refine teaching and learning practices, was achieved in every possible instance.

Peer reflection and personal reflection played a significant role in refining every aspect of my teaching practice. I believe that critical evaluation is paramount in moving forward and having objective eyes (colleague teacher), observe and provide constructive criticism was invaluable in helping me to identify strengths and weaknesses in my teaching. During my internship I actively sought his opinion and discussed aspects of my lessons that I was not happy with, and affirmed aspects which worked well. Written feedback provided records for revision of lessons and sequences and helped to develop plans to adopt and improve upon. Ongoing evaluation assisted in helping me to finetune lessons and rethink approaches to gain maximum learning outcomes from students. Regular review of student work helped to ascertain whether teaching methods were successful in communicating expectations and learning outcomes. Overall, this process was actively sought after every lesson and discussed regularly when planning future lessons. It proved to be of vital importance and a valuable tool in building competency and professionalism.

Areas for further improvement:

In all honesty, at this point in time every aspect of my teaching can be improved upon. I believe that this is ongoing, but will gradually improve with experience and further reflection and evaluation. Whilst I know that I have done the best I could, I also know that the best is yet to come, and I am looking forward to the personal and professional growth that experience will bring. The biggest challenge and the area which needs the most work in my teaching practice, is classroom management. Having said this, again I feel that with experience, observation, evaluation and familiarity with students and school protocols, these strategies will improve. 

Declaration of originality:

I hereby declare that;

1. No part of this assignment has been copied from any other source without acknowledgement of the source.

2. No part of this assignment has been written by any other person. 

3. I agree not to make any alterations to this site after the submission date.

Franz Marc: The Deer in the Monastery Garden.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/34/Marc-deer_in_a_monastery_garden.jpg