WEEK8


 * WEEK8 **

http://pirun.ku.ac.th/~b4807161/index12.htm Workshop Summary Author: Haining Lu

This is the first workshop since we left the university about 2 months ago and everybody seemed very excited with the reunion and sharing their experiences of placement.

Team presetation of the wiki and sharing practicum experiences were two main activities in today's workshop. I reckon all the groups did an excellent job in presenting their wiki within just one minute, putting ideas together and cooperating with each other.

When it came to the sharing experience part, a lot of original and genuine thoughts were brought up, which were very thought provoking. Rochelle introduced a new game to us which was the "Six Thinking Hats ". Each hat is in a different colour, standing for a differet type of pointview, such as thinking about your strength, weakness and feelings etc. This activity could be applied in real classroom as well as it provides a framework for focussed and constructive ways of thinking.

Jessica and some other classmates shared their strength or positive things that they discovered about themselves during practicum. Some moments and experience may be very small but they make a big difference.Other classmate shared some "Big Questions" that they had in their minds. I remembered Rose talked about how to better understand the challenges that those messed up kids are facing in order to cater for their needs. It is not easy to put ourselves in their shoes because we have never had similiar experiences before. These are issue that worth long time thinking and studying.

Here is a website for the "Six Thinking Hats": []

Overall, I enjoyed this final workshop of this semester. A heartfelt thanks to Rochelle for all her work and help and to everyone in Group T!

Author: Akie Yoshida ** In week8, the readings are mainly about “The Principle of Teaching” and “Professional Learning”. The various things that we should keep in mind before teaching in school even after getting involved in school are introduced in the website of Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. There are six principles and its associated components in the principle of teaching; Student learning, which are -Students learn best when **1. The learning environment is supportive and productive. ** 4. ** Students are challenged and supported to develop deep levels of thinking and application. **  This is the web page where you can get those action researches. Professional Learning Teams can contribute significantly to schools becoming learning communities by fostering a culture of collaboration and collective responsibility for the development of effective teaching practices. There are types of professional learning teams. ====** Study Groups **which engages in regular collaborative interactions around topics identified by the group. This provides opportunities to reflect on classroom practice and analyse student learning data. Groups can also read and discuss educational research publications in a collaborative and supportive environment, over an extended period of time. ==== [] []
 * Reading Summary
 * 2 .The learning environment promotes independence, interdependence and self motivation. **
 * 3. Students’ needs, backgrounds, perspectives and interests are reflected in the learning program. **
 * 5. Assessment practices are an integral part of teaching and learning. **
 * 6. Learning connects strongly with communities and practice beyond the classroom. **
 * As teachers are also learners to teach it is important constantly to improve their teaching skills and that is called “Professional Learning.” Using action research can ** support teachers, as researchers, to investigate and better understand their work. It is participative in that the researcher is also the practitioner - the teacher.
 * Action research **  (   []  )
 * Case Discussions ** which provides teams of teachers with the opportunity to reflect on teaching and learning by examining narrative stories or videotapes that depict school, classroom, teaching or learning situations
 * Teacher Study Groups **
 * Projecto Smart,Oswego Univeri ****s **** ity **

**Examining Student Work**
Carefully examining students' work to understand their thinking permits teachers to develop appropriate learning and teaching strategies and materials. When examining students' work, teachers confront problems and issues they face in classrooms on a daily basis. []
 * Looking at Student’s Work **

We often study hard or learn about theoretical teaching skills but we tend to do less once they become a teacher. I t might be too busy to spend time on reading a long educational research or those reports might not be appropriate for teachers who need more practical resources. I think it is difficult for teachers to manage their time but I realized that studying in team or sharing ideas make those busy teachers motivated. We should always remember that we are learners throughout entire our life!

__**Lecture- Week 8 Eileen Gomes**__

This week she had a guest lecturer, Diane Powell. In this lecture we learned the accountability and professionalism aspect of becoming a primary teacher. There were many standards that every teacher must undergo/learn before they offically get into teaching. Some standards include: • Know how students learn and how to teach them effectively • Know the content they teach • Know their students • Plan and assess for effective learning • Create and maintain safe and challenging learning environments • Use a range of teaching practices and resources to engage students in effective learning • Reflect on, evaluate and improve their professional knowledge and practice • Are active members of their profession

As a student teacher coming from teaching rounds, I feel that I put most or even all these professional standards into the teaching practice. I feel that these standards can help future teachers for their first year into the field. I believe the first year will be the toughest since we'll be given a class to ourselves. With no guidance and supervision we've stepped into a teaching reality. Diane also briefly touched upon the VIT Requirement, which include: • Collegial visits • Portfolio that includes annotated samples of work, Unit outlines, lesson plans, and assessments • Reflections from both the mentor and mentoree • Professional Development/Learning • Sign Off Although I was not visited this teaching around by any university mentor, I think that the VIT requirements give student teachers that opportunity to provide what they have to offer. Their personal achievements are very important and great to bring to a professional teaching institution.