A Professional Learning Communities Approach - Essay Example

Practicum Refection Name Institution Professor Course Date Introduction Making a difference in ones career field calls for more than theoretical skills. Particularly, pre-serviced teachers require practicum that is a core element of preliminary teacher preparation program. The practicum allows pre-serviced teachers to gain teaching competencies. It allows pre-serviced teachers to prepare for actualities of student teaching through offering them an apparent comprehension of the perspectives for schooling. My practicum played a crucial role of bridging practice and theory besides providing me with framework to establish my personal teaching aptitude. It is through practicum experience that I developed essential professional knowledge. Completing the practicum gave me a clearly established, real-world experience in teaching. I did my practicum at Indooroopilly SHS in Brisbane Australia for 7 weeks where I gained practical knowledge with regard to teaching students with disabilities and diverse learning needs. The practicum gave me a prospect to apply and combine my acquired knowledge throughout my teaching program. It also provided me with a real-world experience of teaching learners with special needs. Mine was a supervised practicum because I had a supervisor who mentored and guided me through the program. She made my experience at Indooroopilly SHS worthwhile. I can candidly state that the time I spent in Indooroopilly SHS for my practicum proved rewarding and enjoyable. Indooroopilly SHS acknowledges as its major obligation, the provision of admittance to a suitable educational service for learners. The school offers brilliance in teaching that enhances sporting, cultural and academic success for all students. Teachers and learners enjoy excellent learning facilities. Students are expected to develop social responsibility and self-discipline. Improved standards for vocational and academic learning are fostered with the school seeking to enthuse and motivate learners to enjoy balanced, cultural, sporting, academic, community service and artistic experiences as they create meaningful future pathways. The school celebrates socio-economic, multicultural diversity and conceitedly stands for learning, caring, and discipline founded on reciprocal respect. Indooroopilly SHS accommodates all types of students. Given that I am pre-serviced teacher in learning support, I worked with students with different disabilities and additional learning needs. As indicated earlier, my experience at Indooroopilly SHS was worthwhile and rewarding. During the practicum, I learnt new skills and broadened my already acquired skills. I also gained diverse skills in support learning where I worked with students with disabilities and diverse learning needs. Apparently, the school have profiles for each student with learning difficulties. It holds many students with different difficulties such as Intellectual Disability, Auditory Processing Disorder, Learning Difficulties, Physical Impairment and Speech Language Impairment. One in every five students in the school has additional learning needs of some kind. With regard to these students, the school powerfully believes in understanding its students and being sensitive to students’ needs. As a result, the school uses assistive technology tools to promote effective learning. The school stresses on providing individual care and support to students with disabilities and diverse learning needs. Based on the guidance offered to me by supervisor, I assessed every students based on their learning skills to ascertain areas that need improvement. However, working in the mainstream class was a bit challenging because one needed enough time to understand the strengths and weaknesses of every student. For students with additional learning needs in the mainstream class, I sat next to them and assisted them in their weak areas. Understanding the weak areas of every student is paramount as it helps in ascertaining their learning needs. I worked with year 8 students because my a year 8 learning support coordinator. The learning support systems at Indooroopilly SHS are very helpful to students with learning disabilities and diverse learning needs. Teachers are tasked with planning programs for these students. In this respect, during my practicum, I planned and implemented my curriculum plan. Planning of these programs required clear observation of students to determine their learning needs and weaknesses. Besides observation, I conducted in-depth talk with individual students to establish their needs and strategies need to implement effective learning. Assessing students’ performance in class also helped in ascertaining the best teaching strategies that suited every student. The school policy is to improve the learning outcomes of all students through appreciating and catering for their diverse learning needs. In this regard, guided by my supervisor, I emphasized on improving the learning outcomes for students with disabilities and special learning needs. I focused on supporting access to education and involvement of all students. I understood that having systems that identifies and support students with disabilities and diverse learning needs in an equitable and timely manner is critical to maximising the life and educational outcomes of these students. However, planning and developing teaching programs for these students was challenging and complex. Planning called for powerful leadership and well defined strategies. Teachers are tasked with establishing plans for teaching students with disabilities and diverse learning needs. This is because teachers are the ones who recognise the difficulties experience by students in a classroom setting. As a result, teachers are required to seek help and plan instruction for these students. Although teachers are tasked with developing teaching programs, input from year coordinators and the school disability coordinator is paramount. In my case, my supervisor and the school disability coordinator guided me in developing curriculum plan. I also involved individual students in the establishment of their learning plans. This is because I realised different students had different disabilities and different learning needs. For instance, some students I encounter during my practicum had intellectual disabilities, ASD, Auditory process disorder, physical impairment, learning difficulties and speech language impairment. Given the diversity of disabilities and learning needs, I had to develop individualised plans for the diverse student base. The plan entailed the support that the students needed to acquire a balanced and broad education. The plan included the students; interests and strengths, current functioning level, barriers and concerns to learning, effective teaching strategies, agreed action and specific learning priorities and goals. The plan was aimed at increasing my capacity as a teacher to attain diverse learning needs of my students. Working together with my supervisor and other staff promoted shared responsibility for supporting students with disabilities and diverse learning needs. Indooroopilly State High School is an inclusive school thereby requiring teachers to adjust curriculum planning, teaching strategies and assessment. The curriculum plan I made demonstrated a cohesive response to diverse learning requirements. I purposefully planned a variety of means to engage learners, help them to attain the expected learning and express their learning. Based on the results of the analysis of every students and diversity of disabilities and learning needs, I differentiated instruction in response to daily monitoring of students and data that demonstrated specific learning needs. For students with intellectual disability, I provided them with proper instructional program and adapted teaching methods oriented to their individual requirements. I also offered direct guidance to such students. I understood that students learning needs are enhanced through a collaborative approach and through focusing on their learning needs instead of their disability. I focused on engaging students in productive learning and valued their contributions. I also worked towards establishing an environment where every student participated and contributed meaningfully to the learning actions. I engaged students and carers in discussions about their learning requirements, targets and goals and converted these discussions into challenging and manageable learning and teaching plans for every student. Because of the diversity of disabilities and additional learning needs, Indooroopilly SHS, stresses that teachers use differentiated instruction to ensure that individual needs of learners are met. Differentiated instruction is a means of reaching students with different abilities and learning styles. It is an individual and flexible approach to instruction (Fogarty & Pete, 2009). This approach requires teachers to observe and comprehend the similarities and differences among students and utilise the information to plan instruction. Initially, I thought a differentiated approach to teaching is challenging and time consuming. However, during the practicum, I realised that there is nothing easy in life but things are made easier by good planning skills. Differentiated approach to teaching requires teachers to plan their instructions proper to meet the needs of learners. I realised that teaching students with disabilities and additional learning needs is far more complex. However, the nucleus of a productive practicum experience is the procedure of comprehending what works well and what does not. This requires doing what is needed and adjusting what one does based on observation. During the practicum, I used visual tools and assistive technology approved by the school to promote understanding and effective learning. Assistive technology is essential in learning support. For instance, students who cannot read well but have good listening skills benefits from audio books. Remedial reading software is also effective for students who cannot read well. Digital tools and resources also facilitate effective learning and instruction. Conclusion Overall, the practicum taught me a lot with regard to assessing and understanding distinct needs of students with disabilities and additional learning needs. The practicum also helped to apply my developing knowledge. It also helped me in assessing the needs of students, and planning and implementing curriculum for students with diverse disabilities and additional learning needs. I learnt that effective instruction for students with disabilities requires special tools such as graphic organizers and visual tools that aid in supporting comprehension of texts. I came to realise that students with disabilities experience greater success when teachers allow them to use their abilities to work around their disabilities. References Fogarty, R., & Pete, B.(2009). Supporting differentiated instruction: A professional learning communities approach. UK: Solution Tree Press. Read More