17433583- Rachel Heaslip

Designing Teaching and Learning Assignment 1

Teacher professionalism is an important concept in the lives of Australian teachers as it

relates to every aspect of being teacher, and acts as a benchmark for the way they expect to

be treated by their colleagues, students and parents, both in and out of their workplace

(Marsh, Clarke & Pittaway, 2014). A profession, as defined by the Professional Standards

Council (2016), is a group of individuals who adhere to ethical standards, and are recognised

by the public as possessing special skills and knowledge derived from education, research

and training at a high level, and are prepared to exercise their skills and apply their

knowledge in the interest of others. Teaching, as a profession is not always accepted by the

public, but the qualities teachers possess are exceptionally covered in the above definition

and are further highlighted in a list of standards developed by the Australian Institute for

Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers

(APST) are a list of 7 standards which provide a framework to encourage quality teaching

and to help teachers professionally develop to the minimum level set by the standards

(Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership [AITSL], 2014). The APST outlines

three domains of teaching which cover all the standards- professional knowledge,

professional practice, and professional engagement (Marsh et al., 2014). A professional

teacher needs to be able to integrate and apply knowledge, practice and engagement as

outlined by the framework, to create a valued teaching environment.

The Australian curriculum sets consistent national standards for what all school students

(kindergarten- year 12) across Australia should be taught and achieve, regardless of their

background or where they live (Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority

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[ACARA], 2016a). ACARA established the Australian national curriculum in 2008, due to

several factors including: differences in educational accomplishments between states and

territories, disadvantages for students who moved across state boarders, and to eliminate

differences in curriculums between each individual state and territory (Marsh et al., 2014).

There is now a national curriculum for 43 different subjects and learning areas across years

K- 12, which provides every student with an equal chance at learning (ACARA, 2016a).

ACARA has also developed additional curriculum material for differentiation in students,

including resources for Gifted and Talented students (GAT), students with disabilities and

students with English as an additional language (ACARA, 2016a). These resources provide

strategies that teachers can implement in their classrooms, that provide options to deal with

breaking down the curriculum or advancing the curriculum when and if it is needed to suit

these groups or other minor groups in the classroom. A quality teacher should be able to

understand, implement and teach the curriculum of their key learning area using many

different teaching methods, to allow for all students to learn effectively (Marsh et al, 2014).

They should have a clear understanding of differentiation techniques, and should aim to

know how each student learns effectively and how they can attend to each student’s

individual needs whilst still successfully teaching the curriculum.

Pedagogy, as defined by Teaching Australia (2008), is the methods and techniques used to

educate children, and the strategies used by teachers to apply their knowledge, skills and

abilities in their teaching to establish outstanding educational outcomes. Shulman &

Shulman (2009), highlight the importance of pedagogical content knowledge for successful

teaching and explain that pedagogical content knowledge consists of three elements:

subject matter knowledge, pedagogical knowledge and knowledge of context. Each teacher

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has a unique understanding of pedagogical content knowledge, but knowing how to

successfully combine the three elements and put them into practice in the classroom can be

difficult and can take years to successfully implement (Marsh et al., 2014). The NSW quality

Teaching model was developed as a framework with the aim of improving student learning

through pedagogy, and providing a platform for teachers to professionally self-reflect on

their own pedagogical content knowledge (Department of Education and Training

Professional Support and Curriculum Directorate [DETPSCD], 2003). The model consists of

three dimensions: Intellectual quality- focuses on generating deep understanding and

knowledge of significant ideas, skills and concepts by getting students to engage in higher-

order thinking (DETPSCD, 2003). Quality learning environment- establishing a productive

environment focused on improving student learning through the teacher setting explicit and

high expectations and the development of positive relationships among students and

teachers (DETPSCD, 2003). Significance- integrating and connecting students’ background

and cultural knowledge to the content being taught in the classroom, to develop an inclusive

environment to make learning meaningful to students (DETPSCD, 2003). The NSW Quality

Teaching model and Pedagogical content knowledge are two important concepts that are

essential for teachers to understand and implement in their own pedagogy to be an effective

teacher.

Assessment is a term used to describe the processes a teacher performs to gain information

about student’ skills, knowledge and attitudes (Marsh et al, 2014). Assessments are usually

performed to diagnose learning progress, diagnose teaching effectiveness, grade students,

motivate students and to predict future performances (ACARA, 2016a). The National

Assessment Program is a sector of the ACARA that is responsible for testing students to

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determine if they are meeting educational outcomes (National Assessment Program [NAP],

2016). The main examinations they are responsible for are the annually run National

Assessment Program- Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) tests, which examine the basic skills

in literacy and numeracy that are developed through the school curriculum of students in

years 3, 5, 7 and 9 (NAP, 2016). NAPLAN has negatively impacted classrooms as teachers are

now spending time preparing their students for the tests, when it is meant to be a snapshot

of what skills students can perform at that point in time (Marsh et al, 2014). Assessments

provide teachers with an understanding of how their students are learning and developing

at a point in time and can also be used to evaluate their own teaching methods, which can

help them improve.

Giftedness is defined as a student’s outstanding ability and potential in one or more areas

eg. Creative, physical, intellectual or social (Victoria State Government, Education and

Training [VSGET], 2017). Gifted students are not always associated with being high

achievers, although their potential is outstanding and they are expected to perform higher

than their peers, there is a possibility that they may be disengaged and under- achieve

(Marsh et al., 2014). Talent is described as outstanding performance of developed

knowledge and skills in one or more areas of human activity (VSGET, 2017). Talented

students typically improve their skills through learning and practice and are usually more

motived than their peers. Talented students are not necessarily considered to be gifted, as

talent can be learnt through practice whereas giftedness is a considered to be one’s natural

ability (VSGET, 2017).

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Gifted and talented students are often not accommodated for in regular school settings due

to lack of extension and as a result, become angry and bored easily. Teachers failing to

recognise GAT students and lack of parental interests can also lead to under- achievement

(Marsh et al., 2014). Teachers can struggle to recognise GAT students in their classes due to a

variety of factors including: their level of ability and aptitude, their level of giftedness and

achievement, coming from diverse backgrounds, not being easy to identify and there being

no common pattern amongst gifted individuals (ACARA, 2016b). The specific learning needs

of GAT students include learning at faster rates, finding and solving problems easier and

quicker than other students and making advanced connections between their ideas and the

content being learnt in the classroom (VSGET, 2017). GAT students feel a sense of

engagement when they are supported by teachers, and by providing them with challenging

learning environments and a differentiated curriculum, the individuals are more likely to

thrive (ACARA, 2016b).

Teachers should to be able to recognise GAT students in their classes and where possible

accommodate to their needs. A quality teacher is one who can effectively modify the

curriculum, and assessments and adjusts their own pedagogy to accommodate to the

individual needs of each student (Marsh et al, 2014). They must be imaginative and flexible

and not be threatened by the extraordinary abilities these students endeavour. Teachers can

find adjusting the curriculum and assessments to be a challenge, as they often have to

personalise the content to suit each students’ age- equivalent learning area which with

some students, can be a lot higher than the rest of the class (VSGET, 2017). For example, in

year 7 PDHPE students learn about the skeleton, including learning the names and locations

of the major bones and being given a diagram showing where they are to help them

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memorise. An appropriate adjustment to curriculum for GAT students would be based from

the curriculum of year 8 PDHPE, which would include increasing the number of bones they

were to learn the names and locations of and instead of giving the GAT student a diagram,

giving them a blank skeleton image and asking them to label as many as they can remember

(ACARA, 2016b).

Adjustments to curriculum learning are an example of informal assessment (observations of

natural circumstances, useful for gaining information in a natural setting), which can be a

good indicator on how the students are handling the advanced work and can help to

highlight the content that the GAT students should be tested on in formal assessment

(planned tests and assignments, in unnatural settings such as exam format) (Marsh et al.,

2014). Assessments such as NAPLAN are not suitable for GAT students, as the tests are set to

the standard learning age for each year group. Teachers should aim to be able to

differentiate curriculum and assessment to accommodate for everyone’s needs, and can do

so by also adjusting their own pedagogy.

The APST include standards that are directly associated with one’s pedagogy and

differentiation. “Know students and how they learn” is a standard which highlights the need

for the teachers to be attentive and analyse their students to develop an understanding of

each students learning style, background and any abnormal abilities or disabilities which

may affect their learning (AITSL, 2014). Identifying these factors will allow the teacher to

establish strategies to effectively improve student learning by accommodating for each

individual in the class whilst also adhering to the curriculum, which directly links in with the

standard “Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning” (AITSL, 2014). The

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standard “Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning’, is another important

concept that teachers need to ensure they are adhering to. Accurate assessment of GAT

students can be difficult if they are levels above other students, meaning teachers need to

develop an effective strategy to accurately assess these students whilst also complying with

the curriculum (Marsh et al., 2014). If GAT students are not accurately assessed to the level

of their learning, they have limited opportunities to further develop their abilities. Teachers

should work with their colleagues to establish guidelines for assessing GAT students to show

they are supportive, and should provide feedback to inform the students how great they

have been performing and notifying them of the level they are achieving at (Department of

Education and Training Professional Learning and Leadership Development Directorate,

2008).

Teaching as a profession involves individuals using and applying their knowledge and skills

acquired during training to effectively improve student learning. Successful and effective

teachers are those who develop a supportive relationship with their students and are able to

acquire knowledge about how each individual student learns. Using this knowledge, they

strategize effective ways to teach, whilst accommodating for each individual students’ needs

whilst complying to the curriculum. They are able to identify gifted and talented students

and have a strong understanding of how to treat these students with various differentiation

techniques. They have a strong understanding of pedagogy and adhere to the APST as a

platform to assess their teaching methods and improve as a teacher.

Word count: 1987

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References:

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (2016a). Curriculum. Retrieved

from: [Link]

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (2016b). Student Diversity.

Retrieved from: [Link]

talented-students

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (2014). Australian professional

standards for teachers. Retrieved from: [Link]

standards-for-teachers

Department of Education and Training Professional Learning and Leadership Development

Directorate (2008). Quality teaching to support the NSW professional teaching standards.

Retrieved from:

[Link]

t_nsw_professional_teaching_standards.pdf

Department of Education and Training Professional Support and Curriculum Directorate

(2003). Quality teaching in NSW public schools. Retrieved from:

[Link]

Marsh, C. J., Clarke, M., & Pittaway, S. (2014). Marsh’s becoming a teacher (6th ed.). Frenchs

Forest, Australia: Pearson Australia

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National Assessment Program (2016). NAPLAN. Retrieved from:

[Link]

Professional Standards Council (2016). What is a profession?. Retrieved from:

[Link]

Shulman, L., & Shulman, J. (2009). How and what teachers learn: A shifting

perspective. Journal of Education, 189(2), 1-8. Doi: 10.1080/0022027032000148298

Teaching Australia (2008). The case for establishing a national centre for pedagogy. Retrieved

from: [Link]

library/the_case_for_establishing_a_national_centre_for_pedagogy.pdf?sfvrsn=8

Victoria State Government, Education and Training (2017). Gifted and Talented Education.

Retrieved from:

[Link]

aspx