PLACEMENT AT YUILLE PARK
The learning environment at Yuille Park was quite different from any of the other learning environments that I have experienced while on placement or completing volunteer work. The Pod setting meant that there were a lot more students in the class with a team of teachers rather than just the one with a smaller group of students. It also meant that students could chose a particular area to work that suited their learning needs, for an example there was a quiet room in which students could go if they wanted to work somewhere quiet. This school had a lot of students from troubled backgrounds which often meant that you had to approach them differently to students at a mainstream school. It really opened my eyes to the fact that for some students school is their only place of refuge and safety. The school also had a lot of difficult children with behaviour issues. Therefore I was able to pick up a range of different behaviour management strategies. This placement assisting me in recognising that making some sort of connection and bond with students is vital to ensure that they can achieve their full potential and get the most from the learning and teaching experience.
While on placement at Yuille Park I was presented with the opportunity to:
*Learn and understand about the Pod setting works *Work with students from low SES backgrounds *Work with students with learning disabilities *Work with high achieving students *Plan and teach a number of lessons on place value *Plan and teach alongside my professional partner lessons on the text holes *Teach spelling lessons *Assisted students while they were drafting their fairy tales *Complete individual conferencing with students *Observe a standardised spelling test *Observe and participate in a range of elective subjects ie art, music, drama, PE, cooking, woodwork *Working alongside Indigenous students to create an Indigenous Garden *Participated in the Go-Kart project that students take part in off campus *Attend inter-school sports *Observe how the Stephanie Alexander program is put into practice at a school *Experience how students work on projects of their choice *Gather a range of resources and strategies that I will be able to use when I myself am a teacher |
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