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Change/reflection

Change is inevitable and as teachers we need to be flexible and positive about new ideas and approaches to teaching. Teaching is a challenging job where we need to know our content and find ways to make learning fun. Lately, I have been asking students about how they feel about the subject and what we can do as a faculty to make learning more accessible to them. This has led me back to my blog and I am now sitting here thinking of new ways to deliver content: 1. Make learning more relevant. This year we have been looking at Environmental Issues and Street Art with Stage 5 (Year 9/10). However, compared to previous year, this particular cohort seem to find the projects less engaging. My faculty plans to create four shorter projects for 2020. We need to provide them with topics/issues that are more RELEVANT to them. Make them interested and CURIOUS. Give opportunities for students to generate their own research questions and search for explanations. 2. Make learning clear. Student...
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Planboard

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I love when teachers share ideas! A teacher friend commented on one of my Instagram posts (missartofteaching) about a cool online planner that she uses daily. She introduced me to 'Planboard' (free teacher online planner) where you can set up your timetable and then attach lesson plans, worksheets, and outcomes to each lesson.  It also syncs to Google Drive making it convenient. You can work on it from the computer or download an app for Iphones and Andriods. It took a while to set up, but I can see the benefits of using this online planner. I can edit my notes, select my standards and view my lesson attachments all under my fingertips. You can literally plan lessons anywhere and everything is in one place! I'll be using it to record class discussions and attach photos. A few examples:
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Back to School

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Back to school... the three words that you probably love and hate at the same time. I will miss the holiday sleep in, naps, dog cuddles and taking my time for my morning run. But I am ready for another year of learning and nurturing my students with love and care.  Recently I stocked up at The Reject Shop and purchased half price pens from Woolworths. I am looking at implementing a system in my classroom where students are held accountable for borrowed resources: pencils and pens. I will be in two classrooms this year and have decided that I will need two caddies filled with supplies. One caddy will have pencils and pens based on the table number/colour and the other caddy will be based on numbers from 1-20 (since it is a flexible classroom). To be dismissed from class, I will need the pen/pencil to be returned. No more walkabouts. 
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Maintenance of Accreditation

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Being a NSW teacher requires one to pay their Teacher Accreditation fee (aka teaching license). My first teaching gig was given to me because another temporary teacher forgot to pay her accreditation fee. This jeopardise her capacity to teach in any school or service in NSW under the Education Standards Authority. Tonight I decided to pay my $100 (tax deductible) Teacher Accreditation Fee before being penalised for forgetting. I also tick a few things off my To-Do list. This included evaluating all my tasks on the NESA eTAMS dashboard (a website built for teachers to record all professional learning). I decided to look into the final processes of my maintenance of accreditation since it is due on Feb 2019. The process has been simplified and one only needs to have a total of 100 hrs (50 NESA Registered and 50 TIPD), all courses evaluated, confirm employment details and press the submit maintenance button. On the NESA e-TAMS website, it is op...
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Student teacher

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Today a Year 7 student purchaesd the right to teach my lesson using 100 virtual rewards points. Mr Pulvirenti saved up his virtual rewards points to teach the class how to create a cartoon self portrait. The class worked beautifully. Students were on their best behaviour and some wanted to continue the activity at home.
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Senior class

Time is flying... I will be saying goodbye to my first Senior Year 12 class in a few months timeframe. I am now on a count down with my Year 12 students. They have 4 days until their 30% Body of Work and Visual Arts Process Diary is due for marking. This is an in school progress mark which is combined with their earlier 20% practical progress mark. The final 50% of their mark will come NESA (NSW Education Standards). It has definitely been a journey of mixed feeling. We are all exhausted both emotionally and physically. It has been difficult to get them to stay motivated. I will need to work on developing a stricter timeframe, provide more examples of Band 6 artworks and learn how to provide criticisim that does not deflate their self-esteem. Teaching my first senior class has definitely been an eye opener. Students are used to be given direction at every step from Year 7-10, with the freedom to choose their own concept and materials it can be quite stressing. Some may not be ...
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Positive Behaviour for Learning

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Spot me... the lady in pink! Being a teacher involves taking on roles beyond the classroom walls. For the last few years, I have been an active member of the Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL) Team. A few weeks ago I took over as the chairperson. This role includes: Chairperson Miss Kwan Develop agenda with input from team; send to team members. Facilitate meeting. Follow up on assigned tasks; seek input from team members/staff. Before the meeting, I was a bit nervous but as the meeting progressed this feeling disappeared. I used to have stage fright but as a teacher/presenter, it requires me to conquer this fear.  In prep for today's meeting, I prepared the agenda and covered a few main points: Recap of roles In the last few weeks, I have found three new members to join the PBL team. New members bring in a different perspective that existing members might not be able to offer.  Training and network I will be going ...
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