6.+Classroom+Management,+Planning,+Assessment+&+Reporting



The environment we create for our students is equally as important as the content we teach and the learning strategies we use. This applies to all teachers of all age groups from kindergarten to high school. The environment includes the atmosphere, the traditions and rules we set, the furniture arrangements, the centres or special areas within the room, and the displays. All of these things add up to create either a positive or negative environment for students. My classroom is maintained in a neat and colourful manner that fosters creativity and challenging learning opportunities. When teaching I like to use concrete materials to aid learning - I myself am a hand’s on learner so I like to make sure I have lots of materials for the children to apply their learning with. I like the children to have ownership over their classroom. At the beginning of the year I like to build upon the classroom together with the children. This includes developing rules, rewards, and responsibilities for the children and myself. I like to make sure that these are constantly reflected upon and redeveloped together as we grow. As a teacher I like to use positive management strategies. Providing all children with an appropriate achievable curriculum is important in any classroom. Developing a rapport with the students where you get to know their interests and ambitions goes a long way to developing a positive environment. I believe that students need to be aware of the teachers’ expectations of behaviour and it is important to be firm but fair. Using behaviour situations as teachable moments is important for all students to learn from their experiences and make appropriate choices in the classroom.

I understand that the VELS standards are the outcomes against which student achievement is assessed and reported on. This provides valuable information about student progress, which forms the basis of further teaching and intervention. VELS is something I had studied very thoroughly throughout my university degree and something I have kept up to date with while teaching. Assessment is the backbone to teaching. We need to report in a positive and truthful way so that each individual has the opportunity to grow. I like to make sure my assessment is ongoing, this is to make sure that I can plan for the individual needs of each child. Any teacher that fails to do this can not understand where the children have come from and where they need to go. A curriculum that supports the development of thinking skills has the following components: - Teaches students about thinking and learning - Engages students in complex thinking to manage new situations and solve problems - Studies topics in depth - Has extended periods of time for sustained thinking - Relates thinking and learning strategies to subject knowledge - Embeds thinking and learning strategies in every activity - Is accessible to every student I understand that VELS provides the framework for all schools to deliver teaching and learning programs that support students to develop capacities to confidently manage themselves and their relationships with others, make sense of the world in which they live and effectively participate in that world. I use these guidelines to help me develop appropriate curriculum activities for the children in my classroom.