Communicating

Communication:

Communication is essential for a successful team. It is the act of transferring information from one place to another (skills you need, 2012) and comes in three forms; oral (explain and present ideas clearly to an audience), written (effectively write in a range of contexts using the appropriate writing style) and non-verbal (enhance communication through facial expression, tone of voice, visual cues and body language).

The skill of communicating links to the following professional standards:

Five: Assess and report constructively on student learning. Assessment involves students performing real-world tasks that demonstrate application of the essential skills and knowledge they have been taught (Mueller, 2011). Assessment takes two forms, authentic (drives the curriculum, based on backward mapping) and traditional (basic recall to complete questions). An effective teacher will adopt a combination of these two assessments to ensure that students have various methods of demonstrating their knowledge and are engaging in real life contexts. During my practicum experiences I have developed and implemented various assessment tasks including individual assignments, group tasks, and class tests and standardised testing such as NAPLAN. Each mode of testing has a particular purpose and is classified as pre-testing, formative or summative.

Eight: Foster positive and productive relationships with families and the community. Each child is a member of a particular kind of family, this positions them in terms of readiness to learn and their ability to engage in all that school offers. Students come to school with varying degrees of capital including social capital, economic capital, economic capital and cultural capital. The notion of social capital refers to the connection among individuals (Putnam, 2007)  It is important that teachers promote families and ensure positive bonds are formed through strong communication ties as much as possible because this is how a teacher gets to know their students. Knowing students is important in order to deliver curriculum to students in a way they understand and relate to.

Nine: Contribute effectively to professional teams.  School staff forms a professional learning communities who work collaboratively to ensure their students’ progress in their learning. Professional Learning communities support each other and share the workload to ensure the best for students.  Teachers continue their learning through professional development and peer feedback. I have worked as part of a professional learning community through team teaching working with mentors and other staff planning and delivering lessons to achieve a common goal. Professional learning communities engage in professional discussions with other staff members about students’ academic progress, behaviour management, advice about teaching pedagogy, constructive feedback.  I have observed my mentor teacher deliver learning experiences and manage classroom behaviour, playground behaviour and various activities around the school including kitchen garden, art lessons, Japanese lessons, P.E. lessons, sporting days, parades an excursions. This has enable me to evaluation my own strengths and weaknesses, and work autonomously and as part of a team within a school context. 

Throughout my time at Central Queensland University (CQU) I have improved and refined my communication skills through engagement in lectures, small group and whole class teaching, team teaching, planning within a professional learning community and interactions with students and their parents.

There are many facets of communication required for an effective teacher. These are reflected in the professional standards and include; reporting constructively on student learning, contributing effectively to professional teams and fostering positive and productive relationships with families and the community (Queensland College of Teachers).

I have gained skills in all these areas throughout my university and practicum experiences:

·         Use of learning management questions 7 & 8 to check for learning and actively report to students and others about student progress through anecdotal and student records, testing and assessment including formative summative assessment.
·         I have engaged in the use of NAPLAN assessments and using the data to inform future practices and to track student progress and achievements over 2 years.
Engagement with the Art and Science of Teaching. Question 1 states that: Establishing learning goals for students written in their language will communicate to students what is expected of them. Learning goals are also used to track student progress and then celebrate student success.