COLLEGE OF EDUCATION

APPLIED CURRICULUM PROJECT REPORT

EMTS
Master of Teaching (Secondary)
Preservice teachers are required to complete an Applied Curriculum Project (ACP) Report (using this proforma) on completion of their project.
This form is to be completed by the preservice teacher(s). Reference should be made to the ACP Plan developed earlier in the year. A brief
comment on the professional skills demonstrated by the preservice teacher (Section A) is required by the ACP Mentor Teacher (or nominee).
This document must be word processed.
This Report must:

Describe the project and its outcomes

Provide evidence of how the aims of the project were met or not met and why with reference to the relevant educational theory and/or
literature or policy cited in the plan

Comment on the progress according to the action plan included in the Plan and advise of any changes to this plan and the reasons for any
amendments

Evaluate the success or otherwise of the expected measurable outcomes with reference to the evaluation methodology described in the
plan.

Describe how each of the five, or more, professional skills (planning, negotiating, project management, problem solving, team work, time
management, evaluating, communicating, reporting and researching) you nominated in your plan where used/applied during your ACP.
Submission Deadline:
Each preservice teacher is required to submit a copy of this signed report to their Approaches to Teaching
and Learning 1 lecturer in the seminar in the week beginning 12th October, 2015.
Sections 1 5
Section A

Preservice Teacher to complete

ACP Mentor or School Partnership Coordinator to complete

Preservice Teacher Submitting this report: Michael Contarin

Title of ACP

Positivity Wall

School/ Setting

Antonine College (St. Josephs Campus)

Address

71 Grandview Avenue, Pascoe Vale South

Phone

03 9354 1377

Student ID: S3853143

Fax 03 9354 6766

Partnerships Coordinator Robert Formiatti

ACP Mentor(s)

Kristian Koutoufides

Additional Preservice Teachers (PST) that participated in this ACP:

PST Name

________________________________________ Student ID_________________ Campus_________

PST Name

________________________________________ Student ID_________________ Campus_________

PST Name

________________________________________ Student ID_________________ Campus_________

PST Name

________________________________________ Student ID_________________ Campus_________

1. Brief Description of the Project and its Outcomes

During my time at Antonine College I have observed many instances of bullying across different year levels and domains. This
bullying, or fear of being bullied I believe has contributed to many students negative attitudes toward participation in practical
aspects of school (such as physical education) and also toward engaging in class. I understand that bullying has always been
around and eradicating it is a dream we may never attain. Therefore, my rationale for this project is not to eliminate bullying
entirely, but to rather to create a source of positivity within the school to ease, or combat the negativity within the school.
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Adolescence is a difficult time as youths can be confronted with many challenges, for example, making friends, puberty, meeting a
partner, home life, school life, part-time work and countless other things. Being bullied has the potential to tip a student over the
edge, the ongoing effects of bullying are severe. Being subject to bullying has been linked to, anxiety, substance abuse, low selfesteem, depression, poor academic performance, dropping out and suicides (Boniwell & Ryan 2012).
My project is called The Positivity Wall. Essentially, students are able to submit positive messages or pictures (anonymously if
they wish) to a submission box in the school library. The messages are then posted on the wall for all the students to see. This
project is then further discussed in health class with links to why this is important, the impacts of bullying and the power of
positivity
If my project can provide some relief for students than I believe it is successful. Bullying should not be disregarded as a harmless
rite of passage, or as just a part of school life, but for what it really is, something than can dramatically affect someones entire
life.

2. Provide evidence of how project aims were met or not met and why with reference to relevant
educational theory/or literature or policy cited in the plan.
The Positivity Wall began with four main aims.
1. To create and promote a new positive attitude for students and staff at Antonine College
2. To reduce the impact of bullying at Antonine College
3. To provide a source of positivity for staff and students at Antonine College
4. Improve students productivity, contribution and effort at Antonine College.

Upon the unveiling of the positivity wall, the school was very interested and involved in the initiative. Staff and students were
talking about it and getting involved there was most definitely a positive attitude around the school. Although not explicitly stated in
my aims, the reason for creating the positive attitude and source of positivity at the school is because the literature suggests that a
youth intervention are likely to reduce long term social and health issues (Wolke et. al 2013). This long term reduction is not
measurable, however the intervention itself is, and I believe it was a successful one based on the involvement and energy the wall
inspired.
The second aim was a difficult one to measure, as the impact of bullying is hard to quantify. So by that definition I cannot confirm
that the aim was achieved. I did however notice that the students I have perceived to have been victim to bullying made
submissions to the positivity wall and often, they had some of the most inspiring messages. The project itself raised awareness of
bullying throughout the school, it began as just a wall then it became a topic in health classes and even in the school bulletin. So
although I cannot say definitively that the impact of bullying was reduced, I do believe the total amount of bullying was reduced,
the victims of bullying had an outlet to express themselves, and the people who were bullying other were learning about the impact
their actions can have.
The third aim, I can say was unarguably achieved. The wall was located in the centre of school, on the wall of the library. In the
small school environment it is nearly impossible to go a school day without walking past it. Furthermore, the initiative inspired
teachers to include the project in their health units in the classroom, and in the school bulletin, which is read out every morning in
homeroom. This means almost everyone in the school was aware of the board, and its intention. So I believe the school definitely
did have a new source of positivity.
The fourth aim, was to improve students productivity, effort and contribution at school. I personally observed there to be increased
productivity in a couple of students but not across the class. The effort and contribution of students in the positivity wall project was
very surprising, having students from every year level dropping in submissions. I am unaware if the transferred into the classroom
as I received mixed reviews in my surveys of teachers.

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3. Comment on progress according to your Action Plan and advise of any changes to this plan and these
reasons for any changes.
My Action Plan remained relatively unchanged, although the dates were all pushed back I wasnt able to get use of the
wall until my second teaching round. By the end of my first teaching round I knew which wall was being used and had it
approved by the staff. I originally intended to place a submission box in the library so the student could submit thing in
complete anonymity, although I was concerned that student may tamper or pick out other students submissions so I
asked the library staff to keep the box behind their desk and take submissions of the students. The next part of the plan
was deciding who was responsible for maintaining the board and how often. My mentor and I decided to update it Fridays
after school and he would continue to do this after my placement has finished. I originally made up a guidelines form to
have next to the box, but instead it was distributed to the students, with an attached submission form to get the board
started. Which was successful with 70 submissions on the first day of the board.
I then had to find a means of constantly promoting the board. I decided to place it in the school bulletin which is read
every morning at the beginning of homeroom. The message will be in the bulletin as long as the board stays up. That in
conjunction with the board itself we believed was enough promotion. The major change that we made was not providing a
template for submission but rather providing examples of submissions as I decided that student may not only submit
messages, but also photos, artwork, or an item which they deem positive. I did this as I believe the less restrictions on
submissions the less intimidated students will feel making a submission thinking whether what they are submitting is right
or wrong.

4. Evaluation
Evaluate the success or otherwise of the outcomes with reference to the evaluation methodology described in the plan.

The expected measurable outcomes I set out in my plan were, a decrease in bullying, improvement in staff and student
morale, a more positive school culture and in increase in student engagement. I created a survey in which I gave to 13
staff members at the school. The survey asks teachers to answer the following questions on a scale of 1 to 5.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Do you believe the Positivity Wall has reduced instances of bullying?

To what extent have you noticed an increase in student morale?
To what extent have you notice an increase in staff morale?
Do you believe that Antonine has more of a positive culture since the Positivity Wall was implemented?
To what extent have you noticed an increase in student engagement?
Question
number
1
2
3
4
5

Mean
answer
(n=13)
3.08
3.69
3.15
3.84
3.46

The staff survey showed that across all areas the Positivity Wall made a positive impact.
In my personal observations, I did not notice a decrease in bullying. My original idea was to note instances of bullying I
observed and grade their severity and compare those findings before and after the implementation of wall. My findings
across both conditions were sporadic and no logical conclusion could be drawn. Name calling was consistent in both
conditions, and instances on severe bullying were sometimes frequent and sometimes scarce. This combined with
multiple excursions and interschool sports days made it difficult to complete an accurate account of bullying observations.
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To measure staff engagement I intended on counting the amount of submissions I received from staff. There was only
three staff submissions to the Positivity Wall who did not remain anonymous, although through my discussions with staff
only one had admitted to making a submission. Although this is not an accurate measure of staff engagement. The library
staff got involved promoting the board, and the Positivity Wall was implemented in some classes at the school. The Vice
Principal at the school expressed interested in keeping the wall up long-term although discussions are still ongoing at the
conclusion of my placement, although I do intend on following up after the term three break.
Student engagement can definitely be seen as a success receiving submissions from every year level and over well 100
submissions, which is almost a third of the students in the school. Many students would approached me with feedback
about the wall, a very high majority of which was positive. I spent a few lunch times on yard duty observing students
interactions with the positivity board. At the beginning many students would stop to read some of the submissions, and
that gradually decreased over time, although there was always a good number of students who would stop and read the
submissions.

5. Professional Skills Utilised

Describe how each of the five, or more, professional skills (planning, negotiating, project management, problem solving, team work, time
management, evaluating, communicating, reporting and researching) you nominated in your plan where used/applied during your ACP.

Professional Skill #1 Planning

Planning was a key element of my ACP plan. My main goal at the outset of my ACP project, before I even had the idea of
the Positivity Wall, was to combat bullying and its effects. Once I decided what my ACP project would be, I had to plan
where the optimal location of the wall would be, how I was going maintain and promote it, and how I was going to ensure
it longevity after my placement

Professional Skill #2 Team Work

I had to work with my mentor teacher and the library staff in order to bring to Positivity Wall to fruition. Also needed to work
as a team with other staff members in order to promote the project and ensure it continues on after my placement

Professional Skill #3 Communicating

I had to communicate with my mentor teacher in order to find out how to go about starting the project. I also had to
communicate with library staff so they knew how to handle submissions. I also had to communicate with the
administration team to promote the project in the school bulletin, and also with the students to explain the project, what it
is aiming to achieve, and how to be a part of it.

Professional Skill #4 Evaluating

I had to evaluate the success of the project to ensure it was worth continuing after my placement. This meant ensure the
students were getting involved and the projects aims were being met. I also had to evaluate my original plan to alter it to
ensure the best possible outcomes were achieved

Professional Skill #5 Time Management

Time management became an issue as there was a lot of work to complete for the project to be successful. Originally I
thought it would be relatively straight forward. As a physical education teacher I was on many excursions, lunch time
training sessions and interschool sport days which consumed a lot of my free time. This combined with my heavy teaching
load, university work, part-time employment and home life made it difficult to find time to do things such as surveying staff,
observing students behaviours and organising promoting the board took up a lot of time. Just typing, printing, cutting and
posting student submissions onto the board took hours at a time. So it was important to negotiate with my mentor to a lot
time every week to dedicate to my project.

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Section A

Professional skills displayed by the preservice teacher in the completion of the project
(ACP Mentor Teacher (or nominee) to complete)
e.g., problem solving, negotiating, project management, planning, team work, time management, evaluating,
communicating, reporting, researching. Also, whether expected outcomes, as identified in ACP Plan, were
met.

Michael displayed a very organized and motivated approach to this task. He was able to create a positive environment within the
time allocated for this project. Both the teachers and staff around the school were involved in the project and the project will be
adopted by the school for future use. Michael was able to liaise with the library staff and co-ordinate a suitable location within the
library area. He portrayed this project to the students in a positive manner explaining the aims and historic background to his
reasons for it, which the students were inspired from.

Please note Additional pages may be added if space provided is insufficient.

Signatures

Date

Applied Curriculum Project Mentor Teacher:

School Partnership Coordinator:
Preservice Teacher:

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Please Tick

Victoria University may use this information to advertise and report on the work of Project Partnerships

Note
Preservice teachers must ensure that all signatories (above) receive a copy of this ACP report. Each preservice teacher in the
ACP team will submit a copy of this signed report to their Approaches to Teaching and Learning 1 lecturer in the seminar in the
week beginning 12th October, 2015.
This report is downloaded from the PP Website at http://education.vu.edu.au/partnerships/

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