AITSL Standard 1

Standard 1.1

Physical, social and intellectual development

Every student has different physical, social and intellectual development needs, and part of being an
effective teacher is recognising these and differentiating learning to suit these individual needs.
Whether it involve the physical needs of students, such as a student who is visually impaired may be
better suited to sitting closer to the front of the class, or social needs, such as a student may work
better in a group, these need to be recognised and incorporated into the classroom.
The use of ICT tools in the classroom can greatly assist in incorporating the different learning needs
of students, whether these be physical, social or intellectual. Through ICT platforms such as Edmodo,
Facebook, Wikipedia and so on, students can enhance their research skills, and be made aware of all
different forms and modes of researching using the internet. As student's become more adept in
using ICT in their everyday lives, this therefore makes the use of ICT critical in their learning. Through
the use of laptops or tablets, teachers can easily transfer materials to students, making information
much more accessible.
Once I had an understanding of the individual needs of the students in my class, I would aim to
scaffold the learning based on these needs. For example, if I found a majority of the class would
benefit from visual learning, then using platforms such as 'Shmoop' may greatly aid in introducing
topics to a class. Or, if I found I had students that learned better in groups, I could aim to incorporate
more group work into the classroom activities. The use of ICT to research, or discuss ideas on
discussion boards set up on Edmodo, could achieve many individual learning needs of different
students, depending on how they learn.
Standard 1.2 Understand how students learn
Students learn in differing ways. Understanding the different ways that student's learn is critical to
understanding how students are most effectively learning. This has a profound effect upon teaching,
as it is the teacher's role to determine what is the most effective mode of teaching for students.
Student engagement and learning can be achieved through the use of ICT tools. A program such as
'Gapminder' engages students that are visual learners, and also is a new and interesting way to
teach student's graphs and mapping of data, something that may usually be considered a boring
process. In this way, ICT is very useful to engage students that are kinesthetic learners, or just appeal
to student's that may not normally be engaged through teaching out of a text book. Seeing
information in a new and different way can enhance a student's ability to retain information.
Students are increasingly using ICT as a mode of aiding their learning. Teachers therefore must have
a good understanding of how students are using ICT to assist in their learning, and adapt their
teaching style to include this. For example, a student that is struggling to learn from handouts
because of visual impairment, may be sent an electronic copy that they can change the font of on
their screen. Understanding how students learn is therefore vital to providing them with materials
that they find easy to navigate or that aids in their participation in learning.
Standard 1.3 Students with diverse backgrounds
It is critical that teachers have an understanding of students with diverse linguistic, cultural, religious
and socioeconomic backgrounds. It is from this understanding that teachers are able to scaffold
learning to accommodate students that may have specific learning needs due to their diverse
backgrounds.
ALANA THOMPSON

Through ICT tools such as Gapminder or even Shmoop, teachers can engage students visually
through learning, and this may assist student's that are not as strong linguistically, but may benefit
from visual learning. Student's that may not be confident with their writing can engage in learning
through ICT tools that take more of a visual route. Even through the use of programs such as Prezi,
students that are more confident in their speaking skills can create PowerPoint presentations for the
class and present orally. Through the use of Facebook and Edmodo, teachers can use these tools to
gage on discussion boards the writing skills of each student, and this may alert them to students who
need help with their writing or understanding of topics. The use of the internet to research about
religions and cultural backgrounds may also alert the class to individual differences in learning and
social behaviour, and make each other aware of the different cultural and religious backgrounds that
they all have.
By a clear understanding of each individual student's cultural, religious and socioeconomic
background, the teacher is able to cater for students who may be absent due to these backgrounds,
and ensure that they are still participating in learning. For example, if a student is away frequently
due to cultural or religious reasons, a teacher may keep in contact with them via email or through
the use of discussion boards on Edmodo or Facebook. If a student has religious or cultural reasons
for not being able to attend or feel comfortable in participating in certain learning, it is vital that the
teacher is alive to this, and can therefore work out ways of learning that the student can still
participate.
Standard 1.4 Strategies for teaching Aboriginal students
It is crucial that teachers have an understanding that student's in their class of Aboriginal or Torres
Strait Islander descent will have different learning needs, based on their cultural background.
Therefore, teachers must understand the impact of culture, cultural identity and linguistic
background on the education of these students.
Through an understanding of cultural background and its effect upon the learning of students,
teachers should endeavour to use ICT tools such as Prezi that will allow students to use storytelling
as a part of their work, through visual presentations and learning. Teachers must also be aware that
through the presentation of materials to students, not to show videos or images of any deceased
Aboriginal people. Learning should be focused towards a connection to the land, and visual where
possible.
It is also vital that teachers have an understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
backgrounds of their students, to allow for any absences due to cultural reasons. For example, when
students have 'sorry time' to grieve for lost family, it is important that teachers understand this time
and attempt to keep in contact with the student. This may be done by setting up an Edmodo
discussion board that all students are to contribute to, to help keep absent student's involved in the
classroom. Or it could just mean that teachers keep in contact with the student via email or a simple
phone call.
Standard 1.5 Differentiate teaching to meet different learning needs
The ability of a teacher to differentiate learning due to the different needs of each individual in his or
her class is vital to effective teaching. A teacher must demonstrate knowledge and understanding of
different strategies in the classroom to ensure that teaching is differentiated to meet the learning
needs of the individual student. Not all students learn the same, as there are varying social, cultural
and individual factors that determine how a student learns best. Therefore, teaching must be
scaffolded to include all of these needs.
ALANA THOMPSON

When a teacher has a class of up to 30 students, it can be quite difficult not only to identify all of the
differing learning needs of the students, but how to address these needs across the board. Through
the use of ICT tools in the classroom, teachers are able to ensure that there is a constant monitoring
process of how each student is learning. For example, through the use of Edmodo discussion boards,
or by marking student work through track changes, teachers are able to quickly and effectively
monitor student work and process, and provide prompt feedback to the students. Through a range
of different ICT tools as learning platforms, such as using Gapminder to attract visual learners, or
Prezi to incorporate students that like to present rather than write their responses, teachers are able
to differentiate learning.
Through a knowledge and understanding of individual learning needs, teachers are able to
effectively ensure that students are getting the best out of their learning. Through a monitoring
system such as Edmodo discussion boards for example, the teacher is able to detect students that
may be struggling with written work, and therefore seek ways to differentiate the work so that all
students are achieving high standards of learning. It is not possible to teach only out of a text book,
and hope that all students are engaged. With so many different learning needs, such as visual, oral
and written, it is the role of the teacher to find out just how students become engaged, and keep
them engaged in learning by ensuring their teaching methods reaches out to all types of student
learners.
Standard 1.6 Strategies to support students with disabilities
Building upon the importance of differentiating learning for students, teachers must ensure that
their learning techniques allow for students with a disability, ranging from visual impairment to
dyslexia, to participate effectively in learning.
The use of ICT tools in the classroom has greatly improved the ability of the teacher to ensure that
students with a disability are not excluded from learning. It could be as simple as providing work on
a PowerPoint presentation or even just a word document, so that a student with a visual impairment
can change the font to a larger size. Students that have dyslexia may benefit from being able to
make their responses to learning in the form of a 'Prezi' presentation, rather than writing an essay.
The understanding of students and their disabilities is crucial for a teacher to be able to create a
learning environment that includes all types of learners. Teachers cannot assume that students all
learn the same way. Again, through the use of ICT tools students that learn better visually will
greatly benefit from visual presentations. Students that may have a visual disability may be seated
closer to the front of the class to be able to view the board better, or again be provided with
documents electronically. Students should be given the option to present work as a podcast, for
those who are struggling with their writing. Teachers should give students that may be struggling
with a disability such as Aspergers to work with different materials or give them different modes of
presenting their work, suited to their learning needs.

ALANA THOMPSON