PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

INTERIM MENTOR REVIEW

Pre-Service Teacher

Stephanie Adam

Mentor Teacher

Christina Tertipis

University Liaison

Max Rayner

School

Richmond Primary School

Date

31 July 2015

Student ID:
2107159

Year level
5/6

Please select the appropriate statement below:

. .

At this stage, I am satisfied with the progress of this Pre-service Teacher.

At this stage, I have some concerns about the progress of this Pre-service Teacher.

I consider this Pre-service Teacher may be at risk of not being able to meet the
Developing level of the Pre-service APSTs

Professional Knowledge (Strengths):

With guidance Steph has become more organised and developed a greater understanding of student complexities (socially,
academically, physically and emotionally) that are found in a classroom. Steph is able to display lesson plans which have
incorporated aspects of ACARA. She is steadily organising lessons for particular teaching areas and is able to build upon
understandings of what knowledge is required before introducing topics to the students.
(Needs Improvement)
With experience and ongoing practice I would like to see Steph use more ICT across the learning curriculums. Perhaps
investigate and research, interactive activities or websites to be used in the classroom or on the Smartboard, iPads and
Notebooks which the students have access. With time I would also like Steph to provide students with assessment tasks that
focus on learning achievement and future programming. There are many resources both online, school library or through
discussions with myself and other teachers to assist her in this area.
Professional Practice (Strengths):
In the classroom Steph continues to be positive to all the students and provides encouragement where required. She has
prepared a unit in Geography which involves students creating an Indian Restaurant. Students have responded quite positively
and are motivated during this time. With experience and practise Steph will be able to scaffold activities with more explicit
teaching and modelling strategies. Steph is able to take further control of behaviour issues that occur when she is teaching.
(Needs Improvement)Steph needs to ensure that lessons are completed, followed up or revised and work samples are collected throughout activities.
Steph is encouraged to keep instructions simple and use children or work samples to role model successful learning outcomes.
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________
Professional Engagement (Strengths):
Steph displays enthusiasm and a willingness to take on suggested roles and responsibilities in the classroom. She listens to
positive constructive feedback when provided. Steph over time has developed a rapport with students in our classroom and is
establishing her teacher role presence more successfully.
(Needs Improvement) I would encourage Steph to discuss her teaching with me a little further. Also for her to ask questions and collect relevant
resources or ideas to be used in future teaching placements. As Steph continues her journey in teaching, seeking training and
development opportunities would be a wonderful to support her skills and understandings.

Mentor Teacher: Chris Tertipis

Date: 31 st July 2015

I have read this interim review.

Pre-service Teacher: Stephanie Adam

Date: 03/08/2015

Please forward Interim Reviews to the university liaison by Friday 7th August 2015.

PROFESSIONAL
EXPERIENCE
INTERIM REVIEW
Pre-Service
Teacher
Mentor Teacher
University Liaison
School
Date

Stephanie Adam

Student ID:

2107159

Christina Tertipis
Max Rayner
Richmond Primary School

Year level

5/6

02 August 2015

Provide written reflections about your areas of strength and areas needing improvement:
Use the headings: Professional Knowledge, Professional Practice and Professional Engagement.
Professional Knowledge:
Areas of strength: When I first started teaching in this placement I was concerned that I was not using teaching
strategies that meets the needs of students with diverse cultural, religious and socio-economic backgrounds
(Focus 1.3). With my mentor teachers help, I feel I have already improved in this area as I am now incorporating
strategies that suit the needs of all students (however, there is room for improvement when it comes to planning
for this see Areas needing improvement).
Recently, I have become more confident each day in the way I am applying and adapting teaching strategies
appropriate to the curriculum content (Focus 2.1). I have been using the students reactions to the lessons I set,
as well as the feedback from my mentor teacher, as an indication that I am strong in this development area.
During the introductory week, I nominated to take the Asia Curriculum next term in which I have set up a class
project. I spent two weeks in creating folders for the students that contained all things necessary to complete the
class project. For every lesson until my teaching placement ends, the students must work on these folders. This
project/unit is some evidence that I am capable of organising a series of lessons for the content of a particular
teaching area (Focus 2.2).
If there is one area I feel I am strong in, is the ability to look for opportunities to employ ICTs to enhance the
students learning (Focus 2.6). My Asia unit incorporates the use of their Notebooks (laptops) in almost every
lesson. Not only that, but my mentor teacher has students do a weekly contract for their spelling and a nightly
Maths activity that requires the use of computers. With this, I have been able to witness how the employment of
ICT really enhances student learning. However, I would like to explore more ICT resources to incorporate into my
teaching. With the use of ICT in learning and teaching, I am also aware and recognise the need to practice sit in
a safe, responsible and ethical manner (Focus 4.5).
Areas needing improvement: The students in this Year 5/6 are all at different levels of development- a few are
more advanced, a majority are at similar points and some are little behind. While I recognise that some students
physical, social and intellectual development and characteristics affect their learning (Focus 1.1), I believe I can
improve on applying this when planning to facilitate for some of the students needs. I believe I will be able to do
this by giving students high expectations that are appropriate to their level of development.
An area that I believe needs strong improvement is my ability to plan assessment as an integral component of
the teaching and learning process tend to gather data for reporting purposes (Focus 2.3). I am lacking confidence
in this area as I still am confused about the reporting and assessment process. I am currently at a standstill with
my Asia project/unit as to what I will use to assess the students.
Everyday, our class does a Maths lesson. For the first week and a bit of my placement, the Maths lessons were
just going through the textbook. My mentor teacher and myself came to the realisation that the unit
(Area/Perimeter) we were doing was something they students understood but could not apply. On Friday (31 July
2015) I took my first Maths activity. And while it was successful with the students, I know I can be applying more
teaching strategies across all my teaching areas to enhance the students literacy and numeracy development
(Focus 2.5).

Professional Practice:
Areas of strength: During week 2 of term (and placement) I have been setting learning goals for each student in
the class for the Asia unit/project (Focus 3.1). Some students received challenging learning goals, which were
done purposely to enhance and motivate learning, while others were goals given to prevent boredom and
encourage are co-operative team environment. My mentor teacher was very pleased with my ability to set these
goals as it also improves my own organisation and allows me to see where the students are up to.
Planning effective lesson sequences that will scaffold student learning is an area I feel confident in, based on my
introductory lesson to our Asia unit (Focus 3.2). I started off our class project (about India) with a worksheet about
the Indian flag. Students were required to do some research on the Indian flag and then draw it using the
templates provided. This lesson was then followed by the introduction of our class project (to create an Indian
restaurant). Students were able to incorporate the research they found from my flag activity and apply it within
the groups when contributing to the project.
Using evaluation strategies that consider personal teaching performance and student learning achievements is
an area I have tried to focus on during this placement. I continually ask the students whether my instructions are
clear, as well as asking them if they enjoyed the activity. The students have been replying honestly, and if they
haven't liked something, I ask them why. My observation if their teaching and my mentor teachers feedback have
been great indicators of my teaching effectiveness. While I can improve in my teaching effectiveness, my
evaluation strategies are considered an area of strength.
As a part of the Asia curriculum, I decided to create an Indian restaurant with the class. At the end of our
introductory days and before school holidays, I shared with the class the project. This created great excitement
and the students have been eager to do Geography every day since I have been at placement. This reaction
proves that I am able to identify and plan for inclusive learning events that engage and motivate student learning
(Focus 4.1).
In regards to demonstrating the capacity to independently organise classroom activities and developing the skill
of giving clear directions (Focus 4.2), I am in the middle. The first couple of weeks of my placement, I seemed to
struggle a lot with this. I was doing too much in my lessons and I was not managing behaviour properly which
lead to unfocused students. However, I believe I have really improved in this area enormously. I try to organise
most classroom activities and my mentor teacher is giving me positive feedback about my instructions.
While there are areas I need to improve in, in the Standard 5 of the Professional Standards for Teachers, there
are some strong points. I believe I am increasing in my ability to provide constructive and timely feedback (Focus
5.2). In the Asia unit, I have meetings with every group each lesson to see where they are up to and assess their
research. This allows me to give the students timely feedback that will contribute to their development within this
topic. I always try to give out constructive feedback as I observe students with their work.
Areas needing improvement: While I am aware of the wide range of teaching strategies, I believe I can improve
on trying some new teaching strategies that are different to the limited ones I am currently using (Focus 3.3). My
mentor teacher has encouraged me many times to try new things so I can see what works and what doesn't, but I
am still finding the confidence to do so. Hence this area requires more improvement.
I have discovered a growing range of communication styles and techniques in the classroom as I observe my
mentor teacher with her students. While I can observe it and recognise it, I am still finding ways to apply it (Focus
3.5). Communication is a huge factor when doing behaviour management and I recognise that I need to improve
on this. Not only during behaviour management do I need it improve, but also during lesson time. I believe I can
improve my techniques when talking to them and instructing them. I am clear in my instruction but the way in
which I communicate with them can sometimes encourage students not to take my lesson seriously.
Something that I have been working hard on this placement is my behaviour management. While I am improving,
there is much more I need to do in order to prevent challenging behaviour amongst students (Focus 4.3). I still
need to learn about ethical and pedagogical strategies in order for me to apply a range of strategies when
managing challenging behaviour. I have been getting great support from my mentor teaching with my behaviour
management, but as I study behaviour management during contact hours at university, I am sure I will learn
much more about this and will be confident in applying it during my last placement.
I recognise that there is plenty of room to learn and improve in some areas of the Standard 5 area of Professional
Standards for Teachers. I would like to use more summative assessment strategies in my units. I would like to
further my knowledge on all Focus Areas within this Standard.

Professional Engagement:
Areas of strength: I am confident in the Australian Professional Standards for teachers as a way of identifying
professional learning needs (Focus 6.1). The standards have helped me tremendously in identifying my areas of
improvement and areas of strength. While my areas of strength always have room for improvement, I believe
they are not my weak points. However, I would like to explore further into the multiple sources to improve my
practice and meet my professional learning needs (Focus 6.2).
With the help of my mentor teacher, I am able to identify major areas of practice where improvement is needed
(Focus 6.3). A couple of these areas included my behaviour management and the structure of some of my
lessons. I always seek feedback from my mentor teacher and always taking her constructive feedback on board
which is why I believe this is an area of strength.
Areas needing improvement: I believe I have plenty more to learn in regards to understanding the ethical
expectations of the teaching profession when making decisions. While the decisions I make within the classroom
are ethical, I would like to improve my knowledge on this particular focus area (Focus 7.1).

Pre-service Teacher: Stephanie Adam.................................................Date: 02/08/15

I have read this interim self-review.
Mentor Teacher: Christina Tertipis.........................................................

Date: 3rd August 2015

Please forward Interim Reviews to the university liaison by Monday 3rd August 2015.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
INTERIM REVIEW: Learning Plan
Pre-Service Teacher
Mentor Teacher
University Liaison
School
Date

Student ID:
2107159

Stephanie Adam
Christina Tertipis
Max Rayner

Year level

Richmond Primary School

5/6

04.08.15

Please provide a list of your learning goals for the remaining weeks of this professional experience together with
a brief explanation of how you plan to achieve them (hand written or typed):
For the remainder of my practical I aim to achieve some things that will help me establish my teaching style.
I want to:
Incorporate more ICT in my lessons:
At the moment, the only ICT the students are using are the Notebooks for research. My mentor teacher has suggested that I
alter some lessons so they become interactive. I intend on doing this for an Exit Pass lesson on my major unit I have been
working on. I would like to spend a lesson on answering the questions: What we have learnt about India? or Did you know
that in India. I am yet to decide whether that will be in the form of a video, a podcast or a large banner.
I would also like to make my Maths lessons more interactive because I am learning that the students tend to remember the
processes I teach them when they use the SmartBoard.
Learn more about assessment and incorporate it into my lessons:
My mentor teacher has put into my Interim Report that I need to provide assessment tasks that focus on learning achievement
in my teaching. At the moment, I am still unsure about the assessment process. So firstly, I am going to consult my mentor
teacher about how to go about assessing students and where it might fit in my lessons. Then I will think of a way to incorporate
it. If it suits, I may use the interactive Exit Pass as an assessment piece too. I want to use an assessment piece on my
Geography unit, whether it is formative or summative , however, first I would like to explore the most appropriate option for this
unit.
Ensure my lessons are completed, followed up and revised:
As stated by my mentor teacher, I need to work on making sure my lessons are completed, followed up and revised. At the end
of the third week of placement, I intend to follow up on my Indian Flag lesson. I want to use an Exit Pass activity to see what
they have learnt about the Indian Flag. I would also like to cover the Indian Flag displays in the classroom and do a fun test
and see which student can draw and label the Indian Flag in the shortest amount of time.
At the very end of my Geography unit, I would like to do a revision activity. This revision activity might be the interactive lesson
as described above but I will also use it as a revision activity.
Try out more teaching strategies:
I have realised that using a variety of teaching strategies comes with experience, but I would like to loosen up in the classroom
and try out more teaching strategies. I plan on trying this throughout my Maths lessons. I discussed with my mentor teacher
that I felt I was using more closed questions and not allowing for open questions and open discovery. I would like to use open
ended questions for my Maths lesson. I will discuss with my mentor teacher how I can possibly do.

Pre-service Teacher: Stephanie Adam.................................................Date: 05/08/15

I have discussed and approve these learning plans:
Mentor Teacher: Chris Tertipis.................................

Date: 6th August 2015

I have discussed and approve these learning plans:

University Liaison: ..........................................

Date: