Cassandra Varricchio-Teaching Portfolio
PHILOSOPHY STATEMENT
As a teacher, I pride myself on my communication, organisation, and calm manner. Also, my ability to tailor my planning and sequencing of content that is relevant to my students and addresses their likes and interests to help engage students in learning (Duchesne & McMaugh, 2019). I am deeply committed to providing a learning environment that welcomes every student and allows me to form strong and supportive connections with them (Vygotsky,1978). This will enhance their learning experience and promote a growth mindset. I am dedicated to inspiring young learners to achieve their full potential and succeed in their studies.
PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE
When reflecting on the teacher I would like to be I believe first and foremost you must know your students and how they learn. To achieve this, I believe classroom and relationship building activities are the best way forward. I have seen from experience how this can change the nature of behaviours and student’s attitudes towards learning and engagement. This something mentioned by Vygotsky (1978) in his social constructivist theory that emphasises the need for and importance of social interactions to develop cognitive growth. I feel that understanding students physical, social, and intellectual characteristics and development is crucial in incorporating a more holistic approach in my teaching. I am passionate about incorporating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives into to my teaching practices as well as adopting a culturally responsive teaching pedagogy. I am confident in my abilities to implement teaching strategies that are best suited to the needs of all students but particularity those students with learning difficulties/ disabilities. This I firmly believe due to the placement I undertook in my previous psychology degree where I worked with non-verbal students at a special school. Also, my previous psychology degree gave me great insight in children with special needs and taught me strategies and approaches in working with this demographic of children particularly. Regarding organisation and planning to the curriculum I believe my strengths are within the organisation of content and how to teach this in a manner that promotes a growth mindset (Dweck, 2012).
PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
I strive to develop resilient lifelong learners who can successfully engage in society and the skills required within it. I understand that my pedagogy will need to incorporate a holistic approach to ensure a range of teaching strategies are used that are representative of my cohort of students. I utilise components of Bruner et al.'s (1976) theory of active learning and the role of interaction between learners and their environment to cater to my students. Hands-on interactions and visual representations are used to assist successful learning. Through the use of Duchesne and McMaugh (2019), I encourage opportunities to enhance students' learning by putting them at the centre of their learning, encouraging motivation, allowing them to negotiate course material, integrating their interests, and providing individuals with choices where possible. Students can take control of their learning experience and improve their self-efficacy and self-regulation using this student-centred approach to learning. To ensure that education is accessible to all my students, I use teaching practices from Carol Tomlinson's (2014) work, such as differentiated readiness exercises and flexible grouping. This is done so that students can demonstrate their comprehension, knowledge, and abilities in a variety of settings. When providing feedback to students, I employ a variety of strategies, including visual and verbal feedback, as well as growth-oriented feedback, which Brock and Hundley (2018) define as being focused on the process of completion rather than just on the student's personal attributes. To aid with the giving of constructive feedback to students, I use the feedback sandwich stated by Molloy & Boud (2014) comprising of positive, constructive, and positive feedback.
PROFESSIONAL ENGAGEMENT
As a life-long learner I see the importance in seeking feedback on my practices from members of the school community to be able to effectively adapt my teaching practices when needed to achieve optimal learning for my students. I understand the importance in continually developing my teaching pedagogy, this I will achieve through continually attending professional development, staff meetings and conversation with colleagues to help broaden my teaching pedagogies and strategies. I am passionate about building relationships with parent/ caregivers to help create dialogues of student learning, achievements, and techniques. I will always remember the positive impacts my teacher had on me throughout my primary education, and I hope to have the same impact on my future students.
References
Brock, A., & Hundley, H. (2018). In other words: Phrases for growth mindset: A teacher's guide to empowering students through effective praise and feedback. Simon & Schuster.’
Duchesne, S. & McMaugh. (2019). Educational Psychology For Learning and Teaching (6th ed.). South Melbourne, Victoria: Cengage Learning Australia.
Dweck, C. (2012). Mindset: How You Can Fulfil Your Potential. Edinburgh: Constable & Robinson.
Molloy, E. K., & Boud, D. (2014). Feedback models for learning, teaching and performance. Handbook of research on educational communications and technology, 413-424.
Tomlinson, C. (2014). ‘The underpinnings of differentiation’, In: The Differentiated Classrooms: Responding to the Needs of all Learners, Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development, pp. 14-28.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological press. Harvard University Press.
Teaching Portfolio - Cassandra Varricchio