Standard 2: Know the content and how to teach it

How does the evidence meet relevant focus areas?

Lesson four of Year 4 Civics and Citizenship addressed Aboriginal culture and law. This lesson used AITSL standard 2, “Know the content and how to teach it”, and focus area 2.2, “Content selection and organisation” (AITSL, 2017, para.2). The lesson utilised scaffolding as set out in Vygotsky’s zone of proximal development (ZPD) (Duchesne & McMaugh, 2019, p.126) to ensure tasks became increasingly more challenging for students. For example, the lesson began with a whole class discussion and ended with a take-home, individual task where students could complete the task using different means of representation. This is important as organising a task to provide multiple means of representation addresses the needs of diverse learners, promotes autonomy, and motivates students, as they choose how they would like to represent their knowledge (Duchesne & McMaugh, 2019, p.455).

How do you plan to improve in these areas?

A focus area that I aim to develop proficiency in is 2.3. Different “curriculum, assessment and reporting” (AITSL, 2017, para.2). I can develop appropriate pedagogy that addresses the needs of diverse learners through practical experience, communicating with peers and mentors, and by attending professional development workshops provided by the Department of Education and other organisations. Finally, researching alternative methods of assessment (Duchesne & McMaugh, 2019, p.579) and reporting, such as performance assessment, and incorporating these into lessons is important, as research suggests it is the most professional approach to draw on a range of assessment tools to increase an educator’s knowledge of student achievement (Duchesne & McMaugh, 2019, p.580).

Evidence: Lesson Plan Four

References

Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership. (2017). Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.

https://www.aitsl.edu.au/teach/standards

Duchesne, S. & McMaugh, A. (2019). Educational Psychology for Learning and Teaching (6th ed.).

CENGAGE Learning Australia.