EDN550: Professional Experience Reflective Essay

Walking through the grounds of the regional campus, some thousand-plus students
attending the first day of the school year, I was filled with a sense of optimism, uncertainty
and apprehension. Having come from a family of teachers, and having some previous
teaching experience at the tertiary level, I thought that I would have a sound understanding
of the complex roles of the teacher and diversity of students in the modern classroom.
However, during the first two weeks of a year-long internship at a regional high school, my
expectations have been dissolved. On reflection of my time in professional experience, I
have gained a deep appreciation of and clear insights into the school community and the
many nuanced responsibilities that teachers are tasked with. Gone are the days of the rigid
school, with a sole focus on academics and hard discipline (Reimer, 1971). The role of the
teacher has clearly evolved rapidly since my own time in high school (Groundwater-Smith et
al., 2009), and schools as educational institutions have begun to deconstruct the notion of
truth in education (Tait, 2013), becoming more flexible and adaptive learning environments.
During my first two days at the school I was fortunate enough to observe no less
than ten teachers within the science department deliver lessons from general year seven
science through to ATAR physics. It was fascinating to observe how each teacher managed
their classrooms, which contained a large number of indigenous students (approximately
30% of school population), students that had been to numerous high schools or involved in
the school of the air, and those with learning difficulties that require individual education
plans (IEP). The diversity within the classrooms was more comprehensive than I had initially
imagined, extending beyond even Clarke & Pittaways (2014) thorough descriptions. It is the
prospect of being able to help such a varied group of young people that led me to secondary
teaching in the first place, inspired by my own experiences at school where I felt
consideration of diversity was lacking. I looked on in wonderment as each teacher, through
their own unique approach, began to build a flexible and integrated classroom community
(Kosnik & Beck, 2011, pp. 47-53) for the year ahead.
Despite each teacher employing vastly divergent education styles, the needs of
individual students were clearly catered for, considering preferred learning (and
motivational) methods, emotional intelligence and capabilities (Churchill et al., 2013, pp.
114-134).

It was particularly enlightening to observe teachers working closely with

education assistants within the mainstream classroom to develop and implement the IEPs
that students from the individual learning unit require. The complex planning I observed,
and applied to my own lessons, had clear measurable learning outcomes, as suggested by
Killen (2013).
I gave my first lesson a short experiment and questioning, to a year eight science
class, which contained a cross-section of the school diversity. During the course of the
demonstration, the students were becoming engaged based on a string of questioning I had
initiated, and the classroom worked in unison to support one another. Inadvertently, I was
using all the tools of positive verbal and non-verbal communication (clearly outlined in
Groundwater-Smith et al., 2015) to maintain the attention of the students. In subsequent
lessons, I built my questioning and classroom management skills by seeking to involve the
entire classroom (Good & Brophy, 1991). I am proud to say that in my last lesson I had
students with disabilities, learning difficulties, indigenous students, former truants and
students with behaviour management issues all working together. Looking back, the key to
this classroom cohesion was to understand the value in the diversity of each student (an
important learning outcome of EDN550 itself) and help the students to see it in themselves.
The first weeks of my internship have been rewarding and challenging. I believe I
have already begun to develop my teaching craft within a school, importantly linked to the
local community, which has an arguably unrivalled diversity of both faculty and students.
Teaching, as much as I can tell from by brief experience thus far, is about relationships. The
complex curriculum structures (Ewing, 2013), professional standards, administrative
requirements and lesson plans are all dependent on knowing the students. Now as I move
around the grounds of the school, I am already beginning to be met with handshakes, highfives and goodwill from the students.

My walk carries far more optimism and less

apprehension than it did a few weeks ago. At the start of my own learning journey, I knew I
wanted to become a secondary teacher in order to be able to positively influence the lives
of students in a regional setting. My first weeks of professional experience have solidified
this aspiration.

References

Churchill, R., Ferguson, P., Godinho, S., Johnson, N.F., Keddie, A., Letts, W., Mackay, J.,
McGill, M., Moss, J., Nagel, M.C., Nicholson, P., & Vick, M. (2013). Teaching: Making a
difference. Milton, QLD: John Wiley & Sons.
Clarke, M., & Pittaway, S. (2014). Marshs Becoming a Teacher. Melbourne, Australia:
Pearson.
Ewing, R. (2013). Curriculum and Assessment: Storylines. Melbourne, Australia: Oxford
University Press.
Good, T., & Brophy, J. (1991). Strategies for motivating in the classroom, in Looking in
Classrooms (10th ed.). USA: Pearson Higher Education.
Groundwater-Smith, S., Brennan, M., McFadden, M., Mitchell, J., & Munns, G. (2009).
Secondary Schooling in a Changing World. Australia: Cengage Learning Australia.
Groundwater-Smith, S., Ewing, R., & Le Cornu, R. (2015). Teaching: Challenges and
dilemmas. Australia: Cengage Learning Australia.
Killen, R. (2013). Effective Teaching Strategies: Lessons from research and practice (6th ed.).
Australia: Cengage Learning Australia.
Kosnik, C., & Beck, C. (2011). Teaching in a Nutshell: Navigating your teacher education
program as a student teacher. New York, NY: Routledge.
Reimer, E. (1971). What Schools Do, in School is Dead. Harmondsworth: Penguin, pp. 23-33.
Tait, G. (2013). Making Sense of Mass Education. Melbourne, Australia: Cambridge
University Press.