EDFX 267 Community Engagement

Assessment Task 3: Reflecting on the Experience

Name of Pre-Service Teacher:
S00153261

Jordyn Gray

Student ID:

Community Engagement Placement(s): St. Marks Primary School Dingley

Due Date: 22/12/2014
Submission: To be submitted via the LEO Assignment link. Please make sure that this is typed
not handwritten.
This task requires you to reflect on your Community Engagement Placement (CEP) and its impact on:
1. Your understanding of engaging with community
2. Your development as a teacher.
In completing your Reflecting on the Experience you should draw on your approved proposal for
Community Engagement Placement both Parts A and B together with your discussion postings
1. Your understanding of engaging with community
Complete the chart below by rating each statement taken from the unit outlines description and learning
outcomes. The rating is from 1 5 with 1 representing strong agreement and 5 representing strong
disagreement. You must add an explanatory comment (this is not optional). You may wish to give an
example here too.
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To what
1
extent has
your
placement (s)

assisted you to
understand
and value
diversity in its
many forms
therefore
enabling you to
cater for
diversity more
effectively

enhanced the
development
of your
understanding

Explanatory comment

After working in different classrooms with several children ranging in

ages and severity of disabilities it became evident to me that valuing
each childs diverse needs and abilities is the prime responsibility as an
educator. For the first few weeks of community engagement I was
moved around from classroom to classroom, spending time and assisting
different children each week. This made it almost impossible to form a
relationship with the children that allowed them to feel comfortable with
me being there. I struggled in the beginning when dealing with one
particular child who suffered from autism. As I was a new and unknown
person in their world, I was completely shut out until he eventually felt
comfortable with my presence and allowed me to provide him with the
necessary assistance to enhance his learning throughout the day. I was
permanently placed in the classroom with this boy for the remainder of
my community engagement experience which allowed me to form not
only a relationship with him, but also the other children and teachers
within the classroom. This further exposed me to a more extensive form
of diversity, which was not just limited to the child with a disability but
other children within the classroom.
Being in a school surrounded by hundreds of children it is evident that
contextual factors impact heavily on the ways in which some families
and children lead their lives. The school I was completing my community
engagement at was positioned in an area known for its high overseas
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of the
contextual
factors that
impact on the
way in which
people live
their lives

enhanced your
critical
examination,
promoted
reflective
practices and
challenged
established
beliefs

migration rates, resulting in a diverse range economic status, religions

being practiced and cultural differences. One contextual factor I found
prominent amongst the children within the school community was
religion. I found it interesting that as a Catholic school there were many
children who were not catholic or practiced other religions at home but
were taught about the catholic faith within the classroom.
In relation to the children I was predominately working with it also
became evident that economical factors impacted on the way some
families and their children lived their lives. Many children without a
diagnosed disability required extensive amounts of assistance during
classroom activities. During my time spent with these children it became
evident that an aide to assist these children in the classroom would be
beneficial to their learning and development but unfortunately
economical factors make this almost impossible.
*

As I had never worked with children who have varying disabilities before
I was unsure of what to expect. I had always thought working with
anyone with any form of disability would bring along great challenges.
During my induction with my supervisor, I was briefed on the different
children and name and severity of their disabilities. There were some
conditions I had never heard of which lead me to conduct further
research in my own time at home, knowledge I found to be beneficial
when working with the children for the first time.
Since completing my community engagement my views about disability
have changed, although working and assisting them is challenging at
times, challenges are what drives you to succeed and provide the best
outcome for the child. I found I was able to locate successful methods of
teaching and provide assistance that each individual responded to
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through observing their learning.

encouraged
open and
flexible
thinking, and
responsiveness
to change

enabled you to
listen to the
voices of
marginalised
people and,
through
reflection,
allow such
experiences to
impact on your
personal and
professional
lives as
engaged
citizens

After working extensively in the classroom with a young boy who

suffered from mild autism it became very evident to me the importance
of being open and flexible as well as being responsive to changes within
his learning environment. This boy did not talk or respond to instructions
majority of the time but when he wanted to he was very intelligent and
able to complete the required tasks with great success. This young boy
completed the tasks successfully but usually in his own way and in his
own time. I at first found this quite frustrating, but later realised it was
important to encourage him and be open to flexible ways of thinking and
change as I reminded myself that each child learns differently and at a
different pace.
*

As I was working with children, I didnt feel I was able to listen to their
voices due to their levels of maturity and lack of knowledge about their
own disability as such. I found it enlightening to listen to their teachers
talk about them in such positive ways where emphasis was placed on all
their abilities rather than the struggles or difficulties they may come
across. I found it inspiring to see the engaging relationships the teachers
form not only with these children but all the children within their
classroom. As an engaged citizen, my experiences with these
marginalized children made me aware that there are so many people
within the community willing to help these children achieve their
personal best.

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provided
opportunities
for you to
contribute to
the life of the
community
through the
sharing of
personal
expertise and
time

My community engagement placement allowed me to contribute my

time and personal expertise within the classroom to a great extent. I was
not only able to assist the children in their learning but I was also able to
assist the teacher in completing running records and one on one
learning activities with the children I was predominately working with.
My knowledge and expertise from university and previous placement
experiences allowed me to positively contribute to the school community
and assist the children and teachers on many levels.

2. Your development as a teacher

In the following chart identify two changes in your views about learning or your intentions for teaching
because of your participation in your Community Engagement Placement(s).
My views
about
(identify the
issue or
aspect of
teaching and
learning)
1.

Before my
involvement in
this Community
Engagement
Placement I
thought
Teaching children
with a disability
would be
something I could

After my
involvement I
think

Give evidence
and indicate from
which source
(e.g. wiki posting,
reflective journal
entry)

Significance of
outcome/achievement
for you

With the correct

knowledge,
training and
assistance,

My views in
relation to
teaching children
with a disability

My views in relation to
the teaching of
children with varying
forms and severities of
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never do as it
involved so much
extra work.

educating
children who
suffer from a
disability is
something I now
no longer view as
being an
impossible task
for myself. I now
aspire to be like
the classroom
teachers I was
working with as
they were so
supportive of
each of the
children and
treated each
child equally
regardless of
their disability.

changed as soon
as I began to
form relationships
with the
individual
children. It was so
beautiful to see a
smile appear
across their face
as I entered the
classroom every
Wednesday
morning. The
endless support
and assistance
from the teachers
in how to assist
each childs
learning also
made me feel a
lot more
comfortable when
working with the
children. I was
able to realise
that when
educating
children with a

disability has changed

significantly for the
better. I had never
been exposed to a
classroom where
children with
additional needs were
apart of and since
becoming educated
and included within
one of these learning
environments, I am
now very open and
look forward to the
challenge of teaching
children with
additional needs in the
future.

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disability, you are

not alone and
there is endless
amounts of
support and
assistance
available which
will only improve
over the years.
2.

I did not have the

patience or mind
set to engage
with challenging
children who
required extra
assistance and
tasks. I felt these
children were
often better off in
a special school
rather than a
mainstream
school.

I am a person
who would avoid
engaging in a
task if it seemed
too challenging
but after my
involvement with
these children in
the classroom at
St. Marks I have
learnt that they
are very capable
of working at the
standards of their
peers and that
there is always a
way to achieve
something. Even
if there is only a

My views about
children with a
disability
attending main
stream schools
changed when I
began working
with a young girl
with a hearing
impairment. The
classroom
teacher made me
aware of the
sound enhancing
technology that
had been
incorporated
within the
classroom to

I found it really
rewarding to see the
children with
additional needs
learning and engaging
in tasks with my
assistance. Although
there were challenging
days where the
children struggled to
remain focused,
seeing them learning
regardless of their
situation makes it all
worth it.

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small
improvement in
the childs
learning, it is still
seen as being a
successful
outcome that
would not have
been achieved
without my
assistance.

assist this girls

impairment. The
teacher wore a
microphone
around her neck
at all times which
then wirelessly
magnified the
sound of the
teachers voice
into the hearing
aid of the child
just like listening
to music through
a pair of
headphones. It
made me realise
that as long as
the school is
willing to
accommodate for
the individual
childs needs,
anything can be
achieved and is
possible.

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Summing up the experience:

Looking back on your Community Engagement Placement experience, how would you describe
your experience overall? What were the highlights and challenges? What advice would you
offer others undertaking Community Engagement Placement(s) in the future?
As a pre-service teacher I am always looking to gain as much experience in my future profession as possible.
I saw the Community Engagement Placement as an opportunity to gain not only further experience in the
field of teaching but also expose myself to working with children who have been diagnosed with a diverse
spectrum of disorders limiting their learning within mainstream classrooms. The workshop and assessment
tasks assisted me in identifying the meaning of community engagement and the fact that it was not just a
form of community service. It involved interacting and forming connections and relationships with others in
ways, which benefitted not only the school I was placed at, but also myself. As I was working with children
who suffered from various disabilities, it was important to have a sense of social justice to ensure equality
and fairness was visible within the classroom and ensure diversity was valued.
I felt the experiences and knowledge I have learnt over the previous two years throughout my Bachelor of
education course at ACU really helped when it came to working collaboratively with classroom teachers and
encouraging the struggling children to achieve learning goals and outcomes. I was able to form relationships
not only with the children I was working with but also the school community and have been asked back
multiple times to assist with events and excursions within the school.
I found it challenging to form relationships with some of the older children as I was only in the classroom for
a few hours each week, it made it difficult to form the connections with them that I was able to form with the
younger children. The highlights were definitely seeing the joy on the childrens faces when they were able
to complete a task without my assistance but immediately came to find me to show and tell me all about
their efforts.
My advice for others undertaking Community Engagement Placements would definitely be to start
researching and contacting places early. I struggled to find a placement that was flexible enough to
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accommodate around my work, university and personal timetable within my local area. I also highly
recommend being placed in a school as it exposes you to such a diverse range of children with or without
additional needs. My time spent at the school was always acknowledged and the staff and children were
beyond grateful, which makes the experience even more rewarding.
Looking back on my approved proposal, before embarking on my Community Engagement Placement my
aim was to form relationships with the staff I was to be assisting as they taught me new ways to approach
situations and ways to overcome difficulties that would possibly arise with individual children. My hopes prior
to my experience at St. Marks Primary School was to depart with knowledge and positive outlooks in relation
to diversity and disability within the learning environment that can often be portrayed negatively. I feel
working with the teachers and several additional needs children at St. Marks Primary School allowed me to
achieve all of that and more and I have left with new ideas, views and outlooks on the inclusion of children
with diverse needs in mainstream classrooms.

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