Strategies for dealing with ADHD
The last few years have seen an explosion in the number of people being diagnosed with ADHD, are our schools coping?
Do you have students with ADHD in your class? What sort of strategies do you have for dealing with this, to help the students manage this condition and achieve the desired learning outcomes?
I can only speak for the ITE programme I did, but I found that there was a big focus on how to research into issues and work out solutions for yourself -- very much a "give them a fish, feed them for a day; teach them to fish, teach them for a lifetime" philosophy. After all, teaching is a complex environment that requires creative problem-solving, and what works in one context may not work well in another. So really, an ITE programme is going to be about giving new teachers a good theoretical foundation on which to build, and it is on-the-job where they will hone their teaching practice. Do our ITE programmes need to be overhauled? I think the one I personally attended was very good, but it seems others may have had a less positive experience.
That's interesting -- you're saying the state regulator runs exams to get your licence? I wonder what sort of things these exams assess?
In Australia, for a teaching degree to be recognised by the regulator, the university needs to get their programme accredited by the regulator, where they demonstrate that their programme meets certain professional teaching standards. One condition is that teaching candidates need to sit and pass a national numeracy and literacy online test run by an independent third party. This seems a bit strange, as there is no way that someone should be be able to even qualify for a degree at a Masters level without having basic literacy and numeracy skills.
Glad to hear you are enjoying it. There is more to teaching than most people realise, so there is indeed a lot to learn.
So in US, you can get a teaching qualification in one year (assuming you have an undergrad degree already)? In Australia you need to complete a two year Master's degree to get a licence (although you can get a conditional licence in your second year that allows you to do casual work, which is a great way to pick up more hands-on experience).
So, how are you enjoying teaching so far? Is it like you thought it would be?
Of course, the universities are pushing back, claiming that the proposed changes are coming out of a "manufactured crisis", and ignore the broader issues in the industry such as what you describe above.
Experts say ITE reforms miss the mark
Another big factor could be the casualisation/contractualisation of the workforce, where teacher are finding it hard to get permanent positions that provide job security, stability, allow the taking out of mortages, etc..
The NSW DoE has a report on their website that looks into some of the literature surrounding "Innovative Learning Spaces":
They talk about the importance of having flexibility in the learning space, eg. with movable walls/dividers, and make a distinction between flexible versus open spaces. Further, they do pick up on the point about students such as those with ASD that struggle in noisy environments (as you say, it can be bad enough in a traditional classroom with 30 students, let alone a shared space with 60-120 students).
They also mention how the space should be used to support different types of pedagogical practices. Many of the examples given tend towards groupwork, student-based, nvestigative and project-based learning, with less emphasis on direct instruction. This is interesting, because another article I posted in this group recently talks about proposed changes to teaching degrees, where univertisites are being directed to place a greater focus on explicit teaching and direct instruction in a teacher-directed tightly-controlled classroom.
It's interesting how the pendulum swings...
Open plan classrooms: helpful or harmful to learning?
Open-plan classrooms can be very noisy. And this is bad for all students, especially those with hearing or learning difficulties.
As part of the push towards "21st century learning", it seems that "open plan classrooms" aka "flexible learning spaces" are becoming more common.
Do you have these sorts of learning spaces at your school? Do you think they are a good thing, providing more options for different types of learning activities, or are the noise levels and distractions hindering learning more than they help it? Do you find that flexible learning space have any impact the way you teach (for better or for worse)?
Interested to hear your thoughts/experiences.
Proposed Reforms to Initial Teacher Education in Australia
Universities will be given two years to overhaul their education degrees or risk losing their accreditation as part of a national bid to fix Australia's teacher shortage.
What do you think about the proposed changes to teacher education courses at Australian universities? Do you think this shift in emphasis towards direct explicit instruction and classroom managment is the answer to Australia's teacher shortage?
Introduction of Auslan to the NSW syllabus
When taught respectfully, Auslan becomes a celebration Deaf culture and identity.
This year Auslan (Australian Sign Language) was added to the NSW syllabus. Has anyone here started running an Auslan course at their school? I'd love to hear about your experiences.
It's actually winter :-) At the moment, I'm preparing an exam paper and getting everything set up ready to dive in to term 3.
I think in Australia too then, post-covid, students may have become a bit more unruly, and classroom routines and expectations need to be re-taught and reestablished. The unruliness generally doesn't generally rise to the level of safety concerns, although there was a case recently where a casual teacher was provoked and got into a physical altercation with a student that was filmed and widely distributed on the internet, and criminal charges were brought against that teacher. Gun violence not a big a concern in Australia due to much stricter gun laws than in the US -- is this much of a concern over there?
Do you think remote learning is really as effective as face-to-face learning? In my state, the NAPLAN result indicate that students are about a term behind in their literacy and numeracy as a result of the COVID lockdowns:
In terms of the drug issue you raise, do you think that remote learning would improve or worsen the situation? In school, the students are exposed to some positive role models and educational messages concerning drug (mis)use, whereas in a strictly home environment they may or may not have access to that. Being in school could result in peer pressure to partake in illicit drug use, but they could also get this exposure from peer groups outside the school environment.
Falling school attendance this year?
The decisions made during the pandemic must be reviewed because they are still affecting the mental health of students, a school chief says.
Have you noticed a drop in attendance this year, compared to previous years?
The article acknowledges that one reason students are absent is due to influenza and COVID throughout the community. I also wonder if some of it may be explained by parents pulling students out of school to go on overseas hollidays that were postponed during the COVID lockdowns.
Do you think the drop in attendance is just temporary, or is indicative of something deeper and longer lasting?
I'd like to see this as an international group, drawing on experiences and ideas from teachers in multiple places around the world.
I have created a group specific for teachers in Australia to discuss topics that are specific to teaching in Australia: [email protected]
So far the level of engagement in these two groups has been limited, I too hope that they will grow into supportive communities that can provide advice, ideas and inspiriation.
There is quite a strong community in r/AustralianTeachers on Reddit with lots of useful information exchanged, and I am hoping to building something like that here. I have made a few posts in an attempt to encourage engagement, but so far there doesn’t seem much interest. The r/AustralianTeachers subreddit did go private as part of the protests, but has since reopened, and it appears that it is pretty much back to business as usual like it was before the protests. I’m not going back to reddit, so I hope some of my colleagues will join me here, but if not then so be it.
There do seem to be some syncing issues. I can’t seem to get to this community from kbin for some reason – maybe something to do with software versions. I also can’t seem to post to [email protected] from here at lemm.ee – the “post” button just spins round and round with no progress. Maybe given some time, as the software matures, things will start to work better, but in the meantime there do seem to be quite a few issues with federation both within lemmy as well as between lemmy and kbin.
What made you switch to teaching?
Research shows plenty of people think about becoming teachers. We also know mid-career teachers’ expectations don’t match reality once they make it to the classroom.
The linked article explores some of the reasons people switch careers and become teachers. Are you a late career changer? What made you decide to get into teaching? Are you enjoying it? Do you regret it? How do you think we can attract more professionals from industry to become teachers and share their experience?
I see a couple of issues:
- Many teachers don't know how to code themselves. If you can attract career changers from IT over to the teaching profession, you can address this, but at the moment teaching is not an attractive profession compared to IT unless you already have a passion for teaching.
- Teachers are bound to by the prescribed curriculum. While there is some scope for flexibility in how you cover the dot points, spending too much time on coding concepts would mean falling behind on covering the rest of the content mandated in the curriculum.
In my part of the world, there is a key learning area called "Technological and Applied Studies", of which Information and Software Technology is an elective, but finding qualified teachers is a real challenge -- not the least of which is that there are very few Initial Teacher Education providers in my state who can offer accreditation in TAS.
Podcast recommendations?
Do you have any favourite teaching-related podcasts you listen to (especially ones related to teaching in Australia)? One podcast I enjoy is Ollie Lovell's Education Research Reading Room podcast: https://www.ollielovell.com/errr/
Let's build a list of podcast recommendations in the comments below.
Bulding Thinking Classrooms
Has anyone here looked at Peter Liljedahl's Building Thinking Classrooms? Part of this is to get students up on their feet workinbg in small groups in front of Vertical Non-Permanent Writing Surfaces (aka whiteboards). It seems to me this could be something of a challenge in a traditional-sized classroom with 25-30 students, even if there are some whiteboards available around the sides of the room. I'm keen to hear of any experiences people have had -- what worked well, and what were some of the challenges with this approach to learning?
How to deal with vandalism in schools?
School leaders are grappling with a new landscape in which parents vent their frustration on social media and staff feel personally attacked.
Vandalism is an ongoing problem in many schools. One school in the linked article came under fire from parents for implementing a lunchtime detention, where it was likened to a "prison camp". Something of a hysterical reaction, but if not that, then what is the answer?
Do you have a vandalism problem in your school? What sort of approaches can we take to combat this problem?
I don't have access to TikTok, but the following article challenges the traditional transmission model that is still quite prevalent today: https://educationrickshaw.com/2017/12/02/after-100-years-of-the-same-teaching-model-its-time-to-throw-out-the-playbook/
Students will certainly learn from each other. The question is, what will they learn? The transmission model is seductive because it allows the teacher to ensure that the content meets the the required learning outcomes laid out in the curriculum. Giving students more autonomy may work well for some, but there will also be a lot of cases where students will not engage with the desired content, and will instead find other things to entertain themselves. Keeping students on task is a constant challenge, but with the transmission model there is at least the illusion that students are taking in the required content.
More permanent staff roles in NSW schools?
More than 1,400 teachers and support staff across NSW could receive job certainty by mid-July
The recently elected NSW government has undertaken to address the shortage of teachers in NSW, and one of the initiatives was to increase the number of permanent positions available. Has anyone noticed any changes as a result of this initiative?
Accreditation tips
Research shows plenty of people think about becoming teachers. We also know mid-career teachers’ expectations don’t match reality once they make it to the classroom.
The linked article suggests that there is a growth in mid-career changers entering the teaching profession. Once these career changers have completed their Initial Teacher Education, the next step is to start thinking about working towards their Proficient Teacher accreditation. Does anyone have some helpful tips for new Graduate teachers taking the next step on their professional journey?
Weekly Wins!
Comment here about any of those magic moments in the classroom that remind us why we do what we do!
Welcome to Australian Teachers!
Here is a place in the Fediverse where Australian teachers can gather and build a new community like the one we left behind on the r/AustralianTeachers subreddit. That community provided a lot of useful information for prospective, pre-service and in-service teachers alike, so let's work to make this community a helpful source of information, advice and support.