In order to provide a safe, supportive, engaging, challenging learning environment for all of my students, I endeavour to ensure that my classroom is an accepting, inclusive environment where all students feel comfortable, and that their learning needs are catered to regardless of their gender, ability, disability, culture or social class.
I strive to gain a friendly rapport with all students, and understand their backgrounds and interests in order to design learning and assessment tasks that are suitable and equitable. |
Due to the multicultural diversity found in Australian schools, it is safe to predict that the curriculum will not reflect the cultural social and language customs of all all communities. Therefore, as I do have control over what content I teach my students, where possible I plan learning activities which include an element of cultural exploration and understanding. Activities such as this give students freedom to reflect their own values in their work, and provides a chance to begin a dialogue of celebration of cultural difference.
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A finished work example from the 'Multicultural Face' art activity.
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Flexibility Within Lessons and Working With Students
Considering the diversity of my students, I am aware of the challenges that may unexpectedly arise, and ensure that there is an element of flexibility in my learning activities in order to respond to these situations.
In a Level 5 activity which required students to create 'Op-Art' images, I found a number of students unengaged as they were pre-occupied with creating graffiti 'tags'. To avoid such students becoming a classroom or behaviour management challenge, I was able to alter the task for these students. The result being, that students felt I listened to them, considered their interests and they were still able to apply techniques to artwork (even though these were not the same assessed outcomes to the rest of their peers. Below is are finished work examples of both the original task, and the altered task. |
Catering for Students with Special Learning Needs
As well undertaking a short PD (Fusion Theatre) which started my thinking about how students with special learning needs are catered for, I have also been lucky enough to have first hand experience with a student with Autism Spectrum Disorder (Aspergers Syndrome). There were a number of strategies that I have found to be successful when working with this student:
Many students such as this require support that can not be provided only within the classroom. Ensuring that these students receive fair, inclusive, equitable opportunities may require a whole school strategy.
- Providing visual examples of learning activities
- Providing routine in lessons
- Providing boundaries and expectations and sticking to them
- Demonstrating skills step-by-step
- One-to-One teaching (where possible)
- Short term goals and lesson plans, using check lists
- Showing interest in students' interests.
Many students such as this require support that can not be provided only within the classroom. Ensuring that these students receive fair, inclusive, equitable opportunities may require a whole school strategy.