Activities and Observation

 

  • Museum Planning Meeting (8:45-9:30 AM): Children designed layout and exhibits for their own "Discovery Museum" 
  • Artifact Conservation Lab (9:45-11:00 AM): Carefully cleaned and preserved found objects using museum techniques 
  • Visitor Guide Training (11:15 AM-12:00 PM): Children practiced explaining their discoveries to future museum visitors 
  • Legacy Discussion Circle (2:00-2:45 PM): Reflected on what they want future people to know about them 
  • Portfolio Celebration (3:00-3:30 PM): Shared learning journey through photos, stories, and artifacts 

Professional Practice Elements Engaged 

Professional Teaching Standards - Standard 7 (Engage Professionally): Professional engagement does not only focus on the classroom, as the wider community and family can also be reached (AITSL, 2018):   

7.3 - Parents/Carers: Family Partnerships in Learning: It is worth working closely with parents in learning as a strong relationship will positively affect the learning activity of children (Halgunseth et al., 2009):  

  • Open Invitation to the Museum: Children themselves have designed and created this invitation with their works and their own messages to guests  
  • Learning Documentation Families were provided with extensive portfolios that indicated the improvement over a three-week period  
  • Home Extension: Offered ideas on carrying activities in the archaeological interests back at home  
  • Cultural Connections: Family to family talks enabled cultural tools and traditions to be discussed between them 

Parent of Emma: I did not realize that my child was curious about history. The learning stories demonstrate so much thinking!"  

Parent of Jackson: Thanks to you for respecting the cultural knowledge of our family. My son was so proud to tell us about our traditions.  

My Reflection: The given partnerships supplemented children learning, as well as established good home-school relationships.  

 7.4 - Create Professional Networks: networks of professional learning can contribute to sustaining development and growth (Vescio et al., 2008):  

  • Community Museum Partnership: Formed continued connection to come to future learning experience   
  • Indigenous Education Consultant: Established a mentoring alliance to attain cultural competency growth  
  • Professional Learning Community: There is documentation of the project with other teachers through online platform   
  • Student Teacher Network: Practiced with peers integrated curriculum practices 

Observing, Documenting, Assessing, and Planning - Portfolio Reflection 

Evolution of documentation quality: documentation practices need to change to be increasingly more descriptive towards learning (Alasuutari et al., 2018): Week 1: Simple descriptions of activities and photo collages Week 2: Learning stories with clearly defined links to outcomes and some analysis Week 3: A detailed account of the __ journey with evidence of progress over a period of time  

The effectiveness of Assessment Strategy:  

  • Observation: Genuine learning would be caught in genuine engagement  
  • Self-Assessment: Children recognized self correctly with regards to learning and challenges  
  • Peer Assessment: Cultivated high levels of respect to the input of each other.  
  • Portfolio Assessment: Demonstrated very tangible progress and learning recorded  

Successful planning cycle:  

  • Responsive Planning: Able to pursue interests of these children and concluding curriculum requirements effectively  
  • Flexible Implementation: modified implementation of the daily plans regarding new discoveries and questions.  
  • Long-term Visioning: 3 weeks arc were enough to enable profound learning  
  • Possibility of Extension: Designed opportunities of future archeological and cultural work 

Professional Growth Reflection 

Key Professional Learning Achievements: Reflective practice: ongoing professional development:  

  • Cultural Competency: Gained awareness of how to properly conduct Indigenous contact. 
  • Integrated Curriculum: Successfully intertwined several learning domains with real world contexts   
  • Family Partnerships: Established authentic relationships that improved the learning of children  
  • Community Engagement: Established provisions of long-standing relations to keep on learning  

Area for continued Growth: 

  • technology integration: Learn the digital tools to record and research 
  • Differentiation: hone strategies to incorporate different learning needs  
  • Behavior Guidance: design more subtle methods of problem behaviors 
  • Leadership: Develop the confidence to conduct pedagogical discussions with other staff  

Effect on the Learning of Children: Real-world interests underpinned the course in this placement, and this showed that learning can be powerful, significant, and fun when children are allowed to follow their genuine interests through the organisation of the curriculum (Jones et al., 2016). All the children developed considerably their confidence, curiosity, cultural awareness and communication.  

Future Commitment: I pledge to adhere to this child-centered, culturally responsive attitude in my future teachings in that I will always respect children as competent researchers and members of society. 

Portfolio Completion Statement 

This 12-day portfolio chronicles a learning experience; not only of the kids with whom I was working with, but also my own learning as a professional. In a genuine investigation, cultural connection and creativity, we, therefore, established a learning community where each voice was prioritised, where various forms of knowledge were celebrated, and young citizens of a complex interconnected world were prepared.  

  

The portfolio demonstrates that I have encountered all the necessary aspects of professional practice with life-like experiences as opposed to artificial activities. Every single day was the outcome of the prior learning with a reaction to the new interests, and it evidences the effectiveness of emergent curriculum and play-based pedagogies (Edwards et al., 2016).  

  

Above all this placement helped me to believe in children as being competent, curious and capable learners and, therefore, deserve education which encourages inquiry, values discoveries, and supports a lifetime of learning and wonder (Rinaldi, 2006).