Evidence for the Specific Development of Step 1

Steps 1. Be involved in a range of school meetings and activities, either within or outside school hours. This includes: staff meetings, subject area meetings, house meetings, parentteacher interviews, Curriculum Days, personal development seminars, excursions, incursions and yard duty.

When? During the July/August practicum.

How? Making it a focus. Involve myself in a range of meetings and activities within the school. Asking my supervisor to allow me to sit in on meeting outside of staff meetings, for example: cross marking of SACS.

What evidence will I have? - Personal reflections, such as notes I have taken down in meetings or during activities. - Comments/Feedback from supervising teacher on my Professional Experience Report Form.

During my July/August practicum at Mater Christi College (MCC) I was involved in a range of school meetings and activities within and outside of school hours. Figure 1 shows my Timetable for the duration of my fifteen-day placement. By looking at Figure 1 you can see I attended Morning Briefings on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, which involved a range of activities (usually Olympic Games related) for teachers to complete with other staff members from their House Group, as well as a morning Prayer and announcements by various staff members. Figure 1 shows the various meetings I attended after school. These were a range of different meetings, including Science and Maths Meeting (subject area meeting), Red House Mating (House meeting) and Whole Staff Meetings. Additional to these meetings I was able to observe the cross marking of two SACS for VCE Biology and Chemistry. On practicum I partook in Yard Duty and Bus Duty on various days. In-between my first and second set of rounds at MCC I observed parent teacher interviews on the 28th of June. Figure 2 shows the dates of the Progress Meetings to be held at MCC in 2012. Additionally I have arranged to attend the Progress Meetings held on the 11th of October. Figure 1 shows I was at MCC on a student free day where the staff attended various Professional Development (PD) sessions in the morning, and held a Careers Expo in the afternoon for Year 9 12 students, which I was involved in. Figure 3 shows a picture of an team

activity I was involved in during a PD session, and I also spoke to students and their parents at the Careers Expo, as well as helped the staff set up things like posters on the wall and desks for things to go on at the Careers Expo. Additional to the PD sessions I attended at MCC on their Curriculum Day, I have also attended a range of workshop through Deakin University, including workshops at surrounding schools in Trimester 1, DUECon and various PD sessions during PD week at Deakin University in June (Figure 4). Figure 1 shows on Monday the 30th of August I was involved in a Year 8 City Experience excursion, which started at 8.45AM and ran until 8.30PM, where students visited The Big Issue and the Melbourne Library. The excursion ran from 4.30PM to 8.30PM at MCC, where students cooked dinner and had reflection activities on things they learnt at The Big Issue. Additional to the excursion, I was involved in a Year 9 Forensic Frenzy incursion, where a team of professionals from the CSIRO visited Year 9 students at MCC who participated in a range of Forensic Science activities. Figure 5 shows that I received a Highly Satisfactory for my Interaction with the School Community and includes a range of activities I was in involved during my practicum. Furthermore, to help myself as an educator and also make myself an active member of the education profession, I am a member of: AUE Australian Education Union VIEU Victorian Independent Education Union ICTEV Information and Communication Technology Education Victoria ECCN Early Careers Chemistry Network CEA Chemistry Education Association During the 1980s, Rosenholtz (1989) brought teachers as members of a learning community into the discussion of teacher quality, maintaining that teachers who felt supported in their own ongoing learning and classroom practice were more committed and effective than those who did not receive such confirmation (SEDL, 1997, Rosenholtz 1989). Rosenholtz (1989) described this support as teacher networks, cooperation amongst colleagues, and expanded professional roles (SEDL, 1997). In 1993, Astuto furthered this discussion, giving the label the professional community of learners to teachers and administrators in schools that continuously seek and share learning and then act on what they learn (SEDL, 1997). I believe the examples I have given, coupled with the evidence I have provided, demonstrations how I have aimed to fulfill Step 1 of my Action Plan through professional engagement.

Figure 1: Timetable at MCC

Figure 2: Parent Teacher Interview dates at MCC

Figure 3: An example of an activity completed on the Curriculum day at MCC

Figure 4: Deakin PD Week Registration Form

Figure 5: Professional Experience Report Form highlighting my Interaction with the School Community