Siobhan Mansfield
Wooranna Park Primary School
My teaching philosophy
Teaching Approaches
Hands on Learning
Student Centred
Collaborative
Professional Learning
March 2011- Creating Calmer Classrooms (Leaps and Bounds)
June 2001- Play is the Way (Wilson MacCaskill)
August 2011- A whole school approach to behaviour management (Bill Rogers)
May 2012- Engage and Inspire your Students (John Nottingham)
July 2012- ICT for graduates: iPads, Ultranet, IWBs
July 2012- Michael Ymer Maths Investigations at Silverton PS
August 2012- Patterns in Mathematics (Marsha Dickens)
May 2013- Professor Yong Zhao
May 2013- Managing Dyslexia- 3 sessions
My Achievements
Assessment
Open ended, rich assessment tasks that allow all students to participate and demonstrate what they can do instead of higlighting what they can not do.
Maths Summary
Students were asked to represent using pictures and words everything they had learnt about in the area of mathematics during Semester 1, 2013.
Student Survey
All students were given the opportunity to reflect upon and critique the teaching experiences they had been offered during Semester 1, 2013 in an effort to improve teacher performance.
L.A Tracker
As an authentic means for the students to track their learning we asked them to graph the areas they had visited during Learning Agreement in the first semester. They were able to clearly see the patterns emerge and set goals for their learning for semester 2.
Creativity
Dramatic Experiences
At the beginning of our project the students were asked to literally walk in the shoes of another and create a character profile. They then had to approach global issues from the perspective of that character.
Goal setting
To begin the year the students were asked to design a shoe which would be the shoe that they would like to be able to wear by the end of the year.
Wakakirri Reflections
Students were asked to create a reflection about their Wakakirri experience by using lines and symbols to reflect their thinking instead of writing a recount.
Catering to Students' Interests and Passions
Year 4 Unit Meeting
Students have the opportunity to run and contribute ideas for our weekly Unit Meeting. The students discuss issues from the week and solutions as well as add any new ideas for provocations or workshops.
Student led Target Teaching
After reading our student surveys there were a few students who had requested the opportunity to lead target teaching sessions for their peers. As a result many students have begun planning target teaching lesson plans to share their knowledge and skills with others.
Japanese Whaling
During our project immersion we wanted the students to think about issues from the perspective of another. To do so we launched with the issue of whaling in Japan. The students were passionate about doing something to assist this problem as they were outraged that this could be happening in our world. Students decided to write letters to the Sea Shepherd, the Japanese government and created comic strips to spread their message.
Entrepreneurial Skills
During the action phase of our Project in 2012 the students were able to use their research to inform others of environmental issues around the world and empart their knowledge to readers. The students ran their own product based learning sessions whereby they created the following products for the community.
Project Bookmarks
Students summarised their research and created a page for this research on the Grade 4 blog. They then created QR codes which they pasted onto the back of the bookmarks so that readers could access their work and learn facts about environmental issues as well as be provided with a series of student advice on the topic.
Project Mural
These students decided that they wanted to illustrate the way that they would like their local community to look like in the future. They also wrote a mission statement to accompany this and sent a letter to the local mayor expressing their points of views and asking her questions about the way that Dandenong Council was approaching key environmental issues.
Enviro Ninjas Book
A group of Grade 4 students felt empowered to create a book to highlight the issues of deforestation, pollution and animal cruelty in our world today and provide advice to others as to how they could help become and 'Enviro Ninja' and make a stand. Their book also contains correspondance letters between themselves and the Prime Minister at the time, Julia Gillard.
Catering for Diversity
Building strong relationships with the students so that we can be honest with one another, respect each other's opinion and trust each other
Getting to know the students on a personal level and understanding their passions and interests in order to create learning tasks which are relevant, meaningful and engaging to them
Development of ICT skills
Telegame for student reflection
Smore for review publication and Wakakirri documentation
Edublogs- particularly the addition of Widgets to page to enhance student interest
Risks & Challenges 2013
Steph's Chefs Elective Group
Wakakirri
Patrick Griffin PLT
Planning for BYOD
Student Directed Workshops and Target Teaching sessions
Leadership Roles
Medication administrator at camp
Camp booklet creation
Adminstration and liason with Wakakirri Association
Member of the Patrick Griffin PLT
Mentoring of student teachers
Member of WPPS consultative committee
How I contribute to the school beyond the classroom
Wakakirri after school practices
School fundraising BBQs
After hours PD
Assisting with Active After School Sports when required
Sourcing materials after hours eg. costume sale, Reverse Art Truck
Camp
Neon Disco assistance for both Junior and Senior School
Future thoughts
Areas of Improvement
Continuing to develop my ability to implement open ended assessment
Strive to push the boundaries to create a learning environment with a significant emphasis on autonomous learners who have an active voice within the curriculum choices
Utilising the resources within other units such as the Stimulated Learning Platforms
Attend PDS to assist with core skills such as mathematics and literacy
Improving my knowledge and practise of Reggio Emilia
Future Plans
Mentoring program run by the teachers to work with 5/6 students as EQ buddies
Improve links between classroom practices and the local community of Dandenong
Pushing boundaries of student ownership
Greater global collaboration with schools around the world