Jenny Neville Teaching Portfolio

 Professional Knowledge: Standard Three

Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning

Standard 3.5:

Select and use resources:

Something I look forward to acquiring as I continue developing as a teacher is a substantial resource base. Something that I can continually add great resources too and draw on as the need arises to aid in carrying out a successful lesson.  

As part of the students’ English curriculum they were exploring the genre of myths. Focusing on creation myths but not limited to, the students used a variety of modalities to learn about different myths from different cultures. I selected different text, audio and visual resources to aid in the students learning and upon which activities were based around. The text, ‘Creation Myths’ compiled by Maureen Stewart and illustrated by Graeme Base is a fantastic resource providing a snap shot of numerous culture’s creation myths. The book captured the student’s imagination through concise retelling of myths, and was complimented by excellent illustrations. Using this text presented me with great collaborative work opportunities. Capatalising on this I designed activities that explored the meanings, main events and characters of the of stories in the text, which the students then shared with each other. 

The website, dustechoes.com was another resource I used in the myth unit and addresses the ICT component of standard 3.5. The website takes users on a virtual tour of ‘country’, allowing you to choose different myths and learn about a range of traditional indigenous beliefs. The interactive nature of the site effectively draws you in and each visit offers a diverse cultural adventure. Presenting indigenous myths through amazing animations, many of which are narrated, the viewer takes an audio visual journey through the dreamtime. The website is a valuable resource with scope to use in many other learning areas such as art and society and environment. Continuing with storytelling and exploring different myths, I then used the best resource, the students, to share their interpretation of a chosen myth off the dust echoes website. In an effort to replicate a traditional storytelling scene, in small groups the students retold their myths to one another outside in nature, accompanied by a drawing done to pictorially represent their myth.

The use of the various types of resources, shared with the students a variety of myths, exploring different subjects and meanings, offering explanations of natural events. This appropriately prepared them for developing their own myth. Well versed now as to how to structure a myth and reveal to the reader what event they were depicting, the students planned their myth on a worksheet provided (altered from one my mentor shared with me) and produced an array of meaningful and extremely thoughtful myths explaining a natural event (see attached).

A major positive about carrying out a prac with such knowledgeable and approachable teachers in such a supportive school is the quality of resources and ideas that you begin to accumulate. I have been fortunate to collect many new interesting ideas and have learnt about great websites that offer resources, support and advice. With the encouragement of a colleague, I was prompted to start my own symbaloo account; a place where I could store electronic resources, add to easily and access anywhere. Maintaining and developing this site will be a valuable part of my action plan to be able to select and use appropriate resources.

I have also been able to contribute to other teacher’s tool kit too, by sharing useful sites and ideas. This sharing and collaborating is a big part of what teaching is to me, by connecting with your colleagues you are attempting to provide what is best for the students. Forging these relationships is something I endeavour to do in any workplace and is a priority for me to create as a teacher. The wealth of excellent resources need to be shared! My action plan continuing on from pracs is to seek out relevant resources and maintain connections with other teachers and ensuring great resources are shared. Discovering and developing new resources can take time to find and to develop, but the hard work pays off as good resources make a lesson and really engage the students. They don’t need to be fancy; the main thing is that they are relevant and interesting, and effectve learning and teaching will result.