Skill Review Sheet Management

Graduate Standards AITSL

Professional Practice: 4. Create and maintain supportive and safe learning
environments 4.1 and 4.2

Planning for Effective Management

Was your lesson plan
effective for managing
the class?
e.g. How did the
students react to your
lesson overall and to
your planned activities?
Did anything unexpected
happen?

Did you provide a variety

of activities?

Were you satisfied with

My plans were effective for managing the class. It helped me keep

on topic and ensure that the activities we were complementing the
outcome of the lesson. My plans gave the lesson purpose and
structure. As the purpose of the lesson was clear to me I was able
to clearly explain the point of the lesson to my students. The
students participated in the activities that I set and were aware of
what I intended they learn from the lesson.
There were some unexpected occurrences during my lessons. At
first the class was getting through the activities that I set quicker
than I had anticipated, leaving extra time towards the end of the
lesson. I countered this in subsequent lessons by having an extra
activity prepared that complemented the lesson that I would set the
class if there was time at the end.
The second unexpected occurrence was the classes attitude in the
second lesson I took with them. Majority of the class arrived late
from a PE lesson that had ran overtime. I was not sure if I should
begin the lesson while over half the class was missing. Then when
they did arrive they were very energetic, after just playing sports,
and it was difficult to get them to settle and focus.
I did try to provide a variety of activities. While there were a few
times I had the class read a portion of their textbook I made the
them summaries the text in different ways, providing variety. I also
used suggestion from other teachers on how I could make lessons
different. I had the Year 8 class complete a rapid research activity
and the Year 9 class did paired reading for the first time. While this
was new and fun for the students it also allowed me to experiment
different ways to conduct a lesson.

your timing, particularly

for the end of the
lesson?
Did you feel you were
able to change things if
needed?

At first I was not satisfied with my timing. There was free space at
the end of my first lesson as the class completed all the activities
faster than I had anticipated. I fixed this in following lessons by
planning an extra activity that could be employed if required.
I did feel that I could change things as needed. I like being flexible
and so I used my plans more as a guide than a step by step
process. After my second lesson with the year 8s, when they were
overly energetic and restless, I realised that the way a lesson ran
could be greatly influence by the classes attitude at the beginning
of a period. Therefore, I needed to gauge the feeling within the
classroom to determine how best to deliver the lesson. I left my
plans open to give myself room to change the lesson as I felt it
needed to be changed.

Was your organisation of My organization of material and resources was efficient and
materials and resources effective. I utilised PowerPoints which ensured my lessons ran
smoothly. I used the board to highlight the key points that the
efficient and effective?

students needed to know. I also utilised the laptops and tablets

that the students brought to every lesson to get the class to
e.g. Did you and the
research information, making the students responsible for their
students have everything own learning. Both I and the students always had access to what
you needed?
was required to complete the lesson.

Did you plan how and

when you would
distribute and collect
materials?

I did plan on when to distribute and utilise materials. I would

explain a task and ensure everyone was clear on what was
required before I asked the students if they had the materials they
needed to complete the task. I did not need to collect materials but
I set time throughout an activity when I could view the work of each
student.

Were you aware of

classroom procedures
and school disciplinary
policy? How much did
you know about your
students?

I was aware of classroom procedures as I had discussed

them with my mentor and I saw him employ them during
lesson. I never saw an official copy of the schools
disciplinary policies but I had an understanding of them from
my mentor.
In terms of the students I was told about any major issues
before I took the class. I was informed by my mentor that a
student in the Year 8 geography class has severe anxiety
issues. I had to ensure that I did not do anything that my rise
their anxiety levels. I was also advised of which students in
the Year 9 class had ADD before I ran a lesson with the
class.

Maintaining a Positive Attitude in the Classroom

How did you demonstrate

to the students that you
valued them, and enjoyed
the teaching/learning
process?
e.g. Tone of voice, facial
expression, sense of
humour, introduction to
students and topic.

When I introduced myself to the class I explained who I was

and why I was there. I answered questions that they had
about my studies and what it means to be on Professional
Experience. I was open and honest which helped start a
personal relationship between myself and my students. I told
them why I wanted to be a teacher which demonstrated that I
enjoy the teaching/learning process. As I was open about
who I was as a person my students were willing to be open
about who they are as people.
I used non-verbal methods of communication to show that I
valued my students. I maintained eye contact when speaking
or listening to a particular student. I also walked around the
classroom throughout the lesson, ensuring that I was not
separated from my students. This led to most students
participating in class discussions and activities.
While delivering a lesson I tried to appear excited and
interested in the topic, which I demonstrated through the
tone of my voice and hand gestures. I did this in the hope
that if I seemed interested in the content then maybe my
students would be as well.
Another method of showing that I valued my students was to
employ class discussions. I asked students to share their

answers with the class then asked if anyone can build on the
answer given. I trusted that they could come find information
by themselves, or that they could work out the answers
together with minimal prompting by me. Showing that I
trusted in their intelligence led my students to see that I had
faith in their abilities.
Which aspects of your
teaching style do you feel
helped you maintain
class attention?
e.g. Variety of activities,
class or group
discussion, pace of
lesson, interest at class
level.

In the last two lesson that I conducted with the Year 8

Geography class I maintained a fast pace throughout the
periods. As the energy levels of the room were high more
students engaged in the activities and discussions. I had
seen how the students in this class were often very energetic
and I wanted to use that energy in the lesson.

Did the students know

what was expected of
them?

The lesson outcome was always written on the board so that

the students knew what they should be getting out of the
lesson. I structured questions to demonstrate specifically
what information was important and I reviewed students
responses to questions to ensure that they understood the
topic.

Were you able to redirect

energies of attention
seeking students? Did
the students have
enough to do?

For the most part I was able to redirect the energies of

attention seeking students. In some instances I was more
successful and in others I was less. I would dismiss of topic
comments and ask them to stick to the what is being
discussed. Sometimes it was difficult keeping certain
students on topic.
In my first lesson there was not enough for students to do as
all students completed the activities before the end of the
period. I fixed this problem in later lessons.

Dealing with Minor Misbehaviour

Were you aware of what
was happening in all
parts of the classroom?
Did you know what each
student was doing?

I was aware of what was happening around the classroom. I

would constantly look around the room to see where
students were focusing their attention. I would also walk
around the room, viewing students work and testing their
understanding of the topic. By moving around the room I
could check on what each student was doing and ensure
that they knew what was required of them.

Did you take any action

when you observed poor
behaviour? Why? Why
not?

I used low key responses to deal with poor behaviour. I

would move closer to misbehaving students to have a quiet
word and I would tell them to get back on task. I only used
low key responses as the poor behaviour demonstrated by
students was mainly talking too loud and being off topic.
These minor offenses were essentially Bump 1 issues in
the Theory of Bumps and so they only warranted a low key
response.

Did you use non-verbal

cues? e.g. Contact,
pause, gesture,
movement toward
student/s concerned.

I did use non-verbal cues to manage behaviour in the

classroom. I moved towards misbehaving students to
discourage misbehaviour. I also employed head and arm
gestures to communicate my displeasure at poor behaviour.