MY IDENTITY AS A TEACHER
I always try to answer questions in as many possible ways as I can. I can write and speak endlessly on topics, because my stream of consciousness is always jumping around onto different tangents and different possibilities. So as a teacher, I think I’ll be able to harness this power so I can change and adapt my teaching style to cater for each and every student, hopefully making it a personalised experience for every one of them. As said by Russell Grigg (2010) there are 3 main models of teaching: the charismatic teacher, the technical expert, and the reflective practitioner. The charismatic teacher is the teacher remembered for their “bubbly” personality, and someone who inspires an enthusiasm and passion for learning. Their downfall is often attempting to make all learning “fun”, which is good, but can take away from the actual learning. Fun cannot be prioritised over quality of content.
But it has been said that “a teacher’s personality is the single most significant trait in promoting educational success” (Scheidecker & Freeman, 2009). So this model is effective.
The technical expert is someone who is competent, knows all the facts and knows exactly what to teach. This teacher often sticks to prescribed texts and things that have been tried and tested, so a teacher like this often won’t take risks when learning and when teaching. This model seems to me to be very teaching oriented, instead of learner oriented.
Last but not least is the reflective practitioner; a teacher who is very learner-oriented, and seeks endlessly to improve themselves for the benefit of others. This is the most desirable model of all, at least in my mind. This teacher is endlessly adapting and changing to suit the needs of the students. I think based on my creativity, my ENTP type personality, and what has once been described as a “self-confident unconventionality” my teaching identity is a mixture of the charismatic teacher, and the reflective practitioner.
When teaching, there are 3 different considerations (Marsh and Hart, 2011) I would be making:
1. Profiling the learner: what prior knowledge & skills do they hold? What learning styles are best for them?
2. Strategies for learning: using appropriate content and resources. Sequencing of lessons and their learning journey should be structured correctly.
3. Assessing the learning: what is the best form of assessment? Formative and/or summative? Feedback that students can learn from is another important consideration.
As a humanities teacher I will need to do research prior to each lesson. A teacher with limited knowledge may misrepresent subject matter, fail to recognise learners’ misconceptions, shy away from pedagogical experimentation, resort to transmission teaching and restrict student participation (Taylor and Young, 2003). Teachers without a proper knowledge on a topic may not able to properly enrich knowledge and explain the content properly. This leads to gaps in knowledge which can lead to misunderstandings and ignorance in the future.
I think I’d fall mostly into the “eclectic” category of teacher. Eclectic meaning that the ideas I hold come from a wide range or sources and that I believe that history should be represented in many different ways – stories to entertain, an interest, a form of intellectual training, a means of making sense out of the past and a source of personal and community identity (Taylor and Young, 2003). This teaching style would allow different learning styles and teaching styles, so that each student is included and their preferred way of learning is addressed.
I will provide the students with the opportunity to work creatively, using divergent thinking methods to find answers. Using creative thinking creates a certain fluency in ideas. The students become more flexible, original, and able to delve into more complex processes. Students all have the capacity for creative thought, and those who use it are more willing to take risks in their learning, which is an important aspect of life. Without risk taking in learning we wouldn't progress.
As a teacher I would allow opportunities for students to work together and make a collaborative effort. Not only is this more engaging, but it helps create interpersonal skills and important skills in regards to teamwork and fairness.
The things that I teach will be based as much as possible around current events and things that students can instantly relate to. An example of this could be the use of something relatable such as the short film “Babakiueria”. This video is a good way to introduce teaching Aboriginal history because without this as a base to learn from, I often find that when I think of Aboriginal rights, nothing immediately springs into my head.
With the topic of Australian identity, I think the whole class will have different ideas scattered around. Many students will have parents or grandparents born overseas, and some may have been born overseas themselves. A lot of different ideas about identity exist, because everyone is unique in the way that they process information and act upon it, thus creating 7 billion unique identities throughout the world. On the 30th of October 2013, there were 23,342,553 Australian people (worldometers.info, n.d.). There are now 23,342,553 different identities in Australia.
In addressing the inquiry question I would need to have a confident grasp on the previous history of Australia. I would need to have a sound definition of identity and a specific definition for national identity. To begin, the students would have an opportunity with the class to share their ideas. With this as a beginning, the students would be thinking for themselves about the topic, so when it comes to researching, they've got their own base to start from instead of one that I've given for them.
A source I would use are different stories of groups of people who migrated to Australia (including from ONE Asian country) and the reasons they migrated, such as World War II and Australian migration programs since the war (ACHHK115). An article that could be used in this case could be “How Much Would You Risk To Start A New Life In Australia?” (Aubrey, 2012). It helps students consider and develop multiple perspectives on the world, which is a key part to intercultural understanding (Australiancurriculum.edu.au (2013). After looking at different cultures, the students would investigate the experiences of democracy and citizenship of migrant groups (for example: internment camps during World War II; assimilation policies, anti-discrimination legislation, mandatory detention, pay and working conditions) (ACHHK114).
To teach intercultural understanding and particularly identity, there is currently an exhibition on at the immigration museum dedicated to teaching what it means to belong and not belong in Australia. “Identity: yours, mine, ours” includes stories, pictures, objects and interactive media all showing different experiences on what it means to be Australian, and how a person’s cultural heritage effects their identity. This exhibition is a perfect way to finish off a unit of work, as the students will have a lot of prior knowledge, so their understanding will be put to work and I think they’ll learn more from it after they've covered the topic in detail beforehand.
Throughout my teaching I will refer back to documents such as Making History: A Guide for the Teaching and Learning of History in Australian Schools. Resources like these are invaluable for any teacher-to-be like myself and I think I'll be looking back at it throughout my career.
I always try to answer questions in as many possible ways as I can. I can write and speak endlessly on topics, because my stream of consciousness is always jumping around onto different tangents and different possibilities. So as a teacher, I think I’ll be able to harness this power so I can change and adapt my teaching style to cater for each and every student, hopefully making it a personalised experience for every one of them. As said by Russell Grigg (2010) there are 3 main models of teaching: the charismatic teacher, the technical expert, and the reflective practitioner. The charismatic teacher is the teacher remembered for their “bubbly” personality, and someone who inspires an enthusiasm and passion for learning. Their downfall is often attempting to make all learning “fun”, which is good, but can take away from the actual learning. Fun cannot be prioritised over quality of content.
But it has been said that “a teacher’s personality is the single most significant trait in promoting educational success” (Scheidecker & Freeman, 2009). So this model is effective.
The technical expert is someone who is competent, knows all the facts and knows exactly what to teach. This teacher often sticks to prescribed texts and things that have been tried and tested, so a teacher like this often won’t take risks when learning and when teaching. This model seems to me to be very teaching oriented, instead of learner oriented.
Last but not least is the reflective practitioner; a teacher who is very learner-oriented, and seeks endlessly to improve themselves for the benefit of others. This is the most desirable model of all, at least in my mind. This teacher is endlessly adapting and changing to suit the needs of the students. I think based on my creativity, my ENTP type personality, and what has once been described as a “self-confident unconventionality” my teaching identity is a mixture of the charismatic teacher, and the reflective practitioner.
When teaching, there are 3 different considerations (Marsh and Hart, 2011) I would be making:
1. Profiling the learner: what prior knowledge & skills do they hold? What learning styles are best for them?
2. Strategies for learning: using appropriate content and resources. Sequencing of lessons and their learning journey should be structured correctly.
3. Assessing the learning: what is the best form of assessment? Formative and/or summative? Feedback that students can learn from is another important consideration.
As a humanities teacher I will need to do research prior to each lesson. A teacher with limited knowledge may misrepresent subject matter, fail to recognise learners’ misconceptions, shy away from pedagogical experimentation, resort to transmission teaching and restrict student participation (Taylor and Young, 2003). Teachers without a proper knowledge on a topic may not able to properly enrich knowledge and explain the content properly. This leads to gaps in knowledge which can lead to misunderstandings and ignorance in the future.
I think I’d fall mostly into the “eclectic” category of teacher. Eclectic meaning that the ideas I hold come from a wide range or sources and that I believe that history should be represented in many different ways – stories to entertain, an interest, a form of intellectual training, a means of making sense out of the past and a source of personal and community identity (Taylor and Young, 2003). This teaching style would allow different learning styles and teaching styles, so that each student is included and their preferred way of learning is addressed.
I will provide the students with the opportunity to work creatively, using divergent thinking methods to find answers. Using creative thinking creates a certain fluency in ideas. The students become more flexible, original, and able to delve into more complex processes. Students all have the capacity for creative thought, and those who use it are more willing to take risks in their learning, which is an important aspect of life. Without risk taking in learning we wouldn't progress.
As a teacher I would allow opportunities for students to work together and make a collaborative effort. Not only is this more engaging, but it helps create interpersonal skills and important skills in regards to teamwork and fairness.
The things that I teach will be based as much as possible around current events and things that students can instantly relate to. An example of this could be the use of something relatable such as the short film “Babakiueria”. This video is a good way to introduce teaching Aboriginal history because without this as a base to learn from, I often find that when I think of Aboriginal rights, nothing immediately springs into my head.
With the topic of Australian identity, I think the whole class will have different ideas scattered around. Many students will have parents or grandparents born overseas, and some may have been born overseas themselves. A lot of different ideas about identity exist, because everyone is unique in the way that they process information and act upon it, thus creating 7 billion unique identities throughout the world. On the 30th of October 2013, there were 23,342,553 Australian people (worldometers.info, n.d.). There are now 23,342,553 different identities in Australia.
In addressing the inquiry question I would need to have a confident grasp on the previous history of Australia. I would need to have a sound definition of identity and a specific definition for national identity. To begin, the students would have an opportunity with the class to share their ideas. With this as a beginning, the students would be thinking for themselves about the topic, so when it comes to researching, they've got their own base to start from instead of one that I've given for them.
A source I would use are different stories of groups of people who migrated to Australia (including from ONE Asian country) and the reasons they migrated, such as World War II and Australian migration programs since the war (ACHHK115). An article that could be used in this case could be “How Much Would You Risk To Start A New Life In Australia?” (Aubrey, 2012). It helps students consider and develop multiple perspectives on the world, which is a key part to intercultural understanding (Australiancurriculum.edu.au (2013). After looking at different cultures, the students would investigate the experiences of democracy and citizenship of migrant groups (for example: internment camps during World War II; assimilation policies, anti-discrimination legislation, mandatory detention, pay and working conditions) (ACHHK114).
To teach intercultural understanding and particularly identity, there is currently an exhibition on at the immigration museum dedicated to teaching what it means to belong and not belong in Australia. “Identity: yours, mine, ours” includes stories, pictures, objects and interactive media all showing different experiences on what it means to be Australian, and how a person’s cultural heritage effects their identity. This exhibition is a perfect way to finish off a unit of work, as the students will have a lot of prior knowledge, so their understanding will be put to work and I think they’ll learn more from it after they've covered the topic in detail beforehand.
Throughout my teaching I will refer back to documents such as Making History: A Guide for the Teaching and Learning of History in Australian Schools. Resources like these are invaluable for any teacher-to-be like myself and I think I'll be looking back at it throughout my career.