Welcome

In today’s fast changing society, it is simply not enough to have a University degree to gain employment but rather employees need to also possess transferable personal attributes that benefit employers and their future learning (Bransford, 2007, p.1). In Employability: judging and communicating achievement Knight & Yorke (2006, p.5) suggest “employability is a set of achievements, understandings and personal attributes that make individuals more likely to gain employment and be successful in their chosen occupations."

To ensure graduates have the necessary skills and are ready for their future job industry, CQUniversity has established a list of 8 attributes to help with students, career success (CQUniversity, 2010, p.1) these are;
• Communication
• Information Literacy
• Team work
• Information technology competence
• Problem solving
• Critical thinking
• Cross- curricular competence
• Ethical practice

In addition to these, specific to the education industry there are 10 Professional Standards for Queensland Teachers outlined by the Queensland College of Teachers (QCT) (2009);
• Standard 1- Design and implement engaging and flexible learning experiences for individuals and groups
• Standard 2- Design and implement learning experiences that develop language, literacy and numeracy
• Standard 3- Design and implement intellectually challenging learning experiences
• Standard 4- design and implement learning experiences that value diversity
• Standard 5- Assess and report constructively on student learning
• Standard 6- Support personal development and participation in society
• Standard 7- Create and maintain safe and supportive learning environments
• Standard 8- Foster positive and productive relationships with families and the community
• Standard 9- Contribute effectively to professional teams
• Standard 10- Commit to reflective practice and ongoing professional renewal

The Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF) (Commonwealth of Australia, 2008) and The Employability Skills Framework (Australian Government, 2006) are closely intertwined as they both state how crucial it is for people to contain these skills and abilities for effective involvement in our 21st century world. The Australian Core Skills Framework (Commonwealth of Australia, 2008) levels of performance are; learning, reading, writing, oral and numeracy. Closely related to the Employability Skills Framework (Australian Government, 2006) are; communication skills, team work skills, problem solving skills, initiative and enterprise skills ,planning and organising skills, self management skills, learning skills and technology skills.

I believe as a learning manager I contain the above skills and attributes in each of the areas of employability and the career appropriate skills of what it takes to be an effective and successful teacher in the education industry. In this blog I will concentrate on the 8 CQUniversity graduate attributes and the 10 Professional Standards for Queensland Teachers by QCT to demonstrate and evidence my abilities and competence in the education sector.

Communication

Communication/ QCT Standard 5 Assess and report constructively on student learning/Standard 8 Foster positive and productive relationships with families and the community.

I confidently communicate well with other parties of interest in the education industry such as teachers, students, all school staff, parents and members of the community. I am aware of how vital it is to be apart of a large and extensive school network within the community and how important and valued it is for the school.

According to the Employability skills From Framework to Practice "Communication is possibly the most prevalent of all the Employability skills" (Commonwealth of Australia, 2006, p.14).

I believe one of the crucial aspects of a great relationship is excellent communication skills. In the classroom I provide my learners with verbal and written feedback and to different stakeholders. I also set clear expectations, instructions and ask clear questions.

‘Kym gave clear instructions and asked clear questions’

‘Kym has developed an excellent rapport with not only the students in the class, but the wider school community, particularly other staff.’

‘Kym is a valued member of staff’ (Thurecht, personal communications, August, 2011).

‘Kym has developed a positive rapport with the children, their parents, mentoring teacher, other teachers, administration, teacher aides and other staff at the school. Kym has also ensured that she has engaged with all staff, students and community members, to enable her to build her personal development and participation in the school community.’ (Cox, personal communication, September, 2011).

Information Literacy

Information literacy/ Standard 1 Design and implement engaging and flexible learning experiences for individuals and groups/ Standard 2 Design and implement learning experiences that develop language, literacy and numeracy/ Standard 3 Design and implement intellectually challenging learning experiences

Due to improvements in information technology and the increase of information, university students need to have the knowledge and skills required to access, evaluate, manage, analyse and communicate information (UniSA, 2011). This means they must be able to effectively source, interpret and communicate scholarly information in the best possible format for presentation. I believe CQUniversity has considerably improved my Information literacy skills to a high standard as one of my lecturers made this comment "Your reference list is worthy of an ‘honours’ thesis. Well done Kym, a pleasure to read and mark” (Isdale, personal communication, May, 2011).

'This is a comprehensive assignment- you show evidence of knowing about SEL and the importance of resilience. It is clearly presented and well written. You demonstrate a very strong understanding of the KidsMatter program- evidence of linking to 3 relevant HOM. Well Done' (Busch, personal communication, May, 2010).

Information literacy has improved myself in the following ways; lifelong learner, new knowledge and skills and social inclusion. As a learning manager I can encourage my students to become familiar with information literacy skills to ensure they are given the best possible skills to participating in society.

Team work

Team work/ Standard 7 Create and maintain safe and supportive learning environments/Standard 8 Foster positive and productive relationships with families and the community/Standard 9 Contribute effectively to professional teams.

Teamwork is the relationship between different parties within a workplace. Almost every task within a workplace needs the support from other parties if a desired outcome is expected (Commonwealth of Australia, 2006, p.16).

Teamwork and communication ‘go hand in hand’ as they both are heavily reliant on working with other parties within the school community. I participated in a team building mini golf session on the student free day for the sole purpose of ‘getting to know’ and build relationships outside of the school environment with other staff members. This in turn gave me the necessary foundations to build and contribute effectively to professional teams.

As an active team member of the school community I recently helped a year 6 teacher and students in my final practicum with preparations for the Tournament of the Minds competition. This allowed me to interact with children from a different year level, and foster positive and productive relationships with other students at the school. The school fete has enabled me to build relationships with parents, whether working on the stall together or as a customer.

‘Kym develops a professional approach when interacting with members of the school community’ (Thurecht, personal communications, August, 2011).

‘Kym has always contributed effectively to professional teams, and she has shown this through our juncture meetings, planning meetings and discussions around moderation of children’s work’ (Cox, personal communication, September, 2011).

Information technology competence

Information technology competence/Standard 1 Design and implement engaging and flexible learning experiences for individuals and groups/Standard 3 Design and implements intellectually challenging learning experiences.

Technology is evolving every day and we as humans need to educated ourselves and our children to be digital literate citizens for the 21st century. Students of today are digital natives so therefore we need to accommodate our teaching and learning in classrooms to promote active learning. Digital technology involves using Information Communication Technologies, digital literacy and digital pedagogy. In the classroom we need to ensure that we integrate digital technology into everyday curriculum. Technology is no longer something to learn about in the classroom but, rather an adequate part of the content and delivery process of learning in education (Department of Education, Training and the Arts, 2001, p. 1).

I utilise Information technology in the classroom as I believe students learn well from using engaging technologies which create interest in student learning. I have developed great confidence in using information technologies and have gained a University ICT certificate. Some of the technologies I am familiar and confident with are Voki’s, Blogs, Wikis, PowerPoint, Moviemaker, learning objects and interactive whiteboards. I am also familiar with OneSchool for creating a unit plan and assessment uploading. As per the QCT Professional standard 3, I believe I can successfully ‘use appropriate ICTs to enhance learning experiences’ (QCT, 2009)

‘She is becoming familiar with the process of OneSchool and appropriately uses the interactive whiteboard especially interactive curriculum on The Learning Place’ (Thurecht, personal communication, September, 2011).

‘Kym, well done on developing a Blog which demonstrates investigation of a range of digital tools and contains good reflections with links to course theory.’ (O’Donohue, personal communication, December, 2010).

‘Kym incorporated the use of various learning objects throughout her time at Crescent Lagoon School. The children were thoroughly active and engaged in the lessons.’ (Thurecht, personal communication, September, 2011).

‘Kym used the classroom whiteboard daily for classroom lessons and showed great skills and confidence’ (Thurecht, personal communication, September, 2011).

Please see my previous blog for an extensive array of ICT competencies that include, voki, webpage, MovieMaker and digital images.

Degree specific skills

Assessment/Standard 5 Assess and report constructively on student learning.

Assessment in the classroom should be varied and continual so Learning Managers can monitor student progress and provide feedback to students. Teachers also use assessment to inform and improve their pedagogical practices. The student-centred approach in today’s curriculum is outcomes-based and emphasis is made towards the needs of the student with careful consideration made to classroom planning and teaching methods (Lynch, Smith & Doe, 2007, p.77).

Students are given the opportunity to show not just declarative but procedural knowledge also when demonstrating new skills. Assessment is not restricted to summative; rather students are given multiple opportunities to display knowledge and understanding throughout learning experiences using various mediums (Lynch, Doe & Smith, 2007, p.103). Assessment tasks can be individualised to cater for a diverse range of learners in the classroom. Content of information is not the basis for learning in student-centred education rather; the process the learner undertakes during the learning experiences is the focus (Norman & Spohrer,1994, p.25).

In my classroom I use alternative assessment practices depending on the student’s learning need, enabling them to demonstrate new knowledge and skills learnt. I make some assessment items open- ended so that students have opportunities to use higher level thinking skills. By offering different assessment tools students can choose which type to use such as an oral presentation, PowerPoint, essay or artwork to list a few when demonstrating new knowledge and understanding.

‘Kym has displayed excellent ideas for assessment items over the term’(Thurecht, personal communication, August, 2011).

‘Kym is considerate of all learners in the classroom when it comes to assessment pieces’ (Thurecht, personal communication, August, 2011).

Curriculum/ Standard 1 Design and implement engaging and flexible learning experiences for individuals and groups/ Standard 2 Design and implement learning experiences that develop language, literacy and numeracy/Standard 3 Design and implements intellectually challenging learning experiences/ Standard 4 Design and implement learning experiences that value diversity/ Standard 5 Assess and report constructively on student learning/Standard 6 Support personal development and participation in society.

I believe that I utilise the current Queensland Studies Authority (QSA) Essential Learnings (QSA, 2006) to instruct my planning, implementing and evaluating of learning experiences in the classroom. The Essential Learning’s are outcomes based opposed to the new Australian curriculum which is achievement standards. The Australian Curriculum, assessment and reporting authority (ACARA, 2011, p. 7) states “The Australian Curriculum has been developed to ensure that curriculum content and achievement standards establish high expectations for all students.”

I use and adhere to the relevant curriculum documents, policies and procedures to instruct my classroom teaching. I have also attended professional development sessions such as QCAT moderation, Pat Edgar (running records), James Ferguson (reading), Interactive whiteboards, Code of Conduct/ Student Protection/ Curriculum Risk Management and University ICT certificate to better myself as a professional teacher.

‘Kym is developing and documenting learning plans in accordance with the school policy documents. Kym is confident and articulate when delivering the curriculum to the class’ (Thurecht, personal communication, September, 2011).

‘Kym played an active role in planning the current unit of work. Throughout the unit, Kym developed ideas and learning experiences that developed a Language, Literacy, Numeracy, SOSE and Science focus’ (Cox, personal communication, September, 2011).

Behaviour management/ Standard 6 Support personal development and participation in society/ Standard 7 Create and maintain safe and supportive learning environments.

Behaviour management is an ongoing aspect of a professional teachers’ daily routine. What works one day for a student may not work the next day on the same student. I follow the Department of Education and Training (DET) (2007) Essential Skills for Classroom Management guidelines as stated below:
1. Establishing expectations
2. Giving instructions
3. Waiting and scanning
4. Cueing with parallel acknowledgement
5. Body language encouraging
6. Descriptive encouraging
7. Selective attending
8. Redirecting to the learning
9. Giving a choice
10. Following through

I believe these are 10 common sense skills that improve student behaviour. Whilst on my 5 Embedded Professional Learning (EPL) placements over the last 3 years I have incorporated the 10 skills into my teaching and have found them to work well along with each school’s behaviour management policies.

‘Kym’s behaviour management was modified in various ways today with different strategies used to keep students on task’ (Thurecht, personal communication, September, 2011).

‘Kym practiced several behaviour management techniques. She is aware of being consistent with her monitoring of behaviour’ (Thurecht, personal communication, September, 2011).

Problem solving

Problem solving /Standards 1- 10

UniSA (2011,p. 1) states “Problem solving is a process and skill that you develop over time to be used when needing to solve immediate problems in order to achieve a goal”. The problem solving process could include the following aspects; identify, explore, set goals, look at alternatives, select implement, evaluate (UniSA, 2011,p. 1).

Throughout my life and university studies I have developed exceptional problem solving practices. I have always been a confident, fair, smart, logical thinker. I believe this has helped me when I was a Retail Manager make the most suitable, important decisions. Being a mother has also influenced my problem solving skills as any parent will know, children are extremely complex individuals who constantly have problem solving issues such as: Why are they crying? How do I get them to eat vegetables?

I started my Bachelor of Learning Management Degree when my two children were aged 6 months and 2 ½ years old. I found that along with being a mother and a university student I uncounted many issues where I had to use my problem solving skills to achieve my goals. With these acquired life skills I have found it easier to problem solve in the classroom. Whilst on my internship there were many times where situations changed and I found myself using my problem solving skills to rectify issues, minor or severe.

'There were a couple of behaviour issues which Kym dealt with really well' (Thurecht, personal communication, August, 2011).

'She coped very well with the difficulties placed upon her by a learner who was struggling with the concepts being covered' (Thurecht, personal communication, August, 2011).

'Behaviour management was modified several times with different strategies used to keep the students on task' (Thurecht, personal communication, June, 2011).

'Kym has ensured that she is flexible in her learning experiences, and at times has had to change the learning experiences for a variety of reasons. Kym has taken this in her stride, and has continued teaching with little or no disruption to the class' (Cox, personal communication, September, 2011).

The one university course that I particularly feel covered the use of problem solving was Professional Knowledge in Context. One of the assessments was analysing an ethical dilemma, this concentrated on a real life dilemma in the school context. This gave me great insight into problems professional teachers face every day and the knowledge of how to handle them.

'Kym, you clearly understand the nature and complexities of ethical dilemmas as experienced by professional people in the postmodern world' (Isdale, personal communication, April, 2011).

I possess exceptional time management skills, not only at work but in my everyday life. I always complete tasks on time and to a high standard. I have always been a very well organised, efficient person and I have found that this has aided with my time management skills.

'Kym had a very well planned and organised lesson today.'(Thurecht, personal communication, September, 2011).

'Excellent lesson Kym, time management was great!' (Thurecht, personal communication, June, 2011).

'Throughout her internship Kym has shown exceptional time management skills' (Thurecht, personal communication, September, 2011).