Group Dynamic

These four students were selected due to their ability to extend and push each other in Earth and Space Science knowledge. Although these four students are in the same homegroup and have been together since the beginning of the year. These students have never previously worked together in STEM and when planning this I intended it to stay this way until the exact time of this research project. The students work well together and the Student B, C and D are all level headed students which made it easy to group them with Student A. His learning disability and behavioural disorder means that he is often highly anxious and loud during group work. However, Student C and D are both well mannered and quiet girls who enjoy encouraging and assisting students throughout their work time. 

 

End Results

This inquiry project had now provided me with a better understanding of what reflective practice entails.  Reflection is not always an individual process and often requires one to look at more then what is being presented and recalibrate your way of thinking and perceiving information.  Reflection can, and should include elements of collaboration to broaden and include different points of views, that may differ from my own.  I found that through this inquiry project, it was highly beneficial to my professional practice that I consult with my colleagues, especially as a specialist teacher when you don’t have the benefit of team teaching.  To be able to discuss my thoughts and concerns with another person allowed me to deeper examine my teaching ethics, and how by shifting my focus from simply the content of my lessons to a more comprehensive reflection on how to reach a variety of different learners and their individual needs.

 

I found through the course of this inquiry project that the use of digital technology in a STEM program does have a number of positive aspects that I believe, help enhance student understanding of Earth and Space Science. By providing students with the opportunity to research their own Earth and Space knowledge it allowed them to take ownership of their learning and the information they walked away from the science lesson with. This also allowed them to be involved in their own learning from the beginning of the term right through to the last week.  It is also evident that student growth occurred through the use of the Plickers testing as seen in the evidenced student results. Students were also more motivated to complete work that they had more control and input over, from the research and write up the process to completion of the final solar system journal. I have also developed a deeper appreciation for the role that data can play in directing my teaching.  Using a variety of different assessment tasks allowed me to develop a better understanding of student progress, as well as directing my future teaching.

 

Peer observations, receiving constructive feedback and completing my own self-assessment all played a vital role in this inquiry project.  Being able to discuss what worked well and what didn’t with my mentor teacher and other experienced colleagues, enabled me to continually refine my teaching approaches and lesson development.  This encouraged me to re-evaluate my focus and think about what my students could do and then create learning opportunities for them to be able to achieve success.  Identifying student weaknesses still played an integral role, but by breaking down their weakness into individualised learning goals allowed students to focus on one goal at a time, so that success was achievable.

 

Overall, this inquiry project has enhanced my desire to continue on my teaching journey in the STEM area of teaching and continue to learn from my colleagues and implementing new strategies in my classroom.  I have a genuine passion for teaching and look forward to working with students and helping them develop a love of learning, encourage them to become risk takers, to think beyond what they know and look for and embrace opportunities to discover things that they don’t, to know that it is okay to make mistakes.