I completed my graduate stage professional experience placement at Mount Gravatt State High School, which has a population of 1185 students and an ICSEA value of 1068. Only 1% of the student population identifies as Indigenous, with 40% of students having a language background other than English, which provided me with many opportunities to engage with and plan for differentiation within lessons and assessment. Through Mount Gravatt State High School’s extensive EAL/D program, and various community ties, I was able to strengthen and extend my ability to differentiate for students with diverse needs and employ strategies to positively engage learners in valuable experiences.
During my time at this school, I was able to engage with colleagues and students, becoming part of the school culture and community by developing strong rapport and relationships . I taught Junior Secondary Humanities, Senior Secondary Geography to both Year 11 & Year 12, and Senior Secondary English Essentials to Year 12.
Throughout my practicum I was heavily involved in planning Senior Geography Units and Assessments for the new curriculum, developing and demonstrating my ability to maintain an organised learning environment while still maintaining flexibility in teaching content to fit student needs. Likewise, I engaged in extra-curricular activities with students including excursions and QDU Debating Mentorships with the Junior School.
My final report outlines that I effectively applied feedback to improve planning and teaching, whilst implementing new ICTs and explicit teaching instructions to students. I incorporated the spectrum of the essential skills for classroom management and effectively used student data to create resources and plan lessons to support student learning.
Over the 6 week period, I demonstrated exceeding graduate level in all relevant APSTs which follow:
Planning Effectively: 1.1, 1.3, 1.5, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5, 3.1, 3.2
Teaching Effectively: 2.1, 2.6, 3.3, 3.4, 3.5, 3.6, 6.3
Managing Effectively: 6.1, 4.2, 4.3
Assessing and Recording Learning: 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5
Professional Conduct: 4.4, 4.5, 7.1, 7.2, 7.4, 7.3
Georgia Ferguson 