Jonathon Belperio E-Portfolio

AITSL Standards

AITSL STANDARD 7: Engage professionally with colleagues, parents/carers and the community

7.1 Meet professional ethics and responsibilitiesUnderstand and apply the key principles described in codes of ethics and conduct for the teaching profession. 

ICT ELABORATION:It is vital and necessary that all teachers comprehend and maintain professional ethics and their responsibilities. This profession requires these because as teachers we have many responsibilities that provide safety and development to students, as the code ethics states “education, learning, protection and wellbeing of learners” are always to be upheld as teachers. Teachers must adhere to the professional rules and guidelines when using ICT tools in the school environment and with students. By using ICT it is an excellent way to stay up to date with the codes of conduct and ethics, especially as schools adopt new codes of behaviour for both teachers and students in regards to the appropriate use of ICT and cyber safety. By knowing and comprehending these ethics and policies it ensures or assists teachers to be aware of their duty of care in respect towards their students when using ICT. It also allows teachers to understand how they must behave while using ICT tools with interacting with students on social media such as Facebook, they may need to find more appropriate site such as Edmodo to communicate to students, or even just student email. By using ICT to understand my policies and ethics I would be fully aware that Turnitin provides anonymity, hence as an English teacher I would use Turnitin to ensure that students do not plagiarise their work, and allows teachers to abide by the ethics of using ICT and ensuring students safety.

EVIDENCE:AS a teacher I will ensure that I carry out the responsibilities of providing meaningful learning experiences to students in my care. I will ensure that I will and have acted honestly and with dignity, respecting the right of parents, students and colleagues of education, to acknowledge their heritage, culture, protect their privacy and value the school community and values. I will and have abided by the code of ethics of integrity, respect and responsibility.

7.2 Comply with legislative, administrative and organisational requirements Understand the relevant legislative, administrative and organisational policies and processes required for teachers according to school stage. 

ICT ELABORATION:Teachers have a range of administrative and legislative requirements to comply with which come from schools, state or even secular. Teachers must be aware of their own teacher registration requirements. Teachers must complete face-to-face courses to either learn skills and requirements or build/update on previous courses. By completing these courses it ensures teachers are up to date with particular requirements such as CPR Methods, as recently the techniques or regulations have changed. To access the requirements of registration one is able to go online to the TRB Website to locate all the details necessary. ICT tools have made it much easier for teachers to stay up to date with policies and requirements and find the relevant information needed as teachers. For example the ACARA and SACE website provide the information and requirements of teacher’s curriculum, teachers are also able to use digital lesson plan, roll call and assessment roll books. These ICT tools assist teachers in complying with legislative, organisational and legislative policies and requirements.

EVIDENCE:During professional experience I have adhered to the following school procedures:

Identification and sign in and out procedures Daily attendance records Yard duties Staff meeting attendance Student confidentiality Safety policies Behaviour management policies

Mentor Teacher Feedback:

7.3 Engage with parents/carersUnderstand strategies for working effectively, sensitively and confidentially with parents/carers 

ICT ELABORATION:It is vital that teachers use effective communications between themselves (teachers), students and parents, as well as fellow colleagues. This allows constant feedback, interactions, creates professional relationships and if so allows parents or carers to have a bigger say in their child’s education. There are numerous ways to communicate clearly, sensitively, confidentially and professionally.

There are many ICT tools that can aid teachers (us) in communication. These include an email account of the school, this is a fast way to communicate to students and parents and further provide students with quick feedback and even results with editing. Emails can be sent to particular folders to ensure organisation and demand of the email. By using BCC in the email it implies that the email is more personalised and warrants confidentiality of the recipient/s.

One example of using ICT as a communication format would be in History when we are studying WWI Australia. After each lesson or even before the lesson I can put up handouts, activity sheets or even the information on slideshow that was or will be covered in the lesson. If I have set an assignment I can ensure that parents are able to know where the students are at in the year and parents are able to reference the expectations, class outlines and the assessments in their own time.

By setting up these kinds of communication mediums it allows students and parents to feel more confident and are able to rely and trust the school and teacher more. It also allows teachers to build stronger professional relationship while creating less tension.

EVIDENCE:During my professional experience I had encountered one student who was falling behind in his assignments due to losing focus and willingness to learn. As such I made a phone call to the student’s parents informing them that their child is having difficulties in keeping up with assessments and that perhaps further monitoring in the home life would be beneficial to complete the required assessments. Additionally, I also provided the student with an extension and the parents a discussion of what the student must complete to achieve a passing grade. This was beneficial as it created a relationship between the parents and myself, while they were able to take an active and supportive role in their child’s learning.

7.4 Engage with professional teaching networks and broader communitiesUnderstand the role of external professionals and community representatives in broadening teachers’ professional knowledge and practice. 

ICT ELABORATION:As teachers we must engage with professional teaching networks and broader communities around Australia including professional developments. Teachers must engage with broader communities and to be able to do this they must have an extensive knowledge and understanding of the impact of their culture, culture identity and linguistic background on the education of the students of cultural backgrounds such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background.

It is essential that as teachers we continue to broaden the understanding of the indigenous culture and their history in order to effectively teach and engage the students and the students that identify as that culture. By respecting and supporting these communities and their knowledge of Indigenous culture or any culture it will continue to grow and develop. When teaching Indigenous Australian Culture and History it is important and vital that we instil the importance of sensitivity and respect surrounding Australian Indigenous history and culture.

When using ICT tools such as educational videos discussing Indigenous history, the topic of the stolen generation, it is vital and a necessity that you watch the video prior to showing the students to ensure that what you show in class is respectful and sensitive toward the students and the culture of the Indigenous Australians. Teachers must ensure that elders or community members of the culture are respected and that no deceased people are disrespected.

The Australian Indigenous Communications Association provides understanding of their culture, identity and linguistics of their people. The organisation speaks on their behalf. Teachers can ask for a speaker or use the rich resources on their website for lessons. Students will then be able to engage and participate in the lesson more openly while integrating ICT into the classroom such as Edmodo for further discussion.

EVIDENCE:I participated in external professionals and community representatives by attending professional development programs, subscribing to TES Australia where teachers are able to share ideas, lessons and resources and converse about our profession. I continually discuss strategies and ideas with fellow colleagues and the broader community such as parents/carers, museums etc. for history resources and excursion ideas. I participated in local community groups and colleague catch up nights.