Connie+Barkatsas

__**Module1and 2**__ In here the 8 general dimensions that makeup the standards provide a very good wholistic view of what it is to be an accomplish teacher in Language teaching. The standards contain theory and a practical analysis. It was good for me to reflect and to think about my own proffesional practices. It was also good to see the theory explicitly stated behind the taching practice as well as to get to know better the students that I teach, and how they learn. What is my role as Greek Teacher? How can I promote language learning in a more effective way? How Greek teaching is seen by my students? How does the Greek language is promoted in my school?and even in the wider school community? Each of the standard features a number of" reflection points". As a result of all these reflections that take place, suddendly My place as a language teacher takes central place! All the standards and how I behave as a language Teacher will enable me firstly to teach better and secondly it will help me to use these standars in order to evaluate and report not only about my students' learning but they will assist me to evaluate and pin point good and not so good elements of my teaching. It is therefore very confronting and I dare to say it took me longer to come to the point to document my findings! __**Module 3**__ __**Learning Learners and their world.**__ Current understanding s of learning During the presentation we had to consider various different learning theories and to ask our selves what kind of theories we apply to our teaching? __**Behaviourist ?/Constructivist?**__ we had abit of time to talk about this with our team. We discussed which of the theories we use in our classrooms most of the time.I like to believe that in my practice I use the consructivist theory than the behaviorist. Sometimes though I have used behaviorist theory so I can collect data with testing and learning how to apply a grammatical rule of gender in Greek by teaching how to change the ending od a word or by looking at particular grammatical rule. ( I do not apologise about this because I think some things we just have to learn them, to get on in life even in a repetitive way.)When I want to revise things I mostly call recycling of language so drilling is not used much in my classes. The content is also I think very important to me due to the whole school focus approach.I am trying to implement new ways all the time in my classes but I keep doing the same things when these work. My students like routine and especcially students with learning difficulties find routine very familiar and not scarry. In order to engage my students I find different realia to make my lessons more interesting.I speak to the students in Greek most of the time but sometimes I give instuctions in English. Some of my students have special needs so I try to help them and make them feel safe in my classes. __**My students**__ come from very many multicultural and varied backgrounds, some of them have 2 or 3 language backgrounds as well. So teaching them Greek is a privalege for me ,and when possible I try to connect Greek into English by pointing out the etymology of the English words that come from a Greek word and so on.Sometimes I tell them that all of them speak more Greek they think, or they know. I feel that in my classes where the kids are more positive about their own learning we use more Greek in class the whole time ( I think this will be a good project to investigate )Teaching a language to young kids I think should be natural, by games, songs, playing games, dancing, cooking, creating and making.Young students learn very fast and they like to show off about their learning. Usually we perform at assemblies and the kids are very confident about all these.As we progress in the years, grades 5/6 show more challenging behaviours. I tend to become more structual in my teaching and more formal in my delivery with these grades.My teaching methods vary in this way.With these grades I need to collect more information about the students' learning in order to write reports and to connect with them knowing more about their likes and dislikes.At this point I would like to say that as a teacher I use a more humanistic approach all the time, by implementing E5 and multiple intellinges and I feel that I present my self as a teacher who values interpersonal relationships( __**Rogers)**__ __**How well do I know my students ?**__ __**How could I be able to know them better?**__ I ask lots of questions about them, I try to understand where they are coming from and what makes them happy. I think happy students perform better.I try to collect work samples and I keep a folio of their work.It is important for every student especially with the visual artwork that they produce( I am also the art teacher in the whole school and EAL too)I encourage students to be happy and I always celebrate all their achievements. I believe that Primary students need lots of positive reinforcement and encouragement. In my classes at the end of every lesson we have what we call "gallery time". At the gallery we speak and point out things we did during the lesson and we find a positive point to make about someone's work and to give congratulations to that person in Greek. I display every student's work around the school and I find this a very rewarding method for me and my students. During "gallery time" students find a very natural way to say things we have learned and by talking about a piece of art it gives students a way to say things about another student by taking risks and not to worry if they make mistakes. Around the room they are lots of points of reference with lists of words, phrases, pictures, and all of these gives students the opportunity to practice. __**Meta language**__ As a Primary and language teacher I always try to draw upon my student's own expieriences in order to make connections about Greek culture and the cultures of my students. Sometimes a common practice makes a fantastic point for the start of a discussion (sometimes we have to do this in English due to the fact that there is alot of meta language to be used for concepts) but as a class we go back to Greek and practice and build upon our previous knowledge some new language elements. Students in my classes respect each other and show interest in learning. In Greek and in Art we build relationships with each other and these relationships develop over the years, from Prep to year Six. During my classe students are able to find out information by using not only books but also lap tops and desk top computers.Lately we also able to use Ipads in some of our lessons. __**ICT**__ The IWB is used all the time for teaching finding out things and for reserching information __**Scaffolding**__ takes place in many parts of the lesson.In my classes students are using it during reading and writing.According to the notes scaffolding is very important talking to a partner is a great way to analyse and make reflections about learning. Reflection takes place during the lesspon and and at the end of every session so we value other people's opinion. In the room as I pointed out before there lots of visual cues for students to develop new skills in a linguistic way. I find that lists od common family words and posters with sentences with pictures and visual aides.Student's work is on display during every new unit of work and that same way the other classroom teachers of the school have around the other classes.My students have strategies of how to find what they need around the room and use it for they learning.If my students need a word or a phrase for their writing they know how and where to find it. I use lots of strategies from 'readers writers workshops' in Greek in order for my students to see that in learning another language they can also improve their English! __**PD**__ The students can see the connections between their own learning spaces and in the Greek /Art learning space. I attend all the PD available to all the other teachers of the school and I follow the strategic plan of the school in my own learning space. Doing this, gives a greater understanding as a teacher and makes me an intergral part of the staff.I want to make sure that I am on the same page as the rest of the other teachers in my school. My students are ditital learners so I always include ICT in my classes.
 * ImplementationImodule reflections
 * ImplementationImodule reflections
 * __To know the standards__**

I || ||

Classroom Based Investigation Planner
 * Focus of Inquiry ||  ||
 * Student Learning Question ||  ||
 * Teacher Learning Question ||  ||
 * Rationale ||  ||
 * Design ||  ||
 * **Implementation** ||
 * Analysis & Reporting ||
 * Analysis ||  ||
 * Reporting ||  ||
 * Evaluation ||  ||
 * Implications ||
 * Implications ||

SECTION B: MY GOALS Set yourself some goals for your use of ICT in your classrooms. Start small and build up, but do challenge yourself. J McCulloch 2008
 * Budget Proposal**
 * **Item** || **Application** **(how item will be used/how it links to project)** || **Quantity** || **Item Price** || **Total** **Price** ||
 * **// Reflections on Language Specific Annotations //**
 * ** Classroom Language Use ** ||
 * Language Feature |||| How consistently I use this |||| Examples from my Practice |||| How I feel about my capabilities Eg. confident, unsure, mixed || Possible ways to address gap ||
 * Teaching French using vocab, syntax and discourse structures relevant to age and level of learners |||| frequently |||| structuring of questions in yr 7 using only "est-ce que" structure, as opposed to inversion etc with yr 12 |||| confident, great to have the support of a structure like AIM at yr 7 which provides a framework for the use of PDL. Sometimes difficult to adjust to higher level when works with yr 12 students ||  ||
 * ** Language Use Outside the Classroom ** ||
 * Language Feature |||| How consistently I use this |||| Examples from my Practice |||| How I feel about my capabilities || Possible ways to address gap ||
 * ** Explicit knowledge of the linguistic system ** ||
 * Language Feature |||| What I know about it |||| What I need to learn about it |||| Possible Ways to Address Gap ||
 * ** Explicit knowledge of language use ** ||
 * Language Feature |||| What I know about it |||| What I need to learn about it |||| Possible Ways to Address Gap ||
 * ** Attitudes, Values, Cultural & Linguistic Practices ** ||
 * Language Feature |||| What I know about it |||| What I need to learn about it |||| Possible Ways to Address Gap ||
 * ** Personal Professional Learning Program **
 * Ø Goals, objectives & timeline for future learning ||
 * ICT PLAN ** SECTION A: Discuss these questions with your table group
 * What ICT resources have you used in your classroom? ||
 * // From an intercultural perspective //, how did it promote: ** active construction ** of learning/ideas ** making connections ** with prior learning, new knowledge, across languages and cultures ** interaction ** between learners/users of the language ** reflection ** on language learning and use ** responsibility ** for learning and for appropriate communication across cultures ? ||
 * Making connections: E.g. interaction between Learners. ||
 * What ICT resources (equipment and programs) do you have access to: Personally? At school? What do your students have access to? ||
 * What opportunities could you create for your students: to ENGAGE with ICT? to CREATE with ICT? ||
 * How would this enhance your teaching of your language? ||
 * What technology would you like to incorporate into your classroom/lessons? ||
 * What technology do your students prefer? What implications does this have for your teaching? ||
 * What ideas for ICT projects do you currently have? ||
 * What ICT resources have you used in your classroom? ||
 * // From an intercultural perspective //, how did it promote: ** active construction ** of learning/ideas ** making connections ** with prior learning, new knowledge, across languages and cultures ** interaction ** between learners/users of the language ** reflection ** on language learning and use ** responsibility ** for learning and for appropriate communication across cultures ? ||
 * Making connections: E.g. interaction between Learners. ||
 * What ICT resources (equipment and programs) do you have access to: Personally? At school? What do your students have access to? ||
 * What opportunities could you create for your students: to ENGAGE with ICT? to CREATE with ICT? ||
 * How would this enhance your teaching of your language? ||
 * What technology would you like to incorporate into your classroom/lessons? ||
 * What technology do your students prefer? What implications does this have for your teaching? ||
 * What ideas for ICT projects do you currently have? ||
 * What technology would you like to incorporate into your classroom/lessons? ||
 * What technology do your students prefer? What implications does this have for your teaching? ||
 * What ideas for ICT projects do you currently have? ||
 * What technology do your students prefer? What implications does this have for your teaching? ||
 * What ideas for ICT projects do you currently have? ||
 * What ideas for ICT projects do you currently have? ||
 * By the end of next week: ||
 * Resources (including how you will get help if needed): ||
 * By the start of Term 3: ||
 * Resources (including how you will get help if needed): ||
 * By the end of Term 3: ||
 * Resources (including how you will get help if needed): ||
 * Flipping the classroom, providing ops for students to learn new grammar concepts at home, practicing these at school unde teach direction
 * What is the place of technology in scaffolding learning?
 * How might technology enable students to demonstrate their understanding at all levels of the learning process?
 * How do I get to know my students throughout our time together?
 * Need to get a picture of their cultural understandings at the beginning of a unit too... See worksheet 1 Indonesian example for a great idea about how to achieve this.
 * Importance of scaffolding learning with whole class first, then provide opps for students to work in small groups or pairs, before doing a task alone... Then assess when they are truly reay to demonstrate skill level
 * Differing focus of junior and senior classes... Challenge of getting through the course with seniors as opposed to experimentation and discovery with junior students
 * Communicative approach important, provide opportunities to practice Lang in classroom
 * Active vs passive learners at diff levels, where does this attitude shift come from?
 * Getting to know students is crucial to understanding them as learners, where do they come from, what might influence their success in the language
 * How can I develop students meta awareness of language, give them the words to speak about language and their understanding of it as well as their misconceptions