Standard 3: Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning
3.5 Use effective classroom communication
Standard 3.5 at a graduate level states that I must demonstrate my ability to use a range of verbal and non-verbal communication strategies to support the engagement of my students (AITSL, 2014). As part of my professional experience, I learnt very quickly the importance of pairing visual or tactile learning aids with verbalised communication for students in both mainstream settings and special education settings. Therefore I have provided examples of some of the visual aids and other strategies I used or developed over the course of my degree to support my students and their understanding and engagement.
Visual Schedule:
Visual schedules are beneficial for all students and teachers. It is a clear way of demonstrating the teachers expectations and it provides predictability to the day. This is particularly beneficial for students with Autism and intellectual disabilities who can be come quite anxious without warning about what is happening throughout the day (Hume, 2010).
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Visuals:
Matching visuals with auditory information/verbal cues is crucial in assisting the comprehension and serves as a reminder for individuals with poor receptive skills (Carpenter, 2010). For students with complex communication needs, they should be prompted to use visuals to aid themselves in communicating with a communication partner (McMillan & Raghavendra, 2010).
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Active Participation Strategies:
Active participation strategies are designed to ask all students in a group to respond all at once so that they are actively engaging in whole class/whole group instruction (Price & Nelson, 2014). Active participation encourages attentiveness, provides practice and provides students with the opportunity to communicate their responses effectively (Price & Nelson, 2014). Some of the examples provided I have used in my teaching. Mini whiteboards are great as they are a non-threatening way of displaying knowledge as it is easy for students to rub out their responses. The flashcards (letters) were used to get student to hold up the letter when they hear the sound whilst reading a story. The true and false flashcards were used after a shared reading experience to test comprehension. All strategies demonstrated effective ways for students to provide their responses.
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Checklists for students & reminders:
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I always develop checklists or some form of visual reminder to help my students in keeping on track with what they are doing. For some students this can also be a motivational tool. Some students really like being able to check off a list what they have achieved in a lesson/over lessons and also so they can see what they have left to do. In the top left hand corner is a note saying 'Glue me into your journal'. I use little reminders on all of my worksheets so students are aware of what they are to do once they are finished.
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Traffic Light Help System:
To facilitate students in asking for help, I like the traffic light system provided to the right. The allows students to communicate to me how they are progressing with a particular task. This also aims at supporting effective classroom communication, management and monitoring.
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