S1, EP 28: Season 1 Finale

Reflecting on the year that was 2021!

What a year 2021 has been. It has brought us many highs and many lows, including lockdowns and a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In episode 28, the Teacher Takeaway team host a live season finale to reflect on the year that was and answer listener questions, including:

• finishing the year strong (1:35)
• making the most of the holidays (7:10)
• starting out as a new teacher (12:36)
• school communities and wellbeing (25:00)
• 2021 takeaways (34:11)

Finishing The Year Strong

Listener question: How do you finish the year strong?

​Take the time over the remaining couple of weeks to celebrate with your students, looking at the growth and achievement over the year. Have fun with the kids and get them to help with some spring cleaning, even if you're not moving classrooms next year.

Getting the kids to create a portfolio of their learning from across the key learning areas along with photos that can be turned into a collage is a fantastic way to celebrate the year with students. 

​Try not to get caught up in the whirlwind of thinking about and planning for 2022. Enjoy the remaining moments with your current students. 

Using a reflection jar with post-it notes that you can write positive or funny things that happened throughout the year. As a staff, pull these out on the last day and share these moments together and have a laugh. 

Take the time to reflect on all things you have achieved as a teacher in 2021, such as:

• What worked really well?
• What didn't work so well?
• What will you change or adapt movig forward?
• What are your goals?

Making The Most Of The Holidays

​Listener question: How do we make the most of our holidays?

• Switch off from social media groups by muting them and taking a break from them. 
• Connect with your family and friends.
• Do things that fill your bucket and that re-energise you, such as hiking or walking
• Plan your time
• Set a date to begin your planning and plan out when you will focus on planning and for how long.
• Take the time to find out what refreshes you 
• Get out and exercise (if that's your thing)

Starting Out As A New Teacher

​Listener question: I’m an undergrad starting a full time temp contract next year. Best advice at what to prepare over the holidays? I want to be as organised as possible to eliminate anxiety when starting. 

• Utilise your team. Don't try to run off and do it all yourself.
• Be open with your supervisor and never be afraid to say "I don't know what I'm doing!"
• Utilise the school scope and sequences.
• Learn about the programs the school uses, take them and differentiate it for your class.
• Learn as you go from those around you.
• Read the curriculum and know it well.
• Don't plan too excessively but don't underplan as you'll set yourself up for stress, anxiety and often failure.
• Keep classroom organisation simple.
• Pinterest perfect classrooms look great but are not always functional
• Write down your core values and you goals for the year.
• Ask your supervisor, "What are your expectations of me?"
• Work collaboratively with your stage or grade team to plan and evaluate
• Build strong connections with your team - you're all working towards the same goal for your students and we want consistency of practice
• Forward plan for only the first 2 weeks
  • know the syllabus you will be teaching really well
  • write down your expectations for learning and behaviour 
    • what will you tolerate?
    • what will you not tolerate?
  • build expectations for learning and behaviour with students to give agency, voice and student ownership
  • decide on ways to build relationships with students
    • who are they as learners? as people?
    • what will I do to understand their strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes
  • build classroom culture
  • the learning will come but spending time on relationships and culture, setting up routines makes the learning process easier
• High expectations for all students
• Reach out to executive to find out about systems and structures in place at the school in regards to behaviour management
  • make sure that your classroom practice and culture aligns with those things
• Touch base with the leader(s) of Literacy and Numeracy
  • what is the focus and the big drivers?
  • what will you need to implement in your classroom to align with the school initiatives and vision
• Get to know your school context
  • Have a coffee in the local coffee shop so that you can see what the community is like
  • Look into trauma informed practice and restorative practices 
• Ask about having a mentor (official or unofficial) that guide you 
  • in practice
  • in accreditation
• Find a marigold - a venting buddy who will listen to the good, the bad and the ugly 

School Communities and Wellbeing

Listener question: How does a school transition from a small learning community to a large school, and still maintain the level of well-being and community? 

• Get an understanding of what changes are happening in that community
  • what are the needs of the community you are working in?
  • what is the community about?
  • what representatives will you be working with?
  • what role are your parents and citizens playing?
• Utilise the resources available to you, for example:
  • Tell Them From Me survey (TTFM) - makes sure you are completing it every year and getting as many responses from students, staff, and parents
    • are there growing trends?
    • focus on the sense of belonging aspect
  • People Matters survey so you can monitor the values and trends in the community so you can modify as needed  
• Build a sense of belonging
  • what are we intentionally doing to make sure our students feel like they belong, are valued and are a part of the school?
• Utilise the data to look for ways you can champion wellbeing
  • having a wellbeing week - no meetings for staff and fun acitivities with the students 
• Look for ways to utilise the community in the school
  • what expertise do they have
• Clear and effective communication is key
  • needs to be consistent
• Build relationships - knowing, valuing and caring for all students
  • Take time to have a conversations in the playground, at the gate, in bus lineseven if they're not in your class

2021 Takeaways

• Mindset matters - Go in, have a good attitude and you'll be ok.
• We are stronger than we realise. We are capable of more than we know.
• 2021 showed how resilient and adaptable teachers are and how important the profession is. 
• Wellbeing was a big takeaway in 2021 - for teachers and students 
• Connections and strong relationships were really important, especially in removing the isolation during lockdowns
• Teachers showed a greater willingness to take risks and try things they probably would not have done if it wasn't for lockdown and remote learning 
• 2021 really highlighted the importance and power of collaboration with our teaching teams 
  • collegial support
  • co-planning
• People over process

Wishing everyone a safe holiday break. 

Join us again in 2022 for more Teacher Takeaway podcast with your hosts Aaron Johnston, Alice Vigors, James Gray and Rebecca West!