How This Experience Has Changd me

Doing a teaching placement in Australia has helped me grow in numerous ways. Not only did I benefit from this experience educationally, but personally as well. I learned a lot of teaching techniques that were different from those we use here. Perhaps one of the most influential aspect of my teaching experience was the community culture of the school. I have taken away the desire to build and foster relationships with all of the staff members at whichever school I am placed in. In Australia all the teachers gathered in the staff lounge for all breaks and lunch, which was very different from my experience here at home.
After dealing with people of all cultures, races, and personalities I feel I have developed in my communication skills. I worked and lived with people I have never met before, which was a challenge but forced me to think outside of my box and comfort zone. This has made me more confident in my abilities to work effectively with a variety of people.
I feel I have become way more cultured than I previously was. I took in a lot from all of those I interacted with in Australia. I spent all of my time trying to learn as much as I could. Upon my arrival back in America I have realized how many positive aspects of the Australian culture I have benefited from. I became more open to people’s differences and accepting of others. The culture in Australia is extremely laid back and accepting of others. Every person I interacted with from the teachers to the waiters in restaurants was extremely nice and helpful. This has changed me and really made me aspire to be a genuinely nice and caring person.

Educational Differences

Learning about Australia's educational system has been a great experience and has provided me with a wealth of knowledge. A typical primary level school day begins at 9 and ends at 3:30, with a morning break as well as lunch. All schools have what they call "morning tea", during which time children have time to eat a snack and play while teachers have thirty minutes for a break. During the lunch break students also receive a thirty-minute break for playing outside. I have really enjoyed these breaks, not only because I get a break but because I have seen the positive benefits the students gain. Although there are still behavior issues, the students get the adequate amount of time to be outdoors and exercise and then enter the classroom a little more calmly.
All of the subjects are very much the same to ours at home. The majority of the time is spent on reading, writing, and math (essentially the same as us). The atmosphere in the schools is a whole lot more relaxed compared to home. There are very little standardized tests given, and time is spent of students actually learning (not just teaching to the test). After explaining how our educational system works, the testing and scripted lessons, many of the teachers were appalled and surprised.
The major difference of our school systems involves the districting aspects. In Australia there is a large sense of competitiveness between schools (and NO this isn't based on test scores!). Parents are free to choose any school they would like for their child, even if it is an hour from where they live. They are not districted and are allowed to send their children to whichever school they desire. Since this is how things are done, many schools struggle to get a decent amount of students. Schools really have to market themselves (i.e. provide better technologies and more interesting excursions) to appeal to the parents. As a result many schools are under funded and do not receive very large student populations. I believe this aspect makes me thankful for how we decide school populations at home!

Friendships in a Foreign Country

Living with complete strangers was something I was extremely apprehensive about. On the plane ride here I was thinking to myself, what am I doing going to a foreign country and living with families I have never met before. Upon meeting my families my nerves were settled and I began to feel at home. I have split my time in half with two families and have become close with all of the family members.
Spending so much time together has allowed me to form bonds with both of the families. It has been so wonderful to feel so at home and comfortable with everyone I have met. I have really enjoyed getting to know all of the children in these families. My first family had younger teenage children, who I got to know very well. I was able to form a friendship with them, talk about everyday things, and even offer advice. The second family I have been staying with has slightly older children, who are around my age. I felt I could really relate to them, especially since they have all traveled to the states before!
It is an extremely good feeling to be so far from home but still feel like you have family and friends around. Taking the relationships and friendships I have formed home with me will be one of the most rewarding aspects of this trip.

English Language Teaching

Write a one page description of the English Language Teaching you have seen at your placement school:

Improving literacy skills has been a school wide goal for at my placement this school year. They have just begun to use a program called Doorway Into Practical Literacy (DIPL). The DIPL program focuses on spelling, grammar, reading, and writing and is now used in all classrooms (prep through grade 6). In the beginning of the week students receive spelling words, which they practice visualizing and then writing. The major difference I have seen with this concept is the fact that they focus solely on the sounds of the words. For example, one of the students has a broken arm so I was writing down her words for her. She was orally spelling them to me, except she wasn't telling me the letters just the sounds. I kept telling her okay good you know the sound but what is the actual letter. I was later informed that my way of spelling is quite different from this program. I like the way they are focusing on letter sounds, however, as we all know there are letters that have similar sounds. One of the words was cuff and the young girl sounded out the word and I began to write c-u-f and she said that was right. I said are you sure this is right, she again sounded out the letters and said yes, still leaving out the last f.
Another technique in this program is the use of nonsense sentences. They have sentences that have difficult words in them but as a whole don't make a sense. The objective of this is to have students focus on sounding out the letter sounds and correctly spelling each word. They use words that don't make sense in a sentence to challenge students to focus on each word. I think this is a good technique and the students have shown growth in the 3 short weeks I have been here.
Each week the students learn a new grammar rule. They discuss vowel sounding, letter blends, prefixes and suffixes, etc. Overall, there technique in teaching literacy is extremely similar to ours. After discussing this with my teacher her, she explained that this is the first time they have followed such a regimented program. Most of the teachers do find it very hard to believe how structured we are in our teaching at home. The style is very much laid back here, which of course has it's pros and cons.

Foreign Language Experience

Since I am in Australia there has been no reason for me to progress in learning a foreign language. Although Australians have somewhat heavy accents, they do in fact speak English. There are some differences in vocabulary, as I have mentioned before. I have found myself somewhat confused at times by the vocabulary differences so I have had to ask the students and adults to clarify.

Common Differences:
Australia USA
Thongs Flip Flops
Rubber Eraser
Boot (of a car) Trunk (of a car)
Barrack (for a team) Root (for a team)
Maths Math or Mathematics
Full Stop Period (punctuation)
Jumper Sweater/Sweatshirt
Torch Flashlight

Significant Teaching Experience

I have been able to take over small groups during the maths section of the day. Maths is the Australian way of saying math or mathematics. The school I am placed in has combined grades, so I have been working with the grade 3-4. This is a combination of students in grades 3 and 4. For maths they are separated into two ability-level groups. I have taken over the higher of the two groups.
The grade 3-4 teachers follow a program called 'maths plus', which was handed to me to base my lesson off. I quickly realized the similarities in our math programs at home to the maths plus program in Australia. Upon glancing at the program I realized that the weeks assignments were purely worksheets. I realized I had to stick to the program somewhat but wanted to add some creativity to increase student's interest levels. I quickly began looking through resources to find math games and activities that focused on the same concepts. One lesson focused on addition and the laws of properties, so I incorporated a game with dice. Students were competing with a partner to reach 100 points. They rolled the dice and added the numbers to find the sum, they continued to do so keeping tracking mentally of their sum. I threw in a couple of rules to make the game a little more interesting. The students responded very well to this game and were grateful to be doing something different.
I continued the lesson by having students write their own definitions of the commutative property (this was the focus of the lesson). The students were very caught off-guard by this requirement. They were very apprehensive about writing definitions of math terms. The day before we spent the whole maths lesson working on the commutative property, so I knew students had a firm grasp of the concept. After complaining the students buckled down and wrote some definitions. I had the students share their responses, which proved to be a nerve-wracking experience. Every student in the group had written a clear and correct definition and I felt extremely proud. I provided each and every student with words of encouragement and they seemed to appreciate them very much. At the end of this lesson I truly felt that the students took away an understanding of a somewhat difficult math concepts, as well as a boost of confidence.

Significant Cultural/Emotional Experience

Although I personally feel I have not had to make significant cultural or emotional adjustments, there are vast differences in the political structures of Australia compared to those at home. I would not consider myself an expert by any means about the Australian government; however, I have come to learn a great deal about the way things are run. Australia is vastly influenced by the British, as evident in the structure of the cities, buildings, and their government.
There are some minor adjustments I have had to make during my stay here. The light switches in Australia are quite different from the American ones. They have sockets with switches to either allow the energy through or permit it from flowing into the appliance. Adjusting to vehicles driving on the opposite side of the road has taken awhile to adapt to. The larger problem with the vehicles is the fact that the steering wheel is located on the right side of the car. I have walked to the right side multiple times while being the passenger, which has been somewhat embarrassing.
Australians are very conscious of their energy and water. They are very conservative in their environmental approaches. As we at home are trying to become more "green", those I have interacted with here have already mastered this technique. Dryers are not typically found in many households, which is quite different from home. I did the wash and hung all of my clothing on the line outside to dry. Although I am used to hanging some things to dry, I have never hung an entire load outside. Since Australia suffers such droughts they are very conservative with their water. Showers do not last more than a couple of minutes and water is not served with every meal, as it is at home.
Although I have had to adjust to these minor differences during my stay, I would not say they are significant in any way. I must say the hardest thing I have encountered is adjusting to this laid back state of mind that Australians seize. The stress levels seem extremely lower than ours in America. I must say they have it right... "no worries"!