Jade Peartree's Blog

My professional reflections and documentation

Menu

Main menu

Skip to primary content
Skip to secondary content
  • Who is Jade Peartree?
  • AITSL Teacher Standards
  • Professional Knowledge
    • 1. Know students and how they learn.
    • 2. Know the content and how to teach it.
  • Professional Practice
    • 3. Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning.
    • 4. Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments.
    • 5. Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning.
  • Professional Engagement
    • 6. Engage in professional learning.
    • 7. Engage professionally with colleagues, parents/carers and the community.

Monthly Archives: January 2019

Teachers are Learners

Posted on January 20, 2019 by Jade Peartree
1

Teachers are Learners

  

I often remind my students that I do not have all of the answers. Teachers are not the keepers of knowledge and we are also learners. A good teacher learns with their students, demonstrating the traits of a good learner. I thought I should blog about my recent learning journey and what I feel are traits of a good learner.

As I’ve been on school holidays, I’ve had the opportunity to put myself in the shoes of the learner in an area of personal interest. My wonderful partner (Andy Peartree) gave me the BEST Christmas present, it was a full day Watercolour Art Class, taught by Karan Hudson (http://cmla.org.au/pdf/Karan_Hudson_Artist_Bio.pdf )

Before the class I was quite nervous, especially as I hadn’t been to an art class in many years and I wondered if I still possessed any relevant skills. This helped me to remember that my students this year may be feeling rather nervous on their first day of school or at the start of a new lesson. I will keep this in mind and try my best to put their minds at ease.

Karan Hudson is also a primary school art teacher and she believes in play based learning and inquiry methods, something I also believe and practice in my own teaching. Karan began by sharing her knowledge and experiences, directed us to gather the tools we required, and then allowed us time to set up, explore and play with the watercolour paints, various papers and brushes. I loved having the time to play and explore.

At first I didn’t have a clue what I wanted to paint, but I didn’t feel pressured, I was given some guidance along the way and then it all just happened. Before I knew it the day was over, I felt completely relaxed and in the pocket of learning. I was applying new techniques, seeking guidance from my teacher when I was unsure, experimenting, making mistakes and learning from them to enhance my next attempt. It was such a wonderful day and I left with a sense of real achievement, reconnected to my love of painting and creating.

Here are some of my paintings from the day:

 

My pear, for my partner Mr Peartree. I wet the page without paint, outlining the pear first so that the colour wouldn’t run, then I added the colour gradually, blending all of the different tones. The Poppy painting was created using leaves to print with. I quite liked the effect.

 

Landscape experiments, I loved how the paint moved and spread on the paper, it created wonderful natural lines.

 

The rock salt creates an effect on the paint, drawing the colour to the salt creating darker, grainy patches. I used the splatter effect by flicking the bristles of a brush on the page for the crashing of waves on the rocks. I also loved learning how to use glad wrap to create the lines on the rocks.

 

Glad wrap method.

A photo of the class at work. Everybody was so engaged and busy creating. I loved the opportunity to stop and wander around to look at what everybody else was doing. Not one painting was the same, we were all using the techniques taught but we were all creating our own uniques pieces. I often saw what someone else was doing and became inspired to try what they had done. I have used this technique in class with my students, it is a great strategy, especially for those who are a bit lost, need inspiration or if I want to share something that someone in the class has done as a good example.

Enough about my lovely art class!

Here are my Top 5 Traits of a Good Learner:

  1. Curiosity/ Inquirer: Someone who likes to explore their world, asks questions, tries new things, plays and investigates.
  2. Risk- Taker: Someone who is willing to learn, make mistakes and learn from them.
  3. Persistence: Someone who isn’t afraid to experiment with learning. Someone who tries something, fails, learns from their mistakes, then tries again.
  4. Open Minded: Someone who has an open mindset and is willing to try new things. Being willing to have a go, even if it’s something you’re not feeling confident about.
  5. Reflective: Someone who thinks about their own learning. What’s the point in learning something if we don’t reflect on what it has taught us? Share what you have learnt with others, teach somebody else a new skill, take the time to appreciate your own efforts. Most importantly, use what you have learnt to make connections with new learning.

Before I finish, I want to point out that I am aware that my Top 5 Traits of a Good Learner are some of the IB Learner Profiles. I believe in the IB Philosophy and have seen these traits in my students. I like to help my students identify these traits in themselves throughout our year together.

Also, if you haven’t put yourself in the position of a learner in a while, I challenge you to take a class, be a risk taker and enjoy the ride. Lifelong learning makes living worthwhile.

Thank you for visiting my blog. I hope you found it interesting.

 

 

 

 

 

Posted in 1. Know students and how they learn., 3. Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning., 4. Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments., 6. Engage in professional learning., 7. Engage professionally with colleagues, parents/carers and the community., Professional Engagement, Professional Practice | 1 Reply

Recent Posts

  • The Art of Inquiry; Kath Murdoch, Staff PD Day, Session 1
  • IPSHA EAL/D Hub Meeting Term 3, 2021
  • Grief: A 101 Guide to the Basics of Grief and Loss in Children.
  • Early Years Language & Literacy Development
  • Seesaw Activities

Twitter Feed

Tweets by @jadevidovich

My Purpose

As an educator I feel it is one of my responsibilities to reflect on my professional practice. This in turn will assist me in developing my teaching knowledge, skills and standards. My professional blog will record my progress and provide evidence of my development. I will be using the AITSL teaching standards to address and meet teacher registration guidelines.

Recent Comments

  • Heather Wood on Creating Digital Books & Student QR Codes
  • Emma on Creating Digital Books & Student QR Codes
  • Roisin on Teachers are Learners
  • Cerys Phillips on Digital Citizenship in the PYP 2016
  • Ms Wood on Digital Citizenship in the PYP 2016

Categories

  • 1. Know students and how they learn.
  • 2. Know the content and how to teach it.
  • 3. Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning.
  • 4. Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments.
  • 5. Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning.
  • 6. Engage in professional learning.
  • 7. Engage professionally with colleagues, parents/carers and the community.
  • AITSL Teacher Standards
  • Professional Engagement
  • Professional Knowledge
  • Professional Practice
  • Uncategorized

Archives

  • March 2022
  • October 2021
  • June 2021
  • August 2020
  • March 2020
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • July 2016
  • January 2016
  • October 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • January 2015
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • February 2014
  • December 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
Edublogs Default by Edublogs
Skip to toolbar
  • Log in
  • About WordPress
    • About Edublogs
    • Edublogs.org
    • Documentation
    • Contact