MSS FINAL PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE REPORT

2019
Student ID
Pre-service Teacher Sarah Mutch
2153178

School Wirreanda Secondary School

Zoe Finch Learning Area

Mentor Teacher(s) Biology

Eric Drew Learning Area

ICS

David O’Callaghan Learning Area

Visual Arts

Sarah Bradbury
School Co-ordinator

Dianne Wilkinson Coordinator

University Liaison Lou Pike Pyman

Please delete those not applicable Please select

Teaching Days Extended Placement: Up to 65 days

CONTEXT Please add brief context statements about the school and class:
School sector; size and composition of campus (R-12, Area, Primary); particular
features or unique characteristics; index of disadvantage.
School

Wirreanda Secondary School is a 8-12, Suburban, Secondary, Category 3 school, that is focused on
high expectations, innovation and improvement. Our central purpose is to develop our students'
learning and wellbeing and we know that the most critical driver for this development is our focus on
continued improvement of our teachers and leaders and fostering genuine student voice.
Our school values of respect, honesty, responsibility and achievement encapture our daily
actions and forward directions at Wirreanda Secondary School. We work hard to ensure all students
are provided with opportunities to succeed and that they graduate as well-rounded individuals who
feel a sense of worth and contribution to the local and global community.
Wirreanda Secondary School School Improvement Plan Goals for 2019 are:

1. Increase students SEA achievement in reading

2. Increase students SEA achievement in numeracy
3. Increase students SACE achievement

Wirreanda Secondary School offers programs to challenge students in learning appropriate to their
interest, readiness and needs. These programs include the Specialist Sports Course, SMAF, VET, and
Inclusive Support.
Approximately 40% of students are School Card recipients, 13% are on a Negotiated Education Plan
and 9% are Aboriginal.

Class (including children with special needs)

The Stage 1 Biology class had 12 students, 4 on NEP. Their abilities ranged greatly, however
behaviour was good and little behaviour management strategies were needed. However, their
motivation to complete work was low and therefore strategies were needed to maintain engagement.

The Year 9 Science and Maths (ICS) class consisted of 26 students with an even gender split and 4
students had NEPs. The class has a broad range of ability and readiness and require a range of
 differentiation strategies. There is a range of complexities in behaviour but if supportive behaviour
management strategies are used students mostly engage in activities.
In addition to her work with classes in the ICS and Science Learning Areas, Sarah worked with a
Stage 1 Visual Art class. This class of 21 students was predominantly female, and included two ATSI
students, one EALD student and several students with additional learning and/or complex personal
needs. Poor attendance was a significant issue for many of the students, which impacted on
continuity of learning and students’ ability to fulfil assessment requirements.

ASSESSMENT AGAINST THE AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL STANDARDS FOR TEACHERS

Please place an ‘X’ at the point along each continuum that best represents the development of the pre-service
teacher towards each of the standards at this time.

PROFESSIONAL KNOWLEDGE

Standard 1 Know students and how they learn

I I I X I__
Complete Novice Emerging Graduate Proficient

Standard 2 Know the content and how to teach it

I I I X I__
Complete Novice Emerging Graduate Proficient

PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE

Standard 3 Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning

I I IX I__
Complete Novice Emerging Graduate Proficient

Standard 4 Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments

I I IX I__
Complete Novice Emerging Graduate Proficient

Standard 5 Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning

I I I X I__
Complete Novice Emerging Graduate Proficient

PROFESSIONAL ENGAGEMENT

Standard 6 Engage in professional learning

I I I X I__
Complete Novice Emerging Graduate Proficient

Standard 7 Engage professionally with colleagues, parents/carers and the community

I I IX I__
Complete Novice Emerging Graduate Proficient
SUMMARY STATEMENTS (You may choose to comment on both personal and professional characteristics)

School Coordinator/Principal
Sarah has engaged both energetically and professionally with her professional experience at
Wirreanda Secondary School (WSS). She has interacted with colleagues, students and the school
community in a positive manner and communicated effectively through various modes of
communication. This resulted in the development of a strong rapport with her students and staff.
Sarah actively participated in a range of professional development opportunities throughout her
placement, including Learning Area Huddles, and professional development sessions, and
demonstrated an eagerness to further develop her knowledge and ability to teach the Australian
Curriculum and SACE in her broad range of subject areas. This included developing knowledge and
understanding of integral areas of our School Improvement Plan priorities; including literacy, student
voice and critical and creative thinking skills, which were applied and integrated into Sarah’s teaching
supporting the development of future focused learning skills.
Throughout this professional experience, Sarah also demonstrated the attributes of a reflective
practitioner through openly taking on feedback from her mentors, and modifying and applying this to
her teaching practice. This enabled growth and increased her effectiveness as a teacher throughout
the duration of the placement.
Congratulations Sarah, thank you for your valuable contributions to our WSS community, and I wish
you all the best for your future teaching career.

Name: Sarah Bradbury Date: 1 July 2019

University Liaison
Sarah quickly established good relationships with her students and maintained a safe learning
environment for them. She was quick to implement feedback and used a wide range of student
behaviour techniques to engage students in learning. She provided lesson plans with good
detail and could individualise plans for different learning abilities and styles. Sarah participated
in a wide range of professional development sessions and proved she had a good grasp of
curriculum and how students learn. I believe she would be a valuable addition to any school and
I wish her well in completing her studies and starting her teaching career.

Name: Dianne Wilkinson Date: 26/7/2019

SUMMARY STATEMENT (May be used as a referee statement)

Classroom Teacher/Mentor
Student Name: Learning Area:
Sarah Mutch Visual Arts
Professional Knowledge
Sarah has a sound knowledge of Visual Arts subject content and understanding of how students
learn, and has planned learning activities with clear learning intentions and assessment criteria which
are aligned to SACE requirements. She makes consistent assessment decisions and provides clear
feedback to students. She is beginning to implement differentiation strategies that support and
extend students of varying abilities, and students whose learning has been interrupted due to
absence.

Professional Practice
Sarah’s lessons have been thoroughly organised, including engaging lesson starters and plenaries to
check for understanding. She utilises a range of teaching methods to cater for individual learning
needs, including visual presentations, verbal cues, written handouts, online learning platforms
(Google Classroom), practical demonstrations and 1:1 support. Sarah has calmly and thoughtfully
applied behaviour management strategies and strategically ignores secondary behaviours, however
building her presence within the classroom and consistently addressing minor concerns before they
escalate will support her in maintaining a more settled classroom environment.

Professional Engagement
Sarah has enthusiastically participated in all aspects of teaching, including meetings, professional
development, collaborative planning and moderation, yard duties and assessment and reporting
processes. She actively seeks support and guidance from colleagues as a means to advance her
own practice.

Written by: David O’Callaghan Date: 19 June 2019

SUMMARY STATEMENT (May be used as a referee statement)

Classroom Teacher/Mentor
Student Name: Learning Area: Stage 1 Biology
Sarah Mutch
Professional Knowledge
Sarah developed a strong rapport with each student early in her placement, allowing her to work
closely with them and to take over the class seamlessly. She delivered lessons, which were an
appropriate level for the course, meeting the required learning from the Subject Outline. She clearly
knew the content, and how to teach it effectively, and was able to use a range of strategies to teach
and recap on learning.

Professional Practice
Sarah used a diverse range of strategies to improve student engagement and to assess student
understanding. She delivered content in a variety of ways including: written, verbal, practicals, and
1:1 support. She provided high quality resources to students via our online platform (Google
Classroom). Her lessons were planned well in advance, and she sought feedback on their structure
prior to delivering them. She also modified her planning in response to student needs. While she
needed minimal behaviour management strategies in this class, she developed her classroom
presence across her placement to improve student focus and work output. She will need to continue
in this area as she progresses in her career. Sarah was able to deliver two assessment tasks in this
course, a practical report and an exam. This gave her experience in two assessment types:
Investigation Folio and Skills and Applications task. Sarah was capable of modifying assessment
based on student absence, and implemented Special Provisions while teaching this class.
 Professional Engagement
Sarah consistently engaged with colleagues for advice and strategies to implement in her class. She
worked collaboratively with other teachers and PSTs to learn more about the students she taught
and how to effectively work with them. She participated fully in all professional learning opportunities
and in team meetings. She regularly engaged in conversations with her mentors about her lessons
and seeking feedback and advice on her teaching. Sarah was present for yard duties and took the
opportunity to be involved in the behaviour management support strategies established at
Wirreanda.
Written by: Zoe Finch Date: 19 June 2019

SUMMARY STATEMENT (May be used as a referee statement)

Classroom Teacher/Mentor
Student Name: Learning Area: Middle School Science and Math
(ICS)
Sarah Mutch
Professional Knowledge
Sarah was quick to form good working relationships with the ICS students. She effectively tailored
and delivered lessons for a prescribed integrated Maths and Science program. While some of the
content she taught was unfamiliar to her Sarah was able to prepare execute the lessons effectively.
She provided a safe working environment using established classroom norms.
Professional Practice
Sarah Utilised a number of strategies to engage the students including no hands up techniques to
foster a democratic community of learners, she also used supportive behaviour management
strategies such as assigned seating and making expectations and class norms clear. Sarah used
differentiation strategies such as grouping students according to readiness and providing tailored
scaffolds. Sarah used a number of activity types to teach content in different ways including didactic
teaching, kinaesthetic activities and individual and collaborative activities. She worked hard to
develop and implement tasks that were low floor, high ceiling.
Professional Engagement
Sarah attended Learning area meetings and participated in collaborative marking and moderation of
assessment tasks. She engaged in professional discussions with both pre-service teacher
colleagues and staff in the Maths and Science faculty pertaining to the development of tasks and
programs as well as pedagogy and quality teaching.
Written by: Eric Drew Date: 11 July 2019
SUMMARY ASSESSMENT (To be agreed by the School Coordinator and the University Liaison)

In our opinion Sarah Mutch

has demonstrated the following overall level of performance in this final professional experience:
(Please click on appropriate box below)

☐ Unsatisfactory

☐ Satisfactory

☐ Competent

☐ Outstanding

NOTES FOR COMPLETING THIS REPORT

The pre-service teacher may wish to submit this report with an application for employment. Please avoid the use of
acronyms as student reports are often viewed by interstate and international employers who are not always familiar
with South Australian nomenclature.

Please keep an electronic copy of this report and submit the report to the University Liaison for
completion.

If this is not possible then please email it directly to: mssprofexp@flinders.edu.au