If you are looking for a unique placement to enrich your learning and teaching experiences as a pre-service teacher, you've come to the right place.
Many pre-service teachers with no science background might have concerns about teaching at Monash Tech School; myself as an example was worried that I would perform poorly at this placement because I know nothing about renewable energy. Spending these three weeks with our lovely program leader Veronica, peer teachers and students, has taken all my tensions away and allowed me to think about my specialisations from a different perspective.
We live in the 21st century and green energy has become a global trend in protecting our planet. The Superpowers program I was in, guided students to come up with new energy solutions and hopefully encourages them to develop a more sustainable lifestyle in the future. Tasks are very fun, practical and innovative in a digital learning environment, encouraging engagement from students.
This program removed my prejudice that “all subjects are separate” and inspired me to incorporate sustainability into my future Japanese and media lessons. The design thinking approach is also an effective strategy for teachers to plan lessons in a logical flow and build students’ knowledge step-by-step.
This is a valuable opportunity for pre-service teachers to conduct facilitation and co-teaching, not often seen in secondary schools. Rather than simply delivering all content to students, the learning process of our program is student-centred. Facilitated teaching allows students to take control of their learning, collaborate with peers and to think critically and creatively.
Meanwhile, pre-service teachers collaborate through open communication at all times to learn from each other. Cooperative teaching allows us to decide on appropriate learning approaches and content based on our strengths.
At Monash Tech School, pre-service teachers gain an in-depth understanding of engaging students and continue to practice their professional skills.
written by Wenni Li
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