Observations And Recommendations For Education Support Work Placement

Task 1 – CHCEDS026

• Beforeundertaking this assignment you should have found a suitable school setting that agrees to accept you for the work placement.

Each of the seven (7) clusters in Certificate IV Education Support (CHC40213) has a workplace component. Were possible, we suggest that you arrange to complete all required work placement hours at one school. You are required to gather specific documents, make observations and journal entries throughout work placement to enable completion of workplace assignments.

It is recommended that you attend at least 15 hours at a school for each cluster.

It is important that you are aware of the work placement hours required for each cluster and keep this in mind when planning your studies.

• You must have submitted your Student Readiness for Work Placement documents before you undertake this assignment.
• Complete all of the theory (reading and exercises) for the units in this Cluster.
• Complete the Cluster 4 online quiz, forum discussion and written assignment.
• If there is an Assessor in your workplace with a TAE40110 Certificate IV in Training & Assessment qualification and you wish to be assessed on the job, please contact your OTEN Education Support teachers to discuss the procedure for this.
• At some point during work placement, an OTEN teacher may conduct a workplace visit. The teacher may observe the student undertaking tasks in the workplace as part of assessing a student’s competency.

How you will be assessed

These units are competency based. In order to be deemed competent in these units you must satisfy all elements specific to the units and the essential knowledge and critical aspects of assessment in a range of situations. The assignment has been developed to cover these criteria and your OTEN teacher will review all assignments and assess your overall result to deem you competent in each unit.

• Ensure that all sections of the form are completed.
• Scan in your completed forms and upload both Part A and Part B for marking via the OLS. Alternatively, post your complete assignment to OTEN (if submitting by post, you must attach a completed result slip) – and remember to keep a copy for yourself.

1. During work placement, complete a journal showing at least five (5) different occasions where you have implemented behaviour support techniques for a student. Your journal should include:
2. The date
3. Location
4. The age of the student
5. What technique you have implemented within the classroom? Was it part of their IEP, a technique you have observed, or one you have learnt about?

Date	Location	Age	What happened and Techniques
	Inside Class room, on the mat	7	Before stating the day teacher gathered all students to the mat and asked them sit on the spots. Allegra wonder around and sit in the table while all the other students sits on the mat.    Teacher explained me from the beginning this is something she work on her IEP as well and what she trying to do is get Allegra’s attention to her and asked her to sit on her spot. She gave me visuals as well.  I have observed several times how teacher handling the same situation and help Allegra to follow instructions and sit on the mat. So I reached to her and get down to her level and showed to her the visual of siting down and pointed to the mat and said “Lets sit on the mat”
	Literacy group, inside class room	7	One of student started to scream and I learned from teacher how to teach them level of noise inside the class room, She had presented it in visually clearly to see anyone, so I went to the student and started a conversation about the nose level and linked the visual as well to make it clear for the student. This is goal for whole class.
	News time, on the mat	6	In the news time  two students started to talk to each other and not listening to the student who is sharing the news with whole class.  I sat down with them and used non verbal  (closed my lips with one finger and look at them and then looked at the talking student ) methods to show them to be silent and listen to friend who talking.
	Line up outside and walking back to the class.	7	After recess all students line up and waited until their teacher. When teacher came  all walked back to the class. On the way few students stared to pushed each other.   I reached to them and said no pushing,
	Maths group, inside class room	7	When doing math students had to share erases, glue sticks and scissors      within the groups. Few students not happy to share.  They keep glue sticks to them when someone asked to use it  even they are not using. I went to the table and sat with them and talk to them about why we should share our things. Tried to build up a conversation with them and gave them a safe space to share their ideas.  Then one student requested eraser and  one student gave erase that he used. I said well done, look sharing is caring. Everyone happily continued.

1. Describe three (3) different occasions when you have maintained confidentiality during your work placement.

When I am working with year 1 and kindergarten classes teacher explained me about two children that have additional needs. One child diagnose with ASD and other child with hearing impairment and speech delayed with lots of other health issues.  During my work placement I have involved to many events that’s organized by the school with these children. Some of events were public and parents and family members also welcome to visit and see. During these events I always kept the information explained to me confidential.  

While I am working with children also I always kept those information confidentially and never worked with same children that showing I know their disability but welcome them warmly as everyone else.  

I always kept individual files locked and secured and did not tell other people what is in a child’s file unless they have permission from the class teacher and the parent of the child.

1. In consultation with the classroom teacher, select a student in need of additional support during work placement.

My selected student is diagnosed with ASD and 7 years old and need one on one help. She is struggling even very basic things at the class room.

1. Document the student’s abilities and individual learning needs and where you obtained this information from (Jung & Sainato 2013).

Strengths

Areas of strength include ability to follow instructions once given visual prompts, and has the ability to use word processing programs in writing. At the same time, the student uses a time to monitor on- time tasks. Also, the student uses visual aids to help in the preparation of the patient for changes.

The information was available at the special needs teachers’ custody.  

Areas of Need

 The child needs to develop a value for clothes and materials that she uses. The learner has difficulties working independently and thus the student needs to develop the aspect of independence while in school. The student needs to develop the ability to calm himself.       

1. Discuss with the classroom teacher the student’s Individual Education Plan (IEP) and/or the teacher’s informal plans for the student if there is no current IEP and select a current or create a learning goal for the student

Using the current IEP and through discussions with the teacher, we established a learning goal: The student will utilize strategies related to visual and oral communication to achieve her desires and be in a position to function with less assistance both at school and when she is at home.   

1. Using the school’s documentation system or approach to observations, write at least 3 observations which show whether the student is working towards or achieving the goal.
2. The student is able to properly follow the verbal prompts in a process where she independently gets her work, follows the assignment’s instructional routines, and on completing she task she takes the assignment to the “finished” box, slightly more than half the time. For the rest of the time, the student still needs some support.
3. At home, she is able to follow her picture schedule in combination with verbal prompts for dinner routines.
4. She is able to use her choosing book as a way to express what she needs or wants.          
5. Propose changes to planning to support the student achieving the goal.

I would propose that to support her progress in learning and being independent, all the students should perform some basic procedures in common (Camargo et al. 2016). For Instance, they should all have individual boxes where they get their assignment daily at the same time and after the end of the lesson they should all return their assignments to their individual “finished boxes”      

1. Outline when you have been involved in the following whilst on work placement:
2. Established a learning environment on two separate occasions, including:
   • Determining learning outcomes of flexible learning programs with the classroom teacher.
   • Designing a learning space to meet the needs of a student or a group of students.
   • Creating a range of activities and or resources for a student.
   • Creating an assessment for a student (this could be as simple as a different approach to a spelling test).
   • Being aware of the technical requirements for lessons and organising technical support needs where necessary (this could be part of a performance or presentation during assembly).
3. We developed a board where every student would stick a note written on one thing about lesson. The teacher and I would then inspect to see the relevance of the written notes to gauge various aspects of learning including grasp of the overall content of what has been taught. The students would remove their posts the next day before posting the ones for that day.
4. We developed a reading program in which each student gets the chance to read a paragraph of a given text every day, rather than telling the students to read their story books at home.     
5. facilitated flexible learning for at least two students, including:

• Developing flexible learning protocols with supervisor.
• Conducting induction to flexible learning environment.
• Providing students with technical and personal support during activities.
• Establishing positive relationships with students to support them during the learning.

Flexible learning allows the student to learn in an environment that he or she feels most comfortable learning to improve student outcomes (Whyte 2017). One of the student was uncomfortable sitting at a desk throughout the lesson and we discussed with the teacher and decided that we should allow him to move to a comfortable place during individualized formative assessments.

The second student was uncomfortable shouting the answers in a classroom, and after discussing the same with the teacher, we decide to allow him or her write down the answers on a paper and give it to the teacher who would read it aloud.      

1. Monitored progress of at least two (2) students through a series of three (3) individual observations and reported any issues to supervisor (use the table below for this task)(Kgothule & Letsie 2014)

	Observation 1	Observation 2	Observation 3	Discussion with supervisor
Student 1	Student was very talkative in class	Student was the first person to write the correct answer	Sometimes the student looked bored as the teacher explained concepts to slow learners.	After discussion with the teacher, we came to the conclusion that there was a need to keep the student engaged by allowing him to explain some concepts to the others.
Student 2	The student was too quiet and did not volunteer to answer questions.	He always got the answers right	Did not seem interested in communicating with either the teacher or the other students	We thought there might be a problem with him either in the school or at home and we thought we should consult the school counsellor on the same.

1. How you intervened when students were showing signs of losing momentum and engagement

Learners, especially in primary school have very low attention span. When the concept being taught was difficult or lengthy, I would break it down to manageable bits which the students could understand (Kondakci & Sivri 2014).. When I notice that the children are losing momentum and engagement, I would stop the lesson, do something to distract them for a minute or two (such as telling them to stand up and stretch). I would then go over what they have learned and then try to move on.       

1. Identified, discussed and documented recommendations for improvements to flexible learning with the teacher.

During the lesson, I was able to identify learning and social issues by asking questions and observing the students while performing the task or when answering questions. I had a standardized format for recording my observations in the classroom, and I used short-hand for faster recording (Chatti, Agustiawan, Jarke, & Specht 2010). I then discussed my recordings with the teacher and we sought for solutions for the issues identified.      

Student’s name:	Student’s TAFE ID:
Name of school:
Address of school:
Phone no. of school:
Date/s of placement:
Supervisor’s name:
Supervisor’s role:
Supervisor’s signature:	Date:
Copy of Assessor’s TAE10 attached? (only required if student is being assessed on the job)	YES    *    (please tick)

Student’s name:	Student’s TAFE ID:
CHCEDS026: Delivery elements of teaching and learning programs	Supervisor Comments (must be completed)	Date of Observation
Student has been observed performing the following tasks: · Discussing the learning activity with the supervising teacher to confirm delivery requirements. · Confirming availability of resources before activity commences and list resources to be used. · Establishing a learning relationship with students using appropriate verbal and non-verbal communication skills. · Initiating relationships with and between students that support inclusion, acknowledge diversity and contribute to a positive learning environment. · Providing opportunities for students to use a range of skills during learning activities. · Using suitable presentation techniques to ensure the delivery is engaging and relevant. · Using facilitation skills to ensure effective participation, and individual and group management.
Student has demonstrated knowledge of: · Learning styles and identified learner characteristics of individual students within the classroom. · A range of delivery strategies, technologies and equipment to optimise student learning.

Student’s name:	Student’s TAFE ID:
CHCEDS027: Support flexible learning in an education environment	Supervisor Comments (must be completed)	Date of Observation
Student has been observed performing the following tasks: · Establishing a learning environment on two separate occasions, including: – Determining learning outcomes of flexible learning programs with supervisor. – Designing learning space to meet the needs of students. – Establishing a range of activities, resources and assessment requirements with learner and course facilitator. – Confirming technical requirements and organising technical support needs. · Facilitating flexible learning for at least two students, including: – Developing flexible learning protocols with supervisor. – Conducting induction to flexible learning environment. – Providing students with technical and personal support during activities. · Establishing positive relationships · Monitoring progress of at least two students and reporting any issues to supervisor · Making interventions when students were losing momentum and engagement · Identifying, discussing and documenting recommendations for improvements to flexible learning with relevant personnel.
Student has demonstrated knowledge of: · Issues that may be encountered by students with disabilities. · Student’s attitudes to flexible learning. · Levels of support appropriate to a variety of learning situations.

This form is only required if the student is being assessed in the workplace.

Student’s name:	Student’s TAFE ID:
Workplace Assessor’s overall comments on student’s work placement performance for units CHCEDS026, CHCEDS027.
Overall result: Student has satisfactorily addressed all areas described in the Workplace Skills table detailed above for this Cluster. *    YES      (Satisfactory)        or              *     NO     (Unsatisfactory)   (please tick)
Workplace Assessor’s signature:	Date:
Student’s response to feedback:
Student’s signature:	Date:
OTEN Teacher Assessment *    YES      (Competent)        or              *     NO     (Not Yet Competent)   (please tick)
OTEN Teacher’s Name:
OTEN Teacher’s Signature	Date:

References

Camargo, S. P. H., Rispoli, M., Ganz, J., Hong, E. R., Davis, H., & Mason, R., 2016, Behaviorally Based Interventions for Teaching Social Interaction Skills to Children with ASD in Inclusive Settings: A Meta-analysis. Journal of Behavioral Education. 25, 223-248.

Chatti, M. A., Agustiawan, M. R., Jarke, M. R., & Specht, M. R., 2010, Toward a Personal Learning Environment Framework. International Journal of Virtual and Personal Learning Environments. 1, 66-85.

Jung, S., & Sainato, D. M., 2013, Teaching play skills to young children with autism. JOURNAL OF INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY. 38, 74-90.

Kgothule R.J., & Letsie L.E., 2014, Creating sustainable learning environments through frequent monitoring of students’ progress. Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences. 5, 332-339.

Kondakci, Y., & Sivri, H., 2014, Salient characteristics of high-performing Turkish elementary schools. Journal of Educational Administration.

Whyte, B., 2017, Collaborative teaching in flexible learning spaces: Capabilities of beginning teachers. Journal of Educational Leadership, Policy and Practice. 32, 84-96.