These questions are starting points for reflecting on ...

1 reflecting on my teaching practices Benefits of critical reflection Research has shown how deliberate and critical reflection on teaching practices contributes to excellence in teaching , and improved educational outcomes for all children. Critically reflective teaching practices encourage teachers to: regularly evaluate their approaches to teaching and learning understand more about the positive impacts of high-quality effective pedagogies on children's learning become more aware of the importance of high-quality interactions, including strategic intervention and substantive conversations to maximise children's learning use action research approaches drawing on alternative teaching strategies to help children to learn when familiar methods fail co-construct learning with children and other partners so it is responsive to the child's family and community.

2 What does critical reflection involve? Preparatory year teachers recognise that their personal assumptions, values, beliefs and biases may affect decisions they make about curriculum ( reflecting , planning, interacting, monitoring and assessing). Critical reflection involves analysing your own learning and teaching practices that may contribute to effective pedagogies within key components of an effective curriculum. These key components are: understanding children building partnerships establishing flexible learning environments creating contexts for learning exploring what children learn. Teachers in a preparatory year setting hold multiple roles and view children through various lenses, and recognise that their personal and professional identities are continually evolving. Often in collaboration with teacher aides and colleagues, teachers articulate, question, consider and debate their range of knowledges to make meaning of their theories and practices.

3 (Refer to the Early Years Curriculum Guidelines for more information about teacher roles, lenses, and pedagogies within a framework for practice, and the list of questions to aid critical reflection at the end of each key component section.). The following table lists questions for teachers to reflect on from the perspectives of their principal role as educator, and related roles of: builder of relationships scaffolder of children's learning planner for learning teacher as learner. 2. reflecting on my teaching practices These questions are starting points for reflecting on, monitoring and assessing the effectiveness of teaching and learning practices used in the preparatory year setting. This support material can be used for critiquing and mentoring amongst colleagues, supplemented with other strategies such as viewing, discussing and reflecting on videotape excerpts of your own or your colleagues' teaching practice in a range of contexts and settings.

4 3. reflecting on my teaching practices Key components Learning and teaching practices which contribute to effective pedagogies of an effective curriculum Intellectual quality Supportive classroom Engagement with difference Connectedness environment high order thinking cultural knowledge knowledge integration child direction deep knowledge inclusivity background knowledge social support deep understanding narrative connectedness beyond active engagement classroom substantive conversation group identity co-construction of learning problem-based curriculum problematic knowledge active citizenship self-regulation meta-language Understanding How do I: How do I: How do I: How do I: children use children's prior provide a child-responsive acknowledge, respect and include children's prior understandings and Prep Year program that value children's diverse experiences in the Prep experiences to scaffold engages with children's and complex identities?

5 Year program? new understandings and diverse interests, needs experiences? and capabilities? promote children's voice connect children's prior in the Prep Year program? learning with the new ? encourage children to be collaboratively plan agents of their own aspects of the curriculum acknowledge alternative link children's learning learning? program with children? ways in which children between settings of home, learn, culturally- school and the scaffold learning to help promote risk-taking, responsive learning styles, community? children shift to higher perseverance, sustained augmented communication order understandings and interest to aid task strategies? capabilities? completion? consider and include motivate learning, extend aspects of learning in self-selected learning/ teaching research projects? when planning the Prep Year program, brain 4.

6 reflecting on my teaching practices research re importance of sensory experiences, teacher /child bond to aid development of emotional intelligence? Building How do I: How do I: How do I: How do I: partnerships provide opportunities for acknowledge the efforts, negotiate each partner's involve parents/carers, ongoing conversations achievements and roles, rights and family and community about the learning, and progress of children as responsibilities as a members meaningfully and ways of doing, thinking and they build dispositions member of this learning collaboratively in learning knowing? towards learning? community? experiences? establish interactions that provide children with promote working in teams, are reciprocal, sustained feedback about their and why? and promote shared learning, through under standings? conversations, one-on-one promote each child's discussions, talents, abilities and child/parent/ teacher interests in the Prep Year meetings?

7 Program? promote children's mentoring capabilities as peer experts . use conversations to create shared meaning- making with children? 5. reflecting on my teaching practices Key components Learning and teaching practices which contribute to effective pedagogies of an effect ive curriculum Intellectual quality Supportive classroom Engagement with difference Connectedness environment high order thinking cultural knowledge knowledge integration child direction deep knowledge inclusivity background knowledge social support deep understanding narrative connectedness beyond active engagement classroom substantive conversation group identity co-construction of learning problem-based curriculum problematic knowledge active citizenship self-regulation meta-language Establishing How do I: How do I: How do I: How do I: flexible learning environments scaffold learning through a provide equitable access to create a welcoming, warm, use negotiated curriculum range of strategies, resources, storage and supportive classroom that approaches to help open-ended learning furniture for all children?

8 Is inclusive of all cultures, children with independent experiences? gender, special needs, and spontaneous provide children with time interests and capabilities? investigations? provide extended time for and interactional space to investigations? explore/test independent create a sense of a create flexible learning problem-solving strategies, learning community by environments that are plan and create learning in social conflict positively recognising responsive to children's environments which are situations? children's group identities? spontaneous inquiries? challenging, stimulating and motivating? plan and create learning experiences that are help children to make links inclusive and culturally between concepts in an responsive? integrated, holistic way? 6. reflecting on my teaching practices promote making choices provide a wide range of and making errors as part resources and learning of active meaning-making?

9 Experiences to cater for the needs, interests and abilities of all children? value and embrace difference positively? Contexts for How do I: How do I: How do I: How do I: learning and development integrate learning within encourage collaborative include children's diverse integrate learning contexts of play, real-life learning approaches in backgrounds, social, experiences to aid children situations, investigations, each context for learning? cultural, lifestyle, familial making connections routines and transitions, setting, prior between concepts across and focused learning and cater for all children's education/care contexts as interest topics? teaching ? maximum engagement in a focus for curriculum learning within contexts for decision making? provide real-life learning consider the problematic learning? that reflects and responds nature of inquiry-based promote active, informed to community learning to acquire deep provide flexible blocks of citizenship through needs/interests?

10 Knowledge? time to cater for children's contexts for learning, sustained interest in real-life situations . encourage children to talk learning within a context maintaining familiar about their learning when for learning? environments? investigating negotiated projects? promote knowledge as changing and contestable? 7. reflecting on my teaching practices Key components Learning and teaching practices which contribute to effective pedagogies of an effective curriculum Intellectual quality Supportive classroom Engagement with difference Connectedness environment high order thinking cultural knowledge knowledge integration child direction deep knowledge inclusivity background knowledge social support deep understanding narrative connectedness beyond active engagement classroom substantive conversation group identity co-construction of learning problem-based curriculum problematic knowledge active citizenship self-regulation meta-language Exploring what How do I: How do I: How do I: How do I.