Student name: Chan Yuet Yu Student number: 10562944D Date: 31st

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WIE Final Report – Lismore Heights Public School Placement

1. Lismore Heights Public School

It is a government-funded primary school located in Lismore, within the state of New

South Wales in Australia. There are 10 classes which include kindergarten and

primary level. There are currently 221 students.

Class Number of students Education level

KW 20 Kindergarten

K/1P 20 Kindergarten

1/2B 24 Primary

1/2R 23 Primary

3L 23 Primary

3/4W 25 Primary

4L 25 Primary

5/6R 26 Primary

5/6C 27 Primary

3-6S 8 Primary

Small class teaching is implemented in this school. Each class normally has one class

teacher. Sometimes a university student from Southern Cross University or other

universities will go through a practical training for teaching in the school. They

usually follow one class for four weeks. There are a well-equipped computer lab, a

library, a school hall, two outdoor playgrounds, one basketball court, spacious

grassland and a gardening area.

The school motto of Lismore Heights Public School is “Aim High”. There are three

general rules: safe, respectful and responsibility. This has been further elaborated in

the official website by showing the purpose of the school:

“At Lismore Heights Public School we are committed to the holistic education of our

students; mind, body, spirit and culture. We provide a safe, inclusive environment

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which nurtures hope, respect, responsibility and positive attitudes towards others,

self, learning and life.”

One thing special, all students are not allowed to play outside, outdoor under the

sun if they do not wear a hat. They are being protected and try to avoid the danger

of strong UV light in the sunshine.

2. Expectations for the job placement before it commenced

Before I start my job placement in Lismore Heights Public School, I think I would face

many paper works. I would work in school office and fulfill the administrative tasks.

Filing and allocating different documents, arranging and sending letters, typing and

managing the official documents would be my main duties. I would help other

teachers to do the preparation, such as copying worksheets and laminating teaching

materials.

3. A description of my job responsibilities

Schedule of each school day

Morning session 9.10 – 11.10am

Lunch 11.10 – 11.50am

Middle session 11.50 – 1.20pm

Afternoon Break 1.20 – 1.50pm

Afternoon session 1.50 – 3.10pm

I am assigned to Mrs Barker’s classroom. She is the class teacher of 1/2B class. There

are 12 year 1 students and 12 year 2 students. There is one Southern Cross University

student called Lawrence. She needs to stay 4 weeks in Mrs Barker’s class for fulfilling

the practical teacher training. My role in this class is to act as a teacher assistant.

Students in 1/2B Class

Year 1 Year 2

Jemelia Conner Jaydin Darius

Jasmyn Jai Joel Chantarli

Lily Montana Bailey Stephanie

Shantelle Blake Ned Jamayne

Tarquin Heather Benjamin Jordon

Taiya Ziggy Ethan Taleigha

Student name: Chan Yuet Yu Student number: 10562944D Date: 31st

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Every morning, the students are required to line up in the cover playground. They are

led to their classroom by their class teacher. Mrs Barker teaches 1/2B class students

nearly for the whole day. I stay with 1/2B class every working day. Mrs Barker teaches

English and Mathematics. Students will have different learning activities regarding

the topics learnt every week. They attend lessons held in library and computer lab.

They normally have one PE lesson every day.

My main responsibilities are preparing teacher materials and helping students when

they have problems. For example, I laminate and copy some worksheets, work books,

school notices and test papers. I also mark students’ spelling test and Fast Maths Test.

During lessens, I answer students’ questions whenever they have. I also help

students when they encounter difficulties in different learning activities. I pay effort

to enhance effective learning environment in the classroom by developing the

coordination between the teacher and the students.

4. A post-placement self-evaluation of the extent to which intended WIE learning

outcomes have been achieved

A) Professional/academic knowledge and skills

- Demonstrate a richer understanding of the effective use of linguistic skills for

communication and of the development of inter-personal/ business

relationships in the workplace

The teachers tend to use interrogative sentences during the lessons with the

students. It is because teacher always takes the lead in the communication with the

students. For instance, Mrs Barker taught mirror image in Mathematics lesson. She

asked students what a mirror image looks like. After the answering by Ziggy, she

asked “Tell us how you get the answer?” Then she asked the whole class “Who

agrees?” Actually, the interrogative questions have a function of guiding the students

to think in a correct and logical path. This also enhances the interaction between the

teachers and the students. Therefore teachers tend to use more interrogative

sentences when they teach students knowledge during the lesson.

- Appreciate the use of language by leaders/ supervisors in achieving their goals

in professional context

At this primary school, teachers are the leaders. Their goal is to ensure the students

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can acquire the knowledge in an effective and positive learning attitude. They will

give many encouragements to students in order to boost their confidence and their

interest in learning. Therefore, one experience that surprised me during the first

week is that the teachers, Mrs Barker and Lawrence, spoke many encouragements to

students when they saw the students did the right thing. For instance, they have said

many “Good”, “Excellent”, “Beautiful” and “Well-done” to students. I am surprised by

this because my study in school lacks this kind of encouraging sentences. I really

appreciate this because I believe it can keep students a positive attitude in studying

and getting along with people.

- Apply with confidence language knowledge and skills to professional workplace

settings

As I stay with 1/2B class for the whole placement period, I pay attention to the

communication and interaction between Mrs Barker and the 1/2B students. I do not

use interrogative sentences as frequent as Mrs Barker. But I use the encouragements

as many as the teachers. It is because Mrs Barker always asked me to take care of the

students if they found any problems. I would also look at their work. If I found they

have done the work alright. I praised them by saying “Good”, “Excellent” etc. It is

very hard to do that at the beginning because praises did not appear much in

Chinese culture. But later, I got used to praise because it is good.

Since my workplace is Lismore Heights Public School, most people that I interacted

were small kids and children. Therefore, I needed to use simple English to

communicate with them. For instance, one day they did worksheet during the English

lesson, Tarquin asked me ‘what is the meaning of “title” in the question?’ I was stuck

in my mind at that moment because I think that “title” is a very simple word without

any explanation. Luckily I got a book on the desk and pointed to its title. He realized

it immediately. Actually, I was not able to explain to him verbally. But this experience

reminded me that I need to use simple English during our communication.

B) Attributes for all-roundedness

- Demonstrate greater confidence in creative and critical thinking and in making

independent judgements

During my placement period, a new student called Taleigha added into 1/2B class.

Student name: Chan Yuet Yu Student number: 10562944D Date: 31st

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She was polite and friendly. In the Mathematics lesson, I took care of Taleigha when

she did Fast Maths questions. Mrs Barker did not know which level she could fit in

Fast Maths worksheet. So she gave her Level 39, which was the same as Stephanie

who was also a year 2 student in this class. But I found that she could not do it well.

Most of her answers were wrong. Therefore, I asked Mrs Barker to lower the Fast

Maths level for Taleigha. I think this is an experience for demonstrating critical

thinking and making independent judgement.

- Display awareness of and appreciate cultures, both human and corporate,

within the professional setting

In Lismore Heights Public School, there are kindergarten students and primary

students. There is a special class called 3-6S class. In this class, there are 12 students

from primary three to primary six. All of them have a certain kind of learning

difficulties, although it is not obvious by looking at their appearance as they are just

the same as normal kids. But the students in this class do not being “labeled” by

others students in the school. During the two recesses, they will go out and play with

other students in the grassland.

Students play in the grassland at recess

There is one little boy called Jordon in 1/2B class. He has learning difficulties and he

cannot speak properly. Although his mentally intelligence is not as high as the

children in 1/2B class, he gets along with other classmates very well. Other

classmates like to play with Jordon. I cannot feel any discrimination. I really

appreciate the concept of integration of students with and without disability at

school. There are two advantages. Firstly, the students can become more caring with

others, which can train their interpersonal communication. Secondly, this kind of

culture can promote the positive attitude for social integration in society.

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- Identify goals for their personal and professional development in the future

For the goals of the teachers’ personal and professional development in the future, I

find that they enjoy being a teacher. I have asked Mr Webster, a casual teacher in the

school, about why he wants to be a teacher. He said that being a teacher can affect

the society positively by teaching knowledge to the children who will be the support

of society in future. Also, the good salary and many holidays were one of the reasons.

Lastly, he thought that being a teacher can help him to earn a living without robbing

money in other people’s pocket. It seems that being a teacher can have great

contribution to the society. I also asked the same question to Mrs Barker. She said

she liked to be a teacher because she liked interact with others very much. She met

different students every year and got many happy any unforgettable experience.

I find that the teachers in Lismore Heights Public School enjoy their work very much.

Everything is great. However, there are many news reported show that the teachers

in Hong Kong faces many pressure and restrictions. The complicated issues in Hong

Kong, such as the education system and policies, seem to be very simple in Lismore.

Education in Lismore is free and direct here.

5. A personal development plan based on your self-evaluation

In the placement in Lismore Heights Public School, I learn the use of language and

practical skills to develop communication with students. Those are the hard skills

that benefit me if I will be a teacher in future.

I also learn some soft skills that are valuable to me in my interpersonal

communication. For example, I learn the importance of praise, especially in the

stressful life style in Hong Kong. I know it is good lubricant to soft the tenseness of

people if we praise them with their merits. Another new perception to me is the

integration of students with and without disability. It makes me rethink that we

should show our understanding and help the weak people in our society.

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6. A reflective daily journal recording every working day

31st May 2011 – 23rd June 2011

31st May 2011 Tuesday

1/2B classroom

Today is the first day to work in the Lismore Heights Public School. It is a primary

school. I am being assigned to 1/2B class. The class teacher is called Mrs Barker.

There is another practical teacher called Lawrence. She is a university student from

Southern Cross University. She receives her training here for four weeks. She has

already finished two weeks.

Mrs Barker and me

1/2B class is a small class education. There are twelve year 1 students and eleven

year 2 students. They learn English and Mathematics and study together in the same

classroom. There are many learning activities, such as playing computer games about

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related topics, reading and completing worksheet, doing listening exercise and

making artworks. Since it is the first day only, I mainly getting my observation.

1st June 2011 Wednesday

Students in classroom

Although there are year 1 and year 2 students in 1/2B class, they have lessons

together. For Mathematics, they start to learn multiplication. For English, their topic

now is transportation. I found that no matter teaching English or Mathematics, they

have no textbooks. The classroom is divided into two parts. The front part is for

teaching and the second part at the back consists of four rectangular tables with six

seats. When Mrs Barker or other teachers is teaching new stuff, all students are

sitting on the floor at the front. When students are required to do their own work on

their exercise books or worksheets, they will go back to their seats. If they have any

problems, for example, they do not understand teacher’s instruction or they do not

know the spelling of some words, they will raise their hands. I will approach them

and help them.

2nd June 2011 Thursday

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Today is Thursday. Mrs Barker is going on duty for the Breakfast Club in the back

stage of the school hall. When students who arrive at school before 9 am, they can

have their breakfast there. Although not so many students need this service, there

are still around ten students come to get their meals (cereal and toasts). I am very

impress by this idea. It let me rethink about a question: what can a school provide to

a child? It seems that the examination result is the first priority on the list that a large

majority of parents and teachers care in Hong Kong. Perhaps it is the difference

between East and West in the aspect of education philosophy.

Mini train in Heritage Park Students visits the Helicopter Center

Today is the excursion day. As the students in 1/2B class are learning transportation,

they go to some places which related to different transports. Firstly, we go to the fire

station. Three firemen first give a presentation about their uniform, equipment and

their work to the students. The students ask questions after the presentation finishes.

Each student also gets the chance to spray the hose in the fire station. They are very

excited. Secondly, we go to the Heritage Park, they ride in the mini train around the

park. They also have lunch and get the playtime in the park. Thirdly, we go to visit the

Westpac Life Saver Rescue Helicopter Centre. The presenters answer the questions

raised by the students. The students are very curious about everything they see.

They understand more about the uniform, equipment inside the helicopter and the

daily operation of the people working in the center during the visit. All of them have

fun and gain a worthy experience today.

3rd June 2011 Friday

I try to mark down the sitting plan of this class and try to remember each student in

1/2B class. I find it is difficult because many of them are having similar appearance.

Some boys look like the same to me. During the lessons, I help to distribute the

school works to each student. I help Mrs Barker to copy the Mathematics worksheets.

They need to finish 40 simple Mathematics equation questions in one session in two

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minutes almost every day. A worksheet contains 160 equations, 40 equations in each

session. They call this Fast Maths. Today is the end of this week. So I help Mrs Barker

to mark the Fast Maths worksheet of each student. If they can get all correct in one

session, they can promote to next level next week. If they cannot do that, they will

retry the same level next week. I think this is very useful for students and teachers.

For the fast learners, they can enjoy taking challenge every week because the higher

level Fast Maths contains more difficult questions. For the slow learners, they can

build a tough and strong foundation before promote to higher level. For the teachers,

they can know the progress of every student exactly. It is flexible, efficient and

effective way for teaching. For instance, they can ask questions to each student

according their standard.

There is an assembly held before the second break. They sing their national anthem

and school song. At this moment, I start to aware the importance of national anthem

and school song. It does reflect the unique identity of the singers. I begin to

recognize the meaning of school songs that I have in my past experience. They are

not only just a simple song, but also the expectation to students.

6th June 2011 Monday

As 1/2B class had an excursion day on last Thursday, Mrs Barker teaches 1/2B class

how to write a thank you letter today. During the composition of the thank you letter,

the students learn the basic composition of the content (who, when and where) and

learn to use the sequence words, such as “firstly”, “then” and “after that”. Finally

Stephanie and Ziggy are being chosen to be the representatives of year 2 and year 1

in this class. Their thank you letter will be posted in the school newsletter.

Students’ artworks

As their topic is transportation, each student has to do an artwork about a transport.

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The only requirement is to reuse the waste materials in their home. This can train

their creativity and the sense of environmental friendly. Some of them make a

normal train or bus. Some of them use their imagination to make a transport that will

use in future. A boy called Tarquin makes a boat that can move in the water. He

learns this by applying a scientific theory from a book. Everyone, including me, is

amazed by his work. They need to give a presentation about their artwork to the

class. Then they will have Q & A session for answering classmates’ questions.

Although they are just primary one or two students, it lets me think about my

presentations done in the university. But they have been trained their presentation

skills when they are young.

7th June 2011 Tuesday

Today I go to 3-6S class and help the teachers in that class to make the stamp books

for the students there. There are only twelve students in 3-6S class. All of them have

a certain degree of learning difficulties or mentally inability. Two teachers take care

of this class. Actually stamp books are normally exercise books. There are totally 8

stamp books. Amy (my placement partner) and I work together. My work is to use

black color pen to divide each page into 63 squares. After that, I need to number

each square. This is a time-consuming work. I draw and write numbers for the whole

day without stop. After school, I ask the teacher what is the function of the stamp

book. They tell me that when the students do the right thing in some learning

activities, they will receive some stamps on their stamp book. This may be treated as

an encouragement to the students which enrich their positive value.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18

19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27

28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36

37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45

46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54

55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63

8th June 2011 Wednesday

Today’s morning, I still need to finish the remaining stamp books in 3-6S class. After

that the teachers invite me to play card games with the students. Each card has one

word on it. We try to find two cards with the same word. We enjoy the fun of the

Student name: Chan Yuet Yu Student number: 10562944D Date: 31st

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game very much. After lesson, I ask the teachers how they choose the words on the

cards. They tell me that those words are the most commonly found in our daily

activities. By playing the card game and having fun with it, the students can be more

familiar with the words. It is an effective learning activity for them.

9th June 2011 Thursday

Students will have a session called Modeled Reading and Buddy Reading after the

second break every day. Mrs Barker will read a story book to the whole class in the

Modeled Reading session. After that, each student can choose their favorite story

books and read to their partner. In the first week, I just walk around and observe

them like an outsider. But now, I will take a seat with one student and he or she will

read to me. Today after the reading session, Mrs Barker asks the students to draw the

transportation by using their imagination. Then they need to write down some

sentences to describe their own transport. I help the students if they have problems

in spelling.

14th June 2011 Tuesday

Today has an assembly in the school hall. Ken Hickling is the principal of Lismore

Heights Public School. He leads the school captain to speak aloud the school motto.

From the interaction between the principal and the students, I think Ken may know

almost every student’s name very well. They have a closer relationship when I try to

make comparison with those in Hong Kong. After that, Mrs Barker gives a

presentation about Behavior Expectation: Packing Up with four students to the

whole school. They are Ziggy, Montana, Jamayne and Jemelia. They pack up the

books on the desk and sit straightly on their seats. They have done a perfect job on

the stage (but not in class).

At the end of the assembly, Ken introduces two new schoolmates to the whole

school. They come from Norway. One of them called Taleigha will study in 1/2B class.

Although Taleigha is a new comer, every student welcomes this new girl without any

Student name: Chan Yuet Yu Student number: 10562944D Date: 31st

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doubts. She has a good start in this primary school.

15th June 2011 Wednesday

Today during the lesson, Shatelle and Chantarli are being taken away by a woman

with grey short hair. After the lesson, I ask Mrs Barker who that woman is. She tells

me that woman is called Miss Helen Powell. She is the Reading Recovery Teacher in

this school. There are some students who may have difficulties in reading but they do

not actually have any learning problems or mentally inability. Then Helen will take

care of these students. She will give some training or intensive reading exercise

individually or in a small group. I think it just likes some kind of extra reading tutoring

which can improve those students’ reading ability. I think it is a useful practice for

those students.

16th June 2011 Thursday

Today’s morning, I go to the Breakfast Club and help to butter the toast for the

students. In the afternoon, after the Modeled Reading and Buddy Reading session,

the kindergarten class and the year 1 and 2 (including 1/2B class) students are having

fun in watch a Disney cartoon movie called Gnomeo and Juliet. I find that teachers

here are quite common to play Disney cartoon movie as a kind of entertainment to

the students. They played the Disney movie Tangled after they come back to school

on the excursion day (2nd June 2011). When 1/2B class has lesson in the library, they

have watched the Disney movie Cars. After watching the movie, the teachers will ask

some questions related to the movie. The students enjoy watching Disney cartoons

very much. I also like watching them very much.

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17th June 2011 Friday

Every week Mrs Barker will choose around 16–17 new words and teach them on

Monday. At the end of the week, mostly on Friday, there is an English Word Test for

those 16-17 words. Today after they have Word Test, they do their writing. It is some

kind like copy book in my primary school. The students use it to practice their hand

writing. I stand between Conner and Jai and especially pay attention on these two

little boys because they like to write big size words which cannot be seen clearly. If

they write the words with bad hand writing, I will rub away their work and ask them

to write again. I get the experience that teacher need to be very patient with the

students.

20th June 2011 Monday

My badge

Today is Water Fun Day. It is an educational activity to promote the idea of saving

water in our daily life which organized by Rous Water, a regional water supply in

Lismore, and the school. Every student can dress in blue instead of their green school

uniform. I help to make badges for the students. It is a simple operation by using a

badge-making machine. The lower form students can choose their own favorite

pictures and the higher form students can design their own badges. Students are

very excited when they get their own badge. Lastly, I also make a badge for myself to

remind me water is very precious resource in Australia.

21st June 2011 Tuesday

Principal Ken Hickling

Student name: Chan Yuet Yu Student number: 10562944D Date: 31st

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Today when 1/2B class is having lesson in the library, I help the teacher to put the

books back to their correct place on the book shelves. Suddenly I see Ken, the

principal, is walking into the library with two parents and a little child. He uses sign

language to communicate to the parents and introduce the school library to them. I

think that little child may become one student here in Lismore Heights Public School.

I am very surprised that Ken knows sign language. Also, I am very impressed that a

school principal can bring the parents and the child to familiarize with this school by

himself. It can facilitate the communication and mutual trust between the school and

the family.

Benjamin and Tarquin with their pea in the garden

In the Gardening lesson, they go to the garden which is located at the back of the

school. 1/2B class students grow some peas and vegetables by themselves. Jasmine

shares her pea with me. I am very happy because of her sharing. It lets me think that

I am really one of them.

22nd June 2011 Wednesday

In today’s Mathematics lesson, the teacher shows many 3-D shapes to the students.

After that, he asks the students to make a cube by themselves. They color the paper,

cut out the shape and stick together into a cube. I help them if they ask me or I find

that they do the wrong thing. Finally, I help them to put all their cubes together and

hang up at the back of the classroom.

Student name: Chan Yuet Yu Student number: 10562944D Date: 31st

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As this week is the second last week of the school day, it is nearly the end of the term.

1/2B class has the Mathematics Test in the lesson. After that I help to mark the test

papers. Mrs Barker says the students do not know today has the Mathematics Test.

She does not tell them before because she does not want to add pressure on these

small little kids and the Test is not as important as I think. I experience a different

culture. If tomorrow will have a test for Hong Kong primary students, most of them

will work hard and do their revision tonight. But it is not that kind here.

23rd June 2011 Thursday

A picture of Fairy Bread

Today is the last day of my placement in Lismore Height Public School. I go to the

Breakfast Club as usual in the morning. Before the first recess, they make the Fairy

Bread for us in the classroom. Fairy Bread is a food for children’s party. It is very easy

to make. We just add some sprinkles, which is also called “hundreds and thousands”,

on top of a buttered bread. Then I cut the bread into a four equal pieces. We eat all

the Fairy Breads together happily.

In the afternoon, Amy and I introduce Hong Kong to 1/2B class students. They ask us

many questions about our daily activities, such as where we live, what we wear and

what we eat. We share our culture to them. At last, I give my present to them. It is a

drawing of the whole class. I am very glad that they like it very much. Finally, we take

a class photo together with great smile. I think I will miss all of them very much. It

will be an unforgettable and lovely memory to me.

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My drawing (the gift) to them 1/2B Class Photo

A gift prepared by 1/2B class to me

- The End –