Can someone help check my reflective journals?? STLS L3

[wiggywoo99]

Practically demonstrate ways of supporting learners to develop:
literacy skills
• numeracy skills
• ICT skills
• problem solving skills.

Literacy skills- I support learners to develop literacy skills by conducting 1-1 reading sessions with all students, tracking their progress and reading level, and using reading challenges. I also use phonics to help learners understand the sound and spelling system, with flashcards, to help students read and spell accurately. I encourage students to sound words out if they are unsure, to use picture prompts and the context to understand writing. I use the VCOP method to help students with writing and I support students with guided writing. I encourage students to develop speaking and listening skills by providing them with opportunities to engage in discussion, conversation and questioning; I use open-ended questions to encourage students to contribute; I prompt shy students, students with an accent/dialect and SEND students to communicate by being encouraging, offering them opportunities and reinforcing language through repetition and praise; I introduce new words and language structures which helps students with vocabulary and structures of language; and I use vocabulary and language which is appropriate to the students’ understanding and development.
Numeracy skills- I support students to develop numeracy skills by using praise, commentary and assistance to encourage students to stay on task; by questioning and prompting students; by helping students to interpret and follow instructions; by helping students to select and use appropriate mathematical resources; by introducing follow-on tasks to reinforce and extend learning; by explaining and reinforcing the correct use of maths vocabulary; and by reminding learning of the points made by the teacher. I break down numeracy sessions into sections, to help students understand methods, and use resources where necessary to illustrate a point (a picture of a pie to demonstrate fractions, for example).
ICT skills- I constantly help students’ ICT skills by explaining computer software and apps; by helping students to interpret and follow instructions (for coding for example); by explaining and reinforcing the correct use of ICT vocabulary; by ensuring students understand e-safety and how to use programs safely; by demonstrating certain processes (creating a Word document, for example); by encouraging safe exploration of ICT to further learning ; by helping them to navigate and use computers, laptops, interactive whiteboards, iPads and other resources; by helping students to identify appropriate programs or apps (Garageband for music etc.); and by helping them transfer ICT skills to other areas of work (table/charts for maths data etc.). I also help them to use ICT to complete and complement work (for homework, for pictures to illustrate literacy work, and so on).
Problem-solving skills- I support students to develop problem-solving skills by using hypothetical scenarios or real-life scenarios to help them think of the problem and a solution e.g. Alice has two smoothies for break time, she has two other friends to share them with, how could she do this? I use examples and encourage students to think creatively to find solutions. I encourage patience, determination and curiosity as skills that help when problem-solving. I develop students’ problem-solving skills by using various strategies: trial and error, logical reasoning, pattern spotting, working systematically, and so on. I offer them prompts like ‘what do you think this problem is about?’. I encourage students to check their reasoning/working to check their solution is correct (in maths this might be reversing a calculation).

Demonstrate ways of encouraging learners to take responsibility for their own learning. (Practical)
I was working with a group for literacy, looking at tension writing. I shared the learning objective with learners to give them control of their learning and to improve their self-esteem. I asked them how they could accomplish the learning objective- they suggested a thesaurus and checking the example on the board for ideas (ellipsis, etc.). This self-help strategy gave them the responsibility for their own learning- they were in control to use the resources to meet their own learning targets, and to make choices about what they used and why. I supervised them but they managed to be independent in this task.

Give attention to learners in a way that balances the needs of individuals and the group as a whole. (Practical)
I was working with students in five different groups to create a play script scene from the book Matilda. They had to choose a scene and lay it out in a script format, with props, stage directions and so on. I moved around the room to work with each group for a short time, to check they were all participating, doing the work correctly and were behaving. One group of boys had limited English and required more attention. I explained simply, with gestures, what they were doing and stayed with them longer to support them. I prompted them with questions and encouraged them to be creative. I returned to this group after checking around the other groups again, checking with each individual that they understood and had contributed.

Select and demonstrate learning support strategies to meet the needs of learners for the session you have planned for. (Practical)
I planned for a session where students had to use descriptive writing and vocabulary. The higher ability children needed to create several paragraphs on winter unaided. The lower ability children had different needs- two children spoke limited English, one child struggled with English phrases, and another was easily distracted and tried to go off topic. The children with limited English i supported to complete 5 descriptive sentences about snow by talking about their own experiences, showing them pictures (snowflakes, etc.) and using IT to think about snow. I broke the task down, used gestures to communicate, and encouraged them to think of words to describe snow. the child who was easily distracted I engaged one-to-one to talk about their experience of snow and what words could describe it. I kept her busy and focused with positive encouragement, ensuring she was actively learning.


Please please please can someone check these are ok?? I have very little time to complete this course and don't want to write this up as reflective journals unless they are right!!