Planning with Curriculum Organiser™

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In December 2008, I was involved in a WA union trial of Curriculum Organiser, one of the most useful and inspirational pieces of software I have ever worked with. Designed for Australian educators, the software supports teacher planning across all learning areas (K-7, and now secondary learning areas).

The Curriculum Organiser™ database contains a wealth of syllabus/curriculum linked integrated themes, graphic organisers, unit planners, and subject learning activities for teachers to adapt to their own classroom situations. One of the most useful features is the database of instructional strategies (e.g. Think Pair Share, Six Hats Thinking, SWOT Analysis, Bloom’s Taxonomy) which teachers can employ to promote student engagement and higher-order thinking skills.

An individual licence costs about $200, but WA State School Teachers Union (SSTUWA) members can access it for free as part of their membership. I highly recommend the Curriculum Organiser planning software for graduate teachers, as (used effectively) it significantly reduces your planning workload across all eight learning areas, one of the hardest and most stressful tasks we face as new teachers.

My involvment in this trial ultimately led to the complete transformation of my teaching approach over the coming years, inspiring the creation of a unique electronic database of curriculum resources and enabling me to adopt a flexible ICT integrated approach to curriculum planning. More details on this later.

My Teaching Philosophy

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“What students bring to class is where learning begins.

It starts there and goes places.”

Ira Shor. (1992). Empowering Education: Critical Teaching for Social Change

I believe teaching is about enriching students’ lives, forging connections with their communities, and using their questions to drive the learning process.

As a teacher, I aim to use my talents, professional knowledge and expertise to enable my students’ access to the powerful texts and multiple literacy practices of our society.

My teaching is informed by the principles of social justice, democracy and environmental sustainability. I firmly believe that no child deserves to be left behind; and I hope to help my students become the informed, empowered and innovative global citizens of the 21st Century.

As revised January 2010

Welcome & Introduction

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Welcome to my “A Relief Teacher’s Journey” blog.

I am a primary school relief teacher working in the southern suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. Since February 2009, I have attended 20 schools across the government and private education sectors, teaching classes from Kindergarten to Year 7, including Physical Education, Music, Art and ICT.

Despite the intense challenges and difficulties I have faced as a relief teacher, I have I have found the experience to be extremely rewarding, making me a better person and a better teacher. 

I have a keen interest in Web 2.0 and other educational technologies arising from my teaching philosophy and university studies in the field of multiliteracies (New London Group, 1996). I have a long-term aspiration to become a specialist Literacy/ICT integration teacher, supporting teachers’ meaningful integration of educational technologies to support all their students, particularly those deemed “at risk” or “failures”.

As an educator, I am on a professional learning journey. The creation and maintenance of this blog marks the achivement of two long-term professional goals; namely my desire to explore the implications of ICT technologies, and to share my experiences, ideas and evolving teaching practice as a new graduate teacher.

Recalling my immense lack of knowledge & experience as a newly graduated teacher, I hope this blog will become a relevant and informative resource for student and graduate teachers, particularly those contemplating or currently engaged in relief teaching work.