Shana Mihajloski has achieved a strong relationship with students, parents and her teaching team at Calamvale Community College by creating positive relationships based on communication and shared goals.
She continually reflects on her practice, ensuring she has a thorough understanding of all Key Learning Areas to implement quality teaching pedagogy and thus achieve the best learning outcomes for her students. Shana strives to make considerable adjustments to the daily implementation of her lessons to cater for the varied academic and behavioural needs in her class and her reflective practices allow her to make the changes to improve the quality of her pedagogy. |
She uses formative and diagnostic assessment to collect data on student learning to inform and reflect on her teaching. Using this data, Shana then creates Personalised Learning Plans, which focus students on specific goals to support their learning needs. She focuses on these learning goals during every lesson, selecting the most appropriate goals for each student.
Shana implements WALT (We Are Learning Today), which focuses on the lesson intent, in every lesson, with students unpacking key terminology presented. Strategies, key understandings, proficiency and tools used to support student learning are recorded on the Class Data Action Plan template. “She actively engages in a team ‘collaborative inquiry’ process with her Year 2 team and has sought a range of current research to support their focus area of effective feedback strategies. Together with her team, Shana has researched current approaches and trialled a range of ideas to support and improve student learning,” principal Jackie Welch said. Shana seeks out personal development opportunities, last year focusing on the BAS Reading System, Inquiry pedagogy and 3 Act Maths. She has implemented the BAS Reading System to identify student reading and comprehension skills and has then created individual, targeted, learning goals for each student based on the data presented. Resources provided in First Steps in Maths and the Numeracy Continuum are also used by Shana to plan classroom learning experiences that are engaging and targeted to students’ goals. Her practice around feedback to students in writing has been filmed to use as professional development for staff at the college and her willingness to try new initiatives has provided her students with opportunities to engage in best pedagogical practices. “Shana is dedicated to improving her own learning in order to benefit the learning of the students in her class so they can reach their potential,” Jackie said. Congratulations Shana on your QCT Excellence in Teaching nomination. |