Hannah Nicole Taylor
Collaboration with the Working Environment
Feedback
Hannah strives to always deliver her best and reflected on her teaching together with the supervising teacher to develop herself professionally.
-Debbie Smit (Year 1 Mentor)
As stated in previous questions, Hannah has an immense knowledge of social and cultural context that
can impact teaching and learning. She is more than capable of including these factors in her planning
and teaching.
-Caroline Starnes (Year 2 Mentor)
Hannah immediately integrated herself into the professional structure of the school. Despite having previously been to IST for a period of only 2 weeks the year prior, Hannah’s entry to IST felt very much like she was returning to work.
TLDR: Hannah belongs here.
- Jason Wilson & Martin Van Hooijdonk (Year 3 Mentors)
Hannah collaborated fully with everyone involved in the student’s learning. Teachers were fully informed as to what was taking place in and out of the classroom through thorough and rigorous planning, daily discussions and regular digital conferences as the current situation required. Hannah also developed strong relationships with parents and had constant contact in order to overcome situational difficulties or to make accommodations to ensure that all learners had equal opportunities to access the learning. When parents had comments or suggestions these were all carefully considered and acted on appropriately. The contact between Hannah and parents covered a wide range of situations, from having to clarify misunderstandings to guiding a parent and their child, successfully, through distance learning and developing strategies that allowed the student to achieve to very high levels while taking part in distance learning
​
- Martin Van Hooijdonk (Year 4 Mentor)
Year 4
Experience & Self-Assessment
Throughout this internship there were many opportunities for me to interact with the parents in a more significant way than I had previously. Since I was expected to be the leader teacher of an experimental 9-week unit, I wanted to ensure I kept good communication with the parents to keep them at ease. Before the unit began, I initiated contact with an email to inform the parents about my study. Then, I created several resources for the parents and maintained communication through emails and informal encounters after school. I had the most opportunities to communicate with the parents when we moved to online learning. Naturally, the parents had many questions and, as the lead teacher, I was the one with the answers. So, many of the group sessions with the students also had time set aside for parents to ask questions on how they need to help their students. For some parents, this communication continue through email as we worked out how to best support their student during the strange circumstances. I think I have significantly developed my ability to interact with parents and support students by collaborating with other who are there to help them. Even after my internship had concluded and I was volunteering with the younger classes, several of the parents reached out to me to thank me for helping their student. To say the least, it was a very touching and motivating experience.
Evidence of Development
Supporting Student & Parents:
Supporting the student involves also supporting the parent. Through my internship there were several steps I took to do this. Before the unit began, I created an information page about the unit to help them understand the changes that would happen in the classroom. I offered an information session for the parents to come and ask questions, though no one showed up. As the unit progressed to an online setting, I made sure to stay in contact through emails and video calls.
Example Parent Emails ZIP
Reflection & Future Development
Although the circumstance of this internship were odd, it actually resulted in more opportunities for me to develop this competency than I may have had otherwise. I feel that I was able to take initiative to communicate with parents and kept a good line of contact between us. More so, there were several instances that I was actually able to help a parent and therefore their student.
This internship has definitely shown me the benefits of collaborating with the other parties in a student's life. One thing I do not feel I have been able to develop much is interacting with parents at report conferences. I had the opportunity to do this, but it was at the beginning of my internship and I did not have much experience with the students yet. I hope to have more opportunities to develop this in the future.