Unleash the ‘teacher’ in you

Expert teachers from Inner Sydney High School (ISHS) – Karen Witherdin (Head Teacher Teaching and Learning), Nigel Kuan (Head Teacher Science), Glenya Sugowdz (Head Teacher Teaching and Learning) and Caitlin Rudd (English Teacher/Literacy Coordinator) – impart wise words for UTS preservice teachers, who have just set out on their teaching journeys.

What makes an effective teacher? Experienced staff from ISHS believe that a teacher’s presence characterises their particular teaching style. This means that there is no such as thing as a one-size-fits-all approach; instead, effective teaching emerges as each individual practises their craft to uncover what works for them.

At the same time, it is possible to have a strong start to one’s teaching career by adopting tried and tested methods for constructing a positive learning environment. Under the warm guidance of ISHS staff, UTS preservice teachers learned how to modulate their voice and to harness the power of waiting to gain student’s attention.

They practised various ‘scripts’ that could be used to navigate the complexities of teacher student interactions and were introduced to the powerful routines that teachers engineered to make classrooms a safe and comforting space.

ISHS teachers highlighted the difference between ‘support’ and ‘discipline’ as they described the secret ingredients to cultivating happy and flourishing students. UTS preservice teachers further understood how literacy was every teacher’s responsibility as they engaged in vocabulary and sentence building activities to develop their literacy teaching toolkit.

We extend our deepest gratitude to Inner Sydney High School teachers, who continue to provide their generous guidance to ensure that UTS preservice teachers are set up for success.