Classroom Teacher in Melbourne

Mount Alexander College (MAC) is an inner-city school located in Flemington, 5 kms from Melbourne CBD. It has become the school of choice for families living in the Kensington, Flemington, Ascot Vale and Moonee Ponds Community, with enrolments doubling in the past 4 years. In 2016, MAC underwent significant change, transforming itself into an innovative and progressive school with a focus on student empowerment and student-centred learning. MAC’s approaches to curriculum provision and pedagogy, student engagement and wellbeing have gained national and international recognition.

At Mount Alexander College, our vision is to foster an inclusive and supportive learning environment that empowers students to direct their own learning. We endeavour to create a school that remains connected and engaged with the community and caters for all kinds of success. Finally, we aim to help students reach their full potential as global citizens who, with integrity, can positively contribute to the world.

Our Vision in the Classroom

In fostering an inclusive and supportive environment for our students, we must know them, their strengths and their areas for improvement. We use formative assessment to guide our instruction and empower students to direct our instructional choices. Learning at MAC is collaborative, both peer to peer but also students and teachers work together to negotiate the best learning pathway. Our students are connected to each other and the broader world, both through their use of digital technologies and in their access to a global perspective in all their classes.

Our classes draw on local expertise and community engagement where possible to allow our students to see how the learning in the classroom relates to their everyday lives. Our students understand themselves as learners; they are informed about their progress, how they have improved and what they need to do further to continue to improve. Our school values are celebrated and embedded in our work in the classroom.

Mount Alexander College is a school where teachers:

• Stimulate and support ongoing teacher learning and collaborative teacher research within the school;
• Develop and improve the quality of teaching practices of pre-service teachers;
• Develop innovative curriculum and teaching resources and practices that are shared across Victorian secondary schools;
• Promote and provide credentialed professional learning for teachers in Victoria and elsewhere;
• Actively participate within local school networks and partnership arrangements with local tertiary providers;
• Take an active role within the local community.

The Mount Alexander College Learning Environment and Curriculum:

• Supports a teaching and learning culture that is exciting, reflective, engaging and student centred;
• Supports independent thinking and a respect for student work and the work of others;
• Fosters a strong sense of identity and belonging;
• Cater for an innovative and broad scaffolded curriculum;
• Facilitates innovative, evidence-based pedagogies;
• Incorporates flexible internal and external learning spaces supported with the most current technologies to support learning;
• Enables students to link with and work collaboratively with other schools, tertiary institutions and state, national and international organisations.

At Mount Alexander College, we promote teaching and learning that is collaborative, technology rich, reflective, purposeful and personalised that prepares students for our rapidly changing world. Our common instructional model supports the development of a shared language about teaching practice and supports teacher reflection. Jane Pollock’s GANAG lesson planning schema and the effective implementation of the High Impact Teaching Strategies underpin the teaching and learning cycle at MAC. Staff participate regularly in cycles of inquiry within Professional Learning Teams and in doing so, strive to provide highly stimulating learning that is tailored to meet the passion and needs of our students. At Mount Alexander College, we strongly promote our values of Community, Engagement, Excellence and Respect.

Selection Criteria

• Demonstrated knowledge of the relevant curriculum, including the ability to incorporate the teaching of literacy and numeracy skills. Demonstrated experience in responding to student learning needs.
• Demonstrated experience in planning for and implementing high impact teaching strategies, guided by how students learn, and evaluating the impact of learning and teaching programs on student learning growth.
• Demonstrated experience in monitoring and assessing student learning. Demonstrated experience in using data to inform teaching practice and providing feedback on student learning growth and achievement to students and parents.
• Demonstrated interpersonal and communication skills. Demonstrated experience in establishing and maintaining collaborative relationships with students, parents, colleagues and the broader school community to support student learning, agency, wellbeing and engagement.
• Demonstrated behaviours and attitudes consistent with Department values. Demonstrated experience in reflecting upon practice and engaging in professional learning to continually improve the quality of teaching.
• Commitment to the program and priorities of Mount Alexander College: Demonstrated commitment to harnessing student interest and motivation to build a stimulating learning environment. Demonstrated commitment to introducing and promoting educational technologies and innovative approaches to teaching. Demonstrated capacity in teaching in flexible and innovative learning spaces.

Role

The classroom teacher classification comprises two salary ranges - range 1 and range 2. The primary focus of the classroom teacher is on the planning, preparation and teaching of programs to achieve specific student outcomes. The classroom teacher engages in critical reflection and inquiry in order to improve knowledge and skills to effectively engage students and improve their learning. As the classroom teacher gains experience, his or her contribution to the school program beyond the classroom increases. All classroom teachers may be required to undertake other duties in addition to their rostered teaching duties provided the responsibility is appropriate to the salary range, qualifications, training and experience of the teacher.

Responsibilities

• Direct teaching of groups of students and individual students;
• Contributing to the development, implementation and evaluation of a curriculum area or other curriculum program within the school;
• Undertaking other classroom teaching related and organisational duties as determined by the School Principal;
• Participating in activities such as parent/teacher meetings; staff meetings; camps and excursions;
• Undertaking other non-teaching supervisory duties.

Diversity and Inclusion

The department is committed to diversity and inclusion and developing a workforce that is representative of the community we service. We value diversity and inclusion in all forms - culture, gender, religion, ethnicity, LGBTIQA+, disability and neurodiversity. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates are strongly encouraged to apply for roles within the Department.

Child Safe Standards

Victorian government schools are child safe environments. Our schools actively promote the safety and wellbeing of all students, and all school staff are committed to protecting students from abuse or harm in the school environment, in accordance with their legal obligations including child safe standards.