Andrew Rivett

Science Teacher - Kew High School

When did you graduate?

2007

Course you completed:

Bachelor of Education (secondary teaching)
Bachelor of Science majoring in biology and earth

How long have you been working for this organisation?

2 years

Position title and short job description:

Science classroom teacher.

Working highlight so far:

Year 9 camp. Camps are a great way to build more meaningful relationships with students, find out a bit more about them, what they like and dislike and how they think.

What are the things you enjoy most about your job?

Seeing students get excited by your teaching.

An area in which you have needed assistance:

Behaviour management. I don’t think the first year of teaching is easy for anyone. It takes some time to figure out what teaching styles work and don’t work for you.

What do you intend to do in the future?

Write comedy and continue teaching.

#1 tip for current students studying your course:

Practice is most important, the more time you can get trying to teach the more you learn about what works and what doesn’t. Press your supervising teachers to give you real teaching time. Take as many of their classes as you can. At least ask to team teach classes with your supervisor. Some are not so fortunate to have a considerate, supportive and caring supervisor. Find the teachers who teach best and try to see as many of their classes as you can and ask them about their teaching strategies and experiences.

The #1 lesson I’ve learnt is the power of expressing your own interest and excitement in the topics, when teaching them. Students are ten times more engaged in a topic which your are excited about teaching it. Find what you like about the topic. There’s always something amazing about each piece of science. Find the parts that amaze and excite you, think about how it relates to the whole topic and try to share your excitement with the students.