Summary
Overview
Skills
Work History
Further Experience
Education
Professional Development
Professional Affilliations
Further Details
Hi, I’m

Gemma White

East Fremantle,WA
"Great teachers have high expectations for their students, but even higher expectations for themselves."
Todd Whitaker
Gemma White

Summary

  • Highly motivated teacher who cultivates and maintains positive and productive relationships with all educational constituencies including parents, students, colleagues and the community
  • Explicit practitioner with proven record of accelerating student learning via evidence-based, structured and systematic methods, including school-wide programs
  • Hard-working member of staff who dedicatedly contributes to and supports whole-school improvement initiatives, with current school's NAPLAN results showing progressive and marked annual growth in every domain
  • Skilled practitioner who continually strives to expand knowledge of current best practices through classroom observations, feedback, professional development and a network of diverse colleagues
  • Acute awareness of how the social/emotional needs of students impact their learning, with an ongoing desire and practice to balance student’s emotional wellbeing, self-esteem and learning
  • A cohesive, collaborative professional who thrives in a team environment
  • Multiskilled and adaptable, with the ability to balance several roles productively in varying year groups
  • An accomplished user of technology in multiple facets
  • A dedicated professional who continually endeavors to do right by others, wants to see her colleagues succeed, and conducts herself ethically and in ways that uphold her school’s good reputation
  • A reflective life-long learner who has high expectations, not only for her students but also for herself. Someone who sees the potential in every student and is willing to go the extra mile to ensure their growth and success

Overview

16
years of professional experience

Skills

Explicit Instruction

Spelling Mastery

Daily Reviews

Engagement Norms

Differentiation

Technology

Collaboration

Assessment

Wellbeing

Work History

Canning Vale Primary School, Canning Vale, WA

K-6 Classroom Teacher
2014.02 - Current (10 years & 7 months)

Job overview

  • Developed and implemented fast-paced Daily Review PowerPoints structured in relation to cognitive science and high impact stategies outlined in Shaping Minds 'Research to Impact' training. Embedded use of Dataworks Engagement Norms to facilitate high levels of student engagement and maximise learning.
  • Accelerated student achievement through use of evidence-based programs and strategies based on Rosenshine's Principles of Instruction to teach phonemic awareness, phonics, spelling, reading, writing and mathematics.
  • Analysed student assessment data, as per whole school assessment and moderation schedule, to drive instruction and raise student achievement by targeting identified points-of-need.
  • Productively collaborated with colleagues, specialists, administration, support staff and outside agencies to support student learning and wellbeing. Regularly shared own resources and PowerPoints with year-level colleagues for use in their classrooms.
  • Engaged in classroom observation by peers and instructional experts for coaching and feedback to continually grow pedagogical skills.
  • Embraced whole school evidence-based teaching practices through implementation of Spelling Mastery, Heggerty Phonemic Awareness, the Low Variance English Curriculum and explicit vocabulary instruction.
  • Used well-developed interpersonal skills to build respectful and trusting teacher-student relationships, and proactively built connections with parents through open and regular communication via face-to-face meetings, phone calls, emails, the school's social media platform, Connect and the Seesaw app.
  • Mental Health Coordinator for 2 years with one day classroom release per week to drive Mental Health and Wellbeing initiatives in the school.

Further Experience

2013 - Time off to raise a family

2012 - PRE-PRIMARY DOTT PROVIDER | Atwell Primary School

2011 - Time off to raise a family

2010/ 2009 - PRE-PRIMARY TEACHER |Bateman Primary School

2008 - RELIEF TEACHING and international travel

2007/2006 - PRE-PRIMARY TEACHER |Dalyellup Primary School

2005 - PRE-PRIMARY TEACHER |Harvey Primary School

Education

Edith Cowan University , Perth WA

Bachelor of Education: Early Childhood
2000.12 - 2004.12 (4 years)

Professional Development

  • Shaping Minds ‘Research to Impact’ Training and Face-to-Face Instructional Coaching:

- Cognitive Science and Cognitive Load Theory 

- Maintaining Attention and Participation

- Questioning and Checking for Understanding

- Formative Assessment and Elaboration

- Cognitive Review and Extension

- Critical Role of Retrieval in Learning

- Daily Review Importance, Design and Delivery

- Daily Review Creation and Practice

  • The Importance of Daily Reviews (Stephanie Le Lievre)
  • The Science of Reading (Stephanie Le Lievre)
  • Got Words? Explicitly Teaching Vocabulary (Teach Well)
  • Heggerty Phonemic Awareness (Cassie Mutimer)
  • Paul Swan Effective Teaching of Mathematics Workshop (Network Teach, Dr Paul Swan)
  • Strategies for Creating a Dyslexia Friendly Classroom (EdWeb)
  • Child Protection and Abuse Prevention (DET)
  • Professional Certificate in Understanding Childhood Trauma (Australian Centre for Child Protection – WA University of South Australia)
  • Resilient and Inclusive Classrooms (Student Wellbeing Hub)
  • Mentally Healthy Communities and Family Partnerships – All Modules (Be You)
  • Aboriginal Cultural Appreciation (DET)
  • Aboriginal Cultural Framework (Dorinda Cox)
  • Accountable and Ethical Decision Making & Recordkeeping Awareness Training (DET)

  

Professional Reading

  • Teaching for Impact (Department of Education and Training)
  • Principles of Instruction: Research Based Strategies That All Teachers Should Know (Barak Rosenshine)
  • The Writing Revolution: A Guide to Advancing Thinking Through Writing in All Subject Areas (Hochman and Wexler)
  • Equipped for Reading Success (Dr David Kilpatrick)
  • Explicit Instruction: Effective and Efficient Teaching (Dr Anita Archer)
  • Bridge the Gap: Phonemic Awareness Intervention Lessons (Alissa Vanhekken and Marjorie Bottari)
  • What Great Teachers Do Differently – 14 Things That Matter Most (Todd Whitaker)
  • Explicit Direct Instruction VS Direct Instruction (Dataworks Educational Research)
  • Instructional Strategies: What We Say and How We Say It Matter (ASCD Learn, Teach, Lead)
  • The 'Yes' Brain Child (Dr Daniel Siegal and Dr Tina Payne Bryson)

Professional Affilliations

DET Connect and Collegiate Groups

Reading Science in Schools

Science of Reading: The Community

Science of Reading - Kindergarten/First/Second Grade

Science of Reading: 3rd Grade and Beyond

Science of Reading Hub for Professional Development

Equipped for Reading Success: Book Study Group 

Readworks Article-a-Day

Morphology Made Simple

Science of Writing - Research Based Instruction

The Writing Revolution - Resource Sharing 

Science of Math

Expert Primary Maths Teaching 

Dibels in Oz

Visible Learning Network

Explicit Teaching Collaboration

Numeracy PLC Team

MPPS Effective Teaching Resources

Explicit Direct Instruction Schools

Explicit Teaching Warmups

Social-Emotional Learning in Education

Enhancing Inclusive Classrooms

Protective Behaviours

Further Details

Fully Registered with Teacher's Registration Board

Current Working With Children Check

Department of Education E Number

Gemma White