Yep. Nerida. Pete teaching there.
You are going to become the experts.
Year 10 classes tend to be these two end ones here.
You and your partner have identified the scientific vocabulary in your text.
The next step is
for your group to see if you can work out which words match the correct definition.
Let's see if you can match the correct categories.
I thought the interaction with the kids - absolutely brilliant!
Oh, thank you.
PL file you asked for.
Oh, thanks.
You look like you’re pretty well occupied.
Sure you
don’t want me to hang on to them 'til next week?
Ah that's fine, I'm just reviewing the
improvement priorities in this year's action plan. Okay.
Achievement in reading's the big one this year, isn't it?
Yeah, I just want to see how the PL plans
line up with it. Oh, okay.
I'm not sure you'll see much. The action plan isn't really a
focus in PL discussions.
Right. Thanks for the heads up.
Oh, before you go, I dropped
in on Nerida's class this morning. Very impressive.
Great, isn't she?
Perhaps we could get some of the other teachers
to watch her teach. You know, she's really keen.
Get a bit of a group going or something?
Yes, we've chatted about that and I'd
love to help her do it.
I'm just not sure what the rest of the staff will think though.
It's something new. Might not be ready for it.
So, settling in okay? It's a lot to take on board.
Yes, I'm starting to get a handle on things now.
I'm currently getting up to speed on everyone's PL plans,
you know, what they're working on this year.
I'd love to know how those plans actually got developed.
I mean, how do you usually go about choosing your PL?
Well, there's always a heap of flyers in the staff room.
I usually look through those, find one that looks interesting.
Try and pick one I haven't done before. Broaden my skills.
So it's great that all staff members have completed the professional learning survey.
And Rebecca, thanks for pulling all the information together.
Would you like to share with us what you found? Sure.
There's no point having a professional
development agenda which isn't aligned with the general school improvement plan.
It's essential when you come in to a new school to take some time to find out
what's been happening, where the school's up to.
So it looks like we need to focus on feedback and reflection opportunities for teachers.
That seems to be what's missing.
I agree. That way, we'll be in a much better position to identify
what professional learning we need.
Good suggestions.
Nerida did an instructional coaching course last term.
I think we should get her involved.
The first step around that is to develop or embed a culture within your school
where professional development is valued.
...clues about what we can find.
It's being really clear with your staff around what the need is,
based on an analysis or a review.
Thanks, miss! Thanks, guys.
Allow people to take risks, to build that trust
Thanks for this morning...
is what really is going to achieve that real shift in practice.
Bit nerve wracking to start with but I'm glad I got to observe you first.
I just focused on what we agreed about the observation process in the staff meeting,
and well once I got started, I sort of forgot you were there!
Well, that's the intention!
Do you want to start by sharing your thoughts
and then we can look at the Classroom Practice Continuum to see where to focus development?
Yeah, great.
Everyone at some stage will engage in professional learning
in line with the school improvement plan.
I have led the evaluation of effectiveness of teaching programs...
Teachers collaborating and planning and teaching
together, and talking and moderating is what gives us the greatest improvement.
Have led. Disagree.
So it's about budgeting for, for that to happen.
So let's talk about Standard 5.
You mentioned student feedback strategies?
I did, yeah.
There are some structures that you can embed within your school
around professional learning communities.
So, it's about bringing your teachers together for a common purpose.
I felt that worked quite well and I'd like to develop it further.
Sounds good.
Fits in well with the evidence from your self-assessment report too.
Identifying particular roles for people within a group can be very helpful
and making sure that communication is open and transparent is essential as well.
Staff will be at different stages in terms of their own professional development,
so it's important to take a differentiated approach, not a one-size-fits-all.
So, thanks for your input. Look, the student data is pretty clear,
raising achievement in reading is our priority.
Rebecca, you've been reviewing the reading assessments. What have you found?
Well, as you can see here, decoding is strong but a lot of the underachieving
students struggle with identifying meaning in text.
So what does the teaching of comprehension look like across the school?
And how can we actually help teachers get better?
Well, our conversations with teachers
about their assessment tool report suggests they find it hard to give
students feedback to help to improve their comprehension skills.
And that ties in with Cal's work with teachers too, definitely Standard 5.
It's crucial that teachers collect the evidence from their students about,
'where do I need to drive my own professional practice?'
So are we all happy with the focus areas then?
Terrific. Well, that should help direct PL opportunities this year.
Collaboration is vital. I believe through collaboration
you're going to get a much better answer to whatever question you're asking.
I think you were spot-on with your self-assessment.
I saw some good questioning techniques the other day.
Oh thank you. I think I just need a bit of help with 5.2.
The Australian Professional Standards for Teachers really fine-tune what teachers are focusing on.
She's been working with a few teachers using instructional coaching.
They're focusing on student feedback strategies,
so why not sit in on one of her classes for your next observation?
Linking the actual teacher goals with the actual school goals is very important.
What does that mean?
Some of the most effective PL programs I've seen in schools
have been where teachers have delivered the professional learning.
Often you spend thousands getting an expert to come in,
when within your own site there are many, many experts.
What reading skills can you use to help you understand this?
It's really utilizing the strength within your organisation
and that can make a huge difference.
Did you find that helpful?
Yeah, very actually. I made a bit of a list of things I observed.
Ensuring that structures are in place where staff
are able to be empowered to take on the role of leadership
within a learning community is important as well.
This is all around student learning and, improving student learning.
It's about that win-win.
Hi. Ready for our catch up?
Absolutely, yes.