warilla public school journey of literacy development with primary students
TRANSCRIPT
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Warilla Public School
Journey of Literacy Development
with Primary Students
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In the beginning• Literacy outcomes for students were poor
• Teachers appeared to have limited knowledge of the curriculum
• A multitude of programs were used with no coordinated approach to teaching within and across grades
• Little professional discussion occurred
• Common assessment tasks were not used
• A new executive team appointed
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The start
• Executive recognised a moral imperative for change, “We knew we had to do something.”
• Executive shared the belief that the whole staff needed to work together to effect change
• Current structures, practices and programs were examined. The fundamental question used was, “How does this help our students?”
• The whole staff analysed NAPLAN data. Teachers: identified the challenge of change required took ownership of student results and no longer used blaming practices understood teaching practice could change to better respond to
students’ learning needs
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What was done?
• Assessed every child to establish their learning needs• Trained every teacher in common assessment strategies• Developed a framework for monitoring progress (the
Data Wall)
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What was done?
• The Data Wall became the basis for discussing teaching strategies. It provided a powerful and visual way of highlighting issues – makes the data unarguable
• The numeracy coordinator conducted structured demonstration lessons in each classroom to model explicit teaching methods
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Walking the journey together
• All teachers used a common lesson plan format
• Critical friends were established. A “buddy” teacher (stage colleague) observed lessons and provided critical feedback
• Every two to three weeks staff met to reflect on practice
• The National Partnership Coordinator sourced concrete materials to encourage “hands-on” learning. Teachers found that they had been moving to abstract thinking too early. Reflection showed that scaffolds for learning were needed even in Year 6
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Giving teachers the tools• Professional learning was provided to give teachers the
tools to refine their own practices
• Professional learning became focussed on quality teaching – understanding the concept that the diversity of student needs required differentiated teaching was a challenge for some staff
• Richer professional discussions occurred among staff. It changed from, “This is what I taught,” to “This is what the students learned.”
• Teachers changed from only using anecdotal impressions to effective use of assessment data
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Leadership was essential
• Strong instructional leadership from the Principal was necessary to drive and support the pedagogical change. It reinforced the message, “No change is not an option.”
• Established a culture of high expectations for learning –poor performance as a product of children’s background was not an excuse
• To demonstrate instructional leadership, the Principal participated in professional learning sessions, observed classroom practice and gave critical feedback, delivered lessons using the common lesson plan and participated in professional dialogue
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How was teaching different?• Tasks within lessons were
differentiated according to students’ level of understanding
• Time was given to develop all students’ deep understanding of a topic
• Emphasis was given to using concrete materials and hands on activities – worksheets were banned
• Teachers developed learning activities relevant to students’ needs. They no longer “supervised busy work.”
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How was teaching different?• Teachers recorded focussed observations of students - not
simply recording anecdotes
• There was frequent and ongoing assessment of student progress. Topics were re-taught where necessary – the Data Wall became the evidence of growth
• Teachers understood the purpose of each lesson. This was shared with the children at the start of each lesson
• Frequent use of peer teaching became a norm
• Collective responsibility for learning amongst teachers developed and they shared ownership of student results
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What have been the benefits?• There is increased student engagement and enjoyment of
mathematics as students have taken ownership of their learning - lessons have become more interesting and relevant to each student
• Improved student behaviour and a calmer learning environment
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What have been the benefits?
• Students understand why they are doing tasks – they just do not follow directions
• Teachers are more willing to take risks. Re-teaching “unsuccessful” lessons in a different way has become part of the teaching/learning cycle
• Quality teaching processes have been applied across all KLAs, not just in numeracy
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Keeping the reforms going
• Quality teaching to be the norm was the key message
• Energy for reform amongst teachers was harnessed
• Developing teacher capacity was essential to sustain reforms
• Professional learning was focussed on school needs not teacher choice
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Keeping the reforms going
• Professional dialogue and sharing was encouraged by the executive
• K-2 and 3-6 teachers were involved in the change process
• Common teaching time for numeracy was established across the school
• New enrolments were assessed to ensure accurate group placement