ECONOMICS Department Goals and Action Research In 2022 our team used an action research model that enabled us to maintain a focused and measured approach to our department goals. Our priority goal, ‘improving students’ writing confidence’, has formed the basis for the action research project we plan to continue in 2023. This year every course developed targeted writing skills in assessment tasks for each reporting period and produced evidence-informed scaffolds and formative assessment tools. Lesson observations across the department show a positive application of writing strategies in daily lessons. Students have started to show interest in writing outside of the classroom. Lizzie Cao, a Year 12 Global Politics student, published an opinion piece in the Canberra Times based on her IB research project. And Lillian Healy, a Year 9 student, has initiated conversations with staff and the Student Leadership Team about a student-authored newsletter in response to the Year 9 writing task in Term 3. The team has made slow yet positive progress with developing reliable measures and collecting reliable data on writing confidence, and we look forward to working on this in 2023.
Leading Beyond the Department This year our team members engaged in high-quality shared practice within the team and very generously invested in sharing their expertise across the school and with the ACT Independent school’s community. Shared practice across the school included workshops and collaborations by our Assistant HoD in positive behaviour management, coaching and setting up Microsoft Teams for departments. Our Head of Department also shared the team’s holistic approach to assessment, results analysis, and reporting with the ALT. Progress with our action research project on writing confidence was presented at the AISACT showcase event in November. Next year, we look forward to hosting regional IB teacher collaboration events for IB Economics and IB Global Politics.
Demand for Elective Courses The demand for elective courses in Years 9-12 remains high. We now have five elective classes in Year 10. Student enrolments in IB and HSC courses have remained consistent with two or three lines of subject offerings in all courses except for IB Business Management. Popularity in our elective courses and teaching team has also been evident in 35% of students electing to complete their IB Extended Essays with subject specialists from our department.
New Team Members Lisa Smith and Anthony (Tony) Prior joined our team at the beginning of Term 2 and joined our HSC Business Studies, Legal Studies and IB Global Politics teams. They both bring a wealth of experience in the HSC and the IB, which has significantly benefitted the quality of teaching and collaboration in their respective teams.
Extensive Professional Learning On top of the scheduled CPL offered by CGS, our team members invested approximately 150 hours in subject-specific specialised learning for the IB and HSC. Our team has shown excellent agility and a willingness to improve their impact in the classroom continually.
Annual Report 2022 | CGS | 28
