Education Matters (Primary): March 2018

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Having recently returned to Australia following an extended stay in Asia, it is fascinating to learn the current state of the education sector and participate in the important conversations taking place regarding our classrooms and educators.

The 2017 Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Survey, prepared by the Institute for Positive Psychology and Education at Australian Catholic University reports worrying trends, with violence and threats against principals on the increase and stresses from workload and lack of time continuing to grow for school leaders.

A bright light in this regard is The Flourish Project, which we report on in this issue, set up at the request of a principal under pressure to improve the performance and wellbeing of himself and his peers. The project has been running since October 2016 and behavioural changes and collegial support have resulted in a marked increase in efficiency and attitude for those principals taking part.

Dennis Yarrington, President of the Primary Principals Association, returns to this issue of Education Matters to explain why education authorities should be working with principals and local communities to develop, modify or adapt learning approaches and programs for their communities.

Professional development is a constant concern of all in the education sector and those hungry to gain the latest relevant research, practical advice, inspiration and confidence to expand pedagogical practice and educational resources need look no further than EduTECH 2018, scheduled for 6 – 8 June in Sydney. Each year EduTECH brings the brightest and most innovative minds in education to share their ideas and experiences and this year’s speakers keep the bar high. One of these, Professor Therese Keane from Swinburne University’s Department of Education spoke to Conference Director Samantha Young about her planned presentation, Emerging Technologies; Will They Add Value to the Learning in Your School?

In other news, the Australian Government has launched a National Review of Teacher Registration, seeking to tackle key inconsistencies across the country. In his regular foreword for Education Matters, Federal Minister for Education and Training Simon Birmingham explains the importance of this.

My experience in Asia has shown me the importance placed on education in the region, and that Australia is a favoured country for international students. Through conversations with family, friends and professionals working in the sector, I have quickly realised that education is treated with equal importance here, and l am pleased to take the helm at Education Matters to report on the current issues and advances. I welcome any feedback and suggestions and can be contacted via email at tracie.barrett@primecreative.com.au. Also check out our website at educationmattersmag.com.au

Publisher: John Murphy john.murphy@primecreative.com.au Chief Operating Officer: Brad Buchanan brad.buchanan@primecreative.com.au Editor: Tracie Barrett tracie.barrett@primecreative.com.au Art Director & Production Coordinator: Michelle Weston Designers: Blake Storey, Adam Finlay, James Finlay Group Sales Manager: Terry Wogan terry.wogan@primecreative.com.au

Advertising: Chelsea Daniel-Young chelsea.daniel@primecreative.com.au 0425 699 878 Client Success Manager: Justine Nardone Education Matters is a division of Prime Creative Media Pty. Ltd. 11-15 Buckhurst Street, South Melbourne 3205 Ph: (+61 3) 9690 8766 Fax: (+61 3) 9682 0044 Subscriptions Education Matters is available by subscription from the publisher.

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Ph: (+61 3) 9690 8766 E: subscriptions@primecreative.com.au Articles All articles submitted for publication become the property of the publisher. We reserve the right to adjust any article to conform with the magazine format.

Tracie Barrett Editor

Cover Image EduTECH 2017 Copyright Education Matters is owned by Prime Creative Media Pty. Ltd. and published

by John Murphy. All material in Education Matters is copyright and no part may be reproduced or copied in any form or by any means (graphic, electronic, or mechanical including information retrieval systems) without the written permission of the publisher. The Editor welcomes contributions but reserves the right to accept or reject any material. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of information, Prime Creative Media will not accept responsibility for errors or omissions or for any consequenses arising from information published. The opinions of the magazine are not necessarily the opinions of, or endorsed by the publisher unless otherwise stated. All photographs of schools (including students) depicted in feature articles and advertisements throughout this magazine have been supplied to the publisher (and approved) by the contributing school. All material supplied by schools is done so with the understanding that such images will be published in Education Matters and may also appear on the our website: www.edumatters.com.au.

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education matters primary

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contents

PRIMARY March - September 2018

DEPARTMENTS

FEATURES

Editor’s Note 6 22 Building adaptive excellence

Advertisers’ Directory

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Foreword

11

Senator the Hon. Simon Birmingham, Minister for Education and Training

Primary Column

Dennis Yarrington, President, Australian Primary Principals Association

Events Diary

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EduTECH returns

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Practices for Teacher and Student Wellbeing

The largest education conference and exhibition in the southern hemisphere is a giant festival for those in the education sector.

Geelong Grammar School’s Institute of Positive Education places wellbeing at the heart of education.

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National Education News

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Principally Speaking

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Sally Gill Principal of Waimea Heights Primary School

Peter Goss, School Education Program Director at Grattan Institute, looks at lessons learned in the classroom to develop a more adaptive system.

30 Helping principals flourish

Dr Adam Fraser of The Flourish Project tells us how the plan to improve the performance and wellbeing of school principals came about, and looks at the results.

32 Taking STEAM outside the classroom

Dr Michael Cowling of CQUniversity and Dr James Birt of Bond University look at the role of technology in all aspects of students’ lives.

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EduTECH speaker spotlight

Dr Therese Keane discusses the added value of emerging technologies.

40 A paradox of modern times

Shona Bass and Kathy Walker of Early Life Foundations and Walker Learning discuss personalised and holistic education.

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Inspiring excellence

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Encouraging engagement

Aasha Murthy, CEO of the Australian Council for Educational Leaders, speaks about the organisation’s vision and future plans.

Deakin University’s Russell Tytler explores gaps in the Science curriculum.

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education matters primary

FOREWORD

Ensuring the highest standards SENATOR THE HON. SIMON BIRMINGHAM, MINISTER FOR EDUCATION AND TRAINING, EXPLAINS THE IMPORTANCE OF THE NATIONAL REVIEW OF TEACHER REGISTRATION. Australia’s high quality, hard-working teachers deserve to be supported by teacher registration systems that are consistent and that protect and strengthen the quality of the profession.

Recently, the Turnbull Government announced the details of a national review into teacher registration that will identify the best practices and inconsistencies that exist between different states and territories.

We know it has been an ongoing frustration for teachers that different jurisdictions have different requirements on professional learning for teachers, different ways of assessing suitability for teaching and different processes for registering new teachers.

Ideally, we would also be able to reduce the red tape and make it easier for teachers to transfer between states and territories, just as the Australian Education Union has called for.

The review will consider the registration requirements for vocational education and training teachers in school settings to ensure barriers are not created by inconsistent or different jurisdictional requirements. This in no way means tradies or nurses or people from other fields who are not appropriately qualified should be able to teach in schools, with greatest relevance to the subject being taught.

In truth, this review should ensure the highest possible standards, relevant to the subject that teachers are teaching.

The expert panel tasked with undertaking the review, supported by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, will conduct a comprehensive consultation process over the next two months. They will be seeking stakeholder input through roadshows, group forums and online surveys to make certain this leads to effective and meaningful reform that better supports the teaching profession.

We know there is nothing more important in a school than the quality and capability of teachers and we want the best people for the right jobs. That’s why we’ve undertaken reforms already to strengthen teacher training, to get more expertise, more specialisation into primary schools, and to guarantee the literacy and numeracy skills of those coming out of our universities and entering the profession.

This work builds on a raft of teaching quality reforms we have underway with an unashamed focus on better preparing teachers to be classroom ready.

While development of 21st century skills such as critical thinking, communication and digital skills can be gained through study across a range of disciplines, STEM skills are increasingly important for the jobs of the future. Research suggests that more than half of Australian workers will need to use, configure or build digital systems in the next two to three years.

Having an adequate supply of skilled STEM teachers is critical to ensuring Australian students are well positioned to access the opportunities arising in a globalised and technologically interconnected world and to turn around the plateauing performance we are seeing in these subjects.

One such reform we believe will have an impact on the STEM skills of students is the introduction of a subject specialisation for primary teachers.

From 2019, all initial education students entering a primary teaching course will be required to graduate with a subject specialisation, prioritising areas of employer demand including STEM subjects.

These teachers will graduate as a generalist primary teacher able to teach across the curriculum, but with deeper knowledge and teaching skills in one subject area.

For the existing teacher workforce, we are providing funding to a number of initiatives to support your ongoing professional learning.

This includes Primary Connections which provides access to curriculum resources and professional learning to support the development of students’ knowledge, understanding and skills in both science and literacy.

Teachers can also gain a greater understanding of the Australian Curriculum: Digital Technologies through free massive open online courses with the University of Adelaide and teaching and learning resources on the Digital Technologies Hub. I look forward to working closely with you in the year ahead as we continue to roll out reforms to improve teacher education and work toward delivering a registration system that better supports teachers.

education matters primary

Simon Birmingham has served as a Liberal Party senator for South Australia since May 2007 and in September 2015 was appointed to position of Minister for Education and Training.

Simon grew up near Gawler in Adelaide’s north on his family’s small horse agistment property. He was educated at government schools before going on to study at the University of Adelaide where he completed a Masters of Business Administration.

Prior to entering the senate, Simon worked for a number of industry bodies, establishing particular experience in the wine, tourism and hospitality sectors – industries that are critical to South Australia’s prosperity.

After less than three years in the senate, Simon was appointed to the Shadow Ministry, serving as Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Murray-Darling Basin and the Environment until the 2013 election.

Following the change of government in 2013, Simon served as Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment, with responsibility for water policy, including the Murray-Darling Basin, National Parks and the Bureau of Meteorology. In 2014, Simon was appointed to serve as the Assistant Minister for Education and Training, with specific responsibility for vocational education, apprenticeships, training and skills. He is now the Minister for Education and Training.

He is married to Courtney and has two young daughters, Matilda and Amelia. Simon is an active supporter of the Parliamentary Association for UNICEF and a proud, but sometimes frustrated, Adelaide Crows fan.

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APPA Column

Reforms for impact EDUCATION MUST BECOME A LONG TERM, BIPARTISAN APPROACH NOT INTERRUPTED BY ELECTIONS OR POLITICS, WRITES DENNIS YARRINGTON, PRESIDENT OF THE PRIMARY PRINCIPALS ASSOCIATION.

DENNIS YARRINGTON PRESIDENT, AUSTRALIAN PRIMARY PRINCIPALS ASSOCIATION (APPA) Dennis Yarrington has been the Principal of Harrison School, a new and expanding preschool to Year 10 school in Canberra, Australia. The school caters for 1500 students. Dennis has a Masters in Educational Leadership, Masters in Special Education and a Bachelor of Education. He has been involved in education for more than 30 years, including the positions of teacher, executive teacher, consultant and principal of a small country school, a large regional school, special school and establishing a large metropolitan P-10 school. He has been involved with concept designs for new schools in the ACT. He has presented at state, national and international conferences on leadership, school culture and implementing learning communities. Dennis was Vice-President of the Australian Government Primary Principals Association and is currently the President of the Australian Primary Principals Association. He has experience in developing leading schools in the integration of technology, 21st Century learning tools and structures and an inclusive school community. This includes teaching and learning communities and a coaching culture to improve teacher performance.

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The time is right for all of us to talk about the future. We have the opportunity to provide the policy and practice direction for addressing the needs of schools and communities across Australia. In doing so, APPA makes two important points: • There is an urgent need to review and update the 2008 Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians, and • School principals need flexibility to use locally based decision-making processes in developing and implementing learning programs for students. A ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach does not allow local communities to respond effectively to their needs and requirements. Education authorities should be working with principals and local communities to develop, modify or adapt learning approaches and programs for their community.

The following points formed part of the APPA submission to the Review to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian Schools and was developed in consultation with the APPA National Advisory Council (NAC). The NAC is comprised of a representative from each of the state and territory principal associations covering Government, Catholic and Independent primary schools.

WHAT DO PRIMARY SCHOOLS NEED? • A new overarching national document that clearly sets out the goals for Australia in the long-term and provides a structured and focused plan for the future.

• Adequate and equitable resources necessary for every child to reach his or her potential.

Equity across a country’s system is a key strategy for many high performing countries

education matters primary

Parent engagement and community partnerships are very much part of the contemporary education setting. APPA strongly supports the initiatives underway that are enhancing the schoolhome partnership

(e.g. Singapore, Estonia, Finland, Japan, Korea).

• Time to imbed effective practices around teaching and learning rather than schools having to adopt constant new initiatives. (This issue has plagued Australian education for many years with stop-start national or state / territory initiatives.)

• A national approach that moves to a philosophy of ‘assessment for learning’ rather than ‘assessment for accountability or reporting’.

The removal of student NAPLAN results from the My School website. With an autonomous model in mind, • schools would elect whether their students ‘sit’ NAPLAN; • national assessment would be by way of a sample-testing regime, very much like PISA, to chart the progress of systems across literacy and numeracy domains; • existing formative and summative assessments are used to communicate with parents on a child’s progress.

WHAT STUDENTS LEARN AND HOW THEY LEARN There is a strong expectation that schools respond to the demands of the workforce and address society’s problems. This has been debated widely within the profession and across the community. It is time to align policy more closely to the contemporary practice currently being implemented in schools. To support this alignment, APPA would welcome the following: • A framework is developed to shift the emphasis from what we teach to the how we teach.

(Researchers such as Fullan and Hargreaves, and high performing countries, have clearly identified the need to develop the professional and social capacity of teachers and school leaders as a means to achieve educational excellence.)

• Greater decision-making authority is given to principals and school communities in identifying curriculum priorities.

• All children have access to high quality preschool programs and receive the support needed in the transition to school.

• Develop cross-sectorial professional learning, modelled on the successful PALL and PALLIC programs, in the areas of Digital Leadership, Reading, and Students with Learning Difficulties.

• Innovation and action research should be key practices that are supported and encouraged in schools. Jurisdictions need to actively support school initiatives that respond to local challenges.

TEACHERS AND SCHOOL LEADERSHIP APPA’s 2017 report Back to Balance: How policy and practice can make primary principals highly effective highlights the increasing workload and compliance requirements impacting on principal health and wellbeing. Changes to policy and practice are required to improve the health and wellbeing of our leaders, and attract teachers to leadership positions. The move from a competitive framework to a collaborative approach will reap far greater outcomes.

• APPA is advocating for the following actions to support our teachers and leaders.

• Establish a national system of teacher registration that provides flexibility for teachers to cross state and territory borders.

• Professional learning is provided at the local level that support teachers developing skills in collaboration and team teaching.

• Establish Central Teaching Schools that partner with universities in delivering flexible and high quality initial teacher education programs that combine onsite and offsite course delivery with inschool experience and teacher educator support.

• The development and implementation of a National Leadership Framework that supports and accredits the delivery of leadership courses or programs that cover the key roles in school leadership and prepares principals to lead their school community in practical and achievable ways.

PARENT AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT Parent engagement and community partnerships are very much part of the contemporary education setting. APPA strongly supports the initiatives underway that are enhancing the school-home partnership. However, with this focus comes the need for resources to support the work. APPA is recommending for the following strategies to assist in enhancing the parent and community engagement.

• Increase efforts to improve the collective impact of coordinated services by establishing primary school ‘hubs’ where, particularly in disadvantaged communities, broader health, housing, parent education, early childhood and other non-government agencies and services support students and families.

• Flexible practices, such as sharing school facilities and expertise, working across sectors, combining classes and online classroom interaction with overseas schools, etc are valued and supported by systems and government.

DEFINING AND MEASURING SUCCESS IN EDUCATION This is gaining increased attention with some states and territories beginning to question the value of ‘one size fits all’ assessment and whether this is the approach to provide informative data on student achievement and growth. APPA contends that the My School website has not demonstrated or contributed to any significant change to school performance. So, it is time to review the assessment and reporting needs of schools, ensuring the views of principals, teachers and parents are central to any recommendations. The support this opportunity APPA would welcome the following actions:

education matters primary

APPA wants to ensure that any educational reforms provide equity for all students.

• Sample testing for school and system data collection be recognised as providing an effective measure of broad educational outcomes.

• The removal of national school assessment results from the My School website and direct these resources into developing and providing schools with more aligned assessment and evaluation tools for student learning.

KEY MESSAGES APPA’s report, Back in Balance: How policy and practice can make primary principals highly effective (APPA 2017) identifies that the key to ensuring we have effective leadership is trust and support for our school leaders. Trusting and working with principals and teachers to be empowered to lead their school’s teaching and learning will be the difference between successful reform and more of the same.

Schools need autonomy with curriculum priorities to enable context to be a key component of teaching and learning. Assessment and reporting should be aligned to the school’s need and purpose.

Education must become a long term, bipartisan approach not interrupted by elections or politics. Our school communities need certainty in a changing world. APPA is very cautious of any drop-in solutions from other countries and believes that, while we can learn from other systems, many of our solutions can be found within our country.

APPA wants to ensure that any educational reforms provide equity for all students, no matter their location, context or family circumstances.

Dennis Yarrington President Australian Primary Principals Association References Covey, SR, 1989. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. New York.

Simon and Shuster.

Hill, AC, 2016. Stand Out. Milton. Wiley and Sons

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EVENTS DIARY

Upcoming events in education A RANGE OF EVENTS ARE COMING UP ACROSS AUSTRALIA FOR PRINCIPALS AND TEACHERS – FROM PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE CONFERENCES TO TECHNOLOGY EXPOS. CHECK OUT THE LIST BELOW.

APRIL

MAY

JUNE JULY AUGUST

ICSET Sydney 2018

April 2 – 3, Rydges Sydney Central, Academic scientists, researchers and research scholars share Sydney, NSW. their experiences and research results on Sustainable Electrical Technologies www.waset.org/conference/2018/04/sydney/ICSET

AUSSRE 2018

April 7 – 8, Rydges Camperdown, Sydney, NSW

International Forum for Academic Research in Entrepreneurship and Social Sciences www.aussre.com/conferences/aussre-ares-2018-04/

The AIS Governance Symposium 2018s

April 16, Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney, NSW

The leading Australian forum for the dissemination and promotion of high-quality governance in independent schools. www.aisnsw.edu.au/courses

Research Innovation 2018

April 30 – May 1, Novotel Sydney Central, Sydney, NSW

Discussing the challenges surrounding partnerships and commercialisation www.researchinnovation.iqpc.com.au

Going Global 2018

May 2 – 4, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

This year’s theme is: Global connections, local impact’www. britishcouncil.org/going-global

2018 Inquiry and Innovation Institute

May 23 – 24, Belise, Brisbane, QLD

Providing the skills for leading the Spiral of Inquiry process in your school, cluster or network www.qassp.org.au/events/

2018 Early Years Conference

May 17 – 18, Hotel Pullman Cairns International, Cairns, QLD

Today’s Children – Tomorrow’s Future www.earlyyearsconference.com.au/2018-Conference

Leadership for Principals & Aspiring School Leaders Workshop

May 28 – 29, Cliftons Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC

Designed specifically for the challenges and demands faced by Principals www.liquidlearning.com

Positive Schools 2018 Mental Health and Wellbeing Conference

May 31 – June 1, Melbourne Convention Centre, Melbourne, VIC

Education that supports equity and diversity www.positiveschools.com.au

EduTECH Australia 2018

June 6 – 8, International Convention Centre, Sydney, NSW

The largest education event in Australasia and the Southern Hemisphere www.edutech.net.au

2018 International Conference on the Learning Sciences [ICLS]

June 23 – 27, Institute of Education, University College London, London, UK

Rethinking learning in the digital age: Making the Learning Sciences count www.icls2018.com

International Transforming Education Conference [ITEC 2019]

July 15 – 17, TBC, Adelaide, SA

Reimagining practice www.itec.org.au

ICPhS2019 [International Congress of the Phonetic Sciences]

August 4 – 10, TBC, Melbourne, VIC

First time for the event to be held in the Southern Hemisphere www.icphs2019.org

TO HAVE YOUR ORGANISATION’S EVENT LISTED IN THE NEXT EDITION OF EDUCATION MATTERS MAGAZINE PLEASE EMAIL THE DETAILS TO TRACIE.BARRETT@PRIMECREATIVE.COM.AU

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NATIONAL EDUCATION NEWS

Survey reports increased threats and violence against principals The 2017 Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Survey shows threats and violence against principals

Independent primary school principals across Australia.

He said the report points to a growing number of leaders

has increased and they experience a higher level of offensive

reporting violence and threats of violence, and the increasing

behaviour at work than most Australians.

hours of work expected of principals to meet the mounting

The results present a stagnating set of figures and continue to highlight ongoing challenges for schools, school systems and governments, said Australian Primary Principals Association (APPA) President Dennis Yarrington.

The survey, released this month, was published by the

demands of running a school.

Running any school is a demanding task that naturally brings a certain level of stress, Mr Yarrington said.

“Principals accept that,” he said. “However, we don’t need to look far to know the serious consequences when workload and

Institute for Positive Psychology and Education at Australian

work demands impact on personal health. The results are simply

Catholic University. It is part of a research project that aims

not good for principals, staff, students or parents.”

to conduct a longterm study monitoring school principals and deputy/assistant principals’ health and wellbeing annually.

The 2017 survey showed principals and deputy or assistant principals experience a far higher prevalence of offensive behaviour at work than Australia’s general population, with 44 per cent of respondents having received threats of violence, and one in three principals reporting actual violence.

Over the seven years of the study, the two greatest sources of stress that have remained consistently high have been quantity of work, and lack of time to focus on teaching and learning. There

The survey data made it clear that school leaders are having to deal with increased levels of stress, unrealistic demands, limited resources and less time to focus on what is core business – the education of students within their school.

Mr Yarrington said there is a need to change the trend that being a principal means abuse, threats and assault.

“It is simply not acceptable. We need policies and practices in place that give a clear message of what is acceptable and what is not,” he said.

“The report highlighted the passion principals bring to their

has also been an increase in stress caused by mental health

role. It warned though that when passion becomes obsessive,

issues of students and staff.

then stress, burnout and poor health begin to appear. Principals

Mr Yarrington heads national professional association that represents more than 7,200 Government, Catholic and

working over 55 and 65 hours a week is far too common and cannot be helping anyone – students, teachers or themselves.”

National review looks at inconsistencies in teacher registration “We want to ensure we have teacher registration systems that are high-quality and more consistent and that complement our existing reforms to improve the initial training of teachers.”

A national review of teacher registration may make it easier for

state and territory ministers at the Education Council, would

experienced workers to become teachers.

focus on the registration of early childhood teachers, vocational

The Australian Government, with the support of states and territories, has launched a national review of teacher registration to help tackle key inconsistencies in systems across the country.

Education Minister Simon Birmingham

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education and training teachers in schools as well as how new teachers transition into the profession.

“We want to ensure we have teacher registration systems that are high-quality and more consistent and that complement

Minister for Education Simon Birmingham said the National Review of Teacher Registration, which had been endorsed by

education matters primary

our existing reforms to improve the initial training of teachers,” Mr Birmingham said.”

“There’s inconsistency in our teacher registration systems across the country and we need to understand what’s working and what’s not in key areas to set a bar everyone can work towards.”

Education ministers across the country had agreed to look

their graduates have the knowledge and experience to be successful educators.

“As our teacher education reforms flow through, we also want this Review to look at how teaching graduates make the transition to working in schools. Too many teachers report how

at potential changes to registration practices including how

they struggled making the jump from university to working in a

early childhood educators and vocational education and training

school and so the registration process should ensure classroom

teachers fit into the picture.

proficiency is attained.”

“Australia has fantastic teachers across every part of the

Mr Birmingham said one of the Review’s aims was to

education system and parents rightly expect teachers to have

explore how school systems could make it easier for people

the right skills and training before they step into classrooms,”

with other real-world skills to become teachers.

Mr Birmingham said. “We’ve been working hard since our

“Having a former tradie or nurse as a teacher can bring

Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group to deliver reforms

more perspective to a classroom and can be especially

to boost the quality of teaching in Australia.

beneficial for the teaching of vocational and trade skills,”

“Those reforms include tests to ensure new teachers have literacy and numeracy skills in the top 30 per cent of the adult

he said.

“Teachers who have been working in other jobs can be a

population, new accreditation standards for teacher training

great way for students to learn about life after school and the

courses and a need for training organisations to demonstrate

different options open to them.”

Maths teacher Eddie Woo in running for international million-dollar prize Inspiring teacher and internet sensation Eddie Woo is in the

maths teacher, well known for his video channel which has

running to add another award to his many.

182,000 subscribers worldwide.

Weeks after receiving a national Local Hero Award on

“On discovering that teachers in training found his videos an

Australia Day, the head maths teacher at Cherrybrook Technology

invaluable window into a real classroom, he created a separate

High School in Sydney was named one of 10 finalists for the 2018

channel where teachers can share their expertise,” his citation

Global Teacher Prize.

reads.

Mr Woo first started posting videos online in 2012 for one

Mr Woo’s Maths Peer-Assisted Study Sessions (PASS)

of his students who was sick with cancer and missing many

program in his school also sees Year 11 students mentoring

classes.

struggling Year 7 students to help them to rebuild confidence,

Others of his students wanted to watch the videos online so he started sharing them widely through his YouTube channel, Wootube, and website, misterwootube.com.

Awarded by the Varkey Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation established to improve the standards of education for underprivileged children globally, the Global Teacher Prize is a

develop understanding and improve skill in mathematics, the site says.

The program has produced measurable improvements in the Year 7 students’ numeracy, and has also encouraged their mentors to pursue careers in education.

Writing on his Facebook page, Mr Woo said it was a joy to

US$1 million (AU$1.26 million) award presented to an exceptional

represent and embody the wonderful work done by teachers

teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to their

every day across the planet.

profession.

The foundation’s website states Mr Woo is an enthusiastic

“On discovering that teachers in training found his videos an invaluable window into a real classroom, he created a separate channel where teachers can share their expertise.”

“Thank you to the Varkey Foundation for this amazing recognition of education’s transformative power!,” he wrote.

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PRINCIPALLY SPEAKING

Family connections SALLY GILL, PRINCIPAL OF WAIMEA HEIGHTS PRIMARY SCHOOL IN HOBART, TASMANIA, SPEAKS TO EDUCATION MATTERS ABOUT THE SCHOOL’S CORE VALUES.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN WITH WAIMEA HEIGHTS PRIMARY SCHOOL? This is my eighth year as Principal of Waimea.

During that time, we have raised the school’s profile as a beacon in public education in Tasmania. As a result of the high-quality teaching, our enrolments have doubled over the past six years. During my tenure, the school

has also had a significant input in funding from the Tasmanian Department of Education with additional fundraising by our parents, to improve the facilities and playground. We have built a new library, staffroom, a new kindergarten and four new classroom and unisex toilets, and there has been a major upgrade of all other learning areas and administration spaces.

HOW DOES THE SCHOOL’S PHILOSOPHY AND ETHOS GUIDE IT TODAY? Four core values - Learning and Achievement, Integrity, Diversity, Social Responsibility underpin our approach to learning and the programs we run to develop our students as socially responsible citizens of the world. We are a ‘can do’ school as our students are empowered to be active and engaged citizens. As an example of this, our students have spread their knowledge to the wider community. Our year 6 students shared their research into the threat of a myrtle rust invasion to our native trees, and our younger children developed a plan to build a new sandpit, researching the cost and developing a persuasive plan supported by the skills and knowledge of our families. They are actively involved in their own learning HOW DOES WAIMEA HEIGHTS DIFFER FROM OTHER SCHOOLS? Waimea is situated on a magnificent expansive campus. The school is framed by Mount Wellington/Kunanyi, is bordered by MacAulay’s Bush Reserve and is within walking distance of the River Derwent. It has formal and informal playgrounds that are expansive and diverse. Its bush playground allows for cubby building and tree climbing. This is a place where, in a natural setting, our children’s emotional and social skills are strengthened. They can take risks as they explore the mud pie kitchen or creek bed, negotiate rules of a game or care for one another when they have the inevitable bumps and scratches. It is a natural environment that encourages a variety of outdoor play to suit all students.

Another point of difference in our school is

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that 25 per cent of our families have an international background. This brings a richness in diversity and a natural opportunity to develop understanding and respect for all people. Added to this, many ‘mainlanders’ are now choosing Hobart as their sea change destination as it’s a wonderful, safe, clean, and uncrowded place to raise a family. Our school prides itself on welcoming families and developing strong family connections during their time with us.

their practice, and opportunities to contribute to the development and implementation of our school improvement plan. With a strong leadership team consisting of an assistant principal, three advanced skills teachers and the school business manager, the expertise on the staff provides those middle-tier leaders great opportunity for growth and reflection of their practice, under my mentorship. Their support of an outstanding staff has contributed to Waimea successes.

IN WHAT WAYS HAS THE SCHOOL EVOLVED OVER THE PAST 10 TO 20 YEARS? Ten years ago, Waimea was under threat of closure with declining numbers. Now with more than 400 pupils, it has a strong reputation for academic excellence as a kind, inclusive and caring school.

The school has focused on developing the leaders of tomorrow - confident, articulate young people who have a strong ethical approach to their world. Waimea was selected to participate in the New Pedagogies for Deep Learning Project in 2012, a Michael Fullan global undertaking, and over the following three years our school has transformed its use of digital technologies in the learning context. Twenty schools in Tasmania, over 100 in Victoria and thousands globally joined this project to define what 21st Century learning should look like in our classrooms. At Waimea, our focus has been to develop our students as problem solvers, finding ways to ensure strong student voice and authentic learning experiences.

WHAT ROLE DO YOU PLAY IN THE DAY-TO-DAY ACTIVITIES OF THE STUDENTS? Knowing every child and their family is my aim as we develop a strong connected community. Before and after school and during many break times I walk, talk and support a child’s social situation and development. I ensure I do a duty in the kindergarten playground to get to know our newest members of the Waimea community too. A high level of visibility means those incidental conversations can build wonderful bridges with our families and support them as together we are involved in the growth and learning of their child. Each morning I visit every classroom as I build strong and effective relationships with teachers and support staff. I witness highly engaging teaching and learning programs and with this knowledge and the expertise of the leadership team, can ensure we continue to strengthen teaching practices.

HOW DO YOU PROVIDE SUPPORT AND LEADERSHIP TO YOUR STAFF? My ‘class’ is the staff of Waimea. Providing strong pastoral support and an environment of continuous improvement is my aim. Together we develop individual professional development plans which give each staff member a chance to strengthen

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE MORE CRITICAL ISSUES FACED BY EDUCATORS IN THE PRIMARY SECTOR? The role of a teacher is ever increasing. High levels of accountability are expected but teacher stress and wellbeing is of concern.

Our families too are under social and financial pressure, to be ‘the perfect parent’, purchasing their

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own homes if they can. Often with two working parents, families are time-poor and can place high expectations on their child, which also results in children finding it difficult to cope with the worries of the world.

We focus on empowering our children to make a difference, developing resilience to cope with disappointment, and to celebrate others’ successes.

The ‘lawnmower’ parent is not a helpful model for children. We work with some of parents to understand that disappointment, challenge and the word “no” are very important in a child’s development. Clearing the way so that there are no obstacles to conquer is not in the best long term interests of any child.

As an eSmart school we are also working hard to ensure our students are fully prepared for the ever-changing cyber world. To be safe and courteous online is another focus of our class programs.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT, EITHER AS A TEACHER OR SPECIFICALLY IN THE ROLE OF PRINCIPAL? My career has spanned 40 years teaching in the remote west coast of Tasmania in a Hydro construction village, many different demographics of Hobart and the beautiful Huon valley. In each school, I’ve delighted in the opportunity to work with families and seen it as an honour and privilege. To chat to the prep child who on day one said at lunch time, “Can I go home now, I know everything and I can see my house?’ or the Year 6 student who I heard checking on a much younger student whose head was hanging low, asking, “Are you OK?’, warms my heart daily. The opportunity to see the growth and development in our students is pure pleasure. As principal, I feel like the Mayor of the Village, supporting the students, staff and community to grow and prosper. I love this job!

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PRINCIPALLY SPEAKING

technologies is the KIVA online project which uses technology that allows our students to connect people from very different backgrounds. The platform allows them to research individuals from developing countries wishing to gain a small microfinance loan.

Students developed criteria to rank borrowers (is it more important to support children’s education, or adult health, or projects that will affect a whole village?), and finally loan their funds to people from developing countries to facilitate life-changing projects.

This global interaction would be almost impossible without the power of digital technology to connect and communicate.

WHAT TRAITS MAKE FOR AN EFFECTIVE AND SUCCESSFUL LEADER IN EDUCATION TODAY? The ability to listen, think strategically and work towards the agreed vision, values and direction of the school keeping it clearly front and centre of what you do, are very important traits and skills for a principal. So often we can be overtaken by events or programs and ensuring that this is part of the agreed direction of the school supported by staff takes a high level of emotional intelligence and strong ability to communicate. The ability to develop strong trusting relationships with staff and your community is also an important attribute for a leader.

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CAN YOU DESCRIBE ANY SPECIFIC WAYS IN WHICH THE DIGITAL ERA IS BEGINNING TO DISRUPT THE EDUCATION FIELD? Ensuring our students are safe online and also behave in courteous and polite manner is part of our eSmart focus. It is a challenging world for our young people to navigate but is a critical part of how they communicate and engage in their world and their learning. The digital technologies underpin much of our learning and we model and teach the power of technologies as they learn to code, make short movies and communicate with the wider world.

One way we model the positive use of digital

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WHAT ARE YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT NAPLAN AND ITS EFFECTIVENESS? NAPLAN is one form of assessment that gives us longitudinal information about our school’s academic success in literacy and numeracy and the effectiveness of some of our professional learning focus in identified targeted areas. It provides detailed information for teachers to compare with the other ways we assess our students during the year and ensure that both enrichment and support are developed where needed.

I would be disappointed if it was a major focus in comparing schools as a child’s education is so much broader that these tests and our contexts so different.

A child’s emotional and social development, sense of wellbeing and the creative arts are also important in the development of the whole child and an important part of a child’s education, areas that are not ‘tested’.

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HOT TOPIC

Building adaptive excellence PETER GOSS, SCHOOL EDUCATION PROGRAM DIRECTOR AT GRATTAN INSTITUTE, LOOKS AT LESSONS LEARNED IN THE CLASSROOM TO DEVELOP A MORE ADAPTIVE SYSTEM.

School Education Program Director Dr Pete Goss joined Grattan in 2014, and has focused on how education systems and data can help schools and teachers adapt and improve their practice. Prior to joining Grattan, he spent more than 10 years as a strategy consultant, most recently with the Boston Consulting Group, and worked with Noel Pearson to improve education outcomes for Cape York primary school students. Pete trained as a biologist, with a focus on understanding complex systems. His discussion paper Towards an Adaptive Education System in Australia is available at www.grattan.edu.au and he posts on Twitter @peter_goss

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A new Gonski review is examining how to achieve educational excellence for Australia’s 3.8 million school students. The success of the review will ultimately depend on whether its recommendations lead to better practice in the classroom. And the best way to improve classroom practice at scale is to develop a more adaptive education system.

To explain what I mean, let me tell you a story about three primary teachers I met in early 2015, whom I will call Kate, Naomi and Natalie.

Kate, Naomi and Natalie work in a disadvantaged regional New South Wales school I’ll call Bright Vale. Four years earlier, unable to tell which of their methods was really working, they were tearing their hair out. But by 2015 they could identify what was working best to help students learn, by regularly tracking each student’s capabilities in literacy and numeracy.

Now, Kate said, her job was better. Natalie talked about working harder, but being more efficient. Naomi even used the ‘a-word’, saying she felt more accountable than ever now that she knew exactly how much or how little her students were learning. In fact, they all felt accountable to the students and their parents, and to each other – not to some faceless bureaucrat. I was thrilled to hear it: this is the sort of collective accountability to which all professionals should aspire.

One surprise was that Kate’s students consistently made about two months more progress each year. What was she doing differently? Kate settled her kids down more quickly. So Naomi and Natalie focused on better routines at the start of each lesson. That is, they changed their ways based on evidence. And it worked.

This story is not about the virtues of managing classroom behaviour. Nor is it actually about gathering more data. As their principal explained: “It’s the dialogue, not the data.”

The point of the story is the use of data to adapt teaching practices, and continually evaluating what

education matters primary

is (and isn’t) working. All teachers should keep doing the things that help students learn more, and stop or change the things that don’t.

But Naomi and Natalie only discovered that Kate was doing something different and better because they had good data about their students’ progress that made them ask the question.

Therein lies the rub. Tracking student progress is hard to do. Teachers need “small data” that they trust, gathered regularly enough to inform the way they teach. The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) doesn’t do that, nor was it designed to.

Schools seem to find it particularly hard to use data to improve teaching. In my 2015 Grattan Institute report Targeted Teaching, I found many schools were trying to use data better, but I did not find a single school that had nailed the process without outside help.

So how had Bright Vale improved so much so quickly? The answer lay in part in the school’s own efforts, but even more in the support it had received from outside. A NSW department program called Early Action for Success had provided better tools to assess learning; more time for teachers to collaborate; and access to an expert instructional leader to show how use of small data could improve teaching.

The other teachers liked what they saw of Kate, Naomi and Natalie’s new, more systematic approach, and the principal rolled the model out across the whole school. Rather than telling Bright Vale exactly what to do, the education system had created an environment where the school would improve by adaptive, local decision making.

Bright Vale is no fluke. Early Action for Success has been implemented in more than 400 NSW primary schools. Principals have broadened the program in more than 70 per cent of schools, and a recent evaluation confirms that teaching practices are changing for the better.

My visit to Bright Vale got me thinking. If rigorous use of data can help teachers in a deeply disadvantaged school decide which practices to keep, which to stop, and which to start, could we embed adaptive improvement across all schools in Australia?

Australia has many bright spots, many Bright Vales. And we have many local examples of continuous improvement. But we do not have an adaptive education system that systematically identifies and spreads excellence, balancing local decision-making with top-down guidance and support.

The goal is not for all teachers to use exactly the same teaching methods. Teachers are responsible for how they teach their students (informed by the research), and for adapting their teaching over time to maximise impact. This is an inherently local process.

The point is that it should not be done independently in every classroom. If each teacher or school tried to evolve and improve in isolation, we would never achieve the gains needed, because there would be no systemic learning or adoption of best practice.

To create a more adaptive education system, we must at a minimum bring three pieces together: an explicit focus on inputs (what is done), an equal focus on outcomes (what is measured), and a systematic learning process to decide what to do differently next time. In other words: Act, Evaluate and Adapt. Too many previous reform efforts have prioritised only one step of this feedback loop, not all three, and fallen short.

The Bright Vale story shows feedback being used to improve teaching within a school, but the same logic holds true at higher levels of the education system, as illustrated above right. Networks, dioceses or regions of schools within each state should use feedback to improve the support they offer schools; states should learn what works best at a network level; and so on.

The key to adaptive improvement is not more innovation, but better selection of what to keep.

Education guru John Hattie captures this idea in his phrase “know thy impact,” an exhortation for teachers to track how much their students learn, and then use that information to inform their future practice.

Making this the norm in classroom practice is no easy task: it will require changes at all levels of the system, including to the evidence base, career pathways, leadership capability, and reporting, accountability and governance.

So let’s cut to the chase. Here are four ways

Figure: An adaptive education system needs nested feedback loops at multiple levels

To create a more adaptive education system, we must at a minimum bring three pieces together: an explicit focus on inputs (what is done), an equal focus on outcomes (what is measured), and a systematic learning process to decide what to do differently next time. In other words, act, evaluate, then adapt.

Australia can make its education system more adaptive, thereby improving student outcomes.

First, teachers and schools must be better able to track the progress of their students over time in ways that directly inform their teaching. Naomi and Natalie increased their focus on classroom routines because the data showed that Kate’s students were learning faster.

Second, we need to build better ways to spread and share information and practices, both within schools and across schools. Too often, schools waste time reinventing the wheel, rather than figuring out the best way to use pre-existing approaches in their local context.

Third, Australia should make better use of its most expert teachers, using them to teach other teachers and spread the word about what works best in the classroom. A key to Bright Vale’s success was the quality of its instructional leader. The teacher filling this role at Bright Vale did not have a class herself; instead, her day job was to equip Kate and

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her colleagues with the skills they needed to be more rigorous and adaptive in their teaching.

Fourth, teachers and school leaders should embrace the benefits that come from standardising elements of teaching practice. When I asked Natalie about being more efficient, she talked about the time and effort saved by using a common language about teaching and assessment. Standardising practice in core academic areas also creates more space to systematically innovate where the evidence isn’t strong, including how to help young Australians develop broader skills for a changing world.

Here’s the bottom line: To make these changes at scale, education policy makers need a new model of system leadership. Australia won’t achieve excellence in school education unless policy makers give practical support to teachers like Kate, Naomi and Natalie to help them rigorously adapt and improve their practices. It would be worth it: an adaptive education system would build professional responsibility, and ultimately transform all our schools.

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HOT TOPIC // Mathematics

EduTECH returns in June THE LARGEST EDUCATION EVENT IN THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE GEARS UP FOR SYDNEY.

Technology has fundamentally changed how today’s students learn about and interact with the world; even changing how their brains develop, think and focus. If that’s not enough, the world is also changing and we need to be confidently prepared for the increasingly global, competitive and vastly different digital world of tomorrow. How does one keep up?

The best place to start is at the largest education conference and exhibition in the southern hemisphere - EduTECH, held 6 - 8 June at the Sydney International Convention Centre.

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It’s a giant festival for education where dreamers and educational risk-takers come once a year.

EduTECH is a rich and auspicious meeting place where education leaders, teachers and academics gather from around the world to collaborate and continue their journey in re-discovering and re-defining the very best in leadership, innovation, technological advancement, pedagogy and curriculum.

Educators hungry to gain the latest relevant research, practical advice, inspiration and confidence to expand pedagogical practice and

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educational resources need look no further than EduTECH 2018.

Covering the entire education life-cycle from pre-school to post-school, EduTECH 2018 features 11 parallel conferences providing professional development. Alongside, the conferences are tied together by one expansive exhibition that showcases the latest and greatest in emerging technologies; where the learning, theory and inspiration comes to life.

The exhibition also features a main stage that hosts free professional development seminars

that not only improve how students learn but how educators teach.

If you ask any educator across the world, they’ll tell you that targeted face-to-face professional learning will never go out of fashion. When educators share the responsibility of engaging and preparing young, digitally native people to lead successful and productive lives in the 21st Century and beyond, we see the need for old fashioned professional development increasing over time. EduTECH is the perfect example of quality PD, where you can join your peers and some of the greatest education scholars and researchers of our time to swap ideas and learn from each other. What better way to define, measure, and benchmark progress than to learn and discuss your challenges with education changechampions that shed light into the why and how they drive revolutionary pedagogy.

Every year we bring avid educationalists the brightest and most innovative minds to share their unique ideas – ranging from Sir Ken Robinson to Prof.

Carol Dweck, Prof. Sugata Mitra to Jan Owen AM. In 2018, join: • Mark Scott AO, Secretary, NSW Department of Education (AUS) • Professor Rose Luckin, Professor of Learner Centred Design University College London, Knowledge Lab (UK) • Dr Yong Zhao, World renowned educationalist, Foundation Distinguished Professor, School of Education, University of Kansas (USA); and Global Chair, University of Bath (UK) • Lisa Rodgers, CEO, Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) (AUS) • Professor Guy Claxton, Best-selling international author on education, intelligence and building learning power (UK) • Dr Jane Hunter, Leading Australian researcher in school education, innovative pedagogy and designer of the High Possibility Classrooms framework for technology enhanced learning in K-12 settings, University of Technology Sydney (AUS)

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• Peter Hutton, Principal of one of the world’s most innovative and trailblazing state high school – Templestowe College (AUS) • Jennie Vine, Assistant Principal of one of Australia’s most innovative primary schools Wooranna Park Primary School (AUS) • Professor Toby Walsh, one of the world’s top authorities and Australia’s leading scientist on Artificial Intelligence • Gail Bray, whose work has been recognised as best practice, won two international LearnX Awards (2017) for best blended learning model and interactive eLearning scenario, plus AITD’s Award for Best Implementation of a Blended Learning Solution (2017) Don’t take it from us, here’s what a couple of last year’s attendees had to say: “The EduTECH conference was so worth the 2 days out of the office. I came away with gold. So useful to be able to learn from the successes and

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HOT TOPIC // Mathematics

mistakes of others to better inform the way I can implement workforce development practices and culture change. My head is still buzzing with ideas” – Ms Burgess, Transport NSW “The EduTECH Congress was exciting, stimulating and informative, the ultimate Professional Development experience” – Ms Cameron-Gardner, Emanuel School Attendance at EduTECH counts towards PD/ professional learning activities which you can record with your relevant state teacher registration board.

Depending on the number of sessions attended, delegates can get up to 13 hours for the two conference days, whilst attendees who choose to attend one of our pre-event masterclasses can get an additional 6.5 hours for attending.

THIS YEAR’S SESSIONS: K-12 Ed Leaders Congress: For forward thinking Principals or Head Teachers, leadership teams plus classroom teachers and pre-service teachers, designed to provide a strategic look at the future of education by sharing global trends and

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developments, updates on Australia’s curriculum, and the latest thought leadership into how to lead and teach within 21st century schools.

K-12 Schools ICT Management Congress: For IT/ICT Managers responsible for resourcing, implementing and supporting the use of IT/ICT. School Business Management Congress: For business managers, bursars and administrators responsible for day-to-day operations of the school.

Future Library Congress: For all library professionals from public/state/academic/school/ special libraries, designed to explore challenges facing libraries.

Higher Ed Leaders Congress: For senior leadership and management teams from universities and higher education to discuss changing trends and developments.

Tertiary Education IT Leaders Congress: Designed for IT professionals at university, higher education and VET organisations responsible for IT strategy, implementation and frontline support services.

National VET Leaders Congress: For leaders and managers from VETs/RTOs and continued-learning

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organisations to discuss important changes and developments in the VET sector.

AITD National Conference: Australia’s largest event for training, learning and development professionals just got bigger. EduTECH is delighted to announce that in 2018 our regular Learning@ Work Congress is combining with the Australian Institute of Training & Development (AITD) National Conference.

EduBUILD: Co-located with EduTECH, EduBUILD is Australia’s largest education buildings and infrastructure conference and tradeshow for education leaders and decision-makers involved in design, construction, renovation, maintenance, operation and management of buildings for schools, colleges and universities.

EduPROCURE: Australia’s largest education buildings and infrastructure conference and tradeshow for education leaders and decisionmakers involved in design, construction, renovation, maintenance, operation and management of buildings for schools, colleges and universities.

EduFM: (Facilities Management for Schools and

Universities) Australia’s only conference dedicated to facilities and asset management within the entire education sector.

What do masterclasses offer educators?

Masterclasses are a way of spending a full day learning from one of the world’s leading education thinkers in a practical, interactive and intimate group. It’s the perfect complement to the EduTECH Congress professional learning experience. This year we have world renowned futurist, visionary planner and educational architect, Prakash Nair (USA) and his sidekick (USA) leading a masterclass on Learning Spaces; best-selling international author on education, intelligence and building learning power, Professor Guy Claxton (UK) facilitating a masterclass on ‘the Learning Power Approach’ that is teaching students to teach themselves; and a masterclass for the astute education leaders and teachers, as Professor Rose Luckin (UK) changes the way you think about AI and its impact on education and teaching practices forever.

Why educate school leaders directly?

Educating the educators will equip them with

new tools, ideas, and strategies to teach the new generations of students so they may learn deeper, faster, wider and smarter. Looking at the bigger picture, learning is thinking with other people’s ideas.

Experience teaches us how to reduce mistakes, but who has the time for continuous trial-and-error learning when it comes to educating the future people who will run the world?

We must learn from others success, and more importantly their failures. This is why case study driven content delivered interactively and live at EduTECH and National FutureSchools will never go out of fashion. Supplementing those case studies is evidence-based research presented in a practical and easily digestible manner that justifies why and how different leaders are able to adapt those strategies to their own school.

When education leaders share the responsibility of engaging and preparing young, digitally native people to lead successful and productive lives in the 21st century, the only way to see sustained improvement in student outcomes is for educators and school leaders to be constantly improving their theoretical knowledge and evidence-informed inquiry and management skills.

Every school has their own unique set of strengths. Some schools are more successful in pedagogical content knowledge, some in innovative implementation of the curriculums, others in digital technologies and others in upskilling and improving or expanding teacher capabilities. When you bring together more than 4000 schools from over 20 countries and provide a flexible learning space, naturally all swap ideas and learn from each other.

Many schools undertake their own research studies and have valuable insights to share.

With the advent of P-TECH schools that formalise

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what many schools have been doing for decades, it is important for educators to know how to develop and set up partnerships with key industries.

Understanding the strategic direction of other schools gives you a benchmark to walk away with, and fresh ideas to spring off. Hearing from the top Education leaders of today will better prepare school leaders for tomorrow.

EduTECH is for the educators that say 40 per cent disengagement in schools is unacceptable. It’s for the leaders who say that there is plenty of room for their multi-talented staff to take educational risks and who ask how they can further empower their staff to realise their full potential. It’s for the principals who feel they aren’t ready, who aren’t confident and need support. It’s for the teachers who can say that they aren’t able to provide the exact combination of resources and knowledge for every student and is willing to look at collaboration beyond the classroom so that their students can realise their full potential.

At EduTECH, you can guarantee leaders, educators, and students alike will get unlimited access across two days to an incredible and expansive network of peers, potential commerce and business partners, universities, design and construction thought-leaders etc.

EduTECH has always been a starting point for collaboration. Competition makes us faster and collaboration makes us better.

EduTECH Event Details Dates: 6-8 June 2018 Venue: International Convention Centre, Sydney Website: www.edutech.net.au Phone: 02 8908 8555 Email: edutech@terrapinn.com

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HEALTH & WELLBEING

Positive Education: Practices for teacher and student wellbeing GEELONG GRAMMAR SCHOOL’S INSTITUTE OF POSITIVE EDUCATION PLACES WELLBEING AT THE HEART OF EDUCATION.

Author Rhiannon McGee Rhiannon McGee is the Head of Positive Education at Geelong Grammar School, leading the School’s wellbeing program across four campuses. Rhiannon has held a range of leadership roles in the area of student wellbeing in the past ten years in different school settings. She is passionate about the promotion of community wellbeing and this has motivated her to complete the Masters of Education (Student Wellbeing), and the Masters of Applied Positive Psychology at the University of Melbourne.

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As educators, we know that supporting student wellbeing is integral to the work we do.

Increasingly, schools are prioritising wellbeing as a response to the prevalence of mental illness in youth and the link between wellbeing and positive learning outcomes. The wellbeing of teachers also plays a key role in student wellbeing and, as such, should be considered part of a whole-school approach to wellbeing (Roffey, 2012). Positive Education is one such approach and can be defined as the application of Positive Psychology in the educational context, to promote mental health and to nurture flourishing school communities (Hoare, Bott & Robinson, 2017).

At Geelong Grammar School (GGS), we emphasise the importance of four key processes which bring Positive Education to life in an educational setting: ‘Learn it, Live it, Teach it, Embed it’. According to this model, it is important that educators engage with and implement evidence-based wellbeing practices into their own lives before they can be imparted to students in a meaningful and authentic way. Whilst the GGS model for Positive Education encourages a wholeschool approach, the field of Positive Education still has a great deal to offer educators whose schools may not yet have adopted this model. Teachers are encouraged to explore the range of evidencebased practices which comprise Positive Education, introducing them to their own lives before bringing them into the classroom. Three suggested approaches involve engaging character strengths, cultivating growth mindsets and practising selfcompassion during challenging times.

ENGAGING AND DEVELOPING STRENGTHS Strengths are defined as ‘patterns of thinking, feeling or behaving that, when exercised, will excite, engage and energise you, and allow you to perform at your optimum level’ (Linley, Willars & Biswas-Deiner 2010). Identifying and cultivating character strengths is a core component of Positive Education. Teachers and students can take the VIA

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Character Strengths Survey online to identify their top 5 signature strengths. These will likely be the strengths which are essential to our daily lives, which are energising and easy to use. As well as identifying and utilising your signature strengths, observing strengths in others, or ‘strengths spotting’ is another way of introducing the language of strengths into our own lives, our classrooms and the broader school environment. It is also important to understand that strengths can be developed.

Undertaking a simple 11 minute daily ‘strengths routine’ to cultivate a strength which may appear lower on the VIA report is an achievable goal for teachers and students. For instance, the strength of gratitude might be developed by making a note at the end of each school day as to what went well that day (McQuaid & Lawn, 2014).

CULTIVATING A GROWTH MINDSET Perhaps the most well-known theory associated with Positive Education comes from Carol Dweck’s (2006) research on mindsets. Dweck identified a ‘fixed mindset’ as being based on the underlying belief that our intelligence and talent don’t really improve over time. In contrast, a ‘growth mindset’ is based on the belief that intelligence and talent can always be improved upon with practice. It is important to know that we are likely to have a combination of both a fixed and growth mindset, and to observe what triggers our fixed mindset. It is also helpful to be aware of how we model these mindsets for our students. As teachers, do we set ourselves learning goals, welcome criticism and embrace failure as part of the learning process, in order to engage a growth mindset? If we seek to nurture a growth mindset in our students, the type of feedback we provide is key. Dweck warns against oversimplifying growth mindset theory by simply praising effort for effort’s sake. Instead, provide ‘process praise’ by focusing on the learning process and how hard work, good strategies, and a good use of resources leads to better learning (Gross-Loh, 2016).

PRACTISING SELF-COMPASSION There is growing research to support the benefits of self-compassion for adults and adolescents.

Self-compassion is an alternative to damaging selfcriticism and essentially means treating ourselves as we would a good friend, particularly during difficult times. Self-compassion has been found to raise motivation, performance and resilience and to reduce stress, anxiety and self-doubt (Neff, 2011).

Self-compassion practices include becoming aware of your critical self-talk and reframing this in a more compassionate way, as a kind friend would.

Also, writing a compassionate letter to yourself or comforting yourself with a physical gesture, such as a hand on the heart or by placing one hand over the other to soothe the nervous system. Throughout the school year, there will be many opportunities to encourage students to become aware of their own

self-critical voice and to treat themselves with selfcompassion when experiencing personal or academic challenge.

Whilst it is preferable that schools undertake a whole-school approach to wellbeing, it is just as important that teachers are able to explore evidence-

based practices which enhance their own personal and professional lives. Once the benefits of these practices have been experienced first-hand, they can be introduced into the classroom in a more authentic way, assisting the creation of positive learning environments which promote wellbeing.

Further Reading Dweck, C. (2006). Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York: Random House.

Gross-Loh, C. (2016, December 16). How Praise Became a Consolation Prize. (online) The Atlantic Daily. https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/12/how-praise-became-a-consolationprize/510845/ Hoare, E., Bott,D., & Robinson, J. (2017).Learn it, Live it, Teach it, Embed it: Implementing a whole-school approach to foster positive mental health and wellbeing through Positive Education. International Journal of Wellbeing, 7(3), 56-71. doi: 10,5502/ijw.v7i3.645 Linley, A., Willars, J., & Biswas-Diener, R. (2010). The strengths book: What you can do, love to do and find it hard to do-and why it matters. Coventary, UK: CAPP Press.

McQuaid, M., & Lawn, M. (2014). Your Strengths Blueprint: How to be Engaged, Energised and Happy at Work. Melbourne: Michelle McQuaid.

Neff, K. (2011). Self-Compassion: Stop beating yourself up and leave insecurity behind. UK: Hodder & Staughton.

Roffey, S. (2012). Pupil wellbeing—Teacher wellbeing: Two sides of the same coin?. Educational and Child Psychology, 29(4), 8.

The Institute of Positive Education PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT OPPORTUNITIES TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE, YOUR TEACHING AND YOUR SCHOOL. Join us for the following Positive Education courses and explore the science of wellbeing: · · · · · · · · · ·

Discovering Positive Education Discovering More Positive Education Positive Teaching Practices Embedding Character Strengths Exploring Mindfulness Getting Started with Positive Education Positive Education in Action How to Change a Culture Values-based Stress Management Implementing Positive Education

For more information visit www.instituteofpositiveeducation.com

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Helping principals flourish THE FLOURISH PROJECT IS A COLLABORATION BETWEEN DR ADAM FRASER CONSULTING, DEAKIN UNIVERSITY BUSINESS SCHOOL AND THE SHOALHAVEN PRIMARY PRINCIPAL’S COUNCIL, DESIGNED TO IMPROVE THE PERFORMANCE AND WELLBEING OF SCHOOL PRINCIPALS. DR FRASER TELLS EDUCATION MATTERS OF THE PROJECT’S GENESIS, ACHIEVEMENTS AND WHY HE THINKS IT CAN HELP PRINCIPALS THRIVE PROFESSIONALLY, PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY.

In February, the 2017 Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Survey was released, reporting the latest annual figures on the state of our school leaders in a project that has run since 2011 and in which approximately half of the country’s principals have taken part.

The respondents reported high levels of job demands (1.5 times that of the general population), especially emotional demands and emotional labour.

This correlated with higher levels of burnout, symptoms of stress, difficulty sleeping, cognitive stress, somatic and depressive symptoms.

The two greatest sources of stress for principals that have remained consistently high over the seven years of the survey have been the quantity of work, and the lack of time to focus on teaching and learning.

The report quantifies the effects of changes in the role of the school principal, as new technology, increased reporting systems and curriculum updates add to expectations from parents and communities to make many school leaders feel overworked and undervalued.

The Flourish Project came about in response to one such principal, Bob Willetts of Berry Public School, who decided it was time to do something about the situation. Mr Willetts called Dr Adam Fraser, whom he had previously heard give keynote speeches on education.

“He said, ‘I’m not coping, the principals around me aren’t coping, rather than waiting for the cavalry, we want to be proactive about our wellbeing and hire you to come up with a solution for us’,” Dr Fraser said.

Dr Fraser brought Dr John Molineux from Deakin Business School on board to undertake research for The Flourish Project, looking at how the job has changed and how principals could work differently to become more efficient, while improving their mental and physical wellbeing. Mr Willetts was the driving

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force behind the program and helped customise the material for principals.

The initial research, which began in October 2016, involved the principals keeping detailed diaries and participating in surveys and interviews. It studied what the job entails, how much time is spent in each aspect, and how the principals feel about the different parts of their roles – what inspires them, what demoralises them and what strategies they use to manage their schools and their own lives.

The data was given back to individuals and their groups, typically of about 30 principals, and also shared with government and industry groups.

Getting that information surprised many of the participants, Dr Fraser said, as they hadn’t realised how much time they spent on some aspects, as they were simply too busy to quantify their time commitments.

“Due to the pace of their positions, their huge workloads and number of interruptions, one of the big findings was that principals did not know where their time went. Some of the groups underestimated their time on admin tasks by 200 per cent, and overestimated how much time they spent leading and coaching and developing people by 70 per cent.”

Dr Fraser said the role of a school principal was probably the broadest job he had ever seen, and the data allowed each participant to see just how their day was taken up.

“There are so many aspects to the job, and the job is so varied. Just the number of roles and tasks they go through in a day makes their heads spin.”

The volume of compliance and reporting has risen dramatically, as have the expectations of students, parents, teachers, staff, communities, and the media, he said. Parental interactions have become much more frequent across all socioeconomic levels, principals have reported.

“The project has enhanced has enhanced the productivity and effectiveness of principals, as well as having a profound impact on their wellbeing.” - Bob Willetts, Principal, Berry Public School

“We’re also seeing a lot of change with social media as they are far more accessible,” Dr Fraser said.

There’s a constant juggle for principals, he said, of how to fulfil all the tasks that are part of their jobs while also keeping their families together and maintaining their emotional and physical health.

“They have to do things that are outside their training – conflict resolution, tree audits, fire safety – so many things that they never used to do that are not related to teaching.”

During the 12-month program, each group of about 30 principals takes part in a full-day workshop each term, is given behavioural resources such as videos and articles, and the groups form networks in which the members engage with and support each other.

This collegiate support is one of the factors Dr Fraser credits most with striking behaviour and attitude changes among those who have taken part in The Flourish Project. He spoke of a principal who shared a scathing letter she had received from a parent with the

group members on their social media page. Not only did she get messages of support and understanding, but another principal in the group drove to her house to talk with her in person.

Another principal, who was mourning the unexpected death of a teacher who was also a close friend shortly before attending a principals’ conference, arrived at the conference accommodation to find her Flourish group waiting in her hotel room to show their support.

Thus far, 228 principals from New South Wales have completed or are still taking part in the project and the results, again taken from diary studies and interviews, have been clear.

In terms of efficiency, participants who have completed the project have reported a 22 per cent decrease in time spent on email and phone, a 15 per cent drop in time required for administration and compliance tasks, and a 27 per cent drop in interruptions.

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The participants are reporting better work-life balance, with fewer taking stress related work home and more enacting strategies outside of work to reduce stress and look after themselves.

Most notable is a reported 56 per cent improvement in positivity towards work, an 18 per cent increase in energy levels and a 10 per cent increase in hope and optimism.

Dr Fraser said the department of education has been positive about the project’s results and the team is talking with all states in Australia in the hope of rolling out The Flourish Project nationwide.

Principal Willetts as also working with Dr Fraser and his team to develop and trial a school-based Flourish Project for principals to deliver to their staff. Mr Willetts said he is sincerely grateful that Dr Fraser has consulted him and other principals in every aspect of the project development since the two had their initial conversation.

Mr Willetts said he would highly recommend the project because it has been proved to support principals to take back control of their environment and make significant personal changes to enhance their productivity and wellbeing.

Dr Fraser credits several factors for the success of the project. First, he said, is the quality of the research the team does.

“Because we have studied them, we can give the principals very targeted things they can do.”

Having done that research, the project then gives participants evidence-based tools that they can implement to function more efficiently in their roles and also flourish in their personal lives.

Dr Adams returned to the ‘buddy system’ the project’s participants develop as an integral part of strengthening their resilience as they share personal experiences and swap ideas with their peers – people who understand because they are also “in the chair”.

“You put 30 people in need together and they have some frank conversations and start to share and start to really generously care about each other,” he said.

Mr Willetts said the Flourish team had known since the initial feedback from the pilot group that the project was having a positive impact.

“The data from the Deakin University study is outstanding but it is the personal stories of how the project has enhanced the productivity and effectiveness of principals, as well as having a profound impact on their wellbeing and relationships that is the real driver behind my passion for the project,” he said.

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TECHNOLOGY

STEAM outside the classroom DR MICHAEL COWLING, OF CQUNIVERSITY, AND DR JAMES BIRT, OF BOND UNIVERSITY, LOOK AT HOW TO ADDRESS THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN ALL ASPECTS OF STUDENTS’ LIVES.

You might have noticed that, at the end of last year, a commercial by technology giant Apple caused a little bit of a fuss. No, it wasn’t in relation to the famous 1984 commercial directed

by Ridley Scott, but rather a commercial they developed late last year of a young millennial girl using an iPad Pro as she travelled around town, chatting with friends, paying for goods, and doing her homework.

The fuss about this commercial was in particular at the last line, where the girl is lying on the grass behind her house using her device when somebody comes out onto to the porch and asks, “What are you doing on your computer?” To which the girl responds, “What’s a computer?”. It was this final line that caused the fuss, with pundits suggesting that Apple was implying that their device replaced a computer and that computers

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were an inferior product, destined for the scrap heap (despite them selling a successful Mac line for 40 years).

But fuss aside, the ad does start to make you think. If you’re teaching a primary school class today, then perhaps you are teaching a generation of students who will never use a device that resembles what we pre-millenials might consider a “computer”. As they move up the ranks of school, it’s entirely possible that students will find themselves using next-generation devices that perform all the functions of a desktop computer, but are not what we’d consider computing devices. This could even remain true as they move into work (don’t forget, it’s a good 15 years before these students move into the workforce if they study at university).

Of course, this doesn’t mean they don’t

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need computing skills. In fact, you could argue that computing skills are even more important for our upcoming students, as every device they interact with becomes more and more a computer, and computing becomes so much more a ubiquitous part of our everyday lives.

With the rise of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, computing automation, artificial intelligence and major changes to the labour markets, the World Economic Forum places even more importance on the integration of technology, digital literacy and creative problem based learning.

So, given this, isn’t it beholden on us as educators to work out how technology fits into every aspect of the students’ lives? Not just within the STEAM classroom, but also in all other possible contexts? Although a perfect world scenario, the issue among teachers of the next

generation is, firstly, how these technologies assist in pedagogy and, secondly, how students can use the technology effectively as digital knowledge workers of the future. In fact, a number of teachers themselves struggle with the rapid change and shift in the technology with ever increasing demands on their time.

Work that we are conducting in The CREATE Lab (www.thecreatelab.org) and The Mixed Reality Research Lab (www.mixedrealityresearch.com) looks to bridge this gap. Where commonly a technology before pedagogy approach is used with IT managers buying equipment and asking educators to integrate into the classroom, we focus on the pedagogy, first exploring the problem at hand and then identifying where a technology solution may benefit the learning outcome. Beyond this the Labs are also thinking about how this model can be taken out of the STEAM classroom and making it a part of everyday activities.

Within The CREATE Lab, whether it’s the use of a robot as a robotic teaching assistant in the classroom, fielding student questions and building a knowledge base on answers they can use later; or the use of a Sphero robot to teach not only programming, but also history, and mathematics, and language; or the use of computing devices to deliver exams electronically, allowing students to view multimedia content in-situ with their exam, the concepts are intrinsically those that can be taken outside the STEAM classroom and used to enhance student knowledge and digital literacy across all contexts.

Similarly, work in The Mixed Reality Research Lab looks to add a digital layer to our physical world, seamlessly blending the two together so that students see no difference between the digital and the physical. Whether it’s using 3D printed tools and an augmented reality (AR)/virtual reality (VR) app for skill development, or AR/VR for knowledge acquisition,

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Dr Michael Cowling is an information technologist with a keen interest in educational technology and technology ubiquity in the digital age, with respect to the use of mixed reality in skills training, the changing technology culture in education, and the specific needs of students from non-English speaking backgrounds.

He is currently a Senior Lecturer in the School of Engineering & Technology at CQUniversity Australia.

Dr Cowling is a partner in an OLT Innovation and Development grant and is the recipient of three CQUniversity Learning and Teaching grants related to teaching technology.

He is a recipient of an Australian Government Citation for Outstanding Contribution to Student Learning, is a three-time recipient of a CQUniversity Learning & Teaching Award, and gained a CQUniversity Student Voice Commendation for his teaching practice in 2014.

He is a regular contributor to the media outlet, The Conversation, and is also a regular contributor in Australian radio and print media on the topics of educational technology and technology ubiquity.

Dr Cowling has a passion for the practical application of technology in the classroom, with a focus specifically on not just bolting technology onto a classroom setting, but instead investigating how technology can be weaved into the pedagogy of a classroom setting.

Living by the mantra “pedagogy before technology”, Dr Cowling works to help teachers and academics innovate with technology, improving student motivation and learning outcomes, and leveraging technology as a tool to improve the overall education process.

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TECHNOLOGY

In all cases, the key message is not teaching students to use technology or even creating the technology and examples yourself, but rather reminding them how seamlessly technology can fit into their lives. or the addition of AR to existing environments to link real world concepts with abstract symbolism for older students, all of the concepts rely on this blending of the physical with the digital, and exist outside the usual STEAM context.

In all cases, the key message is not teaching students to use technology or even creating the technology and examples yourself, but rather reminding them how seamlessly technology can fit into their lives. Of course, there is always a balance of technology and traditional methods, and we are in no way suggesting that the other methods be removed, but by weaving the technology into the fabric of the classroom, we provide methods to show students how

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digital can make their everyday interactions better, and improve their digital literacy with the world going forward. This allows the teacher to focus on inquirybased learning having the students themselves think about the creative development.

Which makes the final challenge how to bring the necessary skills and knowledge out of the STEAM classroom and into the general classroom. Some schools are already doing this with digital technology officers and other admin staff, but in this, perhaps a page can be taken from the book of universities, where, just like a support area for academic skills and library skills, there also exists in many universities a support area for technology learning. More than just technology support, this area contains individuals that can help map pedagogy to technology, ensuring that a pedagogical problem is solved using the technology, rather than adding the technology to an area where it’s not needed. These educational designers must not only have a pedagogy before technology mindset, but also well-developed technical skills, freeing up the teachers to focus on inquiry and not chasing the latest fad or working out how to integrate the latest purchased equipment item into their classroom to work into someone else’s KPIs. In this way, we can prepare our students for a life where computers are simultaneously everywhere and nowhere in their lives.

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Dr James Birt is an Assistant Professor of Interactive Media and Design in the Faculty of Society and Design at Bond University, where he runs the Mixed Reality Research Lab (www. mixedrealityresearch.com).

His research spans computer science and visual arts, with an emphasis on applied design and development of interactive mixed reality (virtual reality, augmented reality, 3D printing, mobile) experiences assisting learning, skills acquisition and knowledge discovery.

The distinctive contribution Dr Birt brings to education scholarship is in digital media teaching and learning, where he received a 2014 Australian Office of Learning and Teaching citation for outstanding contributions to student learning.

Dr Birt utilises novel pedagogical approaches, curriculum and resources to balance the science and art predilections of his students, whilst supporting them with learning how to learn. His service to the university and wider community has formed around his experience in emerging technology, teaching and learning, where he takes an active role in supporting learners and peers through mentorship, presentations and expert judging.

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TECHNOLOGY

Edutech 2018 speaker spotlight FOR OVER 20 YEARS DR THERESE KEANE HAS BEEN A STALWART FOR EMPOWERING STUDENTS AND EDUCATORS IN STEM. DR KEANE WAS RECENTLY RECOGNISED FOR HER SIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTIONS TO EDUCATION, EDUCATION LEADERSHIP AND THE IMPROVEMENT OF STUDENT AND ORGANISATIONAL OUTCOMES THROUGH AN AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL FOR EDUCATION LEADERS (ACEL) VICTORIAN STATE FELLOWSHIP. SHE SPEAKS ABOUT HER PLANNED SPEECH AT EDUTECH 2018.

Ahead of EduTECH 2018 on the 6-8 June at the Sydney International Convention Centre, Conference Director Samantha Young interviewed Dr Keane on her upcoming presentation and workshop on Emerging technologies; will they add value to the learning in your school? Dr Keane will be joined by Monica Williams, Educational Consultant who was part of the Humanoid Robot Research Project that won the team project section of the 2017 Australian Computer Society Digital Disruptors Awards for ‘Service Transformation for the Digital Consumer’.

Associate Professor Therese Keane Deputy Chair – Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships Department of Education Swinburne University

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WHAT DOES YOUR WORK WITH LEADERS IN EDUCATION/SCHOOLS INVOLVE? My work in education is varied. I am the lead mentor for the Melbourne RoboCats, which is a group of secondary school girls from many different schools across Melbourne learning to build an industrial robot with the help of engineers, computer programmers, parents and other professionals to mentor and develop these girls in STEM. I am also the Chair of the ACS ICT Educators Committee, where we work with teachers to assist with the teaching of the Digital Technologies Curriculum. We are working towards providing teachers with resources and though leadership to support them in the

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teaching of Digital Technologies. I am also a board member on the Australian Council for Computers in Education, where each state computer education group is also working towards supporting teachers of ICT. WHAT TRENDS OR CHALLENGES DO YOU SEE? We are now at the point where many secondary schools are 1:1, however they are not using the devices in such a way that allows for classroom tasks to be transformed.

They are using devices in a very operational and perfunctory manner. In some cases, the devices are used as a substitute to tasks that could have been performed on paper – such as using a diary to keep track of calendars, using e-books instead of textbooks or taking of notes to name.

I am also aware some schools decided to go down the path of iPads as their device of choice, which is limiting in terms of what could be done had students had access to a laptop. We are now at a point where we need the technology to transform classroom tasks, and choice of device is rather important to enable this. I am seeing a number of schools move towards implementing laptops (removing iPads) so that their students have more opportunities to do more with their device.

HOW CAN SCHOOLS MANAGE THE RAPID CHANGE IN TECHNOLOGIES AND IMPLEMENT THEM? There needs to be a significant leadership role in overseeing the technologies with time and remuneration provided to the expert to undertake the job effectively. The leader needs to be an educationist who can work with the strengths of individual staff, understand the limitations of staff and the school’s resources and bring out the best to ensure that there are improved student learning outcomes. Like any interest in life, it is imperative that there is wide reading, consulting and networking, and the opportunity to work with the technology to ensure that there is a context and opportunities for implementation.

HOW DO YOU THINK TECHNOLOGY HAS CHANGED THE ROLE OF TEACHERS? According to the Oxford Dictionary – teaching is defined as: “impart knowledge to or instruct (someone) as to how to do something”. At a fundamental level, all teachers have done this in the past and in the present, with and without technology.

Technology is a tool, like paper, a whiteboard that supports the teacher to teach. Teachers have had to learn how to use technology effectively to enable their knowledge about the technology to be impacted to the learner. Unless, the technology is being taught about, it should not be the central focus point, but rather a tool to transform the task. There is a real

skill in implementing technology seamlessly into the curriculum.

how we implemented a different type of technology into various classrooms.

WHAT KIND OF PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WOULD YOU RECOMMEND TO KEEP UP WITH STEM AND NEW TECHNOLOGIES? The best type of professional learning for teachers to be engaged in is the type that is justin-time. That is, if a school has made a decision to make robotics a school priority and they will offer robotics classes, then their teachers should be looking for specific PD that will assist them to design and implement that subject/activity. There is no use in going to professional development that will not be practiced or implemented in the near future.

The needs of individuals vary – therefore if school leaders are looking for ideas to assist with STEM, then a large conference with many strands would be advantageous, however if they are looking for more specific guidance, in terms of how to teach a specific or specialised topic for example LEGO Robotics, then they should target workshops for that need.

HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE EDUTECH TO PEOPLE WHO HAVEN’T ATTENDED BEFORE? EduTECH is one giant festival for all of education, where the dreamers and educational risk-takers come together once a year. It’s an auspicious meeting place where education leaders, teachers and academics gather from around the world to collaborate and continue their journey in re-discovering and re-defining the very best in leadership, innovation, technological advancement, pedagogy and curriculum.

The events covers the entire education lifecycle from pre-school to post-school, and this year’s event features eleven parallel conferences that are designed to provide insight into the latest relevant research, practical advice and inspiration to expand pedagogical practice and educational resources. The conferences are tied together by one expansive exhibition that showcases the latest and greatest in emerging technologies; where the learning, theory and inspiration comes to life.

There’s also the added excitement of the chance for attendees to win a car, attend TeachMeets, listen in on The NSIP Interoperability Challenge judging panel, and much more.

WHY ARE YOU SPEAKING AT THE EDUTECH 2018?

To me, conferences are a great way to network with other likeminded people, to spark and generate great ideas. My aim is to disseminate key learnings from our project which we (Monica Williams and I) believe could be of interest to other educators, especially those who might like to find out more about

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For more information, visit www.edutech.net.au

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TECHNOLOGY // Interactive Learning

The brighter side of learning EPSON’S ULTRA-SHORT THROW PROJECTORS ARE HELPING THE NEXT GENERATION OF DIGITAL LEARNERS, AND THE STUDENTS OF ST LUKE’S GRAMMAR SCHOOL ARE REAPING THE BENEFITS.

In today’s bring-your-own-device (BYOD) learning environment, a generation of students have grown up with handheld devices.

With the proliferation of mobile devices, interactive projectors have become a staple item in every classroom, catering for collaborative learning spaces which support visual and auditory learning. iPads, laptops and tablets are now commonplace, and aid the experience through digital note-taking, audiobooks and video lessons.

To keep pace with this digital revolution, St

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Luke’s Grammar School, in northern Sydney, is constantly looking for the latest technology. Andrew Longhurst, Director of IT, says the school recently installed four Epson EB-695Wi interactive projectors to augment its existing devices across two campuses, which cater for pre-kindergarten through to Year 12. Andrew says he has been working with Epson for more than four years and their reliable projectors were installed for the school’s new stateof-the-art library renovations, the Learning Hub, an open plan space.

“Our school offers a BYOD iPad program in our junior school for Years 5-6 and a laptop program in our senior school through to Year 12,” Andrew explains.

“BYOD fits in with our new Learning Hub because we’ve changed from a traditional and rigid learning space to an open plan. This flexibility allows for students and teachers to work remotely with a range of multimedia apps, including YouTube videos, interactive flip charts and PowerPoint presentations.”

Andrew says the school installed the EB-695Wi because of the technology’s capacity to project a larger image than usual. The ultra-short throw projectors provide a 100” image from as little as 28cm away with virtually no shadow interference.

The end result means students can take in and read information from all sides of the room.

“Size of image and price per size of image was the overall factor in our decision-making. We’re using them predominately in two types of spaces. One of which is our two new music rooms, which have fairly wide dimensions so size of image is crucial.

“The Learning Hub is a bright room so the larger images help reduce glare in a room with glass windows. The projectors have been paired with the Epson Cable Management & Connection Box, which allows us to simplify the use of each projector for users in a shared space, so we don’t have remotes that go missing.”

Andrew explains that a key consideration was the brightness of the projector. Using the company’s powerful 3LCD technology, Epson says the projectors provide an image three times brighter than their leading 1-chip DLP competitors, with equally high colour brightness and white brightness. Andrew says the colourful effect leaves student’s feeling more

engaged with their learning, as the brighter images display colours of up to 3,500 lumens.

All Epson projectors are based on 3-chip LCD technology. One chip processes each primary colour continuously (red, green and blue), which adds to the realism of the image. Colour brightness is also particularly important in classrooms where ambient light is overbearing.

“We specifically use the Epson projectors because of the 3LCD technology. LCD provides equal brightness across the colour range. After seeing the results, we’d never go anything below 3200 lumens,” Andrew says.

He says the projectors have been paired with Apple TVs which allows BYOD students to share images from their iPads and laptops in a collaborative learning space.

“A BYOD projector is really powerful for students who want to share what they’ve learnt with their peers and also lead other students in their own learning, whether that be lesson plans in the form of movies, images and websites – or their own creations.”

Finger touch and dual pen capabilities allow multiple students to annotate their learning on a whiteboard, Andrew adds, and supports an engaging and flexible learning environment. It also caters to those who learn visually, he adds.

“We pair our Epson projectors with standard whiteboards. One of our music teachers makes use of interactive flip charts. But we also have teachers who prefer to use that more tactile whiteboard marker approach so having an interactive projector means that we can cater to both teaching styles.”

The projectors can also be seamlessly installed with a flexible wall mount function, reducing the need

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for third party installations. Andrew says a number of Epson models have been installed in-house by school staff in a simple and quick relocation.

He adds that another crucial factor schools consider when purchasing any technology is its reliability. As schools often find themselves time poor and budget conscious, minimal maintenance issues are just as important as an effective product.

Epson’s lamp and filter share the same 10,000 hour replacement schedule when run in eco mode.

This saves schools money and time by having only one replacement cycle. Power is also conserved through eco mode and light optimiser mode, which adjusts the lamp brightness and standby audio.

“The replacement lamps and the cost of those make them a really economical unit. I’ve got older units up to five years old that are still going strong.”

And as school’s increasingly move towards collaborative and flexible learning spaces, today’s BYOD learner will increasingly look to mobile technology that can be used in a variety of areas.

“Most of our spaces we are building now align with a view that they will be flexible and used in a different way in five years’ time. Those classrooms with desks all facing forwards have gone by the wayside.”

St Luke’s Grammar School’s Learning Hub is a multi-modal environment which allows students and teachers to access a range of intentionally designed learner-centred spaces, as well as carefully collected and curated resources. With access to interactive technology, students will learn to use their devices responsibly and in consideration with others.

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MAKING THE GRADE

Personalised and holistic education – a paradox of modern times SHONA BASS AND KATHY WALKER OF EARLY LIFE FOUNDATIONS AND WALKER LEARNING DISCUSS THE INCLUSION OF SKILLS FOR LIFE IN CHILDREN’S EDUCATION.

One of our greatest challenges is to remember the humanity and profundity of what we are all here for and what it is we need to provide for our young children.

Despite current trends in measurement, benchmarking, standardised testing and rankings, we must not lose track of the profound individuality of all children. This remains one major fundamental reality in all that we do.

We have challenging times in relation to society in general which impacts upon all aspects of our children including: • The intrusion of ‘electronic entertainment’ in everyday life, • Early sexualisation of children, particularly girls, • Exposure of children to experiences and life opportunities earlier and earlier, • Overscheduled children, • Preoccupation by some with having “bright children”, • Cyber bullying, • Parenting and educating using extrinsic rather than intrinsic motivation, and • Focus on outcomes rather that effort and application.

These challenges play out in how children feel about themselves (self-concept), how there is an increased incidence of anxiety occurring in younger and younger children, how children are not willing to take risks for fear of failure, and how they lack resilience and have not developed intrinsically to make decisions because they are right.

Thomas Moore stated, “Education is not the piling on of learning, information, facts, skills or abilities that are training or instruction. Education is making visible what is hidden.”

This type of education is hard to measure

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and ultimately has no standard or end point. It is embedded in a wisdom, something profound that is difficult if not impossible to articulate.

The contemporary philosopher AC Grayling discusses education in the following way: “The aim of liberal education is to produce people who go on learning after their formal education has ceased who think, question, and know how to find answers when they need them. Members of a community cannot afford to be unreflective and ill-informed if civil society is to be sustainable. The contemporary view of education distorts the purpose of schooling, by aiming not at the development of individual as ends in themselves, but as instruments in the economic process.”

Of course children require instruction of literacy, numeracy and STEM. However, according to many philosophers and commentators, it is the education of the heart, the soul, the development of identity, culture, appreciation of reflection and belonging that is being lost. We are mindful of how language, such a powerful tool for conveying meaning, has changed so much in relation to education.

As soon as we attempt to measure the

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success and quality of a teacher or a learner through the narrow lens of some data on a page, we turn the profound humanity of a child into a narrow number on a table that is meaningless and misleading. We turn the deep complexity of a life and learning and experience into the simplicity and narrowness of data points; benchmarks, outcomes, standards, data, testing, ranking.

Instead of using the phrase or expression childcentred learning, we use outcome-driven. Instead of having goals and objectives for children, we now have benchmarks and standards.

We are faced with a paradox - we now know more about the individual nature of how children learn, their unique personalities, cultural influences, life opportunities (or lack of), and we speak more now about meeting individual needs, early intervention and personalizing learning, but in contradiction we are all being besieged by a data-driven, economic focus of education.

Sustained motivation for learning comes from within. What is essential to foster this intrinsic motivation is not ranking one child against another but the constant reflection of where the child was, where they are now and where they are heading.

WHAT IS QUALITY AND SUCCESSFUL EDUCATION IN 21ST CENTURY? Educators have studied in depth what it means to educate, the complexities of the individual, the influences of culture, brain development, learning styles, the differences in personality and group culture. Yet this professional rigor and integrity are compromised when educators limit themselves or are held to account by the narrowness or biases of the latest trend or government persuasion in how or what to teach and how success is assessed.

Succumbing to these influences results in a loss of the depth of skill and intellect required to teach with deep reflection, using science and evidencebased facts, and providing consistency for students as they move through their education.

All evidence shows that there are two major foci in successful education in the 21st Century: • Skills for Life and; • Skills for Curriculum SKILLS FOR LIFE Skills for Life refers to education for the ‘whole child’. In addition to (not in exclusion to) numeracy, literacy and STEM, successful learners require a myriad of other skills including: • Creative, lateral and divergent thinking, • Advanced executive functioning skills, • Problem solving, • Persistence and resilience, • Being a successful self-initiator who can navigate the challenges of the world with a strong sense of self, resilience and intrinsic motivation, • Being emotionally intelligent, reflective of themselves and others, • Being strong and articulate communicators, • Risk taking in healthy ways, and • To be motivated to make the right choices and decisions in the absence of punishment and reward.

It is predicted that this generation being taught will have on average six different careers and 20 different jobs. Robots will be performing the majority of automated manual tasks and the job market will be characterized by the qualities of what makes us human, or the skills of life. The irony is that there is so much dialogue and discussion about the importance of holistic education, personalizing learning and developing the skills for life but the reality is that these opportunities are often very tokenistic and “ticked off” through a program or a session on the timetable.

To authentically develop skills for life requires leaders and educators themselves to have well developed skills of life and for education in itself to be viewed as a philosophy and pedagogy that is embedded and integrated in all aspects of a school - in leadership, the classroom, playground, parent communication, assessment and reporting.

SKILLS FOR CURRICULUM Skills for Life work alongside Skills for Curriculum (literacy, numeracy, the arts, STEM and other curriculum areas), which are placed within the individual interests, collective culture and communities of the children and their families.

Fundamental aspects of this context are: • Knowledge of how children develop neurologically, developmentally and through the influences of culture and family, and • The skills and ability to set up the learning environment - indoor and outdoor learning and places and spaces that reflect a calm yet stimulating range of investigations and places to explore, experiment and learn.

WALKER LEARNING – PERSONALISED AND HOLISTIC LEARNING Walker Learning is a holistic teaching and learning approach that is developmentally and culturally appropriate for children in early childhood and primary years of education (babies through year 7). Walker Learning is a pedagogy, not a program or tool.

In the early childhood and primary years of education, Walker Learning is designed to provide a balance of explicit teaching of literacy, numeracy, STEM, and other curriculum areas, with time for children to actively investigate a range of skills and experiences for life, either through planned play or projects depending upon their age and stage of maturity.

Walker Learning values, respects and honours

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the individual child, views the child holistically, and considers emotional and social development of equal importance as academic success. The starting point and emphasis is relationships with a child (and family) and personalising their experiences to set each child up for success.

Neuroscience and developmental psychology are major disciplines that guide Walker Learning’s pedagogical practice. Brain research states that children require a mix of explicit instruction and active exploration of their environment in learning experiences that reflect their own culture, environment and community so that learning is truly relevant and meaningful.

SHONA BASS Managing Director Early Life Foundations Shona is the Managing Director of Early Life Foundations - an organisation that provides professional support across Australia and internationally for educators and parents of children birth to 14 years of age. Shona is renowned within Australia and internationally for her work in the education, medical and health sectors. Shona completed her PhD in the Department of Medicine at the University of Melbourne and was a Professor and Head of School at Deakin University. She has published widely in international peer-reviewed journals and texts and has been the recipient of many national and international research and leadership awards.

KATHY WALKER OAM Patron Early Life Foundations Kathy Walker OAM is one of Australia’s leading parenting and education experts, public speakers and authors. Kathy is regarded internationally as a leading curriculum, teaching and learning expert in personalised learning and play based learning.

She is the designer of the first major personalised curriculum for schools in Australia (Walker Learning), which is implemented across Australia and internationally.

Kathy is a lead author with Penguin Publishing and the Australian Council of Educational Research with her texts for parents and educators.

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MAKING THE GRADE

Walker Learning’s educational philosophy is based on the sciences of developmental psychology and neuroscience.

Walker Learning recognises that sustained motivation for learning comes from within, that meaningful assessment is the constant reflection of where one was, where they have attained and where they are heading.

Walker Learning values highly the freedom to express and explore one’s own ideas alongside the need to consider the views and perspectives, experiences and knowledge of others, both past and present. Walker Learning believes that technology is a powerful and useful tool to assist but never to lead. Technology can be used to create but never to replace the creative imaginations of young minds.

Walker Learning’s educational philosophy is based on the sciences of developmental psychology and neuroscience and the impact of social and cultural influences on children. Theories of playand project- based learning are used and draw upon Vygotskian and constructivist principles that

are used in practice. The pedagogy draws heavily on elements of recent neuroscience research that highlights that the child’s brain is programmed for relationships, attachments and concrete hands-on open-ended experiences Walker Learning uses the Emotional Intelligence Model as the platform to deepen our own self-

awareness as educators in order to deepen our relationships with children and grow in awareness of the needs of the children we teach. We model and scaffold intrinsic motivation using Rudolf Dreikurs’ theory of intrinsic motivation and logical consequences.

Walker Learning supports the development of a child’s concept of self by drawing on the work of Robert Leonetti and through the use of reflective listening, encouragement and separating a child’s intellectual achievement from their value as a person.

Walker Learning embraces the importance of contextual learning – real, relevant and meaningful – to embed and strengthen recall of learning and facilitate the development of transferable skills.

The pedagogy is holistic and acknowledges that education is the development of skills for life alongside and integrated with literacy, numeracy, STEM and other curriculum areas.

References: 1. Bass S and Walker K (2015) Early Childhood Play Matters.

Intentional teaching through play: birth to six years. ACER Camberwell, Australia 2. Walker K (2011) Play Matters. Investigative learning for preschools to Grade 2. 2nd Ed ACER Camberwell, Australia 3. Walker K and Bass S (2011) Engagement Matters, Personalised learning for Grades 3 to 6. ACER Camberwell, Australia

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MAKING THE GRADE

Case study: Making learning visible through self-assessment PICNIC POINT PUBLIC SCHOOL IS A GOVERNMENT SCHOOL SITUATED ON THE BANKS OF THE GEORGES RIVER IN SYDNEY’S SOUTH-WEST, NEW SOUTH WALES. THE SCHOOL HAS AN ENROLMENT OF 401 STUDENTS, RANGING FROM KINDERGARTEN TO GRADE 6 WITH 49 PER CENT OF STUDENTS HAVING A LANGUAGE BACKGROUND OTHER THAN ENGLISH, BRINGING 22 DIFFERENT LANGUAGES TO THE SCHOOL.

John Hattie of the University of Melbourne has long researched performance indicators and evaluation in education. His research book, Visible Learning, is the culmination of more than 25 years of examining and synthesising more than 1,400 meta-analyses comprising more than 93,000 studies involving

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more than 250 million students around the world.

Hattie wanted to understand which variables were the most important. Although “almost everything we do improves learning”, why not prioritie the practices that will have the greatest effect?

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From his research came Visible Learningplus, which has helped schools all over Australia, such as Picnic Point Public School in NSW, maximise progress and achievement and create a shift in how their educators approach their teaching. This is Picnic Point’s story.

THE CONTEXT Picnic Point Public School is a government school situated on the banks of the Georges River in Sydney’s South-West, New South Wales. The school has an enrolment of 401 students ranging from Kindergarten (5 years old) to Grade 6 (12 years old) and their families come from diverse backgrounds with 49 per cent of students having a language background other than English, bringing 22 different languages to the school.

THE APPROACH Picnic Point Public School has built a reputation in the educational community for strong and steady academic performance over time. They have a dedicated teaching staff with proven willingness to invest time and effort in professional learning and development and the staff were keen to find an evidence-based pedagogical approach that was not content or subject based, and not performed in isolation, but could have a positive impact across all Key Learning Areas.

Picnic Point educators collaborated with five other local schools to undertake the three-day Visible Learningplus Foundation Series with Corwin, where all staff had comprehensive professional learning in the theory and principles underpinning Professor Hattie’s Visible Learning research. Each school assessed themselves using the Visible Learningplus School Matrix and collected evidence using a range of tools to generate discussion and gather staff and student voice in relation to learning, relational trust, feedback, and the mindframes of the leadership team.

Using the evidence gathered, they developed

their aspiration: “All students at Picnic Point PS will show at least a year’s growth or greater effect size in Literacy and Numeracy each year and exhibit the characteristics of an assessment-capable visible learner, incorporating the Picnic Point PS Learner Qualities.”

Committed to that goal, they identified their first focus areas of building a learning culture, ensuring teacher clarity, instructional feedback, and developing an evaluator mindframe as essential priorities to achieve their aspiration and specific identified goals.

With the learning culture established, they next endeavoured to encourage students to take more risks in their learning and see mistakes as opportunities for new learning. Thus, they introduced James Nottingham’s ‘Learning Pit’ analogy into every classroom. The analogy created a clear visual and shared language across the school to help students ‘see’ that learning is hard work and there are strategies and learning dispositions they can employ when learning becomes challenging. Students now use the ‘Learning Pit’ analogy to reflect on their learning at different points in time and to articulate next steps which will help get them out of ‘the pit’.

To add a personal dimension to the learning culture and help students develop conscious habits of mind, they collaboratively developed and explicitly taught eight learner qualities -bravery, optimism, curiosity, collaboration, zest, grit, mindfulness, and reflection - using literature systematically across the whole school. Once students had built knowledge of each learner quality and practiced applying them in learning situations over a six-month period, they assessed themselves on developmental continuums

to build self-awareness of their own strengths and gaps.

After the language of learning had begun to gain traction, they introduced Learning Intentions and Success Criteria (LISC) to improve teacher clarity.

The educators at Picnic Point began implementing LISC in writing lessons to make the purpose of the lesson clear and visible to all students, as well as the specific and measurable steps for success.

The implementation of instructional feedback was dovetailed into this process as the LISC provided an explicit focus and framework for giving teacherstudent and student-student feedback, not to mention student self-assessment and reflection.

Using the Progress and Achievement Tool, provided by the Visible Learningplus program, they could measure progress by calculating effect sizes for individuals and cohorts using internal or external student assessment data. Alongside ongoing formative assessment practices, they brought this student assessment data to impact meetings where teachers could measure their impact and ask key questions at both an individual and team level to determine next steps.

THE IMPACT First and foremost, the positivity surrounding Visible Learning practices by staff, students, and parents was refreshing and inspiring. By capturing student voice, they found that, after twelve months of implementing Visible Learningplus, student engagement had risen significantly along with the number of students feeling that they were being challenged in their learning. Picnic Point educators said that it was inspiring to hear their students talking about the Learning Pit as a “place they strive to be in” so they can be “curious, collaborative, and bravely take on challenges”. Even students in Kindergarten can reflect on how well they have achieved the success criteria for a given assignment, and students in Grade 6 are able to explain how they are utilising the learning process to pursue their passions.

Through measuring of progress using effect size, the average student effect size measure in Maths has doubled and comprehension has increased by 50 per cent. As a result of Visible Learningplus, educators are more aware of their impact and are driven to improve student learning outcomes through data analysis and deliberate, critical reflection and evaluation. They are becoming evaluators of their impact and beginning to see assessment as feedback to themselves.

Partner with Corwin’s team of Professional Learning Leaders to activate or extend your Visible Learning journey.

Call (03) 8612-2000 or visit au.corwin.com.

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MAKING THE GRADE

Inspiring excellence AASHA MURTHY, CEO OF THE AUSTRALIAN COUNCIL FOR EDUCATIONAL LEADERS, SPEAKS TO EDUCATION MATTERS ABOUT THE ORGANISATION’S VISION, ACHIEVEMENTS AND FUTURE PLANS.

The Australian Council for Educational Leaders (ACEL) is the largest independent professional association for education in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. CEO Aasha Murthy says ACEL has around 7000 members and a growing network of about 50,000 people who engage with the association, attending events or purchasing resources.

VISION AND BENEFITS “Our purpose is to inspire, support, recognise and elevate excellence in educational leadership,” Ms Murthy said. “In simple terms, it’s about enhancing leadership capacity in the education sector. That doesn’t necessarily just mean school principals or system leaders, it means people who are teachers, leading learning in the classroom, leading curriculum design, leading schools and leading systems.

“We are constantly recognising people who are making contributions,

through our awards and our fellowships, and highlighting successes and challenges.”

ACEL’s members are mostly school principals but also assistant principals, system leaders, consultants, academics and teachers. These members get access to ACEL’s journals, the practitioner publication Australian Educational Leader, which Ms Murthy said is the most-read title in the space, and the academic Leading and Managing journal.

The association also publishes monographs that are accessible only to its members.

Other benefits are access to an online resource centre, which is particularly useful for remote regional schools, she said. ACEL also gives fellowships at branch and national level to people who have made an extraordinary contribution to education beyond their day jobs, and can nominate individuals and groups for leadership awards.

Kurt Fearnley presents at ACEL’s recent Disability Summit.

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Pasi Sahlberg speaks to ACEL conference attendees.

2018 CONFERENCES ACEL National Disability Leadership Summit 21 - 22 June Sydney Masonic Centre ACEL Early Childhood Conference 9 - 10 August Hilton Hotel Sydney A CEL National Educational Leadership Conference 3 - 5 October Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre

A significant part of what ACEL provides is the conferences and networking events it hosts.

Ms Murthy said the association hosted four conferences in 2017, as well as more than 100 professional development events across the country that drew over 10,000 attendees.

A new initiative that was put in place four years ago is the New Voices Scholarships, which are separate to the awards, Ms Murthy said, and are given to emerging voices in education.

Eight scholarships are awarded for educational leadership and eight for research, one for each state and territory. There are also four scholarships awarded nationally for indigenous voices in education.

“It’s an area that we’re particularly proud of because it’s not just established educators but emerging voices,” she said.

ACEL has also strengthened its involvement in the early childhood sector, as it believes the sector needs a high level of focus and attention.

In the past two years, the association has hosted leadership conferences for early childhood educators and another is planned for August. It also has a strong partnership with the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority.

Looking ahead, Ms Murthy said ACEL has its three main conferences scheduled this year plus almost 120 professional learning and networking events.

The Australian Educational Leader will undergo a complete makeover to raise reader engagement and highlight its success stories, she said. This

is keeping with the organisations focus on the positive.

“We believe there needs to be more visibility of the great stuff that is happening in the sector,” she said. “Because of our national reach, we know what great things people are doing at a state or network or classroom level, so we want to highlight that.”

ACEL has also increased its advocacy, Ms Murthy said, again focusing on the positive.

“We are not political but if there are things that are evidence-informed and profession-led, we want to weigh in on those. We feel it is a true privilege to serve the education community and work hard to

ensure that we are providing teachers and leaders with relevant and timely professional learning. We are very mindful of the important role they play in shaping society now and into the future.”

ACEL President Stephen Gniel said that maximising the impact of school leadership requires specific approaches.

“Whilst these approaches are intrinsically linked to quality of teaching, they are tailored to the particular role of school leader,” he said.

Government setting the direction and providing the funding is necessary but not sufficient to drive improvement in student outcomes. Here is where ACEL comes to the fore, enabling and supporting practicing professionals to enhance their own practice, and providing guidance, mentoring and practical support to the aspiring leaders of tomorrow.”

Nathan Wallis is the keynote speaker at the upcoming Early Childhood Conference.

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Graduate research with Monash education MONASH UNIVERSITY IS HELPING EDUCATORS PURSUE THEIR PASSION THROUGH RESEARCH.

Early years teacher Rachael Richardson found personal and professional fulfilment through Graduate Research at Monash Education.

Graduate Research allows students to make a difference by exploring today’s educational problems and finding resilient solutions.

Mrs Richardson first began working as an Early Childhood teacher in 1997. She was enjoying a fulfilling teaching career but felt she needed a new challenge.

“I wanted to take part in something intellectually stimulating and useful to me professionally,” she says.

“Further study should not only be for professional development but should also give personal satisfaction and a sense of achievement; I have found all this at Monash Education.” - Rachael Richardson Mrs Richardson studied for a Master’s of Education specialising in Early Childhood Education, and was then offered the opportunity to continue on to a PhD, furthering her passion for education through graduate research.

“As a PhD student, I now work with two talented educationalists who have supported me through my first year of study, improving my theoretical knowledge and preparing me for the fieldwork stage of my research. The combination of excellent teaching and discussion from diverse viewpoints has provided a thought-provoking and rewarding experience.”

She encourages people of any age to consider further education.

“I first enrolled at Monash Education as a 46-year-old mature student,” she says. “Monash provided me with the opportunity for further study on a flexible, part-time basis, which allowed me to continue with my teaching career.”

Study should not only be for professional development but should also give personal satisfaction and a sense of achievement, she says, and she found all this at Monash.

Monash Education offers a range of options in Graduate Research including a Master of Education Coursework / Thesis and a PhD. Students may choose to focus their research on curriculum and pedagogy, early years, language and literacy, education psychology, inclusive education, maths, science, technology and more.

With a multitude of professional development options, including seminars, workshops, international exchange and conferences, they will work with highly qualified, dedicated supervisors who will enrich their learning experience.

As Mrs Richardson’s story shows, it’s never too late to pursue your passion. Her experience echoes many of Monash Education students’ journeys from passionate educators to passionate researchers.

For more information about Graduate Research at Monash Education, visit monash.edu/education/passion

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Great leaders understand the law

Register Now - Schools and the Law Training Series Principals Australia Institute (PAI) invites principals and school leaders to attend the Schools and the Law training series, designed to help school leaders better understand the many facets of law involved in school management. PAI is proud to partner with respected law firm Wallmans Lawyers to deliver this professional learning opportunity.

Every school leadership team needs to understand key legal risks that may impact upon the running of their school. From understanding a school’s duty of care, anti-bullying and discrimination against principals, to preventing and managing stress-related claims, employment law, work health and safety, and dealing with difficult parents, every school principal should know how to best handle these situations.

PAI and our partner, Wallmans Lawyers, have worked together to bring you this seminar series covering these key topics, to help prepare you and your teams for dealing with such issues if the situation arises. To find out more, visit our website pai.edu.au or contact us on 08 8394 2100.

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PURSUE YOUR PASSION Study Graduate Research with the number 1 Education Faculty in Australia and top 20 in the world. monash.edu/education/passion

Produced by SMC Monash: 18P-0142. February 2018. CRICOS provider: Monash University 00008C.

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MAKING THE GRADE

Leadership coaching PRINCIPALS AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE CEO PAUL GEYER ADDRESSES HOW TO INCREASE LEADERSHIP EFFECTIVENESS AND ACHIEVE SCHOOL OUTCOMES.

You’re an education leader – but are you an effective coach?

This is a question that has been raised in the education sector, as the role of the principal continuously evolves and changes. Coaching can have a real impact in shaping a culture of challenge and support to enable effective student learning outcomes, yet many leaders find coaching conversations to be difficult, too time consuming, or don’t feel confident enough to use the coaching approach and too often avoid them altogether or defer to the limitations of the ‘telling’ approaches.

Coaching is the art of empowering people to improve their effectiveness, in a way in which they feel helped. Empowering people means bringing out the best in them without telling, directing or doing it for them. Educational leaders are at the heart of any high-performing education system. Actively using a ‘Leader as Coach’ approach enables principals to have their personal and professional vision realised, while

building strong and innovative school communities.

“Great leaders coach their teams to achieve,” said Paul Geyer, Chief Executive Officer, Principals Australia Institute (PAI). “Principals and school leaders are juggling so many aspects to their roles and taking the time to coach their teams adds yet another requirement on their busy schedules.

The ‘Education Leader as Coach’ program has been designed with busy educational leaders and principals in mind. We are proud to have partnered with Coach Studio, South Australian-grown and based with a global reach.

Coach Studio provide the following: Leadership and executive coaching, ‘Leader as Coach’ programs, group coaching and facilitation; and creating a coaching culture.”

This intensive one-day program (which includes pre-work and follow up session) provides the essential skills with a practical focus, to develop confidence in applying coaching skills in everyday education situations.

Professional leadership coaches/ facilitators create a learning environment for leaders which allows them to be their best, whilst learning powerful communication and collaboration tools using only real-work scenarios.

Organisational outcomes can be better achieved through having coaching conversations. Some of the benefits include creating a performancefocused environment where talents and capabilities are grown and developed; focusing on possibilities and solutions, not problems; inspiring team members to achieve their best; improving workplace relationships; achieving higher levels of staff engagement; developing leaders’ confidence to deal with challenging issues and difficult conversations; upskilling managers/supervisors who are able to motivate, collaborate and coach to get the best out of their teams; and becoming performance-focused and developing a feedback-rich culture.

To register through Principals Australia Institute - visit the Events Calendar at pai-edu.au

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MAKING THE GRADE

Deakin University – Dedicated to developing specialised skills and knowledge Ever thought about broadening your horizons?

Gain a languages specialisation with Deakin’s Master of Languages Teaching or Graduate Certificate of Languages Teaching.

The course is designed to broaden the skills of those working as registered teachers in primary and secondary schools, by adding a VIT-endorsed specialist teaching method area in languages teaching to their existing teacher registration. A Masters-level qualification in Education additionally

offers relevant professional learning, to teachers who seek to move into, or already occupy, leadership, coordination or specialist positions in school systems.

At Deakin, you will learn from experts in the industry who are highly experienced, engaged in contemporary research and working to improve the quality of learning to make a positive impact on education in Australia and around the world.

Deakin’s unique trimester system also provides

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students with an incredible amount of flexibility and the option to fast track your degree allowing you to complete your studies while you work.

Find out more Deakin.edu.au/tlote Talk to us: 1800 693 888 or email artsed-pg@deakin.edu.au

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MAKING THE GRADE

Encouraging engagement DEAKIN UNIVERSITY’S RUSSELL TYTLER EXPLORES GAPS IN THE STEM CURRICULUM.

Over the past decade there has been growing concern about the levels of engagement with Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) subjects by Australian students (Chubb).

The fact that Australia has been slipping down the rankings in international testing such as PISA and TIMSS (Thomson, 2016) has given bite to these concerns, alongside figures showing decreasing participation in post-compulsory physical Science and Mathematics (Marginson et al., 2014). There is also a projected shortfall of the STEM skills needed to create and maintain wealth in a modern society.

The concerns are therefore a real-world problem.

There are however cogent reasons, beyond the economics, for being concerned about students becoming disengaged with Mathematics and Science. They are major systems of thought that underpin many of the skills and understandings

Russell Tytler is Alfred Deakin Professor and Chair in Science Education at Deakin University. His research covers student learning and reasoning in Science, and extends to pedagogy and teacher and school change. He researches and writes on student engagement with Science and Mathematics, school-community partnerships and STEM curriculum policy.

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needed to function as literate citizens in contemporary society.

The problem-solving capabilities, critical reasoning and questioning that underpin the pursuit of understanding the natural world are of value not just in scientific research and development, but in many occupations and in everyday life. So what can we do better to engage students in quality Science thinking?

RESOLVING SYSTEMIC PROBLEMS At a system level, primary Science has always suffered, along with other curriculum areas, as a poor cousin to literacy and numeracy as fundamental concerns.

This has meant that time devoted to Science has traditionally been well below that recommended (Crook & Wilson, 2015). It has meant that often, Science has been ‘integrated out’ of the curriculum. A lack of teacher enthusiasm for Science is commonly held to be due to a lack of confidence and competence, with few primary teachers having strong Science backgrounds or a “feeling” for Science.

So how can we support teachers to recognise the value of Science for children’s developing thinking, and the richness of learning associated with the subject? There is evidence that primary science teachers focus on exploratory activities that work (Appleton, 2002), but tend to stop short of orchestrating the deeper levels of reasoning and understanding that really engage children with the literacies of Science. This involves experimenting, modelling, discussion, and explanatory writing (Skamp & Peers, 2012).

MORE RESOURCES AND SUPPORT NEEDED Teachers need adequate resources and substantial support to foster engagement in the subject. This means modelling classroom pedagogies that engage students in substantial investigation, discussion and representation.

Over a number of projects, we have found students have the appropriate tools to learn when there is a Science leader/enthusiast in the school,

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trained to support teachers to plan and implement coherent learning sequences.

Research into the actions of these specialists in establishing Science as a school priority shows that the pathway to success is not straightforward, with schools harnessing a range of strategies to bring teachers on board. For many schools, the adoption of Primary Connections curriculum resources provided the impetus for planning a more comprehensive program. For some, this was a first step following which they injected their own contexts and sequences into the curriculum. Often the specialist began by taking Science lessons, then gradually withdrawing to a modelling and planning support role. Some schools built a renewed Science program around special projects, such as the monitoring and modification of local wetlands, or around special events such as family Science nights, or competitions. For some, links with local scientists or industries provided the necessary support, as well as the role-modelling of scientific processes (Tytler, Symington & Smith, 2011; Cripps Clark, Tytler, & Symington, 2014; Tytler et al., 2015).

Schools that established sustainable practices invariably had strong support from the leadership team. As a result, many schools are self-proclaimed STEM schools, with leadership driving the development of a vision that encompasses strong professional learning support for teachers to develop students’ scientific literacy.

MAKE SCIENCE A PRIORITY For the past few decades, scientific literacy has been promoted as the most important facet of Science education. It marks a shift from the previous focus of teaching budding Science professionals, to a concern instead for the education of citizens to participate in, understand and make decisions about Science in their lives (Fensham, 1985). The focus has included understanding how Science works to establish knowledge, what scientists do, as well as the knowledge of key concepts.

There have been criticisms of some versions of scientific literacy that emphasise interpretation

of science in the media or to inform health decisions – rather than ‘doing’ science. But ‘doing’ has always had a strong place in the curriculum.

It has been argued that Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) subjects have an important role to play in this area, and this underpins the push for the inclusion of engineering/technology design and digital literacies in an authentic-problemfocused STEM curriculum (English, 2016).

In a recent article co-authored in The Conversation (Tytler & Prain, 2017), I argued that the National Assessment Program Science literacy should be expanded to include these critical and creative reasoning elements, to encourage the involvement of students in meaningful problem-solving and imaginative reasoning that reflects the way scientists create knowledge.

DEVELOPING LITERACY IN PRACTICAL TERMS In our own research, we have developed a guided inquiry approach to Science that reflects contemporary understandings of the way that scientists collaboratively invent and refine multimodal representational systems (ie figures, diagrams, visual resources) (Latour, 1999; Nersessian, 2008) to build and apply new knowledge. In this approach (Tytler, Prain, Hubber & Waldrip, 2013), students are strategically challenged to draw, construct models, role play or generate animations to explain phenomena, and then under the guidance of the

environment. An example of their work is a unit on fast plants in which children became absorbed in tracking patterns of growth through representing it visually, and then mathematically.

teacher to discuss and refine these.

We have found that student engagement with the tasks and with ideas is enhanced, teachers attest that class discussion is enriched, and test results show considerable knowledge gains (Tytler & Hubber, 2016).

Underpinning our work is a view of student learning as an induction into the multimodal disciplinary literacies of Science – the ways of speaking, writing and representing that characterise scientific reasoning (Tytler, Prain & Hubber, in press).

Academics from the US, Richard Lehrer and Leona Schauble, have been demonstrating significant learning advantage in primary school Science and Mathematics through children inventing representational systems in a guided classroom

CHALLENGES In designing units of work that engage students with the reasoning and idea generation characteristic of Science, I argue that these ‘representational challenges’ are true to the knowledge generation processes of scientists, and the multimodal literacies underpinning scientific thinking. Imaginative work in STEM does not only reside with technology design, but needs to be expressed through the way we challenge students to explore phenomena and generate and negotiate explanations.

Engaging students in authentic instances of thinking and working scientifically may involve them working on real-life problems such as exploring and protecting local environments, evaluating consumer products, working with school gardens, or designing go-carts in an engineering competition.

It can just as well, however, involve them becoming engrossed in exploring intrinsically interesting phenomena and generating representational explanatory systems.

The key is to structure and harness children’s ideas towards genuinely imaginative ends, rather than presenting pre-determined conclusions. Teacher knowledge and expert guidance is key.

References ACARA (2017). NAP Sample assessment science literacy. http://www.nap.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/20170309-nap_sl_final.pdf?sfvrsn=2 Appleton, K. (2002). Science Activities That Work: Perceptions of Primary School Teachers. Research in Science Education, 32(3) 393-410.

Campbell, C., & Chittleborough, G. (2014). Promoting and improving the teaching of science in primary schools. Teaching Science: The Journal of the Australian Science Teachers Association, 60(1), 19-29.

Cripps Clark, J., Tytler, R., & Symington, D. (2014). School-community collaborations: Bringing authentic science into schools. Teaching Science, 60(3), 28-34.

Crook, S., & Wilson, R. (2015). Five challenges for science in Australian primary schools. The Conversation, June 4. http://www.nap.edu.au/docs/default-source/default-documentlibrary/ 20170309-nap_sl_final.pdf?sfvrsn=2 English, L. (2016). Targeting all of STEM in the primary school: Engineering design as a foundational process. Keynote address at the ACER conference: Improving STEM learning: What will it take.

Brisbane, August. http://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1277&context=research_conference Fensham, P. J. (1985). Science for all: A reflective essay. Journal of curriculum Studies, 17(4), 415-435.

Latour, B. (1999). Pandora’s hope: essays on the reality of science studies. Cambridge, MA, Harvard University Press.

Lehrer, R., Schauble, L., Carpenter, S., & Penner, D. E. (2000). The inter-related development of inscriptions and conceptual understanding. In P. Cobb, E. Yackel, & K. McClain (Eds.), Symbolizing and communicating in mathematics classrooms: Perspectives on discourse, tools, and instructional design (pp. 325–360). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum Marginson, S., Tytler, R., Freeman, B., & Roberts, K. (2013). STEM: Country comparisons. Melbourne: The Australian Council of Learned Academies. www.acola.org.au.

Nersessian, N. (2008). Model-based reasoning in scientific practice. In R. Duschl & R. Grandy (Eds.), Teaching scientific inquiry: Recommendations for research and implementation (pp. 57-79).

Rotterdam: Sense Publishers.

Skamp, K., & Peers, S. (2012. Implementation of science based on the 5E learning model: Insights from teacher feedback on trial Primary Connections units. Paper presented at the Australasian Science Education Research Association Conference, Queensland, June.

The Conversation, March 15. https://theconversation.com/science-curriculum-needs-to-do-more-to-engage-primary-school-students-74523?sg=a595be3b-9166-4473-bb4e75fd56e7037a&sp=1&sr=3 Thomson, S. (2016). Ideas for Australia: Why is Australia falling behind in maths, science and literacy – and what can be done about it? The Conversation, April 13. https://theconversation.com/ ideas-for-australia-why-is-australia-falling-behind-in-maths-science-and-literacy-and-what-can-be-done-about-it-56267 Tytler, R. (2009). School Innovation in Science: Improving science teaching and learning in Australian schools. International Journal of Science Education, 31(13), 1777-1809.

Tytler, R. & Hubber, P. (2016). Constructing representations to learn science, in B. Hand, M. McDermott, & V. Prain (eds.) Using multimodal representations to support learning in the science classroom, pp. 159-181. Switzerland: Springer. DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-16450-2_9 Tytler, R., & Prain, P. (2017). Science curriculum needs to do more to engage primary school students Tytler, R., Prain, V., & Hubber, P. (in press). Representation construction as a core science disciplinary literacy. In K-S Tang & K. Danielsson (Eds.) (In press). Global developments in literacy research for science education. Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Springer.

Tytler, R., Prain, V., Hubber, P., & Waldrip, B. (Eds.). (2013). Constructing representations to learn in science. Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers.

Tytler, R., Symington, D., & Smith, C. (2011). A curriculum innovation framework for science, technology and mathematics education. Research in Science Education, 41, 19-38.

Tytler, R., Symington, D., Williams, G., White, P., Campbell, C., Chittleborough, G., Upstill, G., Roper, E., & Dziadkiewicz (2015). Building productive partnerships for STEM Education: Evaluating the model and outcomes of the Scientists and Mathematicians in Schools program. Melbourne: Deakin University. Available at: http://www.scientistsinschools.edu.au/downloads/ SMiSEvaluationReport2015.pdf

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BEYOND THE CLASSROOM // Teacher Resources

Civics and citizenship education brought to life THE VICTORIAN ELECTORAL COMMISSION EXPLAINS HOW ITS TAILORED, FREE AND FLEXIBLE RESOURCES ARE HELPING TEACHERS PROMOTE STUDENT PARTICIPATION IN AUSTRALIA’S DEMOCRACY.

With the Victorian Curriculum now effective in primary and secondary schools across Australia, Civics and Citizenship Education has been mandated for delivery in all government schools across Victoria.

Civics and Citizenship Education (CCE) promotes student participation in Australia’s democracy by equipping them with the knowledge, skills, values and dispositions of active and informed citizenship. It helps students familiarise themselves with Australia’s democratic heritage and traditions, political and legal institutions and the shared values of freedom, tolerance, respect, responsibility and inclusion.

So in what ways can we support our teachers to ensure that the CCE curriculum is adequately addressed? How can we ensure that students are at the centre of engaging, inquiry-based and practical units of CCE study?

James Fiford, Education and Electoral Inclusion Officer at the Victorian Electoral Commission (VEC), notes that teachers are often time poor, which can affect their ability to plan comprehensive units of work. Furthermore, teachers are sometimes asked to work outside the areas of their specific curriculum knowledge and financial limitations can preclude expensive external consultancy or commercial solutions. This is why the VEC has developed a series of tailored, free and highly flexible CCE resources.

As an independent and impartial statutory body, part of the VEC’s role is to run education programs to ensure that young people in Victoria understand the electoral process. James notes that for young people, elections may not be a particularly exciting subject, which is why the VEC has taken an issues-based, student-driven approach in its Passport to Democracy program.

This active civics and citizenship program aims to develop critical thinking skills in students. It prompts them to consider how they can make an impact on issues they care about and ultimately, how they can engage with the community and participate meaningfully in the democratic process. AEC’s research tells us that providing young people with a positive experience of democracy in a school setting can set them up for a lifetime of civic participation.

HOW DOES THE PROGRAM WORK? Passport to Democracy is divided into four modules: Decide, Research, Activate and Vote. Each module has a lesson plan containing learning activities with detailed instructions, online content and activity sheets. It can be delivered over six to eight weeks, or a smaller version is available if required. VEC Education Officers support teachers through on-site professional development sessions. They also offer a mock election for students as part of the Vote module.

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1. DECIDE The lesson plans in Decide expand on students’ existing knowledge of community issues. In groups, students choose an issue they care about and an aspect stemming from this issue that they want to change. Before deciding, they are supported to understand the complex notions of issues, communities, power and influence, rights, government, responsibility and points of view.

Students should ideally be supported in selecting their own issues to enable genuine student-centred inquiry learning. If teachers are delivering course content in upper primary or lower secondary, focusing on school-based issues is a good starting point.

Middle secondary schools can focus on Victorian state-based issues, and in senior classes on either national or global issues. Any combination of these can, of course, work at any level if well supported.

2. RESEARCH The Research lesson plans guide students to understand the social context of their issue, to discover what others have done about it and to test their own assumptions and possible solutions.

Student research into an issue can have multiple goals. The activities in this unit elevate students to complete the entire research process, and assists them to develop critical literacy skills, while considering how their local political representatives might help.

3. ACTIVATE The aim of the Activate lesson plans is to support students to choose actions that are achievable, appropriate and can have an impact on their chosen issue. These lessons contain many examples of active citizenship for inspiration, and they guide students to delegate tasks and campaign for awareness and support. Students can then use their research findings to plan and carry out an effective action.

4. VOTE The Vote lesson plans allow students to evaluate the impact of their action and reflect upon any change it has sparked, as well as their own active citizenship learning. Students also experience the electoral process through a complete sequence of electoral activities including candidate nominations, party platforms, campaign speeches, how to vote cards, a mock-election (including printed ballot papers) and a preferential vote count. Teachers completing a

Passport to Democracy unit can request a free mockelection incursion run by the VEC (statewide, including metro and rural areas) to demonstrate and celebrate students’ democratic participation. Vote lesson plans can also be used independently of the Passport unit, if teachers wish to focus only on elections and campaigns.

All lesson plans that comprise the Passport to Democracy program are aligned to the Victorian Curriculum and the Australian Curriculum for the teaching of Civics and Citizenship content across Years 5-10. In addition, the Passport to Democracy website (passport.vec.vic.gov.au) offers summative and formative assessment resources. It includes assignment instructions, a submission checklist and curriculum-aligned rubrics, plus a list of assessment for learning Passport activities.

The Passport to Democracy program can be easily used in primary and secondary school contexts. VEC Education Officers are happy to work with teachers to design more tailored programs to suit various age groups, learning styles and student interests. Many primary schools have successfully used the program by incorporating it into a larger cross-curricula unit of work involving multiple classes and even multiple year levels. In the same way, VEC facilitated mock elections can be arranged for single classes or entire year levels. The Passport to Democracy website will soon feature a range of new teacher professional learning videos and resources to assist teachers with engaging in the program.

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HOW TO BOOK By completing a booking form (available online at http://passport.vec.vic.gov.au/teachers/ bookings/) teachers can order resources and/ or book a VEC education officer who can deliver teacher professional learning, and/or a mock election session to their class. All of the resources, and school visits by a VIT registered education officer, are offered free of charge by the VEC. For more information about Passport to Democracy, please contact the VEC via email education@vec.vic.gov.au or by telephone on (03) 8620 1184.

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TEACHER RESOURCES

Bringing fun to the classroom AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND’S LONGEST-SERVING EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE SUPPLIER, MODERN TEACHING AIDS, IS PREPARING STUDENTS FOR THE FUTURE WITH ITS WIDE RANGE OF ROBOTICS RESOURCES. BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER – STEM AND ROBOTICS JOANNA BURK DESCRIBES THE SKILLS ROBOTICS BRINGS INTO PLAY.

Founded in 1956, Modern Teaching Aids (MTA) has been providing resources to educators for more than 60 years, with more than 10,000 products and a passionate team that will create resources tailored to suit if the perfect teaching supply isn’t already available.

MTA’s products are aligned to curriculums to achieve the best results and it is the largest supplier of childcare, primary and high school resources in Australia and New Zealand.

Parents of today’s students probably grew up using MTA products in their own classrooms and homes, and while many of those products are still in use, their children are likely to be using the company’s digital offerings, particularly robotics.

Joanna Burk, as Business Development Manager - STEM and Robotics for MTA, knows better than most the benefits technology can bring to a

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classroom and both students and teachers.

A former teacher who is trained and certified in the application of the LEGO Serious Play methodology, Ms Burk worked with LEGO when it first released its Mindstorms resources in Australia and joined MTA in 2007 when partnered with LEGO Education to distribute its resources.

MTA’s robotics range goes from Bee-Bots, floor robots that help young children learn early computing and programming, through the more specialised LEGO Mindstorms EV3 and LEGO WeDo, and on to drones and other platforms.

“When I first started, we were knocking on doors and trying to make people understand what robotics was all about,” Ms Burk said. “After a lot of knocking on doors, people realised that this is something quite valuable and can be used in the classroom.”

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SPARKING CURIOSITY The ultimate goal of teaching is to spark students’ curiosity and their enthusiasm for learning, and robotics does that, Ms Burk said.

“It encourages them to investigate and understand for themselves how to control technology, but robotics also brings many classroom activities that cater to all ability levels. It allows them to take risks, which is bringing in critical thinking. But mostly, bringing robotics into the classroom helps students develop problem solving skills and look at different solutions to the same task.”

Robotics ticks all the boxes a teacher wants to in the classroom, without the students realising how much learning is taking place.

“It’s fun, so they don’t even realise the maths that they’re doing, the science they’re doing, the data logging they’re doing, the skills they’re developing.

They just know it’s fun, and they learn to work as a team, to work in groups, and to share their learning.

“Before, a lot of students might not like to share their work or their ideas, but now they’re encouraged to look at other students’ work and develop it further.

It’s praise for that student that you really like their design so you’re going to copy it and do something else with it.”

TEACHING THE TEACHERS Ms Burk also conducts professional development workshops for teachers in the effective use of robotics and the LEGO Education resources. Her presentations at curriculum days, workshops, information sessions, conferences and network meetings provide participants with a wealth of information to assist in their teaching.

“It’s very important that teachers have professional development to make robotics more effective for them in the classroom and to be able to apply all their knowledge and have a good understanding of the products,” she said.

“A lot of teachers are fearful of robotics still so going to an introductory workshop such as the ones we offer helps them get past that hurdle.

“Teachers also have a lot of fun at the workshops, which is important because they take that back to the classroom. Plus they network with other teachers who are doing likeminded projects.”

Ms Burk said she sometimes had teachers with no prior knowledge of robotics.

“They have to build their own robot to start with, which is a challenge to a lot who have never built a robot. But they love it, and they won’t let anyone help them. It’s good for them to be like a kid again and it helps them to realise that their students can be engaged but talking as they network and solve problems.

“It’s been a whole new world for teachers to have a look at and they have had to meet the challenge of that.”

Because there are so many robotics platforms, Ms Burk said, schools and teachers must be careful to select carefully what is best suited for each classroom and school and their budget.

Whether a robot they put in the hands of a fiveyear-old who would work out how to use it, or a more advanced system requiring sophisticated design and coding skills, robotics promotes learning through an inquiry-based approach.

“It gives teachers a lot more scope for what they can offer their students in the classroom.”

MTA is a Platinum Sponsor of RoboCup Junior Australia, a project-oriented educational initiative that sponsors local, regional and international robotic events for young students.

The competition was brought to Australia by a group of high school teachers in 2001, and is now in every state and territory, as it is in about 40 countries around the world..

“It’s exciting and it’s growing every year in Australia,” Ms Burk said. “All the committees are run by passionate teachers and mentors who offer their time voluntarily.”

She said she was privileged to have been part of RoboCup Junior from its beginning in Australia and had seen what a difference it had made with participating students. Many of those had gone on to act as mentors to younger students and some now sit on the committee for the event. Many university alumni also started their careers at a RoboCup Junior competition, which gave them the inspiration to continue on to higher education.

This year’s National Competition is scheduled for 5 – 7 October at the Melbourne Park Function Centre in Batman Ave, Melbourne.

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BEFORE & AFTER SCHOOL CARE

Is after school care being looked after?

BACK-END ADMINISTRATION OF AFTER SCHOOL CARE IS AN INCONVENIENCE FOR SCHOOLS AND PROVIDERS, WITH MULTIPLE PLATFORMS THAT ALSO MAKE LIFE INCONVENIENT FOR PARENTS. LOOKEDAFTER EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR DARREN STEVENSON HAS A READY-TO-USE ALTERNATIVE SOLUTION FOR PROVIDERS AND PARENTS.

Busy parents using outside school hours care are time-poor.

Managing bookings needs to be easy and available 24/7.

Looking elsewhere for a holiday program or school-run activity shouldn’t mean having to register and enrol on a different platform.

Likewise, schools and care service providers focus on designing and staffing great programs while remaining compliant to regulations. Time spent on administration is time that could be spent on growing the service.

Recognising the need for a service to align and match

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the needs of parents, providers and schools, the team behind Extend After School Care launched LookedAfter in November 2017.

LookedAfter Executive Director and Head of Partnerships Darren Stevenson said the online platform is used at more than 100 schools where Extend delivers a program, and will soon launch to the wider outside school hours care sector.

The integrated system provides flexibility and reliability for parents, while also simplifying administration for care providers and schools and allowing them to access more customers.

“It’s like no other product in the market,” Mr Stevenson said, “and it gives a wonderful user experience for families who can now book and pay within the same platform whichever school they book at. We have built a marketplace for schools to offer additional programs and choice for parents, with control and visibility to remain compliant.

“Parents sign up at lookedafter.com and use their account as a one-stop-shop to book care sessions at any available service. There is no enrolment or membership fee – you only pay for usage – and there is one consolidated invoice with a choice of payment methods that take advantage of improvements to internet banking.”

Schools that run their own outside school hours care can tailor the design and pricing of their programs, and generate reports on operation, hours, fees, staff number or other administrative matters.

“Adding your school to LookedAfter is easy, and it doesn’t matter whether you run or own program or offer self-run programs together with programs delivered by an outside provider. You will increase

bookings, have happier parents, and save yourself administrative pain.

“The whole backend administration – enrolling and booking and paying, government fee relief, – it’s seamless,” Mr Stevenson said.

Extend After School Care, of which Mr Stevenson is Managing Director, has delivered outside school hours care for 15 years, and is the first provider to embrace the platform.

“In our 15 years, we’ve been unable to find a platform that is efficient, reduces manual intervention and is flexible enough to support the wide variety of services we deliver. That’s why we made our own investment in LookedAfter.com as a separate entity to build the best possible platform for families and schools.”

Schools and providers have freedom to set operating hours, prices and associated policies, and take responsibility for designing and staffing programs.

“Transparency is at the heart of LookedAfter, and providers and coordinators can check enrolments, bookings, revenue and other metrics at any time”, Mr Stevenson said. “It’s priced on a usage basis, which enables schools of any size and in any location to sign up”.

“It removes the administrative grief out of running a program, which is often the most difficult component to get right,” he said. “And it must be right – quality and compliance are non-negotiable. It’s right for Extend, and we’re offering the same advantage to other schools and providers.”

LookedAfter has been a long time in the making.

“It’s been an idea of mine for years,” Mr Stevenson said. “After a hectic day at the office overseeing

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administration of bookings, cancellations, invoices, payments, refunds and records compliance, I would drive home thinking about how we could make life better for not just our business but schools and services across Australia.

“It was the last thing I thought about before I put my head on the pillow at night and the first thing I thought about when I woke the next morning.”

Those years and countless hours of planning resulted in a unique platform for families, schools and educators, which delivers numerous easyto-understand reports at the touch of a button, alongside full transparency and control with better value and better quality.

The feedback from school communities and families has been wonderful. Mr Stevenson said there has been positive feedback from families who are much happier with the flexibility and control they now have over their accounts and bookings.

“Parents, in particular, love the ease and convenience of booking when its suits them. They can do this online and by mobile device at any time night or day. And with virtually everybody having a mobile phone, access to LookedAfter is always there when it’s needed.

“With LookedAfter no school community is left behind.” Said Mr Stevenson. “Small schools, big schools, old services, new services, metropolitan or rural - LookedAfter never discriminates and all communities are welcome.”

“We make sure all stakeholders have the confidence they deserve and are comprehensively looked after.”

Which, said Mr Stevenson, is how LookedAfter got its name.

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Your Programs, Our Technology

Want to run outside school hours care at your school? You can!

LookedAfter takes care of bookings, invoicing and adminstrative tasks for before & after school care and holiday programs. You staff the program we do the rest.

Our beautiful platform provides a great experience for your families, while giving schools visibility to ensure sustainability and growth.

You’re never too small, too big, too remote or too bespoke for LookedAfter.

Get in touch and begin your journey today! www.lookedafter.com hello@lookedafter.com | 1300 366 437

The cost of delivering high-quality care THE LEAST EXPENSIVE OPTION DOESN’T TRANSLATE TO VALUE FOR MONEY, SAYS DARREN STEVENSON OF EXTEND AFTER SCHOOL CARE, AS PROVIDING THE BEST IN STAFF AND RESOURCES COMES AT A PRICE.

Discerning parents and principals understand that value for money in outside school hours care is very different from price, says Darren Stevenson, Managing Director of Extend After School Care.

A highly priced service does not necessarily offer the best opportunities for children, he says, but there is always a cost to delivering high quality service.

Mr Stevenson said the largest investment and cost for quality after school hours care is in ensuring the quality of its educators.

“The most important thing in any service is the quality of your staff,” he said. “Just as a great school is reliant on its teachers and principal, so too in outside school hours care, we rely on committed and engaged educators.”

After school hours care is heavily regulated by law and staff ratios and qualifications are just part of a raft of issues that must be addressed. However, a good provider will go beyond what is legally required, Mr Stevenson said.

“We feel it’s more than just ticking boxes to say for example that we have the right ratio of staff – we need to make sure we have the right people doing

the right activities in the interests of the children and families who utilise our service.

“It’s not just about having numbers. It’s about adding value, looking at the programming, at the needs of the children, those kinds of issues.”

The quality of a service’s resources should also be considered, Mr Stevenson said, with an adequate supply of arts materials, construction and sports equipment and ample opportunities for children to play and create things, as well as nutritious and well-prepared snacks and food.

While parents understand price does not always translate to quality, they are also aware that low-cost services may struggle to provide what the children need, Mr Stevenson said.

“Discerning parents won’t tolerate those services or providers that cut costs with their children to charge a low price. They’re mindful of the cost, but they’re much more conscious of the value for money they’re receiving in the program.”

BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL CARE

New direction SHERPA KIDS IS AN INTERNATIONAL COMPANY HEADQUARTERED IN AUSTRALIA WHICH RUNS BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL CARE SERVICES AND HOLIDAY CARE IN SCHOOLS AND OTHER COMMUNITY FACILITIES. THE ORGANISATION, WHICH HAS SOME 100 FRANCHISES WORLDWIDE, LOOKS AFTER AROUND 5,400 PRIMARY SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN EVERY DAY.

Whilst the name Sherpa Kids may not be as synonymous within the Outside of School Hours Care (OSHC) industry in Australia as some of the bigger providers, it is their intent to change this over the coming years. It is a goal to ensure school leaders know the name Sherpa Kids and connect it with an understanding of commitment and quality.

Sherpa Kids Australia is in over 30 schools across the country, which are owned and operated by more than a dozen franchisees. The fact that Sherpa Kids services are delivered by the business owners is important; the service is being provided by someone with a significant investment in the business and the incentive to make sure it is being done right and being done well.

Sherpa services deliver a highly structured, engaging environment designed specifically to achieve a positive social and educational outcome. It is this that differentiates them clearly from their competitors. Activities include arts and crafts, music and drama, sport and games, cooking and technology.

Many are based on specific themes, and tailored to fit in with the individual requirements of schools, their cultures and ultimately their communities.

Sherpa Kids Australia recently went through significant change with new ownership and a new direction. New Managing Director, Michael Rasmussen, comes to this role with a lot of experience in business as well as education, being a qualified teacher as well as having operated several large OSHC services in NSW. When asked his opinion on modern OSHC services in primary schools, Mr Rasmussen says in his experience as a classroom teacher, School Sports Manager and now an OSHC operator, he has been exposed to many different OSHC programs operated by a variety of providers.

“Many of these services, on the surface, appeared to be well run,” he says. “The children were happy, there were lots of activities, the staff looked as though they were enjoying their work and the physical environment was clean and tidy. Is this what it means to have a good OSHC service at your school? In part, yes, however there is a lot that goes into ensuring a service is able to look like the one previously mentioned. Factors such as, staffing – in particular managers, the school relationships, review and discussion, and parent communication. These aspects can so easily change and subsequently the service dynamics goes with it. My experience allows me to ensure these ingredients go into the services we provide and the support is there to ensure the stability of these key factors and the continued success of the service.”

Mr Rasmussen says that when speaking to principals and school leaders that they often ask what makes Sherpa Kids different to other providers.

His answer refers to the Sherpa Kids business model and its franchisees.

Many large providers, he says, such as those controlling more than 50

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services, find it difficult to ensure the factors mentioned above remain strong in each and every service. Sherpa Kids provides the only franchised OSHC service in the country. This means the schools deal directly with the business owner, not a manager or regional manager but the Managing Director. This holds many benefits for the school and their families. Their franchisees generally do not control more than five or six services each, which ensures the business owners remain very close to their services. Their connections with the school and its families is intimate and it enables them to be more effective and efficient in all that they do. An ideal franchisee understands the school systems and the needs of a modern primary school. The franchisees are essentially running a small school, as they control educational budgets, deal with such aspects as staffing, programming, assessment and reviews, so experience in these areas is important.

In explaining Sherpa Kids Australia’s role, Michael says: “Our job as the franchisor is to oversee each operation and provide operational support with our team of highly experienced OSHC professionals. This allows me to personally take the successes of what we do in our existing services to new, potential school sites and discuss with the principals the possibility of engaging in a long-term relationship to provide the same level of quality care at their school.”

As Sherpa Kids continues to work towards building awareness of its name within the network of primary schools throughout Australia, it guarantees that schools that engage with Sherpa Kids will enjoy professional working partnerships. Mr Rasmussen concludes: “We ensure we are always willing to work in with the needs of the school and to integrate what we do into the life of each school. I acknowledge there are many good providers in the marketplace but we want to put ourselves out there as a leader in what we provide rather than how many services we have.”

Sherpa Kids is available to talk to you about the out of school hours care needs at your school today.

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Looking for a solution to your OOSH/OSHC challenges?

Australian families are desperate for good quality, affordable day care or outside school hours care These days both parents are likely to be employed and working longer hours than ever.

This, combined with transport issues, can make the issue of after school clubs or after school care a stressful one for parents and children alike.

AND IT’S BECOMING A MAJOR ISSUE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION. Volunteer-managed OOSH or OSHC committees are struggling with the issue of out of school care in the face of new regulatory reforms that increase quality expectations but also increase administrative burdens. Senior educators like you are looking for a better way and OOSH service providers are frequently an attractive option.

You’ll be well aware of the difference it makes to you and your school community when you have high quality, well managed outside school hours care on your site. At Sherpa Kids we deliver exactly that – but with a difference that other after school care and OOSH service providers cannot match. Because our business is built on the local franchise model you get the best of both worlds; the care and concern of a local decision maker based in your community, combined with the confidence and authority of stable, professional central management.

Firstly, your service is owned and managed by a carefully selected local community member; usually a mum or dad and, in some cases, an education professional.

They understand families, they understand schools, and they want to mirror your school’s values in their before and after school care services and vacation care.

CALL US TODAY +61 8 8295 6848 www.sherpa-kids.com.au

The Out of School Hours (OOSH) care sector is intensely regulated. So, it’s important that procedures are followed correctly. When you partner with us we will take care of your OOSH services set-up in full. We’ll manage all your administration, recruitment, training, staff rota, parent communication and compliance obligations.

And we’ll buy all food and resources locally from retailers in your area.

Secondly, the franchisees are all part of a highly professional group with centralised resources geared to ensuring State and Federal regulatory compliance and enabling development of engaging programs for the children we care for. We’ve developed a fun and flexible, engaging programme of before and after school activities that is syllabus-led and can be tailored to fit the individual requirements of schools and their curriculums.

Fun, flexible and engaging OOSH/OSHC programmes that are syllabus-led.

Sherpa Kids Australia are currently working with local schools in Sydney, Adelaide and Canberra areas.

Sherpa Kids presents your school with the opportunity to make real a difference for your local community by providing out of school care. Please contact the team at Sherpa Kids to find out more.

Sustainability

Cool Australia: Messages of Blue COOL AUSTRALIA IS AN EDUCATIONAL NOT-FOR-PROFIT THAT HELPS TEACHERS FIND WAYS TO ENGAGE, INVOLVE AND SWITCH ON YOUNG AUSTRALIANS TO LEARN FOR LIFE. ITS WEBSITE HAS FREE-TO-ACCESS LESSON PLANS THAT INTEGRATE TOPICS SUCH AS SUSTAINABILITY, ETHICS, ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER HISTORIES AND CULTURES, ECONOMICS AND WELLBEING ACROSS SUBJECT AREAS.

ABOUT BLUE BY NORTHERN PICTURES Blue, a feature documentary film by Northern Pictures takes the viewer deep into the Pacific Ocean, into bustling fish markets in Indonesia and remote tropical beaches in the Coral Sea. Blue is a cinematic song for our oceans; beautiful, intimate and grand. No matter where you are in Australia, it will make you want to rise up with the waves. Told through the eyes of seven Ocean Guardians, Blue is an exceptional educational tool that ignites a curiosity and love of learning about our liquid world.

ABOUT COOL AUSTRALIA Last year, Cool Australia helped 76,000 exceptional educators teach 1.7 million young Aussies using free units of work and lesson plans and affordable online professional development to grow their professional skills anywhere, anytime and at their own pace.

Cool Australia has collaborated with Northern Pictures to provide a

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free teacher toolkit (https://goo.gl/neJqDx) for Blue. Tap into 62 lesson plans and student activities, 120 hours of activities, 160 factsheets and a compelling digital library of digital resources. These curriculumaligned lessons span across many year levels and subject areas, and include never seen before video clips from the film. Also included is everything else that a teacher might need to involve young people in interesting and meaningful learning.

ABOUT THIS LESSON This Year 3-4 English and science lesson incorporates clips from Blue as learning inspiration. Students are introduced to the topics of the unit by identifying the ways they think about and are connected to the ocean. Students begin by completing a ‘Colour-Symbol-Image’ thinking routine. They are then asked to consider how they think about the ocean and work together to produce a word cloud based on their

education matters primary

ideas. Students will then consider the messages of Blue – particularly in terms of some of the animals featured in the film – and work independently to create their own communication piece to share the message that they resonate with the most.

CURRICULUM LINKS English: Years 3 & 4 General capabilities: Literacy, Critical and Creative thinking Cross-curriculum priority: Sustainability Time Required: 60 minutes WHAT YOU’LL NEED • Student Worksheet – download for free at www.coolaustralia.org/activity/bluemessages-blue-years-3-4/ • Device capable of presenting a website to the class.

• Recycled paper and pencil for each student.

• Board or butcher’s paper for the class word cloud.

• Art materials or digital medium materials.

mediums – stories/poems, spoken word raps, a drawing with a message, visual performance, digital mediums.

The students can choose either clip as the central theme of their messages: the aim of this activity is to encourage students to think about what is important to them about the ocean and how they feel about this.

Step 2. Once complete, create a gallery walk to share your students’ work with the class. A gallery walk is when students display their work around the classroom, placing a piece of blank paper in front of each piece. Groups rotate around the room and write down their feedback for the creators of the work. They record one thing they liked about the work, one thing they are wondering about the work and one suggestion to improve the work. Students then use this feedback to extend their work and their learning.

TEACHING SEQUENCE 20 minutes - My Thoughts Matter 30 minutes - Messages of Blue 10 minutes - Reflection TEACHING INSTRUCTIONS – MY THOUGHTS MATTER Step 1. Provide a piece of recycled paper and a pencil to each student. Invite them to write ‘The Ocean’ at the top of the page. Students then describe their thoughts about the ocean using a colour, a symbol, and an image (this could be a photo or a drawing).

Once complete, invite students to move around the classroom, sharing their ideas with other students, making a note of similarities and differencess.

You can then engage students in a class discussion around their ideas, asking the following questions: How are our ideas about the ocean similar and different?

How do you feel about the ocean?

What is special to you about the ocean?

Step 2. Watch the following two Blue videos as a whole class.

• A Turtle’s Life – https://vimeo.com/212700433 • Ode to Seabirds – https://vimeo.com/207595690 As students watch the clip, ask the them to pay attention to the way it makes them feel. Each student should write down three to five words in response to each clip.

Watch the clips separately and provide reflective time between for students to write their responses.

Step 3. Once both clips have been viewed and the students have written their words, encourage them to share their responses. Capture the students’ responses as a class by drawing a word cloud. As each student offers a response, write the word clearly on the board or paper.

TEACHING INSTRUCTIONS – MESSAGES OF BLUE Step 1. Explain to students that they will now be creating their own message for Blue. Using the words from your Word Cloud as a starting point, invite the students to create their own connective message to express their thoughts and ideas about the ocean. Encourage the students to be as creative as possible using one of the following

TEACHING INSTRUCTIONS – REFLECTION Invite students to share and discuss their ideas with a classmate. Students should reflect on the work of the classmate they have shared their work with using the following questions (also available on the free Student Worksheet): • What is the main message of this student’s work?

• Why I like this work...

• The best bits of this work are...

• I agree with this message because...

• One improvement I would suggest is...

Remind students to be kind, helpful and specific when providing feedback.

ASSESSMENT IDEAS Teachers can use the following items as part of their formative assessment: • Watching a clip for meaning.

• Formulating personal responses.

• Participation in discussions to express ideas.

• Sharing personal responses • Creating a message for an audience.

WANT MORE? Download free Blue lesson plans for the year level or subject area you teach at – https://goo.gl/pZxnN9 Find out more about Blue at www.bluethefilm.org or visit www.coolaustralia.org for more free lessons.

education matters primary

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Education Matters

2018

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