20
Gazette Januar y 2021
AC A DE M IC E XC E L L E NC E
Education Reimagined 2020 will certainly be a year we will always remember as a turning point in education. The Global COVID-19 Pandemic reached Australia and schools had to quickly transition their delivery of learning to adjust to new restrictions and social distancing requirements. If ever the acronym “VUCA (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex, and Ambiguous)” felt appropriate to use, it was this year. It has been characterised by constantly evolving and ever changing circumstances, fast paced manoeuvring, rapid upskilling and constant adapting. Teachers at The King’s School showed remarkable resilience, adaptability and flexibility as conditions changed on a weekly or daily basis. Change of this magnitude would usually take a year to prepare, but without the luxury of time, the teachers were outstanding in managing to continue to deliver a high quality learning program meeting the NSW syllabus outcomes with a new method of delivery. Being isolated at home and spending more time with family suited many children who thrived, while for others the change brought challenges; but this too was a learning opportunity. Teachers found new ways to engage with the students, introducing interactive quizzes and real time tutorials, pre-recording lessons, and online assessment - to name a few. As we move forward delivering high quality learning, King’s teachers have been role models to the students and the community
displaying resilience, agility and optimism. We can look back on this time period as King’s being a part of history in the way we teach and learn.
Stories from the Online Learning Experience With the return to face-to-face teaching, it is important that we build on the experiences we all had in the online world. In such a short time, teachers and students embraced new technologies and new ways of connecting. We discovered that using Zoom enabled the voices of students to be heard; even the most introverted breakout rooms in Zoom facilitated rich conversations. What is evident is that we need to learn from these experiences and apply this to teaching and learning as students return to campus. The following are just some of the stories from our Senior School teachers and students. We are truly blessed to work
with amazing educators, agile students and understanding parents!
Agriculture: The evolution to Zoom masterclasses All of us who teach will know that some of the greatest teaching and learning experiences can come out of the blue, the evolution of Zoom masterclasses is one of these. While delivering a Zoom lesson to my senior class, one student gave me notice that he would not be attending the next lesson due to harvesting on their property. I suggested that if he used Zoom on his phone he could still listen as he worked and not fall behind. The outcome was better than this, because when the student did Zoom in, he could show the class the activity he was doing, the machinery he was using and produce direct context for what we were covering in the syllabus. This was such a rich and rewarding experience for all students, but in particular, those studying Agriculture who are Sydney based. Out
