Classroom Observations at PBAS

I hope that the Eudunda presentation achieved its purpose of getting us to start thinking about how we might go about developing quality teaching and learning through classroom observations at PBAS.

Key points that I got from the presentation were:

  • I like the concept of One in all in. Developing a whole school agreement through discussion will be important.
  • Time is required to ensure any process is effective. Time for both the development of the process as well as implementation i.e. Eudunda underloaded its secondary staff and provided release time for its primary staff. What would work at PBAS?
  • Eudunda embedded ‘Quality Teaching’ into their Site Improvement Plan. Where does improving quality teaching through classroom observation sit in relation to all the other things we do at school?
  • How do we embed aspects of the TfEL or the National Professional Standards for Teachers (or both) into a document that is then useful and easily used?
  • Staff familiarisation with TfEL and the National Professional Standards for Teachers will be ongoing. The hot dot task was a fairly easy simple way to get staff to have a look at and think about these.
  • The concept of deprivatising the classroom appealed to me. Broadening the types of pedagogy we are exposed to will be an important part of developing teacher quality.

This by no means exhausts the list of questions and issues that teachers may have about classroom observations at PBAS. They are just my initial thoughts after listening to Eudunda’s story.

Click here to read my first post on Classroom Observation written in early October.

Week 9 Staff Meeting AC/TFEL

Unfortunately this will be our first AC/TFEL meeting for the term.

 

The Term 3 (proposed) plan was for the following to occur:

R-7: Focus on programing, assessing and reporting to Australian Curriculum. Plus looking at the English curriculum during meeting times.

8-10: Focus on English. Tanya and Justin working together.

TfEL: Includes Liz, Tim, Rob, Dave and Nick looking at students feedback on our teaching. Ed and Caddy can slot into this OR may wish to continue focusing on the Maths/Science AC in preparation for next year i.e. looking at programing and assessing.

 

Proposed plan for week 9 Tuesday staff meeting is for:

Primary Staff

Primary staff to use this time to investigate the AC English Curriculum either individually or in small groups. Possibilities for this time are:

  • Have discussions around the curriculum itself. Get the AC website up and investigate/familiarise
  • Planning for 2013 using the English AC.
  • Look at and discuss with a colleague the work sample portfolios. Discuss how these compare with current student samples from PBAS. Can these samples be used to assist assessment in 2013?

Tanya and Justin

Tanya and Justin to use this time to investigate the AC English Curriculum either individually or in small groups. Possibilities for this time are:

  • Have discussions around the curriculum itself. Get the AC website up and investigate/familiarise
  • Planning for 2013 using the English AC. I know Justin has begun this process and maybe some sharing can occur at this time.
  • Look at and discuss with a colleague the work sample portfolios. Discuss how these compare with current student samples from PBAS. Can these samples be used to assist assessment in 2013?

One major issue here – last term Justin started the TFEL Student Surveys and handed them out. I asked him (without thinking) to meet with the TFEL group so he could have time to analyse his data. This however leaves Tanya with no one to discuss the English curriculum with. Can I ask that Tanya and Justin get together for a quick chat to decide if Justin is going to be with the TFEL group (and therefore Tanya is by herself) or work with Tanya on the AC English curriculum.

TFEL – Tim, Rob, Dave and Nick

Meet and discuss TFEL student surveys. Nick will show how he has analysed is feedback. Have some time to discuss/analyse results from students and what this means for our teaching (either with a partner or individually).

Ed and Allan

Can come and join the conversation with the TFEL group and we can share how we constructed our surveys and their analysis OR continue with your discussion around the AC maths curriculum which could include the following:

  • Have discussions around the curriculum itself. Get the AC website up and investigate/familiarise (you may be passed this).
  • Look at and discuss the work sample portfolios. Discuss how these compare with current student samples from PBAS. Can these samples be used to assist assessment in 2013?
  • Planning for 2013 using the Maths AC.

Learning Design Part 7

 

The information below is taken from the Leaders Resource – Getting Started developed by the Teaching and Learning Services team DECD.

The fifth part of Learning Design is How will we engage, challenge and support their learning?

Engage

“Children and young people do what they see adults enjoy”. If we show passion, enthusiasm and a genuine interest in what we are teaching students are more likely to respond in kind than if we turn up to class negative and disinterested. Our level of motivation is often reflected back to us through our students.

Engagement could be described in two ways, compliance engagement and deep engagement. Considering these  I was confronted with the fact that mostly my classes are just compliantly engaged. My students turn up and do what they are told, complete tasks, engage in conversation and undertake my classes. Is this deep engagement? Probably not. Is it a higher level of engagement than classes whose students don’t comply, yes. According to David Price (Learning Futures Engaging Students, 2010) deep engagement encompasses the following:

• Cares not just about the outcome, but also the development of their learning
• Takes responsibility for their learning
• Brings discretionary energy to their learning task(s)
• Can locate the value of their learning beyond school and wishes to prolong their learning beyond school hours.
How many of us have students at the compliance end of the engagement continuum and how many do we have at the deep end? How we move students along this continuum requires us to continue to develop our pedagogy about how students learn, what engages them and how we will embed this in our day to day practice.

Challenge and Support

When we expect that we have an impact on student achievement, we are right. When we expect that we are impotent, we are also right.” Is every student challenged to reach his/her personal best or just those who ‘do’ school well? (TFEL Framework pg 41). It is often easy to move support away from those that don’t seem to want to help themselves and give that extra time to someone who demonstrates enthusiasm for the learning. We have a professional responsibility to push, extend and support ALL students no matter how hard this might be at times.

Can we engage, challenge and support every student all the time, maybe not. Should we aim to as often as is humanly possible, absolutely.

Things to remember when we are trying to engage, challenge and support students:

• How can we hook them in? (engagement that goes further than merely getting students to comply with our requests)
• How can we stretch all learners?
• What will be needed to ensure all learners achieve the intended learning?
Video – Engaging and Motivating Students

TfEL/Australian Curriculum Meeting Week 5

Wednesday Admin meeting 3:20-3:45pm in Kim’s room.

Wednesday TfEL/AC meeting directly after @ 3:45 – 4:45pm

 

TfEL/AC Meeting

Just a reminder from week 2 term 2 post:

Please note the following changes to our structure in terms of who is working with who and on what.

This term sees the following:

  • R-6 staff working on AC maths
  • Tanya, Allan and Ed working on 7-10 AC maths
  • All other secondary staff working on the TfEL process. Same staff as term 1 with the addition of Justin and Nick.

TfEL Staff

Same staff as term 1 with the addition of Justin and Nick. It would be good for this group to meet in the staffroom. I have copies of the resources lists from the TfEL DVD which will be useful for those staff who have made some decisions about the one or two elements they would like to improve. It would also be good to meet as a group to see where staff are at and any issues that may be occurring.

R-6 Staff

Meet in Paul’s room.

After quick discussion with Paul, Angela and Jackie this group might look at the following:

  • Angela and Valmai share some of the information they received from Lisa Jane O Connor.
  • Maths proficiencies (unpack these and have some discussion).

8-10 maths – Tanya, Allan and Ed

Will need to make a decision about where you want to work.

I have some suggestions/resources for you to use as you see fit. As a group you may wish to discuss your own concerns and issues around the 8-10 maths curriculum. The resources that you may want to use are:

1. The year level and content descriptions and achievement standards – What does our program look like now? How is the Australian Curriculum different to current programs? Do I understand the Achievement Standards and what they are for? Look at the work samples on the AC website?

2. The Achievement Standards  – R-10 in maths. Copies of the Achievement Standards only (no content). Do they make a logical progression?

3. The maths scope and sequence tables.

Ed has the copies of these resources.

Learning Design Part 2

The information below is taken from the Leaders Resource – Getting Started developed by the Teaching and Learning Services team DECD.

Below is a video which takes teachers through the process of using Learning Design. The example uses a Year 4/5 history class to demonstrate the process. The video is obviously designed to promote the Australian Curriculum/Learning Design but does take you through the six stages of the process which is useful if you would like to develop a stronger understanding of Learning Design.

If you would like to view the resource that this video is from (or just view this video in better quality) please go to the links section in the side bar of this blog and click on “DECD Australian Curriculum Leaders Resource.”

To view a larger version click on the YouTube button in the bottom right corner of the video. This video was created by DECD Teaching and Learning Services.

Learning Design Part 1

My intention is to present a series of posts on the topic/process of Learning Design. Hopefully these posts will give you an understanding of the process. The resource for these posts will be the Australian Curriculum Leaders Resource ‘Getting Started’ DVD (developed by DECD Learning Services). This resource provides information including Power Points and short video on 4 areas – 1. Australian Curriculum 2. TfEL 3. Learning Design and 4. Professional Learning Communities (PLC’s). The Australian Curriculum Leaders Resource can be accessed online by clicking here or see Nick for the DVD if you are interested in looking at these topics in more depth.

Rather than try and spend large chunks of time in meetings going through Learning Design I thought it might be useful to do small snippets from the DVD over a period of time to introduce Learning Design to teaching staff.

Learning Design is the term used for combining the ‘What’(Australian Curriculum) and the ‘How’ (TfEL) in a way that will assist teachers with their programing and assessing of student learning. Learning Design encompasses the following (click on the diagram below to enlarge it and view it clearly).

 

 

 

Programming and TfEL/Australian Curriculum Staff Meeting week 2

Please note the following changes to our structure in terms of who is working with who and on what.

This term sees the following:

  • R-6 staff working on AC maths
  • Tanya, Allan and Ed working on 7-10 AC maths
  • All other secondary staff working on the TfEL process. Same staff as term 1 with the addition of Justin and Nick.

Next Wednesday was to be our first TfEL & Australian Curriculum meeting of term two. This was poor planning on my part as secondary staff have parent teacher interviews through this week. This means for those staff involved in parent teacher interviews there will be no TfEL or AC meeting. If secondary staff do not have any (or many) interviews then it would be great if they were able to continue working on TfEL or the AC if possible – staff can make this decision on an individual basis.

For primary staff the planned meeting with Trish Boschetti will go ahead on Wednesday at 3:30pm. Last term Paul emailed me what staff wanted Trish to cover in this upcoming meeting which I forwarded to Trish. This meeting will take place in Kim’s room.

Just a reminder for staff to ensure their programs for term 2 are placed in the folder in the staff room and that they are saved on the Admin drive in the Curriculum Areas folder. Thanks.

AC/TfEL Staff Meeting Wednesday Week 9

Just a reminder about our Australian Curriculum and TfEL meeting coming up next Wednesday (week 9).

Again we will just go straight into these meetings and if time is required afterwards for a short admin meeting (10-15min) you will be notified.

TfEL

If staff looking at TfEL could meet in the staff room at 3:30pm. Staff in this group will be at one of two points – 1. Still undertaking the ‘Personal Reflection’ pg 10 and the ‘Self Review of Practice’ pg 11 OR 2. Based on your reflection you have decided on what one or two  Elements you would like to investigate and improve as part of your teaching. If you are at this point you will need the DVD. Download the resources for your Element(s) and start to investigate what these resources are about and what they have to offer. Remember there are PDF files (articles, questions etc) and MP4 files (video) which often link back to a PDF file. It is also important that you are documenting some of your progress (dot points?) as it should be forming a part of your performance management process.

Australian Curriculum

R-6 Maths -Meet in Kim’s room? I am assuming that primary staff are now looking at the Australian Curriculum: maths. I had a meeting with Trish Boschetti, one of three district Australian Curriculum officers in our area, and she is willing to attend some of our staff meetings where possible. She committed to come to this meeting in week 9 and also the first AC/TfEL meeting in week 2 term 2. I have suggested to Trish that she has a general discussion with you in next weeks meeting to find out where you are at and what your concerns are. Hopefully the next meeting in term 2 she can structure something useful for you based on your needs and bring along resources (she did mention she was keen on doing something around assessment and moderation).

My intention is to try and access Trish for the primary staff initially as they are on the tightest timeline having to plan, assess and report in semester 2 this year. My hope is that as we move into the end of term 2 and start of term 3 Trish will be available to work with secondary staff.

8-10 History (Justin, Rosalie and Nick) – Meet in library. My understanding from our last meeting was that we wanted to try and design a proforma that allowed for a more user friendly version of the Achievement Standards in history.

8-10 Science (Allan and Tanya) – Depending on where you are at maybe having a look at the portfolios of work for science at Years 8, 9 and 10. May be useful. Would be interesting to get your view point on the standard expected at a ‘satisfactory’ level at each year level.

I have not got around to staff to ask where they are at with the AC/TfEL over the last fortnight as it has been quite busy. I feel like I need to know where people are at so that when I am looking at resources or talking with district people like Trish I can access relevant and appropriate resources that link to where staff are at at that point in time. So if you get the opportunity to let me know where you or your group is at either face to face, email or even a comment to this post that would be great.

TfEL/AC Staff Meeting Wednesday Week 5

Our next TfEL/Australian Curriculum meeting is this coming Wednesday at 3:30pm.  I am suggesting that we just get straight into our group/individual work rather than meet as a group. Hopefully we can just continue from where we were up to at the end of the last meeting. If a short admin time is required after TfEL/AC you will be informed when this will start via email or day book.

TfEL

Staff involved with TfEL have now begun the process of self evaluation using the Review Tools Handbook. This time can be used to continue this process. I think it was valuable last time for teachers to do this in the staffroom as it gave you the opportunity to initiate conversations around the process. On the student free day we will (as a whole staff) be going through a process which looks at how the DVD can be used to investigate a specific element of TfEL. Hopefully this will be useful as staff may be nearing the point where they want to investigate an element in depth.

Australian Curriculum

I assume the groups working on the Australian Curriculum will work in the same areas as the first meeting. Hopefully the process for investigating the AC is working and this is useful time with colleagues. If it is not then please see me with suggestions about other ways of undertaking the investigation of the AC. I am not precious of how we do it as long as it is a useful process.

Can I please ask the primary group to make a decision about when you will wrap up the Australian Curriculum science investigation and begin the maths investigation. It would be important that you have enough time to complete this and prepare for how programming and assessment for maths and science will look for semester 2.

Australian Curriculum & TfEL Staff Meeting Wed Week 1

Our first scheduled staff meeting for the AC and TfEL is Wednesday 1/2. Below is an outline of how this meeting time and future AC/TfEL meeting times will run. As teaching staff are involved in a range of activities from AC science R-7, AC science 8-10, AC history 8-10 and TfEL we will not meet as a whole group. I’m suggesting that each group meets in their own area and gets straight into it. Below is an outline of how this might look – if you would like/need to change this you will need to catch the staff you are working with and arrange any changes with them.

Australian Curriculum Term 1

R-7 science familiarisation – All R-7 teaching staff. This group is up to looking at the Achievement Standards. Each teacher will get a copy of these and associated questions in pigeon holes to provide some structure to the discussion. Kim/Paul work together and JP teachers work together? Work in primary classrooms.

8-10 science familiarisation – Tanya and Allan. Will get the Year 8-10 curriculum in pigeon holes to bring to the meeting. Work in science lab.

8-10 History – Justin, Rosalie and Nick. Will get Year 8-10 curriculum in pigeon holes to bring to the meeting. Work in Justin’s room.

Pedagogy/TfEL

I will meet quickly with all staff to quickly chat about this process and help to answer any questions teachers may have.

Who?

All teaching staff not involved in the Australian Curriculum process.

Where?

Staffroom

What will I need?

SA TfEL Framework Guide

SA TfEL Review Tools Handbook

TfEL DVD

What will I be doing during the semester?

  1. Read page 8 which shows the overview of the entire TfEL review process.
  2. Read pages 9-13 which outlines working independently – you may want to be in a room with someone else to bounce thoughts, questions, and ideas off them.
  3. Undertake the ‘Personal Reflection’ process outlined on page 10. This is an individual activity but you may wish to work in a room with someone else in case you wish to clarify something.
  4. Undertake the ‘Reviewing Your Practice’ process outlined on page 11. This is an individual activity but you may wish to work in a room with someone else in case you wish to clarify something.
  5. Once this process is completed you will need to make some decisions about what Domains – Elements of TfEL you feel are areas for improvement. You may wish to prioritise these so that you can then select the most pressing/interesting/needed area for improvement.
  6. At this point you will need to undertake some research into the area you have chosen. Start with the DVD but also look for your own resources. This is where communication between staff will become important. If others know what you are doing they may be able to offer resources or help.

Remember that you will be required to include something relating to TfEL in your Performance Plan and also eventually share with staff in the middle of term 2 and at the end of term 3.

The above will require staff to lead their own learning with the support of colleagues. I hope the process is a useful one.