the professional voice of the Independent Education Union
issue 1|Vol 45|2015
AITSL’s new boss John Hattie says “Let justice be done...” P8 See editoral P4 How to deal with self-harm P20 Principals under pressure P22
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Contents 4
Julian Burnside AO QC
6
Australia wide
8
Let justice be done, though the heavens fall
11
Confusion and contradiction?
12
Writer in the house
13
A far from fluffy incursion
14
So your school has gone BYOD
I know I received a very good education but I didn’t really enjoy school very much.
Executive Editors John Quessy Deb James Terry Burke Managing Editor Bronwyn Ridgway Editorial Committee Cathy Hickey Fiona Stutz Gloria Taylor Sue Osborne Journalists Sue Osborne Fiona Stutz Design Chris Ruddle About us IE is a tri-annual journal published by the NSW/ACT, VicTas and Qld/NT Independent Education Unions for members and subscribers. It has a circulation of more than 65,000. IE’s contents do not necessarily reflect the views of the IEU or the editors nor imply endorsement by them. Email NSW: ieu@ieu.asn.au VIC/TAS: info@ieuvictas.org.au QLD/NT: enquiries@qieu.asn.au IE online www.ieu.asn.au/publications/ Contributions Contributions and letters from members are welcome. Printing does not reflect endorsement and contributions may be edited at the editor’s discretion. Email iemagazine@ieu.asn.au Advertising Chris Ruddle (02) 8202 8900 Advertising is carried in IE in order to minimise costs. Advertising does not in any way reflect endorsement of the products or services. Subscriptions IE is available free to members of the IEU, or by subscription. Kayla Ordanoska: (02) 8202 8900 Print Post Number 100007506 Printing Print & Mail: (02) 9519 8268 ISSN 1320-9825
News and views from around Australia.
Late last year world-renowned educational researcher Professor John Hattie was...
Many teachers and principals found themselves scratching their heads...
Children’s author Tristan Bancks has worked with many schools...
22
Last year Sydney’s Taronga Zoo launched Project Yellow-bellied Glider.
Schools have always had an interesting relationship with educational technology...
16
Neuroscience to ‘neuroeducation’
‘Neuroeducation’ does not exist. Not in the sense of something that...
18
Tackling rural disadvantage
Schools located in regional and remote settings have always faced difficulties like...
20
How to deal with self-harm
Teachers and support staff are the adults most likely to discover a child is self-harming...
22
Principals under pressure
A survey has found principals and assistant principals are feeling the pressure...
24
Understanding boys
An overwhelming body of research continues to show that boys underachieve.
Principals under pressure
26
Changing child protection laws
28
Why do we Acknowledge Country?
30
Education for Sustainability
32
Learning language on the go
34
Talking Point
35
History in the making
Across Australia enormous investments are being made at the moment in child...
Acknowledging Country is more than correct protocol, it is acknowledging...
In 2011 the IEUA joined together with the AEU, NTEU and environmental organisations.
The study of science in primary schools is getting a unique Italian flavour thanks...
Are parents and students becoming more aggressive?
Adapting historic events for cinema is clearly a subjective task. independent education| issue 1|Vol 45|2015|3
issue 1|Vol
45|2015
boss AITSL’s new says John Hattie be done...” P8 “Let justice l P4 See editora How to deal with P20 self-harm Principals under 2 pressure P2
Editorial In this issue Professor John Hattie the new Chair of AITSL (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership) gives his views on the direction he sees for both AITSL and the teaching profession in Australia in coming years. AITSL has struggled for relevance among classroom teachers who see little connection between that organisation and the reality of the work they do on a day-today basis. This is particularly true in the non-government sector. Not surprising as, in its current form the AITSL Board is comprised of Employers, bureaucrats, academics and principals. The one position for the Union representing government school teachers is currently vacant and there has never been a representative of the 37% of teachers in nongovernment schools or their Union. Hattie talks about the needs of classroom teachers in respect of developing their skills and sharing those skills with colleagues, of dialogue and of teachers growing professional practice. Worthy objectives but only achievable in the real world when proper support for the profession is embedded in legislation and in the industrial instruments which govern teachers’ work. AITSL views that support as crucial but washes its hands of any responsibility for delivering it. Teachers will never own their own profession while it is controlled by politicians, academics, employers and bureaucrats. John Quessy iemagazine@ieu.asn.au
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Kaleidoscope
Julian Burnside
Barrister, author, refugee and human rights activist and philanthropist, Julian Burnside AO QC is widely respected for his skillful and passionate advocacy for human rights and his involvement in the arts, education and the community. IE Journalist Bronwyn Ridgway talks with Julian Burnside. I know I received a very good education but I didn’t really enjoy school very much. Back then there was a focus on cricket, football and rowing and I wasn’t good at any of them. For various reasons I felt a bit like an outsider at school but I have felt like that for most of my life, so I can’t blame my school for that. I attended Melbourne Grammar from five years of age onwards; I matriculated from there and then went on to Monash to study law and economics. I did have however a teacher in my junior school years that I was very impressed by, Mr Finlayson, my Latin and French teacher. He was a strange person in a number of ways but a good teacher, gifted in languages and I came to love languages. Then in senior school the teacher who has left a lasting impression was Mr Bland, who taught me German from the intermediate to matriculation, that is, Years 9 -12. I was a good student of German and French, but in Year 12 there was a problem. I wanted to do Art and it clashed with French so it was Mr Bland who made it possible for me to do Art and continue in French by preparing, in his own time, lessons and homework in French, that I did at home myself and he later marked. He was a diligent teacher and by the time I completed my last year at school, he had me translating directly from French to German and German to French without going through English. I was very grateful for his diligence and at the end of that year I received the academic prizes for French, German and English. It wouldn’t have been possible without Mr
Bland and you know I don’t think I ever thanked him properly for all his efforts. At university Professor Louis Waller, the founding Professor of the Law School at Monash, made a lasting impression on me. He taught me Criminal Law in first year and I remember a most powerful lesson when he said that law exists to serve society, it exists as an integral part of society and if it’s not serving society then it needs to be changed. He went on to be Dean of the Law School and his lesson, that law is a servant of society not master, left a profound impression on me. Teachers are performing the most important work in society, despite the fact that they are not held in the highest esteem by society nor rewarded as they should be for their work. Thank goodness they are doing what they are doing, because it’s marvellous and the effects are long lasting. It’s only in the last 10 to 15 years that I have begun to realise and appreciate the impact that Mr Bland had on my life, similarly Professor Waller. For every teacher there must be hundreds of people like me who recognise the impact and significance of their teachers many years later in their life. As teachers would know, doing things that are intrinsically worthwhile is forever rewarding. I’ve found the work I have been doing in relation to refugees and human rights, which is unpaid, is the most profoundly rewarding work I have ever done. In relation to asylum seekers and children in detention, children shouldn’t be there. They should be given the best education. These kids, no matter what the government likes to say, will be the next
Teachers are performing the most important work in society.
generation of Australians. To damage these children by detention, or to give them less education than they need, is to damage the future of Australia. I’m very impressed by the teachers who work in this area; it’s very hard. Teaching English is so important. Let’s be clear about this, in order to maximise opportunities in Australia you need to be able to speak English. Multiculturalism has worked very well but multilingualism has not caught up. This comes with an apology to teachers who are career advisors, but I believe that it’s impossible to know what you are going to do in life. Students should learn everything they can, they should prepare their minds so that when the right thing comes along, they are ready to take up what life offers. Teachers I believe help students to prepare their minds, you never know what will happen in the future and preparing the mind is what life’s about.
After completing a Bachelor of Economics and a Bachelor of Laws at Monash University in Melbourne, Julian Burnside became a barrister in 1976 and took silk in 1989. Books 2009 On Privilege (Melbourne University Publishing) 2004 Wordwatching - Field Notes from an Amateur Philologist (Scribe Publications) 2003 From Nothing to Zero - compilation of letters written by asylum seekers held in Australia’s detention centres (Lonely Planet) 1992 Matilda and the Dragon (Allen & Unwin) a book for children
Awards 2014 – Sydney Peace Foundation’s 2014 Sydney Peace Prize in recognition of “his brave and principled advocacy for human rights and for those wronged by government, for insisting that we respect our international legal obligations toward those seeking asylum, and for his unflinching defence of the rule of law as a means to achieve a more peaceful and just society”. 2009 - Officer of the Order of Australia for service as a human rights advocate, and for his services to the arts and the law. 2004 – Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission’s Human Rights Law Award 2004 – Monash University Distinguished Alumni Award and elected a Living National Treasure.
Burnside: “In relation to…children in detention, children shouldn’t be there.”
n The Forgotten Childre dren National Inquiry into Chil in Immigration Detention
Julian Burnside AO QC
20 14
A report by the Australian Human Rights Commission tabled in the Senate 11 February makes 16 recommendations, including calling for a Royal Commission to examine the long term impacts of detention on the physical and mental health of children as well as to examine the justification for continued off-shore detention. The damning report examines hundreds of cases of assault against children,
including more than 30 incidents of sexual assault of children in Nauru. The AHRC recommends all children and their families detained in Australia and on Nauru “be released into the community as soon as practicable and no longer than four weeks after the tabling of the report.” There are currently 192 children in detention.
independent education| issue 1|Vol 45|2015|5
Australia wide NSW/ACT|Vocational education: Where to next? The Federal Department of Industry reports that some 61,000 students in NSW were engaged with Vocational Education and Training (VET) in schools in 2013. Earlier last year, all education ministers agreed to update the Vocational Education in Schools Framework. Of concern to the NSW/ACT IEU was the absence of Union input during the development of the revised framework. While a move away from the term ‘VET in Schools’ to ‘Vocational Learning’ may be useful, what the Federal Government wishes is that VET in Schools be identical to that provided in other settings. But the obvious differences between delivery
of VET within a school context and post school options are clear. Teachers within schools are university qualified graduates who then have to not only ‘reskill’ with a particular VET area but then continually upgrade. This process is cumbersome, time consuming and at odds with the delivery of other subjects. While not diminishing the importance of VET, the key differences of delivery by teachers appear to be undervalued. As Adjunct Professor Roger Harris (University of South Australia) said: “Because governments have traditionally placed great expectation on their VET systems, there are often high levels
of government intervention in VET provisions”. Reconfiguring VET from an industry viewpoint alone is not the best way forward. The National Vocational Education and Training Research Program prepared by Professor Kira Clarke from the University of Melbourne may have successfully envisaged a new paradigm when she said we should be “having a purpose-built school-based vocational curriculum rather than one based on Australian Qualifications Framework (AQF) qualification to bring it in line with the broader preparation role of the (relevant) senior school certificate”.
Victoria|Early childhood teachers to be registered By 30 September this year, Victorian early childhood teachers must be registered with the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT). These teachers will join their early childhood colleagues in South Australia, Western Australia, and Northern Territory (teachers of preschools attached to primary schools) in coming under teacher registration processes. The requirement for NSW teachers is to be phased in from 2016. Victorian early childhood teachers who have been employed or engaged
in the two-year period between 1 October 2013 and 30 September 2015 as a qualified early childhood teacher (that is, holding a qualification approved by the Australian Children’s Education and Care Authority) are eligible to apply for full registration under transitional arrangements. This means that they will be accepted as meeting the professional standards and granted immediate full registration by the Institute. Those who do not meet the employed or engaged criteria, are able to apply, but will be granted
provisional registration. The Standards of Professional Practice will be amended to be properly inclusive of early childhood teaching. Registration under the VIT for teachers in both the school and early childhood sectors is another welcome public acknowledgement that early childhood teachers should be treated (and remunerated) as no less professional or skilled than their primary and secondary school sector counterparts.
Queensland|Government to remove teachers’ voices from QCT The Queensland Government is planning to remove teachers’ voices from the board of the Queensland College of Teachers (QCT) – a body that is funded solely through the payment of individual teacher registration fees. The core function of QCT is to meet its obligations under a nationally consistent approach to teacher registration and assess the suitability of applications for ongoing registration. Since its inception in 1970, our Union and the Queensland Teachers’ Union (QTU) have had 6|independent education| issue 1|Vol 45|2015
representatives on the governing body – ensuring that practising teachers form a majority voice. Currently 13 of the 17 QCT board members are practising teachers. Under the government proposal, the board would be streamlined to include ‘expert’ financial and government representatives; there is no requirement that these appointees are educational practitioners. Without the direct representation of practising teachers, there is no
accountability for decisions which are made on the behalf of all registered teachers. Teachers fund the QCT through their registration fees and are entitled to a say in QCT’s activities. With the voices of practising teachers at risk of being silenced by changes to QCT’s board, IEUA-QNT members are asked to let their state Members of Parliament know that attacks on teachers’ professional rights are unacceptable.
Northern Territory|A shared future for indigenous education The first comprehensive review of indigenous education in the Northern Territory for 15 years has recognised that an increased and sustained effort is needed to enhance Indigenous education. A Share in the Future – Review of Indigenous Education in the Northern Territory by Bruce Wilson, has found that unless Indigenous children in the first eight years of their lives are given a base in
literacy and numeracy, those children will add to the lost generations of Indigenous Australians. The review identified the current lack of a clear, long-term strategic framework and consistent practice as obstacles in improving Indigenous education. As a result, a 10-year strategic plan has been recommended to ensure long-term goals and interim targets are actioned at a
regional and school level. The engagement of communities in education is also essential to success, according to the report. To help with this, a new Charter has been suggested, with effective training recommended for school staff to support improved engagement.
South Australia|New Institute to improve student learning The Institute of Educational Assessors (IEA) has been established as a South Australian Certificate of Education (SACE) Board initiative to improve student learning outcomes through certification and enhancement of teacher expertise in assessment. The IEA will seek to translate national and international research findings in assessment into professional learning that is practical and accessible to a broad range of educators. The basic premises are: • Student learning can be advanced by teachers developing a deep understanding of the relationships between learning and assessment,
• There is an increasing professional responsibility of teachers to be the designers of learning and the designers of assessment. • There is a need to support the professional demands of teachers through evidenced-based and practical professional learning to ensure that teachers are assessment-literate.
• support educators to develop their expertise in educational assessment • are recognised towards post-graduate and the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, and • meet the requirements for accumulation of professional learning hours required by the Teachers Registration Board.
The Institute has worked in partnership with school sectors, subject associations and South Australian universities to develop a range of courses and professional learning opportunities that:
Educators will have the choice of two courses: the Assessment for Educators course, for whole-school development and the Certified Educational Assessors course, for individual educators. Details: www.sace.sa.edu.au/iea
• complement existing SACE Board activities
Tasmanian|Short time to review Education Act In October 2014 the Tasmanian Minister for Education and Training and Deputy Premier Jeremy Rockliff issued a discussion paper for consultation for a review of the Education Act 1994. The IEU’s position is that the review is a timely and important part of examining the strengths and challenges of the Tasmanian education system and identifying directions for improving the education and training outcomes for Tasmania’s children and young people. However as submissions were due by 31 December the consultation period was very short. The IEU believes that it
is important to continue a process of consultation following the analysis of the responses to the discussion paper. The Government received more than 230 responses to its call for submissions into the review. Once these are publicly available the IEU will access the range of perspectives and views represented in the various submissions. The Minister has made a commitment that every submission will be considered before a draft Bill is developed. In our submission the IEU highlighted our willingness to be part of a broader and deeper consultation process, particularly
one that involves a strategic approach to developing a comprehensive, innovative and integrated model of education and training in Tasmania. The IEU is supportive of the concept of the Government setting up a policyfocused body of key stakeholders to undertake the necessary cross sectoral, bi-partisan deep thinking that is key to success in this endeavour.
independent education| issue 1|Vol 45|2015|7
Let justice be done, though the heavens fall Late last year renowned educational researcher Professor John Hattie was appointed Chair of the Board of the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). Professor Hattie is probably best known for his book Visible Learning, which puts together information from 800,000 research studies on student achievement. In this exclusive interview with IE, Professor Hattie discusses what he plans to achieve at the AITSL helm.
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“In education, I am a firm believer in having policy development driven by well-researched evidence, not unquestioned suppositions,” Professor Hattie said. “I have spent a large slice of my professional life pursuing and interrogating decades’ worth of evidence about what really makes a positive difference to student outcomes – what are the things that have impact,” he said. “And we’ve got a pretty good idea about what does work to benefit students the most: constructive feedback for teachers on educational practices, collaboration that focuses on high impact teaching and effective professional learning. “Having said that, my aim is to work with the AITSL’s Board, CEO and staff to focus on what the evidence tells us we can and should do to drive improvement in teaching, school leadership and, in turn, student outcomes. “The good news is that all around this country, we already
have classroom teachers and school leaders who are performing at amazingly high levels, which really means they are creating maximum learning impact with their students. So let’s start right here in our own backyard and look to emulate the best of Australian teachers and school leaders. “Concerning research and evidence, I’m impressed by a classic saying from the practice of law, ‘Let justice be done, though the heavens fall’. That is to say, wherever credible evidence takes us must be the truth or as close as we can get to the truth. Even if – or especially if – that evidence challenges our fondest beliefs and assumptions.” Professor Hattie sees the main function of AITSL is to promote excellence so that teachers and school leaders have the maximum impact on learning in all Australian schools. “I emphasise that key phrase, ‘maximum impact’. When you look at what makes a difference in schools, almost everything makes a difference to some extent. But we need to maximise that impact and have all teachers and school leaders leading like the best, so
“Not many schools promote what is actually most important for student progress: the quality of their teachers and school leaders. They often shy away from that (and include promotions of pretty kids, buildings, sports, music), which I think is a great pity.”
that student learning and improvement is accelerated. “With this in mind, AITSL has a strong focus on three key areas: initial teacher education; school leadership; and practising teachers. “High quality initial teacher education is the foundation of a successful teaching career. Importantly, there is a pronounced emphasis on the link between theory and practice, and evaluating impact on student learning. “School leaders need to ensure that the work of everyone in a school maximises student learning. To do this, school leaders need to have a clear vision of what it actually means to be an effective school leader. “Assisting practising teachers to maximise their impact on student learning relies on implementing practices that have been shown to benefit students the most. “These important objectives have been consolidated into AITSL’s Statement of Intent which is available on the AITSL website.” Professor Hattie said there is a need to make teachers and school leaders further aware that AITSL is there to assist the profession: to help all teachers teach like the best and to help all school leaders lead like the best. “On the AITSL website, there’s a whole range of good advice, resources and tools, to help make good educators even better,” he said.
“As far as schools are concerned, it’s far less a matter of enforcing compliance and much more about identifying ways to ensure that every child in every school gets a year’s worth of progress from a year’s worth of education – and we know the crucial role teachers and school leaders play in achieving this. “Among other things, the evidence strongly suggests that the most capable students in Australian schools are being insufficiently challenged. It’s an unfortunate phenomenon that’s called ‘coasting’ and it’s reflected in the flattening of the achievement profile of Australian students at the top end, as indicated in multiple international surveys from the OECD. We really do need to take action on that.” Regarding support for schools to engage with educational imperatives, Professor Hattie said it is difficult to venture into the important but tangled field of support and resourcing too far, because different jurisdictions, sectors and school communities all have their own imperatives. “But what we can say more broadly is that schools and educators need to have the ability to conceptualise, express and carry out their endeavours in a coherent and thoughtfully constructed way. “At the chalkface, there are many very good teachers who battle on from lesson to lesson, day to day, seemingly without too much opportunity to grow in their professional practice. “I think there needs to be some effective space for classroom practitioners to pause, draw breath and reflect in light of the evidence of their impact with their own colleagues about what really works best for their students.” Professor Hattie said a classroom teacher with a full teaching load could start with the AITSL agenda by taking a good look at the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. “The high impact practice that we need is described in the Standards. They set out clearly what the profession and the independent education| issue 1|Vol 45|2015|9
community should expect teachers to know and be able to do at different stages of their careers and in different contexts. “There are already many teachers who work at the Highly Accomplished and Lead levels within our current systems, workload etc. Understanding how they prioritise, work within the system, and make day-to-day judgements is critical to emulating their success. “I would predict they have learnt how to collaborate with others in the school, have excellent skills at deciding what to do and what not to do, and have clear notions of what impact means to them, and know how to seek evidence about their impact and modify their engagement based on this evidence. “These teachers, as the research has repeatedly shown, have a pronounced sense of professional pride in who they are and what they do; they are deeply committed to the wellbeing and advancement of their students; and they appreciate various kinds of recognition for their efforts and successes. The Standards build on those characteristics to create a high impact profession. “A major resource is the time, excellent leadership, and space to plan together in light of prior evidence of impact; to be quite specific about what ‘impact’ means in the next series of lessons; to observe the impact of teaching in the classrooms; to learn together about what students have to
say about their learning; and enjoying the success of our teaching – these are major (expensive) but justifiable resources.” Asked If he could change some ‘educational challenges’ in schools, what would he change and why, Professor Hattie said he would “like to challenge schools to promote to their own communities what really matters in schooling - the expertise of teachers and school leaders”. “If you go on to the internet, as I did, and search through the home pages of all sorts of schools, you may be surprised at what you find – or rather at what you don’t find. Not many schools promote what is actually most important for student progress: the quality of their teachers and school leaders. They often shy away from that (and include promotions of pretty kids, buildings, sports, music), which I think is a great pity. “Let’s be very clear about this: the greatest in-school influence on student progress that we have any control over is the quality of classroom teaching, followed by the quality of school leadership. But so many schools avoid the issue and choose to focus on lowimpact proxies, such as uniforms, buildings, technologies – anything but what really matters most. “A school’s greatest asset by far is the quality of its staff, but you would never know it from what schools promote about themselves in the most public kind of way. So I would say that an important educational challenge is to have schools re-think their publicly-expressed priorities and what it really is they ought to be offering to their communities.”
References
Hattie John 2008, Visible Learning: A Synthesis of Over 800 Meta-Analyses Relating to Achievement. Hattie John A 2011, Visible Learning for Teachers: Maximizing Impact on Learning Fletcher Richard B, Hattie, John 2011, Intelligence and Intelligence Testing.
AITSL could ‘do better’ with the IEU on board New AITSL chair John Hattie clearly states that the classroom teacher must be the focus of any strategies to improve education outcomes in Australia. The IEU applauds this sentiment, but the reality is that currently no non-government school teacher sits on the AITSL board or is represented at AITSL. Indeed, teacher unions, whether for government or non-government school teachers, are excluded from AITSL. On most state and territory education instruments, it is legislated that teachers are given representation at board level. The recent Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group review of teacher education, which will be administered by AITSL, recommends tighter checks and balances on students teachers.
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The IEU largely accepts this review and welcomes it as a useful document to work from. NSW/ACT IEU Assistant Secretary Mark Northam said the review recommended improvements on the practicum for student teachers and high levels of mentoring and support for beginning teachers. “These are both issues we welcome and support,” Mark said. “However, industrial representation on the board of AITSL was required to make sure teachers’ needs were being met in a realistic manner, and AITSL requirements were relevant to the day-to-day work of the profession” he said.
The Australian Curriculum Review
confusion and contradiction? Many teachers and principals found themselves scratching their heads in confusion following the release of the Report of the Review of the Australian Curriculum in October last year and the subsequent Initial Australian Government Response, IEU VICTAS Assistant Secretary Cathy Hickey writes.
The Report contains 30 recommendations, and the Federal Government’s initial response last year dealt with 10 of these. While the initial response of many educators was positive to the report’s assertion that the current Australian Curriculum is too overcrowded in primary schools and that there needed to be improved accommodation of students with a disability, many of the other recommendations left people somewhat bewildered and cynical. There has been a good deal of analysis to date and a number of eminent academics have outlined inherent contradictions in the findings and recommendations. Concern has also been expressed about the use of the views of single ‘experts’ to arrive at findings and recommendations. IEU members might find the article in The Conversation written by Dr Libby Tudball, a senior lecturer at Monash University, useful in getting a handle on the Report’s contradictory messages regarding the future curriculum for primary and secondary schools. For instance she writes: “While they cannot agree on the way ahead for schools, they argue the curriculum needs to be pared back, but also should have more depth. They recommend that the focus in the early years of primary school should be on literacy and numeracy, but also that schools should include a more holistic approach, with a focus on values, morals and an increased emphasis on spirituality and student well-being”. Where to from here? The Federal Government’s initial response outlined support for a number of recommendations, including: • restructuring the Australian Curriculum, particularly in respect to two models presented for the early years of schooling and reconceptualising the current crosscurriculum priorities • that Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) ‘rebalance’ the core content in each learning area and subject in line with the findings of the
Review, particularly in what the Review found as “deficiencies in each subject”0 • ACARA be restructured to perform a more limited role and that the Board not be representative of education authorities, but comprise curriculum and assessment experts independent of education authorities, and • the rebalancing of the Australian curriculum should be referred to educational experts. It also supported the recommendation to develop a parent-friendly version of the Australian Curriculum. At the last meeting of the state and territory education ministers and the Federal Education Minister Christopher Pyne on 12 December last year, the following decisions were agreed: • ACARA would go no further in development of the extension of the national curriculum in Years 11 and 12 • Support for the four broad themes for change outlined in the Federal Government’s initial response, which are reducing the overcrowding in the curriculum, promoting a parent-friendly version of the curriculum, improving accessibility for students with disabilities, and rebalancing the curriculum with the removal of the overarching themes of Indigenous, Asia and sustainability issues embedded in every subject • Support for a parent-friendly version of the curriculum, and • ACARA to provide advice early this year on the report’s recommendations. In the interim and into the future of course, the various state and territory ministers will determine what happens in their own jurisdictions and the timeframe in which things will happen. The state and territory curriculum authorities will continue to work on their separate iterations of the Australian Curriculum and produce resources in step with their ministers’ decisions. What’s the future of the national curriculum? Watch this space.
Reference
http://theconversation.com/curriculum-review-filled-with-contradictions-32870 independent education| issue 1|Vol 45|2015|11
Throw open the doors to learning
Writer in the house Children’s author Tristan Bancks has worked with many schools in Queensland, Perth, Newcastle, Sydney and Melbourne as a writer-inresidence. IE Journalist Fiona Stutz looks at the benefits of residence programmes in schools.
While writer-in-residence at Brisbane Grammar School, Tristan has worked with a group of 16 boys in Years 5, 6 and 7, completing introductory sessions, then split the students into groups of eight for more refined development. Previously, Tristan has also been involved with large year-level sessions to help inspire all students to start creating. He said at some schools the residency involved three different classes each day for five days, exposing a wider range of students to creative writing, however, not delving as deeply into the process. “It’s nice to see students’ work develop over time and it gives me insight into the many challenges involved in telling stories,” Tristan said. Head of English at Brisbane Grammar School Helen Johnston said the school offers a range of programs for student writers that are suited to their learning contexts. For example, guest authors may visit the school for a day program to enrich a curriculum focus, with more intensive writers’ workshop programs also offered to small groups of students. “Programs such as these offer students opportunities to learn from professional writers about how they find their inspiration for their work and how they manage their writing towards a deadline. “Writers typically offer workshops that focus on elements of creative writing to support the students’ own work, such as developing suspense or creating interesting characters and setting descriptions,” Helen said. Hearing from a professional writer and having the opportunity to receive feedback and advice from someone “in the business” is a powerful and memorable experience for developing authors, she said. “Perhaps even more importantly, it is an opportunity for the students to celebrate words and language away from the context
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of assessment and traditional classroom routines.” Tristan said he also believed there were many benefits for the students in being able to learn to write from an experienced writer. ”I think one of the best things about a writing residency is that it connects likeminded, creative kids who may feel different or disconnected in the school ground but seem to click quickly with other superimaginative humans. I think they respond well, too, to having someone from outside come in and I think the teachers like it when you re-assert techniques that they have been trying to drum into the students.” Brisbane Girls Grammar School Head of Year 9 and 10 English Richard Laur said there were many benefits to having a writer-inresidence program at the school. “It gives an outside perspective by a professional writer and someone can tell you about the ups and downs of the profession and the creative process.” Richard said the students enjoyed working with Tristan as he embraced technology and had a digital presence to his writing. “The students take away a lot of ideas on how to make writing better and how to write better stories, characters and to avoid clichés,” he said. Brisbane Girls Grammar School not only boasts a successful writer-in-residence program, but also has an artist-in-residence and composer-in-residence programs, as well as a dramatist. Tristan encourages other schools to consider adopting a similar writer-in-residence program. “Residencies are really valuable for creative kids and could be just the boost they need to start believing in their storytelling skills, which can be applied across many occupations and aspects of life.” For teacher resources and for creative tips and tools for students visit http://www. tristanbancks.com/p/create.html
Throw open the doors to learning
A far from fluffy incursion Last year Sydney’s Taronga Zoo launched Project Yellowbellied Glider, IE Journalist Bronwyn Ridgway writes.
It’s an important part of the zoo’s community wildlife education program, which focuses on threatened Australian wildlife including little penguins, regent honeyeaters and the platypus. Carried out in conjunction with Gosford Council on the NSW Central Coast and the Catholic Diocese of Broken Bay, Project Yellow-bellied Glider aims to increase school students’ awareness of the glider’s biology, history and habits. Although the program begins with a trip to Taronga Zoo, the next leg of the project is carried out close to the school, where students learn from zoo staff, Aboriginal historians and storytellers as well as skilled volunteers. Senior students in the project become mentors to younger students. The eight-week program is conducted within a school term and concludes with an ‘expo day’ supported by the council. Students present their work and campaigns to the community and document their activities on Taronga’s website and in school publications. Both teachers and support staff help and embrace the program. A project experience During Term 3 of 2014, 150 school students from the Gosford region learned about yellow-bellied gliders. Twenty-eight of these students were from St Joseph’s Catholic College, East Gosford. After a trip to Taronga, students worked in the most captivating classroom of all – nearby Kincumba Mountain Reserve, real yellow-bellied glider country. Also known as the fluffy glider, this little creature has the softest fur of any animal and is about the size of a rabbit. It can be found in bushland on the edge of Sydney and in the Central Coast of NSW. It can glide about 140 metres through trees. Due to urban
sprawl its natural habitat is reducing. Other threats include barbed wire fencing between properties and domestic animals or pets that roam at night. Students articulate issues “A yellow-bellied glider can use up to seven nesting hollows, so the loss of old growth trees has a devastating effect on populations,” Eloise, a Year 10 student from St Joseph’s, said. “People can help by planting native trees and shrubs in their backyards. This creates much needed wildlife corridors. Getting involved with local bush regeneration groups really helps too.” Through the program, students became habitat experts, wildlife corridor developers, guardians and powerful advocates for the protection and conservation of gliders, in particular the yellowbellied glider. “It was a unique project which for many students changed their attitude and behaviour about conservation and protecting the environment.” St Joseph’s project team leader and science teacher Barbara Moutray said. “I was amazed by what students, through a school incursion, could learn and achieve.” “I’d also describe the project as a great mentoring experience for our students. The Year 10 students formed strong bonds and rapport with students from Year 4 - we were all sad when it finished.” Additional information for teachers For more information about zoo projects and school incursions see http://taronga.org.au/taronga-zoo or https:// taronga.org.au/taronga-western-plains-zoo
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So your school has gone BYOD: Now what? Schools have always had an interesting relationship with educational technology, and that relationship has only grown increasingly complex with the now almost ubiquitous prevalence of mobile technology, NSW/ACT IEU Organiser Keith Heggart writes.
According to Raco (2014), 89% of teenagers have a mobile phone, and of these, 69% have a smartphone, and half of all teenagers say that the internet is extremely important in their lives. More and more schools, it seems, are embracing the opportunities afforded by this technology for improved outcomes, differentiation and personalisation of learning. Of course, the cost of installing, updating and maintaining devices like iPads and laptops is not small, and one way that schools often seek to minimise this cost, and allow for more expenditure on staff professional development, for example, is by implementing a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) or BYODD (Bring Your Own Digital Device) model. In cases like this, students and their parents purchase their own device and are responsible for bringing it into school and maintaining it. The problem with this is that teachers might be faced with a whole range of different devices that have different operating systems, different apps and different capabilities – and that can make using the devices in the classroom in a meaningful way to improve teaching and learning a real challenge. You might have students with Samsung tablets, iPods and Acer Laptop computers all in the same room. So what can a teacher do? Below are five tips that will help you get the most from your school’s BYOD program.
is, they will work on almost any device. A good example of this is the Google Apps for Education (GAFE) Suite – this provides useful tools like word processing and slideshows that will work on computers, iPad, Windows devices and even on smartphones. GAFE has all the usual tools – presentation, wordprocessing, storage and it is continually being updated to allow for more collaboration.
1. Focus on the product and the process, not the app. When teachers first use mobile technology in the classroom, they sometimes focus on specific apps. This can rapidly lead to trouble if the app is not available on all platforms. So, instead of insisting that students use only one app, let your students find the solutions that are available to them. Instead of asking students to use Popplet, for example, which is a mind mapping app that is popular on the iPad, ask them to use any mind-mapping app that they have access to – after all, the results are the same. Fortunately, there are plenty of sites out there that do this kind of thing for you – for example, look at Appitic (http://appitic.com). Another way to get around this issue is to find apps that are OS-agnostic – that
3. Get creative This is linked to the point above – basically, if you are using the devices to do things that you could do with pen and paper, then you’re not getting the most out of them. Think about the way young people interact with technology in their personal lives – they are far more likely to take photographs and make films and record sounds than they are to write things, so why not try to capture this and utilise it in your classroom? The SAMR (Substitution – Augmentation – Modification – Redefinition) model (Puentedura 2014) is a good starting point. It suggests that we should use technology at the level of modification and redefinition – creating products that would not be possible without the use of technology rather than at the level of substitution or augmentation, where the
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2. No internet? No problem Sometimes, different devices don’t connect well to the school’s network – if students are allowed to connect at all. This is an important decision that teachers need to make and should take into account the need to keep children safe but lack of internet shouldn’t limit you from using the devices. This is something that the Queensland Government found in their Smart Classrooms trial (2011). There is still lots of learning that can be done without the internet; for example you might get students to take photos of science experiments and annotate them with what they have found. Or you could ask students to make films and movies about different environments. Use creative apps that let students build things ‘in-app’ and don’t require the internet – the best apps for this purpose are things like presentation apps, photography and annotation apps, film-making apps and voice-recording and podcasting apps.
Teachers might be faced with a whole range of different devices that have different operating systems, different apps and different capabilities.
technology replaces what we could normally do without it. The key point here is to make use of the opportunities afforded by technology to do more than we might otherwise do. So, encourage students to make animations and films and infographics and then share these with their peers for critique and comment. Use online collaboration tools to provide formative assessment. Of course, students still need to write essays and create slideshows, but they can do a lot more than just this, too. 4. Formative, not summative One of the other problems that teachers can run into is getting the material off a digital device for the purposes of record keeping and assessment. Some devices make emailing or sharing work easy, but it can be a challenge from mobile phones, for example. If this is the
case, plan for formative, rather than summative assessments. Build in time in your lessons for students to conference their work with you, and provide feedback for them as they create it. Do this by working with students on their devices at the same time, so that you can offer on-the-spot guidance about how to improve. 5.The best tool Just because you’ve got the technology in your classroom, it doesn’t mean that you have to use it for every lesson. If something is better done on paper, leave it that way. Teach your students to use their tools appropriately – one useful classroom tip is to insist on devices being face down before talking to the class. This stops students getting distracted. Technology is an enabler, but it shouldn’t replace your professional decisions about how your students will learn best.
References
“Google for Education: Save Time and Stay Connected.” Google for Education: Save Time and Stay Connected. Google, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 1 Dec. 2014. <https://www.google. com/edu/products/productivity-tools/>. “Is the IPad Suitable as a Learning Tool in Schools?” Smart Classrooms. Queensland Government, 1 Jan. 2011. Web. 1 Dec. 2014. <http://education.qld.gov.au/ smartclassrooms/documents/enterprise-platform/pdf/ipad-trial.pdf?_sm_ au_=iVVP0WtJtkwFDJ1N>. Puentedura, Ruben. “Ruben R. Puentedura’s Weblog.” Ruben R. Puentedura’s Weblog. Ruben R. Puentedura, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. 1 Dec. 2014. <http://www.hippasus.com/ rrpweblog/>. Raco, Erin. “Aussie Teens Online.” Research Snapshots. Australian Communication and Media Authority, 1 July 2014. Web. 1 Dec. 2014. <http://www.acma.gov.au/theACMA/ engage-blogs/engage-blogs/Research-snapshots/Aussie-teens-online>. independent education| issue 1|Vol 45|2015|15
Neuroscience to
‘neuroeducation’ ‘Neuroeducation’ does not exist. Not in the sense of something that can be implemented in a classroom or one to one with a student, Michael Victory, Executive Officer, Teacher Learning Network writes.
But teachers have a responsibility to educate themselves about the latest developments in neuroscience. Without a neuroeducation teachers will be susceptible to introducing ‘brain-based’ programs that promise to be the magic elixir for learning. Educators have their own academic discipline of education, and while we can learn from other disciplines like neuroscience, we should be reluctant to make changes to professional practice until the evidence is clear and unambiguous about the positive impact on student learning. A leading neuroscientist, Max Coltheart, Emeritus Professor, Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University said: “Neuroscience: the word oozes sophistication and intelligence – the very qualities we might want to nurture in our students, our children, our general populace.
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All the while, the people who actually do this brain research – the neuroscientists themselves – don’t think their findings can be applied in a classroom setting. It’s time for educators, policy-makers and the public to realise the limitations of neuroscience in education and to see the hijacking of neuroscience for what it is.” (http:// theconversation.com/search?q=Coltheart ) Bruno Della Chiesa (OECD and Harvard Graduate School of Education) makes the point that neuroscientists are really doing little more than providing scientific evidence to substantiate why good educational practice works. They are not mapping out new direction for teaching and learning. Neuroscience “will not tell us what is good or bad, what is desirable or not, be it for a child or for any human being”. That is the role of ethics,
policy making, and in a democracy it becomes what we might call, the citizen’s responsibility. The key role for educators is to determine “what we need to do to bring about the enlightened and emancipated child”. (http://research.acer.edu.au/ research_conference/RC2013/ ) Educator and Executive Director of Catholic Schools Sydney Dan White sets out good teaching ideas that are consistent with what we do know about the brain and learning (http:// research.acer.edu.au/research_conference/ RC2013/). Here is my summary of White’s article. Think time and wait time Students need thinking time after teachers (or other students) pose complex questions. In neuroscience terms, the brain needs the opportunity for reflection in order to transfer learning and construct meaning. If you are asking higher order questions rather than just recall questions (think Bloom’s taxonomy) then a student’s brain will need processing time.
Without a neuroeducation teachers will be susceptible to introducing ‘brain-based’ programs that promise to be the magic elixir for learning.
Problems need to be solved The brain is more likely to be engaged when presented with a problem that is novel, challenging and coherent. The brain “requires the challenge of figuring out patterns and discerning meaning if real learning is to occur”. This can explain why teachers have had success with problem based, inquiry learning and ‘real-world’ approaches to engaging students. Students need to feel safe Research on the Triune Brain (the reptilian brain stem, the limbic and neocortex) explains why creating a safe environment is critical for learning. When the brain is in a state of relaxed alertness, the chemicals serotonin and opioids “generate positive energy and orient the learner to constructive engagement”. Conversely, if students feel unsafe, they may “develop the ‘fight or flight’ response, resulting in misbehaviour or withdrawal from the learning context”. Differentiation and learning styles White acknowledges whole brain thinking, multiple intelligences, learning styles etc as advancements in our understanding of catering for all students’ learning. He acknowledges that “simplistic allegiance and an over-reliance on any one paradigm has exposed the inherent limitations of any theory that seeks to simplify the enormous complexity of the human brain”. He encourages teachers to choose rich and holistic approaches that cover many of these learning style approaches. Critical windows of opportunity Early learning is important as a foundation for later learning not because it is the open window time, “while significant changes occur in the brain during early childhood and young children appear to learn quickly, there
is little evidence to suggest this period is the most critical”. The brain needs a rest – variety is important White quotes one study “in a brain compatible classroom teachers should only engage the learner’s direct attention for 20 to 40% of the time”. On my reading this seems to be beyond that which most neuroscientists would support. White also acknowledges that students create meaning and memory if they move back and forward between neural systems, exercising interconnectivity in the brain. This supports the use of a variety of teaching methods rather than a simple and constant focus on direct instruction that incorporates input, drill and practice. Practice and rehearsal In terms of pedagogy it is important for teachers to distinguish between ‘practice’ (eg learning the times tables) and ‘rehearsal’ (applying the tables to problems or expanding the complexity). “The process of sorting, shifting, analysing and testing data deepens the learning experience by strengthening the contact between the new data and the knowledge already stored in the various systems of the brain”. It has to mean something There is symmetry between White’s view of education, “learning to construct meaning in its deepest and fullest sense” and the research which shows that the brain “is essentially curious and must remain so in order to function effectively; it seeks constantly to find connections between the new and the known”. Neural plasticity Neural plasticity teaches us that the brain changes its structure and chemistry in response to its environment – a rich, diverse, stimulating and challenging environment will continue to develop neuronal pathways in the brain. There may be answers in plasticity to providing new and better learning opportunities for children with specific learning difficulties. White concludes with the importance of teacher wisdom. Neuroscience has a certain “seductive allure” and “brain-based learning” attracts attention. As teachers there is much we can learn, but we should apply careful analysis and rigorous real-life classroom research before accepting new methodologies just because they are ‘brain based’. Note There is no suggestion that Dr Dan White has contributed to this article or agrees with my summary of his paper. This article is a synthesis of two articles that appeared in Neuroscience to Neuroeducation, TLN Journal Vol. 21 No. 3 Spring 2014. Copies available at www.tln.org.au independent education| issue 1|Vol 45|2015|17
Tackling rural disadvantage Schools located in regional and remote settings have always faced difficulties such as lack of resources, compared to metropolitan schools. And the further schools are from larger cities the more challenging it is for regional and remote students to excel. IE Journalist Fiona Stutz looks at research linking the decline in Australian student achievement the further away they live from a capital city.
A recent paper by Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) entitled Indigenous and Rural Students: Double Whammy or Golden Opportunity? Evidence from South Australia and Around the World reports that average student achievement declines the further away they live from metropolitan areas. Using data collected from NAPLAN testing, for each assessment domain at each year level assessed, students attending schools in metropolitan locations have the highest mean score, followed by students from provincial schools, then students from remote schools and then from very remote schools. Principal Research Fellow and head of ACER Adelaide office, Petra Lietz, said this pattern suggests a lack of equity in Australian education, where average student achievement appears to be affected by the geographic location of the school. Dr Lietz said there was always interest in the research behind student performance between metropolitan and non-metropolitan schools, as evidenced in the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Programme for International Student Achievement (PISA) and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS) assessments in which Australia regularly participates in. “One of the reporting variables is always location and you will always find that rural and remote schools, non-metropolitan schools, tend to perform at lower levels in which ever of the subject areas that are assessed,” she said.
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PISA results Using OECD 2012 PISA results and comparing the average mathematics, reading and science achievement of 15-year-olds based on school location, Australian student performance consistently and significantly increases with the size of the population base in which schools are located from ‘village’, the least populated location category, to large city. “Students in the least-populated areas tend to perform below the OECD average while students in the most-populated locations tend to perform above it.” What happens around the world However, these results showing the pattern of student achievement declining further away from metropolitan areas in Australia is not the standard around the world. “In New Zealand, student performance in all three domains consistently and significantly increases from village to city, but decreases again for students in schools in large cities. In Canada, differences in performance between students in schools in villages and small towns are not significant; however, students in schools in these locations do perform at a significantly lower level than students in schools in the highest performing locations.” Australian research The ACER paper also examines the educational achievement of students and a school’s geographical location in South Australia, based on the Science,
Information and Communication Technology and Mathematics Education for Rural and Regional Australia (SiMERR-SA) project. Students in South Australian government schools were followed over four years of schooling to measure changes in literacy and numeracy performance. “The metropolitan group performs at a higher level in both numeracy and literacy, equivalent to almost a semester of school learning. The very remote group performs about half a semester behind in literacy learning compared with the nonmetropolitan group, but is not behind the non-metropolitan group in numeracy. Further developmental work is required not only in SA but across Australia and beyond in order to understand and address the complex relationship between a school’s geographic location and student achievement.” What can be done? More resources needed in remote schools A major difference for student achievement depending on where they live is the remoteness from resources, Dr Lietz said. “Schools that are further away from the major centres find it harder to access resources even in the digital age.” The move to decentralisation for schools is important as they are given more and more responsibility for looking after their budgets for teachers or for other resources. In more metropolitan areas this can work reasonably well, she said. “It is easy to be relatively independent for metropolitan schools because they have all the services and resources at their doorstep.
In rural schools often they are then left to their own devices because there is just no one around to assist them with anything.” Importance of community Dr Lietz also cites the importance of a community which is “language-rich”. “It is important to have this community of different people to talk about issues and raise issues and that you have an exchange in the community. The more different exposure kids have to different takes about the world and different problems that need to be solved and how adults and others in the community go about it the better. There is more language-rich exchange in larger communities than smaller communities which they don’t have to the same extent.” Schools trying their best However, Dr Lietz does not level any criticism of student achievement and locality to rural schools. “The schools are really trying their hardest to make the best of it. It is no criticism of the school whatsoever; it is due to the distance from the services that they have it a bit more difficult than the other schools.” Dr Lietz instead encourages “positive discrimination” by the government in favour of rural and remote schools to allow them to receive the services that they need.
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How to deal with self-harm 20|independent education| issue 1|Vol 45|2015
Teachers and support staff are the adults most likely to discover a child is self-harming, and their reaction is crucial in influencing whether that child’s behaviour can be changed successfully, IE Journalist Sue Osborne writes.
It is critical to the long-term outcomes of the student that the response creates an opportunity for a supportive discussion.
Good Shepherd, a youth and family service based in Sydney and Melbourne has initiated professional development targeting school staff because they play such a pivotal role in addressing self-harming behaviour. Wellbeing Manager Rebecca Dennis said teachers and support staff often express anxiety and uncertainty about dealing with self-harming behaviour in their classroom, and their workshop and outreach training aims to tackle some of those concerns. The training evolved out of concern coming from schools that the prevalence of self-harm was increasing, and starting at a younger age. Good Shepherd has done research which indicates that 24% of self-harming begins in Year 6 and 59% in Years 7-8. Approximately 20% of adolescents admit to self-harming behaviour at least once and one in 10 adolescents do it more regularly, or as Rebecca puts it, three in every classroom. Rebecca said teachers and support staff often cannot understand the behaviour and therefore find it alarming and are concerned about how they can adequately meet the needs of the student, involve the parents and keep in mind their duty of care and other responsibilities. Many teachers are concerned the behaviour is suicidal, but while non-suicidal self-injury is a risk factor for suicide, the intention is generally not to die. Why do young people self-harm? Self-harm is a maladaptive approach used to cope and/or control. It is used in response to profound and overwhelming emotional pain and provides temporary relief from intense feeling such as anxiety, depression, self-loathing, perfectionism and a sense of failure. Victims of bulling may be more likely to self-harm. Self-harm is an accessible way for teens that have not yet developed the skills to deal with high levels of emotion to cope. It may be more accessible than drugs or alcohol. Pain creates a rush of adrenaline and releases endorphins which create feelings of relief. The behaviour can be addictive. What to look out for Often the key way that staff find out about self-harm is from peers. Friends will often share their concerns. On occasion a student may stay back after class to make a disclosure about their own behaviour. A teacher may notice a pattern of marks or injuries on a child, or a student may be reluctant to participate in activities such as sport or swimming, which involve removing layers of clothing. A student may appear overdressed, wearing jumpers and jackets in hot weather. Responding to disclosure or discovery If a student talks to a staff member about selfharm or it is discovered some other way, the response to this disclosure or discovery is crucial.
A bad response could lead to the student deciding not to speak up about the issue again or going to greater lengths to keep it secret. “It may be very distressing for a teacher to discover a student is self-harming. The injuries can be quite graphic. Many people do not like the sight of blood but they must remain calm,” Rebecca said. “Teachers must respond in an empathic way but not too sympathetically. We call it ‘respectful curiosity’. They need to be concerned but not delve too deeply and ask too many questions about frequency of actions or details. “It is critical to the long-term outcomes of the student that the response creates an opportunity for a supportive discussion.” Rebecca recommends a whole-school approach to the problem. Ideally there should be a policy in place specifically for self-harm, and a team consisting of perhaps the school counsellor and nurse if there is one, a member of the executive and several teachers. “When a teacher discovers self-harm there may be an immediate need for first aid. The teacher needs to say something like ‘Looks like you’ve hurt yourself, shall we go and get some help for that’?” Making sure the door to further discussion remains open is crucial. If there is a response team already in place and a protocol for contacting parents, it is easier for the classroom teacher or support staff, as they know who to go to straight away, Rebecca said. The contagion affect A contagion affect has been observed in relation to self-harming behaviour. For that reason, Good Shepherd does not recommend initiating group discussion about the behaviour. Also, when a student is discovered self-harming, it is recommended a close watch be kept on their peer group, in case there are copycat incidences. However, having good quality advice and information about the issue on hand is recommended. Good Shepherd’s self-harm professional development has been devised with the help of a range of professionals including school personnel, counsellors, psychologists and researchers. It provides definitions of self harm, dispels myths about self-harm, explores the motivations of adolescents who self harm, looks at risk factors and the role of teachers and support staff on looking for the warning signs, strategies for working with young people and where to go for help. The program can be delivered within a school or to groups of schools around NSW or at the service in Marrickville, Sydney. The training is delivered at cost and all monies are used to provide further services at Good Shepherd. Details: www.goodshepherd.com.au or email rebecca.dennis@rosemountgs.org.au . independent education| issue 1|Vol 45|2015|21
Principals under pressure
A survey has found principals and assistant principals are feeling the pressure more than workers in many others sectors, IE Journalist Sue Osborne writes.
The Australian Principal Occupational Health, Safety and Wellbeing Survey 20112014, sponsored by Teachers Health Fund and carried out by the Australian Catholic University included 2621 principals and 1024 assistant principals from primary, secondary, urban, rural and remote schools across Australia. “Principals experience high levels of emotional demands and emotional labour when compared to the general population,” the survey said. “This is correlated with higher levels of burnout and stress symptoms (difficulty in sleeping, somatic symptoms). “The greatest source of stress for all principals and deputies is the sheer quantity of work, closely followed by the lack of time to focus on teaching and learning. “Principals and deputy/assistant principals experience far higher prevalence of offensive behaviour than the general population. “Adult-adult bullying is four times higher, threats of violence is five times higher than the average and actual violence is seven times higher than the average for the population.” The Northern Territory and Western Australian have the highest rates of reported violence to principals, the survey found. Principals and deputies also score less than the general population on all positive measures for self-rated health, happiness,
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mental health, coping, relationships, selfworth, personal wellbeing. They have higher scores for burnout, stress, sleeping troubles, depressive symptoms, somatic stress symptoms and cognitive stress symptoms. NSW/ACT IEU Principals Organiser Pam Smith said the IEU welcomed the survey as a significant contribution to understanding current workplace pressures impacting on principals. Pam said the results reinforced the concerns often raised by Union principal members in regard to issues such as workload, parental and community expectations and ever increasing compliance requirements on schools. “Principals this year have contacted the IEU to express concerns about verbal and physical abuse from parents, excessive demands from school boards or governing bodies and high workloads which can lead to health, wellbeing and relationship problems,” Pam said. “While principals understand the importance of compliance in areas such as WHS, financial accountability and curriculum and accreditation requirements, unrealistic timelines and often unclear or inappropriate demands can place unfair burdens on principals and their staff. This can be a particular issue in small rural schools with limited administrative support.”
Another commonly raised concern by principals is the expectation from employers for principals and staff to perform at increasingly higher levels with limited levels of resourcing. “Funding is a major worry for principals across all sectors, especially for supporting students with special needs.” The survey recommends the following actions A-D, designed to help government, employers, unions, school boards and others improve working conditions for principals and learning conditions for students “as the two are inseparable”.
What is clear is that this level of demand is dangerous to the long-term health and wellbeing of principals.
Recommendation A: Improving the wellbeing of principals and deputy/assistant principals through professional support “Principals and deputy/assistant principals mostly learn how to deal with the demanding emotional aspects of the role on the job, rather than through systematic preparation,“ the survey said. “In other professions, such as psychology and social work, where highly charged emotional interactions occur, high levels of professional support and debriefing are standard procedure. This is not so in education. “Professional support is a strong predictor of coping with the stresses of the role (job demands). Therefore, policies need to be developed that address this issue directly. In the 21st century, no principals and deputy/ assistant principals should feel unsupported in the face of growing job complexity, increased scrutiny/stress from public accountability and decreased control over the ways in which the accountability targets are met. “The evidence from the cluster analysis in the 2011 report and the findings of this survey clearly point to the benefits of professional support for all principals and deputy/assistant principals. Those who receive the least have the greatest challenges to maintain their mental health. This is an area of improvement that would be relatively easy for education systems to improve.” Recommendation B: Professional learning “In-service provision of education on the emotional aspects of teaching, learning, organisational function, emotional labour, dealing with difficulties and conflicts in the workplace, employee assistance programs, debriefing self and others would be a great benefit,” the survey said. “Targeted professional learning is likely to make principals and deputy/assistant principals feel better supported than they currently report. Provision of ongoing professional learning is likely to assist all principals and deputy/assistant principals in two ways. First, by skill improvement and secondly through the benefits of increased perceptions of support outlined in Recommendation A.”
Recommendation C. Review the work practices of principals and deputy/assistant principals in light of the job demands “Stress and psychological risk at work can be conceptualised through the balance of job demands (eg workload, time pressures, physical environment, emotional labour) and job resources (eg feedback, rewards, control, job security, support), the survey said. “However, high job resources buffer job demands, reducing their negative impact on individuals. Principals and deputies/ assistants report very high demands out of balance with available resources to buffer the demands. “The average hours spent at work by principals and deputies/assistants ranges between 51-60 hours per week during term time and 25-30 hours per week during gazetted holiday periods. “Too many participants in the survey are working too many hours and it is taking a toll on their greatest support group; their families. “Obvious, but unlikely to be funded, examples of reducing job demands would be job sharing. However, working groups tasked with addressing the issues of job demands may identify lower cost and equally effective solutions to job sharing. “What is clear is that this level of demand is dangerous to the long-term health and wellbeing of principals who find consistently that the resources available to them are not concomitant with the demands.” Recommendation D: Address bullying and violence “There is an urgent need to establish an independent authority to investigate three types of offensive behaviour identified as consistently occurring in schools” the survey found. “The authority should have powers to interview teachers, parents and students and should investigate: • differences in the occupational risk of the different types of principals and deputy/ assistant principals, to determine who are most at risk, why and what can be done to protect them • whether/how the risk also extends to teachers and students • governance structures, information flow between adults, and external influences on school functioning. “The consequences of offensive behaviour in schools are likely to become costly for employers. Therefore the investment in such a taskforce may prove to be the least expensive option in relation to this issue.” The report can be report can be downloaded from: http://www.principalhealth. org/2011-14%20Report_FINAL.pdf
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Understanding boys: Changing attitudes
An overwhelming body of research continues to show that boys underachieve, not only in academic areas, but also in emotional and social areas, former Principal Warren Hopley writes.
Literacy, in particular, consistently emerges as a distinguishing feature between boys’ and girls’ educational outcomes. The gender gap is very significant at all levels of preschool, primary, secondary school and university. Furthermore, the number of boys in special needs and behaviour referral categories is above 85%. We have known these facts for many years and it is time to closely examine strategies for change. We must improve literacy outcomes for boys. The development of good pedagogy for boys will benefits girls and effectively meet the needs of all students. The ‘early years’ philosophy of engaging students more in their learning has certainly enhanced the learning capacity of boys. Good teachers balance their pedagogy by engaging students, differentiating learning outcomes and planning and evaluating learning outcomes explicitly. School communities need to consider, not just a few minor changes, but a whole new focus on the educational needs of boys. That includes the need to: • better understand how boys think, learn and grow • construct a relevant and active set of literacy strategies for improved results in reading, writing and speaking and listening, and • develop an action plan with the school community that is practical and achievable.
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When boys enjoy school, feel their teacher respect them, and view school as relevant, their academic results improve dramatically. The following Guiding Principles have been drawn up from responses made by students, parents and teachers across school communities in the inner western region of the Sydney Archdiocese. The Guiding Principles provide a strategic plan and can be used to rate a school’s level of effectiveness in each principle. Building high-quality relationships between boys and teachers • Build academic resilience: develop students’ ability to deal effectively with setback, stress, or pressure in the school setting • Value flexibility and balance in teaching practices and behaviour management and utilise approaches such as Restorative Practice • Understand that boys need just as much care/praise/love shown towards them as girls, and • Recognise that many boys respond positively to authentic people and humour. Effective and value-added pedagogy • Construct hands-on and active experiences • Provide variety and choice (differentiated learning) in content, teaching methods, learning styles, and assessment • Set relevant and purposeful tasks, particularly in literacy sessions.
• Provide short, clear directions and structures • Provide more time for boys to process their ideas as well as time to speak, and • Set goals which would provide a clear purpose for learning and ensure success. Activity-based Learning • Understand that many boys often need to talk, discuss, ‘get it out’ and share their point of view and ideas • Recognise that many boys learn visually and require plenty of visual scaffolding, particularly in literacy • Provide times for boys and girls to meet and discuss in their respective gender groups to cater for their differences in areas such as oral language, reading interests and issues specifically related to them as boys or girls. This may be required on a daily basis • Ensure that sport and game periods are frequent, enjoyable and skill based, and • Implement practical homework strategies that recognise the complexity of home life and the practical nature of boys. Relevance and choice in learning • Increase opportunities for boys to show leadership, gain control, make choices, and participate in decisions that affect them at school
• Recognise and sustain boys’ and girls’ differences and strengths, particularly in learning styles and auditory processing • Understand that many boys value structure, clear instructions and immediate, specific feedback, and • Utilise technology to assist independent learning, motivate students and build learning skills. Engaging high-quality role models in the learning process • Involve good male role models in the life of students particularly fathers and Year 11 and 12 student leaders from secondary schools. Warren Hopley was a primary principal in the Catholic System in Sydney for 35 years. This article is based on a report commissioned by the Inner West Region of the Catholic Education Office Sydney 2012. Warren conducts professional development on boys’ education for staff, students and at parent evenings. Contact: hopleywarren@ hotmail.com or 0407943115.
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Changing child protection laws: what does this mean for you? Across Australia enormous investments are being made in child protection issues, Lawyer Andrew Knott of TressCox Lawyers writes.
These will impact significantly on everyone working in occupations involving care of children. The expectations on school staff, both in respect of their own personal conduct towards children and in respect of their response to knowledge or suspicion of inappropriate conduct by others, are rising all the time. The purpose of this article is to identify issues staff need to be aware of and the precise obligations imposed on them. As this article is written for a publication involving eight state and territory jurisdictions, it is necessarily in very general terms, and cannot deal with specific issues. It does not constitute legal advice. It is intended as a ‘consciousness raiser’. To give a brief idea of the scale of the Australian community’s investment in the issue, the Federal Government is committed to approximately $500 million of expenditure
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in respect of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Abuse. When one takes account of the investment being made by others in relation to this Royal Commission, it is probably a billion dollar enterprise. Such an investment must raise expectations of the professionals who work in this area, and all staff need to be aware of this and to respond. Obligations and dangers It is also vital to note that in times such as these there is a need for those who represent and advocate for teachers to ensure that staff are aware of the obligations imposed upon them and the consequences which may flow from failure to discharge them. However, it is also the writer’s experience that over a long period of time there can be real dangers to staff of unfairness and error. It
It is important for all involved not to approach child protection issues as ‘a bunch of rules’, but to be aware of the underlying rationale.
is important to bear in mind that ‘we protect no child by determining that an innocent person is guilty’. Education sector unions and their advisers are aware of this danger, but staff need to be aware of the importance of making appropriate records when such matters arise, and of taking advice at an early stage so that they do not, by failing to take the matters raised sufficiently seriously, endanger their own interests as well as the student’s. Staff must be aware of the ever-growing list of offences created in relation to their dealings with students or other children. These involve inappropriate touching of students, inappropriate exposure of children to indecent material (whether in hard copy or in the virtual world), supplying children with alcohol, accessing child exploitation material on the internet and, in at least one State, leaving children unreasonably unsupervised. The critical new point of importance to staff is that many jurisdictions have recently or will soon introduce a criminal offence involving the concept of ‘grooming’. This is an entirely legitimate concept, though it needs to be applied with care as, unfortunately, many of the activities in which groomers engage are those engaged in sometimes by staff whose motives are entirely proper but who, in the current circumstances, are naïve about the inferences that may be drawn. The essence of the criminal offences of grooming is to do with the intention, eg an intention to facilitate a child engaging in a sexual act. Grooming offences normally carry heavy prison sentences and will almost certainly be career ending. Grooming is an extremely serious offence. The need for staff to have clear understanding about what interactions with students are considered appropriate is of increasing importance. Each school community should work collectively to ensure that staff are aware of this issue and that staff and students are protected by clear protocols as to what is or is not considered in that school community to be appropriate conduct in interacting with students, especially away from school. All school communities and all individual staff need to be clear about what is appropriate technological interaction with students, as this is a notorious means used
by groomers. Even innocent staff may be acting in breach of employer instructions or expectations of teacher registration authorities in their technological interaction with students. Vital that teachers report All of the inquiries which have been conducted show how vital it is that in appropriate circumstances teachers report to appropriate authorities, whether in the school or elsewhere, their knowledge or suspicion of actual or possible, or sometimes even likely, abuse of students. These obligations can arise from employer instructions, from the general duty of care or from legislation, whether child protection legislation or teacher registration legislation. The definitions of what constitutes abuse vary (which creates difficulties for teachers but is appropriate given the different contexts in which the issue arises). Similarly the obligations as to who one must report and what one must report vary across the jurisdictions. Staff need to ensure that they make the appropriate enquiries as the obligations imposed on them personally. Staff need to ensure that they make it clear that the welcome such enquiries, as it will be an increasingly important responsibility of staff to ensure compliance with these obligations and to assist their staff in doing so. Finally, it seems to me that while we can have all the laws in the world, what really matters is the ‘culture’. The interim report of the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Abuse has noted this. It is important for all involved not to approach child protection issues as ‘a bunch of rules’, but to be aware of the underlying rationale, namely that responsibility should be taken to ensure not only compliance with the strict technical legal obligations, but also to ensure that relevant steps are taken if there is any reason to suspect that a student may be at risk. Andrew Knott is a Special Counsel at TressCox Lawyers, Brisbane. Knott’s principal clients are in the education sector, namely the Queensland Independent Education Union and the Queensland Teachers’ Union. independent education| issue 1|Vol 45|2015|27
Why do we Acknowledge Country? Acknowledging Country is more than correct protocol, it is acknowledging our nation’s identity and our sense of place in country. Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Knowings (EIKs) in curriculum storys* this identity, Associate Professor Nerida Blair, National Director, Indigenous Education, Faculty of Education and Arts, Australian Catholic University, writes.
History frames our cultural identity and is important for it can reveal the values we bring to our teaching, and subsequently how these influence classroom practice. Many of the everyday choices a teacher makes are mediated by their cultural values. This includes resource selection, teaching strategies, ideas about behaviour management, interpretations of (and assumptions about) students and their backgrounds, and the relationships they build with students on this basis. History is foundational to how we think of ourselves in the present (Phillips J, pp.10-11). EIKs in curriculum storys our sense of place in this country. It storys our identity as Australians; an identity that is hundreds of thousands of year old enriched with living memories through connection to country. These memories and these storys speak to how we see our nations’ history, our identity as Australians; ‘how we see ourselves in the present’. This is worthy of acknowledgement. What does an Acknowledgement of Country do? What an Acknowledgement of Country does not do is act as a form of political correctness. An Acknowledgement of Country is an act of connection and connecting. It is an act of relatedness. Connection and relatedness to country, to each other. Connection and relatedness through story. Thomas King, a Native American novelist said, “story, story is all that we are”. This is story not as words grouped together in lines across a page but story as dance, performance, drawing – all in many different mediums reflecting relatedness to country. It could be drawing on rocks in Darkinjung country, in Cadigal country, drawing in sand in desert Anmatjere country, drawing on bodies with ochres deep from within the earth. The countries you are on as you read this article have thousands of years of stories embedded within them. We actively contribute stories every moment of every day to replenish and re-nourish these countries with new stories whilst remembering old ones. In an Acknowledgement of Country we celebrate the Nations of our First peoples: their storys, their places; ultimately our storys, our place. We celebrate education that becomes enriched by such storys, ensuring our growth as a nation. This becomes our collective storying, connecting and relating as a nation over hundreds of thousands of years in ways that are all encompassing. Ways that reflect our diversity and celebrate our co-existence. We can no longer be an Australian history plus a pre-history Indigenous
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history. Our place on the global stage demands more, demands a maturing of our reflections as a nation. EIKS is not as simple as “grafting on the stories of others into dominant spaces” (Prashad, p163). If we do this we merely change the complexion slightly, tint the space by showcasing the exotic. Here there is no genuine understanding. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ontologies are different to western ontologies; not better, not less just different. Our Ways of Knowing are centred in connection and relatedness to country and each other. I will illustrate through one element of Indigenous Knowings - our concept of story. First Nation’s storying does not begin at point A and end at point B. There is no beginning and no end. It is not linear and ‘contentcentric’. Indigenous storying is ‘not for finding a right story it is for exploring several possibilities’, widening the possibilities of stories. Information of different variations is preferred, pooled and maintained as a bundle of possibilities without judgement. Different stories which contradict each other, do not conflict, but simply coexist (Hokari, 2000, pp.8-9). It is not fiction it is law. If this becomes our understanding of story what wealth we as a nation have. A different understanding of story is a starting place. However, what we are currently doing when EIKs is trying to fit Indigenous Knowings into western frameworks and western ontologies. If we turn this approach around and begin by understanding and valuing Indigenous Knowings, privilege these – then in a space where both frameworks co-exist we are closer to transformational change and more authentic understanding of our national identity. How do we EIKS? • Develop an understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ontologies • Ensure that this understanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ontologies is used to construct course content • Use some of the principles embodied in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ontologies to practice, to teach; principles such as storying • Be critically reflective and analytical • Develop an understanding of our whole selves as a nation; • Deconstruct and engage with our whiteness and white privilege, and • Celebrate our nation’s diversity and depth of histories.
“I as a Wakka Wakka woman living in Darkinjung country and working on Cameraygal country acknowledge country, the spirits of the ancestors, traditional owners, elders and contemporary custodians; that is all of you who connect through your engagement with this article – connect with these country’s and have a responsibility to nourish and look after country. This Acknowledgement connects us all through hundreds of thousands of years of storys told, storys shared; growing the spirit of our nation.”
If, for example we are teaching a unit on geometry what do we know about how First Nations peoples and cultures see numbers, space, shapes? Explore, ask the questions, critically reflect. Take some of this understanding and engage with it through western lenses. Deconstruct our position that privileges western, white knowledge; ask yourselves what do I value about numbers, space and shapes? How do I value number, space and shapes? Teaching armed with this information teaches from a more informed
space. There are no blue prints. Make your everyday teaching choices based on the above seven steps. Facilitate transformation and go beyond ‘closing the gap’ to understanding ourselves as nation. Stories/storys are used and spelt this way so as to convey a different ontological framework. Countries/country in this context refers to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations: land, air, space, waters, flora and fauna.
Resources
http://rrr.edu.au/ Phillips J and Lampert J, 2012, Introductory Indigenous Studies in Education. Reflection and the importance of knowing. Pearson, Australia RAET – Western New South Wales Regional Aboriginal Education team, DEC, 2012, 8 Ways Aboriginal Pedagogy from Western NSW, Department of Education and Communities, NSW
References
Hokari M, 2000, History Happening in/between Body and Place: Journey to the Aboriginal Way of Historical Practice. Habitus: A Sense of Place, (p. 2). Perth. King T, 2003, The Truth About Stories. A Native Narrative. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press Phillips J and Lampert J, 2012, Introductory Indigenous Studies in Education. Reflection and the importance of knowing. Pearson, Australia Prashad V, 2006, Ethnic Studies Inside out, Journal of Asian American Studies, Vol.9, No. 2, pp.157-176. independent education| issue 1|Vol 45|2015|29
Education for Sustainability – time for schools to take the plunge In 2011 the IEUA joined together with the AEU, NTEU and environmental organisations such as the Australian Conservation Foundation, Catholic Earthcare, Australian Youth Climate Coalition and Australian Association of Environmental Educators to form the Australian Education for Sustainability Alliance (AESA), VICTAS IEU Organiser Lou Nicholson writes.
The collaboration came as a result of concerns the member organisations had about the prioritisation of Education for Sustainability (EfS) in the Australian Curriculum. The intention of the Alliance is to “achieve a more sustainable Australia by ensuring that all Australians have the opportunity to receive effective education that instils knowledge, practices and values of sustainability, through formal education systems and through ongoing information and training throughout life” (AESA, 2014). The AESA lobbies and advocates for support and assistance to enable schools to engage in best practice in EfS. What is Education for Sustainability? EfS is internationally recognised as an educational approach that is more than just
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learning about the environment, rather it builds capacity for transformational change and motivates people to be futures oriented. Some educators may wonder why it is so important. Its broad reach encompasses many social and cultural issues brought about by human impact on earth’s systems, both human and natural. Internationally it is considered so central to the future that the United Nations named 2005-2014 the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. Even with this accepted notion of importance, getting started with EfS is proving difficult for many teachers. Having a school’s leadership on board to firstly adopt a whole school approach accepting EfS as a priority and then to facilitate both PD and engagement of staff is crucial.
Working together Over the past few years the AESA has been granted funds from the Federal Government to facilitate a project that examined the current state of EfS in our schools throughout Australia. Around 5000 teachers across the country responded to a research survey sent to IEUA members as part of phases 1 – 3 of the project. The findings were published last year in the Education for Sustainability and the Australian Curriculum Project Final Report (see link below). The findings uncovered that there is a low level of awareness of sustainability as a crosscurriculum priority with 80% of teachers either being unaware that sustainability is one of the three cross-curriculum priorities within the Australian Curriculum, or having a lack of comprehension or understanding of the concept. The vast majority of Australian teachers, 91%, have yet to integrate sustainability into their teaching practices. The findings showed that Professional Development (PD) is considered to be a major enabler to the implementation of EfS, with teachers’ support networks also playing an important role. A whole school approach is considered to be more effective than piecemeal implementation by individual teachers, which requires commitment by school principals and leadership. The results of the survey also found pre-service training in EfS to be patchy. Getting started on sustainability Phase 4 of the AESA project, which includes further development of the recommendations from the survey, is currently underway. One key recommendation was to formulate a getting started template for teachers. A draft is currently being prepared and input may be sought nationally from IEUA teacher members already engaged in EfS through a 10-minute online survey in April. In addition to the online communication, focus groups with teachers not engaged in EfS are planned to take place in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. The completion of this final phase of the project will include the compilation of an online ‘Getting Started Guide’ as well as a report for other organisations involved in developing resources for teachers to use when engaging in EfS. It is hoped that this resource will have a state-specific component in order that teachers can access support networks or websites related to their local area without being overloaded by a plethora of information not relevant to their local area. This resource has been written as a user friendly guide to assist those teachers who are finding the requirement to teach EfS overwhelming. The ‘Getting Started Guide’ is targeting the 80% of teachers who find teaching EfS tough. Feedback from teachers has shown that for some, the challenge is simply how to get started. For teachers who want to commence their EfS teaching now, before or perhaps without whole school support, there are many quality
learning resources available. While this should be viewed as positive, the abundance of sustainability and EfS programs, materials and providers on offer is causing some confusion. The ‘Getting Started Guide’ which will be available mid-2015, includes some best practice resources under clear headings for each of the key organising ideas for the Sustainability cross-curriculum priority: Futures, Systems and World Views. Examples are also provided for different subject areas and various learning levels. While the guide currently remains a work in progress and hasn’t been subject to the feedback from teachers which is crucial in ensuring its relevance to teachers in the field, it is intended to assist teachers starting out on their EfS journey in real and practical ways. This will include helping make links between EfS as a cross-curriculum priority, the learning areas and the content descriptors, as well as links to the resources that support them. Now, just make the decision to teach EfS and get started! http://www.educationforsustainability. org.au/publications/final-report-for-phases1-3-education-for-sustainability-and-theaustralian-curriculum-project/
Getting started with EfS – First three steps: Talk to your colleagues and principal – you may be able to join staff at your school already embarking alone on the sustainable journey. Visit the www. educationforsustainability.org.au website. You’ll find links to resources, ideas and websites. A helpful site to bookmark! Make links between sustainability and your planning. Visit www.australiancurriculum. edu.au/crosscurriculumpriorities/ sustainability for more details. independent education| issue 1|Vol 45|2015|31
Learning language on the go
The study of science in primary schools is getting a unique Italian flavour thanks to a new Content Language Integrated Learning (CLIL) pedagogy being introduced in Queensland schools. IE Journalist Fiona Stutz looks at the innovative approach schools are adopting for students to learn a language in another subject.
Bunsen burners, melting points and test tubes have never looked so exciting for the Year 5 students at St Ignatius School in Toowong, Brisbane, who are now studying science in Italian. Through Content Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), students learn a subject such as science in Italian or German. Learning Italian through science Brisbane Catholic Education (BCE) Education Officer Languages Bernadette Barker said: “It’s not just doing a lesson in science. You are really scaffolding the students’ learning so that they are learning the language as well as learning the content of science. It’s not just teaching as you would a normal science lesson, you are explicitly teaching the language as well.” Students at St Ignatius School have been learning Italian since prep, but only began to learn Italian in science last year. The school completed a year of preparation before the CLIL program was put in place. Bernadette said this involved visiting schools where CLIL was already occurring in Brisbane and Melbourne, speaking with parents and engaging University of Queensland’s Dr Simone Smala as a consultant. So, why science? “There were a number of considerations in deciding which subject would be taught in Italian,” Bernadette said. “One reason is that science is a very practical subject. You can connect the experience with the language used. For example if you are looking at the melting
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temperature of ice blocks, you can see it, do it and use language to describe what is happening – it is the here and now, you can use that language for that situation, it is not an artificial situation, it’s real”. Dr Smala has been on-hand at the school to help parents understand how the school was part of the worldwide trend to make language more relevant for students through the content of another curriculum area. During a workshop in 2014 she taught parents science in German so they could better understand the CLIL method. Languages come to life Many parents have acknowledged the benefits and have noticed the improvement of learning in their children: “At St Ignatius some of the parents have said things like ‘this is the first time my child has come home and started speaking Italian’. Before they might have just said one word, they didn’t have the confidence to use Italian. That was the Italian lesson, it was over and they didn’t sort of think about it until their next Italian lesson. “Whereas now kids are coming home and wanting to communicate in Italian with their parents.” Connie Lammertsma is St Ignatius School’s Italian teacher who teaches the students science and acknowledges the benefits of CLIL from a linguistic, academic and social outcome. “Overall, from a teacher’s point of view, I have noticed that the students are more engaged, enthusiastic and eager to learn
It’s a pedagogy that is widely used for teaching English in other countries but here in Australia we are sort of using it in the opposite way.
more. All of a sudden, there seems to be a purpose for their learning. “In CLIL lessons, the content is broken down and the language is scaffolded, hence, the teaching is of a higher quality, allowing the students to process the chunks of input at their own pace. They need to think at a higher level, so, academically, their cognitive skills are enhanced,” Connie said. She said if there were any concerns it was that the students may miss second language classroom topics. “Instead of learning how to direct someone to the bank, they are explaining where in the solar system Venus sits in relation to Mars. Similar language is being learned and used but the topic is different.” Teachers create resources Bernadette said one of the most difficult things about introducing CLIL into the classroom is having enough resources, because generally the teachers have to create them themselves. “Last year Connie has been able to use resources from the Italian Language Centre both here in Brisbane and in Melbourne. We have looked to Melbourne for resources and models of delivery.” With CLIL favourably adopted in Europe as the preferred method for teaching and many schools in Victoria adopting this approach, Connie said CLIL is not a passing trend. “It would be advantageous for all if CLIL is
introduced, however, teachers would need to undergo training to facilitate this.” With St Ignatius School the first school within Brisbane Catholic Education to offer CLIL, a number of other schools are also interested. “San Sisto College at Carina is investigating using CLIL in Japanese in 2016. So this year will be their preparation for that.” Bernadette said schools can choose when they start learning a language. “Probably about a fifth of our primary school students (within Brisbane Catholic Education) start learning a language in prep or Year 1 in the Brisbane archdiocese.” While the school started with just one year level, Bernadette said there were further opportunities to expand into teaching for a longer time or teaching in more than one subject, depending on what the school community was interested in at the time. In 2015 the now Year 6 students at St Ignatius School will study history using Italian, while the new Year 5s will learn science in Italian. Bernadette said she was hopeful learning a language in other core subjects was the way of the future for student learning in schools. “It’s gathering momentum in Queensland here at the moment. “It’s a pedagogy that is widely used for teaching English in other countries but here in Australian we are sort of using it in the opposite way. It is very firmly entrenched overseas for learning English in particular.” independent education| issue 1|Vol 45|2015|33
Talking Point Are parents and students becoming more aggressive? Schools reflect society
Small minority resort to conflict
Schools are a reflection of society in so many ways. The need for motorists to gain the closest car parking space to their destination at the shopping centre, sporting venue or movies is the same behaviour as school parents expecting a car parking space of their very own if not within the school grounds, then within touching distance of the front gate, as just one example. The problems of our society are represented in our school communities. Unemployment, disadvantage, domestic violence, anger, mental health issues and more, are the problems faced by the families who make up our school communities. Thankfully, the positive developments in society are also evident in our schools. The opportunities for families to travel interstate and overseas, their access to information and community resources enrich our schools. As a principal of 33 years, my response to the question about whether parents and students are becoming more aggressive is the same answer that I would give to the question as to whether road rage is more prevalent than 33 years ago, has domestic violence increased, has the drug problem in society increased? Our students are exposed to more instances of very poor behaviour more frequently. The role of schools and staff in teaching appropriate behaviour is a greater challenge than 33 years ago.
As a principal of a school in a rural township, I have been very fortunate to find that the vast majority of parents are fair and reasonable in their dealings with the school community and myself as principal. However, if we consider the word aggressive to also include verbal aggression or even a parent who could be considered ‘pushy’, then I would have to agree that as a general statement, parents are becoming more aggressive, particularly when I speak to my colleagues in larger city schools. A small minority of parents who may not have the skills to deal with conflict in an appropriate manner, believe that it is okay to raise their voice, yell or swear at school staff if they have an issue or concern. This is a very unpleasant experience for staff, particularly younger teachers who do not have the life experience to deal with these types of behaviour. One way for a school to be proactive in this area is to provide ongoing education to parents through school newsletters about the values of the school and the expectations of the school community around interactions between staff and parents. This can have a very positive effect and assist the school in developing a positive school culture.
Phillip Tierney Principal St Andrew’s Primary School Clayton South, Melbourne
Lea Martin, Principal St Michael’s School Gordonvale, Queensland
Support staff – tell us your story In the next issue of IE we’d like to run a section focusing on the fascinating and diverse work that is done by support and operational staff in our schools. Please tell us what matters to you and what you’d like to read about in IE. Archivists Aboriginal Education Workers Bursars and accounts staff Teachers aides Clerical and administrative staff Journalists and communication staff Foundation and event management staff Maintenance staff Operational staff
Gardeners Tradespeople Canteen staff Uniform shop staff Nurses Counsellors Information technology staff Boarding house staff Bus drivers Caretakers and security staff
We want to hear your story, so contact us at iemagazine@ieu.asn.au and tell us what matters to you
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History in the making:
The cinema of historic events Adapting historic events for cinema is clearly a subjective task, with the accuracy of those depictions dependent on filmmakers’ views of what is dramatically appropriate for the audience, Peter Krausz writes. Some recent and upcoming films demonstrate this situation perfectly, noting that narrative films are not documentaries, and the statement “based on real events” indicates that what you will see is an interpretation of those events set in a dramatic context. The Imitation Game (2014, dir: Morten Tyldum), is based on the secret code breakers in London during World War II, who were secretly entrusted to break the Nazi Enigma Code that was used to communicate upcoming major events during the war. This film presents the events seemingly accurately, and focuses on the chief codebreaker, Alan Turing, a mathematician who by his cleverness, in conjunction with a small team, was able to break the code. However, he was faced with some ethical dilemmas. The film does not flinch from presenting that he was gay and that his life was ruined after the war due to the strict anti-gay laws in UK at the time, leading to his committing suicide in 1954. The film mentions that only a few years ago he was pardoned by the Queen for his ‘sins’. Yet it has taken until now to be honest about Turing, as a 2001 film Enigma (dir: Michael Apted), felt the need to fictionalise his life, turning him into a heterosexual, and also freely adapting some of the events for dramatic purposes. One can argue that the cinema is fair game for free adaptations of historic events, but to almost completely obfuscate real situations means that history is malleable. Audiences too may then assume that a film accurately presents these events, when indeed that is often not the case. Two other recent films dealing with wartime situations have varying degrees of accuracy. Fury (2014, dir: David Ayer), looks at a US tank command trying to remove the last vestiges of Nazi domination in Germany in the last days of World War II. The film is seen through the eyes of a veteran tank commander and a novice recruit who needs to learn how to kill. The actual events seem accurately depicted, but the human drama set against this context somewhat trivialises the conflict and turns it into a predictable dramatic arc. Testament of Youth (2014, dir: James Kent) based on the autobiography of Vera Brittain, by contrast presents the horrors of WW1 unflinchingly as destructive and devastating to so many families and society. The scenes behind enemy lines with severely injured soldiers seems accurate and realistic, and truly portrays the horrors of war within the dramatic context. The Water Diviner (2014, dir: Russell Crowe), also looks at The Great War, with a focus on Gallipoli and the search for a father whose three sons were enlisted to fight there. The film presents the Australian soldiers and the Turkish fighters, in a believable and occasionally sympathetic tone, while the British army and the Greek combatants are depicted in a negative and unpleasant way. This interpretation of historic events is both compelling and arguable, but at least it shows some detail of the conflict at the time that had not been represented in a realistic way since Peter Weir’s Gallipoli (1981).
Benedict Cumberbatch from The Imitation Game.
Peter Krausz is the Fomer Chair of the Australian Film Critics Association, film critic, radio broadcaster and film journalist. He can be contacted at: peterkrausz8@gmail.com
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