Eduction matters Primary by PrimeCreativeSM

A content rich, comprehensive, buyer’s guide for schools.

015

T2 MAY - OC

Healthy principals – the lifeblood of our schools Meeting the learning needs of teachers Primary school science – highlights and pitfalls What your students can tell you about your practices

PROJECTS FOR A NEW PARADIGM

PRINT MANAGEMENT WEB DEVELOPMENT ONLINE ORDERING STORAGE & LOGISTICS

T A

AYER UPO ON L NL UP AY ER

-L

R CAKE AND EAT I

U YO

O O

-H A

DIGITAL & OFFSET PRINTING

GOOD THINGS COME IN LAYERED PACKAGES

Quality printing that’s efficient affordable and easy. Let us enhance the many layers of your business.

Filmshot Graphics 1 Argent Place, Ringwood, Vic 3134 t 03 9873 5144 f 03 9873 5966 www.fsg.com.au

Editor’s Note

A lot of Federal Government reform in Australia’s education sector has been flagged in various reports, and in this issue the Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group’s Action Now: Classroom Ready Teachers report gets plenty of mention. This report into teacher education in Australia has called for an overhaul of the system amid concerns some teaching graduates are not ‘classroom ready’ and have poor literacy and numeracy skills. Inside you will read feedback on the report from leading academics Glenn Finger – Professor of Education and Dean (Learning and Teaching) of the Arts, Education and Law Group at Queensland’s Griffith University – and Stephen Dinham – National President of the Australian College of Educators and Chair of Teacher Education and Director of Learning and Teaching at the University of Melbourne. The Australian Council of Deans of Education’s Professor Tania Aspland also writes on the topic in-depth, saying that investing in quality professional experience for pre-service and professional mentor teachers is the best move governments can make towards immediate and sustainable improvements in teacher quality and student learning. Also inside I speak with Jo Mason, Director of Innovations and Professional Learning at the Principals Australia Institute about the importance of harnessing teacher and principal health and wellbeing in our schools. Academic and public education advocate Dr David Zyngier looks at what makes a good school and what makes a good teacher. Innovation Integrator at St Columba Anglican School, Meridith Ebbs, shares some of the groundbreaking way technology has been incorporated into the curriculum at the school. In our ‘spotlight on’ series science teacher Danielle Spencer gives us a glimpse into the primary school science department. ICT teaching and learning leader Anthony Speranza talks about an innovative way students can provide valuable feedback to teachers. Finally, make sure you turn to page 34 to read about how school sustainability leader Cool Australia is meeting the learning needs of teachers – and find out more about your chance to win a professional development course by entering our exclusive competition! I’m delighted to bring you this edition of Education Matters – Primary and we’d love to hear your feedback. Please feel free to pass on any comments or questions to me directly via email kathryn. edwards@primecreative.com.au or get in touch via Twitter @edumattersmag.

Editor: Kathryn Edwards kathryn.edwards@primecreative.com.au Art Director: Michelle Weston Designers: Blake Storey, Sarah Doyle Group Sales Manager: Brad Buchanan brad.buchanan@primecreative.com.au Advertising: Chelsea Daniel-Young chelsea.daniel@primecreative.com.au 0425 699 878 Production Coordinator: Michelle Weston Administration Assistant: Justine Nardone Education Matters is a division of Prime Creative Media Pty. Ltd. 11-15 Buckhurst Street, South Melbourne 3205 Ph: (+61 3) 9690 8766 Fax: (+61 3) 9682 0044 Subscriptions Education Matters is available by subscription from the publisher. The rights of refusal are reserved by the publisher. Ph: (+61 3) 9690 8766 E: subscriptions@primecreative.com.au Articles All articles submitted for publication become the property of the publisher. We reserve the right to adjust any article to conform with the magazine format.

Education Matters editor

EXCLUSIVE COMPETITION!

Each double pass is valued Education Matters readers have the exclusive opportunity to win one of four ‘double passes’ to Cool at $635! Australia’s online professional development courses. The double passes will allow you and a friend or colleague to enroll in a Cool Australia two hour or six hour course of your choice. Imagine what you could do with one double pass to participate in a Cool Australia online course. Upskill your curriculum knowledge? Enhance your teaching? Meet educators from across Australia? Rack up some more state accredited PD hours? Courses are hosted by Teacher Training Australia (TTA), learn at your own pace and in your own time. So tell us in 25 words or less what Cool Australia course you’d love to do and why! Step 1. Visit www.coolaustralia.org/onlinecourses to find your favourite Step 2. E nter at www.coolaustralia.org/emcomp by 5pm on Friday 26th June 2015. The four most persuasive answers win! Good luck!

Publisher: John Murphy john.murphy@primecreative.com.au

education matters primary

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

contents PRIMARY May-Oct 2015

DEPARTMENTS Editor’s Note 4

Advertisers’ Directory

Foreword

Adrian Piccoli, NSW Minister for Education

National Education News

Events Diary

8 13

Industry Q&A

Correna Haythorpe, Federal President, Australian Education Union

Projects for a new paradigm

Innovation Integrator at St Columba Anglican School (SCAS), Meridith Ebbs, shares some of the ground-breaking way technology has been incorporated into the curriculum at the school.

24 Healthy teachers and principals – the lifeblood of our schools

Jo Mason, Director of Innovations and Professional Learning at the Principals Australia Institute speaks to Education Matters magazine’s Kathryn Edwards about the importance of harnessing teacher and principal health and wellbeing in our schools.

Meeting the learning needs of teachers

What makes a good education system? At Cool Australia, we believe part of the answer is supporting teachers to grow in their profession.

Primary school science – highlights and pitfalls Science is rarely given top priority on a primary school agenda, but as a nation, if we are to compete on an international level, we must engage more people with science, writes Danielle Spencer.

42 TEMAG and the way forward: Perspectives

on professional experience, induction and professional development for teachers

I nvesting in quality professional experience for pre-service and professional mentor teachers is the best move governments can make towards immediate and sustainable improvements in teacher quality and student learning, writes Professor Tania Aspland.

56 Listening with intent – what your students can tell you about your practices

Often when delivering lessons teachers can be so caught up in the process that they forget to stop and try to perceive the learning’s impact from the eyes of their students and, writes Anthony Speranza, a teacher’s fundamental role should be to evaluate that impact on their students using a variety of sources, including with the assistance of students themselves.

62 What makes a good school? What makes a good teacher?

The creation of good schools is a long-term process and a good school is an aggregation of good classrooms in which effective teaching and learning are taking place, writes David Zyngier.

Which school?

When it comes the time for parents to ask this question, how does your school rate? Good marketing can ensure your school’s message will get into the hands of potential future students and parents, writes Kathryn Edwards. education matters primary

Advertisersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Directory

Before and After School Care

OSH Club

Sherpa Kids

Extend

Camp Australia

Furniture, Storage and Equipment

Woods Furniture

Health and Wellbeing

Kids Matter

Teachers Health Fund

Marketing

The Whiteboard

Physical Education

Australian Sports Commission

Printing

FSG Design and Print

Technology

Uniforms

Manark

The Future Tech Co

Epson

Gazal

education matters primary

Foreword

Education is far too important to be a lottery I am very pleased to contribute to this edition of Education Matters, particularly after my reappointment as Minister for Education in a re-elected New South Wales Liberals & Nationals Government. I look forward to working with the teaching profession as we continue the significant reform we have undertaken over the past four years. Children in Australia spend around 15,000 hours at school and we expect them to be consistently challenged and continually inspired to learn by great teachers during every hour of that educational journey. Parents rightly expect that their children will achieve at least a year’s worth of growth from every year’s teaching. Each and every year they must be taught by a quality teacher with the knowledge and skills to bring out the best in every student. However, in Australia we cannot yet honestly claim that we meet that expectation. Student data analysed by Professor John Hattie, academic and Chair of AITSL, exposes the uncomfortable truth that a student’s performance as he or she moves through primary school is far too random – very often depending on the quality of the teaching. That is an unacceptable risk for a child and an inconsistency no school or system should accept. Education is far too important to be a lottery and we need to take the element of chance out of school education as much as possible. Parents should expect the best teacher for their child every year they spend in school and we should — and can — deliver it. To achieve this, we need to change what we are doing in our classrooms and our schools and how we support the teaching profession. We have begun that process in NSW and I recognise that true, sustainable change will take many years. But the

early signs are positive. We have given public schools more local decision-making authority and we have delivered more funding directly to schools through our needsbased funding model. We can do this because NSW was the first state to sign up to the Gonski funding deal with the Federal Government. Beyond funding and structural reforms, we are also targeting the key element of what makes teachers effective – their classroom practice. Instead of individual teachers thinking about ‘my students’, the most effective teachers and schools talk about ‘our students’. Teaching needs to be a shared endeavour. That is why we are investing a further $224 million into Quality Teaching to provide release time for our best public primary school teachers to mentor, coach and collaborate with other teachers. This model of whole school instructional leadership will emphasise how greater collaboration can enhance the effectiveness of teachers. It is informed by extensive research and by our Literacy and Numeracy Action Plan, which uses instructional leaders working with teachers to improve early learning outcomes. We also know that we have many vulnerable students in our schools. That is why we have announced the first significant increase in the number of school counsellors in nearly 20 years. NSW public schools will benefit from 236 extra counsellors bringing the ratio of school councillors per student down from 1:1000 to 1:750. We are also providing additional flexible funding to allow schools to hire 200 additional student support officers or other equivalent wellbeing professionals. This long overdue focus on student wellbeing is

education matters primary

driven by the undeniable research linking wellbeing to higher academic achievement and Year 12 completion, as well as better mental health. Appropriate behaviour and positive relationships, good health and self-esteem are all factors that contribute to students enjoying school more and achieving more while they are there. So the scene is set. There has never been a better and more exciting time to be involved in education in NSW. What I want to see now is for these reforms to be harnessed to drive improved outcomes – whole school improvement, better teaching in every classroom, improved student wellbeing and better student results. I want to see the impact of these reforms felt in every classroom, in every school, every day. And I want to ensure that successful practices in one school are shared across all NSW schools.

THE HON. ADRIAN PICCOLI MP Adrian Piccoli, the Member for Murray, has been the NSW Minister for Education since April 2011. Prior to entering Parliament, Adrian graduated from the Australian National University with a Bachelor of Economics and Bachelor of Laws and was both a solicitor and farmer in his hometown of Griffith. Since being appointed as Education Minister, he has introduced major reforms to the NSW public education system, particularly in the areas of quality teaching, local school authority and rural and remote education.

National Education News

Federal Government hints at taking a step back from education

“By having education at a state level rather than only at a national level means that you can experiment more with what works best.” Bronwyn Hinz, researcher and teacher of public policy and Australian politics, University of Melbourne

The Federal Government has given a strong indication that education policy and delivery will remain the responsibility of the states and territories in its issues paper titled Roles and Responsibilities in Education. Released on the 23rd December 2014, the paper summarises the progression of both Commonwealth and state and territory involvement in Australia’s education arrangements, along with analysis of the current education system, and forms part of the white paper on the Reform of the Federation, due for release early 2016. Although the paper acknowledges that not all the pressures on the education system stem from the complexity of coinciding government roles and responsibilities, it says that improving the allocation of roles and responsibilities could make it easier for governments to identify what the problems are, who is responsible for fixing them, and empower teachers, parents and the wider community to hold the appropriate level of government to account for taking the action necessary to improve outcomes. Bronwyn Hinz, researcher and teacher of public policy and Australian politics at the University of Melbourne who is currently completing a PhD on school funding and federalism, has taken a keen interest in the Federal Government’s white paper. Hinz believes Australia’s education system does benefit from federalism, referring to the country’s two levels of government, in that it benefits from being primarily a state government responsibility as that is the perfect level to keep the system fair and suggested that the Federal Government may be trying to warm the nation up to its intention to step back from its current level of involvement in education. “By having education at a state level rather than only at a national level means that you can experiment more with what works best,” she said. “So you could have some states starting school with children at five years of age, versus six years of age, you could organise schools in one particular way or have different needs-based funding models in place and if the policy is a success the other states can copy it, however if the copy is a flop the damage is contained and it’s easier to work out what to do next because they have other successful models in place.” Hinz said she would like to see the Federal Government give greater power to the states and territories as they have a better understanding of what is needed in their schools.

education matters primary

“I think the Federal Government could respect the expertise and experience of the states and territories when it comes to education, as they’re the ones that actually run the schools, employ the teachers and they have been developing the curriculum,” she said. “The Federal Government has a lot of great ideas, most of which it has actually taken from state and territory governments, and then they try to introduce those ideas across the network which is not always the best fit for state school systems. “Unnecessary or unhelpful involvement by higher levels of government makes it more difficult for states and school principals to be able to get on with what they do best.” The education issues paper also hints that the Federal Government could reduce its role in the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) and the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) believing it had played its part through establishing a national curriculum and creating NAPLAN, and that these could be maintained by the states and territories. “I would like to see ACARA and AISTL continue and I would like to see the state governments’ role in them to increase, I just don’t want it to be done with the halving of their funding,” Hinz added. “The Federal Government gives a lot of financial support to ACARA and AISTL, I don’t want to see their operating budgets decrease dramatically because it would be hard for them then to do a good job. “NAPLAN is a good thing but it’s early days and there’s a lot of improvement needed in how they fine tune the testing and in communicating its purpose – it’s not about ranking schools or school students – it’s about learning where schools and school systems should allocate their own resources. “We need to have better use of NAPLAN and better communication so schools and parents don’t get scared by it and I worry that a big decrease in budget for ACARA and so forth will might mean that we can’t actually benefit from what it’s supposed to do. “Principals and teachers just want to make sure the education system is as good as it can be and I think that we can get closer to that with the Commonwealth taking some steps back and handing the reins to the states and territories because the they have the track record and the relationships that make them in a better position to improve education for the students.”

Govt focus on teacher education a step in the right direction Two leading academics have hailed the Federal Government’s response to teacher education reform as a step in the right direction. A Federal Government report into teacher education in Australia has called for an overhaul of the system amid concerns some teaching graduates are not ‘classroom ready’ and have poor literacy and numeracy skills. Federal Education Minister Christopher Pyne released the Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group report Action Now: Classroom Ready Teachers earlier this year as a blueprint for “critical and lasting reform” of teacher education. Led by Professor Greg Craven, the Advisory Group was asked to make practical recommendations on improving teacher education programs to better prepare teachers with the skills they need for the classroom. Glenn Finger, Professor of Education and Dean (Learning and Teaching) of the Arts, Education and Law Group at Queensland’s Griffith University said the report highlights the need for an evidence-informed approach which focuses on teacher education students learning and demonstrating approaches which improve student learning. “To enable improvements in both public confidence of teaching graduates and the quality of initial teacher education programs, the report has adopted a commendable approach by focusing on more rigour which ensures that all programs meet high expectations,” Finger said. The report recommends improvement in both the content and delivery of programmes by universities through stronger partnerships with education systems and schools, and the government has accepted most of the recommendations in the report, instructing the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) to act immediately. Key recommendations of the report include: • A test to assess the literacy and numeracy skills of all teaching graduates; • A requirement for universities to demonstrate that their graduates are classroom ready before gaining full course accreditation; • An overhaul of the in class practical element of teaching degrees; • A specialisation for primary school teachers with a focus on STEM and languages; and,

• Universities publish all information about how they select students into teacher education programs. Stephen Dinham, National President of the Australian College of Educators and Chair of Teacher Education and Director of Learning and Teaching at the University of Melbourne, said to improve student outcomes you’ve got to start with teacher education. “It’s most important for a whole range of reasons, including the individual students and society as a whole, that we get teacher education right, so that every young person has got the opportunity to have a quality education,” he said. Dinham also highlighted the need to improve the accreditation of teacher education courses. “In my view, the standard is too low, it’s a very low bar, and we need to do more,” he said. “The report emphasises this, we need to do more to ensure that these courses are of the right quality, that they are informed by evidence, that the right people are teaching them, that the in school experience is appropriate, and that at the end of the day, these courses can demonstrate that they are having a positive impact on teaching and learning.” While Finger agreed that the expectations of national standards needed to be lifted, he expressed some concern over how this could be achieved through Australia’s system of federalism. “Minister Pyne’s approach is to leave this to the existing State and Territory bodies charged with [delivering better quality assurance], but they need to improve the national accreditation standard,” he said. “There’s a mixed message here, particularly for those providers – such as Professor Craven’s ACU, which has programs in various jurisdictions – that is, agreement that we need national standards and higher expectations, but there might be more than marginal differences between expectations of those different accrediting authorities. “There are currently some significant differences already and it will be interesting to see if this diverge or converge. My preference is that of the Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group – a reconstituted role of AITSL to enable a national, integrated approach with cooperative federalism guiding collaboration between Commonwealth and State governments.”

education matters primary

“To enable improvements in both public confidence of teaching graduates and the quality of initial teacher education programs, the report has adopted a commendable approach by focusing on more rigour which ensures that all programs meet high expectations.” Glenn Finger, Professor of Education and Dean (Learning and Teaching) of the Arts, Education and Law Group, Queensland’s Griffith University

National Education News

Improving teacher education National President of the Australian College of Educators and Chair of Teacher Education and Director of Learning and Teaching at the University of Melbourne, Stephen Dinham, speaks exclusively with Education Matters magazine about the Federal Government’s Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group report Action Now: Classroom Ready Teachers. How important is it for the Federal Government to focus on improving teacher graduates? Is it the right direction for improving student outcomes? You’ve got to start with teacher education. Teacher education, both preservice and in services, is one of the biggest leavers we’ve got to improve teaching and learning. So, we have to get teacher education right. International measures of student achievement for Australia has shown some steady declines over recent years. But also the equity gap is becoming wider as well. It’s most important for a whole range of reasons, including the individual students and society as a whole, that we get teacher education right, so that every young person has got the opportunity to have a quality education. The Government has highlighted in its report that the accreditation of Teacher Education Courses should be improved. How can they be improved? We have nationally consistent standards for that, but in my view, and I’ve been involved in accrediting courses for a long period of time, the standard is too low, it’s a very low bar, and we need to do more. The report emphasises this, we need to do more to ensure that these courses are of the right quality. That they are informed by evidence. That the right people are teaching them. That the in school experience is appropriate. That at the end of the day, these courses can demonstrate that they are having a positive impact on teaching and learning. The report also recommended that all Graduate teachers should be teachers of literacy. How do you feel about that aspect? Every subject involves literacy. So for every teacher, every day is using literacy and therefore every teacher obviously needs to have a high standard of literacy themselves, and to be able to move literacy forward in their students in their respective subjects that they teach. What we really need in the teaching of literacy, is a lot of support for teachers. Particularly support that is strongly evidence-based. Literacy is an area where there’s been a lot of conjecture about different approaches and strategies and so on. We need to sort that out, and we need to give all teachers really good support in literacy. Literacy’s fundamental. It’s the currency of learning. What we find with many kids, is when they get to the early years of high school, their learning really stalls, and in some cases goes backwards. One of the key factors there is the fact that they haven’t got the literacy tools that they need to take them any further because the literacy demands on them in high school just become too great. So literacy is every teachers business and we need really good across the board evidence-based approaches to literacy.

Would the test proposed to ensure education students are in the top 30% in literacy and numeracy be key to things moving forward in this area? We need bright teachers. That doesn’t guarantee they’re going to be a good teacher, but it’s a very good place to start. We’ve let our entry standard, in some cases, go down too low, although it’s quite variable. If you look at countries like Germany, I’ve just come back from three months working in Germany, they have a strong state-wide system of examinations for people going into teaching, at the start of their course. At the moment, this proposal is for the end of the course. I don’t agree with that. I’d like to see something up front. Of a fairly high standard. Those people who pass, fine. Those people who may be get within an acceptable distance from a pass, whatever a pass is determined to be, they could bridge that gap during the course. But I do think we’ve got to be very, very serious about the standard of the people going into teaching courses. Unfortunately the whole thing has been deregulated. Undergraduate places and government-funded places have been uncapped. So universities have been greatly increasing the number of teachers in their training. There’s been new entrances to teacher education from some of the private colleges and so forth. We need proper workforce planning and this is where the report, I think, needs to go further. That includes, for example, not just saying to any university, ‘you can train as many teachers as you like’, but to actually allocate places. Because we’ve got a situation at the moment where we have an oversupply of primary teachers, yet significant shortages in Maths and Science, Languages teachers, in particularly in secondary schools. So we need to be targeting our resources to where those area of shortages are. On the other hand, I think it’s somewhat reprehensible to allow people to train for an occupation when they’re not going to get to practice it. Certainly a lot of principals tell me they’re noticing a widening gap in the quality of people from some of these different providers, including some of the new ones. They will only hire, in some cases, if they’ve got a choice, from certain universities. So, we’ve really got to address the issue of the quality of who’s going into education. I think the report was right, not to focus on ATARs. Because there’s problems with ATARs. For example, a third of people who go into teaching go in with an ATAR. As well as that, many people who are going into teaching are doing a career change. Average age, in many cases, 27, 28. The ATAR they got nine or 10 years ago, is probably not relevant. But the other problem with ATARs too is, the published ATARs often don’t bear scrutiny, because there are various bonus schemes, pop up schemes, and so on, that actually enable people to get in with very low ATARs, or in fact no ATARs at all. We need to move away from ATARs. We need to look at proper allocation of places to universities based upon the demonstrated quality of their courses and proper upfront and exit examinations. I mentioned Germany, there’s a state examination at the beginning of their training, and there’s a state examination

education matters primary

at the end of it. At the moment, we’re talking about some sort of thing at the end, but when you think about that, it could be well too late. I mean, if someone were to fail that after doing their university training of four to five years, they’ve wasted a fair bit of time and we’ve waisted a fair bit of money training them. Is there a need for more practical experience in teacher education? It’s not quantity, it’s quality. One of the things that the reports often do, is say so many days of this and that, but this report hasn’t said that. But some of the progress standards that have come out federally, had nominated numbers of days. It’s not the number of days, it’s the quality of experience, it’s the quality of the relationship between the university and the schools where its candidates are being placed. Now, the report comes out and mentions this, and quite rightly so. Not only do teacher education courses have to have a strong evidence base, but there has to be the use of the evidence of what we know about what’s effective in terms of university-school partnerships. And what’s the most effective way to train people. So yes, we need to increase the amount of time in schools, but it’s also the quality of what happens in those schools. At Melbourne University, for example, we have our people going into schools two days a week very early in their program. So they get a lot of time in schools. But it isn’t just the time in school that counts, it’s the quality of experience. So we try and support them as much as we can, with special positions we provide, called Clinical Specialists and Teaching Fellows. We try to provide as much support and connection as we can between ourselves

and mentor teachers. So it isn’t just a matter of quantity, it is also quality. What are your feelings about moving teaching to a Graduate Degree? Well I work in a Graduate Education school and we don’t take undergraduates. But, I’ve been involved in teacher education for a long time and it dawned on me very early in my career in teacher education, that taking people straight from school, training them as teachers and sending them back to school, often in the same area that they’ve come from, is not a good thing to do. The profession as a whole has been steadily moving towards Graduate entry. There are more and more Masters at Teaching, for example, Post Graduate qualifications. Including in areas like Early Childhood and Primary, I mean, we have an Early Childhood entry program. We take in people, with a great range of experience. We’ve had corporate lawyers, we’ve had pharmacists, and we’ve had people who’ve been journalists, all sorts of people, coming in. Now, these are people at the age of 27, 28, on average, who’ve made a mature decision to become a teacher. They’ve done other things, they’ve had other life experiences. They bring great personal resources to a school. Someone who comes in that’s an Environmental Scientist, for example, who’s coming from media and communications, as well as being a regular teacher, they’re bringing a lot of very, very useful skills that are transferable to the school setting. I think, in an ideal world, I’d say, it should all be graduate entry, but I’m realistic. I think over time we will move more and more towards that.

AEU to bring Gonski funding to forefront of 2016 election Newly-appointed Federal President of the Australian Education Union (AEU) Correna Haythorpe addressed its annual conference earlier this year highlighting her commitment to make The Gonski Review and needs-based funding one of the key issues in the 2016 election. Haythorpe wants to ensure Australian children receive an education that values their potential and individuality, and that makes sure their needs are met. “Well-resourced public schools, and the staff that make them work, are a resource that benefits the community,” she said. “Our public schools are unique because they are the only ones which are required to educate every child that arrives at the front gate – regardless of who that child is or where they come from. “Real ‘choice’ in schooling must include a decent, well-funded public school in every community in Australia that can meet the needs of every student.”

Marking three years since the review into school funding was released Haythorpe said that needs-based funding for schools is the most important issue in the education sector and the Gonski reforms are the best chance it has had in a generation of getting real change and equity. Haythorpe highlighted how schools in New South Wales and South Australia that have seen Gonski funding flow through to their budgets have had great results. “Cowandilla Primary School in Adelaide received just $10,500 in its first year of Gonski funding – and yet was able to deliver a numeracy intervention program for Years 1-3,” she said. “This program delivered improvement to every single child that was involved, and will be expanded in 2015 with the second round of Gonski funding. “Needs-based funding for schools touches on every difficulty that teachers face – whether it is class sizes, lack of support staff, or the need

education matters primary

National Education News

for literacy and numeracy programs, Gonski is our chance – we can’t have a successful society if one in seven kids are leaving school without basic skills that they need to participate in the community. “We cannot be a successful society if children are effectively denied a quality education due to their postcode.” Haythorpe launched a scathing attack on the Federal Government’s attitude towards public education and pointed it out as the biggest barrier Australia faces to being able to implement the full recommendations of The Gonski Review. “This is a Government that has used the idea of a ‘budget emergency’ to abandon agreements with the States for the fifth and sixth years of the Gonski agreements,” she said. “In effect they have walked away from equity. “They have also done nothing to ensure that State Governments actually deliver Gonski funding to schools, rather than divert it into other programs.”

The AEU has called on members for their support to ensure the continued success of its I Give a Gonski campaign while revealing its plan to bring it to the 2016 Federal Election. “We’ve had a few wins and a few losses in the last three years, but the final result is still in play and colleagues, we will campaign for the full six years of Gonski funding and if we work hard enough we will win,” Haythorpe said. “That’s why we’ve set up a campaign team, involving leaders from all of your branches, and are developing a marginal seat strategy. We will put people on the ground in marginal seats across the country dedicated to doing one thing: campaigning for the full six years of Gonski funding our kids deserve. “Politicians from all parties need to hear that funding matters: to us, to parents and to students. They need to hear this as loudly and as often as possible.”

Calls mount for primary school teacher STEM focus There has been wide support throughout the education sector for future primary school teachers to have a focus on STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) and languages to strengthen teaching in those curriculum areas. While there are still concerns on the growing demands placed on primary schools teachers across Australia and the lack of resources available, the move to recommend a specialisation for primary school teachers has garnered support. The Federal Government’s Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group report Action Now: Classroom Ready Teachers has been hailed a blueprint for “critical and lasting reform” of teacher education. Led by Professor Greg Craven, the Advisory Group was asked to make practical recommendations on improving teacher education programs to better prepare teachers with the skills they need for the classroom, with one of the main recommendations being a specialisation for primary school teachers with a focus on STEM and languages. Stephen Dinham, National President of the Australian College of Educators and Chair of Teacher Education and Director of Learning and Teaching at the University of Melbourne, told Education Matters that there are two main reasons why the demands on the average primary school teacher had become untenable. “One is the fact that the social demands on schools have become more and more and more and every time there’s a social problem, it gets given to schools to solve,” he said. “Also, there’s been great pressure on schools to list their results in the light of things like NAPLAN and so forth. “Now, for primary teachers in particular, trying to be an expert in every area of the curriculum is quite problematic and we know, for example, two areas that people struggle with are maths and science, in some cases. “At the moment, there are some teachers who go into primary teaching, and they haven’t done the higher levels of maths and science in high school,” he added. “They admit themselves they lack confidence and in some cases competence in teaching maths and science, so those are two areas where I think we can certainly do a degree of specialisation.” Dinham also highlighted languages as another key area of specialisation for

primary teachers that’s worth investing in, but stressed extra resources will be needed to make it a reality. “Everybody talks about the need for students to learn another language but the trouble with this is we haven’t got a sufficient supply of language teachers,” he said. “That’s another area where you can’t expect the average primary teacher to suddenly pick up another language and there’s some other areas too where we need some specialist support in schools. “If there is a whole range of these social expectations that are being placed on schools, which gives you an overcrowded curriculum as a result, then we need paraprofessionals in there to work alongside teachers – we need more psychologists, we need more social workers, and we need more health experts – because you can’t expect teachers to do all of that.” Glenn Finger, Professor of Education and Dean (Learning and Teaching) of the Arts, Education and Law Group at Queensland’s Griffith University echoed similar thoughts. “In my view, the requirement for primary teachers to have a specialisation in mathematics, science and languages is a much needed approach,” he said. “This will certainly strengthen teaching in those curriculum areas and has been welcomed. “I can see that these can be designed into four-year undergraduate primary teacher education programs, but will be challenging for two-year equivalent postgraduate initial teacher education programs, where there is less volume of learning available to develop both the breadth of curriculum and the depth. For example, some postgraduate students might not have completed undergraduate programs in mathematics, science or languages, so this will be challenging.” Australian Education Union Federal President Correna Haythorpe said it’s important for teachers to have access to broad curriculum expertise, which is very important for a child’s development as a whole, but you can’t implement provisions around having specialist teachers in place without looking at the resources that will need to be in place to support that.

education matters primary

Events Diary

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

MAY JUNE

JULY

AUGUST

SEPTEMBER

OCTOBER

2015 Early Childhood Education Conference Edutech 2015

29-30 May 2015, Melbourne VIC

Together we grow investing in our future http://www.togetherwegrow.com.au/ 2-4 Jun 2015, Brisbane QLD National congress and expo http://www.edutech.net.au/ Positive Schools Mental Health & 4-5 Jun 2015, Melbourne VIC Body of Evidence 2015 Wellbeing Conference 11-12 Jun 2015, Sydney NSW http://www.positiveschools.com.au/ Coming together for Australia’s 24-26 Jun 2015, Hobart TAS Creating conditions for children to flourish Children http://www.togetherforchildren.net.au/ No2Bullying Conference 2015 29-30 Jun 2015, Gold Coast QLD Workplace, school and cyber bullying http://www.no2bullying.org.au/ AATE/ALEA National Conference 2015 3-6 Jul 2015, Canberra, ACT Capitalising on curiosity http://www.englishliteracyconference.com.au/ SEA Annual Conference 4-7 Jul 2015, Byron Bay NSW Transforming understanding into action http://www.sea-conference.edu.au/ CONASTA 64 5-9 Jul 2015, Perth WA Science: A kaleidoscope of wonder and opportunity http://www.asta.edu.au/conasta AAMT 2015 6-8 Jul 2015, Adelaide SA Mathematics: Learn, lead, link http://www.cvent.com/events ITEC 2015 9-10 Jul 2015, Sydney NSW Interactive Technology in Education http://www.sydneyoperahouse.com/ AFMLTA 2015 9-12 Jul 2015, Melbourne VIC Pedagogies for a plurilingual Australia http://www.conference2015.afmlta.asn.au/ Drama Australia and NZ International 10-12 Jul 2015, Sydney NSW Game Changer: Innovating education through creativity and drama Conference http://www.dramansw.org.au/ International Transforming Education 13-15 Jul 2015, Melbourne VIC Reading word and world – Memes, themes and biblical dreams Conference http://www.itec.org.au/ STEM Education Conference 27-28 Jul 2015, Sydney NSW Second annual http://www.informa.com.au/ Love Learning conference 6-7 Aug 2015, Sydney NSW Ignite thinking – Connect in learning http://www.3plearning.com/au/2015-llc/ 2015 AASE Conference 27-28 Aug 2015, Fremantle WA Engagement for learning – Behaviour leads the way http://www.gemsevents.com.au/aase2015 2015 SASPA Conference 31 Aug & 1 Sept 2015, Adelaide SA World class learners, what does it take? http://www.saspaconference.com.au/ 2015 Australian Primary Principals 16-18 Sept 2015, Hobart TAS The heart of leadership Conference http://www.appaconference2015.com.au/ ACE 2015 National Conference 24-25 Sept 2015, Brisbane QLD Educators on the edge: Big ideas for change and innovation http://www.austcolled.com.au/ ASLA 2015 Conference 29-30 Sept 2015, Brisbane QLD Provoking the future: School libraries, pedagogy and technology http://www.asla.org.au/ 2015 ACSA Biennial Curriculum 30 Sept – 2 Oct 2015, Adelaide SA Curriculum leadership for a diverse Australia Conference http://www.acsa.edu.au/ PDHPE Teachers’ Association 9-10 Oct 2015, Sydney NSW Challenging minds, changing lives Conference http://www.pdhpeta.org/conference SPERA National 31st Conference 28-30 Oct 2015, Geelong VIC Mapping education policy landscapes: Rurality and rural futures http://www.spera.asn.au/

TO HAVE YOUR ORGANISATION’S EVENT LISTED IN THE NEXT EDITION OF EDUCATION MATTERS MAGAZINE PLEASE EMAIL THE DETAILS TO KATHRYN.EDWARDS@PRIMECREATIVE.COM.AU education matters primary

Technology

Projects for a new paradigm INNOVATION INTEGRATOR AT ST COLUMBA ANGLICAN SCHOOL (SCAS), MERIDITH EBBS, SHARES SOME OF THE GROUND-BREAKING WAYS TECHNOLOGY HAS BEEN INCORPORATED INTO THE CURRICULUM AT THE SCHOOL.

St Columba Anglican School is in its 14th year and is located in Port Macquarie on the mid-north coast of New South Wales. Four years ago the decision was made to migrate the school to the cloud and implement a voluntary bring your own device program and during this time there has been significant investment in technology and staff training. Many staff now use technology on a daily basis. Implementing technology also requires a commitment to evolving pedagogy. To assist all staff to continue to evolve their teaching methods requires continued support for staff financially and physically with training and flexible resources. Being a regional school attending professional development in the city can be costly so the school committed to employing skilled and innovative teachers to lead the school into the 21st century. The decision to employ skilled and innovated educators has resulted in new approaches to teaching and learning. The challenge now is to maintain the passion and continue to evolve pedagogy for all teaching staff. CODING IN A PRIMARY SCHOOL Four years ago coding in primary schools was not common and it was difficult to locate resources. Microsoft Kodu was one of the few resources with tutorials and teacher resources suitable for primary-age students. At this time the Director of Curriculum agreed to the idea of teaching coding to Year 4. Now in its fourth year, each Year 4 group has been taught coding for a term. The outcomes are linked to Maths and English. The coding program is now beginning to expand to: • A primary girls’ KodeKlub; • A primary boys’ KodeKlub; • SCAS has recently commenced an extension program using the Google Computer First

Coding Club in schools in the learning centre; • A robotics program in Year 9 Science; • Computational Thinking elective in Year 8; •C oding is used to teach angles in secondary Mathematics; • 2 0 hours of code is taught by Year 6 teachers in Mathematics; and, • The Head of Primary agreed to allow 500 K-6 students participate in Hour of Code during the last week of school in December 2014. KodeKlub Why a different KodeKlub for boys and girls? Two years ago when the lunchtime KodeKlub commenced there were fifteen students and two were girls. In 2014 I decided to implement a girls club to see if I could increase the participation of girls. The number of girls increased significantly, there are now approximately fifteen students on each club roll. To be a member of the club there are two prerequisites – you must be able to log on and you must be able to read. I have had students as young as Year 1 through to the occasional visit from secondary girls. Hour of Code Hour of Code is an international initiative to encourage students worldwide to learn to speak the language of computers. To implement this in a school of 500 students was difficult. To ensure equity with school devices we ran it over two days. Students who had already completed the 20 hours of code were given the role of ‘techsperts’ and peer tutors. Two students were sent to each class to assist teachers with problem solving and provide technical support. The event was very successful and the students and staff were very positive about event. It is hoped this will become an annual event in the school.

education matters primary

YEAR 5 SCIENCE This term Year 5 are looking at the science unit, ‘Earth’s place in space’. As a part of this thematic unit we are using the science connections material available through Scootle. To supplement this program we are working through some computational thinking projects to investigate the scale of the solar system. This has included: • Location of the distances of each planet from the sun (research); •D iscussion of different forms of measurement used when discussing the solar system, kilometers, astronomical units and light years (maths); • Identifying the best unit of measurement to use for a scale model of the solar systems;

• Plotting the solar system on a one-metre long piece of grid paper (maths); • A scale plan of the Solar System plotted on a football oval – students are required to located distances of planets from the sun then calculate the scale of the solar system should it be reduced to 100 metres – once the model is plotted on the football field, we fly a drone over the students to capture a bird’s eye view (maths); • Research the diameter and scale of a planet of their choice (research and maths); and, • Create a scale model of the planet of their choice – students are required to research their chosen planet’s dimensions and then create a scale model of the planet – students use the medium of their choice e.g.: paper mache or create a virtual 3D model and print it using the 3D printer (problem solving, research, maths). During each of these activities students were given the basic task and time to locate key information and solve the problems, initially with minimal instruction. Some students were very successful at locating the required information and then working towards a solution. Those students

requiring additional assistance were given more direct instruction to assist with the process in a small group away from the main group. The results were checked as a class and then the process revised to ensure all students understood how the answer was obtained. The benefit of completing the task in this manner is that students are given the opportunity of locating information without being given the answer. It provides an opportunity for students to work collaboratively to solve a problem. SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, ENGINEERING AND MATHEMATICS (STEM) This year, the Director of Curriculum requested the development and trial of a STEM course with three Stage 2 classes. The requirement being it must be hands on and be linked to outcomes in Mathematics and Science. Students focused on construction and engineering structures with strength. The students were given open-ended tasks and resources and they were then required to solve the problems. The activity was interspersed with short sessions of direct instruction to demonstrate skills and discuss the theory behind

education matters primary

MERIDITH EBBS BSC. DIPED. MA Meridith is the Innovation Integrator at St Columba Anglican School, Port Macquarie, NSW. She has a blended role, teaching classes from Years 3-10 and working as an e-learning integrator to support the e-learning programs within the school. Meridith is a key staff member of the Professional Excellence & Innovation Centre. She develops and facilitates conferences and workshops. Meridith acts as a consultant in digital citizenship, in the use of technology to enhance 21st century pedagogies and social media. Meridith speaks at conferences and at Newcastle University on digital citizenship, coding, technology and pedagogy. Successful projects include: •D eveloping and trialling a new STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) course for Years 3 and 4; •D eveloping a new elective for Year 8 in computational thinking; •D eveloping and trialling an online course for secondary students; •D eveloped courses, applied and gained approval to provide school-based registered professional development for All Standard Descriptors of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers at the level of Proficient Teacher; •D evelopment and rollout of a K-12 Digital Citizenship Program; • Facilitation of ‘superclasses’; • Differentiation of tasks for superclasses; • Project-based learning; • Edu-gaming with Minecraft, CodeKingdoms and Kodu; • Establishment of a two coding clubs; • I ntroduction of coding to teach maths and literacy in Stage 2; •D evelopment of lessons to differentiate maths in Year 1 using iPads; • Use of cloud-based applications for learning; •C urating resources for computational thinking – inspireslearning.weebly.com; •D eveloped a resource for teaching coding – kodeklubbers.weebly.com; •M aintenance of an educational blog for students – elscas.weebly.com; and, •M aintenance of an educational blog for educators – observelearndo.blogger.com.au Other projects outside of school: • P articipant in CSER Digital Technologies MOOC Implementing the Australian Curriculum Learning Area, May – June 2014; • S ocial Media Facilitator CSER Digital technologies MOOC Implementing the Australian Curriculum Learning Area, Dec 2014 -Feb 2015; and, • P articipating in the CSER Digital Technologies MOOC, Next Steps years 7 & 8, May – July 2015.

Technology

their task. Some of the activities students have completed this year include: • Constructing a games arcade using cardboard boxes; • Constructing 3D shapes using only newspaper and sticky tape – we had competitions on the tallest and the strongest; • Constructing a structure to support a book using playdough and toothpicks; • Design and construction of a solar cooker – this had thematic links to the science unit of Heat it Up; • Circle Geometry on Pi Day – an American celebration on 14th March, 3/14/15 – this year was particularly special as the American date was 3.1415; and, • Reviewing games and identifying what makes a game great, then using this information to create their own computer game using CodeKingdoms. com or kodugamelab.com. “STEM is a curriculum based on the idea of educating students in four specific disciplines – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – in an interdisciplinary and applied approach.

Rather than teach the four disciplines as separate and discrete subjects, STEM integrates them into a cohesive learning paradigm based on real-world applications.” (Hom, 2014) The STEM course has been a fantastic opportunity for students to collaboratively solve problems. Students have been very excited and proud of their constructions. Pi day was particularly interesting as circular geometry is not usually taught in Stage 2. Students quickly learnt the importance of accuracy when measuring the circumference and diameter to try to achieve the number 3.1415. The measuring task required accuracy in millimeters. This activity was so popular the school is planning to run the activities again in Term 3 as July 22nd is the Australian equivalent of pi day – 22/7 is the closest fraction to calculate pi. ONLINE COURSE IN COMPUTATIONAL THINKING – YEAR 8 ELECTIVE What is Computational Thinking? Computational Thinking is the process of finding a solution to open ended problems. Computational Thinking is usually associated with computer science,

however it incorporates the way we set problems in all key learning areas (Google for Education). The four stages of computational thinking are: • Decomposition, breaking a large problem into smaller parts; • Pattern Recognition, identifying similarities and differences; • Pattern Generalisation and Abstraction; and, • Algorithm Design, step-by-step strategy for solving a problem (Google for Education). On Computational Thinking, Jeanette Wing of Carnegie Mellon University believes, “It is a fundamental skill for everyone, not just for computer scientists. To reading, writing, and arithmetic, we should add Computational Thinking to every child’s analytical ability.” (Wing, 2006) Schools have been teaching Computational Thinking for many years by way of procedures, data collection, decision charts, programming and problem solving. The Digital Technologies Australian Curriculum formalises Computational Thinking and provides learning opportunities and a deeper understanding for students. New South Wales is currently the only state not to have begun the endorsement process for this curriculum. This means the state has limited formal outcomes that can be used to specifically address Computational Thinking. Fortunately these skills can still be taught using outcomes in most of the existing and new NSW curriculums. Computational Thinking is often linked to computers and coding. While it is a problem solving method that uses computer science techniques, it is possible to teach these skills offline using other technologies. Computational Thinking can also be taught using Mathematics, Science and English. The course This year the opportunity arose to create a new Year 8 elective that uses a blended format – a On June 22 2015, Meridith is the chairperson of the Computational Thinking - Hands On! conference to be held in Port Macquarie, NSW. For more information see www.peic.com.au. Early bird registration commences on June 12. The cross sector conference has leading keynotes and hands-on workshops about robotics, coding, electronics and Minecraft.

education matters primary

combination of face-to-face and online delivery – and were thus offered the elective Computational Thinking. The course is being facilitated online over a semester. Students are timetabled to attend classes and all content is delivered via a Google Classroom and a Google Site. The course being offered is crosscurricular and offers the opportunity for students to develop skills in Computational Thinking, writing and reflection, covering outcomes from the English and Computer Syllabi. The purpose of the course is to encourage students to explore areas of interest with a focus on problem solving and logic, through to personal research projects. Some of the proposed projects include: • Learning to program – beginning with a tutorial program called ‘20 hours of code’ and continuing onto a personal coding project; • Coding a game using online game builder in both visual programming and Java; • Robotics with Lego Mindstorms; and, • Building a remote-controlled lawnmower. There were no prerequisites for this course. To be successful in this project students will need to be self-motivated. Students are monitored through a learning journal and are required to keep a personal blog. Students are provided with a set of sample questions they can use to discuss their ideas and learning experiences, and will be required to take photos, movies, screencasts and/or screen shots of their progress. These should then be used as stimuli for discussion in the blog. Students are also required to comment on the blogs of their peers. They are required to provide constructive and positive feedback to projects. Assessments The course will have two assessments. 1. S tudent blogs will be assessed for use as a learning journal and marks will be allocated for use of documentation of the learning process, media, grammar, punctuation and spelling. It will be worth 50% of the overall mark.

2. There will be a student presentation. The format of the presentation will be determined by the student, in keeping with the self-guided philosophy of the course. Students may do a slideshow, YouTube clip, Screencast, demonstration or speech and incorporate student peer assessment with a value of 50%. Rather than creating content consumers, this course allows students to become content generators. They take a topic they are interested in and then create, model, build or research it, in a similar fashion to a major work at HSC level. The documentation is done via their blog. The response from the students has been very positive. DIGITAL CITIZENSHIP PROGRAM In 2012 I designed and developed a K-12 Digital Citizenship Program (DCP) at SCAS. The content, sourced from free programs available on the web, includes lesson plans for teachers and covers a range of topics. The topics for the Digital Citizenship Program include: 1. Access: full electronic participation in society. 2. Commerce: electronic buying and selling of goods. 3. C ommunication: electronic exchange of information. 4. E tiquette: electronic standards of conduct or procedure. 5. I dentity: creating a positive digital footprint and online presence. 6. Health & Wellness: physical and psychological wellbeing in a digital technology world. 7. L iteracy: process of teaching and learning about technology and the use of technology. 8. Law: electronic responsibility for actions and deeds 9. R ights & Responsibilities: those freedoms extended to everyone in a digital world. 10. S ecurity (self-protection): electronic precautions to guarantee safety. The outcomes were drawn from various syllabi. The outcomes came from syllabus units related to personal safety, physical safety, emotional and mental health, relationships, writing online, safe use of

technology and ethics. • Personal/Development (PD/H) • Technology • Economics, Business Studies • English The lessons were compiled into a scope and sequence. Primary has a yearly cycle, secondary has a two-year cycle. Primary teach the content during PD/H and secondary teach the DCP during pastoral care and PD/H. The roll out of the DCP began with professional development of staff. Initially there was some resistance as staff were unfamiliar the concepts and skills required, but with support and comprehensive lesson plans the DCP was implemented and is now taught across the school K-12. The internal Digital Citizenship Program as SCAS has also evolved into running digital citizenship conferences for other schools through the Professional Excellence and Innovation Centre (PEIC) due the interest it has generated. The conference has been run twice now and will be run again in Term 4, 2015. The conference instructs delegates on considerations for the development of a digital citizenship program. The digital citizenship conference runs through definitions, policies, principles of digital citizenship, and resources. The response from delegates from each event was very positive. All delegates are given resources to take with them and have the opportunity to share in a private Google Community, on an ongoing basis.

Below are some resources that have been created and are curated by Meridith Ebbs in her work at SCAS: kodeklubbers.weebly.com inspireslearning.weebly.com elscas.weebly.com observelearndo.blogger.com.au

References Google Education, http://www.google.com.au/edu/resources/programs/exploring-computational-thinking/ Hom, E. J (2014) http://www.livescience.com/43296-what-is-stem-education.html Microsoft Kodu, www.kodugamelab.com/resources/ Wing, J 2006, ‘Computational Thinking’, COMMUNICATIONS OF THE ACM, vol. Vol. 49, no. No. 3, March, accessed 7 February 2015, <https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~15110-s13/Wing06-ct.pdf>. Acknowledgements I would like to thank the teachers of St Columba Anglican School who support me and are willing to try new things with their classes. Lisa Gooding (Director of Curriculum) for her encouragement and support of new and innovative projects. Janet Geronimi (Head of Special Projects, PEIC) for her vision, encouragement and support. Janet Geronimi, Emma Cooper (Marketing), Geoff Lancaster (Head of Innovation) and Chris Delaney (Head of the Learning Centre) for their support with planning with the Computational Thinking Conference, June 22.

education matters primary

Technology

Bastow Institute installs Epson EB-Z10000UNL and MeetingMate EB-1430Wi projectors LARGE-VENUE INSTALLATION PROJECTORS AND MULTI-FUNCTION, FINGER TOUCH-ENABLED PROJECTORS.

Established in 2010, the Bastow Institute of Educational Leadership (Bastow) is a branch within the Early Childhood and School Education Group at the Victorian Department of Education and Training (DET). Bastow offers transformative leadership, professional development and learning opportunities for Victorian primary, secondary and early childhood education professionals. Recently Bastow had a requirement for a number of large-venue installation projectors and multi-function, finger touch-enabled projectors. After a comprehensive evaluation and assessment process the decision was made to purchase multiple Epson EB-Z10000UNL and MeetingMate EB-1430Wi projectors.

education matters primary

Bastow’s decision to purchase the Epson EBZ10000UNL and MeetingMate projectors was based around a requirement for a new interactive solution in the institute’s classroom spaces. Where previously they had interactive whiteboards that they found challenging to use, the team at Bastow now wanted an efficient, effective and straightforward solution that their multitude of onsite presenters could use. In addition Bastow’s theatre projectors were out of warranty and replacement globes were costly and hard to source. There was also a requirement to increase the brightness of the screens. The EB-Z10000UNL projector combines highlumen projection with Full HD, WUXGA performance — perfect for installation in large venues. Offering

EB-Z10000UNL and MeetingMate EB-1430Wi projectors in use at the Bastow Institute of Educational Leadership.

three times brighter colours* (3x Brighter Colours) than competitive models, Epson projectors ensure vivid images. With 10,000 lumens of colour brightness and 10,000 lumens of white brightness, the EBZ10000UNL makes content shine, even in high ambient light. Featuring 3LCD, 3-chip technology and the latest connectivity — including HDBaseTTM and 3G-SDI — this powerful performer delivers uncompromised image quality and professionalgrade reliability. Also, installation has never been more flexible, with seven optional lenses, lens shift, Curved Edge Blending, Portrait Mode and 360-degree projection features. Epson second-generation MeetingMate interactive, multi-function, finger touch-enabled projectors also offer 3x Brighter Colours and 3LCD 3-chip technology and completely remove the need for any kind of whiteboard. This projector not only capitalises on the incredible success of its predecessor, but adds to it in many ways with the MeetingMate EB-1430Wi becoming the world’s first finger touch-based interactive projector. Such is the ingenuity of the MeetingMate that it enables as many as six participants to touch, draw, select and interact using intuitive and familiar gestures. In addition to operation using an interactive pen, with the

MeetingMate it is now possible for users to operate by simply using their fingers on the screen. Much like many of today’s tablet devices, opening and closing files, scrolling, moving and expanding objects, and annotation are just some of the possibilities available at the touch of a finger. What’s more, any image on the screen can be resized and moved as if it were an object. So, even if there is no writing space on the screen, written contents can be reduced in size to make room for new annotations. The MeetingMate projectors also revolutionise any whiteboard, wall, flat surface or existing dryerase board as it makes them truly interactive and powerful business and teaching tools. For Bastow the touch interactivity on normal whiteboards was critical. They were also impressed with the brightness of both models. As a result of the upgrade their theatre projectors now boast 10,000 lumens and in their classrooms the Epson projectors provide 3300 lumens and finger touch capabilities. Critically in the case of Bastow it was the unrivalled colour accuracy from both EB-Z10000UNL and MeetingMate that was the key differentiating factor for selecting the projectors. Particularly noticeable in Bastow’s lecture theatre Epson’s 3x Brighter Colours, 3LCD 3-chip technology and

superior Colour Light Output combined to produce images that were second to none. A fact noticed and commented upon by Bastow staff and course participants alike. Size and space were also issues for Bastow as they calculated they must have a 100” screen throw to rule out the use of interactive screens, and at 100” the cost of interactive screens simply becomes prohibitive. Once the projectors were installed, Bastow quickly realised the new EB-Z10000UNL and MeetingMate projectors had again significantly improved on the models they replaced. Not only did they offer the brightness and length of warranty required by the institute, but in the case of the MeetingMate they now also had the only finger touchenabled ultra short throw projectors available on the market. With the easy to use solution in place and the fact that they could now also project over WiFi, all of the institute’s requirements were met. Bastow uses their Epson EB-Z10000UNL and EB-1430Wi projectors to help deliver professional development in leadership through education in theatres and classroom spaces varying in size from 12 to 50 people. Visit www.epson.com.au/meetingmate or www.epson.com.au/installation for more information.

*Compared to leading 1-chip DLP business and education projectors based on NPD data, July 2011 through June 2012. Colour brightness (colour light output) measured in accordance with IDMS 15.4. Colour brightness will vary depending on usage conditions.

education matters primary

Physical Education

Goal! Register for Sporting Schools SPORTING SCHOOLS IS ALL ABOUT FOSTERING A LIFELONG INTEREST IN SPORT AMONG AUSTRALIAN PRIMARYAGED CHILDREN.

By getting your primary school involved in Sporting Schools you will help to provide your students with the opportunity to access sport-based activities before, during or after school. The key purpose of the programme is to encourage more children to do more sport-based activities, and empower schools to help them to do that. As a sporting school you can: • HELP your students foster healthy and active living habits; • SUPPORT health and physical education outcomes in the school curriculum; • ACCESS nationally-endorsed sports products and certified coaches; • ACCESS a range of training and development

education matters primary

material to support teachers to deliver sport-based programmes; and, • DESIGN programmes that create important links between your school, sport and your local community. The aim is to bring sport and schools together to provide a supportive partnership, encouraging participation in sport by over 850,000 children. Sporting Schools funding will enable the delivery of high quality and inclusive sport activities and games, before, during and after school hours. This will offer flexibility to suit the needs of schools and students across Australia. The focus is about participation and enjoyment, or more simply “skills not drills”. All Sporting Schools programmes will be endorsed

by national sporting organisations (NSOs) and all coaches will be certified. Funding is also available for other forms of innovative programme delivery. As of this month, schools can apply for funding on the Sporting Schools website, with the programme starting in July 2015. Support for developing your application, online resources and information about local coaches will also be provided. Once your school is registered and it has met the eligibility criteria your school can get annual funding to provide up to three terms of sport-based activity for children. Go to the funding section of the website at www. sportingschools.gov.au/funding to find out more about the grants. In addition, the other benefits of registering includes access to a range of resources through the website including a webportal that enables schools to locate and communicate directly with trained community coaches or coaching providers in your area. In areas where community coaches are unavailable or limited, your teachers can register

as a coach to deliver sessions (provided they meet the minimum Sporting Schools coach registration requirements). Teachers can also access coaching plans and tools to help them plan and run sport-based activities outside of Sporting Schools sessions. As a Sporting School you can: •H ELP your students foster healthy and active living habits; •S UPPORT health and physical education outcomes in the school curriculum; •A CCESS nationally-endorsed sports products and certified coaches; •A CCESS a range of training and development material to support teachers to deliver sport-based programmes; and, •D ESIGN programmes that create important links between your school, sport and your local community. You will also have the chance to engage with more than 30 national sporting organisations (NSOs) that are partnered with the programme. Students can participate in a broad range of sports including:

ATHLETICS

FOOTBALL

RUGBY LEAGUE

SWIMMING

AFL

GOLF

RUGBY UNION

TABLE TENNIS

BADMINTON

GYMNASTICS

SAILING

TENNIS

BASEBALL

HOCKEY

SKI & SNOWBOARD

TENPIN BOWLING

BASKETBALL

BOWLS

SOFTBALL

TOUCH FOOTBALL

CRICKET

NETBALL

SQUASH

TRIATHLON

CYCLING

ORIENTEERING

SURF LIFE SAVING

VOLLEYBALL

EQUESTRIAN

ROWING

SURFING

WATER POLO

education matters primary

REGISTERING YOUR SCHOOL IS AN EASY PROCESS: • Select the “register” icon at the top of the website at www.sportingschools.gov.au; • Sign up as a Sporting Schools individual member and activate your account via the email link sent to you; • Select ‘Register a School’ and enter your school details; • Agree to the terms and conditions and submit the form; • A registration team has been established with staff available to assist you with your application; • Schools, coaches and sporting organisations will be encouraged to create a profile page on the Sporting Schools website – this will help to create connections in local communities; and, • Contact the registration team via the ‘Get in Touch’ form in the footer of the website. From term 3, 2015, all primary schools will be invited to participate in Sporting Schools. Over time, there will be opportunities for secondary schools to be involved. Secondary schools keen to be a part of Sporting Schools can register their interest on the ‘Stay Connected’ section of the Sporting Schools website to ensure they receive the most up-to-date information on how to access the programme. If you would like to know more about Sporting Schools jump onto the website – www.sportingschools.gov.au or email us directly at info@sportingschools.gov.au Sporting Schools staff will assist you in getting the maximum benefit from the programme.

Health and Wellbeing

Healthy teachers and principals – the lifeblood of our schools JO MASON, DIRECTOR OF INNOVATIONS AND PROFESSIONAL LEARNING AT THE PRINCIPALS AUSTRALIA INSTITUTE SPOKE TO EDUCATION MATTERS MAGAZINE’S KATHRYN EDWARDS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF HARNESSING TEACHER AND PRINCIPAL HEALTH AND WELLBEING IN OUR SCHOOLS, ENCOURAGING POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS AND HOW PRINCIPALS CAN BEST DEAL WITH GREATER AUTONOMY.

Jo Mason is the Director of Innovations and Professional Learning for Principals Australia Institute. Jo currently undertakes PAI professional development and services including online services for school systems, professional associations, individual schools and other organisations in the area of leadership, whole workplace health and wellbeing, child protection curriculum, leading curriculum and staff professional development, change and performance management. Jo works across education and the private sector. PAI is the professions own provider of professional development and runs a number of major national schools programs on diversity, community participation, health promotion and international and national leadership in Australia.

IN WHAT WAYS IS PRINCIPAL AND TEACHER WELLBEING CRITICAL TO STUDENT WELLBEING? I believe it’s like a domino effect where the culture and the energy and the enthusiasm of all of the groups are interdependent. So when one group has good health and wellbeing it tends to flow on, and it flows on both ways, but mainly in a principal to teacher to student direction. It is quite capable of flowing the other way of course, if kids aren’t feeling good you can certainly tell – and it’s not only about that it’s about the empathy and understanding that it’s really in wellbeing. So we’re talking about health and wellbeing and its wider sense. We’re talking about not only physical health, but we’re talking probably more about social and emotional health and wellbeing – and that’s why empathy and understanding comes into it. So if principals and teachers have health and wellbeing themselves and they also have talked about it in a conscious way, and just haven’t accepted it exists, then they’re likely to understand that some students come to school perhaps needing the school to bolster their health and wellbeing in some way. Perhaps all students need to have their health and wellbeing sustained

education matters primary

through school at the very least. Principals and teachers also understand that an organisation where everyone’s feeling good about themselves, being there and working with one another is basically going to be more productive. So I think that’s the point I’d really like to make there – that it’s a conscious intention that’s coming from each group and so people are aware of the nature of health and wellbeing and their options and possibilities rather than just assuming it’s already in place, because it may not be for some people. WHAT’S SOME OF THE NOTABLE WORK GOING ON IN SCHOOLS IN REGARDS TO HARNESSING PRINCIPAL AND TEACHER WELLBEING? With the principal and teacher wellbeing there’s a lot of work going on, if I can start at the other end, on student health and wellbeing. There are some big Federal Government programs and in an interesting way, because principals and teachers are really focused on student outcomes, having programs that focus on student health and wellbeing inevitably flows over to teachers and principals. First of all principals make a conscious decision to do it since they understand the relationship, and therefore it starts the

“If you don’t have a mechanism to renew your enthusiasm or at least sustain it and keep it going, then over time your organisational capacity will diminish – and the same is true for principals...” domino effect or the circular effect happening in the school – even if it wasn’t happening there before. The second thing is that when teachers are teaching something naturally they think about it and quite often, if not all the time, they have a think about where they’re placed in the relation to the topic they are teaching. So in the early days of [mental health initiative for secondary schools] Mind Matters it’s interesting to note that to start with we thought we were engaged with teachers in only

talking about students. Student health and wellbeing was our major target outcome. In the early days of face-to-face professional development, we thought of teachers as the professional communicators. What we then started to understand was that in engaging in discussions about students on this particular subject matter, teachers also reflected on their own health and wellbeing. And in a lot of cases they picked up and applied ideas and thoughts because many teachers over the years have never thought in terms of their own health and wellbeing. Increasingly they are now but that was something that we noticed as we went further on with this project. So the same has happened with principals to some extent, sometimes they think, “oh yes that’s a great idea” and they don’t engage with it as an individual or professional. But if they do engage with health and wellbeing many of them have started to reflect on it in their professional life. That’s where most people have begun because all of our efforts have tended to be focused on students. Over the last couple of years however, people have now started to think about a teacher’s health and wellbeing as a separate topic on its own. And this has been a more extensive than the general occupational health and safety focus which every organisation in education looks at. The focus has included taking into account the nature of teaching and the teaching environment, and the changes, and therefore that we need to attend to these aspects specifically. Many teachers are also engaging with students who have a greater range of needs and this puts more pressure on teaching and

education matters primary

on people’s responsiveness to students. If you don’t have a mechanism to renew your enthusiasm or at least sustain it and keep it going, then over time your organisational capacity will diminish – and the same is true for principals’ and teachers’ personal capacity to keep pace with educational change. Now there are not a lot of programs that are really focused on teachers alone mainly because money is short, and many people also feel slightly nervous about focusing only on teachers or only on principals’ health and wellbeing. The Principals Australia Institute is one of few organisations that offers it in the educational field and that’s because we’re outside the employment relationship so this doesn’t have any industrial or employment connotations, if I can put it that way. We also try and link it up with student wellbeing because they are interrelated. We’ve had to work backwards in a sense from student wellbeing to our own personal understanding of health and wellbeing before but now we’re trying to get people to understand and think about principal wellbeing particularly in a time of principal and school autonomy directly – and understand it’s not self-indulgent and it’s not a waste of money. We need to be focusing on students. As long as we keep this outcome in mind any support for our own professional health and wellbeing will flow through to better support for students. HOW CAN PRINCIPALS BEST DEAL WITH THE GREATER AUTONOMY PLACED ON THEM THESE DAYS? First of all there are different concepts of autonomy operating in Australia and in different states. Some people have complete autonomy already, or at least close to it, and this includes independent schools and they operate often with a board. And so even when you have an autonomous situation you always have to pay attention to the needs or the accountability in some way. For example you’re always accountable to the

Health and Wellbeing

community to a certain extent if you’re in a remote community school. Those people who are looking at autonomy that are currently within systems and sectors will find the autonomy is going to be measured in some way. With autonomy there will be some aspects that the principal can operate with, in a much wider sphere than they have in the past, but there’ll also be some leadership areas which they will still have restrictions or requirements. So autonomy is a little bit of a loaded term in some ways – it may mean different things in different locations. But if you’re going to address autonomy it’s a bit like when any job changes, first of all you have to have a sense of what the change is going to be for you. For a lot of people who’ve operated in a system or sector, this is really a brand new ballgame isn’t it? So you need to know what you’re actually going to be accountable for as a leader. And about what levers or what things you can influence or use to reach that accountably requirement. Because sometimes you’re given a lot of accountability but the number of systems that you can use is actually a bit limited because the system or sector still expects you to meet a set of requirements. You also need to understand as a leader that when

you’re placed out there just a little bit further from being in the system in a traditional sense, there are going to be some other factors that might impact on your ability to reach your accountabilities. That means that you personally as a leader have a new balance within the job and you need to be aware of what that is now. If you have a new bargain or balance for your job you actually have a new job. So you then have to have a think about how are you going to approach that new job. If you’re in a system or sector it may be because some aspects have been taken care of in the past even though you might not like the way it was done then, this new capacity actually frees you up, let’s say to do a bit more in the teaching and learning area or in the personnel selection. If that system or sector support is no longer there and you’re expected to do it, you have to have a think about how that will make your job different. It may mean that you might have less time to do perhaps an area that you really love. Let’s say it’s professional development or it might be having lots of contact with parents, because the leadership role has expanded and the balance has changed. It may mean that you have to also negotiate with your leadership team and change their job, because there will be a flow down or a flow across effect. So because jobs are so important in the modern world, and teaching I think is so much a job that depends on people’s passion and energy, which means the wellbeing link is really closely there in the autonomy sense. As a leader you have a huge opportunity here because you are freed up – which is both interesting or slightly frightening sometimes. At the same time you might have the capacity to do more in health and wellbeing than you’ve ever done before, and to orientate the school, to meet the needs of the kids even more than you do now. So autonomy is a mixed bag. Once you’ve defined what it is, be clear about what it means and what it means to you personally, but at the same time have a think about what it might mean for health and wellbeing. It could be that you stop being in the middle of a hierarchy ‘sandwich’, which causes a lot of health and wellbeing

education matters primary

difficulties for principals, and you may in fact have a lot more capacity to take action rather than being a bit frustrated. So that’s one of the great gifts of it. On the other hand you might be asked to be accountable to a whole lot of factors, but you’re still constrained by how much you can move around to meet that accountability. ARE YOU ABLE TO SHED LIGHT ON WHAT WAYS PRINCIPALS CAN BEST ENCOURAGE STUDENTTEACHER RELATIONSHIPS TO FLOURISH AT THEIR SCHOOL? First of all obviously you need to believe that they’re critical. I would say that 100% of principals do believe that. But I think you actually need to continually acknowledge that this issue is important and the reason for that is because there’s so many resources, materials and frameworks, all sorts of things that people have to focus on in their role as teachers. And they’re out there demanding attention, mostly content-based, and while the resources are fantastic, at the same time people can get drowned in those and lose sight of the essence for getting it all operating is in fact relationships. The second thing I think is principals need to communicate as students will learn if they have a sense of belonging and this is engendered by an adult who’s at the school who cares about kids, who encourages them and supports them to achieve what they want to do. So the principal needs to get that message out there and they need to enable everything that’s going to give that sense of belonging to be put in place. And they need to do that by emphasising certain sorts of teaching and learning approaches that are relational rather than totally driven by content. They need to give people confidence to work on relationships first as a basis for achieving all of the other things that we have to achieve, and I think that that’s probably the most important thing. If you’ve got good relationships, you know the belonging and the stability and the connection which brings attendance, by far the most important thing, and the teachers managing teacher-student relationships but also studentstudent relationships. If it’s working, old or young

in a safe place in all senses of the word, then you optimise learning. Because children have the ability to examine things calmly and they’re also going to want to have their choices validated so therefore they extend themselves and so it goes on. So it optimises the learning in the schools and all principals understand that. LOOKING AT THE IMPACT OF THE PARENTS AND THE WIDER COMMUNITY, HOW CAN PRINCIPALS BEST ENCOURAGE POSITIVE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THEMSELVES, THE PARENTS AND THE SCHOOL COMMUNITY? I’ve seen quite a lot of this happening across the board and it’s terrific. Let’s take health and wellbeing which is what we’re talking about now, and I’ve seen a lot of people use this topic as a way to open up a dialogue very early about student health and wellbeing and then, student health and wellbeing and the school as well as parent health and wellbeing. They have positive conversations with people very early on and it’s about something obviously we all care about. They talk about its connections to learning and then they gain common ground on it and then they talk about it, and if things go wrong, contact us. I seriously think that

that this almost is the way that you approach working with parents. You need involvement, having parents and schools working together is the best possible thing for kids. But strangely it’s also really good for principals and teachers. I think working in isolation or “working at odds with what’s happening at home” is a really difficult position to be in for everybody, particularly the child, but certainly for people at the school. So if you can talk early and make opportunities to do that, get common ground and then have a method to talk about it if things go a little bit awry, that’s the way to have that. Working with the community on positive things early on, which includes health and wellbeing, is one way of operating. I’ve seen schools and communities come together on the very big issues, and another key topic of course is learning. But one thing I do know is that principals and teachers are really quite sensitive to community views on schools and staff flourish when someone gives them a compliment that’s due to them because of their hard work. They really need that positive feedback so we should create opportunities for people to have this feedback. On the other hand we also have to accept that a lot of people perhaps might not have caught up with some of the changes in education so we have to provide a lot more

education matters primary

information in a way that people can actually access it. OBVIOUSLY THE FOCUS IS A LOT ON THE SYSTEM AT THE SCHOOL LEVEL, BUT WHAT CAN PRINCIPALS DO TO HELP TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES? One of the things is principals are often, sort of left on their own or they have a sense that they are on their own in relation to health and wellbeing. This is mainly because I guess a lot of systems are focussing on so much and education is not over funded, let’s put it that way! So if I was able to I’d say that while we need to balance organisational requirements to look after teachers and principals and other staff, because there are other staff working at schools, in terms of what you can do personally there’s a great deal. I did a lot of work for Mind Matters on staff health and wellbeing, and I covered around 20 or 30 thousand people by myself and the team. I’ve also talked to about 800 principals and leaders across Australia, but mainly in NSW, about what you can do as an individual. The first thing is I guess if you can stop for a moment and consider it and think about what their beliefs in relation to health and wellbeing are. I mean many people have never even considered that they have

Health and Wellbeing

“I think being a principal is similar in terms of health and working risk as other high-level stress occupations like the police, these are service industries and quite often we’re really working as hard as we all can but we have to understand that some of the events that we’re hearing about or we’re witnessing or we’re dealing with, have a huge impact on us personally.” to support their health and wellbeing. Because the job is changing people need to recognise that just with the passage of time, but also with the changes that are occurring, that they may need to do this much more consciously perhaps than they have in the past. And some of our belief systems, you know the fact that they’ll recover from stress by the next morning or, say to themselves “yes that was deeply distressing but I’ll get over it”, need to be examined. I mean some of these matters tend to accumulate over time and so we’re talking to people about getting together collegially and having some structures to talk about sustainability and recovery and not just exchanging stories or, having a bit of a complaining session and saying what a tough day it is, but instead really examining things and coming out with positive ideas about going forward. And that’s quite difficult for principals; it’s about making some time for it. The other key point is to take care of ourselves in a range of ways, for example we believe that the physical aspect of health and wellbeing is really important to professionals who work in a knowledge industry and who work as managers. Quite often we find that principals and teachers are talking about intellectual things and if they’re involved in very good strong relationships, very emotional things, but they also need to have a sense of their own physical health and wellbeing. So Principals Australia Institute really believes the physical side of health and wellbeing, and also the social aspects are as important as anything else. Principals Australia Institute has developed a model that also includes the physical as well as community and altruistic aspects. These aspects

are really important to get back in touch with as professionals because otherwise people get overloaded with work and they can lose their way. We’re talking to people about, if you look after yourself more physically, you’ve got all that energy, and so then how can you motivate yourself to take care of yourself? Because a lot of these people are very smart but they still don’t do exercise for example. It’s all about making some choices and understanding that perhaps choosing physical health and wellbeing will enable them to enjoy the job more. The other thing we’re talking about besides collegial action, is to get people to consider getting in touch with what’s really important to them in the job. Finding ways talk and express about some of the difficulties because they come across some pretty tough situations as a profession, and that includes journals and protocols for proper professional discussion. Some of the latest research that’s coming through is about mindfulness and ensuring that you’ve got good strong social networks that are outside work that can act as a nice balance in life. Mindfulness really is enabling people just to move and take a break, instead of going from one big crisis and then you’ve got another meeting, it’s enabling you to find ways just to let the stress and the build-up go for a moment so that you’re able to operate really well and to come out of the day still feeling that you want to go back the next day. We need to also ensure that you’ve got a strong team who works with you. So we’ve been also talking to people about ensuring that that’s helping as well.

education matters primary

And those things do make a difference to people. I think being a principal is similar in terms of health and working risk as other high-level stress occupations like the police. These are service industries and quite often we’re really working as hard as we all can but we have to understand that some of the events that we’re hearing about or we’re witnessing or we’re dealing with, have a huge impact on us personally. So we do need to think about this stuff, it’s a very important topic for the future of education and to attract people to it. That’s why Principals Australia Institute is doing work on graduate teachers and we’re talking to them right from the beginning of their career about looking after health and wellbeing. Some of the people I’m talking to are saying they’re really worried that new professionals in education have this strong sense of doing as much as they can for kids but they’re not sustaining themselves and they haven’t got a sustainable method of operating in the job. I do think that for students, teachers and the other staff at school who are not teachers but who perform important jobs, principals, and the community, if you’re doing health and wellbeing you need a slightly different focus on each. But you do need to relate to them all because in one school community certainly, these approaches need to have congruency. A principal might have a greater sense of isolation perhaps, I don’t know than other people or a greater sense of accountability. I also think that we need to discuss it more, not as an industrial issue but from a positive sense about how we can address this. We have very intelligent people in education I believe, and I think this is bigger than the occupational health and safety perspective, it’s about the nature of the way that we do teaching and learning in Australia. We don’t do it from worksheets and from rote we do it on the basis of what’s happening between people. Learning is a social thing and we need to acknowledge that it doesn’t occur in isolation it occurs as a whole societal thing really – and this is why the relationship of learning and health and wellbeing is really important.

THINK GREEN Minimise your environmental impact and start making eco-friendly choices a way of life.

Why not make your next printing order green? • Colour and Digital Printing • Environmentally Accredited • In-house Graphic Design • Australia Wide • No job too big or too small - School Prospectus - Office Stationery - Newsletters - Year Books

we’re different... 28 Dingley Avenue, Dandenong, VIC 3175 T 03 9794 8337

F 03 9794 0551

www.manark.com.au

Health & Wellbeing

Enhancing children’s wellbeing GOOD MENTAL HEALTH IS ESSENTIAL FOR LEARNING AND LIFE. GROWING EVIDENCE SHOWS THAT CHILDREN WHO ARE MENTALLY HEALTHY ARE BETTER ABLE TO MEET LIFE’S CHALLENGES, ARE BETTER LEARNERS, AND HAVE STRONGER RELATIONSHIPS.

The good news is that most Australian children experience good mental health. Schools, parents and families can also take concrete, positive steps to help enhance children’s mental health, wellbeing and learning outcomes. KidsMatter Primary is a national initiative for primary schools that focuses on building and sustaining children’s mental health and wellbeing. It is widely implemented across Australia, with more than 2500 schools currently part of the KidsMatter network. “When we focus on the wellbeing of our kids we see great results not only in student behaviour, but also in their ability to learn at school,” says Paul Cahalan, who works on KidsMatter Primary in his role at Principals Australia Institute. KidsMatter is a whole-school framework that can be adapted to local contexts and is shaped by principals, teachers and wider school communities. “We focus on what we call a whole-school approach. If you set the foundations right in primary school, kids carry that with them into secondary school and throughout their lives,” Cahalan says. “If we teach kids the right foundation blocks – like how to be resilient, self-aware and empathetic – we set them up for life.” KidsMatter covers four areas where primary schools can improve children’s health, and minimise risk factors. These four areas make up the training available through KidsMatter: 1. Building a positive school community 2. Social and emotional learning for students 3. Working with parents and carers 4. Helping children with mental health difficulties. The professional learning in schools is spread across two to three years. During this time, KidsMatter provides a range of evidence-based

strategies, resources and support to suit different schools’ needs. KidsMatter Primary is a collaborative initiative between beyondblue, the Australian Psychological Society and Principals Australia Institute, with funding from the Australian Government Department of Health and beyondblue. Learn more about KidsMatter If your school would like to find out more, start

or continue its KidsMatter journey, events are held regularly throughout Australia. Visit www.kidsmatter.edu.au/primary for more information. A wide range of free resources that schools, families and health professionals can use to enhance and support children’s wellbeing can be found on the KidsMatter website: www.kidsmatter.edu.au/families/ information-sheets

“If we teach kids the right foundation blocks – like how to be resilient, self-aware and empathetic – we set them up for life.”

education matters primary

Wellbeing is at the heart of good teaching and learning.

Join the growing number of schools making student mental health and wellbeing a priority. KidsMatter Primary is a mental health initiative that provides primary schools with proven methods, tools and support to nurture happy, balanced kids. It will give your school access to the latest thinking and research on mental health and wellbeing including: • strategies to help you build a positive school community

• social and emotional learning resources for use in, and beyond, the classroom • practical ideas for working with families • specific guidance to help children with mental health difficulties. It is funded by the Australian Government and backed by the expertise of beyondblue, the Australian Psychological Society and Principals Australia Institute.

To find out how KidsMatter can help your school make a difference to children’s wellbeing and learning visit: www.kidsmatter.edu.au/primary

Health & Wellbeing

Top 10 tips for a smooth flight when travelling with a baby TO AVOID SPENDING LONG, DISAGREEABLE HOURS IN THE AIR WE HAVE SOME SIMPLE ADVICE THAT BEGINS EVEN BEFORE YOU ARRIVE AT THE AIRPORT.

There is nothing worse for a parent then the thought of travelling on an airline with an infant less than two years of age or even being a passenger waiting in the departure lounge cringing at the thought that child any minute could dissolve in a torrent of loud tears. To avoid spending long, disagreeable hours in the air we have some simple advice that begins even before you arrive at the airport. THINGS TO KNOW BEFORE LEAVING A baby can make a short flight as early as one week of age, and at 3-4 weeks, it can make a medium or long distance flight. It’s important that parents be sure their infant does not have a cold. If the child does have a cold, it is strongly advised not to fly. PARENT RECOMMENDATIONS BEFORE TAKE-OFF 1. All children travelling overseas, including newborns, need a passport. Make sure all your family’s passports have at least six months validity from your planned date of return to Australia. Keep a photocopy of your documentation separate from the originals and leave copies at home with someone you can easily contact in case of an emergency. 2. When you reserve your airline ticket, be sure to mention that you will be traveling with your baby. Certain airlines attribute specific seats to parents who are traveling with very young children. ON THE PLANE 3. To limit the effects of a change in cabin pressure when taking off and landing, we recommend ensuring your baby has something to drink, preferably something they usually drink. The act of swallowing will help alleviate ear pressure. Also, as these particular moments in the plane can be stressful, it’s advisable to let your baby suck on a pacifier.

4. I n addition to your traditional carry-on luggage, you’re allowed to take your baby’s nappy bag with you into the cabin. Powdered milk formula is also authorised but you’ll have to ask the flight crew to provide you with spring water heated to the right temperature to prepare your baby bottles. You may also take baby food and any medications that your infant may need during the flight. 5. H ave on hand everything you may need in terms of extra clothing, nappies and baby wipes – opt for wipes instead of cleansing lotions, which have to meet air safety standards: they cannot be over 100ml, and must be placed in transparent plastic bags and presented when you go through security. 6. B lankets provided by the airlines are not sufficient for your little one. Parents should include warm, comfortable clothing (bring along your baby’s usual sleeping bag and a cap) because the flight might be long and the temperature is often kept quite cool inside the plane. 7. I f the flight lasts more than 2.5 hours, you’ll have to plan for an appropriate meal for your baby. 8. B e sure your baby drinks a lot during the flight. Infants become dehydrated much faster than adults due to the dry, pressurised air. 9. P arents’ biggest preoccupation during a long flight is to keep their baby occupied. This should be taken into account when you book your tickets. If possible, try to reserve a flight that coincides with your child’s naptime or even a night flight. You will be able to reserve a baby crib directly with your airline company (these cribs are for children who weigh less than 10 kg and are less than 70 cm in length). Otherwise, parents can try to recreate a cosy, familiar environment with their baby’s favourite soft toys, books and games.

education matters primary

10. And here is an unexpected tip for getting your baby to sleep during the flight: taking along his car seat might help him drift off more easily because it’s familiar to him. However, be sure you have the airline’s permission in advance. This will depend on seating availability and the size of your child’s stroller or car seat. On arrival at your destination you may have concerns about your child being affected by time zone changes. Never fear though for if there is a time change when you arrive at your destination and your baby is less than 6 months old, this change should not have much effect as they are less sensitive at a younger age. However older infants can suffer more and we recommend adjusting to the local time by gradually delaying or advancing their bedtime. The tip can also be applied to meal times, which should be adjusted. You can help your child be patient by offering them a light snack, like applesauce. Nothing is preordained but following these tips are a simple and easy way to ensure travel conditions are comfortable for parents, children and fellow travellers.

STATE

TEACHERS HEALTH FUND

MEDIBANK PRIVATE

Top Hospital + Top Extras

Top Hospital + Top Extras 70

MONTHLY CONTRIBUTIONS^

SWITCH TO TEACHERS HEALTH FUND AND START SAVING ANNUAL SAVINGS

NSW & ACT

$365.56

$450.91

$1,024.23

VIC

$387.46

$466.57

$949.31

QLD

$388.33

$441.45

$637.49

$365.45

$420.02

$654.82

$318.86

$381.69

$753.99

TAS

$348.92

$395.98

$564.74

Uniforms

Midford – providing quality uniform solutions MIDFORD IS A COMPANY WITH A PROUD HISTORY OF PROVIDING QUALITY UNIFORM SOLUTIONS TAILORED TO THE INDIVIDUAL NEEDS OF SCHOOLS ACROSS AUSTRALIA. MIDFORD SCHOOL WEAR IS DESIGNED TO BE BOTH GOOD LOOKING AND HARD WEARING.

Generations of Australians have grown up wearing and trusting the Midford brand. Every Midford garment is rigorously tested and made to the highest Australian standards. We have continually improved, refined and re-designed our uniforms, incorporating innovations to improve comfort and durability. At Midford, we understand what an important statement a well-tailored uniform makes about your school. Our experienced team will work closely with your school to provide you with a uniform that your students are proud to wear.

A MIDFORD RETAIL SOLUTION Midford established the retail arm of the business after numerous requests for assistance with customised uniforms. We built an infrastructure specifically designed to manage uniform shop operations within a school campus environment. Midford will organise to: • P urchase current uniform stock; •M anage staff; • Upgrade your uniform shop; •C reate an online order platform;

• Assist in the design of academic and sport uniforms; and, • Guarantee an income to the school. We are proud of our commitment to providing a professional and reliable service to schools and colleges across Australia. Today, Midford operates school shops on behalf of schools in New South Wales, Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and Western Australia in both urban and rural areas. It is our quality, attention to detail and commercial expertise that makes the relationship with Midford a reliable and profitable option for these schools.

WHOLESALE & RETAIL SCHOOL UNIFORM SOLUTIONS

CATALOGUE RANGE

MADE TO ORDER GARMENTS

ON-CAMPUS UNIFORM SHOP MANAGEMENT

• • • •

Premium quality Over 65 years experience Dedicated sales executives Significant stock holdings

In-house design service Custom fabrics and colours Academic and P.E. uniform High performance on-field sportswear

Fully managed uniform shop Custom shop fitout Stock control and forecasting Consistent income stream

E: info@midford.com.au P: 1800 TEL MID (835 643) W: www.midford.com.au

Sustainability

Meeting the learning needs of teachers WHAT MAKES A GOOD EDUCATION SYSTEM? AT COOL AUSTRALIA, WE BELIEVE PART OF THE ANSWER IS SUPPORTING TEACHERS TO GROW IN THEIR PROFESSION. IT IS ABOUT NURTURING A TEACHER’S LEARNING NEEDS AND INTERESTS SO THEY CAN ADAPT TO NEW CONTEXTS, TECHNOLOGIES AND LANGUAGES. AND IT IS ABOUT CREATING VIBRANT LEARNING CULTURES IN WHICH INDIVIDUAL AND TEAMS OF TEACHERS CAN THRIVE, WRITE KIRSTY COSTA AND ANGELA ANDREWS.

Kirsty Costa and Angela Andrews are the Professional Development Managers at Cool Australia. Together they have over 30 years of experience and act as education consultants to hundreds of schools across Australia. Cool Australia is a national, not-for-profit organisation that specialises in providing teachers with tools to help students ‘Learn for Life’. We provide high-quality units of work, lesson plans and digital libraries that align with both the Australian Curriculum and the Early Years Learning Framework. Our teaching resources are online, free to access and endorsed by leading educational bodies. You may have also heard of Enviroweek, Cool Australia’s national campaign that provides a platform for early childhood services and primary and secondary schools to take action, engage their community and celebrate their successes. Find out more about Cool Australia at www. coolaustralia.org

One of the significant gaps in teacher training is the Australian Curriculum’s cross-curriculum priority of Sustainability. In 2014, the Australian Education for Sustainability Alliance (AESA) surveyed five thousand Australian teachers and asked them about their understanding and experience of sustainability education. AESA’s research found that: • 92% of teachers thought that sustainability was important and should be part of the curriculum; and, • 80% of teachers didn’t know how to incorporate sustainability in their teaching. These results have been eye-opening. Over 22,000 early childhood, primary and secondary teachers currently use Cool Australia’s freeto-access resources in their classrooms to help them integrate sustainability into their curriculum. Our resources help teachers utilise contemporary ways of teaching about sustainability to enhance teaching and learning (hint: sustainability is more than trees and recycling bins). The AESA research, however, clearly indicates that more needs to be done to

education matters primary

meet the learning needs of teachers. Traditional approaches to professional development – such as peer-to-peer coaching, local network meetings, workshops and conferences – allow teachers to explore selfdirected topics, but these can be time-consuming, costly or inconvenient. Teachers working in rural schools only have access to local networks or have to travel great distances to access the professional development needed. Schools also have limited budgets and are often forced to prioritise whole-staff learning needs, which can leave significant gaps in teacher training. Cool Australia regularly receives requests to

80%

of teachers didn’t know how to incorporate sustainability in their teaching

facilitate face-to-face workshops, but the reality is that we have limited capacity to be ‘everywhere’. As a not-for-profit education organisation we have been forced to rethink our traditional approach. Our experience with providing digital content has revealed that technology plays an important part in supporting teachers. And so, Cool Australia is creating a range of two hour and six hour online courses with the help of our partner TTA (Teacher Training Australia). These short courses are not designed to replace face-to-face interactions between teachers, but instead complement and enhance the wide range of professional development options available. Online professional development has many similarities to traditional approaches but there are a few significant differences. Teachers gain access to a range of digital and multimedia curriculum resources in an independent and self-directed manner. Throughout their online learning journey they can pose questions to their peers, clarify their thinking and acquire new teaching strategies and tools. Furthermore, all of Cool Australia’s online courses include a practical component. Teachers apply their learning in their classroom or school, while still undertaking the course. This builds teacher confidence and provides an avenue for reflection, story sharing and getting additional support. Cool Australia’s experience with online teacher professional development reveals that it: • Is cost-effective and allows schools to train a greater number of staff; • Provides teachers with 24 hours a day, 7 days a week access to learning; • Caters for different learning speeds; • Allows for richer, multi-dimensional learning experiences; • Enables teachers to go back and review content in order to deepen understanding; and, • Provides teachers with opportunities to

experience different types of technology. We have also been astonished by how online professional development connects teachers from across Australia. One of our courses recently introduced two distance education teachers – one was based in a remote community in the Northern Territory and the other was based in Northern NSW. These two teachers would never have met in a face-to-face workshop, but the online format allowed them to share ideas and resources specific to their circumstances and learning needs. The different experiences and points of view they shared provided them both with fresh perspectives and new insights. Australia’s continually evolving education system means that teachers require a diverse range of professional development options.

Traditional approaches will always play an important role in supporting teachers to develop their skills and knowledge. However, improved technologies are enabling Cool Australia to provide professional development which incorporates highquality content and practical learning experiences to teachers around Australia. We look forward to helping to develop expanded teacher networks, improved access to professional development and better learning outcomes for young Australians.

Resources • Explore Cool Australia’s online professional development at www.coolaustralia.org/onlinecourses • Learn more about TTA at www.tta.edu.au •V iew the AESA’s report ‘Education for Sustainability and the Australian Curriculum Project Phases 1 to 3’ at http://www. educationforsustainability.com.au/efs-in-the-curriculum/ aesa-final-report-now-available

EXCLUSIVE COMPETITION! Education Matters readers have the exclusive opportunity to win one of four ‘double passes’ to Cool Australia’s online professional development courses. The double passes will allow you and a friend or colleague to enroll in a Cool Australia two hour or six hour course of your choice. Each double pass is valued at $635! Imagine what you could do with one double pass to participate in a Cool Australia online course. Upskill your curriculum knowledge? Enhance your teaching? Meet educators from across Australia? Rack up some more state accredited PD hours? Courses are hosted by Teacher Training Australia (TTA), learn at your own pace and in your own time. So tell us in 25 words or less what Cool Australia course you’d love to do and why! Step 1. Visit www.coolaustralia.org/onlinecourses to find your favourite Step 2. E nter at www.coolaustralia.org/emcomp by 5pm on Friday 26th June 2015. The four most persuasive answers win! Good luck!

education matters primary

Spotlight on Science

Primary school science – highlights and pitfalls SCIENCE IS RARELY GIVEN TOP PRIORITY ON A PRIMARY SCHOOL AGENDA, BUT AS A NATION, IF WE ARE TO COMPETE ON AN INTERNATIONAL LEVEL, WE MUST ENGAGE MORE PEOPLE WITH SCIENCE, WRITES DANIELLE SPENCER.

Danielle Spencer is a passionate primary school teacher, currently in her eleventh year of teaching. With a long and extensive background in paediatric nursing, Danielle particularly enjoys teaching science and discovering the world again through a child’s eyes. Danielle upholds inquirybased learning as best practice and she aims to promote the discipline of science within her school community. After completing a Graduate Certificate in Primary Science in 2011, Danielle established an extra-curricular science club at Mitchelton State School. She currently coordinates the three extra-curricular science clubs at Mitchelton, SC@M (Science Club at Mitchie), SC@M in Space Astronomy Club and Robotics Club. Danielle also currently acts as Science Coach at Mitchelton State School. Danielle has been an author for online science journal Australian Science where she has written on various aspects of science pedagogy in primary schools. She has delivered regional conference sessions and been involved in facilitating statewide training on science literacy and pedagogy. In recognition of her dedication to primary school science and her innovative work practices, Danielle was awarded a Peter Doherty Outstanding Teacher of Science Award in 2013.

Teaching our next generation is a privileged position and it could be argued that teachers generally enjoy their job, try their best and love working with children. Primary school teachers afford a special position as they work with such young learners. As generalists, primary school teachers must teach the breadth of the curriculum; from English to Art, from Science to Geography. Every primary school teacher I know often laments of just how to fit it all in a 25 hour week. Then take out the time for sports days, special event days, excursions or additional non-curricular activities. It is a difficult juggle. It is also difficult to be able to maintain the same level of enthusiasm for each subject area, let alone possess a depth of content knowledge for each curriculum area. Effective science teaching though can encompass many aspects of literacy and numeracy and this is where we should place an emphasis, on making these links between science and the real world. The decline

education matters primary

of student’s interest in science as they progress through their schooling is well documented and this is worrying for Australia. If we don’t capture a child in their primary years and hook them on to science, it becomes increasingly difficult to develop an appreciation and interest in science and what science can offer – primary school science and primary school teachers hold the key. The introduction of the Australian Curriculum (ACARA) has proven to be a doubleedged sword to some. Although ensuring a national consistency in curriculum content and explicitly defining learning intent that students must achieve at given year levels, the national curriculum is content laden. Individual state education departments have developed curriculum documents in response to ACARA, however many of these too are overloaded. For beginning teachers and teachers not as comfortable with the teaching of science, to be able discriminately unpack these

Hands-on inquiry learning gets messy.

documents and make relevant curriculum decisions that address the needs of their specific learners can be tortuous. Additionally, many primary school teachers admit to having limited content knowledge themselves, especially in the fields of physics and chemistry, which makes curriculum decisions even more difficult. Consequently, their enthusiasm for the subject area wanes, their ease at which they communicate science with their class suffers and teachers develop a poor self-efficacy around teaching science. Given Hattie’s research1, that greatest influence on student performance and educational outcomes is the teacher, it is vital that we support our primary teachers in the teaching of science. There are many barriers to effective science teaching in primary school but resourcing and the time to prepare resources would be amongst the top barriers for many primary teachers. The long list of consumables, such as baking soda, batteries or vinegar, must be replenished and primary teachers usually pay for these consumables out of their own pockets. Many schools have limited stocks of science equipment so teachers constantly make-do. Re-used cups become beakers, and plastic plates become petri dishes. Whilst primary teachers are typically highly resourceful and extraordinary recyclers, these practices de-value the importance of science and

“If we don’t capture a child in their primary years and hook them on to science, it becomes increasingly difficult to develop an appreciation and interest in science and what science can offer – primary school science and primary school teachers hold the key.” best practice is threatened. Unless science has been given priority on a school agenda, purchasing science equipment from a limited curriculum budget becomes problematic. Some primary schools, having developed positive relationships with their nearby high schools, are able to borrow scientific equipment but for many schools this is not possible. Then, once resourcing has been established, the primary school teacher does not have the luxury of a lab tech. Primary teachers must themselves prepare and organise equipment for group or individual work. Afterwards, they must find

education matters primary

more time to pack up and clean everything. Science delivery in primary schools is financially burdensome and time consuming for teachers. Inquiry-based science learning that gets dirty and untidy, where children direct their own learning, can also be tricky with young learners. Group negotiation and collaboration become necessary skills that teachers must explicitly teach. When you couple a difficult cohort of children, with a primary teacher who is not comfortable teaching science, inquiry learning in science suffers. Science is rarely given top priority on a primary school agenda. Principals, themselves being pressured from above, are concerned with raising their performance in high-stakes National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) testing. The data gleaned from NAPLAN plays a huge driving force in school agenda. Literacy and numeracy become the school focus. Primary teachers, regularly involved in training and in-servicing around literacy and numeracy, often feel pressured to focus on these areas at the sake of other learning areas. Consequently, science is often delivered with a strict time constraint or relegated to the afternoon sessions. Scientific literacy is often not given equal importance despite Australia’s need to raise scientifically literate students as well. The evidence

Spotlight on Science

Madison Rouse, Mitchie Young Scientist of the Year 2014.

from the 2012 National Assessment Program – Science Literacy (NAP-SL)2 highlights that just 51% of Australian students perform at or above the proficient standard of scientific literacy. For our indigenous students, the percentage of those performing at or above the proficient standard was just 20%. Students in rural or remote areas and those whose home language is not English also perform worse. Government and primary school administrators must address this concerning lack of scientific literacy in our young learners. If, as a nation, we are to compete on an international level, we must engage more people with science. It is worrying that our primary students do not perform better on an international scale. Results from the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS)3 highlight that 29% of our Year 4 students achieved at or below the low international benchmark. Almost 1:3 children were unable to think scientifically. Carried out every three

years, the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) surveys 15-year-old students from 65 countries around the world in mathematical, scientific and reading literacy skills. Our international ranking in PISA in scientific literacy has not changed since 2006. Whilst we do perform well, there is a large variance in student performance. Despite all the barriers to teaching science in primary school, and the apparent poor results in national and international testing, there are countless cases of wonderful practices, some incredible teachers of primary science and individual schools that do their utmost to prioritise science. You only need to review some of the winners of the Australian Prime Minister Prize for Excellence in Science Teaching to see exceptional and inspirational teachers of primary science. Winners such as Brian Schiller (2014) who creatively incorporates science across the curriculum (even to Japanese) and Cheryl Capra (2007) who developed an astronomy program at her local school and became a NASA partner school. There would be countless other, unrecognised teachers out there in our primary schools doing similar things just because they love science. These teachers encourage their young learners to participate in regional, state and national science competitions, like NATA’s Young Scientist of the Year Competition which has hundreds of entries each year. Schools hold events such as science fairs or science competitions to celebrate National Science Week. In the highly recommended CSIRO Visiting Scientist and Mathematician Program, schools are making partnerships with real-life scientists, engaging their students with science

education matters primary

professionals and exposing their students to the possibilities of science careers. These cases need to be celebrated and shared so that more teachers and schools will attempt them. The major advantage of teaching science to young learners in primary school is that it can be so much fun. Teaching science can be easy, as you can feed off a child’s innate sense of wonder and curiosity with their world. Most children want to make sense of their world and science activities that are relevant and linked with real-world activities are well accepted. There are endless possibilities to highlight science in action. Young children are typically not afraid to display their wonder at discovering new phenomena. The noise of discovery from a child is infectious for the teacher and provides an instant feedback of learning. At Mitchelton State School in Queensland, science is slowly becoming embedded into our schooling fabric. Three years ago, SC@M or Science Club at Mitchie was established. From the first intake of just 22 students, current enrolment in SC@M is 62 students. SC@M is an extra-curricular weekly science club, where the emphasis is on learning science through play. The major aim of SC@M is to instil a love of scientific curiosity. The focus of each term differs, from Earth Sciences, Chemistry, and Physics to Biology. Student learning is facilitated through a range of experiences that involve students experimenting with various phenomena. It is loud, messy and an incredible amount of fun. Additional extra-curricular science clubs have been launched as well. SC@M in Space, Astronomy Club and a Robotics Club are both in their second year. SC@M

Results from the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMMS)3 highlight that 29% of our Year 4 students achieved at or below the low international benchmark. Almost 1:3 children were unable to think scientifically. in Space Astronomy Club was fortunate to have a long–standing relationship with a Visiting CSIRO Scientist. Students from Mitchelton State School have been awarded with prizes in the national 60 Second Science Contest and NATA’s Young Scientist of the Year competitions. Principal Maria Berriman has recognised the value of science and the value of upskilling all teachers. With some twisting and intricate juggling of the budget bucket, she has restructured staffing to include a Science Coach position one day each week. The Science Coach’s role includes working collaboratively with teachers and assisting

teachers to develop capacity in their teaching of science. Mitchelton State School aims to encourage all students to engage in scientific pursuits and established the “Young Scientist of the Year Award” in 2014. This perpetual trophy is awarded to a child who may not necessarily be a top academic performer in science, but rather a child who embodies a love of science and science learning. The inaugural Young Scientist of the Year had been a member of SC@M since its inception, as well as both the Astronomy and Robotics Club, entered any science competition she could and was an avid and involved learner in class. It is children just like this that we need to foster through primary science. In commenting on hopes for the future for science education in primary schools, we must hope that science is given priority, not just on an individual school agenda but also on a national agenda. The budget bucket is not endless and unless science is viewed as equal priority in primary schools it can be overlooked. Financial assistance to resource science effectively is necessary. These resources include both physical and human aspects. To deliver quality and effective science, primary teachers need the equipment and the knowledge to do so. I was fortunate enough to be part of the Australian Science Teachers Association (ASTA) Science Teachers Exchange to Japan in 2014, an experience that was a career highlight and one that I could not recommend highly enough. Japan, one of the highest performing nations in PISA, places a great importance upon learning science in primary schools. Primary schools we visited had an enviable well-stocked science room. Students from Grade 3 and above are taught three hours of science each week. Teachers are well supported to develop an understanding of science process and science content. Graduate teachers are supported in their beginning year through a senior mentor teacher. Principals are highly involved in science training with their teachers and provide significant support through workshops and feedback.

AUSTRALIAN SCIENCE TEACHERS ASSOCIATION Founded in 1951, the Australian Science Teachers Association is the federation of Science Teachers Associations from all Australian states and territories. It is the national professional association for teachers of science and a powerful voice influencing policy and practice in science education. Please visit www.asta.edu.au for more information. Looking for professional development opportunities? CONASTA is the annual National Science Education Conference of the Australian Science Teachers Association (ASTA) being held this year in Perth from July 5-9th. Listen to Australia’s brightest scientists, experience amazing workshops and only attend the days relevant to you with a dedicated primary day! asta.edu.au/conasta

There are lessons there for us here in Australia. We need to support our teachers. Primary school teachers do amazing things every day yet there is a limit of what we can achieve in isolation and when unsupported. Primary school science is so rewarding. Unfortunately this view is not held by every primary teacher due to weighty constraints. Imagine the endless possibilities, if only science and primary teachers were given endless support.

References J Hattie 2003, ‘Teachers make a difference: What is the research evidence?’ paper presented to Australian Council for Educational Research Annual Conference, Melbourne, 19–21 October. Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority 2013, ‘National Assessment Program – Science Literacy Year 6 Report 2012.’ S Thomson, K Hillman, N Wernett, M Schmid, S Buckley & A Munene. 2011 ‘Highlights from TIMSS & PIRLS 2011 from Australia’s perspective.’ S Thomson, L De Bortoli, S Buckley. 2012 ‘PISA in Brief, Highlights from the full Australian report: PISA 2012: How Australia Measure up. The PISA 2012 assessment of students’ mathematical, scientific and reading literacy.’

education matters primary

Making the Grade

TEMAG and the way forward: Perspectives on professional experience, induction and professional development for teachers INVESTING IN QUALITY PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE FOR PRE-SERVICE AND PROFESSIONAL MENTOR TEACHERS IS THE BEST MOVE GOVERNMENTS CAN MAKE TOWARDS IMMEDIATE AND SUSTAINABLE IMPROVEMENTS IN TEACHER QUALITY AND STUDENT LEARNING, WRITES

PROFESSOR TANIA ASPLAND DipTeach KPTC, GradDip(SpecialEd) MGCAE, BEd Qld., BA Qld., MEd Deakin., PhD Qld. As President of the Australian Council of Deans of Education, Professor Aspland leads the peak association that represents 43 of the 48 Deans of faculties and Heads of Schools of Education in Australian universities and other higher education institutions. ACDE informs policies, strategies, conversations and research in higher education, particularly teacher education. It is currently working with the Federal Government and other agencies to implement the Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group (TEMAG) Report recommendations. Professor Aspland has had an extensive career in three states and is a national leader in teacher education course development. She is currently Executive Dean, Faculty of Education and Arts at the Australian Catholic University. Prior to ACU, Professor Aspland was a Professor in Education at the University of Adelaide.

Government has identified professional experience or the “practicum” as the most important part of teacher preparation programs. Investing in quality professional experience for pre-service and professional mentor teachers is the best move governments can make towards immediate and sustainable improvements in teacher quality and student learning. This change is also reflected in submissions to the Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group (TEMAG) review that outlined three planks to improve teacher education – selection, accreditation and practical experience. Earlier this year TEMAG Chair, Professor Greg Craven, told an Australian Council of Deans of Education (ACDE) Deans’ Forum: “Every single person or group that came before TEMAG emphasised the centrality and criticality of the professional experience. Every single submission talked about its importance…every single person proposed the greater integration of practicum and professional experience with university, teaching and theory. “It has universal acceptance. The jury is in on this,” he said. The Federal Government’s response to the TEMAG Report recommendations said that timely, high-quality, structured and supported practical experience was critical for teacher education students to develop the knowledge and skills they needed to be effective teachers. Students should receive professional experience as early in their initial teacher education training as possible.

education matters primary

As one Dean in the ACDE forum said: “Professional experience is where the rubber hits the road for students.” It is when teacher education students find out whether they are suited to the profession. “We all know those dreadful experiences of someone who progresses through the program, is absolutely terrific, they think they really want to be a teacher, and then they discover something from there – like they don’t want to teach, or that they have difficulties engaging with students, or even worse I would think, that children cannot engage with them,” Professor Craven told the Deans. However, while there are already Australian Professional Standards in place, there is a pressing need to reconceptualise the nature of professional experience for contemporary times, and ensure that there is greater consistency in delivery and the quality of engagement with teachers. Pre-service teachers cite professional experience as the most important part of their teaching degree. Great teaching careers are founded on both the knowledge gained at university and through graduates working alongside accomplished teachers in schools. Previous models of teacher ‘training’ tended to separate the theory learned at university and the practical experience gained in schools. This model of practicums, with teaching students being ‘helicoptered’ into schools and then back to the books at university, is no longer appropriate, nor supported by the profession. As a top national priority, professional

“It is important that teacher education students begin to take responsibility for the learning of young people from the start or in the first semester of their teaching degrees.”

experience is currently being reconceptualised by all partners to include internships, observations, school-based tutorials, joint clinical practices, mentor training, and supervised practicum or community placements – all elements that the recent TEMAG Report says should be designed to provide graduates with multiple opportunities to ‘learn to teach’ through field-based quality mentoring and partnerships. This reflects the call by government for a more clinical focus on teacher preparation whereby would-be graduates are required to observe and be engaged in classroom practices in a systematic and sustained manner with quality teachers; teachers who are identified and upgraded as lead or mentor teachers. It also reaffirms that, “pre-service teachers should be exposed to a wide range of school-based experiences during this time, from delivering the curriculum and managing students in a classroom to working as part of a school community”. STRONGER CULTURE OF COLLABORATION It is important that teacher education students begin to take responsibility for the learning of young people from the start or in the first semester of their teaching degrees. Optimal outcomes depend on them being connected to a national network of teachers, teacher learning, teacher development and research and evidence that informs and improves their teaching. The ACDE submission recommended that teacher education students become registered with their local regulatory authority on enrolment rather than on graduation, and government has supported this aspiration in its response to TEMAG. Over the past five years there has been a marked cultural shift towards a more collaborative and national professional experience framework. This is largely a result of effective conversations

across stakeholder groups, led by the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). To achieve the changes required, stakeholders need to continue their commitment to improve how teachers, schools and universities work together to prepare graduate teachers. Teachers, bureaucrats and principals must sustain their commitment to actively contribute to the critique and reconstruction of teacher preparation, and be central to, course design and accreditation, the delivery of the course and the assessment of impact of programs on student learning. The diaspora of teacher educators is more actively crossing the boundaries of universities and schools to become a community of advocates that strive to enhance the quality of teacher preparation, induction and professional development. Ultimately, this is a win for the quality of learning offered to students in our schools. Government has demanded that the latest research and best practices must contribute to the future of teacher assessment, developing classroom ready graduates, and the teaching of literacy and numeracy. This reconceptualisation and cultural shift must also include a different relationship with our industrial advocates. It’s a joint responsibility. TEMAG’s Action Now, Classroom Ready Teachers report proposes a deeply integrated system in which partnerships of higher education providers, school systems, and school communities work together to achieve strong outcomes. In its response, the Federal Government said it will, “instruct AITSL to establish and publish the essential requirements for practical experience, identify best practice examples in Australia, and model partnership agreements and other supporting materials for universities. This work will be developed in partnership with universities, schools and education authorities.

education matters primary

“AITSL will also outline clear expectations for the supervision and assessment of teachers undertaking practical experience. This will assist universities and schools to identify and prepare highly skilled teachers to supervise practical experience, and to undertake rigorous, continuous and consistent assessment of teacher education students for classroom readiness.” INDUCTION Many professions – like law and medicine – have structured entry into the workforce yet teaching graduates are usually on their own in the classroom from day one. Graduates need a structured, scaffolded period of transition as they come to the end of their course and move into teaching profession. ACDE has made a recommendation that initial teacher education should extend into the first two years of classroom teaching. It is well accepted that graduate teachers require ongoing mentoring and support for induction into the profession, as well as into the educational and community contexts. While more data is required to inform future

Making the Grade

policies and practice, the evidence we have highlights a disconnection between how early career teachers and school principals perceive the availability of school-based professional induction programs in the crucial first two years of teaching. The Longitudinal Teacher Education and Workforce Study 2013 found more than 97% of principals identified induction programs as available in their schools but 20-26% of graduate teachers identified induction programs as not available. Further, the Staff in Australian Schools Study 2013 pointed to ongoing professional learning opportunities as the most common form of support for newly employed graduate teachers, but the study also noted a lack of school support and induction. The study found there was a need for better early career training in the most challenging culturally, linguistically and socio-economically diverse environments. Principals identified the key challenges faced by newly employed graduate teachers as classroom management, pedagogy and catering for diverse learners. Early career primary teachers perceived a need for more professional learning in supporting students with disabilities and teaching students with a wide range of backgrounds and abilities. Both primary and secondary early career teachers

perceived a need for more professional learning in dealing with difficult student behaviour. These needs can be ongoing throughout a teaching career but are critical throughout the induction and transition period. TEMAG FINDINGS ON INDUCTION The Action Now, Classroom Ready Teachers report found that: • There is no profession-wide approach to supporting teacher development in the important early years in the classroom; • The quality and quantity of induction support varies across states and territories, sectors and schools; •D espite many excellent initiatives, employers and schools are not consistently offering effective support for beginning teachers through their transition to proficiency and full registration; • S takeholders have identified a need for improved support for beginning teachers, including mentoring by highly skilled teachers; • There is concern that induction support is inadequate for beginning teachers in temporary employment and in ‘hard to staff’ schools; • E ffective induction is critical to successful transition into classroom teaching practice. It

education matters primary

includes structured mentoring, observation and feedback; and, • High-performing and improving education systems demonstrate a commitment to structured support for beginning teachers in their transition to full professional performance and in doing so, build and sustain a culture of professional responsibility. ACDE is most supportive of working with government and the profession to address each of these shortfalls through providing needs based professional development to graduates and teachers; professional development that is context specific, based on research evidence and aligned to ongoing teacher registration. There is evidence that much of this is already in place in some jurisdictions. LIFELONG LEARNING ACDE recognises the importance of teacher professional learning that ensures continuous improvement in teaching quality and student outcomes and enhances the career prospects of many of the 440,000 registered Australian teachers. However there is a need for research-based professional development that meets the needs of individual teachers, professionally, intellectually,

culturally and contextually. Such professional development needs to be appropriately financed by government and employing authorities. The fact that there are very few national scholarships to support ongoing professional learning for teachers is of concern. Teachers in Australia rarely receive an automatic increase in their remuneration with the awarding of a higher degree in contrast to a number of international practices. Despite this situation many Australian teachers continue to engage in professional development over the lifetime of a career. Interestingly, on the international scale, Australia rates well with its professional learning opportunities. The OECD’s Teaching and Learning Survey 2014 found that Australia has one of the highest percentages of teachers who reported undertaking some form of professional development in the year prior to the survey. Three out of four teachers did not self-fund their professional development and Australia had one of the highest reported percentages for providing time for professional growth during working hours (79%). An Australian analysis of the TALIS Report, by the Australian Centre for Educational Research, also found that: • Australian teachers are more likely to attend workshops and conferences and participate in networks for their professional development; • They are less likely to visit other schools or undertake formal qualifications than their international counterparts; • The wide inclusion of teachers with a high rate of participation is countered by a low number of days; • Australian school systems are centred more on maximising overall participation in professional development than focussing on the intensity of offered professional development; and, • For every content area listed, Australia exhibited the lowest percentage of teachers reporting a moderate or large positive impact on their teaching when compared to each sub-group. The analysis suggests that the findings invite further investigation into the satisfaction and appropriateness or quality of the professional development received, or whether there are other factors that reduced its perceived impact. Teachers may need additional days to gain full benefit from these opportunities. In the current context however,

before extra resourcing is made available it will be incumbent on teachers to demonstrate that professional development has a positive impact on student learning. Only then is it likely that funding for sustained professional learning be viable and credible. This call by government for teachers to demonstrate impact may endorse a current practice in some contexts that all teachers be required to undergo ongoing performance management by employers. Professional development resources would be integral to such an approach. It is argued that models of performance management that provide teachers with appraisals and feedback can be powerful tools to improve the quality of teaching and student outcomes. However almost 62% of Australian teachers believed teacher appraisal and feedback was largely undertaken to adhere to administrative expectations -- a figure unchanged over five years. Only 29% of Australian teachers report thought feedback received was based on a careful review of their teaching practices. This compares to just under half of the teachers in the 34 countries surveyed compared with just under 50% of TALIS teachers. This is a challenge for the future. MOVING INTO THE FUTURE ACDE will continue to work for change and improvement in institutions that engage in teacher

education matters primary

preparation, and with schools, communities and systems. The Deans recognise that there is a need for strong partnerships to develop highly capable teachers and continued excellence in the teaching of future generations. The ACDE Deans’ Forum in March committed to working in a partnership with AITSL and the Federal Government. It will contribute to expert groups on: • Rigorous selection into initial teacher education (ITE); • Improved and structured Professional Experience; • Strengthening the accreditation process; • Robust assessment of graduates to ensure classroom readiness; and, • What research and data is required to enhance ITE? ACDE is optimistic that early implementation of many TEMAG recommendations will begin next year. References 1 http://www.studentsfirst.gov.au/teacher-educationministerial-advisory-group 2 https://docs.education.gov.au/node/36789 3 http://www.aitsl.edu.au/australian-professional-standardsfor-teachers/standards/list 4 http://www.studentsfirst.gov.au/teacher-educationministerial-advisory-group 5 http://www.aitsl.edu.au 6 https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/ ltews_main_report.pdf 7 https://docs.education.gov.au/system/files/doc/other/ sias_2013_main_report.pdf 8 http://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent. cgi?article=1001&context=talis

Before & After School Care

OSHC providers measure up SCHOOL LEADERS CAN NOW HAVE FAITH IN THE QUALITY OF CARE IN AFTER SCHOOL HOURS CARE PROGRAMS WITH THE NATIONAL QUALITY FRAMEWORK (NQF) ASSESSMENT PROCESS.

OSHClub director Scott Bull said that school leaders now have much more transparency regarding the quality of the OSHC programs running at their schools, whether they run their own program or have partnered with an external company such as OSHClub. “Under the federal NQF, all childcare facilities across the country are assessed in terms of their quality of care. It ensures that the quality of all OSHC services is continually evaluated and that a continuous improvement plan is in place for each site to offer an even better quality service.” OSHClub welcomes the NQF. “For the first time, a set of rules and regulations is in place to cover all OSHC services nationally. Each OSHC site is assessed as part of this process and then given an overall

rating, based on the quality of the service provided.” Scott sees this assessment process as an important and valuable part of the OSHC industry. “Seventy-seven OSHClub programs nationally have so far been assessd by ACECQA. Forty per cent of these are exceeding the new quality standards, against a national average of about nineteen per cent which is notably the highest in the OSHC industry. OSHClub has worked closely with ACECQA to develop the NQF assessment process and we have developed our Policies and Procedures to ensure they are in line with the new regulations and guidelines. “The need for Before and After School Care is ever more apparent,” he continued. “Over the last 12 months, the utilisation of our established programs has increased significantly. We have also experienced

marked growth in the number of new services we now provide onsite at schools nationally as more school leaders understand the need for OSHC in their community.” Scott says a quality OSHC Program is a vital component of a school’s service. “Ensuring a program is compliant under the NQF can take up a significant portion of a school leader’s time – time which could and should be directed to the school’s core business. However this is OSHClub’s core business – which is why many more schools are approaching OSHClub, asking us to take over the running of their current program.” Find out more about how an OSHClub After School Care program will benefit your school by calling Philippa Younger on 0478 199 335.

oshclub.com.au 46

education matters primary

Before and After School Care

A fresh approach to childcare SHERPA KIDS IS AN INTERNATIONAL COMPANY WHICH RUNS BEFORE AND AFTER SCHOOL AND VACATION CARE ACTIVITIES WITH PRIMARY SCHOOLS AND OTHER COMMUNITY FACILITIES. WE HAVE SOME 100 LOCAL OWNERS WORLDWIDE, LOOKING AFTER AROUND 5,400 PRIMARY SCHOOL-AGED CHILDREN EVERY DAY, SUPPORTING OVER 100 SCHOOLS.

Sherpa Kids’ activities include arts and crafts, music and drama, sport and games, cooking and technology. Many of them are based on specific themes, such as the circus, recycling, sporting events and space, and are tailored to fit in with the individual requirements of schools, their curriculums, children engagement and the surrounding environment.

Global Company sharing Cultural Diversity “Currently servicing over 150 schools by 100 local owners working with over 5400 primary school aged children daily”

Sherpa Kids aims to deliver a ‘fresh and vibrant’ approach to childcare – and to “give children such a great time that they do not want to go home!” In addition to offering a wide range of activities, it also capitalises on its international connections by, for example, encouraging Sherpa children from Adelaide in Australia to send postcards to children in County Cork, in Ireland, to

learn about life on the other side of the world. By using a franchise model, Sherpa Kids not only benefits from the local knowledge of the provider, it also contributes to the economic and employment prospects of local communities since all decision-making is done at local level by owners and franchisees are encouraged to source products locally. Contact us today on (08) 8354 4886.

Sherpa Kids believes in making it easier Have Sherpa Kids partner with your School Community today

Before School, After School and Holiday Care vicki@sherpa-kids.com.au www.sherpa-kids.com.au 08 83544886

Before and After School Care

Building courageous resilience in kids FINDING OPPORTUNITIES IN THE TURMOIL TAKES REAL COURAGE, WRITES DARREN STEVENSON, EXTEND MANAGING DIRECTOR.

Nelson A. Rockefeller said, “Wherever you look upon this earth, the opportunities take shape within the problems”. Opportunities aren’t always obvious. Sometimes it looks scary or tough. So how do we summon the courage to march into unchartered waters, and show our kids how to do the same? For most of us it’s not too difficult to embrace the obvious opportunities as they arise, such as that job promotion or marriage proposal. But what about those events that are thrust upon us, rather than designed or chosen? Finding opportunities in the turmoil takes real courage. It’s called resilience, and it’s a skill that both adults and children can benefit from practicing more.

It might be a life changing turmoil such as a family breakdown, or something more minor, such as a change or end to a friendship, a change of school rules, or moderate alterations to daily life. Either way, if the changes worrying you are not what you think you want, your first response might be resistance. You won’t even think to look for opportunities. And if you can’t find the opportunities in adversity, your kids will never see how it’s done. When encouraged or forced by others to accept unwanted change, such as a change in friendship groups for example, it can feel very uncomfortable, even scary. The current reality, the situation you have been used to, is deconstructing before your eyes. At this point it can be difficult to see that any new beginning might be better than the reality you have known. But some changes are unavoidable. Often, the sooner you embrace the deconstruction, and take charge of it, the sooner you can begin to create a new reality that works better for you. Rather than leaving it up to others, you need to have the courage to construct the new environment that you want. Firstly, you need to recognise that your fear of the unknown is normal. Resistance is usually borne from fear; of the unknown, of failure, of change. Once you understand and accept that fear is part of the process, this can help overcome the discomfort that comes with an unknown future. Understanding why you are afraid and exactly what you are afraid of, will help you begin to imagine the potential future you desire. From here, you have the opportunity to start to actually shape your unknown future. It’s a clean slate. And the more you move towards your desired future, the less you have to fear. You can start to

education matters primary

look for the opportunities to create the future you want. It also helps to understand that sometimes plans won’t come to fruition. Sometimes you will succeed in the opportunities you seek. Sometimes you won’t. And that’s ok. There will always be something to be gained or learned from your best attempt. You just have to be open to seeing it. When we understand this as adults it becomes easier to help kids deal with their inevitable setbacks in life and develop resilience. Extend is a leading provider of high quality Outside School Hours Care services within primary schools throughout Australia. Visit extend.com.au to read more useful articles for school leaders.

Before and After School Care

OSHC industry facing challenging future ADAM PEASE, CEO OF CAMP AUSTRALIA, DISCUSSES THE FIVE KEY CHALLENGES FACING OSHC OPERATORS.

Outside School Hours Care (OSHC) has grown substantially over the last decade. Successive governments and schools have recognised the growing need of working parents for a safe, fun and engaging place for children after the school bell. The OSHC industry has also evolved through legislative and funding changes and increased professionalism transforming what had been a cottage industry. However, the biggest challenges may still be ahead as a number of key changes combine to put real pressure on OSHC operators. Listed below are five of the key challenges. 1. GOVERNMENT REBATES The Productivity Commission has recommended changes to the current rebate structure which will directly impact on both

the cost to parents and the potential viability of some services. Under the current arrangements there are two rebates, CCB and CCR. The first is applied on a per hour basis based on the annual income of the parent, with low income earners receiving higher rebates and high income earners not receiving anything. The second is a 50% rebate on the cost of care once the first rebate has been applied. The outcome of this system is all Australian tax payers pay a maximum of 50% of the cost of care, with those most in need of financial assistance paying the least. For OSHC providers it also ensures that additional costs like incursions and excursions are included in the rebate structure so that the cost to parents does not become prohibitive. Under the proposed structure the two rebates

will be combined into a single rebate. This rebate will be means tested and based on a nominal cost per hour. As this is not related to the actual fee charged, families paying higher fees will be worse off. The unintended flow on effect of this is likely to see a reduction in incursions and excursions, among other items, limiting the variety and enjoyment for children as providers try to keep prices low. Changes in rebates may also see a rise in the number of families electing not to use OSHC – possibly resulting in a rise in ‘latch-key kids’, (those that walk home unsupervised and let themselves into a vacant dwelling). This would be an increased safety concern in our society for these young children. 2. AVAILABILITY OF QUALIFIED STAFF The Productivity Commission have also recommended that Nannies be eligible for the same rebates as other childcare services such as Day Care and OSHC, provided that they have the same qualifications and abide by the NQF (National Quality Framework). This change in government funding may result in an increase in the use of Nannies, increasing the demand for qualified childcare workers. This may further increase the shortage in skilled workers in the OSHC industry an issue some state governments are already attempting to address through career promotion initiatives. The timing of these potential departures of skilled labour from the OSHC industry is likely to coincide with an increase in demand due to legislative changes that require a higher level of skilled workers and in some states higher staff to children ratios. The combination of all of these challenges will ensure that OSHC workers are

education matters primary

highly sought after – and if usual rules of supply and demand apply then the wages of OSHC workers are also likely to rise. 3. COST OF COMPLIANCE The National Quality Framework is about to complete its three year trial period. One of the outcomes of the trial is a greater awareness of the challenge of assessment, not only for the providers, but also the resource requirements of the government assessors. With some services still to be assessed after nearly three years, it is clear that the government need more assessors. In order to obtain the necessary resources, the authorities are looking to pass on some of the cost of assessment to the providers. Estimated at up to $12,000 per service, this is a cost few providers will have budgeted for. This alone could make some smaller services unviable. 4. SCHOOL LICENCE FEES The OSHC industry has grown in the last decade (see Productivity chart above). The number of commercial providers has also grown rapidly with school tenders in some states regularly receiving more than a dozen responses. In this competitive market, some providers are trying to entice schools by offering exorbitant licence fees. These fees have made headlines in NSW and resulted in policy changes in Queensland as the government tries to restore some sanity to the industry. In the meantime, some schools may soon find out the truth in the old saying: ‘if it looks too good to be true, it probably is’. Parents are footing the bill as providers increase the cost to parents to cover the increase in licence fees to schools. 5. ECONOMIC CONDITIONS Australia has famously avoided an economic downturn for nearly two decades. This is longer than many of the OSHC providers have been in business. Subsequently few have any idea what impact an economic downturn may have on the demand for OSHC. Given that it is underpinned by the needs

Growth in the number of approved ECEC services* 18000 16000 14000 12000 10000 8000 6000 4000 2000

2002-03

2004-05

2006-07

2008-09

Total

2010-11

2012-13

Outside school hours care

Long day care * There were changes to the child care rebate in July 2008 to provide 50 per cent of out-ofpocket expenses for approved care up to a maximum limit. Source: Department of Education administrative data (2012-13).

The jump in service numbers between 2007-08 and 2008-09 reﬂects changes to the recording of outside school hours services (prior to this, before school care and after school care were counted as a single service).

of working parents, demand for OSHC will fall as employment rates fall. Currently 62% of Australian families have both parents working. CONCLUSION Each of the challenges facing the OSHC industry outlined above can be overcome by experienced OSHC providers. However, various combinations of these challenges may well be too much for some school community run programs and/or individual OSHC providers. This is a common phase of most industries as they move from years of growth into a maturity and consolidation phase. Schools are key stakeholders and partners in the provision of this important service to their communities; they need to be mindful of the challenges ahead when considering how best to meet their own OSHC needs.

education matters primary

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Adam Pease is an experienced education, technology, administration and communications professional. A passionate industry advocate, Adam has worked in the education and early childhood care sector for 15 years and is focused on bringing out the best in kids. Adam, like all members of the Camp Australia team, takes great pride in leading the industry in best practice, working with all levels of Government and Education to ensure children get the care they need and deserve. If you would like any further information with regard to this article or other OSHC related matters we would be happy to help. Please contact Camp Australia on 1300 792 668.

More schools have chosen Camp Australia to provide quality After School Care. Find out why.

Discover more about how we can add value to your school community www.campaustralia.com.au/myschool or call 1300 792 668

Industry Q & A

New AEU President weighs in on education sector THE AUSTRALIAN EDUCATION UNION’S NEW FEDERAL PRESIDENT, CORRENA HAYTHORPE, SPEAKS EXCLUSIVELY WITH EDUCATION MATTERS MAGAZINE.

WHAT PLANS DOES THE AUSTRALIAN EDUCATION UNION (AEU) HAVE TO EDUCATE WIDER PUBLIC ON GONSKI REFORMS AND THE BENEFIT OF THEIR IMPLEMENTATION IN LEAD UP TO THE 2016 ELECTION? The issue of school funding is an issue that parents and the community understand, particularly with respect to making sure that their schools have the resources that they need in place. Because we’ve been campaigning now for some years to get Gonski school funding reform in place, we have developed a very broad network of people and have over 130,000 who are a part of our subscriber community and are supporters of our campaign. So in the lead up

to the next federal election we plan to engage those people to engage their networks, friends, and family to make sure we can reignite the awareness around the importance of needs-based funding being in place to make sure that all children across Australia have the resource that they need to achieve a high educational outcome. New South Wales and South Australia in particular have made a full implementation of Gonski. We have five states that signed up to the National Education Reform agreement and just after the previous federal election the Abbot Government made a deal with the other states which really was a deal that meant that those states did not have the same

education matters primary

Former primary school teacher and Australian Education Union SA Branch President, Correna Haythorpe, took over as President of the Union from Angelo Gavrielatos in February 2015. Correna spent 17 years as a teacher in public primary schools, mainly in low-SES areas of northern Adelaide and Port Pirie, in South Australia. She became active in the SA branch of the union in the 1990s and served as Women’s Officer for the SA branch, focusing on paid maternity leave and better conditions for female teachers, before serving as President from 2008 to 2013. She led the union through a long-running industrial dispute with the SA Government as well as organising the “I Give a Gonski” and “Stop TAFE Cuts” campaigns. She took on the additional role of Deputy Federal President of the AEU in 2013, working closely with former Federal President Angelo Gavrielatos and Federal Secretary Susan Hopgood.

Industry Q & A

level of accountability and transparency around the funding. So it really is very different in terms of what happening around Australia with the Gonski implementation. In states that have put the money into schools and state governments that have made that full commitment in terms of the funding, we’re seeing the very real benefit now of programs put in place in those schools. Support programs or support staff that have been employed, and children receiving that one-on-one help that they need to make sure they can achieve the best education outcomes possible. So parents in some schools communities are seeing the benefit and they can tell the story in the lead up to the election about what’s possible when we have needs-based funding in place in our schools – and it’s going to be a very positive story. Our big challenge of course is getting those states that have not yet implemented the full Gonski principles to actually commit to doing so and that the Abbott Government commits to making sure that they fund Years 5 and 6. LOOKING AT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S RECENT FOCUS ON IMPROVING GRADUATE TEACHERS, HOW IMPORTANT DO YOU THINK THIS FOCUS IS? IS IT THE RIGHT DIRECTION FOR IMPROVING STUDENT OUTCOMES? We stand for quality in terms of initial teacher education and we believe it’s vitally important that students have access to high-quality teaching courses and that those courses provide them with the particular expertise they need to be classroom ready at the end of that study. Reforms of the sector are vitally important, however, the recent Teacher Education Ministerial Advisory Group report didn’t go far enough. The report identified that there were many teaching courses that were not meeting the national standard and that for us is a huge concern because if students are participating in those courses how can they be reassured that they are going to be classroom ready at the end of that process? The report made a recommendation that there should be a national regulator in place to ensure that these courses meet national standards but that was rejected by [Federal Education] Minister Pyne and we think that’s very disappointing because we do believe there is cause for a national regulator to

lift the quality of those courses. It’s also very, very important for people to have ongoing support whilst they’re studying and I know there was a headline issue around literacy and numeracy tests for student teachers at the end of their course. We think it’s very important not to focus on a single test but that students actually have access to ongoing support during their course and ongoing assessment. They need to have access to that so they can work out what changes they need to put in place and what skills and expertise they need to develop to become classroom ready. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT ONE OF THE MAIN RECOMMENDATIONS BEING A SPECIALISATION FOR PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS WITH A FOCUS ON STEM AND LANGUAGES? The reality is in many primary schools across the country there are already specialist teaching programs in place. We think it’s important for teachers to have access to broad curriculum expertise, that’s very important for a child’s development as a whole, but you can’t implement provisions around having specialist teachers in place without looking at the resources that will need to be in place to support that. One of the things that we would like to see is a two-year post-graduate degree and we think that that will provide additional time for student teachers to take up a specialist teaching course, but also it would provide time to make sure that student teachers spend a greater amount of time in classrooms. It’s not about an education degree being purely post-graduate but we think there needs to be a compensation right across the nation with the education sector about post-graduate study. If you have a look in South Australia the government there has announced that new teachers there will do a Master’s degree by 2020. Now that’s one way forward and there may be other avenues for universities to consider and be very open to be a part of the conversation about what post-graduate study can look like. THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HAS ALSO PUT SUPPORT FOR SCHOOL PRINCIPALS BACK ON THE AGENDA RECENTLY. WHAT WAY DO YOU THINK IS

education matters primary

BEST TO ADD GREATER SUPPORT TO PRINCIPALS IN SCHOOLS CONDUCTING THEIR DAILY WORK? We have many principals that are members of our union and we work very closely with them particularly around issues of workload and education leadership. Principals want to be educational leaders in their schools, they want to be driving curriculum change and supporting their teachers, their support staff and their school communities to achieve the best outcomes possible. There is no doubt, and there are many studies that have been run recently, which have demonstrated that the workload of principals is escalating. We support high-standards for leadership but we think there needs to be some recognition of the additional resources that principals need, the ongoing professional development that they need and also the mentoring and support that they need to be fantastic educational leaders. GOING BACK TO LATE LAST YEAR AND LOOKING AT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT’S REVIEW OF THE AUSTRALIAN CURRICULUM AND ITS KEY RECOMMENDATIONS – HOW CONFIDENT ARE YOU OF ITS IMPLEMENTATION? Let’s not forget that the Review of the Australian Curriculum was implemented at a time when full curriculum rollout had not been completed. In the first instance we had significant concerns about reviewing a curriculum that had yet to be fully implemented, and around the country in many

states and territories there was a timeline in terms of curriculum implementation, and in particular the secondary sector had some curriculum areas that were being implemented this year and in 2016. So that in itself was an issue, reviewing something that’s not been fully-established. There were a number of recommendations of the review. I think the one that is interesting refers to the over-crowding of the curriculum. Whilst particularly in the primary sector many educators would say that there is an issue with respect to over-crowding of the curriculum, we would be concerned about some of the discussion around removing things such as sustainability and climate change and environmental issues from the curriculum. We believe very strongly in educating the whole child. Numeracy and literacy skills are vitally important but we also want school students to be active participants in society and have a broad understand of issues such as climate change and other things that could affect their life after school. The states are already well on their way in terms of implementing the Australian Curriculum, so that is happening. There has already been an intense process between the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) and education professionals working in the field to road test the curriculum and to get things in place. Our concern is that reviewing something that had not been fully implemented has not actually allowed

people to have the capacity to participate in a review in a reflective way because really you’ve got to see how the curriculum is implemented, what sort of issues might arise at a classroom level, and if it’s not implemented then I would question how you can do that. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE RECOMMENDED RESTRUCTURE OF ACARA SO IT IS “AT ARM’S LENGTH” FROM EDUCATION MINISTERS AND THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT? I think ACARA has had a key role to play in terms of not only the curriculum development but the implementation of that and it is an organisations that is respected in the field and we think there is still a strong future for ACARA to lead the work around curriculum development. LATEST FIGURES FROM THE PRODUCTIVITY COMMISSION CONFIRM THAT AT LEAST 100,000 STUDENTS WITH DISABILITY ARE NOT GETTING SUPPORT IN SCHOOLS. ARE WE LIKELY TO SEE AN

education matters primary

INCREASE IN THIS SUPPORT FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT? The issue around students with a disability is absolutely critical. We’ve been through a national disability data collection process to work out how many additional students actually require funding. That was a commitment that was made by the Federal Government through the implementation of Gonski school funding reform. What the Abbott Government has done has put that funding on hold and said the disability loading will not be implemented until 2016. So we know that we’ve got an additional 100,000 children in the sector who are currently not receiving the resources that they need in our schools. We are very concerned about this and we believe it’s a vital issue that must be addressed in the May budget by the Abbott Government because we want to see the commitment to the disability loading in place so that those children and their families can be reassured that the resources are in place for them in school.

Administration

Listening with intent – what your students can tell you about your practices OFTEN WHEN DELIVERING LESSONS TEACHERS CAN BE SO CAUGHT UP IN THE PROCESS THAT THEY FORGET TO STOP AND TRY TO PERCEIVE THE LEARNING’S IMPACT FROM THE EYES OF THEIR STUDENTS AND, WRITES ANTHONY SPERANZA, A TEACHER’S FUNDAMENTAL ROLE SHOULD BE TO EVALUATE THAT IMPACT ON THEIR STUDENTS USING A VARIETY OF SOURCES, INCLUDING WITH THE ASSISTANCE OF STUDENTS THEMSELVES.

During my seemingly short teaching career, there are two questions that I have constantly grappled with: ‘What makes an effective teacher?’, and to a greater extent, ‘How does one measure their effectiveness?’ In my opinion, John Hattie’s (2009) influential work in the study of what makes a difference in our classrooms, has made huge inroads into answering these complexities of teaching. It is with little surprise that Hattie’s work is gaining in worldwide popularity and momentum. His study represents the largest collection and analysis of evidence-based research which investigates what is actually working in schools when it comes to improving learning. I became interested in Hattie’s work after his first major release, Visible learning: A synthesis of 800+ meta-analyses on achievement. After hearing him speak, I took a number of his principles into consideration, mainly in the areas of calculating effect sizes, providing quality feedback to students, and constructing meaningful learning intentions and success criteria with students. In his second major release, Visible Learning for teachers: Maximizing impact on learning, Hattie presents eight ‘mind frames’ or ways of thinking that must underpin every action and decision made in schools and educational systems if they are striving to improve the quality of education. Hattie argues that teachers and leaders who develop these ways of thinking are more likely to have major impacts on student learning.

education matters primary

8 MIND FRAMES OF TEACHERS, SCHOOL LEADERS, AND SYSTEMS 1. Teachers/leaders believe that their fundamental task is to evaluate the effect of their teaching on students learning and achievement. 2. Teachers/leaders believe that success and failure in student learning is about what they, as teachers or leaders, did or did not do…We are change agents! 3. Teachers/leaders want to talk more about the learning than the teaching. 4. T eachers/leaders see assessment as feedback about their impact. 5. Teachers/leaders engage in dialogue not monologue. 6. Teachers/leaders enjoy the challenge and never retreat to ‘doing their best’. 7. Teachers/leaders believe that it is their role to develop positive relationships in classrooms and staffrooms. 8. Teachers/leaders inform all about the language of learning. (Hattie, 2012, pg 169)

PERSONAL HEALTH CHECK FOR VISIBLE LEARNING

“The power of honest feedback from the people who matter most in the classroom should never be underestimated.”

Mindframe 4, the idea that student assessment can be treated as feedback to the teacher, can be a hard pill to swallow for some teachers. It forces us to realise that every single student in our care has the capacity to learn, and that the teacher and school is responsible for facilitating that progress of each child. Too often, teachers tend to blame ‘undesirable’ outcomes or academic results on student absence, attitude to learning, or social / behavioural factors. However, by believing that we, as teachers, can master ways to progress every child, we can begin to make decisions which will lead to actions that make this happen. Hattie states that all schools can be optimised to esteem the positive impacts that can lead to improved student learning, and for teachers, ‘knowing thy impact’ becomes crucial in determining and understanding one’s own effectiveness. Hattie suggests that teachers administer the following ‘personal health check’ for the principles of what he calls ‘Visible Learning’. More recently our school, St. Mark’s Primary School, was fortunate enough to participate in the Visible Learning Plus program; a guided change process of professional development and practice

1. I am actively engaged in, and passionate about teaching and learning. 2. I provide students with multiple opportunities for learning based on surface and deep thinking. 3. I know the learning intentions and success criteria of my lessons, and I share these with students. 4. I am open to learning and actively learn myself. 5. I have a warm and caring classroom climate where errors are welcome. 6. I seek regular feedback from my students. 7. M y students are actively involved in knowing about their learning (that is, they are assessment capable). 8. I can identify progression in learning across multiple curriculum levels in my students work and activities. 9. I have a range of teaching strategies in my day-to-day teaching repertoire. 10. I use evidence of learning to plan next learning steps with students. (Hattie, 2012, pg 193)

which is based on Hattie’s work. One of the first topics of conversation, after being inducted into the program, was to complete the suggested checklist by Hattie. For me, the point of seeking ‘regular feedback from my students’ particularly stood out. In the last few years I have come to realise the merit of asking students for feedback on my practise, but I determined that it should be increased in frequency, across multiple subjects or curriculum areas, and at various points of the teaching and learning cycle if I was to be the best teacher I could be. In Bill Gates’ Ted Talk Teachers need real feedback (2013), Gates highlights the concern that despite teachers having one of the most important jobs in the world, many institutions and educational systems lack an effective approach to providing quality feedback to help teachers do their jobs better. He discusses his project Measures of

Effective Teaching, which works towards building quality teaching practices, by analysing classroom observations, conducting student surveys, and measuring student achievement gains; which seem to go a long way in allowing teachers to reflect on their practises. I think that the problem of teacher reflection is that, every day, the minds of teachers are filled with processes to carry out and tasks to accomplish. We think about how we meet the needs of a variety of students, all-encompassing of learning, social and behavioural factors. We see our role as implementing curriculum that has links to content, outcomes and assessments. We plan and deliver lessons continually,

My teacher has made the learning objective and success criteria of the lesson clear to me Yes

My teacher made the learning objective and success criteria of the lesson clesr to me Yes Not sure - 2 No - 1

18 85.7%

Not sure 2 9.5% No

1 4.8%

Not sure No Were you successful today? How do you know?

Yes - 18

education matters primary

Administration

occasionally reflecting in haste. Often when delivering lessons, we are so caught up in the process that we forget to stop and try to perceive learning from the eyes of our students. We tend not to realise the direct impact on our students, and whilst in ‘teacher mode’, our fundamental role should be to evaluate that impact on our students using a variety of sources. I believe that a powerful source in evaluating the impact of the teacher can be with the assistance of students themselves. The power of honest feedback from the people who matter most in the classroom should never be underestimated. It takes a certain level of bravery, and a possible paradigm shift of ‘it’s my fault they are not learning, not theirs’ in student to teacher relations. However, by listening intently to student voice, one can empower themselves to refined practises by constantly reflecting on their impact to improve. In the past years I have been looking at ways of regularly seeking feedback from students. This has ranged from a variety of paper-based templates and tools to illicit anonymous and honest input from students. More recently, I have preferred to use electronic platforms with increased efficiency and effectiveness for gathering feedback. Using Google Forms (a free online web survey collector) has been a great way to collect feedback from students. A form can be designed with a range

To what extent are your maths skills developing during these sessions? Not at all A llittle Somewhat

of methods for collecting information, from short or long answers, to providing scales or multiple choices. The form is sent to students who can complete the survey on any type of electronic device. Students can easily enter their feedback, and the collection for the teacher is an absolute breeze. At a glance, I can see all of the results and even manipulate the electronic data to filter results and understand trends. Reserving two minutes at the end of the class becomes really worthwhile, as you explain to students that their feedback will, in turn, make you a more effective teacher. Below are some examples of questions with short answers that I ask students. They are designed to illicit interesting responses and give insights as to how the student views themselves, the topic, and the role of the teacher. I may ask only one question or several at a time: • What worked well today? • What could be improved for next time? • Were you successful today? If so, how do you know? • Will you be able to use this learning later in life? • What further questions do you have about ______? • How much did you enjoy today’s lesson? • How much did you learn in today’s lesson? • What did you like about this lesson? • To what extent do you feel that your skills in ______ are developing? • How much have you learnt about ______ this week? • What do you now understand better after having completing this topic? • What would you like to learn more about in the next lesson? • Was today’s lesson useful for you? At other times, I prefer that students think about a

statement, and provide an answer to their agreement using a Likert scale: To what extent do you agree with the following statements? • My teacher helps me to achieve. • My teacher helps me understand the work. • My teacher helps me to learn new things. • My teacher sets goals that are challenging for me. • My teacher’s lessons are interesting. • My teacher makes me feel welcome in the class. • My teacher gives clear instructions that are easy to follow. • My teacher often gives me feedback about my work. Often, text fields are given to students so that they can explain their reason for agreeing or disagreeing with the statement. CONCLUSION There are many factors that contribute to the overall development of students. Influences such as parenting, family situations and social status all contribute to students’ learning. However, in most cases, the manipulation of these factors are completely out of our control. Conversely, the quality of teacher practises that lead to student achievement in the classroom being the largest influence that we do have control of, can certainly be improved through reflection. Personally, I have found that seeking honest feedback from students has helped me to reflect and develop my own professional understanding into how I approach teaching and learning. Sometimes when I read responses from students, I may be affirmed, surprised, or even laugh. On occasions, I have even been mortified! However, I can honestly say that every single piece of feedback that

A great deal Explain your answer briefly below. Why are they developing? Or why are they not developing?

To what extent are your maths skills developing during these sessions?

Somewhat - 16

A great slice - 9 Not at all - 0

A little - 16

education matters primary

Not at all

0 0%

A little

16 39%

Somewhat

16 39%

A great deal

9 22%

I have received from students has made me a better practitioner. I believe that great teachers are never afraid of inviting or facing difficult challenges. Most

importantly, inviting student feedback has helped me to become a better, more empowered, and reflective teacher every year.

My teacher helps me understand the work

1 2 3 4

Strongly Strongly Disagree Agree My teacher makes sure I am learning all the time

My teacher helps me understand the work 1

0 0%

27 11.3%

122 50.8%

91 37.9%

144

1 2 3 4

Strongly Strongly

120 96

Disagree Agree My teacher helps me to learn new things

1 2 3 4

Strongly Strongly

0 1

Disagree Agree

My teacher makes sure I am learning all the time 105

3 1.3%

32 13.3%

102 42.5%

103 42.9%

63 42 21 0 1

My teacher helps me to learn new things 1

7 2.9%

35 14.5%

92 38.3%

106 44.2%

126 105 84

21 0 1

References Cantrell, S., & Kane, T. (2013). Ensuring fair and reliable measures of effective teaching: Culminating findings from the MET project’s three-year study. MET Project Research Paper. Retreived from http://metproject.org/downloads/MET_Ensuring_Fair_and_Reliable_ Measures_Practitioner_Brief.pdf Gates, B. (2013). Bill Gates: Teachers need real feedback [Video file]. Retreived from https://www.ted.com/talks/bill_gates_teachers_ need_real_feedback Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of 800+ meta-analyses on achievement. Abingdon: Routledge. Hattie, J. (2012). Visible learning for teachers: Maximizing impact on learning. Abingdon: Routledge.

education matters primary

Anthony Speranza is the ICT Teaching & Learning Leader at St. Mark’s Primary School in Dingley, Victoria. During his time at St. Mark’s, he has established several digital literacy initiatives, developed cyber-safety and global citizenship programs, and introduced multimedia software and hardware into P-6 classrooms. Currently he is implementing a 1:1 Chromebook Program and is supporting teachers and students from Years Prep to 6 to utilise Google Apps for Education. He is an authorised Google Education Trainer, Google Certified Teacher, and the recipient of the 2014 DLTV Educator of the Year as awarded by Digital Learning and Teaching Victoria. He is passionate about contemporary spaces, pedagogies, and collaborative practices amongst educators. Anthony is an avid speaker at the local, state, national and international level.

At Woods, we believe that education is of the utmost importance – not just for the children of today but for our world tomorrow. This belief has driven our team, for over half a century, to study how children learn – from a behavioral, ergonomic and cognitive perspective – to develop furniture that is flexible, adaptable and stimulating. It’s this philosophy that inspired our ergo-dynamic PantoFlex chair. Designed by one of the world’s greatest furniture designers, Verner Panton, the PantoFlex chair promotes correct posture, improves blood and oxygen circulation, assists the developing musculo-skeletal system and most importantly contributes to an increased attention span. And that’s only half the story. To find out more about our innovative range of educational furniture visit woodsfurniture.com.au or call 1800 004 555. We’re for flexible learning

Education Matters

What makes a good school? What makes a good teacher? THE CREATION OF GOOD SCHOOLS IS A LONG-TERM PROCESS AND A GOOD SCHOOL IS AN AGGREGATION OF GOOD CLASSROOMS IN WHICH EFFECTIVE TEACHING AND LEARNING ARE TAKING PLACE, WRITES DAVID ZYNGIER. Which of the following may be the most complex or difficult task to achieve? a. Sending rockets into the space; b. Making an artificial heart; c. Making the fastest super computer; or, d. E nsuring real academic excellence of EACH student in EVERY classroom in your school? The answer of course is (d) as all the other choices have already been achieved and even surpassed. Yet ensuring that every child maximises his or her learning and potential in every classroom in Australia is far from being achieved and is becoming more and more difficult. The Gonski Review was all about how the inputs can be configured in different ways so that all children can have access to the best possible education, regardless of where they live, the income of their family or the school they attend. As Jane Caro, writer, media commentator, lecturer and co-author of What Makes a Good School? tells us: Parents spend a great deal of time and energy justifying their choice of school but I’ll let you into a little secret known only to the advertising industry. All purchase decisions (and choice of school is a purchase decision whether you pay fees or not) are made emotionally and then post-rationalised. So all that stuff you tell yourself about reputation, discipline, gifted and talented programs etc. may be comforting but it’s not really why you choose a school. The differences between most schools are largely cosmetic. Compare two superficially very different girls’ high schools. The first school was a high-fee, prestigious private girls school, the second a bog standard public girls’ high school in the same

education matters primary

suburb. Apart from the richness of racial and religious backgrounds in the public school, the difference between the intelligence, literacy and behaviour of the girls in what many would call a ‘good’ school and many a ‘not-so-good’ one was non-existent1. IT TAKES TIME The creation of good schools is a long-term process. A good school is an aggregation of good classrooms in which effective teaching and learning are taking place – quality of classroom learning: • I ntellectual quality that produces deep understanding of concepts, skills and ideas. •A supportive classroom environment characterised by positive relationships where learning is expected and supported. •C onnectedness and significance: learning needs to be meaningful to students and as much as possible anchored to their needs and passions. • E ngaging with student diversity: the most powerful lever for disadvantaged students. CHOICE Choice makes people anxious and too much choice makes people unhappy. Market and advertising make us believe that the more you pay the better the school – the adage that if you pay peanuts you get monkeys – however the greater the hurdle doesn’t mean the school is any better. Jane Caro suggests that the choices can be compared to supermarket shopping – the brand name products compared to the plain label – ignore the superficial marketing hype and fancy exteriors but

carefully compare the contents – usually like schools the contents are equivalent. We’ll always need to dig underneath the advocacy, the labels and the hype. When all factors are taken into account, there is a surprising lack of any significant relationship between different school types and levels of student achievement. Whatever the label, management and governance, most schools teach the same centralised curriculum with similarly trained teachers catering for mainstream students. Some schools work hard to satisfy deeply held but often dated beliefs about what makes a good school – beliefs held not only by parents but also by grandparents who are often a soft touch for school fees. IT’S ALL ABOUT WHO YOU ARE! If you want to know how your child will turn out – look in the mirror! The family background and parents have the absolute greatest influence on student outcomes, then the teacher, the principal, school resources and finally the child’s peers. CHOOSING THE RIGHT SCHOOL When choosing a school parents operate on two levels. They are concerned about the levels of student

“In highly effective schools, principals are in constant and meaningful communication with the school community and work to build partnerships beyond the school in pursuit of the school’s objectives.”

achievement in their chosen range of schools but, above this, they want to know about the social profile of the students already enrolled at each school. As parents, our concern about schools is often about who our kids will sit next to in class. This isn’t an easy task: just about everyone has an agenda as well as an opinion. As Federal Education Minister Christopher Pyne said we are all experts when it comes to education, “because we all have been to school!” The differences between schools don’t amount to a great deal in educational terms. But there is no

education matters primary

shortage of schools with special titles or labels that are apparently able to levitate student achievement, produce well-rounded citizens and ease our mounting anxieties as parents. There are endless debates about the merits of single-sex versus co-ed schools, public versus private, specialist versus comprehensive, religious versus secular, nearby versus distant, big versus small – and more recently, locally versus centrally controlled. Once you account for differences in inputs and advantages – including students, teachers and resources – the labels don’t add up to much at all. The real social and academic differences between our schools are grounded in the family and social profiles of enrolled students. There is nothing new about that, but it is concerning that such differences are widening in our quasi-market school system. Nor is it new that the achievement of students is primarily generated by home background; in this respect Australia resembles the pattern found across the OECD. But Australia is different in a key respect: far more of our disadvantaged kids go to schools alongside their peers, and most advantaged kids are in schools with other advantaged kids. We are compounding, not reducing, the impact of socioeducational status. ANY SCHOOL CAN BE A GOOD SCHOOL Any school can be a good school, one in which effective teaching and authentic learning are nurtured and constantly developed to help students achieve. The challenge for parents is to discover the real depth of student engagement and learning. In the process they have to reserve judgment about such things as raw test scores, student ranks, neat and full workbooks, docile students in neat rows and hours of homework. Principals and teachers in good schools will talk about effective learning and what constitutes good teaching — in particular how professional teacher knowledge, practice and engagement works in their schools. Good teachers know their students and their subject matter, are themselves learners and work alongside colleagues to improve practice across the school. 1. G ood schools have strong and effective school leaders whose primary focus is on establishing a culture of learning throughout the school. The school is organised, and resources are allocated, in

Education Matters

pursuit of this overarching purpose. The principal, with the support of the school leadership team, drives the development of school policies and sets and articulates goals for school improvement. • A high priority is placed on professional learning, leadership and collaboration among all school staff. In highly effective schools, principals are in constant and meaningful communication with the school community and work to build partnerships beyond the school in pursuit of the school’s objectives. The principal must have the respect of students, parents, and staff with a vision, high expectations, and the ability to help others succeed. This person must be able understand people, and motivate them, creating a positive attitude throughout the building. • Successful schools have a sense of trust built on the back of an honest and caring leader. Many factors go into helping a child become a productive adult, and there is no way one assessment a year can measure success or failure. The fact that so many people believe that one test on a couple of mornings can determine school quality, teacher quality, and student learning shows an alarming lack of understanding in what makes a good school. • This factory model of assessment would have been great 50 years ago, when schools were modelled after and trained students for work in factories. However, that day has long passed.

education matters primary

Leaders in education need to look at what it takes for students to succeed and help create schools to educate the students of today and tomorrow. 2. In good schools learning is seen as the central purpose of school and takes precedence over everything else. They have the highest expectations for and of the school, teachers and students. High expectations are set for student learning, whether in classrooms or other learning contexts. There is a deep belief in the ability of every student to learn and to achieve high standards with appropriate and sensitive teaching. Class time is used as learning time; classrooms are calm and busy; and interruptions to learning are discouraged. Outstanding schools recognise and celebrate successful learning and high achievement. Only the best is good enough. Quality is expected, and nothing less is acceptable. Passion for excellence is a driving force each and every day. A good school has an involved staff working together, pushing themselves and their students to be the best. Failure is not an option for the teacher or the students. 3. I n good schools, teachers have a thorough and up-to-date knowledge of their subjects and a deep understanding of how students learn particular subjects. • The best teachers work to improve their ability to teach. They read and explore the techniques used by others in a never-ending effort to better

themselves and their skill. Effective teaching demands that the teacher be knowledgeable in the subject area. The teachers must have a detailed understanding of what is being taught. • This understanding includes an appreciation of how learning typically proceeds in a subject and of the kinds of misunderstandings learners commonly develop. In these schools, teachers know their students well: their individual interests, backgrounds, motivations and learning styles. These schools insist on the mastery of foundational skills such as reading and numeracy, and also work to encourage high levels of critical thinking, creativity, problem solving and teamwork. • Teachers in good schools encourage students to accept responsibility for their own learning and teach them how to continue learning throughout life. Students’ abilities and needs are different. To effectively teach all students, the school staff must understand this. The teaching and interactions with students must reflect the needs of each, with the understanding of each as an individuals. 4. Good schools are characterised by outstanding school cultures. Most importantly students want to be there! Effective schools have a warm climate. Students feel welcome and know that the staff cares about them. Although there is pressure to perform, it comes in a way that promotes learning, with an expectation that students will excel and the support is provided to make it happen. In these schools students have a sense of belonging and pride. • They enjoy learning and are engaged and challenged. The school provides a physical and social setting that is safe, well organised and caring. • Values of respect, tolerance and inclusion are promoted throughout the school and cultural and religious diversity are welcomed and celebrated. In such schools there is a strong commitment to a culture of learning and continuous improvement and an ongoing search for information and knowledge that can be used to improve on current practice. •N o two classes, or two students are identical. A good school has teachers that understand this and differ instruction to best help students be the successful. Key concepts are presented in

ways to enable visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners grasp it. Students are actively involved in learning with a variety of opportunities to grasp key concepts. •D iscipline should not be an issue. Students must respect others and failure to do so cannot be tolerated. Students must understand school and class rules and expectations, and adhere to them. When discipline is necessary, it is not vindictive, but just a consequence when a student does not do what is required. 5. Good schools have well-developed systems for evaluating and monitoring their performance. • They promote a culture of self-evaluation and reflection and collect and use data to inform decision making at all levels. • They recognise the importance of providing meaningful performance information to a range of stakeholders, including parents. • These schools place a high priority on the early identification and remediation of gaps and difficulties in student learning. • They give timely feedback to students in forms that can be used to guide further learning, and they encourage students to develop skills in monitoring their own progress. 6. Good schools have high levels of parent and community involvement. • P arents are encouraged to take an active role in discussing, monitoring and supporting their children’s learning. • P arents are involved in setting goals for the school and in developing school policies. The school itself is seen as an important part of the local community and these schools often find ways to involve business and community leaders in the work of the school, as well as to establish partnerships with other agencies and businesses to advance school goals. •N ot all parents have the same expectations of schools and parents often have different priorities for their children. But research suggests that parents have a shared interest in seeing their children attend school. They also look to schools to promote values such as respect for others, honesty, tolerance, fairness and the pursuit of excellence. REFERENCE 1. http://splash.abc.net.au/newsandarticles/blog//b/209194/no-school-is-perfect

education matters primary

Dr David Zyngier was a teacher and principal, and now is a senior lecturer in curriculum and pedagogy at Monash University, Australia. His research focuses on teacher pedagogies that engage all students but, in particular, how can these improve outcomes for students from communities of disadvantage. In 2012 he was awarded an Australian Research Council fellowship of $365,000 to research Democracy and Education. He is Co-director (with Dr Paul Carr) of the Global Doing Democracy Research Project, an international project examining perspectives and perceptions of democracy in education to develop a robust and critical democratic education with over 60 researchers in 20 countries. A book based on that research, Can Education make a difference? Experimenting with, and experiencing, democracy in Education, was published in June 2012. The ruMAD Program which he developed with teachers in 2001 was awarded the Garth Boomer Prize in 2009 for its excellence in collaborative teaching and learning. He developed the E-LINCs (Enhanced Learning through Networked Communities) program, winner of two prestigious School’s First Awards, in 2010 $25,000 seed grant and a National Impact Award of $50,000 in 2011. This project researches new approaches and innovative solutions to student disengagement using grass roots partnerships rather than top down government interventions. Dr Zyngier received a $22,000 grant from the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development and a $30,000 grant from the Telematics Trust to pilot an on-line mentoring of graduate teachers in 2010-2012. Dr Zyngier was awarded an Erasmus Mundi Fellowship from the European Union to study in Paris in 2014. He is also on the editorial board of a number of prestigious education journals and a regular commentator for The Conversation and an expert commentator for the Australian Council of Education Leaders’ online journal.

Marketing

Which school? WHEN IT COMES THE TIME FOR PARENTS TO ASK THIS QUESTION, HOW DOES YOUR SCHOOL RATE? GOOD MARKETING CAN ENSURE YOUR SCHOOL’S MESSAGE WILL GET INTO THE HANDS OF POTENTIAL FUTURE STUDENTS AND PARENTS, WRITES KATHRYN EDWARDS.

In Australia parents are empowered with the choice over where to send their children to school. Parents have the flexibility to choose any school within their budget – be it big or small, near or far, religious or non-religious – and at any stage during their child’s schooling years. It could be the local primary school for their child’s primary years, and then off to a boarding school for their child’s secondary years. Or perhaps the local high school and then a private college for years 11 and 12. If you want to enter a parent’s mind during their decision making process good marketing and a strong word of mouth is paramount.

Managing director of publishing company Prime Creative, John Murphy, says it is critical for schools to have a solid marketing campaign to support its reputation and word of mouth within the community.

“The importance of professional marketing cannot be underestimated. In this day and age people reference opinions and ideas from numerous sources. Word of mouth is strong but so is the web, print, radio, television and other mediums.” “The importance of professional marketing cannot be underestimated,” he said. “In this day and age people reference opinions and ideas from numerous sources. Word of mouth is strong but so is the web, print, radio, television and other mediums.

VIC Edition 7 - 2015

www.whichschoolmag.com.au

A Guide to Non-Government Schools - Victoria

download the iPad version here $11.95 (inc. GST)

“Deciding on which school to choose for your child is an important decision and as parents you want to be well informed – I know this from personal experience as my children are approaching high school age – so it makes sense

IN THIS ISSUE Alternative Schools Choosing the Right School International Baccalaureate Principally Speaking: St Margaret’s and Berwick Grammar School

education matters primary

for schools to professionally and consistently market their point of difference and position in the marketplace, to set out exactly what their values are, and for parents to decide if this is the right school for their child.” Murphy adds that reputable school guides, such as Prime Creative’s WhichSchool?, form a successful part of a school’s multi-platform marketing strategy as they provide all the relevant information a parent is looking for in one place. “It also gives schools the opportunity to communicate where their values and priorities sit,” he said. Neil Pierson, storyteller at the Centre for Marketing Schools, said parents want to know what is unique about your school and who they are entrusting the care of their children to. “When it comes to school marketing schools should focus on one or two ways, do it well and then add others, rather than being overwhelmed by all the choices.” Prime Creative is the publisher of Education Matters. For more information visit: www.primecreative.com.au

n educatio S

TTER MA RY SECONDA

subscribe today Every two weeks you will receive... • The Latest news in education • Discussion of key issues • Innovative products and resources • Videos • Rich content that is highly valuable to education professionals conTacT: Chelsea Daniel at chelsea.daniel@primecreative.com.au or (m) 0425 699 878

n educatio S

ER TTARY MAPRIM

n educatio S

TTER MA RY SECONDA

Finger touch interactive projector. No pen required!

Pen or finger, Epsonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s interactive projector just got simpler. Learn more at epson.com.au/interactive