curiosity
NURTURING OUR YOUNGEST LEARNERS Nurturing quality relationships and building confident, enthusiastic learners are goals that Prep teachers Carla Bond and Nadia Holding place at the heart of their work. In March 2020, with students only part way through Term 1, these principles held firm as they transitioned to distance learning.
‘Our students were only at the very beginnings of learning to read and write, and were still getting to know their teachers and their classmates when the transition occurred … This meant that strategies used to manage the shift to distance learning for older students were not necessarily appropriate for our girls.’ – Carla Bond
Focused on keeping their students feeling connected, a key part of Ruyton’s approach was to ensure Prep students could see and hear their teachers as much as possible: ‘We relied less on written instruction and instead used a lot of video and audio recordings to communicate with the girls, to set lessons, and to give feedback,’ noted Nadia Holding. Predictable routines are a significant part of any successful Prep classroom, so the teachers ensured a recognisable flow to the day. With the help of an app, the girls took turns to ‘show and tell’ by posting photos, making comments, and asking questions – this was great in that they not only developed oral language skills, but also nurtured new friendships.
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the ruyton reporter
