NESA Teacher Expert Networks (TEN’s

NESA Teacher Expert Networks (TENs) for Curriculum Reform in 2022 / NESA Teacher Expert Networks (TENs)

Juliana Horton Tudor House Teacher

Alison Lawson Tudor House Teacher

This is our second year of participation in the NESA TENs for Curriculum Reform. In 2022, we have been user-testing the new English and Mathematics K-2 syllabuses in our classrooms and providing feedback to NESA. Our students have also had the opportunity to use their voices and contribute to a survey about what they want to learn at school. The survey results were analysed by NESA and shared with curriculum officers.

At Tudor House, we hosted a regional meeting with other South Coast primary teachers in our network. It was a wonderful opportunity to collaborate across the Department of Education, Catholic and Independent sectors and showcase the work that we are doing at our school; particularly, the implementation of an academically rigorous and transdisciplinary program in a play-based and outdoor context.

At the All-TENs conference in May, the highlight was hearing from Dr Santiago Rincón-Gallardo, who encouraged us to leverage the curriculum to ensure it is contextual, significant, and engaging for our students. His suggestion to use the curriculum as a map, as opposed to an itinerary, lends itself to our transdisciplinary practice as we implement the IB Primary Years Program at Tudor House. We also heard from Dr Fiona McKenzie who presented on the power of systems thinking and collaboration in terms of being change-makers in education. Professor Amanda Datnow presented on educational reform and policy and the impact of collaboration within the Teacher Expert Network. Professor Chris Brown also promoted the power of collaboration and suggested steps that teachers can take to be agents of change within Professional Learning Networks (PLNs). We were inspired to continue our work on the spiral of inquiry as we implement the new NESA syllabuses and other exciting initiatives, such as play-based and outdoor learning at Tudor House.

We also had the opportunity to look at the working draft syllabus overviews for Creative Arts, Human Society and its Environment (HSIE), Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE) and Science and Technology. Our feedback was collected by NESA and will be used to inform the directions of each syllabus. As well, we provided feedback on the elements of quality assessment and possible approaches to formative assessment. This feedback will assist in sharing the direction for assessment information and support materials for new syllabuses, particularly in K–6 English and Mathematics.

NESA gave us a first viewing of the draft digital curriculum platform, which generated a lot of discussion. Providing the syllabuses in a digital format will allow us to integrate outcomes and content with our own Learning Management Systems, such as Canvas. NESA staff also provided

curriculum reform updates for Aboriginal Languages K-10, AUSLAN K–10 and Modern and Classical languages syllabuses K-10.

At the conference, Associate Professor Catherine Neilsen-Hewett shared her research on exploring the links between the Early Years Learning Framework and the new English and Mathematics K–2 Syllabuses. It was a powerful presentation on the importance of quality, play-based Early Childhood Education as it relates to neuroscience and positive, lifelong societal participation and engagement. We also heard from Professor Dylan Wiliam on the role of teachers in curriculum implementation and Dr Sara Mills on designing an inclusive curriculum.

We have been inspired by our colleagues and thought leaders within this collaborative, cross-sector initiative. We have also enjoyed continually engaging with evidence-based research and implementing best practice in our classrooms, which ultimately has had a positive impact on the wellbeing and learning of students in our care.