St Felix Primary School The Power of Teams

In the beginning The School Executive decided to: Develop Learning Teams with a culture of inquiry where all teachers felt empowered, respected and happy Improve teachers’ skill in interpreting data Enhance professional practice, link literacy assessments to ESL scales and increase skill in teaching numeracy

In the beginning Teachers answered the questions; “What do our children know?” They collected baseline data “What does the data mean?” and “How do we use it?” They learnt to interpret and apply data A Teacher Educator (TE) was appointed. She Supported staff in data analysis Designed learning experiences that met students’ needs Assisted teachers to enhance pedagogical skills Modelled teaching practices

The voyage Time was spent by the Leadership Team: Explaining the benefit of National Partnership (NP) agenda and funding - Teachers were wary of NP’s plan and the appointment of a Teacher Educator (TE) Developing TE’s credibility and relationships with teachers by her mentoring, modelling and providing constructive feedback - Teachers became receptive and open and related concerns to leaders

The voyage Small Learning Teams were established across grades to mentor all teachers concurrently THIS WAS TIME INEFFICIENT SO… Same grade teachers were honoured by working together in blocks of time. Their classes were covered by Job Share teachers – this provided continuity in students’ learning and development of teachers’ professional skills

The voyage This led to: The development of school priorities for cooperative planning which are : 1.Developing a shared vision 2.Increasing teacher capacity 3.Using data effectively 4.Enhancing school wide pedagogy 5.Improving the school and classroom learning environment Structured cooperative planning and teaching. The established format of cooperative planning with staff is: 1.Individual professional reading of prescribed articles 2.In Learning Teams discussion of articles and their implications for teaching 3.Instructional Rounds where TE works with teachers in class 4.Collection of numerical data and examples of students’ work, their interpretation and analysis 5.Forward planning of lessons and professional endeavours

Teaching is different NOW… Teachers work collaboratively in and across grades Teachers centre on student learning not teaching Teaching is data driven Professional conversations are: Focussed on pedagogy Self reflective Demonstrative of teachers’ inquiring minds and Show a thirst for knowledge

The Lessons The Principal articulates a vision Whole school collaboration occurs Time and professional spaces be provided to allow teachers to be learners The Leadership Team plan well structured adult learning experiences and be seen as learners too Parents be informed of the evolving changes in teaching and learning

The benefits of voyage Teachers see themselves as a community of learners, excited about change with high morale and collegiality Teachers are enjoying their successes in the classroom e.g. There is better student engagement and through differentiated teaching slow learners are progressing There is less stress across the school as teachers experience; Stable organisation Professional support and beneficial mentoring The Leadership Team respecting, valuing and acting upon teachers’ needs and discourse The vision of the school in action and the needs of students a priority

The benefits of the voyage NAPLAN results in Year 3 and 5 have improved so that they are above state average and there is high value add from Year 3 to 5 High parent engagement as evidenced by parents; Completing surveys that show what they want to know Participating in successful workshops in numeracy and reading Joining chat forums that empower them as educators of their children Working in classes, school liturgies and fundraising

Keeping the voyage going To continue reform the Leadership Team will: Set agendas that are clear and not crowded Empower teachers as leaders – there is shared leadership in the school Develop the school Learning Construct Enhance parental engagement The change that has occurred in the school has been invaluable to the learning of students, increasing teacher capacity and parental understanding of education.