Warilla Public School Journey of Literacy Development with Primary Students

In the beginning Literacy outcomes for students were poor Teachers appeared to have limited knowledge of the curriculum A multitude of programs were used with no coordinated approach to teaching within and across grades Little professional discussion occurred Common assessment tasks were not used A new executive team appointed

The start Executive recognised a moral imperative for change, “We knew we had to do something.” Executive shared the belief that the whole staff needed to work together to effect change Current structures, practices and programs were examined. The fundamental question used was, “How does this help our students?” The whole staff analysed NAPLAN data. Teachers: identified the challenge of change required took ownership of student results and no longer used blaming practices understood teaching practice could change to better respond to students’ learning needs

What was done? Assessed every child to establish their learning needs Trained every teacher in common assessment strategies Developed a framework for monitoring progress (the Data Wall)

What was done? The Data Wall became the basis for discussing teaching strategies. It provided a powerful and visual way of highlighting issues – makes the data unarguable The numeracy coordinator conducted structured demonstration lessons in each classroom to model explicit teaching methods

Walking the journey together All teachers used a common lesson plan format Critical friends were established. A “buddy” teacher (stage colleague) observed lessons and provided critical feedback Every two to three weeks staff met to reflect on practice The National Partnership Coordinator sourced concrete materials to encourage “hands-on” learning. Teachers found that they had been moving to abstract thinking too early. Reflection showed that scaffolds for learning were needed even in Year 6

Giving teachers the tools Professional learning was provided to give teachers the tools to refine their own practices Professional learning became focussed on quality teaching – understanding the concept that the diversity of student needs required differentiated teaching was a challenge for some staff Richer professional discussions occurred among staff. It changed from, “This is what I taught,” to “This is what the students learned.” Teachers changed from only using anecdotal impressions to effective use of assessment data

Leadership was essential Strong instructional leadership from the Principal was necessary to drive and support the pedagogical change. It reinforced the message, “No change is not an option.” Established a culture of high expectations for learning – poor performance as a product of children’s background was not an excuse To demonstrate instructional leadership, the Principal participated in professional learning sessions, observed classroom practice and gave critical feedback, delivered lessons using the common lesson plan and participated in professional dialogue

How was teaching different? Tasks within lessons were differentiated according to students’ level of understanding Time was given to develop all students’ deep understanding of a topic Emphasis was given to using concrete materials and hands on activities – worksheets were banned Teachers developed learning activities relevant to students’ needs. They no longer “supervised busy work.”

How was teaching different? Teachers recorded focussed observations of students - not simply recording anecdotes There was frequent and ongoing assessment of student progress. Topics were re-taught where necessary – the Data Wall became the evidence of growth Teachers understood the purpose of each lesson. This was shared with the children at the start of each lesson Frequent use of peer teaching became a norm Collective responsibility for learning amongst teachers developed and they shared ownership of student results

What have been the benefits? There is increased student engagement and enjoyment of mathematics as students have taken ownership of their learning - lessons have become more interesting and relevant to each student Improved student behaviour and a calmer learning environment

What have been the benefits? Students understand why they are doing tasks – they just do not follow directions Teachers are more willing to take risks. Re-teaching “unsuccessful” lessons in a different way has become part of the teaching/learning cycle Quality teaching processes have been applied across all KLAs, not just in numeracy

Keeping the reforms going Quality teaching to be the norm was the key message Energy for reform amongst teachers was harnessed Developing teacher capacity was essential to sustain reforms Professional learning was focussed on school needs not teacher choice

Keeping the reforms going Professional dialogue and sharing was encouraged by the executive K-2 and 3-6 teachers were involved in the change process Common teaching time for numeracy was established across the school New enrolments were assessed to ensure accurate group placement