Whole school and cross-curricular projects |
    |
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
||
|
3.4 Quality teaching action learning
Description
This is a continuing activity. The activity will connect teacher professional learning needs to a comprehensive change process focused on improving student learning in DEST priority areas. Up to forty projects will be identified. These projects will focus on the implementation of ICT modules within the Quality teaching framework, support for early career teachers, and the DEST priority curriculum areas of literacy/English, numeracy/maths, science/science and technology, ICT, health education, music and civics and citizenship.
Schools will engage in the identification of specific student learning needs and teacher professional learning needs within DEST priority curriculum areas through the analysis of relevant, available qualitative and quantitative data. A school's planned initiative will be linked to its management and professional learning plans and the NSW Institute of Teachers' Professional Teaching Standards. Each teacher will be a member of a small action learning team, which will initiate surveys and conduct focus groups to determine team and individual learning needs to shape a broad action learning plan.
The activity will be managed by designated project officers who will take responsibility for the activity meeting the professional needs of participating teachers.
School-based project teams are supported by an academic partner from a higher education institution through school visits, email communication, phone and video conferencing, and planning and sharing conferences as they undertake their action learning.
Contacts
| Kevin Bradburn email: kevin.bradburn@det.nsw.edu.au Ph 02 9266 8680 Fax 02 9244 5849 Sector: DET |
Eleanor Igoe email: eleanor.igoe@det.nsw.edu.au Ph 02 9266 8510 Fax 02 9244 5849 Sector: DET |
Outcomes
Through participation in an AGQTP project, teachers will have strengthened the currency and depth of their pedagogical knowledge and skills.
Through participation in an AGQTP project, teachers will have engaged productively in collegial networks that extend and support knowledge and skills.
Access
K-12 teachers, particularly early career teachers
Design
The professional learning strategy for this activity includes:
- school-based projects to engage teachers in workplace learning that is based on a cycle of continuous improvement model
- provision for some clusters of schools to work in collegial networks
- workplace mentoring and coaching aligned to meeting the NSW Institute of Teachers professional teaching standards
- flexible learning that includes components such as self-paced and facilitated online learning, face-to-face workshops, video and teleconferences, online mentors, and discussion groups
- local, regional and state workshops and conferences that enable participants to have their work publicly celebrated and critiqued
- onsite and offsite participation in knowledge building and skill-sharing activities
- partnerships with higher education institutions to provide expertise in the development, design and/or implementation of professional learning activities.
This is phase 4 of a continuing AGQTP activity. The first phase was the Action Learning for School Teams 2003-04 activity, which involved 111 schools; the second phase was the Quality teaching action learning 2004-05 activity, which involved 82 schools; and the third phase the Quality teaching action learning 2006-07 activity, which currently involves 65 schools.
Each of the completed activities was evaluated externally by university research teams and the recommendations from the evaluation report of the phase 1 activity informed the implementation of the phase 2 activity (e.g. the need to involve academic partners in the planning conference held at the beginning of the activity). Similarly, the evaluation recommendations for the phase 2 activity informed the implementation of the phase 3 and phase 4 activities (e.g. that schools take initiatives to share project processes and outcomes within and beyond the school).
This activity incorporates the NSW Department of Education and Training's (DET) Quality teaching framework as well as the DEST priorities.
Implementation
The implementation of the activity will be supported by the following personnel: designated project officers; academics partners; DET consultants; and school-based action learning teams.
Delivery
Workplace learning in action learning projects
Timeline
By 31 March 2007:
- provide data on priority areas as requested by DEST
By May 2007:
- planning conference held for all school project teams and academic partners
- school project teams refine and then begin to implement their action learning plans, with support from academic partners, DET consultants and AGQTP project officers
- submit progress report in May.
By November 2007:
- school project teams continue to implement action learning plans, with support from academic partners, DET consultants and AGQTP project officers
- submit annual report in November.
Sectors
|
|
| This project was funded by the Australian Government Department of Education, Science and Training as a quality teacher initiative under the Australian Government Quality Teacher Programme. |