Purpose

- Reduce between-class variation- Build a more collaborative professional culture- Personalise learning- Respond to Middle-Year survey results- Incorporate international research- Deepen student understanding around broad concepts

Guiding Principles

- Relationships- ICT- Personalised learning- Higher-order thinking- Reflection - Interdisciplinary approach- Similarities & differences

- Recognising & monitoring effort- Generating & testing hypotheses

Pedagogical approach

- Develops sense of responsibility- Students resourceful & creative- Topics individually chosen- Stages adhered to during planning stage- Self- & Peer- assessment- Look for links across subjects- Graphic organisers & charts that compare & classify- Student-created & maintained blogs- Refine approach on testing, leading to reflection

‘A Community of Thinking’Yoram Harpaz & Adam Lefstein (2004)

Thinking is multi-faceted:

• Social• Conceptual• Linguistic• Emotional• Motivational• Physical

Fertile questions are crucial issues students grapple with. They can be….

- open (no definitive answers) - undermining (casts doubt on the self-evident) - connected (to their lives and experiences)- charged (contain an ethical dimension)

Teachers’ Role

• Understand & identify skills, knowledge, habits of mind • Plan for engagement by preparing learning tools, resources &

stimuli • Ask questions that encourage divergent thinking that leads to more

questions• Explore learners’ misconceptions• Ask ‘why’, ‘how’, ‘should’ & ‘would’ questions

Students’ Role

- View themselves as learners- Willingly engage in explorative learning- Plan and carry out learning activities- Communicate using a variety of methods- Develop a process of self assessment/critique

Assessment

Introduction & immersion – student learning journals

Inquiry & action – observation of groups in action, blogs, self-reflection

Performance of understanding & reflection – focuses on presentations

Helpful Question Prompts for Mid Cycle Conversation

•What is your basic question? •How have you gone about researching your question? What resources have you used? •Did you work together to decide or did you each come to the table with a question?•Do you have GANTT chart? How do you decide what you are doing each lesson?•Have you had any disagreements? If you have how did you resolve them?•Have you read through each other’s work and made constructive criticisms?

VELS - Victorian Essential Learning Standards

Physical, Personal and Social Learning- Interpersonal development - Personal learning

Discipline-based Learning - The Arts, English, Maths, Science etc Interdisciplinary Learning- Investigating, designing, communication, ICT, thinking