Bendigo Secondary Schools Innovation and Excellence Cluster

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Bendigo Secondary Schools Innovation and
Excellence Cluster

• Year 7 Learning and Teaching Programs

It is what teachers think, what teachers do, and
what teachers are at the level of the classroom
that ultimately shapes the kind of learning that
young people get. Andy Hargreaves and Michael
Fullan
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Eaglehawk SC
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Transforming teaching learning

• 3 groups of 50 students each taught by 3 core
  teachers
• Maths, Science, English, SOSE Health
• 17 out of 30 periods a week (the way we allocate
  the time each week is flexible)
• Other 13 periods students do LOTE, Sport,
  Technology Art

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Teacher teams

• Teachers
• Assigned planning time to develop tasks
  cooperatively
• focus on teaching fewer students for longer
  periods
• Teach for longer blocks of time

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Teacher teams

• 3 teachers allows smaller flexible groups
• For example
• ?1 teacher working with 6 students with
  particular learning needs whilst the other two
  teachers manage the others

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Technology

• Each room has 12 computers printer
• I computer has video editing capabilities and a
  DVD player
• 2 rooms have interactive whiteboards (with the
  possibility of a third) data projector
• Access to web cams, digital video still cameras
  and scanners

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Advantages

• 1 teacher 17 students
• Student and teacher relationships developed
  quickly due to the large amount of time spent
  together
• Allows core team of teachers to manage pastoral
  care needs and behavioural issues as they arise
• Teachers are able to build positive relationships
  with parents fostered by regular contact

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Issues

• Timetabling issues eg I group split during prac
  classes
• Students not provided with transition support
  outside Core classes.
• Non core teachers report that they are finding it
  difficult to establish the same relationships
• Need more planning time for the 9 teachers
• Struggling to plan big picture stuff

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Potential

• Working across groups (150 students)
• Integrating Technology, LOTE Art into Core
• Working outside the school
• Personal learning plans

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Flora Hill SCview webpage
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Golden Square Secondary College
Year 7, 2006.
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Our Staff Structure
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Role of Year 7 Team Leader

• Lead development in Curriculum and delivery
• Support Home Group Advisors re. discipline
  matters
• Manage PD in the team
• Mentor team members

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Curriculum Structure

• Larger blocks of time 3 sessions a day
• Teams of teachers for classes or groups of
  classes
• Strong focus on student well-being and pastoral
  care
• Home areas for teams
• Integrated projects which involve
  transdisciplinary learning
• Shared planning time for team members

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Focussed Learning

• 12 Blocks per Week
• 2.5 Sessions of Literacy
• 2.5 Sessions of Numeracy
• 5 Sessions of Transdisciplinary
  Learning
• 1 Session of LOTE (German) split
  into 2 single periods
• 1 Session of Physical Education

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Our Timetable an example
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Transdisciplinary Learning

• Currently consists of
• History, Geography, Economics, Science
• Themes
• Term 1 - Commonwealth Games
• Term 2 - The Past
• Term 3 - Animals
• Term 4 - To be considered

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Whole School Wellbeing Focus

• Mind Matters Pilot school
• Proactive approaches
• Hearing Impaired Unit
• Integration Program
• Well being mentors

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Role of Year 7 Wellbeing mentor

• Active participant in ongoing PD.
• Provide wellbeing support for students and staff
  in the team.
• Work collaboratively with Wellbeing Team and
  Wellbeing Mentor.
• Sustain wellbeing concepts in team including
  provision of resources.
• Works with team leader to identify students at
  risk to develop individual learning plans.

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Special Activities

• Camp Make a Difference Day
• Enrichment Week Lunchtime Activities
• Sport Annual Arts Festival
• Community projects
• Sport and Recreation
• Annual College Production
• Energy Breakthrough

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ENRICHMENT WEEK

• The Afternoon of the Notables

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Technology

• Two year program with one semester of
• Home Economics
• Woodwork
• Metals Plastics
• Textiles

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Creative Arts

• Performing Arts
• Musical Performance
• Drama Performance
• Visual Arts
• Graphics
• Art
• Ceramics

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Sport Recreation Program

• Baking Ice skating
• Indoor Games Indoor cricket
• BMX Computers
• College Musical Bead Making
• Soccer Go Karts
• Model Making Mini Golf
• Production Costumes Adrenalin
• Costumes and doll making Tennis
• Squash Archery
• Energy Breakthrough School Gym
• Horse Riding Ten Pin

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Year 7 Orientation Camp 3 day camp at Weekaway,
week 2.
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Professional Development

• The whole year 7 team attended the recent Wilson
  McCaskill PD(Game Factory organised by the
  cluster.
• Science Teaching for Effective Learning (PEEL in
  Practice)
• Neville Johnson (Teams)
• ICT PDs per fortnight
• Learning in the Middle Years - John Joseph

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Science Project

• Forests of Life inquiry process
• Links with another school in New Zealand, CSIRO
  in Aust and ENSIS in NZ
• Students actively involved in scientific method
  gathering data, field trips, lab experiments,
  sharing results with NZ students
• Two Year 7 classes will take part in this project
• Video link ups with the students in NZ
  (hopefully)
• CSIRO scientist working with our students
• Integrating many areas of VELS!

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Kangaroo Flat Secondary College
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Year 7 Innovations and Excellence Cluster Schools
Presentation Dean Goodridge Junior College
Manager Kangaroo Flat SC
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Junior College Managers Role

• Responsible for enrolments/departures at Years 7
  and 8.
• Oversee curriculum at Years 7 and 8.
• Support Years 7 and 8 Team Leaders with hard
  core student management issues.
• Representative on Curriculum Committee and
  Leadership Team.

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• Our College has a current student population of
  761 students. In 2001 our enrolment was 500!!

• We currently operate with 9 Year Seven groups
  and 8
• Year Eight groups.

• The groups pair up. eg 7A 7B, 7C 7D, 7E
  7F,
• 7G 7H. 7I is a stand alone group. The same
  system occurs at Year 8.

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Junior Management Team and Year 7/8 Teacher Teams

• Junior Management team meets fortnightly, Friday
  8 to 9am.
• Teams meetings are held every three weeks. All
  staff are designated a team, some staff teach
  over more than one team.
• Focus of Teams meetings include curriculum
  sharing/development, student management.
• Team leaders deal with incident reports that are
  completed by classroom teachers.
• A Student Management Office is in operation
  throughout the day that is supervised by Team
  Leaders and Junior/Senior College Managers.

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Year 7 and 8 Double Classrooms

• Currently there are four double classrooms
  operating at KFSC.
• Year 7 and 8 students are timetabled into double
  classroom for 12 out of 30 periods per week. Year
  7s also have their home group in the double
  classroom.
• Students have the same teacher for English/SOSE
  and Maths/Science. Usually the team teacher is
  the home group teacher.
• Nearly always team teachers follow home group
  through from Years 7 to 8.

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The EF double classroom
The old auto shop! The very first double
classroom, thanks to Jill Allan and Marg Blake!!
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One of the many computer pods that have been
built in to support classroom programs.
This computer pod is located between two double
classrooms
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Room 29 Pretty similar to a primary school
classroom
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Students organised into table groups. Group size
usually four. Groups are usually mixed gender and
mixed ability. In this case students are in
friendship groups.
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Innovations and Excellence

• Cluster Educator Angie Bysouth
• Schools involved Kangaroo Flat SC, Kangaroo
  Flat PS, Maiden Gully PS, Lockwood PS, Lockwood
  South PS, Specimen Hill PS, Marong PS,
• Bridgewater PS

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Diagnostic Testing

• All Year 7 students complete a diagnostic test
  focusing on Numeracy (PATMaths) and Literacy
  (DART).
• Students requiring Literacy (Restart) and
  Numeracy (class withdrawl Numeracy Coordinator)
  support are quickly identified.
• Staff are able to get an accurate snapshot of
  individual students CSF level,
  strengths/weaknesses, compare with Primary
  transition CSF data.
• Share with parents at April Parent Teacher
  interviews.
• Compare data with AIMs testing.
• Follow up comparison testing completed at the end
  of the year.
• PATMath testing starts at Grade 3 and continues
  through to Year 8.
• PATMath data shared with Primary Schools.

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Transition

• Awareness Day
• Orientation Day
• Passports
• Team teaching the passport.
• What makes a good school, teacher, student.
• Letter to a Year 7 student.
• Primary School visits transition information

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Harassment and Bullying Survey

• Completed by all students, years 7 to 10.
• No warning is given to students or staff, the
  survey is sprung on students.
• In depth survey that focuses on
• Identification of Bullies
• Types of Bullying
• How long the bullying has been going on for.
• When the bullying is occuring.
• What action has the student taken when bullied
• Where the bullying is taking place
• Has the student reported the bullying to staff.
• Who do they talk to when being bullied.

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Harassment and Bullying Survey

• Home group teachers collate data and pass on to
  Junior and Senior College Manager.
• Serial bullies are identified and receive
  counselling from team leaders/SWC and are
  monitored closely. Parents contacted.
• Data shared with staff (whole staff meeting,
  students (Year level assembly) and parents (via
  newsletter)
• Follow up survey completed toward the end of the
  year.
• Great deal of interest/exposure from the local
  media.

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Weeroona P 10 College
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Year 7 Team Teaching
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Background

• Data from the School Level Report and a study of
  the perceptions of Year 10, 11 and 12 students in
  Bendigo completed by Professor Richard Teese from
  the University of Melbourne was studied.
• The areas we focussed on from this data related
  to issues of student learning, student absence
  rates and lack of engagement in the classroom.

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Bendigo Education Plan

• These fit some of the outcomes of the BED.
• That all students, particularly high achieving
  students, are challenged further in their studies
  and strategies are developed to address this.
• That strategies are developed and implemented to
  significantly improve attendance.

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• That strategies are developed to improve the
  engagement of students and their interest in
  subjects, particularly for average and low
  achieving students and those from lower
  socio-economic backgrounds.
• That strategies are developed to improve the
  knowledge and practice of highly effective
  teaching to improve academic outcomes, classroom
  management, discipline and wellbeing of students.

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GOALS
To improve student outcomes in

• Social competencies
• Educational achievement
• Develop enquiry skills to become life-long
  learners

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Student Focus

• Students show an improvement in reading, writing,
  mathematics and thinking.
• Students aim towards accuracy, persistence and
  self-correction.
• Students understand their obligations and
  identify consequences
• Students look at learning as an infinite and
  ongoing process

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Student program

• Habits of Mind (Art Costa)
• - explicitly teach one habit per Term
• - implicitly reinforce the habit in class
• Student Wellbeing
• - one session per week
• - students to develop life skills,
  interpersonal and communication skills
• - designed to help students maximize their
  learning opportunities and social development
• - promotes connectedness to the school and
  the wider community

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Student Program

• Differentiation
• - creating learning experiences that work at
  different levels, enabling students of all
  abilities to engage at a level and pace that
  is appropriate for them

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Structure

• Two teachers facilitate about 45 students
• The teams are together for
• - English
• - Mathematics
• - SOSE

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Student Learning

• Collaborative learning
• Differentiation
• Table groups
• Catering for individual learning styles

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Resources

• A large room was made available
• Our office adjoins this room

• Computers are to be in the room
• Digital projector with accessories are to be part
  of the room

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Where to now?

• Evaluate the program and its ongoing effects on
  students
• Evaluate whether the teaching methods being
  implemented have any effect on student engagement
  and learning
• Evaluate if student attendance is improving