So grateful to the 170+ practitioners who joined the sold-out Responsive Teaching Masterclass series last week. It's a privilege to be trusted to support teachers and leaders, from diverse settings and sectors, with the most complex work on the planet.
#ResponsiveTeachingMelb
Many schools use icypole sticks as a core technique for questioning. This aims to increase engagement, accountability to learning, and spread of participation. It can work well, but here's why we should think critically about the practice. (1/12)
I feel pretty sure that almost all classrooms could benefit from a class set of mini-whiteboards (w markers/dusters) and a document camera (visualiser). What else is on your must-have list?
#musthave
#teaching
#resources
Teachers, school leaders and teacher educators - bookmark the
@TeachingSprints
Research Hub. My friend
@SimonBreakspear
and I have assembled and organised a stack of teacher-friendly, open source, evidence-based resources. I think it's useful.
I'm overwhelmed by the number of schools who want support developing an instructional playbook (or guide). In the next fortnight, I'm launching the Playbook Project 2024 -- a brand new online program. To stay in the loop, join up at . ✨More soon!
I’m reading a lot of criticism of “fast-track” programs in ITE. There are downsides to internship models, but my four-year Bachelor of Education felt excruciatingly long and left me ill-equipped to teach; I’ve had to unlearn a lot I was taught. More doesn’t equal better.
In Victoria, we have thousands of Learning Specialists/Leading Teachers, a cross-sectoral Teaching Excellence Program, and discipline-specific Master Teachers. It appears that
@theage
Schools Summit will feature 50 speakers of which one is a currently-practising teacher. One.
2020 ends on a high: I'm delighted to be joining
@adamjbright
and his team at Docklands PS (part time) as an instructional coach. I’ll be designing/delivering PL w
@eminamclean
and working closely w our graduate teachers. Bursting to meet our wonderful students.
@DETVic
Exciting news(!) This morning,
@SimonBreakspear
and I delivered the full manuscript for our book on
@teachingsprints
- due to be published by
@CorwinAU
early next year. It's been wonderful to think deeply about teacher learning with such a clever person and friend.
I'm delighted to be giving a keynote at the
@DETVic
Education State Principals' Conference in August. I'll consider how we might best support teachers to elicit and respond to better evidence of learning in real time - one of the most nuanced aspects of the job.
@BastowInstitute
I will die on this hill. Most professional learning programs pay little to no attention to teachers' current (usually routinised) practices. We need to talk much more openly about what we currently do, so that we can build manageable routes to improvement.
Our School Staff Survey data just landed. This gives us faith in what we're doing at
#Docklands
. I'm so proud.
@DETVic
School climate: 90% (state mean 76%)
Staff wellbeing: 92% (state mean 69%)
Professional learning: 94% (state mean 71%)
School leadership: 96% (state mean 75%)
In another part of the world, this little girl does not get access to an education — but off she goes to her local
@DETVic
school, ready to say what she’s been rehearsing at home for the last two weeks: “Thank you, Miss Mercuri.” We need a national day for teachers.
Master of Teaching (Internship, 2020 intake), meet your new set text for Evidence Based Learning & Teaching! A bite-sized evidence-informed gem that could conceivably sit on a real teacher’s desk. We need more of this in initial teacher education
@teacherhead
@olicav
@JohnCattEd
Teachers and leaders of Vic! Join
@dylanwiliam
(in person!) for a rare and spectacular professional learning event on Monday May 16. Check out the (amazing) design of the day and book your spot here:
The v wise
@teacherhead
advocating for those who lead professional learning to get granular w the teaching techniques we want teachers to use and improve. In my happy place.
#responsiveteaching
Dylan Wiliam
@dylanwiliam
explores the benefits of using work samples (rather than rubrics in isolation) to give students what Graham Nuthall might call a better “nose for quality” in complex domains.
@QELIedu
Image credit:
@greg_ashman
I’m unconvinced of the value of whole school instructional models. They look good, but are usually too inflexible to be helpful. I think laying out principles of instruction and codified granular techniques — on which all teachers can flexibly draw — is more useful.
My absolute favourite thing to do is to talk w teachers about the granular detail of their instruction. Why did the phrasing of that question cause some students to tune out? Why did that explanation seem to land so well? What would help the True/False routine run more smoothly?
I am extremely sad to hear of the passing of Richard Gill, an irreplaceable treasure of Australian music education. He was someone who inspired me to start a school choir for the undeniable personal and academic benefits to students, but also for the sake of joy. Vale.
With
#ProudToBePublic
trending today in Australia, I’m wondering if Twitter is ready for my prep photo. [Brace position.] Alphington Primary School, 1990. Gets me every single time.
I often work with teachers who want to assess "critical thinking" or "evaluation". About what do you want students to think critically? What specifically are they evaluating? What knowledge do they need in order to use these skills? Beware skill statements detached from content.
Get knocked sideways by a light breeze in education and you'll bump into a woman, but there are still so many PL events with 4 or more presenters, and not a woman in sight. Seriously? Welcome to 2023.
I'm doing nightly teaching of initial code (incl segmenting/blending) with my 3.5 year old. I'm staggered by the idea that learning how sound maps to print is boring or "barking at text" or joyless. I don't think all learning needs to be fun, but she sincerely loves it.
#phonics
It’s hard to overstate the impact
@SarahAsome
has had on primary school practices in Victoria — a tireless instructional leader. What a beautiful future Claire has ahead of her. ✨
@VicGovDE
Disability Inclusion is helping schools like Bentleigh West PS provide students with the support they need.
BWPS uses evidence-based inclusive teaching practices that are essential for students with disability and additional needs. Watch the video to find out more.
After 3.5 years of family leave, I'd forgotten what it's like to teach preps in February. I had one class for an hour yesterday, and need a fortnight to recover. I texted a friend who teaches
#prep
and asked how she does it. She responded: "Stockholm Syndrome. I love my captors."
My brilliant ex-student
@brad_teacher
has gathered (and produced) some awesome resources on instructional video making. Share this resource w teachers! Clear descriptions w useful links at the end to the work of
@Doug_Lemov
@daisychristo
@effortfuleduktr
Young children think fairness is achieved when everyone gets the same, but adults know that fairness is achieved when everyone gets what they need. Equity cannot be achieved by lottery. (3/12)
We are looking for 3 teachers to join our team at
#DocklandsPS
! Supportive leadership, rigorous instructional coaching program, world class literacy PL w
@EminaMcLean
, and brand new facilities! Applications close in a few days - F/T and P/T available. Check Recruitment Online!
This morning, I'm welcoming 350+ teacher leaders to Workshop 1 of The Playbook Project. Teams across the country are making time for granular discussions about instructional principles and practices that matter to them. Brilliant people here.
#PlaybookProject24
It was a thrill to welcome 80 teachers from across the state to the first in a series of Responsive Teaching masterclasses today. During set-up, I reflected on the nearly 3 years that had passed since I held an in-person event. Brilliant day, and we do it all again tomorrow.
Given how excruciatingly hard it can be to master the core elements of good teaching (causing thinking, explaining new concepts, checking for understanding, etc.), I'm continually staggered by how much time and energy we spend on everything at the periphery.
I found this article jarring. Growth mindset interventions will do little to boost enjoyment in reading, because reading isn't that enjoyable if you are not taught to read well. We mustn't blame our most vulnerable.
Yesterday I sat alongside two graduate teachers to observe
@EminaMcLean
model an explicit, interactive phonics block. We all frantically took notes. The purpose was to improve our knowledge/practice, but at the end Emina asked for feedback. Always learning together at
#Docklands
.
I'm currently designing a professional learning program for a network of schools in Victoria, and for the first time I'm planning standalone 45-minute review workshops, scheduled a fortnight after each module. I'm hopeful this will have a positive impact on learning.
#review
Hats off to the sole author on this masterpiece, the ever-humble expert
@EminaMcLean
. This is a must-read for anyone who teaches, who leads teachers, or who teaches teachers. Download it. Read it. Share it.
@EdResearchAU
We all agree that routine checking for understanding is important for monitoring learning, but I increasingly see it as key to directing and sustaining student attention on the right things at the right time. This is one of the hardest parts of the job.
#responsive
#teaching
In music education circles, the phrase "music anxiety" does not exist. I find this helpful. Even with kids who are nervous to sing (or who are sure they can't), music teachers get on with planning/delivering quality curriculum to secure success, and ignite a love of music.
I'm assessing my Master of Teaching (Secondary) Interns' final submissions. Like most people, I struggle with big marking loads but wow, these reports on their teaching are a joy to read. I'm lucky to work with the brightest, most committed Interns.
@UniMelb
@EduMelb
Meet Jenny Cowburn, heart-and-soul Principal of St Leonards PS. She retires tomorrow, after 50 years(!) in public education. Today, she still wanted to be fully involved in our responsive teaching work, including coming to all teacher observations/feedback. What a gem.
@VicGovDE
Building great professional learning programs is key to all we do in schools, but it's hard. At
@DocklandsPS
, we've thought deeply about how to establish a strong cadence for improvement. Three years in, we now have 8 core structures for developing knowledge and practices. (1/10)
Here's my dad - a tireless teacher of 40 years - conducting massed singing and the symphony orchestra at Balwyn High School last week. What absolute brilliance we have in the public education system. A very proud daughter!
@DETVic
When writing rubrics, there is often a focus on scoring. What is it out of? What grades do students get? Scoring is easy to add in. The real challenge is to accurately describe the skills/knowledge that the scores represent.
#data
#meaning
#representation
#learning
#skills
We are hiring at
#Docklands
PS. If you love teaching and are hungry to develop your craft, we want you! Brilliant people, continual PL, instructional coaching, city views, and a chance to learn alongside
@EminaMcLean
. Search "Docklands" on Recruitment Online and please share!
@JaneCaro
This is an awful characterisation of what’s going on. I spent my undergraduate years being sold the lie (on repeat) that proponents of phonics were “in it for coin”. Meanwhile in four years, I was never taught what a phoneme is. We all deserve better than this mindless rot.
Teaching students how to give fully-formed verbal responses (using accurate sentence structure and academic language) has compounding effects, but is hard to do well. This will be a focus for our PL and coaching next year at Docklands PS.
#accuracy
#nuance
#depth
@DETVic
@EminaMcLean
The “SOR/SOL school” labels seem particularly toxic. They’re meaningless, self-assigned, and designed to position some schools as “in”, while others remain out. When it comes to the real work of school improvement, we’re all in it together or we’re nowhere at all.
Just polled my
@EduMelb
MTeach interns (first year out teachers). Of the affected interns, over half report feeling anxious/frustrated/nervous about the switch back to remote teaching. Time to wrap our arms around
#beginning
teachers.
#AussieEd
#COVIDVic
What teachers need now is practical, affirming, evidence-informed advice (including specific techniques) to support the brilliant adaptations they're already making for remote instruction. I think talk of the next education revolution (in a pandemic) is less helpful.
I asked Stan Grant what great teachers can learn from great journalists. He had a two-part answer. 1) Never stop learning. Let the next book you read, lead to the next, to the next. 2) Approach all aspects of your work with humility, and an unwavering uncertainty.
I started my career as a primary school music teacher. There were no curriculum materials provided by the school; no existing plans, or unit outlines even. High quality curriculum materials would have helped put flesh on the bare bones of the mandated curriculum.
The entire leadership team of
@DocklandsPS
is in the house, cheering
@EminaMcLean
as she presents on equity and excellence at the
@LD_Australia
Conference in Melbourne. The big theme? We must commit to move heaven and earth in pursuit of success for every child.
@DETVic
This week, Lucie set off for her first Foundation transition session at our local
@DETVic
school. Feeling v grateful for the tireless work Foundation teachers are doing (on top of their usual load) to prepare great transitions for our precious little preppies-to-be.
I come from a long line of teachers; my daughter Lucie may be destined for the same fate. Every day, she methodically delivers her curriculum, occasionally chastising Saffly who (despite Lucie's efforts) still snatches at morning tea. "Look at the other dogs waiting nicely."
They say never meet your heroes. Well,
@daisychristo
is an absolute keeper. Thanks for a brilliant PL on assessing writing, and an even better dinner out, chatting all things sport and education. Welcome to
@melbournefc
, Daisy! 💙❤️🇦🇺
Sending my best wishes to the thousands of students and teachers across Victoria preparing for Lockdown
#4
. We owe a great debt to our state's wonderful teachers and leaders; schools anchor our communities.
@DETVic
@CEMelbourne
@IndSchoolsVic
#CovidVic
On two separate occasions in the last twelve months, I’ve presented (live and in-person) on codifying responsive teaching techniques to
@dylanwiliam
and
@daisychristo
. What brilliant planet am I on?! ✨
I'm busy crafting my session for the upcoming
@researchED_Aus
conference. Drawing on my work as an instructional coach, I'll be sharing my thoughts on the positives, unexpected upsides, nuances and limitations of codifying teaching practices with precision.
2020 burnout was real in my home state; I saw it up close, in my own family and friendship circles. Wishing all teachers and leaders across Victoria a restful Term 1 holiday break. Reset, recharge, and be safe.
@DETVic
@IndSchoolsVic
@CEMelbourne
#COVID19Aus
To witness the magic of a carefully-sequenced and cumulative curriculum, delivered super-explicitly with a tonne of scaffolding in place, go and observe an expert early years music teacher. It’s some of the best teaching you’ll see in flight.
Term 1 done! 33 school workshops, a Principals’ Forum, 2 digital programs, 2 networks launched, a custom conference, and continued learning w my fabulous colleagues at Docklands PS. To all the wonderful teachers and leaders — enjoy a very well-deserved break.
Docklands Primary School is hiring for 2022! We have 2 x classroom teachers (full time, ongoing) and 2 x graduates (full time, ongoing) up now! Join a warm supportive team dedicated to evidence-informed practice. To apply, hop onto Recruitment Online now. Please share!
@DETVic
I've spent the summer and the vast majority of my cerebral firepower building a new website - hoping to better support the teachers I work with this year. Resources coming soon! Join if you'd like occasional event/resource updates.
It's a pleasure to be back online, teaching my second year
@EduMelb
interns. I cannot think of a harder time to have started a career in teaching, and yet here they are, committed as ever to evidence-informed practice. Lovely also to have
@DaveMorkunas
join the team as a tutor!
I get so much from reading
@daisychristo
; she's one of those researchers who hits a real sweet spot for
#teachers
- intellectual rigour, with clear and helpful examples. Anyone new to Daisy's work could start here:
#assessment
#validity
#inference
I'm thrilled to be launching Responsive Teaching in Action, an interactive online program for teachers and instructional leaders. It's the science of learning meets good formative assessment - applications now open for the next intake!
#responsiveteaching
I’m thoroughly enjoying co-designing our upcoming professional learning day. CLT in Action by
@ollie_lovell
includes suggested activities for whole staff; they’re great! We’ll be reviewing some key insights from CLT and drawing out implications for teaching.
#DocklandsPS
I'm excited to welcome 150+ teachers and leaders over the next two days, for the first Open Masterclasses of 2023. We'll explore principles and practices of responsive teaching, and I'll learn heaps, because I always do. What a privilege it is to work with teachers.
Reflecting on
@talkinged19
's
#DLD
webinar, it strikes me that what is often recommended for our most vulnerable students is what's good for everyone: sequenced, highly
#explicit
and responsive
#instruction
. Teacher-led, not built on assumed knowledge, and nothing left to chance.
Nothing matters more than our people. That's why we're thrilled with the
@DocklandsPS
staff opinion data for 2022.
Professional learning: 95% (Similar Schools: 76%)
Staff wellbeing: 88% (SS: 69%)
School climate: 92% (SS: 79%)
School leadership: 96% (SS: 73%)
Those I value most in education connect principles to practice; they work with big and interesting ideas, and also provide evidence-informed, codified and flexible guidance that teachers can action. People like
@EminaMcLean
and
@teacherhead
set the bar; we need more of them.
Enjoying a rare 8 days straight in my office, working on quality assessment practices w wonderful
@DETVic
teachers. We’re digging into construct relevance and representation, exploring why less (with a laserlike focus on the right things) can often be more.
#assess
#interpret
@Brad_Nguyen_
is a full time
@VicGovDE
primary school teacher who finds time to design and deliver world-class professional learning for teachers and leaders (across systems) on a Saturday morning. Love my colleagues.
#rEDBall24
Over the next two days, 150+ teachers and leaders will gather in Melbourne to dig into responsive teaching, and principles of expert coaching. I'm incredibly lucky to be joined by these powerhouse experts for a panel to round out the week!
@lifeoflottie
@rachabuck
@cleowesthorpe
Gearing up for a great day of
@DETVic
assessment webinars, with the frightening added bonus of no daycare. I'm sure participants will enjoy the live demonstrations of direction instruction: "Lucie, for the fourteenth time - please, get off my lap."
#COVID19Vic
The more I work with teachers in assessment, the more I sense that the tasks and rubrics developed are not nearly as valuable as the conversations teachers had to write them. The best rubrics are artefacts of a robust professional discussion. Student work samples play a key role.
My Nana, Gwen Ryrie, would have been 100 years old today (or thereabouts). She began life in the most unpromising way– penniless, homeless, nameless, with no family to belong to. She was a foundling, abandoned in a basket with a little case of clean, folded baby clothes. (1/6)
And so, the parent volunteer era begins! Today is my first day leading the newly-formed choir at Lucie’s school. I’m feeling verrry rusty, but who cares? Singing is life. 🎶
@VicGovDE
#musiceducation
Actual footage of me teaching this week. The best thing about teaching
@EduMelb
interns is that they openly mock you/tell excellent jokes/share hilarious stories from the classroom. I think they're wonderful; it's a huge privilege to work in initial teacher education
@unimelb
Really interesting chat w a foundation teacher who is recording explicit phonics lessons for her students. Commented that what is "muscle memory" in class is very hard to replicate in a video; "I never realised how much I adjust based on real-time feedback from the kids".
Very pleased to be presenting a
@ThinkForwardEdu
webinar on beginning teachers and the science of learning. I am really interested in how we can best
#prepare
beginning teachers for the field. I hope you’ll join me for the discussions. Feb 16, 7.15pm AEDT.
Today I'm assessing
@UniMelb
Clinical Praxis Exams. Interns report on a sequence of lessons, using evidence (of student learning) and research literature to defend/critique decisions. Our interns (secondary) have been teaching for a semester. Blown away by the quality.
@EduMelb
Official work re-entry is upon us! Today I jet off for a week-long series of Responsive Teaching Masterclasses w over 10 schools across North Queensland. Excited to be in face-to-face mode again with interstate colleagues.
#responsive
#teaching
Graduating pre-service teachers in Victoria! Because you’ve nearly made it in a pandemic(!), I’m running a free webinar at 7.00pm tonight on the process of applying for jobs. Open to those who graduate this year (prim/sec). Keen to join? Email me: contact
@bronwynryriejones
.com