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I was so grateful for this opportunity and the feedback and support from the amazing Meg Brydon in writing the article as well as my supervisor Keri for her words of wisdom.

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How do we raise the writing standard of our students using evidence-informed methods? 

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How do we raise the writing standard of our students using evidence-informed methods? 

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Specifically, I would like to create a series of lessons involving scaffolding writing to build teacher and student capacity. In saying this, my definition of scaffolding would follow evidence-based research such as Hammond and Gibbons (2005) that identify scaffolding as Design in and Contingent support as well as harnessing the post-pandemic technical advancements that allow me to design and share EDTech, that is, individualised and explicit to teacher and student needs. My goal would be to create a scope and sequence of lessons and, within this, create a LAN EdTech tool that allows teachers to use data and curriculum to design individual or small group scaffolding. I would argue that this innovation project is both necessary and timely for our cohort as we need to peel back, reflect and investigate the best ways to navigate the complexities that make up the writing process.

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 Refining the question- Character Centred narratives

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 Refining the question- Character Centred narratives

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By placing the character firmly in the centre students are asked to create characters and delve deeply into how act and react within their environment. Moving from the traditional form of narrative teaching.

Next step- what does the research say?

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Agatha is the name I gave my mentor text. It was the starting point for my students. Allowing them to take Agatha and springboard to another point.

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Note- student can write- erase and recreate their characters. All starting pieces are velcro and students can swap/ discuss and refine as they go.

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Student experimentation- all parts are tactile 

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Student experimentation- all parts are tactile 

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Break down text so students can build it up and redefine it. 

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Break down text so students can build it up and redefine it. 

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Creating visible thinking for teachers and students

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Creating visible thinking for teachers and students

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Through this innovation project, I have created a scope and sequence for teachers that has multiple entry and exit points of differentiation but I have created a series of "visible thinking" short videos to explain how it works.

I asked for staff to volunteer not only themselves but also their students for the innovation project. I have set up my classroom with mixed-year levels and mixed-ability students to demonstrate how it would work.

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Staff shortages!- Being able to lead staff in PL when we don't have enough staff to even cover our classes has been incredibly difficult. The reality being that we need protected time, but in the end our students are in the centre and our classes must be covered.

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During exams my teaching space is a VCE exam centre and I have to move to an old part of the school. So my colleagues and I pack up and with the help of some students we move. Only two more weeks and we return our normal spaces with over normal amenities.

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To make students work visible to them, I began using AI programs to bring their writing to life instantly. The interesting thing aspect of this is that, the better their grammar and punctuation the clearer their vision.

This was the moment that I realised I had integrated my ITC into my writing innovation .

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Scaffolding tools- Excel doc- Short video explanation

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Scaffolding tools- Excel doc- Short video explanation

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I designed an EXCEL document that scaffolded students to be able build upon and experiment with the Agatha model.

This first doc allowed the student to test out different language and add their own "pivot"

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Microsoft Excel - Writing stems- Student copy 

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Adding in Language Complexities- Video example

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Adding in Language Complexities- Video example

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I created this Excel document to support studentslearning within the character-driven narratives to increase their vocabulary. Here is a example of how it works.

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I have created quick surveys ( Office Forms) for staff and students to give me feedback from lessons and PL.

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This was an incredible opportunity I was given and I was so thankful for the support of Meg and Finn from the academy as well as my Tif advisor Kerri.

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I was so grateful for the feedback I received.

However, the most insightful feedback was from some of my students.

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Some Samples

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Student samples

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When you enter the room, to find your teaching boards gone and are now in use for the F1 display and the Senior School Art Display!

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My project in a nutshell…Character-driven narratives!

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"Empowering Education: A Personal Narrative on the Critical Role of Victoria's Academy of Teaching, Learning, and Leadership in Sustaining Teachers' Passion and Growth" 

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"Empowering Education: A Personal Narrative on the Critical Role of Victoria's Academy of Teaching, Learning, and Leadership in Sustaining Teachers' Passion and Growth" 

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My teaching and learning narrative as an educator is woven with an array of colourful and strong threads.  Combined they create a fabric, containing an intricate pattern that represents who I am in the classroom and how I best support my students.

Personally, I have always had a passion for learning and this stems from one thing- curiosity. It’s this spark of curiosity for learning that drives me to continue to investigate new concepts; that then spurs my critical thinking and collaboration with others to create a student-centred learning environment. Then in turn it is when I ignite that spark within a student for learning that it continues to fuel me to do more and learn more for my students.

However, like any solid narrative, it’s not without its twists and turns, unpredictability, and missteps. As a teacher with the learner always squarely in the centre, you are acutely aware that to continue supporting student learning, you must be a reflective learner. Some might say you magnify issues to dive deep and challenge thinking. You must be willing to examine all data and evidence present and, when required, pull apart a tightly wound and intricate piece of knowledge or firmly held belief. This allows us to unlearn unconscious bias, unravel and reconstruct the scaffold or framework, strengthening it to allow for new knowledge and once again changing the direction of my narrative. For me, I welcome new evidence-informed ideas. There is so much power in that paradigm shift, that change in idea that, if crafted correctly, supports new learning for your students.

The year I started teaching, Cathy Freeman won the gold medal in the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney, A our Prime Minister introduced the GST on our Vegemite jars and globally, there was a collective sigh of relief when, on January 1st at the stroke of midnight, the Y2K millennial bug didn't bring the planes down from the sky. I remember that first day vividly, chalk in hand. For a brief moment, my hand trembled as I realized there was no safety net—I was now the "real" teacher in the room. I took a deep breath, and twenty-five years later (minus the chalk), I'm still here.

Having graduated the year prior, I completed all my placements, assignments, essays, and exams, including tasks such as learning how to create a PowerPoint, which was a new technology at the time. I also had to pass my chalkboard exam, which required an overhead projector-led theme and some well-rehearsed Victorian Cursive Script. These skills prepared us to be modern teachers of the 2000s. Reflecting on this now, some aspects may appear almost comical to our current generation of Millennial and Gen Z teachers. However, it does raise the question: how do we future-proof education? How do we future-proof a profession when we are unable to see what lies ahead and cannot necessarily be guided by what came before us? How do we know what to take with us and what to leave behind? For my own personal learning narrative, the answer came in the form of The Victorian Academy of Teaching and Learning and Leadership.

I am currently a 2023 Fellowship recipient, but my journey began in 2021 when I clicked the TEP link (Teaching Excellence Program). After two years of lockdown, I was filled with curiosity and intrigue, knowing that education post-lockdown would be different—and rightfully so. It was evident to me that coming out of Covid, students, teaching models, and educators within the education ecosystem in Victoria had all undergone a significant shift. While the environment remained familiar, there was a clear paradigm shift that required me to rethink how I approached my pedagogy.

Both the TEP and my Fellowship in the Academy have afforded me access to professional learning from leading Australian and international educational experts it has given me the ability to collaborate across public, private and independent school sectors.  A somewhat rarity in education.  It has given me the gift of working together with teachers in different sectors that seldom cross lines except in sporting events. To really deep dive into practice together to look at issues with all of us sharing the same passion for improved educational outcomes. The learning that I will take from this as an educator will last a lifetime.  Most powerfully for me, it has allowed me to drill deeply into my practice through provocations, that challenge me and ask me to re-examine how I teach and to continually improve.

In reflecting and exploring the edges of our thinking, we allow things to expand, strengthen, change shape, and crucially change perspectives. It is vital for us as educators to be open to this process so we can improve therefore better support our students and collaborate with our peers. I believe that we are to be vulnerable- just as our students are when they enter our classrooms, laying bare their own vulnerabilities and unconscious bias. It is essential to demonstrate to students to ensure our classrooms are equipped for students with their own personal narratives.

Why is this educational narrative thread so important? When it’s fortified it strengthens a lifelong learning thread dissolving such things as postcodes, social inequalities and generational poverty and trauma. Students are not then lost in geographical narrative tropes, that limit their opportunities and confine them to low socioeconomic stereotypes.

My time working within the partnership between the Academy and my own school has given me another chance to unravel my narrative thread, look from another perspective, redesign my own thinking, and rebuild my current scaffold of learning. Each of my narrative threads rewoven to make up the learning fabric that is me as an educator. This is curiosity. Strengthening my curiosity, changing direction this is the evidence of my own personal learning. It should be a different reflection and new perspective.  A diverse, inclusive and more dynamic one. Building my pedagogy and passion through insightful new learning and collaboration with my peers.

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Cognitive overload and competing priorities in schools is always an issues and my Fellowship project has come up against all of these. ( Continue to write this about changes of implementation )

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With new leadership staff comes new ideas and new perspectives and you have to adapt to that. You also have to reflect upon the notion that they have not been on your TIF journey with you. This comes with many different outcomes. I need to ensure that I listen to their perspectives and not just listen to respond. I need to ensure that they see value in my work and school implementation as well as me seeing it through their eyes with a fresh perspective and new ideas.

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Here is the most up to date versions of my implementation and action plan. As we have new leadership staff. As I have mentioned in my mentor meetings and my milestone work I have been asked to not implement my full project yet until the new staff can come on board fully. This includes since starting this innovation project a new Literacy Specialist, Head of English and AP. Therefore I will most likely need to rework my implementation plan again.

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Aha Moment: Evidence-Based Innovation in the Classroom

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In this video, I share my aha moment when I realized the power of evidence-based innovation in the classroom. I discuss how I started by testing the innovation in my own classroom, and then sought validation from teachers. I explain the project's goals and the positive outcomes it had on students of different levels. I also highlight a specific student, Ruben, whose reports were changed to reflect his true potential. This video showcases the importance of laying the groundwork for innovation and the positive impact it can have on student success.

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For many English teacher access data can be daunting! By creating short short visual videos that they can come back to can be the just the support they need to feel confident in starting to take control of their own data.

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How to read, explore, analyse and interpret your data

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How to read, explore, analyse and interpret your data

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For many English teachers I found reading data to be a barrier to support student improvement. through creating these short videos that they could watch and rewatch in their own time really supported them in being able to understand and support student improvement.

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Formative Assessment Tool- scaffolding literacy improvement.

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Formative Assessment Tool- scaffolding literacy improvement.

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I created this live scaffolding document document so that teachers, parents and the student could all collaborate and have input in literacy improvement.

This EXCEL document has been successful in scaffolding students to have successful growth in their data post pandemic. I told the DET paper one and attempted to create a document that was more shareable, flexible and live.

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Phoenix MYLNS Student Formative Assessment Tool

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I was asked my Principal as my school had already set its literacy priorities for the year ( and my TIF started term 2) to start a small trial first and then we would complete full implementation in 2024). As in Milestone one - I changed my document into an EXCEL document as it allowed me more flexibility in the way I think about things. If required I can email it through- however you I have spoken about my reflections and use of innovation mindsets in this video while I discuss it.

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Teaching Innovation Fellowship Project plan and evaluation and trial

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In this video, I share my experience with the Teaching Innovation Fellowship at my school. I discuss the challenges and successes I encountered while implementing innovative teaching methods. I also highlight the importance of embracing uncertainty and fostering a supportive community. Throughout the video, I provide insights into my project action plan, collaboration with colleagues, and the impact on student engagement and learning. Watch this video to gain valuable insights and inspiration for your own teaching journey.