Aim: Improve Engagement

Survey to students regarding, - how they engage?

Different focus with each Math's class.

GENERAL MATHS:

Group work - A financial map case study regarding the purchasing of a home. Staff created a game of real-life scenarios. Students engaged enthusiastically with the activity and offered suggestions for next year.

MATH METHODS & SPECIALIST MATHS

A check/tick sheet to track their error and how they could improve.

Memes

Murder Mystery improving understanding

What questions emerged from the data?

Peer teaching

"We gave ourselves a pat on the back as students do enjoy our courses".

"Foster a desire to learn"

Aim: To explore new learning opportunities that focus on engagement.

Discovered: Students not understanding a strong enough understanding of the dimensions of health.

Several didn't enjoy My/ED as much as they thought. Decided to continue using My/Ed as it offered variations and made it less repetitive.

Activities for different ways of learning:

Pre learning: Stick man activity; match up activity; kahoot;

Some preferred to move around, but some liked to sit and learn - catering for all needs.

Most of the activities worked. Students liked stories.

NEXT: Introduced year 7 and now will see how this will work in year 8. More room for differentiation

Are there different ways we can apply feedback? How can we make feedback student friendly? How do I get them to care about the feedback?

Feedback improves motivation and outcomes

If I am interested in how they learn, they are more accountable

Making sure they understand the feedback by a conversation

Feedback is a recurring process

Link: to a www PP presentation about student feedback

Staff found noted improvements in students work and getting students to realise that this is a "PROCESS" 👌👌👌

Allowing time to set goals

Higher achiever improved results and demonstrated her own self-assessment.

Media achiever was absent and felt the time pressure

Low achiever had an improved performance. Completing assessment was big for him.

G R O W T H M I N D SET - Dwek

Experimenting with peer feedback

and

Selfevaluation

RATIONALE:

• Students need more feedback in a timely manner.

• Students practice self-assessment and skills

• Engage students to take ownership of their learning process

Increase use of ICT in PE class

Ipads and video feedback as a skill.

Saves time with feedback

Developed some rubrics. Students look at the rubric and analysed themselves.

Examples Badminton, gymnastics, basketball - completing self-reflection sheets. Using stars in boxes⭐⭐⭐

Coaching & advancing fitness.

Filming each other coaching and analysing their coaching skills.

Analysis of throwing techniques and being able to assess it. Using surface pros - watching themselves or a friend was more engaging

What worked:

Students being able to record and view their skills etc.

Challenges:

• The videos cannot be shared anywhere. We can't download good examples.

• Keeping iPads charged.

• Padlock system broke.

• Past footings remained on the iPads

• A bit overwhelming for students on the lower side.

• Takes time to set up iPads

Next:

• Be selective when using iPads

• Select sports that do work

• More resources regarding techniques

• What other Apps can we use

• PE made easy

Language learning is a compulsory in JS and MS.

It is because of parents that children have no choice.

Students need to learn how a second language can be beneficial to them.

Action Plan:

Survey - we wanted to know if students were aware of the benefits of learning a language in VCE. What were student's thoughts about learning the language and why continue learning a language? What was challenging? What was repetitious?

Findings:

Language was chosen for them

Challenging: Gender nouns, Conversation speaking.

VCE doesn't have much of a cultural aspect

Beneficial: learning about culture, learning new words and transfer these words to other classes.

To continue language studies:

To visit a country where they speak the language.

More fun and engaging activities - access to culture

Do you know what job will benefit you from a 2nd language?

Tourist industry

Looks great on your resume

Teacher

Next Steps:

Thinking - International Assembly. The two captains to think about broader careers.

Challenges: By the start of Year 9 have decided that they are not doing language in Year 10 etc. Focus of students.

We have lost most language students by the end of Year 10.

Next: Changes do not want to do German exchange and instead to do a German tour in years 8 and 9 and alternate with the Chinese trip. Other schools do the trip early - most of the year level.

Competition

Bring back past students to encourage Year 8 students and talk about their language stories

Background: A perception that students are not making a connection with what they are learning in music theory (classroom) a with their performance studies (instrumental)

Focus: Connecting music theory to performance - a perceived link

Year 7 Music reflection. Significant improvement in a students' reading skill is shown.

Improving in reading but not as visible in playing.

Year 10 Students have problems applying theory to performance.

Asking students to analyse, colour, pencils - seemed to get lost in the business of life and the notes.

Year 11 Music - Knowing: composers, dates, styles of music, context, key, changes in key, form AB, ABC etc, implications of period and style.

Rationale: behind this to plan an approach to complete performance.

In performance observations 2 of the 4 players improved their performance presentation, with improvement partially evident in another student and not evident in the other.

What worked: Students were engaged with the research task - they seemed to enjoy it, and some carried this into their performance.

Next steps: To persist with the task for VCE and see how students in U 3, 4 develop their performance with a better theoretical/analytical understanding of their performance.

🎼🎹🎵🎷🎸🎺🎧

Discovered need to introduce GIS across all year levels. E.g Google maps, Google mind maps.

GIS ACTION

Layers in mapping:

Trials done in various year levels with maps and technical problems.

Employment: Search & rescue, architecture, tourism, climate etc.

Online maps

ArcGIS Online

ARIC GIS

Findings & Data

Key Findings - after attending GTAW found workshops highly informative and provided guidance in incorporating GIS into Geography curriculum. (Many schools successfully using this program).

GIS available at Oxley 😊😊😊(●'◡'●)

Next steps Fieldwork using mobile phones or alternatively Faculty purchase of class mobile phone(s) for fieldwork surveys.

Focus: Student engagement in Maths in particular students in Years 7-9.

We researched and gathered engaging activities in probabity, statistics, cartesian plates/co-ordinate geometry, algebra decimals & percentages, fractions, geometry, measurements.

We did a number of activities and received feedback from students how they learnt.

Activities:

• Cartesian Plane where they students had to find missing diamonds.

• Algebra Order of Operations

• Adding and subtracting with the Snowman⛄

• Measurement activities

• Gummy bears 🐻🐻🐻🐻

Students rate the activities as their preferred method of learning. However, body schema demonstrated enjoyment in the process.

Weaker students found activities more beneficial.

Cost: Time, expense $$$

Skill: in particular wanted to consider how we can best prepare our students for success in VCE Sciences.

Research question: How can we improve student outcomes in Science skills?

How can we develop more constant learning pathways?

1. A curriculum audit/map and identify gaps in what covering.

2. REACH assessment

3. Worked on strategies to implement into current curriculum and 2025 Version 9.0 of Aus. curriculum

Year 7 - No science background. To understand the different aspects of a practical report. Students being able to plan and investigate independently and document their learning. This is a skill that will continue to be built in their educational journal.

Year 8 - AC: "Select appropriate equipment..." Staff have already picked the equipment, this saves time and guarantee they will get results" e.g. Change to students are given options and they select and work through the choice of equipment and usefulness.

• Year 9 - During Headstart to introduce a task focused on "Planning investigation" - Year 9 Microbiology Headstart Programme. Students design a suitable method for the obtaining of data, with prompts provided to guide them to the desired outcome of microorganisms on agar/bread. Introduce various data from current research & provide students with opportunity for analyse and interpret data. Encourage them to draw conclusions by analysis of patterns etc.

Year 10 Critically analyse using forensic method.

• The historical method - finger printing, fibre under a microscope compared to modern forensic methods.

• Identify research conduct & question. 🔬🔬🔬 Eg. Insect lifecycles.

VCE chemistry - students to become more dependent on scientific texts.

Supply resources - and get students to examine and make own conclusions.

Reduce the likelihood of errors. 🧪🧪

Building skills in planning: Why, How etc.

How would you design this experiment?

VCE psychology - more application toward analysis. Prompt students to a wider variety of media texts. 😊

VCE biology - Students expected to analyse data they haven't seen before and respond to unfamiliar scenarios. Two areas:

Student greater understanding scientific methodologies. Case studies, field work, simulation etc etc.🔬

This year, tested on limitations on scientific models - further work for 2025.

Part time staff often not present for meeting some PT staff did not attend at all.

Long periods of time between meetings

New staff focused more on establishing curriculum for the first time.

Students missing REACH affected the sample size and accuracy.

Next Steps:

• Continue to explore and plan improvements for any gaps that were identified

• Implement changes identified from the audit into practical work

• Monitor student progress over the course of the year

• Map science skills across AC 9.0

• Incorporate sample REACH assessment

Year 8 German - limited vocabulary. Words and adjectives. A shift of focus to the words as you make your sentence.

Year 11 English - Yr 12 exam criteria "students use a sophisticated language"

Focus questions:

• How does a teacher include a student's vocabulary and word choice?

• What can be done to improve student word choice?

Action Plan:

• They all wished they had a broad vocabulary. Most wanted to express ideas in a more sophisticated way.

• We worked as a class on parts of a sentence and examples.

Learning:

• Year 8 verbs challenging and discouraging. Many feel discouraged.

  • Weaker students haven't internalised the sentence structure. Examples not helpful or understood.

• Year 11 going to ChatGPT for writing. identified problems with language.

  • Teacher modelling is most important for the expanding of vocabulary. Refuse dumbing down.

• Improvement 😊 Year 8 significant improvement in weaker student writing.

• Greater teacher insight into how they were feeling - their motivation. 😊 A stronger teacher focusing on address students who were struggling. Correcting every students' response. "Maybe some examples were helpful for some students"

Dillon Williams, educational researcher speaks about Cognitive learning - the most important thing for teachers to know.

Working memory basic

Short term to long term memory. Video: Long term memory when it is retrieved back into short term memory. Short term memory last around 30 sec. e.g. remembering numbers. Working memory is holding information in mind then manipulating in some way. e.g. 74832 add 1. Multiple these number 43 X 21. We often use our working memory by using long term memory.

Taking in instructions and distractions that take out opportunities for long term memory.

Cognitive Load Theory Principles

Total the activity imposed on working memory. Students can be cognitive over- loaded. If attending to distractions, working memory is abused. Not much learning.

The cognitive load can differ from child to child. Essay writing puts cognitive load on students.

• Intrinsic load - complexity of new information

• Germane Load - linking new information with current information

• Extraneous load - unnecessary and distracting info (could be the way teacher presents info).

• Problems occur when the a/m are greater than the student's capacity.

Application of CLT to improve students' learning.

Manage Intrinsic Load

Reduce Extraneous Load - reduce extra

Germane Load - maximise.

1. Shift knowledge & skills to long term memory to free up space in working memory (Specialised terms into working memory, timetables difficult for students with prob with working memory).

2. Present new concept and skills effectively to reduce load.

• Worked examples to teach students new content or skills. As the become more capable, take away supports. Note: Too much can be detrimental also.

• Delete not essential information. Less is Best.

• Split information effect. Don't get them to address to many things when learning something for the first time. Keep diagrams simple - not overloading for the splitting of attention. (e.g. diagram with additional labelling increases the load on working memory).

• Two channels of working memory. Visual and verbal. Maximise working memory by the two.

• Ask students to visualise the concepts in colour.

  • for novices: use worded examples, leverage dual processing, avoid split attention.

  • for experts: independent problem solving,

How do I get my hard-working Revs students to show off their knowledge more consistently in assessments?

Strategy: Use retrieval practice to enable students to "retrieve" or recall information they have learned whenever they need to - especially in assessment.

What is it: "the act of recalling learned information from memory (with little or no support) and every time that information is retrieved, or an answer is generated, it changes that original memory to make it strong"

"we keep things bubbling along, and we refer things back to it"

Three principals

1. Make sure learning retention is maximised by spacing learning across lessons.

   Spacing learning allows students to remember more in the long term than if they learned everything at once. 🚀

2. Prompt students to recall information in different ways to enhance long-term retention. (mistakes are okay)

   1. Recall - don't recap/revise/restudy

      every student must be involved

      It is not assessed or marked in any way.

   2. Correct misconceptions or wrong answers quickly.

   3. Plan your lessons around routines.

      • create routines to embed retrieval practice so learning time is maximised

      • allow students multiple opportunities to practice spaced retrieval to consolidate learning

   4. Retrieval Activities: Big questions, nothing new just review (NNJR) Brain dump, Cops & Robbers, 👮‍♂️ (your knowledge a classmate's knowledge)

      label it (images, symbols), list it, misconception correction, retrieval grid, walkabout bingo (find someone who knows) go for gold (using keywords), Kahoot/quizlet/blooket/zuizzis/forms/ bus stop, image analysis, fill in the gaps. 🚏🚌🚌🚌, flashcards, knowledge organiser, retrieval collection kit.

      • 
        

Intention: was to try and engage students in their assessment, during their assessment. If they could articulate where they might currently be performing, then they could improve in their final assessment with some form of agency in achieving.

Strategies:

-Setting SMART goals

-Self-assessment using rubrics and reflection

-SEQTA pre-assessment to have students self-assess