DEPUTY PRINCIPAL REPORT

Showcasing Teaching and Learning at The Riverina Anglican College

I cannot remember a stranger time to be a teacher and you may well not remember a stranger time to be a parent. On reflection it appears a great deal has changed and not all of it for the worst. There have certainly been many silver linings at the College. We have developed a greater appreciation of our time in class with students, a deeper understanding of our wonderful community of committed parents and in many cases found a whole set of teaching skills that were either unknown or at least embryonic. 

With social distancing and many staff working remotely it has been far harder for the usual sharing conversations and practice to occur across the campus, so this week seemed an apt time for staff to share the skills and knowledge they have developed over the last few months. Staff survey results around teaching and learning were quite staggering, although I should not have been surprised. Our staff are innovative, collaborative and so professionally driven to make a difference to your child’s learning - even more so when we were together/apart.

And so on Tuesday this week staff presented a showcase around a range of techniques and strategies that enhanced learning over the time of COVID-19. Importantly almost all staff have indicated that these are strategies that they will continue to utilise as they greatly enhanced the teaching and learning experience. Silver linings….

Sessions included using a green screen, YouTube for teachers, utilising videos in practical subjects, using Lip Sync, Chatter Pix and Videoleap, scheduling Google classroom effectively, differentiation for learning in the online space, using learning plans, flipped learning and using a class Google website. Just typing all that was exhausting…. 

I very much thank the presenters for their efforts, we are all indeed lifelong learners!

Anthony Heffer | Deputy Principal - Teaching, Learning and Innovation