Teaching & Learning Report 

Staff Professional Learning Day

In the first week of term, we held a Professional Learning Day for Teaching Staff and Learning Support Staff. The focus of this learning was gradual release of responsibility. 

The gradual release of responsibility model is a teaching approach that systematically transfers responsibility for learning from the teacher to the student, in a structured way. It's often referred to as the "I do, we do, you do" approach. This model aims to scaffold learning by providing instruction and guided practice before encouraging students to work independently.  

During this, we honed our work down to one shared strategy; Think-Aloud. 

Think-aloud is a powerful tool used within this process, especially during the "I do" phase, to make the cognitive processes of learning visible to students. By verbalizing their thinking while demonstrating a task, teachers help students understand how to approach problems and apply strategies independently.  

Here are some examples of where students may see this happening in class: 

1. "I do" phase with Think-Aloud: 

Teacher's Role: 

The teacher explicitly demonstrates a task. During this they verbally explain their thought process as they perform it. This includes not only the steps but also the reasoning behind those steps. This helps students with the decision-making, which they can then refer to when they complete the task. 

Think-Aloud Example: 

When reading a text, the teacher might say, "I'm pausing here because I notice a word I don't know. I'm going to use context clues to figure it out...". Or, while solving a math problem, the teacher might say, "I'm going to use this formula because...".  

Purpose: 

Think-aloud make the "invisible" mental processes of learning visible to students, showing them how to monitor their understanding and apply strategies. It's easy to assume that a learner understands the reasoning and thinking behind steps in a task, or answering a set question. Focusing on explaining our thinking, when completing the task, helps the learner understand so they can apply it later. 

2. "We do" phase:  

Teacher's Role: 

The teacher and students work together on a similar task, with the teacher providing support and guidance. 

Think-Aloud Incorporation: 

The teacher might pause and ask students to think aloud about their own strategies or reasoning during guided practice. They might share this, allowing for a chance to clarify misconceptions. 

Purpose: 

Students begin to internalize the thinking processes demonstrated earlier and practice applying them with support. 

3. "You do" phase: 

Teacher's Role: 

Students work independently on a similar task, applying the strategies they've learned.  

Think-Aloud Usage: 

Students may be encouraged to use think-alouds independently as they work, further solidifying their understanding and promoting self-regulation.  

Purpose: 

Students take ownership of their learning and demonstrate their ability to apply strategies independently.  

Assessment Review 

This term the Key Learning Area Leaders (leaders of English, Maths, Science, Humanities, HAPE and Art), will be reviewing our current assessment and reporting practices. 

This includes reviewing our scale for providing feedback, moving from a 3-point scale to a 5-point scale. Currently students are assessed on rubrics and marked at either 'working towards, working at or working above level'. We are moving to a more differentiated scale to provide greater clarity of student progress. 

Parent Teacher Student Conferences

Our Semester 2 PTSC's (Parent Teacher Student Conferences) will be held on 14th October (Term 4 week 2). On this day, normal classes will run for Year 12 VCE students, who will only be days away from their first VCE exam. 

Due to classes running for these Year 12 students on the day, the Semester 2 PTSC's will be held online.