Teaching, Learning and Wellbeing
A reminder that next Monday November 3rd is a Curriculum Day and there is no school for students. Teachers will be busy composing Semester Two Report comments and making professional judgments from various assessments.
Explicit Instruction Engagement Strategies
As part of our professional learning this term, RGLPS teachers are refining their use of Engagement Strategies to support whole class explicit instruction. These engagement norms are used by teachers to ensure active participation by all children, the retention of learning and transfer of new concepts into long term memory.
Here are some of the key engagement norms we are embedding into practice across the school:
Pronounce With Me or voicing key vocabulary aloud, helps students retain new language terms and ensure they use the correct pronunciation. Track With Me and Read With Me involves students tracking or reading along with a displayed text or their own copy. Through tracking and reading along with the teacher, children connect spoken language to words, build their fluency and overall comprehension. This is particularly useful if the content is complex or unfamiliar as these strategies significantly reduce the cognitive load on decoding. The learner can fully focus on the new information.
Gesture With Me taps into neuroscience research about how physical movement or gestures helps us to retain new learning. Linking a new idea to a simple movement creates a physical 'anchor' for our brain. If we combine use of gesture with Pronounce With Me and Track or Read With Me, learning can be retained in multiple parts of our brain simultaneously, improving overall recall and retention.
The Pair Share strategy allows students time to discuss and internalise new knowledge in a non threatening way. It gives students the chance to practise before they are called upon to speak in front of their class or use new learning, reducing performance anxiety. The Pair Share technique also serves to keep both learning partners accountable. If one partner fails to pay attention or respond during the Pair Share, they let their learning partner down. Pair Share combined with explicitly taught sentence stems, also support and scaffold learners to make their responses in Complete Sentences, using new vocabulary.
Attention Signals and Whiteboard Routines are explicitly taught in our classes across the school to minimise learning time lost and aid overall focus and concentration. Mini whiteboards are also a 'low stakes' means for children to practise new learning and for the teacher to check their understanding, during the lesson. If a child's answer is incorrect on a mini whiteboard, it can be rubbed out and easily changed, once again reducing anxiety. By continually checking student responses on mini whiteboards, the teacher can decide to move along more quickly, reteach a concept or explore more examples, as needed.
I hope this has helped clarify the research behind some of the strategies we are embedding in our instruction across the school. More information can be found on the AERO (Australian Education Research Organisation) website.
2025 ICAS Certificates
Yesterday, I received an email advising that the 2025 ICAS certificates are expected to arrive at RGLPS between 6th-12th November. Higher place certificates (High Distinction, Distinction, Merit and Credit certificates) will be distributed at a whole school assembly shortly after their arrival. I will advise of these ICAS certificate presentation dates via Compass and future newsletter updates.
School Policy Updates
The following RGLPS policies have been updated and were approved at this week's School Council Meeting:
- RGLPS Acceptable Use Agreement (click to view)
- RGLPS Visitors Policy (click to view)
The updated RGLPS Acceptable Use Agreement reflects the changed Department of Education advice around use of technology and screens in Victorian classrooms. In response to community feedback, the document also provides information around how technology is currently used in RGLPS classrooms, the educational online platforms we use and how technology is used to support home learning across the school.
All RGLPS School Policies are available to the community via two pathways:
- Visit the RGLPS website: Our School tab -> Governance and Policies
- SeeCompass: Community icon -> School Documentation -> RGLPS Policies
I hope everyone has a wonderful long weekend!
Kerron Worsdell
Literacy Learning Specialist