Teaching and Learning

The term ‘pedagogy’ refers to the method and practice of teaching. Teachers constantly strive to improve their practice, regardless of their level of experience. At Peter Lalor Secondary College, all staff are challenged to improve their teaching practice, through the provision of high-quality professional practice and professional learning, which supports all staff to become expert educators.

A teaching and Learning Framework have been developed which prescribes of PLSC Instructional Model. The PLSC Instructional Model has been designed through regular consultation with staff during the latter part of 2022, to support all our teachers in the delivery of high-quality teaching and learning practices, to improve learning opportunities for all our students. 

This model has been informed by evidence-based research and incorporates best practice High Impact Teaching and Engagement Strategies (HITS & HIES), and High Impact Wellbeing Strategies (HIWS). These strategies are underpinned by the 5-Pillars of Vocational Learning which form the basis of the Vocational Major within the VCE and the Victorian Pathways Certificate. These strategies are recognised instructional practices that reliably increase student learning when applied effectively by teachers. They are drawn from the findings of tens of thousands of studies of what has worked in classrooms across Australia and the world.

The PLSC Instructional Model provides the basis of our pedagogical practices, helping to generate a strong culture of learning for both teachers and students. At the heart of this culture is the understanding that, teachers can build their expertise as highly effective teachers by developing a strong professional community of teachers as learners, who can regularly refer to and use research to inform their practice, and who can access and use extensive knowledge about each of their students.

You can assist your child’s teacher by asking your child, ‘What did you learn today?’ Also, you could ask your child to reflect on their own performance and encourage them to take teacher feedback into consideration when completing assessment tasks, and Interim and Semester reports become available. 

David Husk - Assistant Principal for Teaching & Learning