Learning and Teaching

Welcome to Term 4!

Improving Teaching and Learning

Our teaching staff are always learning and improving their teaching practice and in Term 4 we have  started to explore a range of quality teaching techniques that we know improve the engagement and learning of all our students. Teachers are working on using one of three strategies in their classes:

Classroom questioning techniques that require participation from all students and no opting out. These techniques ensure all students are listening and contributing in classroom discussion to improve their learning. 

Hinge questions use very carefully designed questions, that the teacher asks after their instruction, which assist the teacher to understand where all the students are in their learning and make decisions about the activities that follow.     

Retrieval Practice  are activities that help bring to mind key information that students have already learnt. By doing so, a student's memory of that information is strengthened and forgetting is less likely. 

It sounds simple, but there is real science behind these techniques. Regular and deliberate retrieval at home and school improves memory fluency, understanding, and academic performance. Regular retrieval practice is shown to be more effective to learning than long chunks of revision time, re-reading, or highlighting/taking notes; all of which focus on encoding information and short-term learning.

Retrieval practice revision tips for students:

1. Prepare cue cards with questions on one side and answers on the other.
2. Start revision by listing things you already know about the topic you are studying.
3. Create a list of trivia questions to use every few weeks as a revision tool that incorporates questions from previous units of work.
4. Summarise a concept in a certain number of words and then do it again in less words.
5. Create a wall display with blank space so you can add summaries or visuals over time that show how concepts link to each other.
6. Periodically focus your study on retrieving previously learnt concepts, not just on what is currently being learnt.

 Year 10 ICT Literacy NAPLAN

This week a small group of randomly selected Year 10 students participated in a special NAP (National Assessment Program) which is an online assessment of student's Information and Communication Technology Literacy (ICTL) skills. It was a two hour test presenting real work problems and challenges to apply their skills to.

With digital technology being such a key part of education settings now, we do need to, not only develop students skills in using technology for learning purposes, but monitor how our students are tracking compared to students in their peer group.  The school will receive summary (not individual) results from the assessment which will give us some valuable feedback to plan our future digital learning priorities.

Year 6  Transition - PAT Testing Week

We are very pleased to welcome all our new Year 6-7 students and families to our wonderful school community. A smooth transition from primary to secondary school requires careful planning and a great team. The 2022-2023 transition process is in full swing.

Next week, our Year 6 students will participate in the PAT reading and maths test, afterschool either on line or at school, to gather learning data on numeracy and reading comprehension skills. This data will be used to organise classes, differentiate classroom instruction, identify students for our Skepsi class and students who would benefit from additional supports.

Natalie Manser 

Assistant Principal

mar@wantirnacollege.vic.gov.au