Introducing Learning Moments on Astra

As a student undertakes their journey through school, there are key moments where they will demonstrate their learning and engagement in school life, through work samples or participation in an activity such as community service. Collating evidence of academic progress and participation in school activities helps to create a richer picture of the student's school experience over time.  

We are currently implementing a new “Learning Moments” platform on Astra that will allow teachers and students to capture, publish and share learning and participation with students, parents and teachers. 

You may notice new options on the Astra student profile, called “Activity Feed”, “Goals” and “Achievements”. These have been created to allow students to develop and monitor personal learning and other targets as well as contributions to school life, including community service, service to school and the various activities that students undertake that would typically contribute toward earning House Colours and other awards. 

The system is in the early stages of development but needs to be ‘live’ to evolve further, and therefore, the icons are now visible on Astra. Teacher and student training on how to get the most out of these new Astra icons will be provided next term. 

The benefit of the new Goals and Achievements tiles are generally twofold. Firstly, by setting goals, students can be more engaged and accountable for their learning and commitment to school activities and let teachers know where they think they need support. As goals are achieved, the teacher can convert the predetermined goal into an achievement which then stands as a record of reward for effort. 

Secondly, students can record their own participation goals in events such as the Red Shield Appeal or speaking in an assembly. Students will have access to select pre-determined Goals that are set by the School. Participations will be managed by the teachers who supervised or arranged the activity. This system makes it less likely that a student’s contribution to daily school life and community service activities, and the like, are inadvertently overlooked. 

In the first instance, we will be making “Participation” goals and achievements available to students, and in the future, we will introduce Goals and Achievements for a range of academic indicators. 

The new approach will allow students to monitor their progress and participation over time giving them a permanent standing record of their school involvement, rather than waiting until Semester Reports are available.  Student achievements will continue to be noted in Semester Wellbeing and Pastoral Care Reports. 

Updated information about the new Learning Moments will be provided as training is rolled out and new features are developed.