Planning, assessment, moderation and reporting are our major goals for professional development in 2007.
Semester 1:
During Semester 1 2007, all teachers at Shorncliffe have been engaged in many school-based activities designed to support the implementation of the children’s semester reports.
Teacher release time was provided so teachers in the Early Years and UpperSchool could plan together to ensure learning experiences and assessment tasks were common across year levels. Additional personal time was used to plan comprehensive unit plans with interesting learning experiences and detailed assessment tasks.
During term 2, further release time was provided to enable teachers to moderate these assessment pieces and results. This experience proved valuable as a collaborative learning activity in which teachers were able to share their understandings and learning. A great deal of teachers’ own time was spent analyzing samples of work using assessment matrices based on criteria. Much discussion was required and a deeper knowledge and understanding of the task was the result.
Staff meetings were organized so continuity of understanding occurred across the school. The professionalism of all teachers at Shorncliffe is evidenced in their willingness to change, to share ideas, to learn from each other and their eagerness to achieve a high level of organization for the assessment process.
Semester 2:
Further work is planned for Semester 2, as a result of a review of the process which identified the positives and the issues of concern. Interesting ideas that made the task easier for others will be shared and integrated into the process, teacher release will continue due to the benefits for teachers and students, and issues of concern have been prioritized and will be subject to consideration in the coming weeks.
The collaborative approach to planning, teaching, moderating and reporting has been eagerly embraced by all teachers and this process facilitates improved teaching and learning for our students.
We are fortunate at ShorncliffeStateSchool to have a staff with a vast range of talents and skills. They are willing to work together - consulting with ‘critical friends’ outside our community, locating and evaluating new and different ideas and sharing their expertise with others - to plan and teach the best possible curriculum for our children.
Please follow the Sub Menu links to read about the Curriculum offered at Shorncliffe.
