High Impact Teaching Strategies

Example 2: Secondary – Whole school approach

At an outer suburban secondary college, the Attitudes to School Survey results revealed a high level of student disengagement. Students reported that learning was not engaging. Parents complained their children were often unable to articulate what they learnt at school. The school leadership team decided to respond with a suite of whole school initiatives that would roll out progressively through the year. The interventions focused on making learning visible to students. The first step was to implement a consistent approach in every lesson to setting goals and success criteria. Resources were allocated to support the initiative. Over the summer holidays all classrooms were fitted with small whiteboards with pre-set sections for learning outcomes, success criteria, activities and review questions. During the professional development and planning day at the start of Term 1, all teachers were trained to use the mini-whiteboards, and to develop learning outcomes clearly linked to lesson activities and success criteria. During Term 1, Professional Learning Communities focused on supporting implementation of the strategy and monitoring its impact on student learning. By the end of Term 2, after achieving a high level of consistency and precision in using the mini-whiteboards, teachers reported an increase in student engagement. The results of a student survey were even more promising, showing a sharp increase in engagement with learning, even when teachers had not yet noticed shifts in performance. In Term 3, teachers continued to evaluate the effectiveness of their practice, monitor student engagement and learning, and seek feedback from colleagues and students to gauge the impact of changed practices.

Continuum OF PRACTICE