School+Visits

We will be visiting various schools throughout the year in our search to find a suitable model for personalised learning at AVPS.


 * Seabrook Primary School. (12/3/2010)**

Julie, Michael and Alex visited Seabrook PS. We were shown around by classroom teacher Vivienne and Assistant Principal Jackie. They took us through the way in which they are attempting to personalise the learning of their students with the assistance of some very helpful students.

Seabrook students in grades 3-6 all have what they call a 'suite of data' and a 'personal learning plan'. The suite of data contains literacy (from WA First Steps) and numeracy continuums. Teachers talk the students through the continuums, breaking down the language so that it can be understood. Students and teachers together look at where students currently are on the continuums and mark it on the sheet. They then create a goal to get to the next step. The suite of data travels with students across the year levels.

The PLPs contain 4 literacy and 4 numeracy goals plus evidence of how they have gone about achieving their goals. It is an A3 display folder. It has a brief personal profile of the students plus a photo on the cover.

The PLPs also contain a 'SWOT' (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) which the students do first to help them think about their learning.


 * Princess Hill PS. (16/4/2010)** []

The 3 of us set off to Princess Hill PS to continue our journey to schools who are also developing the way they personlising student learning. They have recenetly been through an extensive building program and are now undertaking another building program due to the BER. Their school pricipal Esme showed us around a vibrant school setting that has and is transforming its teaching and learning to engage and challenge students. Attached are some photos from our visit that really highlight their learning spaces; these are somewhat aligned to our own Learning Studio plans. Colour was used differently in spaces and teacher/student and group conference areas were in each space.


 * [[image:photo_4.jpg width="424" height="379"]] || [[image:photo_3.jpg width="486" height="367"]] ||  ||
 * Green Room - a serious conversation :) || Learning spaces seperated by bookshelfs and movable partitions ||  ||

Grade 5/6 spaces Area of the library

Library - colourful, modern and a space students would want to be in

[|Bentleigh West Primary School.] (23/4/10)
Julie and Alex visited Bentleigh West Primary school and were shown around by Principal Jennifer Small. The school is a vibrant and progressive one which is well equipped and has large attractive grounds. Jennifer told us that when she arrived at the school it seemed that 'teachers were teaching curriculum not children.' In other words, teachers were so wrapped up with addressing the ever-increasing curriculum and were not catering for the needs and interests of individual children. So the school began to look at how they could personalise the teaching and learning in their school. Jennifer said that **__the most important step they had taken towards personalised learning was the introduction of team-teaching and flexible learning spaces__**. The classrooms are set up like suburban houses, open-plan with learning spaces seperated by partitions and book shelves. Each room houses about 100 students. Each room has a library in the middle. When we visited, we noticed how nice and quiet the rooms were. Each room had a noise meter. There were also some rooms seperated by walls and a door for extra quiet work. Storage and organisation were also mentioned as key components of a personalised learning space. The 5/6 area had just over 110 students and a teacher-student ratio of about 1-19. Bentleigh West makes the most of their ES staff and parents from their community. Parents are constantly in and out and the ES staff play a central role in the day to day operations of the school. They are assigned evenly to the units and are involved in everything including planning. The school has specialised Maths and Literacy centres which each class has equal access to.

They are full of relevant equipment and resources. Bentleigh West also has a TV and Radio studio staffed by multi-media techs and 2-3 other para-professionals. The school radio station is broadcast each morning and afternoon.

__**Wider Workforce Field Trial 2010 - UK Learning Exhange.**__ In the September school holidays, Michael travelled to the UK to visit 5 Primary Schools to discover the reasons why schools have sustained improvement. Please see attached a WORD document that highlights our finding from the trip. The above document asks the following questions:
 * What did the leaders focus on to contribute to the success of these schools?
 * What data identifies their success?

We also share what we see and hear from the 5 schools under the 4 heading:
 * Key drivers
 * Roles/Structures
 * Flexibilities to employ a wider workforce
 * Impact

Our team visiting the Fairlawn PS (above) On the Prin's door (below) Staff performance across all schools was rigorous and demanded excellence in their staff.

(Above) Classroom learning environment in many schools we arranged similar to ours. 30 student in every class. 1 teacher and 2 supprt staff (teacher assistants) was the big difference. (Below) Brunswick Park PS - Outside learning was mandated from K-P year levels. Most schools had 50% time inside and 50% outside. (Above) - Sarah from Brindishe Green PS shows up how they publish student text around the school. Student voice is an important factor (Below x2) - In both pictures below Student Learning focus is always apparent. Whether on the board, group table or in individual books, student knew explicitly what their current learning focus was. Unlike our school's challenge, students were not always privy to what was the NEXT learning step. At Fairlawn, students were expected to complete a reflection after every session. This included "What worked well?" and "It would be even better if...". Teaching assistants and teachers were all 'teaching' at any one time. Withdrawing students for individual work was not common practice. (Above) - Protocol for quality learning environment. It's pretty self explanatory. (Below) - At Hillyfield PS - outside each classroom, the pre-planning & planning of a topic/unit of work is done with the students and then posted outside the classroom. Students are then able to add to the wall or table with anything (thought, idea, resource) that would enhance the planning tools and aid the other students. Most schools visited make great use of the wall space and corridors.

__**Bendigo - Carusoe SC and Weroona P-10 October 2010.**__ Both SC have vibrant open spaces for learning and teaching. The first 4 photos are from Weroona (the first two are the P-6 mulitage space). The ;ast photos is from a learning community at Carusoe.