Passion & Learning – Six Inspiring Schools

Learn how Eltham High School drew on a collaborative solving assessment tool, created by The University of Melbourne, to help students develop essential skills such as problem-solving, communication and collaboration. The tool was introduced in 2014 to Year 7 students when teachers realised the school had no data to provide meaningful insights in these areas. Now, the school, through the ATC21S™ tool has tangible data which enables teachers to plan teaching which addresses each student’s needs.

Learn how Hilltop Road Public School in Sydney is using Visible Learning strategies and Seesaw to have rich conversations about learning and build a deep culture of learning in their community. The story begins when looked at student learning and found that the students could tell us what they did, but they couldn’t tell us the learning behind it. Drawing on John Hattie’s work around Visible Learning, teachers worked with each student to set their own learning goals and becomes a critic of their own work.

Learn how Bacchus Marsh College in Victoria is using a data-driven teaching approach to enable students to grow and thrive in maths. In the video, teachers reveal how they have seen a significant change in student growth levels in maths, with many revealing a passion to learn better and more. See the program in practice.

Learn how Mount Barker school in South Australia began using diagnostic tools to measure students’ wellbeing and the data reflects an improvement in student wellbeing. Within 18 months of implementing the Positive Education program, teachers saw a 7% improvement in reported wellbeing in every area. Students have responded well to the program and report growth in the positive culture of the school.

Learn how Rooty Hill High School in Sydney is using creative inquiry to enable students to develop the capabilities and dispositions they need for work and life. The school’s goal is for all graduates of the school to be effective employees, active global citizens and able to identify and build upon their own personal character strengths. The school has mapped a trajectory for each student which takes them from entry level – where they have many skills to learn – to developing the habits and dispositions which set each student up for work, study and life. Through the Critical Inquiry Cycle model, the school now has data to show the students are growing and achieving, with 80% of Year 10s achieving many of the Australian Curriculum Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) capability benchmarks.

Learn how Taranganba State School in Queensland is using a reading strategy to build students’ love of reading, equipping them with essential skills for work and life. Yet it is estimated that 10-16% of 5 to 16-year-olds in Australia have reading difficulties such as dyslexia or inadequate comprehension skills. This was the case at Taranganba where NAPLAN data showed that Year 3 Reading levels were below the State and National Mean. The school developed the Taranganba Way of Reading and the impact was immediate. It allowed students to build a love of words, and to use their reading skills in other subject areas.