Principles of Learning and Teaching – Case Studies
Pascoe Park Cluster - The Value of Reflection
Pascoe Park Schools for Innovations and Excellence Cluster consists of the following schools: Oak Park Primary School, Coburg Primary School, Coburg North Primary School, Pascoe Vale Primary School, Pascoe Vale South Primary School, Newlands Primary School, Coburg Special Development School and Pascoe Vale Girls Secondary College.
Establishing a cluster
As a Phase 3 Schools for Innovations and Excellence (SI&E) cluster, our group of schools in the Pascoe Vale and Coburg areas of the Northern Metropolitan Region, is diverse, with very little prior experience of working together. As a collection of six primary schools, a Special Development School and a Girl's Secondary College, they took on a commitment to being involved in The Principles of Learning and Teaching P-12 (PoLT) at the end of 2004, with very little information or realization of the actual commitment to be undertaken. It was seen as an ideal opportunity for the cluster schools to begin working on implementing the Blueprint For Government Schools Flagship Strategy 1: Student Learning.
Planning for PoLT
At the end of 2004, the Principal Management Team worked together with Kate Story (as consultant) on developing an Action and Strategic Plan for Schools for Innovations and Excellence for 2005 and beyond. It was decided that the focus would be on increasing student engagement and the development of Literacy and a Thinking Curriculum. PoLT had a role to play in implementing this plan.
At this early stage of planning it was decided that each school was to have a Schools for Innovations and Excellence Coordinator, who would also be trained as the PoLT Coordinator. All schools except Pascoe Vale Girls Secondary College were able to do this. In the case of the secondary college, they had two different people fill the role of Schools for Innovations and Excellence Coordinator and another two in the PoLT position.
In February 2005, Kate Story (as Cluster Educator) and some of the Principals attended the one hour Principal Briefing for PoLT at Melbourne University. At this stage we were unclear about the commitment we had in fact undertaken. However, a proposal was put to the Principal Management Team that given the amount of money that was going to be spent on PoLT Training ($800 per coordinator for training costs + five days CRT) that a review of the role of PoLT in the Schools for Innovations and Excellence Action Plan was required. The purpose of this review was to focus greater attention on PoLT to ensure successful, effective and sustainable planning and implementation. It was then decided that the Schools for Innovations and Excellence and PoLT coordinator team were to begin developing a strategic plan for PoLT before the training commenced. This process involved using Edward de Bono's DATT (Direct Attention Thinking Tools) as a framework for planning. This opportunity to bring the team together prior to the PoLT Training established the cornerstone for our cluster and ultimately laid the foundation for success with implementing PoLT. By the time of the initial training days 1 and 2, the team was already on track with parallel thinking and with clear aims and intentions established (all without really knowing what PoLT still involved.)
The PoLT Team in Training
It was very clear on the first day of training that as a cluster team we were focused and cohesive. This was an enormous advantage. Although we were still very unsure of the PoLT content and process, as a team we were committed to devising a well thought out and purposeful strategic plan designed to drive action for the needs of our cluster schools.
As a team we used the initial two days of training (March 2005) to refocus and have professional conversations about PoLT and further develop our own understandings of what was to be involved. At this early stage, after day two, we used the final hour to do a Six Thinking Hats (De Bono) on what was known and understood about PoLT so far. Again, this proved a very effective tool to pull the team together and meant we were 'on the same page' as far as our collaborative thinking was concerned. It enabled us to gel together our understandings with our initial action and strategic planning. It was again at this stage that we cemented our commitment to proceeding with PoLT as a cluster team and saw it necessary to take small steps together, implementing PoLT strategically at the same time.
Building a cluster strategic plan
The first two days of PoLT training were followed up closely with a PoLT Team Workshop Day to work together on strategic planning. It was on this day that, as a team, we established our five stage plan for implementation and detailed directions to be taken by each school. We discussed timeframes and identified cluster support that was required, eg. Casual Relief Teacher (CRT) coverage, assistance from Educator etc. Each stage of the plan is described in the appendix.
Term 1 was designated to Stage 1 and this involved getting our heads around PoLT. During Stage two of the plan, we felt it was imperative to apply the PoLT process to ourselves as a team of teachers before beginning on our staff. This meant that we completed the PoLT process in depth in relation to our own teaching - the component mapping, student surveys, data analysis and follow up discussions with each other. We saw this as an opportunity to put our understanding into practice by making a direct connection to our own professional practice. Therefore, we knew exactly what the PoLT process involved before implementing it at our individual schools. We particularly found the opportunity to professionally discuss the process incredibly valuable and this assisted in our high level understanding, before the next training days.
By the time of the third, fourth and fifth days of PoLT training, the strength of the cluster PoLT team was very evident. We arranged for the team to stay overnight between the fourth and fifth days of training at the conference hotel. The management team saw it was worthwhile to show the team that their work and commitment to the cluster was valued. It was also considered an opportunity for the team to build the collegiality necessary to further sustain the implementation of PoLT across our schools.
Stage Three of our plan was to begin formally introducing PoLT to our schools and begin the PoLT process of component mapping and student surveys. Component mapping is a reflective process designed to build a profile of each teacher's practice. It involves a 45 minute discussion between the coordinator and the teacher to identify a position on each component of the Principles that best describes the teacher's practice. The aggregated data from the component mapping enables the PoLT coordinator to build up a picture of what is happening across the school, identify the staff expertise and knowledge they can draw on and pinpoint areas of general need.
Again as a team we developed a process for introducing staff to component mapping and supported each other through the process. We developed our own presentation to be used across all schools in the cluster and each coordinator presented to staff with the assistance of a coordinator from another school.
We also decided that a minimum of 5 teachers (including ourselves) at each school should be involved in PoLT in the early stages, to ensure success and to also provide a workable number of teachers for follow up professional development. Some small schools proceeded to component map all staff, while others stayed with the minimum.
Download the Cluster Strategic Plan (Word - 50Kb)
Keeping our Principals in the loop
Keeping our Principals in the loop
Throughout the training process, the team developed an increased awareness of the importance of keeping Principals informed, as they had not attended the training. Before presenting our introduction session to staff, as a team, we presented the session firstly to the Principal Management Team. This served two main purposes. Firstly it demonstrated to the Principal group the effectiveness and strength of the Cluster PoLT Team (complete with our own custom made PoLT T-Shirts!) and secondly to provide a forum for the principals to be a part of the session and ask their own questions. This led to furthering their understanding of PoLT, before it was presented to their staff.
As is the intention of PoLT, the information and data provided through the process is not for use by school principals to judge their teachers. For this reason the management team saw it as essential that they completely trusted the PoLT team for the implementation and management of PoLT. As a substantial amount of money was spent on PoLT in 2005, the Principal Management Team wanted to fully support their coordinators in every possible way.
Putting our plans into action
Stage four of the Strategic Plan was focused on combining the PoLT data from those teachers involved in the component mapping across the cluster, including our own. The data from individual component maps, student perceptions and learning surveys was analysed to develop a PoLT professional development plan centred on the needs of the cluster teachers and students. This was done through a team workshop day. The data was not overly dissected, nor aggregated in any way that may unnecessarily compare teacher or student groups to each other. The data was simply used to highlight main areas of strength and the principles that required improved action were identified.
As a result of the analysis the team was able to identify specific Principles in need of either cluster, school or individual professional development.
An introductory session to PoLT Professional Development (PD) has since followed focusing on Principles 3, 4 and 5 based on teacher needs. All teachers involved in PoLT in 2005 were invited to an afternoon PD session and were able to select which principle they wanted to begin working on, based on their own component maps. Follow up professional development modules are now being planned for Term 1 and 2 of 2006 to follow up from this introductory session.
Taking the next steps
In 2006, Stage 5 of the cluster Strategic Plan will be put into place. This will be focused on providing professional development to those teachers component mapped in 2005 and begin the second cycle of component mapping across the cluster schools. The Principal Management Team has already committed to a combined cluster curriculum day in term 2, 2006 for PoLT. This day will provide professional development in all Principle modules for teachers from both cycles 1 and 2.
As a cluster PoLT team, recommendations have been forwarded to the Principal Management Team for the implementation of PoLT in 2006 and beyond, including budgeting, new coordinator training and continued facilitation of the PoLT team from the Schools for Innovations and Excellence Cluster.
In the Pascoe Park Cluster we have been committed to making the most of PoLT and doing it properly for ongoing sustainability and ultimate effectiveness. We see it as a fantastic opportunity to reflect on our practice to re-energise, re-invigorate and re-vitalise what we are so passionate about; our teaching.
A measure of the cluster success
The success of PoLT in the Pascoe Park Schools for Innovations and Excellence Cluster to date must be firstly attributed to the teamwork of the PoLT coordinators across the cluster schools and their commitment and dedication to the cluster. Secondly, the time and thinking involved in the initial strategic and action planning allowed for cohesiveness and direction from the very beginning.
The possibilities and potential for PoLT in our schools is very encouraging and with the ongoing support and facilitation from the Cluster Management Team and Educator we hope it continues to provide opportunities and avenues for teachers to have professional conversations about and reflections on their practice.
Kate Story
Cluster Educator
Story.kate.e@edumail.vic.gov.au