PoLT Online Professional Learning Resource – Principle 2
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Vignettes – Knowledge Bank
Early Years
Tribes: A new way of learning and being together - Echuca West Primary School
Echuca West Primary decided to take a ‘whole-student’ approach to learning and development by introducing Tribes. Organised around Mutual Respect, Attentive Listening, Appreciation and the Right to Participate or Pass, Tribes has empowered students to work together and interact positively. The approach has created a positive and inclusive culture. Prior to the introduction of Tribes the school had in place a number of initiatives to support student wellbeing (You Can Do It, Bill Rogers, Positive Behaviours program), and teaching and learning (Integrated curriculum, Early Years Literacy and Numeracy). The students and staff use the four agreements of Mutual Respect, Attentive Listening, Appreciations with No Put Downs and the Right to Participate or Pass in order to develop as a cohesive group. All students have fun when Tribes energizers and strategies are used.
See: Tribes – A New Way OF Learning & Being Together (http://knowledge.education.vic.gov.au)
Middle Years
Teacher Inquiry Classroom Knowledge (TICK) - Central Highlands Wimmera Middle Years Initiative
Middle years teachers in the Central Highland Wimmera region used the Teacher Inquiry Classroom Knowledge process to develop collaborative and reflective practices about their learning and teaching processes.
TICK is a planned and collaborative approach to addressing the teaching and learning challenges identified by teachers to build their classroom knowledge by:
Focusing the inquiry on areas of importance to the teachers
- Planning for action
- Collecting classroom based evidence in a systematic way
- so that you will know what has changed and why
- Reflecting on evidence and making judgments
- Planning new responses
“It revitalised my teaching and excited me.”
See: Teacher Inquiry Classroom Knowledge (TICK) - (http://knowledge.education.vic.gov.au)
Later Years
Managed Individual Pathways for Students (MIPs) - Mordialloc College
To encourage students to take ownership of their education, Mordialloc College introduced the MIPs program. Organised around home group sessions, students work in mixed age groups and have the same staff member until they reach Year 12. The program has strengthened the school community, with students from all levels interacting. Five years ago, the school had a very different reputation to the positive one it has now. A large number of students were failing to complete year 12, and many of those who did were not continuing to follow pathways to further education or careers.
When the school trialed the MIPS program with just year 10 to 12 students, it was found that some students failed to make a strong connection with their staff mentor. The program was adapted to involve students from year 7 to 12, to increase their knowledge of the options available to them before, and after they exit year 12. There is also a focus on agreed behavioural standards, and working together to create a productive learning environment for all students.
See: Managed Individual Pathways for Students (MIPS) program - (http://knowledge.education.vic.gov.au)