Introduction to Victorian High-Ability Program masterclass resources

This is a transcript of the video entitled Planning a VHAP English masterclass on the Introduction to Victorian High-Ability Program masterclass resources page within the Student Excellence Program tile of the High Ability Toolkit of the Student Excellence Unit in the Victorian Department of Education.         

In this video, Bronwen Martin and Linda Collis, two English leading teachers for the Victorian High-Ability Program – Virtual School Victoria, discuss the Victorian High-Ability Program English courses and possible approaches to developing an English masterclass.       

[Music plays. On-screen text: Victorian High-Ability Program Masterclasses]         

Bronwen Martin (Leading Teacher – Victorian High-Ability Program, Virtual School Victoria): I’m Bronwen Martin, a Leading Teacher of English with the VHAP English Program. VHAP English creates an amazing energy for students and there’s a great opportunity for high-ability students to engage and share their thinking as they contribute and collaborate and process ideas across schools.       

The quality and ideas within their written final submissions are really inspiring. And the students relay all of critical, creative and ethical thinking to communicate understanding. It’s really wonderful to observe the students as they engage in peer feedback and it’s really rewarding to watch them become more confident as they contribute in online forums and share their ideas and to watch them work in small groups.         

[On-screen text: VHAP English Course Overview]         

In both the five-six and the seven-eight VHAP English courses, we move from the critical analysis of mentor texts to the creative application of the concepts they’ve studied. In the primary course, the students examine the ancient patterns of narrative structure and this includes the hero’s journey and archetypes. And we closely examine the hero’s journey and that includes how heroes cross from the known to the unknown and experience great challenges before they return to the known world, a little bit wiser and perhaps more self-confident and resilient. And there are great through-lines for this for students to consider their own lives.         

Students make comparisons between historical events and the contemporary world problems in the secondary course, like juxtaposed challenging concepts and characterisation and visual images, to find deeper meaning. They engage closely with really complex ideas and they discern warnings within texts that apply to the modern world. And they also think about where there’s evident hope.         

Texts that they analyse include A.J. Betts’ Hive, clips from film and also short stories. They’re then challenged to develop and create their own dystopian world. They need to develop protagonists and think about what would be most frightening in their world, and where and if there will be evident hope. What will be forfeited and what will be gained? The creativity and thought in their final submissions is truly inspiring.         

[On-screen text: Masterclasses]         

The masterclass is really significant for both students and HAPLs [high ability practice leaders] as it provides a bridge between the one-term VHAP English extension program and continuing a focus to appropriately plan and challenge high-ability students at the school and/or cluster level.         

The idea is that HAPLs will work together to ensure a collaborative extension opportunity for their students. And that this will draw on the content and pedagogies that students experience through the VHAP English Program.         

In your planning, we would highly encourage you to read the students’ work and to also be really aware of the general capabilities that frame the VHAP English program. We then hope that you will work together to plan masterclasses at a local level that celebrate the work the students have done, but also frame forward. That you work together to plan an opportunity where the students will take the work further…         

[On-screen text: Take the work further.]         

…or investigate real world heroes…         

[On-screen text: Investigate real world heroes.]         

…or to look for trends…         

[On-screen text: Look for trends.]         

…of utopia and dystopia in the contemporary world.         

[On-screen text: Planning Masterclasses]         

Linda Collis (Leading Teacher – Victorian High-Ability Program, Virtual School Victoria): When planning masterclasses, HAPLs should check class lists on the VHAP portal to make connections with other local schools. Schools are encouraged to draw on their favourite mentor texts and engage in creative exploration of ideas. So you can use this day to celebrate your favourite literature.         

Masterclasses are also a wonderful opportunity for students to bring their own creative work to life. An activity could be for students to transform creative writing into scripts for dramatic performance.         

You might like to invite a guest speaker to visit. This may be a local author or a public figure such as a local member of parliament. Students will benefit greatly from gaining insight into the lived experience of inspiring adults within the local community.         

[Music plays. On-screen text: The Education State. Victoria State Government. Department of Education. Virtual School Victoria]         

[On-screen text: Victoria State Government. Authorised by the Victorian Government, Melbourne]         

[End of transcript]         

This is a transcript of the video entitled Planning a VHAP Mathematics masterclass on the Introduction to Victorian High-Ability Program masterclass resources page within the Student Excellence Program tile of the High Ability Toolkit of the Student Excellence Unit in the Victorian Department of Education.       

In this video, Jeffrey Segal and Alexander Fox, two Mathematics leading teachers for the Victorian High-Ability Program – Virtual School Victoria, discuss the Victorian High-Ability Program Mathematics courses and possible approaches to developing a mathematics masterclass.       

[Music plays. On-screen text: Victorian High-Ability Program Masterclasses]       

Jeffrey Segal(Leading Teacher – Victorian High-Ability Program, Virtual School Victoria): Teaching VHAP Maths is like a dream come true for me. I find working with high ability mathematicians from all over Victoria incredibly exciting. I get inspired by my students’ enthusiasm and the way they dive into topics such as exploring bases other than 10, Mayan and Babylonian numeral systems, the Fibonacci sequence, code breaking and networks.       

The VHAP maths program quite literally goes to infinity and beyond. It is particularly satisfying when our students discover something that none of the maths team have thought of. And we do spend a lot of time thinking deeply about the maths in the programs.       

Collaboration is of huge importance to VHAP, and the masterclasses are a perfect way for students to work together. My advice is to plan masterclasses, where collaboration takes centre stage. My other piece of advice is to make the masterclasses fun. Let the laughter flow and make the masterclasses a celebration of the wonderful learning that has taken pace during the program.       

[On-screen text: You can find learning intentions in the HAPL Welcome Packs.]       

Both of the VHAP maths courses have overarching learning intentions. We aim to break our students’ brains in a good way. This is achieved by offering students an appropriate level of challenge and providing them with a safe way to step out of their comfort zone. This can be a new experience for highly-able students.       

Another key overarching learning intention is the concept of the three E’s…       

[On-screen text: Effectiveness. Efficiency. Elegance.]       

…effectiveness, efficiency and elegance. For many of our students, the idea that a solution to a mathematical problem can be elegant is new. And we have fascinating discussion as we examine their strategies and solutions through the lens of the three E’s.       

Alexander Campbell(Leading Teacher – Victorian High-Ability Program, Virtual School Victoria): The Victorian High-Ability Program aims to foster critical and creative thinking through a focus on strategies for problem solving and problem finding. Students get the opportunity to consider the ethics of a fair game, and a broad cultural viewpoint is encouraged through the study of historical number systems and mathematicians from around the globe.       

A collaborative approach to mathematical problems is encouraged to highlight how teamwork can enrich mathematical thinking. Masterclasses are an important extension and celebration of the work they have done in the VHAP. They provide the opportunity to bring students together to pursue challenging mathematics.       

The chance for students to collaborate in problem solving and problem finding would be a great experience for enthusiastic young mathematicians. And it’s also an opportunity for HAPLs to further develop connections with other local HAPLs and build a cluster for high-ability students from schools within the area. Through shared expertise in a range of subjects areas over local clusters, HAPLs will be able to create a memorable learning experience.       

Jeffrey Segal: When organising a masterclass, start by consulting the class list, which is available on the VHAP portal. This will let you know which schools to get in touch with. Aim to involve everyone who is in the relevant VHAP class, then take a look at the sample masterclasses we’ve prepared. While you are free and encouraged to come up with your own ideas, our samples may be useful to provide you with inspiration and a general idea for how to structure your masterclass,       

Alexander Campbell: Some considerations might include the space in which to host up to 25 students, plus accompanying staff, catering arrangements for the day, be it a morning tea or a packed lunch, resourcing and the ability to photocopy any work if students are creating questions for the students.       

A pro tip from the sample material is to get the students creating content. Whether you wish to engage a guest speaker, who amongst the HAPLs is responsible for which parts of the masterclass. And you don’t need to be a maths expert to run a maths masterclass. Finally, please remember to have fun and say hello to all the students from their VHAP maths teachers.       

[Music plays. On-screen text: The Education State. Victoria State Government. Department of Education. Virtual School Victoria]       

[On-screen text: Victoria State Government. Authorised by the Victorian Government, Melbourne]       

[End of transcript]