Wamoon Public School
Key features
A professional learning journey.
Wamoon Public School embarked on a professional learning journey, within an action research model, that was professionally rewarding and resulted in changes to teaching practices.
Background
Wamoon Public School is a small school of 40 students and is located 10 kilometres west of Leeton in the Riverina region. It has a teaching staff of four.
In 2005, the school elected to participate in the Aligning quality teaching and assessment project. The purpose of this project was to further engage Priority School communities in professional dialogue about quality teaching practices. Six schools in the Riverina region participated in the project.
Over the next two years, the Wamoon Public School’s learning team embarked on an action learning project.
The Professional Learning and Leadership Development Directorate has produced a support document on action research. It can be downloaded at: https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/proflearn/research/actres.htm
After some research and investigation the school decided to focus their learning on how they could effectively implement formative assessment in their classrooms. The research question became:
How is formative assessment implemented in our classrooms at Wamoon Public School?
Developing a common understanding of assessment became the real starting point in their learning. The teachers believe that:
- assessment becomes formative when the information is used as feedback to adapt teaching and learning to meet the learning needs of the students
- essentially, formative assessment is assessment for learning.
Because the teachers had a growing knowledge of the NSW Quality Teaching model they wanted a project that would:
- support and encourage a real change to their daily approach to teaching, and incorporate the dimensions and elements of the NSW Quality Teaching model
- enhance teachers’ capacity to support all learners
- change the existing culture of poor oral communication, and low levels of individual student responsibility, motivation and engagement.
More information and resources on the NSW Quality Teaching model can be downloaded at: https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/proflearn/areas/qt/resources.htm
Building a professional learning community
The school team agreed to establish a professional learning community that would:
- encourage individual teachers to work from their position on the novice to expert continuum regarding the Quality teaching model
- allow teachers to choose specific key learning areas (KLAs) and areas they were comfortable to work in
- require teachers to engage in professional discourse to support each other
- require individual commitment to the project through professional readings and reflection.
Each member of the school team needed to:
- raise their individual expectations of themselves as learners
- agree to embrace the idea of giving and receiving constructive feedback
- work over a sustained period of time on the same project
- make the time to facilitate their new learning.
Developing a deep understanding of the NSW Quality teaching model
In order to deepen their understanding of the model in ways that resulted in changes to teaching practices, the teachers:
- undertook in-depth individual reading, analysis and consideration of the dimensions and elements of the model
- considered each dimension and its six elements in order and engaged in discussion
- consciously used the language of quality teaching in daily practice.
Gathering data
So the school could judge the success of their action research and learning the teachers:
- compiled a student survey and supported the students to answer as honestly as possible
- gathered teacher, parent and student reflections
- completed the Quality teaching survey on the Educational Measurement and School Accountability Directorate (EMSAD) website.
These surveys can be downloaded at:
https://detwww.det.nsw.edu.au/directorates/schoimpro/EMD/surveys.htm
The professional learning model
The school team engaged in relevant professional learning including the use of professional readings and consultancy expertise to help deepen their knowledge of formative assessment. These included:
- numerous informative professional readings leading to a commitment from all staff members
- linking the main issues from the professional readings to the Quality Teaching model
- professional learning days with regional equity coordinators, investigating assessment approaches
- professional learning days with an academic partner selecting reflection questions on quality teaching and running focus groups
- professional learning sessions reflecting on their learnings
- support from regional PSP and Quality Teaching support staff throughout the project
Linking formative assessment and quality teaching in our daily practice
In developing a common approach, the school team used the four questions below to guide quality teaching to support formative assessment in classrooms:
What will you learn?
Why is it important?
What will you produce?
How well will it be done?
To encourage reflective student voice that would guide teaching the teachers decided to include two additional questions:
How well did you learn it?
What is your next learning goal?
Students were asked to reflect on the formative assessment or assessment for learning process. Teachers built in time for student feedback on their learning. Classroom trials were followed by sharing and peer feedback. This feedback facilitated changes to classroom practices.
Teachers concentrated on supporting the students to establish skills in:
- substantive oral communication
- selecting and judging against success criteria, including self and peer assessment
- choosing the next learning goals.
Teaching practices focused on:
- questions with core concepts
- tasks that were intellectually challenging
- gathering deep knowledge
- substantive communication
- metalanguage
- social support
- student direction
- connections with background knowledge and prior learning.
Success of the project
The project has:
- instigated a serious reflection and judgement on teaching practices
- required the development of more structured professional learning with a clear focus
- improved the focus on quality learning in the classroom
- greatly increased the value of student voice
- convinced the teachers of the value of action research/learning.
The success of the project is demonstrated by:
- improved quality of student work samples, particularly writing samples
- substantive student communication about learning content and processes
- improved BST writing results
- higher levels of student engagement
- teacher and student reflection.
Student views on formative assessment
I think that it is a good idea
I think it will help heaps. (Year 3 student)
My work got better and I understand the work easier.
I think about the work better each time I check it.
I think we should keep it because it helps me a lot with my learning.
I am getting better at it every time I do it.
It helps and I think everyone can use it.
Everyone today has used the success criteria. There is no reason why we shouldn’t have it. (Year 5 students)
As we use this [process] it gets easier and easier and it will become automatic
I kind of understand but I need a bit more learning with it. (Year 4 students)
Teacher reflections
The children are more motivated because they can see that there can be other ways that we can help them to learn.
By focusing on one area to bring about change and sticking with it for a longer period of time has seen lasting changes to our teaching.
We (students and teachers) can easily identify holes in the learning and we use this to adjust the teaching and learning.
Future directions
The action learning project was professionally rewarding and a model the school would use again. Professional discussion, feedback and support have become common in the staffroom. The action learning process provided opportunities to build a deep understanding of formative assessment and gave time to apply this learning in the classroom.
The school has decided to include a stronger focus on student reflection similar to the project chosen by another school in the project. It plans to utilise student focus groups that provide very valuable information to guide and improve teaching performance and give students a stronger voice in their learning.
Further information
Therese Weir
Coordinator PSP, Equity Literacy Initiatives
Priority Schools and Equity Coordination
(02) 9244 5258
