Student Learning

Initiatives

In this session

• Support available for future decision making, build on current knowledge of:

• the Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS)• the Principles of Learning and Teaching• Assessment and Reporting Advice

• A primary resource to support curriculum decisions:• an overview of the Curriculum Planning Guidelines• implementation of VELS

Recognising and responding to diverse student needs

Blueprint for Government Schools, 2003 (page 2)

Student Learning

Complexity of student diversity

To ensure that students reach their full potential, effective planning should:

• consider student diversity while planning curriculum

• acknowledge and use the rich learning community of the school where students learn from each other

• identify and cater to the different needs of particular cohorts of students

• ensure that multiple learning preferences are offered

Our Educative Purpose

What is powerful to learn?

VictorianEssential Learning

Standards

What is powerful learning and

what promotes it?

Principles ofLearning

and Teaching

Learner

How do we know it has been learnt?

Assessment Advice

Who do we report to?

StudentsTeachersParents

CommunitySystem

What is powerful to learn?

VictorianEssential Learning

Standards

Our Educative Purpose

What is it powerful to learn?

Victorian Essential Learning Standards

Interrelated Strands: Physical, Personal and Social Learning Discipline-based Learning Interdisciplinary Learning DomainsDimensions Standards

Post Compulsory Education and TrainingVCE: Victorian Certificate of Education VCAL: Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning

Both certificates include VET (Vocational Education and Training) in Schools programs.

Structure of the Victorian Essential Learning Standards

Strands

3 Strands

Dimensions

4-7 domains, in each Strand.A learning focus statement for each domain includes suggestions for appropriate learning experiences.

Domains

2–3 dimensions for most domains, with standards provided for each, describing essential knowledge, skills and behaviours.

Victorian Essential Learning Standards

Three core, interrelated strands:

Physical, Personal and Social Learning

Discipline-based Learning

Interdisciplinary Learning

Victorian Essential Learning Standards Overview, 2005 (page 6)

DomainKnowledge, skills and behaviours in:

• Health and Physical Education

• Interpersonal Development

• Personal Learning

• Civics and Citizenship

StrandPhysical, Personal and Social Learning

DomainKnowledge, skills and behaviours in:

• The Arts

• English

• LOTE

• The Humanities

• Mathematics

• Science

StrandDiscipline-based Learning

Domain

StrandKnowledge, skills and behaviours in:

• Communication

• Design, Creativity and Technology

• Information and Communications Technology

• Thinking Processes

Interdisciplinary Learning

Strand

Domain

Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS)

-an example -

Physical, Personal and Social Learning

Personal Learning

Activity 1: Familiarisation(see Activity 1 Worksheet)

Each pair/group has been given an envelope with all the standards from across all levels of the Personal Learning domain enclosed in random order.

Each pair/group is to sort all of the standards into their correct order from the Level 1 to Level 6.

Personal Learning Domain

This domain supports the development of autonomous learners, with a positive sense of themselves as learners, by providing all learners with the knowledge, skills and behaviours to: • develop an understanding of their strengths and potential • seek and respond appropriately to feedback from their teachers, peers and other members of the community • develop skills of goal setting and time and resource management • increasingly manage their own learning and growth by monitoring their learning, and setting and reflecting on their learning goals • learn to understand and to manage their own emotions • develop resilience and dispositions which support learning • recognise and enact learning principles within and beyond the school • prepare for lifelong learning

Personal Learning Domain

(Victorian Essential Learning Standards website: Personal Learning Pages 4 and 5).

LEVEL LEARNING

FOCUS

STANDARDS

1 Yes No

2 Yes No

3 Yes Yes

4 Yes Yes

5 Yes Yes

6 Yes Yes

Personal Learning Domain

This domain has two dimensions

1. The individual learner

2. Managing personal learning

Personal Learning Dimensions

- Learning focus -

This domain has a learning focus statement at each level which:

• outlines the focus for the learning that students will need in order to meet the standards at that level and progress in the domain

• suggests appropriate learning experiences rather than defining a syllabus or prescribing specific teaching methods.

Personal Learning

(Victorian Essential Learning Standards website: Personal Learning. Pages 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18)

Personal Learning StandardsNote the progressive nature of the standard.

Level 3 Students set short-term, achievable goals in relation to specific tasks, they:

• complete short tasks by planning and allocating appropriate time and resources• undertake some multi-step, extended tasks independently• comment on task progress and achievements • manage their feelings in pursuit of goals and demonstrate a positive attitude towards their learning.

(Victorian Essential Learning Standards website: Personal Learning http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/essential/personal/learning/level3.html)

Managing Personal Learning

Level 4 Students develop and implement plans to complete short-term and long-term tasks within timeframes set by the teacher, utilising appropriate resources they:

• undertake some set tasks independently, identifying stages for completion• describe task progress and achievements, suggesting how outcomes may have been improved• persist when experiencing difficulty with learning tasks• seek and use learning support when needed from peers, teachers and other adults• practise positive self talk• demonstrate a positive attitude to learning within and outside the classroom.

(Victorian Essential Learning Standards: Personal Learning doc. Page 15)

Personal Learning StandardsNote the progressive nature of the standard.

Managing Personal Learning

Level 5: Students set realistic short-term and long-term learning goals within a variety of tasks and describe their progress towards achieving these, they:

• complete competing short, extended and group tasks within set timeframes, prioritising their available time, utilising appropriate resources and demonstrating motivation• initiate and undertake some tasks independently, within negotiated timeframes• review the effectiveness of the management of tasks, identifying successes and suggesting strategies that would improve outcomes • develop and use criteria to evaluate their work, and use these criteria to make appropriate refinements• demonstrate a positive and structured approach to learning, identifying and using effective strategies that assist with study, both at school and at home.

Personal Learning StandardsNote the progressive nature of the standard.

(Victorian Essential Learning Standards: Personal Learning doc. Page 17)

Managing Personal Learning

Level 6 Students initiate personal short-term and long-term learning goals and negotiate appropriate courses of action to achieve them. Students allocate appropriate time and identify and utilise appropriate resources to manage competing priorities and complete tasks, including learner-directed projects, within set timeframes, they:

• initiate and negotiate a range of independent activities with their teachers, providing progress and summary reports for teachers and stakeholders• monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of their task and resource management skills, reflecting on their progress and suggesting and implementing appropriate management strategies for improvement……..

Personal Learning StandardsNote the progressive nature of the standard.

(Victorian Essential Learning Standards: Personal Learning doc. Page 19)

Managing Personal Learning

Prep to Year 4 (Early Years) - laying the foundations

Years 5 to 8 (Middle Years) - building breadth and depth

Years 9 & 10 (Later Years) - developing pathways

Victorian Essential Learning Standards Overview, 2005 (page 2)

Stages of Learning

Activity 2: Stages of Learning(see Activity 2 Handouts)

• Focus on a particular stage of learning

• Highlight the key points

• What supports and challenges your values, beliefs and understandings about this stage of learning?

Stages of Learning

What is powerful learning and what promotes it?

Principles ofLearning

and Teaching

Our Educative Purpose

Principles of Learning and Teaching P-12

1. The learning environment is supportive and productive2. The learning environment promotes independence,

interdependence and self-motivation3. Students’ needs, backgrounds, perspectives and interests

are reflected in the learning program4. Students are challenged and supported to develop deep

levels of thinking and application5. Assessment practices are an integral part of teaching and

learning6. Learning connects strongly with communities and practice

beyond the classroom.

What promotes powerful learning?

Activity 3: Familiarisation, Principles of Learning and Teaching

(see Activity 3 Worksheet)

• Read through all of the Principles of Learning and Teaching

• Read through the descriptors on the handout, these descriptors are not in order

• Draw a line linking each Principle to the matching descriptor.

What promotes powerful learning?

Activity 4: Unpacking the Principles of Learning and Teaching

(See Activity 4 Worksheet)

What promotes powerful learning?

Principle 3: Students’ needs, backgrounds, perspectives and interests are reflected in the learning program.

How is this principle demonstrated in your learning program?

Principle 3: Students’ needs, backgrounds, perspectives and interests are reflected in the learning program.

In learning environments that reflect this principle the teacher:

3.1 uses strategies that are flexible and responsive to the values, needs and interests of individual students

3.2 uses a range of strategies that support the different ways of thinking and learning

3.3 builds on students’ prior experiences, knowledge and skills

3.4 capitalises on students’ experiences of a technology rich world.

What promotes powerful learning?Activity 4 continued

3.2 The teacher utilises a range of teaching strategies that support different ways of thinking and learning.

This component is demonstrated by teachers: Providing variations in tasks to allow student choice on mode of

presentation or type of approach …..

The component is NOT demonstrated when: All students cover the same material with few opportunities for varied

work …..

Examples to illustrate the component: A teacher surveys students to determine their learning preferences and

Styles...

What promotes powerful learning?Activity 4 continued

How do we know it has been learnt?

Assessment Advice

Our Educative Purpose

Assessment is the ongoing process of gathering, analysing and reflecting on evidence to make informed and consistent judgements to improve future student learning.

Assessment for learning – occurs when teachers use their inferences about student learning to inform their teaching (formative)Assessment as learning - occurs when students reflect on and monitor their progress to inform their future learning goals (formative)Assessment of learning – occurs when teachers use evidence of student learning to make judgments about student achievement against goals and standard (summative)

How do we know if it has been learnt?

Achievement gains associated with the use of formative assessment have been characterised among the largest ever reported for educational interventions (OECD, 2005).

The gains are usually greater for lower achieving students and so reduce the range of achievements while raising achievement overall (OECD, 2005).

How do we know if it has been learnt?

Who do we report to?

StudentsTeachersParents

CommunitySystem

Our Educative Purpose

Reporting is the process by which assessment informationis communicated in ways that assist students, parents, teachers and the system in making decisions by providing information about what students know and can do, alongwith recommendations for their future learning.

Who do we report to?

DoE will seek to promote school and sector reporting on student achievement which addresses:• the progress the student has made over the relevant period (term, semester, year) • how well the student is progressing in relation to what is expected at that year level, including in terms of any national benchmarks which apply • what the student, the parent and the teacher need do to improve that student's performance.

(http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/reporting/index.html)

What will reports address?

Implementation of VELS requires whole school curriculum planning

• construct curriculum in line with the Victorian Essential Learning Standards and the post compulsory education and training pathways

• provide curriculum planning considerations – Principles of Learning and Teaching, assessment processes and reporting practices

• ensure that curriculum planning takes into account student diversity, organisational arrangements and resourcing

• promote discussion about curriculum issues and build on planning processes

• provide tools to support curriculum planning in schools

Curriculum Planning Guidelines

Curriculum Planning Model

http://www.education.vic.gov.au/studentlearning/curriculum/default.htm

Phase 1: Understanding the context

Phase 2: Planning & resourcing

Phase 3: Implementation

Phase 4: Continuous monitoring

Phase 5: Evaluation & review

Curriculum Planning Model

• Students are the focus of planning

• Student diversity

• Alignment between what is essential to learn,

pedagogy, assessment and reporting.

• VELS requires whole school planning

Student Learning initiatives

Key messages