Concurrent Sessions
DAY 1: 11.45 - 12.45 (Grand Lodge)
The extraordinary promise and potential challenges of planning for student diversity
Presented by: Patrick Kelly
Organisation: ACARA, ACT
The diversity of students in Australian schools presents both extraordinary promise and potential challenge for educators. While some students are identified with a diversity of language backgrounds, some with disabilities and/or learning difficulties and others as gifted and/or talented, these groups are not necessarily mutually exclusive. The Australian Curriculum is an inclusive curriculum that allows teachers to cater for the learning needs of all students using a combination of learning area content, the general capabilities and cross-curriculum priorities. These three dimensions of the Australian Curriculum work together to allow teachers to develop learning programs that capitalise on each student's strengths, interests and learning goals. The revised Student Diversity pages of the Australian Curriculum website present a range of resources illustrating best practice around using age-appropriate content, acknowledging students’ abilities and interests, measuring progress against achievement standards/personalised goals, and evaluating actions taken to personalise student learning. This workshop will explore these resources and ways of using them.
DAY 1: 11.45 - 12.45 (Banquet Hall)
Using PLCs to drive whole school improvement in specialist settings
Presented by: Jackie Haines, Anne Hume, Julie Brown
Organisation: Department of Education, VIC
The Victorian PLC initiative has seen over half of the government system complete a suite of professional learning focussed on deep collaborative inquiry to significantly impact student learning. Of these PLC schools, approximately 50 are Specialist Schools. Barwon Valley School in Geelong is a Special Development School with 220 students from Foundation to Year 12. Since 2017, their focus has been on developing high expectations around improving outcomes for all students. This has come about through a strategic and relentless focus on what matters most: clarity around the improvement agenda, building middle leadership, further developing staff understanding of curriculum, assessment literacy and authentic collaboration. The school has seen improvements in reading and have now set their sights on writing. Through developing a sense of shared responsibility, collective efficacy and effective leadership, this school is delivering an education to be proud of and one that all their students deserve.
DAY 1: 11.45 - 12.45 (Corinthian Room)
Leading learning for high potential and gifted students with disability
Presented by: Bohdan Balla-Gow, Sue Vasilevska, Catherine Wormald, Wilma Vialle
Organisation: High Potential and Gifted Education - Learning and Teaching Directorate, NSW
The High Potential and Gifted Education Policy was released in June 2019 for mandatory implementation in all NSW Public Schools in 2021. This teaching and learning policy applies to all NSW public schools P-12. For the first time in the department, high-potential and gifted students across all domains of potential (creative, intellectual, social-emotional and physical) with disability are formally recognised. These students have high potential in one or more domains but also have a co-existing disability that may inhibit their performance and talent development. This presentation will outline the latest research in assessing, identifying and supporting the talent development of these students, as well as a statewide research partnership between the University of Wollongong and the Department of Education. Through the learning process school leaders will explore how the research can enhance whole-school and classroom practices for high-potential and gifted students with disability.