Leading, Learning & Running
I now do most of my writing and sharing on LinkedIn.
With our increasing preference for creating and consuming shorter forms of content, LinkedIn is convenient, is the largest professional network (500+ million users), connects individuals across multiple sectors, and creates opportunity between those who have similar interests.
Follow me at https://www.linkedin.com/in/adriancamm/
Globalisation and the accelerating rate of technological development provide new and unparalleled opportunities for the evolution of our species. Children entering Eblana at Mentone Grammar in 2019 will be young adults in 2030. What will the world look like? What career pathways will be available to them?
Experts argue that the world of 2030 will be shaped by advancements in Artificial Intelligence, Quantum Computing, Synthetic Biology, Biotechnology and the field of Big Data, particularly as the appliances and accessories that we wear and have in our homes gain greater tracking, storage and analytical power through the ubiquity and accessibility of next generation internet services. Automation is already forcing many industries to rethink traditional blue collar professions. The jobs that were once human endeavours are quickly changing as some jobs become obsolete and new jobs are invented.
As Artificial Intelligence applications become increasingly sophisticated, we are seeing glimpses of the inevitability that one day in the not too distant future, machines will exceed our abilities in many, many areas. Intelligent algorithms have even started to exhibit traits like creativity, traits that we once thought would solely exist in the human domain. Even the way we interact with others has changed dramatically. Everything and everyone has at once become more connected through social media and yet more isolated, as “screen time” takes away from much of our face to face communications.
The young people graduating from Mentone Grammar in 2030 will face some of the world’s most pressing and intractable problems: The political, environmental, economic and societal implications of global warming and climate change, the ethics and morality of our ability to genetically modify our unborn children, an increasing and ageing population that has come about through advances in medicine and increased life expectancy, dwindling natural resources and the merging and augmentation of human intelligence through the use of technology and pharmaceuticals. The call for schools to adequately prepare students for an uncertain future can be seen throughout the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s under the guise of school reform and the risk of irrelevance. Whilst the argument today largely remains the same, we have never before been in the grips of such rapid technological development. Change is now the one known against the multitude of unknowns.
Schools play a critical role in shaping the competencies and capabilities of young people in their care. There has always been debate about the kind of skills people will need to thrive in the future. An in-depth knowledge, skillset and expertise of a particular specialization is still absolutely important, but increasingly major discoveries are happening at the interstices between disciplines and this requires depth in a specific field but also an ability and the capability to see and make connections more broadly. Tony Wagner, an Expert in Residence at Harvard University’s Innovation Lab states that “Young people who are intrinsically motivated — curious, persistent, and willing to take risks — will learn new knowledge and skills continuously. They will be able to find new opportunities or create their own — a disposition that will be increasingly important as many traditional careers disappear.”
Schools need to continue to create the conditions for students to develop this disposition toward learning. These conditions must not stymie or stifle curiosity, should free children’s imaginations and enable them to be resilient in the face of adversity. The role of the teacher will still be to teach, but also to model, mentor, facilitate and assist in the development of character and emotional intelligence. Students will need help in developing a certain comfort with being uncomfortable. They will need to be put into situations where they have to make decisions in order to become skilled at making good decisions. They will need to learn how to navigate the multitude of new technologies at their disposal in safe, effective and ethical ways. If schools tailor their approach to develop students who have a sense of agency, then a variety of teaching and learning approaches must be used that are experiential, project-based and interspersed with purposeful periods of direct instruction. By creating these conditions, students will be equipped with the dispositions, tools and networks to embrace any possible future.
So, is it possible to teach skills for an unpredictable future? Yes. A breadth and depth of knowledge can be gained through a combination of explicit and implicit teaching and via opportunities for students to grapple with complex problems through inquiry. Through community service programs and local and overseas expeditions, students develop an understanding of their place in the world and how they can be leaders, giving back to others and contributing as active, productive and informed citizens. Through programs like the Mentone Grammar RULER program, students are explicitly taught how to recognize and regulate their emotions and how to see situations from the perspective of others. Skills like creativity, communication and critical thinking are developed in a number of ways through the lessons and experiences our teachers develop for our students. And through high expectations, students in our senior years develop a strong work ethic and important habits of mind as they strive to do their very best.
Mentone Grammar produces happy, healthy and high achieving students who are well prepared to enter the world of tomorrow. Throughout 2019, the Executive Leadership team in consultation with the Mentone community, will be developing our next strategic plan that will be future focussed and informed by the latest research, ensuring we continue to be one of the top Independent Schools in Australia, providing a contemporary education that meets the needs of all our students going into the future.
The Centre for Learning, Research & Innovation (CLRI) is a joint venture between The Geelong College, Deakin University and The Geelong College Foundation.
The Centre aims to provide people with the ability to affect beneficial change within their schools, institutions and organisations. We engage in research projects, policy development and create professional learning opportunities, by recognising learning as an active, dynamic behaviour that emerges from interactions between the human brain and the social world.
Our 2018 Annual Report is now available and will be my last as Director before starting as Deputy Principal at Mentone Grammar in the new year.
Learn about what we accomplished in 2018 and our plans for the future.
The last five years I have supported graduate teachers in obtaining full registration via the Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT). Graduate teachers are often feeling overwhelmed at the start of the year so I always give them some time and space to get used to the daily routine of school life before sending them a copy of the email below.
If this is something you oversee in your school and would like some further information on how I go about managing the entire process with each graduate teacher, be sure to get in touch!
Dear [name],
Hope the term/year has started well for you and you are settling in nicely to your new role.
Just wanted to touch base with you about the VIT process at some stage within the next few weeks. If you could let me know some suitable times that would be great – we should only need 20 minutes or so.
The purpose of this meeting is just to make sure you feel supported and understand the requirements of moving from provisional to full registration. There is a suggested timeline in the body of the email below, and I have also attached a VIT publication which has a wealth of information.
In summary, VIT will require of you throughout 2018 to;
Further information is provided in the attached eBook.
Gathering Evidence for Full Registration – Suggested Timeline
A template is provided to assist in the documentation of evidence to demonstrate the standards of professional practice for full registration.
The following timeline gives a guide to when the components of this process could take place, however if you are wanting to get it done sooner rather than later, we are more than happy to expedite the process:
Term 1: Find your feet and begin to understand the VIT requirements for full registration
Term 2: Continue to develop practice, have a mentor observe your class, observe other classes
Term 3: Use an inquiry-based approach to investigate student learning
Term 4: Organize evidence and plan for College panel meeting. Apply for full registration.
See VIT Resources via the VIT website for templates and work/evidence samples. A checklist which succinctly breaks down what is required is also available.
[Name] is excited about being your mentor through this process.
The role of your mentor is threefold:
I promise you that the process is not as scary as it all sounds! Look forward to discussing with you in the next few weeks.
Earlier this year I completed the GCI Coaching Accreditation Program. It was a culmination of a three year coaching journey, that started with the Introduction to Leadership Coaching program back in the beginning of 2015. The process of becoming a coach and developing a coaching way of being has greatly improved all aspects of my leadership.
As part of the final hurdle requirement I was required to write a reflective essay documenting a coaching relationship. Find an exerpt of this reflection below.
Introduction
Coaching is both a formal and informal process of engaging and empowering others using a suite of people-oriented questioning and listening techniques. Whilst no agreed upon definition of coaching currently exists, the International Coaching Federation (ICF) defines it as a partnership between two people that results in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires the coachee to maximize their personal and professional potential. Aguilar (2013) describes it as “doing a set of actions, holding a set of beliefs, and being in a way that results in those actions leading to change” (p.20). Van Nieuwerburgh (2012) describes coaching as “a one-to-one conversation that focuses on the enhancement of learning and development through increasing self-awareness and a sense of personal responsibility” (p.11).
Much of the literature agrees that coaching can have a positive influence on the development of both the coach and the coachee. The coach uses a variety of techniques including active listening and asking questions to uncover beliefs and assumptions to assist the coachee to access new learning. As a result, coaching has much to offer those who work in educational environments.
The Growth Coaching International (GCI) Accreditation Program relates directly to the work I do in my workplace. Working with, leading, learning from and managing others, provides me a unique opportunity to use coaching as personal professional development as I seek to get to know, understand and serve others so that I can assist them in developing themselves professionally and reaching their goals.
Background
Our College has had eighty-two staff recently engage in the Growth Coaching International (GCI) Introduction to Leadership Coaching program. We have another four staff who are at various stages of completing the GCI Accreditation Program. In a relatively short period, we have seen significant changes in the way people talk with each other and have seen evidence of a more empowered learning culture starting to emerge.
In choosing my pro bono client, I wanted to ensure that I would be engaging with someone who was willing and able to participate for the duration of the six sessions. I made contact initially via email explaining to her the course I was completing and that I was looking for a coachee with which to work. My client accepted and as she was new to a senior leadership role in 2018, was very grateful to have someone work with her in this capacity.
My positionality is unique in this context. Whilst I am not my coachee’s direct line manager, I still have indirect leadership responsibilities so it was important to establish clear guidelines for our relationship via a coaching contract. As my client had already completed the Introduction to Leadership Coaching program through GCI, only a re-familiarization with the ICF competencies and code of ethics was required as we established clear expectations via an agreement.
We scheduled a fortnightly one-hour coaching session and agreed to meet in my client’s office. At the beginning of the first session, I explained to my client that I was ready to serve, established confidentiality and asked once again for permission to engage with her as a coach. I explained that I wanted to keep our commitment of a fortnightly session and that I had full intentions of maintaining this coaching space as a safe space with no agenda. With the advantage of having a healthy professional relationship with my client for a number of years in various capacities, I had already established credibility so I began our first session by asking questions, connecting to what my client was saying and validating where possible via a combination of active listening techniques and reciprocal and positive body language. A coaching relationship is built on trust, and having known my client for some time, it was evident that despite both our best intentions, that our existing relationship was also initially a disadvantage, as our first session at times wandered into conversation and the operational day-to-day running of a school.
About half way through this initial session I hit the metaphorical pause button as I explained to my client that we could both see what was happening and decided that we needed to setup a weekly timeslot alternating one week between a purely coaching environment and one week a more operational conversation about the school. We both agreed that this would provide greater clarity of intent and allow us to address our needs of discussing the day-to-day operation of the school and maintaining a space for a coaching relationship to further develop and evolve.
Goal setting process and applying the 8 step GROWTH model
The diagrammatic representation of the GROWTH model is linear and suggests a sequential process. Great coaches use the GROWTH framework in a fluid manner however, one that is non-sequential, non-linear and by necessity uses each stage of the model in unequal amounts. Sometimes a large percentage of time is spent unpacking and peeling back the layers of a client’s reality. Often times, by exploring realities and options, you uncover hidden beliefs or assumptions that require both the coach and the coachee to double back and re-explore what they want to achieve.
As I focused on becoming a better coach, I also noticed significant changes in my way of being. Learning the mechanics of the GROWTH model had enabled me to approach situations with a greater sense of empathy and curiosity. This way of being was reflective in both formal and informal coaching scenarios. It is an authentic and humble stance of seeing others in a positive way and valuing their unique viewpoints and perspectives. This realization was helpful in assisting my client establish a goal she wanted to work on in our first session.
My client’s goal centred on addressing certain staff behaviours and having the confidence to engage in difficult conversations. In addition, she wanted to ensure that conversations at curriculum meetings remained true to our vision for learning. Whilst our first session was somewhat interrupted as we both struggled to maintain the discipline required to engage fully in our coaching session, we did manage to work towards a goal. Establishing a goal using iSMART and the sentence stem “By…. I am…. So that….” ensured that my client and I articulated a goal that would contribute to my client’s growth and development and was specific, measurable and attainable. I had my client write down her goal as we were articulating it to add an additional layer of accountability – “By Monday 19th February, I am creating a standing item on the curriculum leadership agenda each fortnight, so that we are progressing our Vision for Learning.”
Upon reflection following this coaching session I came to the realization that I had not assisted my coachee in setting a goal, rather I had assisted her with an action. Whilst this action was important for my coachee to take, and a great first step towards realizing a much larger goal, it was not a goal. This was good learning for me and I approached this with my coachee in an honest and transparent way. I asked her how she went with her action at our next meeting, listened and prompted where necessary and then turned the conversation into the direction of clarifying for both of us the difference between a goal and an action. By reframing the conversation and re-visiting what she wanted to achieve, we set a goal of “By the end of 2018, I am facilitating effective curriculum leadership meetings so that we are being true to what we believe.” Through a number of conversations that went deeper into her current reality, this ended up morphing into “By the end of 2018, I am confident in using a coaching approach in challenging situations, so that we will have a more solution-focused staff and I am personally and professionally happier in my role.”
The impact of this goal refining process was increased clarity and as we continued to unpack her reality, the coachee was engaging in some critical internal reflection and making important discoveries about what she thought she wanted to focus on compared to what she actually really needed to focus on. The coachee had a lightbulb moment and started using a particular metaphor to describe the way they needed to prioritize. I celebrated and affirmed this realization. As we explored this concept and identified the coachee’s priorities, I routinely bought the conversation back to the goal that we had established and asked “Given that we have now identified your priorities, what are some things you could do to work towards your goal?” When one option was offered I would prompt for further options by asking “What else?”
In a subsequent coaching session, my coachee sat down excitedly and told me in detail about how she had come to a stunning realization after our last session. I remember smiling and saying “Tell me more.” The coachee explained that she was making many of the more difficult interactions she had to have in her role too personal. I nodded and again prompted with “Tell me more.” For the next fifteen minutes the coachee explained that these conversations generally have very little to do with her on a personal level, so she felt that she would now be able to take much of the emotion she was feeling out of these situations. She explained that what she needed to do was prepare well in advance for these conversations, take a step back and look at things systemically and to adopt a mindset of curiosity. This was an incredible insight and the positive energy that the coachee was exuding was palpable. I explained this to her and she said that it was like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. Harnessing this confident state I asked “With this newfound confidence, what options do you like the most for action during the coming week?” The coachee had to have a genuine conversation with someone in a few days’ time and asked if we could use the remainder of our time together to role play this conversation. Of course I agreed and we spent the next 30 minutes or so talking through different scenarios and tactics. During this time I primarily coached, but at times slid into the role of mentor by asking “Would you like a suggestion from me? At the end of this session I asked “What’s clearer for you now?” The coachee after giving this some thought responded with “That I can absolutely 100% do this!”
During our next session I asked the coachee how the conversation played out. She rated herself 8 out of 10. I asked her to articulate why she gave herself an 8 and not a 7 or a 9. The only answer that the coachee was able to access at this point was that even though she believed the conversation went particularly well, she still felt the emotion “exploding inside.” The coachee’s level of self-awareness here was particularly impressive and we discussed that by noticing how she was feeling she was exhibiting a high-degree of emotional intelligence. We talked through how we can never fully take all the emotion out of a situation.
In order to continue to build on the momentum of the coachee’s new found confidence we started to discuss specific tactics and habits. I asked questions like,
How will you sustain your newfound confidence? What might get in the way? What support will you need to maintain this? What opportunities do you see for practice and consolidation of this skill?
At the conclusion of our six sessions I agreed to continue meeting with the coachee fortnightly as one of the many tactics and habits that we discussed. The impact of these coaching sessions for the coachee was quite profound. By holding a mirror up and prompting some deep, internal reflection……..
Get in touch if you would like to talk more about how coaching can influence your own practice.
Much of the recent discourse regarding teacher education and the profession of teaching is about raising standards. This accountability paradigm insists that boosting the quality of teaching, increasing the standards of entry into the profession and improving the quality of teacher education programs will improve student outcomes. Student outcomes in this case are often narrowly defined.
Marilyn Cochran-Smith shared at the 2018 AARE conference that this accountability paradigm has emerged based on five policy, political and professional influences, namely:
These five influences have infiltrated, permeated and embedded themselves so deeply that they are often seemed to be self-evident. This tacit struggle is a form of cultural/political domination that de-professionalizes teachers and simultaneously reduces agency and voice. This narrative legitimizes certain institutions, practices and interests, produces policy based on contested claims and hyperbole and positions education reform as a simple cure for inequality.
What can those working in schools actually do? No one I talk to is arguing that teacher quality doesn’t matter. We want the best teachers teaching. We also have to value those that we have in the profession and provide the structures and level of support to move beyond individual and collective appraisal and explicit improvement agendas, to a system that has a focus on learning, growth and pedagogical quality. We do this through trust. By trusting our teachers we can change societal discourse, elevate the profession and perhaps somewhat counter-intuitively, increase levels of accountability. Not accountability to state or national standards, but accountability to ourselves, to our colleagues, to the students in our care and their families. A collective accountability that becomes a responsibility to enhance our profession. A moral responsibility to focus on what matters. A responsibility to tell our own stories, to change the narrative, to create our own visions and to define what counts as a successful education in our contexts.
In my experience the way schools typically enact teacher accountability and performativity measures is to have an appraisal process in place. In 2015, in conjunction with the introduction of a new professional learning model, I removed the need for our teachers to be judged on an annual basis and introduced a process based entirely around individual and collective growth.
From the communication that was sent to staff about the change.
It is recognised that The Geelong College has a responsibility to provide teachers with access to meaningful professional learning opportunities. It is also recognised that teachers are responsible for their own learning and responsible for ensuring professional learning is undertaken and the requirements for teacher registration are maintained.
In recent years teaching staff at The Geelong College have participated in a biennial Appraisal process to assist in the development of their professional skills and to document professional learning. Annual Learning Projects have become important self-determined professional learning experiences for teachers seeking to investigate their professional knowledge and practice. These projects are shared with colleagues annually and they have helped to stimulate greater vibrancy in the professional discourse among teachers. Over the last year or so, the Appraisal process has become increasingly aligned to Learning Projects.
The emerging strong relationships with Deakin University through the Centre for Learning, Research and Innovation (CLRI) and the professional value of the Learning Projects have resulted in an increase in the level of interest in post graduate research degrees among the teaching staff of The Geelong College. This is an exciting and significant development informing the next step in the ongoing development of our approach to the professional learning of teachers.
From 2016 it is proposed that a change in terminology be adopted moving from ‘Appraisal’ to ‘Professional Learning Program’ (PLP). It appears the term Appraisal no longer reflects the nature and needs of the College.
At some point every two years teaching staff will meet with the Principal (or delegate if appropriate) to review their PLP.
Key components of the PLP
*As a caveat, we still have a performance management and professional conduct process in place that can be evoked if needed.
In my experience, appraisal processes in schools are draconian in their implementation, or such a waste of time that they become a tick-the-box exercise. What we did was a fairly simple shift from appraisal to professional learning. The bi-annual meeting with the Principal or delegate now becomes a chance to talk about individual interests, contexts and passions, in a non-performative setting, that is influenced by a coaching approach. It was an initiative that was very well received across our community.
Systemic issues abound and can become overwhelming. But there are always small things that can be achieved in your own sites and contexts. A focus on trusting teachers is a good start.
I have just finished reading an article by Claire Golledge titled Listen to the children. This is what ‘good’ teaching looks like to them.
Based on interviews with students around their perceptions of teacher quality and quality teaching, it was found that students valued the relationship they had with their teacher first and foremost, a variety of teaching methods and teachers who could inspire through their deep subject knowledge. Claire states “…students saw the best teachers as those who used engaging and innovative pedagogies to, as one student expressed it, “get us out of our comfort zone.””
This is interesting and I can’t wait to talk to Claire at the upcoming AARE conference to find out more about her research. I admit that this doesn’t necessarily corrospond with my own personal experience as a student, a teacher and also in my role as Director of Teaching and Learning. Of course everything depends on context and I have found that when students have a relationship with the teacher everything else can follow. If the relationship breaks down, then both parents and students question the use of innovative pedagogies. What constitutes a good student-teacher relationship will be left for another day, but this article made me reflect on two Professors I had in University. These two gentleman had a subtle, yet profound impact on the way I approach teaching and learning.
One was a short German fellow who often stopped mid-sentence and stared out the window. One time we asked him what he was doing and he told us he was letting his mind wonder and just stopping his thoughts momentarily to enjoy the beauty of the universe. He encouraged us to do the same, whenever we felt the need, as he believed it promoted deep thinking and an unconscious advantage when engaged in heavy cognitive lifting – particular in that Advanced Calculus class. I thought this was eccentric at the time but appreciate the simplicity and beauty of it now. He was wonderfully supportive and encouraging, quite explicit, and would not hesitate in giving you critical feedback.
Another Professor taught Advanced Cryptography. He was the opposite. Very abstract and wanted us to think and learn for ourselves. He would pose interesting problems that hadn’t yet been solved and expect us to grapple with them. He would often stand very close to the whiteboard, facing the white board, trying to show us how to work through a complicated problem. He would mumble, scribble some stuff on the board, rub it out, start rubbing his head perplexed, stare at the board some more, go to start writing on the board again only to stop, scratch his beard – you get the picture. Often times he would take 20 minutes trying to figure out how to explain something to us or how to solve a particular problem. Most of the class thought that he was either unprepared or just didn’t know what he was doing. I found it very difficult at the time.
With the benefit of hindsight I now think different about this experience. On reflection I was seeing a mathematician in pure problem solving mode, grappling with complexity and pushing himself to the edge of both personal and discipline knowledge. He was modelling, perhaps unintentionally, thought processes and the way he approached difficulty. What would of it had taken for me to be aware of this at the time? Perhaps he needed to be explicit to the class and explain to us this would be his approach and what we as learners of the subject would get out of it as a result?
What I am sure about is that there is no one formula for great teaching and that’s what makes our profession such a rewarding one. Just like learning is a deeply personal endeavour – so is teaching. Teacher quality does matter. We want great teachers teaching the eager young minds of tomorrow. We also have to work with those we currently have in the profession and understand that teaching quality matters more.
When new teachers arrive at a school they are often provided a mentor. Depending on the mentor’s experience, personality and disposition, the experience for the incoming teacher can be variable. At Geelong College we didn’t really have a process in place to support incoming teachers nor their assigned mentors. This was mainly due to the fact that we had such a stable staff and low turnover that it wasn’t really required.
As this changed we needed something in place to support mentors with this important job as it is essential that a new or beginning teacher recieves a high level of support, especially in their first years of teaching and in particular, their first term in the school.
As part of our new staff induction program we got all mentors together for an old school briefing and provided them a checklist or a minimum expectations framework to guide the support of their new colleague. The briefing covered the following main points:
Support for New Staff Checklist
Mentors are expected to contact new staff to welcome them to the College. This could be via email or phone, but in person is even better. If the new staff member is to commence at the start of the year then mentors should brief them about the staff professional learning program that is held at the start of each school year. If the new staff member is commencing at some point throughout the year, the mentors should arrange to meet prior to them commencing.
First Day
Mentors should meet with new staff on the new staff orientation day, prior to the staff professional learning progrm commencing. They will spend the afternoon with them at their respective campus, stepping them through College operations. They wil also liaise with the College eLearning leader, to have a session on ICT platforms and procedures if it should be required. If the new staff commencement date is at some point throughout the year, then mentors will need to make different arrangements to ensure the new staff feel at ease and welcome.
Mentor Checklist
The following items should be covered by the mentor upon commencement of the new staff member:
I am sure many checklists like this exist, but this one seems to work quite well for us.
Anything missing?
This short film is the result of a collaboration between our digital media guru Sam McIntosh and year 12 Media student Ollie Manton from the Geelong College.
Ollie stated, “The journey began on paper, concepts were drawn, presented and approved. Then the various film shoots were planned and shot. We used a variety of cameras; a #BlackMagicURSA, #PanasonicGH5, #Canon5D & 7D, an OSMO and a drone.”
The film was ‘co-shot’ and ‘co-edited’ across file hosting service Dropbox. Sam and Ollie would meet at various points to discuss the direction and styling of the film. Always sharing ideas and thoughts, the two passionate film-makers made light work of a large project. “Many of our catch ups were more about picking apart Christopher Nolan films or how to do particular shots with specific cameras. The catch ups were always fun and collaborative.”
Students and teachers working together is central to the Geelong College Vision for Learning.
Inspiring work by Sam and Ollie.
Back at the beginning of 2015 I established an assessment focus group at the College. It existed for less than a year and was part of a long term strategy around creating accelerator networks to overcome static and entrenched ways of thinking. By-passing the traditional hierarchy, it attempted to create agency and a more responsive and distributed platform for our staff to contribute to the future direction of the school.
I put out a call for expressions of interest via email and let participants know that we would be meeting twice a term for twelve months. I was looking for representation from each of our Junior, Middle and Senior schools and got 17 members – usually I would keep focus groups much smaller than this but I wanted to get as many people from each of the three schools involved as I could. The purpose was to create a space for dialogue that moved beyond using the terms assessment, reporting and grading interchangeably, and to change the student culture of anxiety about performance, to one of curiousity about what intellectual journey might lay before them. It took a great deal of effort and re-focusing to ensure that conversations remained about assessment as they inevitably (almost inexorably) drifted towards grading or reporting.
We workshopped ideas. People contributed research articles or blogs for discussion. Sub-committees formed and visited other schools. We looked at our current assessment profile across the College. And best of all, after some vigorous debate and discussion, we created actions that led to the creation and introduction of new policies and practices.
I recently found the following summary of one of our focus group meetings.
Can we rethink the basic tenets of teaching and learning and evaluate what students have done in a manner more consistent with our Vision for Learning? This is the question that has driven the discussion of the assessment focus group.
Our most superficial concerns have usually involved the practicalities of how to grade students’ work. Do we use a 5 point scale? A 6 point scale? What are the grade cut-offs? Do we use a normative or criterion referenced approach? We often put emphasis on how to detect plagiarism, rather than focusing on creating better assessments. This focus reinforces and reproduces the traditional paradigm of “test, grade, test, grade” and as a result many students become conditioned to this routine. Students then only engage in learning to a certain extent. They learn not deeply, but deep enough in order to learn how to play the game of assessment that is in front of them. Worse still, this paradigm can be damaging for many students as it reinforces self-narrative and familial discourse such as “I’m no good at maths.”
The discussions and workshops throughout our focus group meetings have attempted to move beyond this. Here we have debated and argued about the importance and necessity of allocating students a grade at every opportunity. We have debated the difference between a student in Year 1 and a student in Year 9. We unpacked the difference between assessment, feedback, grading and reporting. We workshopped alternative methods of assessment in order to provide a more meaningful approach that includes portfolios and a more formative focus on student understanding and progress.
After several meetings, almost unanimously the group recommendation is that:
Grades are only given to students on end of semester reports (EL-10) supported by a consistent ongoing online reporting/feedback/progress system, further supported by digital portfolios. In this case, ongoing reporting replaces end of semester reports.
This was a nice find as I clean up the files on my old laptop and a chance for me to reflect on how far we have come on this journey. This group did some great work and contributed to a more diverse assessment portfolio across the College, the introduction of new ongoing reporting platform and the introduction of a new College-wide assessment policy that I include below. I actually believe the policy is an exemplar policy because it is concise and underpinning it is the fact that we trust the professionals in our workplace to enact it in a way that is relevant to their area.
Get in touch if you would like to know more.
Assessment Policy
Purpose
The primary purpose of assessment is to help improve student learning. This process should develop students’ capacity to reflect on their learning and to assist their progress towards becoming independent learners. A secondary purpose of assessment is to provide teachers and parents with feedback about teaching and learning practices.
Policy Statement
The Geelong College assessment policy is informed by research and best practice. There is an expectation that discipline areas will draw on assessment research relevant to their field to underpin how this policy is implemented.
The statements below outline the principles of assessment at the College.
Responsibility for implementation
Director of Teaching and Learning
Heads of School
Deputy Heads of School
Heads of Department
Curriculum Coordinators
Relevant policies
Reporting
Grading
Vision for Learning
Adrian Camm