Wyong High School audio transcript



Transcript: Wyong High School audio file[Music introduction] Host: I am speaking with Matthew Murray and Liz Harris from Wyong High School about their experiences using the Literacy and Numeracy Progressions with PLAN2 in their school. Can you start by outlining your school’s approach to using the progressions with PLAN2?Matthew: In our school setting we've got a team structure. So we've got literacy, numeracy, and we have a representative from all KLA's within that team. And we're looking at what strategies we can implement across all KLA's to strengthen literacy and numeracy. In using the progressions and PLAN2, we sort of were looking at what we could do to strengthen what we're already doing and how can we make sure that we've got a purpose. We looked at probably implementing the progressions more than we did with implementing the progressions and PLAN2. We found that for us it was, looking at strengthening our understanding of the progressionsHost: What do you see as the benefits of using the progressions and PLAN2 to support students’ literacy and numeracy development across the curriculum in high schools?Liz: I see the benefits of using the learning progressions and PLAN2 in our setting is that the progressions are an excellent document that ables teachers to refine they're teaching focus and their strategies to improve literacy and numeracy and PLAN2 I think is a great tool that allows a bit of a narrowing down of that because of the density of the learning progressions. It allows a bit of a narrower focus.Matthew: For me it, it was a real indicator, like it's an easy platform to use to go okay well here's the progressions, this is what we're observing. This is what we're wanting to do. This is where your students are needing to progress with literacy and numeracy and in terms of the PLAN2, it just gives you that tool to be able to, you know.Liz: Track progress over a period of time. And with such a diverse range of learners in any one class, the most crucial benefit that I see to teachers, professional learning is that the progression is an excellent tool for differentiation and provides them to know where their students are at, at the time. And if they need to go back, it's a perfect avenue to go back and see what they need to, teach before they move them onto that skill. And then likewise, if they're demonstrating skill, it's a perfect avenue to where to next.Host: What do you see as the main obstacles or challenges for high schools in beginning to use the progressions and PLAN2 and Do you have any thoughts about how to overcome these?Matthew: Teacher confidence. But I, sort of feel that the more you're familiar with the progressions and the more you're using it in your teaching, the ease of using that tool will sort of just automatically go into your lesson. Like as what you do normally.Liz: I guess I'd just like to add that it's touching on what you said about teacher confidence, it's getting them to realise that it's not asking them to do something above and beyond what they're already being asked to do. It's incorporating that into their teaching So that's, that was a big obstacle for us to get over, to change people's mindsets to see the progressions, for what they are, that they are a tool to help their teaching and learning.I think you've got to have a real team approach and one thing that I said earlier on is that you've got to have a purpose. If the purpose is understood, a lot of people go, fair call I'm happy with that because at the end of the day, we're all teachers and we're all wanting to improve, our students learning and outcomes.Host: What advice would you want to share with other high schools beginning to use the progressions (with or without PLAN2)?Matthew: Some advice that I'd give is start small. I think, if you're just having a look at one particular sub element that you're trying to use for an observation, I think is probably, the thing that we've found to be most useful.I think if you start small, I think the, the potential challenges or barriers are drastically reduced. And I think, that the traction that you will get with teacher confidence and being able to utilise the tool as well as the progressions, I think would be, something that gets moving quite quickly.Host: What is your vision for the use of the progressions and PLAN2 in your school in future? What might be your next steps?Matthew: What we're going to be doing with the progressions and PLAN2 as well but mainly we will start with the progressions being familiar within our team setting. So we'll have the KLA specialists of numeracy that are on the numeracy team, become familiar with the progressions. And then one thing that we're going to be doing is having a look at backward mapping, when and where numeracy skills are explicitly taught across all KLA's 7-10. Collecting work samples to, have a look at where we're wanting students to be and what sort of improvements or evaluations do we need to do, to strengthen what we're already doing. I think in the team structure at our setting that that's going to be quite easy to do. Being that we've got KLA specialists within each literacy and numeracy team. Liz: And from a learning support lens, I feel the vision, for the progressions for teachers to use is that they use it as a differentiation tool and that they're not afraid to slow the curriculum down a little bit and really meet the student's needs where they're at. Our senior executive and executive team and very supportive in not trying to like take the kids on a freight train and take them somewhere where they're not ready to go. And I really do think that the progressions are going to be a tool that can make that happen.[Music fades][End] ................
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