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Lyndale Secondary College Using data to inform sustainable literacy and numeracy practices in a multicultural secondary school setting. The School Context. Lyndale Secondary College is in North Dandenong. The student population is approximately 1200.
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Lyndale Secondary CollegeUsing data to inform sustainable literacy and numeracy practices in a multicultural secondary school setting
The School Context • Lyndale Secondary College is in North Dandenong. • The student population is approximately 1200. • 48% of students speak a language other than English at home • Lyndale has a SFO of 0.6602 • High proportion of EMA (40%). • Around 30% of students were born overseas • Over 57 different countries are represented. • Dramatic increase in the number of refugees over the last five years, particularly from central and south Africa and Afghanistan.
The Challenges • Generational poverty. • Few pathways. • Complex language backgrounds. • Orally literate. • Reading comprehension and written literacy - struggle • ESL and Refugee Learners – interrupted or no schooling. • Creating and using flexible learning spaces and pedagogy. • Increasing the use of data to inform teaching practice.
College Practices • We have appointed Leading Teachers to address our Literacy and Numeracy concerns. • Additional staff for ESL, Language Support, Maths Recovery, Literacy and Numeracy Support. • Year 7 Literacy program run in Integrated Studies. • Year 7 Maths program (‘Boot Camp’). • Streaming ESL students since 2007 so they are taught by specialist ESL teachers in Integrated Studies and English. • PAT testing data available for all students. • PAT testing data used to inform Year 7 Literacy and Numeracy support programs. • Flexile Learning space - slowing converting our old gym into a flexible learning space - Learning Centre
Team Objectives • Increasing staff awareness of literacy and numeracy data to inform teaching and learning practices. • Developing support for the ESL program. • Developing teacher capacity to deliver literacy beyond the Year 7 literacy program.
Why use data in the classroom? “Despite the evidence, and the fact that almost every other profession conducts most of its training in real -life settings (doctors and nurses in hospitals…lawyers in courtrooms, consultants with clients) very little teacher training takes place in the teacher’s own classrooms, the place in which it would be precise and relevant enough to be the most effective.” “How the worlds’ best-performing school systems come out on top”, McKinsey & Company, September, 2007
Why use data in the classroom? • the quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers, • the only way to improve outcomes is to improve instruction, and • achieving universally high outcomes is only possible by putting in place mechanisms to ensure that schools deliver high-quality instruction to every child.
Why use data in the classroom? • Using data can assist and complement what we already do. • Using data can help confirm what we already know. • Using data allows us to measure and track future directions.
What data is not… • It is NOT an assessment tool - helps inform judgements and teaching practice within the classroom, it should never be used to determine students’ marks. • It is NOT an indicator of intelligence. • It is NOT absolute.
What kinds of data? • PAT testing – Numeracy • PAT testing – Literacy along with other specialised diagnostic testing • NAPLAN – Literacy and Numeracy • On-Demand testing – for both Maths and English. Can be linear or adaptive.
DATAWayne O’Brien/Preeti Maharaj Objectives: • Using NAPLAN/PAT testing literacy and numeracy data together. • Creating class profiles based on two snapshots of literacy and numeracy data. • Researching and finding resources literacy and numeracy resources for Maths/Science teachers.
DATAWayne O’Brien/Preeti Maharaj Two snapshots of data provides a more accurate overview of where a student is at because: • the student may not have been having a good day when a particular test was conducted, and • helps highlight inconsistencies or • confirm trends.
DATAWayne O’Brien/Preeti Maharaj Presenting literacy and Numeracy data together • Literacy and numeracy need to appear in the one spreadsheet provided to teachers as one will have an impact on another. • All teachers are literacy and numeracy teachers! • Data needs to be colour coded for easy reading.
Pedagogy – School VisitsKathy Bannan To investigate: • Flexible learning spaces and team teaching Found: Best learning environments with flexible spaces: • individual learning, • effective pedagogy to engage learners, • work stations, • whole group activities, • celebration of learning-students to present their • knowledge
Pedagogy – School VisitsKathy Bannan • Carwartha P-12, • Cheltenham Secondary College • Bentleigh Secondary College • Mordialloc Secondary College • Elsternwick Primary School • Silverton Primary School • St. Michaels Grammar School
Pedagogy – School VisitsKathy Bannan Recommendations: • Start team teaching and see it as another way of engaging students and providing them with a meaning full curriculum • Perhaps reorganise timetables and provide time for team planning. • Support staff to take risks as this is quite a different approach to conventional teaching. • Greater use of Learning Centre.
Pedagogy – School VisitsKathy Bannan Need to trial: • Open and flexible learning spaces • Literacy and numeracy embedded across KLAs • Broad integrated learning experiences • Team Teaching/Culture change • Learner directed experiences • Flexible learning groups • Resource rich owned environments • Digital portfolios and student led conferences • Whole child - VELS curriculum
ESLInvestigation of ESL best practiceResources for Maths/Science teachersRaffaela Dell’Aquila “How can ESL kids be put into mainstream science classes when the language is so dense and complex that they are bound to fail?” James Angos - Assistant Principal Survey We surveyed our teachers and found out that Maths/Science teachers were having the greatest difficulty supporting ESL students (based on percentage of staff in a KLA).
ESLInvestigation of ESL best practiceResources for Maths/Science teachersRaffaela Dell’Aquila School Visits : • Noble Park Language Centre • Debney Park Secondary College • Westall Secondary • Silverton Primary School • LMERC
ESLInvestigation of ESL best practiceResources for Maths/Science teachersRaffaela Dell’Aquila Outcomes: • ESL diagnostic testing – we could not find any, so we are going to rely on Percentile ranking to determine whether a student has improved rather than Stanine ranking in the PAT tests. • Qualified ESL teachers have expressed their interest in becoming ESL support staff for Maths/Science subjects and the College is currently investigating whether this can be made possible for 2010
ESLInvestigation of ESL best practiceResources for Maths/Science teachersRaffaela Dell’Aquila Outcomes: • Language schools - greater contact with local Language schools and sharing of resources. • Resources - Staff members teaching Year 7 and 8 will be given a copy of the CD containing ESL support materials for Maths, Science and English teachers.
Bigger Picture • Social justice – value adding is not enough, we have to move students up to state and national benchmarks. • Feeder primary schools to learn about best practice and share ideas. • Links to accessing suitable programs for students/wellbeing/student management. • Sharing of resources/ESL
Future Directions • Increasing numeracy support in Year 8 and 9 • Developing closer links and maintain ongoing discussions with our biggest feeder schools. • Developing literacy and numeracy practices that are cost effective and sustainable. • Continue to access external funding through grants and professional development opportunities. • Focus should not only be on value adding but on pushing for literacy and numeracy outcomes reaching national and state mean.
Addditional Information Detailed information on our TPL and our ongoing work can be found on our Wiki page: http://sustainableliteracyandnumeracypractices.wikispaces.com/
