EDvance Teaching Intensives

One hundred and fifteen West Australian teachers and 100 students have cut their holidays short, returning to school for the fifth annual Fogarty EDvance Teaching Intensives. 

Initiated by the Fogarty Foundation in 2018, the intensives are run in partnership with Dr Lorraine Hammond, Associate Professor at Edith Cowan University, and hosted at Dawson Park Primary School. Each year the intensives have grown, supporting more than 365 teachers to implement high-impact instruction practices. 

The intensive week of professional learning provides early childhood, primary and secondary teachers with the opportunity to observe expert teachers, practise key skills, and obtain feedback and coaching as they finesse their high-impact instructional strategies. Steered by Dr Hammond, the program was created following evidence-based research into how to effectively support teachers to adopt new practices.  

“Research confirms that ‘one shot’ professional learning does not work. Instead, educators can transfer new skills to their teaching practice when they have access to theory, quality teaching demonstrations and have the opportunity to practice instructional strategies with ongoing support, guidance, feedback and coaching,” Dr Hammond explained. 

“We are creating a community of teachers who have developed high-impact instructional strategies they can share with their peers and implement in their schools. By sharing best practice and collaborating with their peers, our teachers will create a ripple effect that will improve the quality of teaching in Western Australia,” she said. 

High-impact instructional strategies integrate lesson delivery and design where content is explicitly taught with frequent checks for understanding. Lesson delivery relates to how content is presented (i.e., read with me) and includes continual checks for understanding by indiscriminately selecting students to take part in discussions. Lesson design refers to how new content is organised, presented and modelled (i.e., Guided Practice followed by Independent Practice). This includes daily reviews of previously learned knowledge and skills to reduce cognitive load and build automaticity. 

High-impact instructional strategies have been used by teachers at Dawson Park Primary School since 2014. The school has seen significant improvements in NAPLAN scores since the inception of these teaching strategies. 

“Our dedicated and professional team use high-impact instructional strategies in all areas of the curriculum. There is low variability in instruction, expectations are clearly communicated and as a result, our students come to school feeling comfortable and confident in their abilities – they know what to expect,” Pauline Johnson, Principal at Dawson Park Primary School explained. 

“We’ve seen significant improvements in student results. Our students perform well above the average when compared to similar schools and they have a positive attitude towards their learning,” she said. 

Georgie Wynne, Program Director at Fogarty EDvance reiterated the importance of innovative professional learning for educators and schools. 

“It is vital for teachers to be knowledgeable about evidence-based pedagogical research so they can develop an innovative ‘toolkit’ for successful and impactful teaching,” Ms Wynne explained. 

“Fogarty EDvance aims to inspire excellence and high-quality instruction in schools by investing in teachers, school leaders and school principals to ensure that all students receive a high-quality education, regardless of their background.” 

Teachers from Cohort 6 of the Fogarty EDvance School Improvement Program had some inspiring workshops on High Impact Instruction recently.

Expert teachers, Brooke Wardana and Anthony Chiappalone, facilitated an engaging workshop about High Impact Instruction in the primary context. They identified the difference between direct and explicit instruction, before working with participants on developing a firm understanding of lesson design components, including the importance of the daily review, and lesson delivery.

Brooke and Anthony have a wealth of teaching experience between them. They shared their teaching expertise with participants, providing explicit instruction lesson demonstrations in literacy and numeracy.

Dr Lorraine Hammond spoke about explicit instruction as an efficient and instructional approach to teaching and learning. She explained how daily review reduces cognitive load and builds automaticity and workshopped the elements of the Explicit Instructional Model, including TAPPLE and Engagement Norms.

High Impact Instruction (or Explicit Instruction) is instructional practice that incorporates both lesson delivery and lesson design where grade-level content is explicitly taught using engagement norms and frequent checks for understanding. Lesson delivery relates to how you present the content (i.e. read with me) and check for understanding (i.e. randomly selecting student responses using popsticks). Lesson design refers to how new content is organised, presented and modelled to students (i.e. Guided Practice followed by Independent Practice). Teachers will also provide daily reviews of previously learned knowledge and skills so they become automated. High Impact Instruction practices involve explicitly showing students what to do and how to do it.

Successful conversations and organisational health were the topics of conversation at Cohort 7s School Improvement Program workshop this week.

In order to improve educational outcomes at schools, particularly over a sustained period time, it is important that the school has a healthy culture. Organisations need a healthy culture in order to have long term, sustained improvements. When school leaders know how to focus on their organisational health, they can positively impact student performance.   With a solid understanding of their school culture they can address issues and continue to improve areas of strength. At times, this includes having constructive conversations with staff, which is why these topics are important elements of the EDvance program.

Dr Renu Burr, Director at Burr Consulting and UWA Lecturer, facilitated a very informative workshop about the role of successful conversations to lead effective teams and organisations. School leaders were encouraged to reflect upon the power of well-formed conversations to create a high performance-high engagement culture in their schools while implementing change.  They then used a practise framework to conduct learning conversations that set high expectations, built trust and influenced others.

Rachel Howard, Chief of Staff at the Minderoo Group and engaged by McKinsey & Company, encouraged participants to develop a deeper understanding of how organisational health can drive better performance outcomes. Rachel worked with the school leaders as they examined Frame 2 (Assessing underlying mindsets) and 3 (Architect responses to improve Organisational Health) of the McKinsey Organisational Health Framework.  By implementing actions from the Influence model leaders can get staff actions aligned in the direction of the overall strategic plan.  They also began drafting a ‘Change Story’ for effectively communicating their school’s change agenda.

The Fogarty EDvance School Improvement Program focuses on building the capacity of school leadership teams to make informed evidence-based decisions, strategically plan and ultimately, improve student outcomes.

To find out more, visit the Fogarty EDvance website or contact the team at info@fogartyedvance.au or +61 8 6316 1600.

The Fogarty EDvance mentors are regularly described as the ‘gold’ in the Fogarty EDvance School Improvement Program.  

Su Wilson has been an integral part of the mentor team for six years, working with nine schools since 2013.   We spoke with Su about becoming a Fogarty EDvance mentor and the benefits for schools who are part of the program.

How did you become involved with the Fogarty EDvance program?
To lead a school takes commitment and passion, which makes it difficult to simply walk away. When I retired late in 2013, I was fortunate to join Pauline Coghlan and Peter Holcz in designing and delivering a program to train school leaders on school improvement. Through this role and the role of an Independent Public School (IPS) Reviewer, I learned about the work of the team at Fogarty EDvance, so was delighted when I was invited to join an extremely capable and experienced group of mentors. 

Tell us about the schools you have worked with.
I have had the pleasure of mentoring leadership teams from Balga and Roseworth Primary Schools in Cohort 3; and Koorana and Orelia Primary Schools in Cohort 4. I currently work with leaders at Tom Price and North Tom Price Primary Schools in Cohort 6; and Lakelands Primary School and Endeavour Schools, encompassing Endeavour PS and Endeavour Ed Support Centre, in Cohort 7.

All schools have focussed, hard-working leadership teams who have shown total commitment to whole-school implementation of the Fogarty EDvance program in striving for improvements in practice.

Upon entering the program, each school analysed data, and  accessed program tools to gather information about their school . This meant that their planning for improvement related specifically to their own needs, with initiatives and strategies for intervention driven by evidence and current research.

High performing schools worldwide recognise that improving the effectiveness of teaching will lift student outcomes and school performance. Each school with which I have worked has focussed on ensuring there is consistent, high quality teaching in every classroom. 

The varying experience of teachers in their respective schools and the degree to which they are willing to change their teaching practice, also has implications for planning for improvement. While having low SES may impact on learning, behaviour and attendance, regional schools also have the added complexity of transient staff.

The team at Fogarty EDvance recognises that the ‘one size fits all’ approach does not work. What does work is exposing school leaders to research, tools for gathering evidence, guidance in developing a three-year plan for improvement and support in leading changes in teaching practice. 

Can you describe a highlight of your experiences with the Fogarty EDvance team.
Highlights are many, but nothing can compete with the moment when school leaders and their staff see the positive outcomes of changes implemented, particularly when they showcase improvements in student performance.

For myself, I love witnessing changes in the practice of teachers, particularly those who may have previously been adverse to changing long standing behaviours.

What do you think are the 3 most valuable things schools gain from being part of the FED program?
I’m really not sure about narrowing the list to three but if I must:

1. Exposure to high quality research, professional development and evidence-based planning using a template with proven success.

2. Access to tools to measure organisational health, gather feedback from stakeholders, intensify the impact of decision-making and foster teamwork and collaboration.

3. Ongoing support from a mentor who is committed to providing guidance and support.

Is there something you know now that you wish you had known when you were working as a school leader?
As a mentor I consciously seek out current research on school leadership and school improvement, with particular emphasis on developing a culture of collaborative practice and professional growth. 

As a school leader I worked with staff to plan for improvement and allocated my budget to resource our plan with a primary focus on the professional growth of my staff.

In retrospect, I now believe in the need to allocate funding (and time) to support my own professional growth and that of other leaders within my school.

Programs like Fogarty EDvance have a single focus, that of supporting school leaders to design and implement a whole school improvement strategy to increase their school’s overall effectiveness.

I now know that working with a team of people, whose focus is on supporting schools on their journey of improvement, would help focus resourcing decisions and ensure staff received targeted professional development and support to effect change.

What would you say to school leaders considering joining the Fogarty EDvance School Improvement Program?
The core business of every school is to provide the best possible learning opportunities for their students, therefore every school has the potential to improve. 

I believe school leaders who are hesitant about joining the program shouldn’t be weighing up their potential to lead the improvement they are seeking without support, but acknowledge their involvement with Fogarty EDvance as an opportunity to have an even greater impact, not only until the end of the three-year program, but beyond.

In 2020, through Fogarty EDvance’s partnership with McKinsey and Company, FED Alumni schools had access to the Organisational Health Index (OHI) survey. The OHI is a tool used in the Fogarty EDvance School Improvement Program that measures how a school’s health is tracking and identifies areas for improvement – when school leaders know how to focus on developing organisational health, this can contribute to all school staff working together to positively impact student performance.

This is the first year Alumni schools have had access to the OHI post-program, and nine schools from Cohorts 3 and 4 participated in the OHI Alumni survey. As well as receiving a detailed OHI Report for their school, including a comparison to previous year’s results, there was also the opportunity for a debrief of results with the FED Team.

 Feedback has been very positive, with all participating schools excited to continue to use the OHI as a tool to assist their planning process and school improvement journeys. The OHI survey will be available at a discounted FED rate to Alumni schools in 2021. To pre-register, or for more information, please contact georgie.wynne@fogartyedvance.au

Our three years with Fogarty EDvance were a really positive experience. The access to McKinsey’s expertise and the OHI Report were a highlight of that program. We saw the information provided by the OHI as a really informative tool and felt incredibly fortunate to have access. It would have been very short sighted of us to leave that good work behind when we had finished our three-year relationship with Fogarty.  It was also really helpful to have Stacey and Georgie analyse our report with us as we stand together on the balcony, rather than down on the crowded and busy dance floor. 

Bernadette Jones, Principal Bullsbrook College (Cohort 4)

As a new Principal to Balga Primary School, it has been a wonderful learning experience to develop my knowledge of the Fogarty EDvance processes and the positive impact the OHI has had on informing our direction and planning. I look forward to applying the OHI data to our Business Plan development process which will give us direction for the next three years.

Michael Wills, Principal Balga Primary School (Cohort 3)

As many of you are aware, we have been working on a series of video resources that capture high-impact instruction in action. This suite of videos are known as the EDvance Video Resources and are available to view privately through the streaming platform, Vimeo.

The purpose of the EDvance Video Resources are twofold:

1. For schools that are already working with these instructional practices, another learning opportunity to get together with teachers and consider the discussion points included in the Guidance Notes.
2. For schools that are not currently working with these instructional practices, an opportunity to view some expert teachers in action. We recognise that due to Covid-19, the scheduled school visits for Term 2 have had to be cancelled, which provides limited opportunity for leaders and teachers to view high-impact instruction in action.

All of the teaching strategies used in the videos are evidence-based, and come from the body of research that was introduced to you in Year 1 of the program, including:

1. Archer and Hughes
2. Rosenshine
3. Dataworks: The engagement norms referred to extensively in the video are attributed to Ybarra & Hollingsworth.

The EDvance Video Resources consist of 12 separate videos:

Early Years

1. Brooke Wardana Video 1 – Daily Review on Single Sounds
2. Brooke Wardana Video 2 – Daily Review on Diagraphs
3. Brooke Wardana Video 3 – Daily Review on Syllables
4. Brooke Wardana Video 4 – Daily Review on Comprehension

Middle Years

1. Anthony Chiappalone – Daily Review on Addition and Subtraction
2. Anthony Chiappalone – Daily Review on Multiplication and Division
3. Anthony Chiappalone Video 1 – Learning Objective
4. Anthony Chiappalone Video 2 – Concept and Skill Development
5. Anthony Chiappalone Video 3 – Guided Practice
6. Anthony Chiappalone Video 4 – Independent Practice

Secondary

1. Stacey Plaut Daily Review – Year 7 HASS (The Water Cycle)
2. Stacey Plaut Lesson Design – Year 7 HASS (Demand and Supply)

To access the EDvance Video Resources and Guidance Notes, please email Stacey at stacey.plaut@fogartyedvance.au

A final note: The Fogarty Foundation and Fogarty EDvance have invested significant time and resources into the creation of these videos for the sole benefit of EDvance schools. As such, the EDvance Video Resources are solely for the distribution and use of schools that are part of the Fogarty EDvance School Improvement Program. Please do not share these resources with any schools or teachers beyond the FED Network without the express permission of our team. Please contact Stacey or Katie for the password to view the Video Resources or for further information at katie.odriscoll@fogartyedvance.au

If you need any support in using these videos effectively, please get in contact with your mentor or the FED team. We hope you find these video resources useful to continue your school improvement journey throughout 2020.

The EDvance Teaching Intensives focus on high-impact instructional strategies for teaching literacy and numeracy in the early years and middle primary.

There is evidence to support the successful application of explicit and direct instruction, particularly for students from disadvantaged communities. Many practitioners are keen to develop skills in this area as part of the ‘toolkit’ for successful teaching.

In 2020, two EDvance Teaching Intensives were hosted concurrently at Balga Primary School (a FED Alumni School). 65 teachers and pre-service teachers participated, including teachers from Fogarty EDvance schools. The Intensives were led by Dr Lorraine Hammond and Brooke Wardana, with support from Balga Primary School staff.

Since 2018, the Fogarty Foundation and Fogarty EDvance have supported 140 teachers to learn and trial high-impact and explicit instruction. Components of the Intensives include:

• High-quality professional development by experts in the field of high-impact and explicit instruction.
• In-situ coaching of the teachers during the program.
• Personalised written feedback to every teacher.
• Students are made available to practice the various instructional strategies on.
• Teaching resources compiled by Program Leads in the form of a consolidated set of Power Point slides, for ongoing use by participants.
• Learning reflection and forward planning session at the conclusion of the program to facilitate the transfer of new teaching skills to regular and ongoing practice.

The Fogarty Foundation is aware that especially in these times of uncertainty, it is important that we stay connected and ensure that we keep all of the people with who we work, fully informed.  Due to disruption caused by COVID-19 and taking into account advice and precautionary measures we are putting the following initiatives in action:

Fogarty EDvance

Face-to-face workshops for the remainder of Term 1 have been cancelled (26^th and 30^th March). We will be providing a couple of shorter sessions via Webinar and recordings. Over the coming couple of weeks, we will monitor how the Term 2 workshops will be run.

UWA Fogarty Scholars

The Scholars will continue with their studies, but we all non-essential meetings and Fogarty Conversations have been postponed for the time being.  We will be sending out regular newsletters with updates, Scholars profiles and articles of interest including the importance of good leadership in times of crisis.

CoderDojo WA

It is up to individual dojos to decide whether they will hold regular dojos.  As we expect that most will decide not to, we will be putting out ideas for projects and games for ninjas to work on at home, how to keep connected and (potentially) how to run a virtual dojo.

EDfutures

All community events have been postponed for the time being.  We will be sending out an EDfutures newsletter soon and will be looking at ways for the community to keep connected and sharing ideas.

Challenging times always present opportunities.  We know there has been an increasing focus on the potential of online working and learning. The imperative is now here. There should be significant progress in bringing the best of technology to make this a reality and open a new world of learning that is more self-directed, engaging and forward looking.

At the Fogarty Foundation we are keen to make the most of these opportunities and expect this will inform our operations going forward.

Keep well and engaged.

The Fogarty Foundation and McKinsey & Company have a strong partnership that supports the execution and impact of the Fogarty EDvance program. McKinsey & Co have recently published an in-depth case study analysing the program.

The case study shares the lessons we have learned on school transformation by working with schools throughout Western Australia since 2012. In particular, the case study clearly outlines the relationship between organisational health and school performance – with evidence to suggest a direct link. 

The article can be downloaded here and can also be accessed through the McKinsey & Co website.
 

Congratulations to Samantha Benn, Principal at Koorana Primary School (Cohort 4) for completing a Masters in Education at Edith Cowan University. Here’s what Samantha had to say about her involvement with the Fogarty EDvance program and attaining Advanced Standing at ECU:

“I was fortunate to participate in Cohort 4 of the Fogarty EDvance Program, initially as a Deputy Principal and more recently, as Principal at Koorana Primary School. The experience for me has been invaluable in gaining the skills and insights necessary to lead effectively and to drive improved educational outcomes for our students. The unrelenting focus on high impact approaches and evidence-based research at the core of the EDvance Program has been pivotal in our success at Koorana Primary School and on a personal level, has built my leadership skills to effectively take on the role of Principal.

One of the biggest challenges for school leaders is effectively managing the day-to-day operations of the school whilst maintaining enough time, energy and capacity to drive the school strategically; focusing on what matters most and ensuring the work towards sustained improvement is consistently taking place. For me, the tools, learning and expertise provided through the EDvance Program enable this to happen, recognising that every minute counts and driving detailed, challenging and intelligent approaches to whole school strategic planning.

In 2019, I took the plunge and went on to complete a further four units to complete the course. This enabled me to further strengthen my leadership skill set and explore global themes in education including pedagogy, assessment and equity as well as develop a grounding in educational research. This experience, combined with the EDvance program has certainly broadened my capacity as an educational leader and provided me with a valuable global view in this area. I am proud to say I have recently completed my Master in Education with high distinction and would like to thank the Fogarty EDvance team for this outstanding opportunity for professional and personal growth.”

For further information on attaining Advanced Standing at Edith Cowan University, please contact Georgie Wynne at georgie.wynne@fogartyedvance.au