2001 Garth Boomer Award

The 2001 ACSA Garth Boomer Award was presented at a special ceremony at the Biennial Conference in Canberra to Willunga High School. ACSA President, Lesley McFarlane presented the award to the Acting Principal, Sue Lewis, who accepted it on behalf of the teaching team, Liz vandenBrink, Angela Dyer, Shaun Walsh and John Ward.

Willunga High School

Willunga High School is located 50 kilometres south of Adelaide, in the McLaren Vale wine district. It was first established in 1960 and has a population of 900, including adults studying viticulture and hospitality and approximately 62 staff. Middle Schooling pedagogy has been an integral part of Willunga High School for the last five years and as a result negotiated curriculum with student voice is embraced.

In 2001 the structures and teaming in place for year 8's include:

• 9 classes each with a maximum of 22 students.
• Each class staying together every lesson for each of the areas of learning.
• Classes paired/grouped together to form learning communities.
• Learning communities share a pool of teachers who can work cooperatively to integrate the curriculum.
• Classes 'own' a classroom that is not used by any other class in the school, yet still have access to specialist areas for: The Arts, Science, Technology Studies etc.
• Year 8 students have an area of the school that belongs to them and may not be accessed by students in any other year level.
• The focus is on student development not only curriculum content.
• Staff members working in the middle school are enthusiastic about middle schooling and want to work with year 8's.
• Staff members strive to provide a supportive school environment where all students feel valued and are respected.
• Teachers work together as part of a team, combining teaching strengths and supporting each other.
• Teachers take classes for more than one area of learning and are able to build strong relationships with students.

Teamwork within and between each of these learning communities is high, with all stakeholders striving for excellence in middle schooling. The teams have embraced the opportunity to develop programmes/initiatives that focus on the improvement of student learning and model good classroom practice.

Year 8 staff promoting children's understanding of how they learn

An example of an initiative that the year 8 team has been involved in this year is the current focus on Brain Theory and Learning Styles. In Term 1 the team worked collaboratively to arrange an 'Amazing Year 8 Brain Day'. The focus of this day was to encourage students to think about how they learn and how their learning is affected by external influences such as drugs, alcohol, poor nutritional choices and lack of sleep. The highlight for a number of students (and staff) was the brain dissection activity, where each student was provided with a sheep brain to explore the structure and locate parts identified during discussions.

On this day students were asked to fill out a Learning Style Analysis questionnaire that encouraged individuals to reflect upon their own learning styles and complete a graph that gave feedback on whether they are predominantly a:

• Dynamic learner
• Common Sense learner
• Innovative learner
• Analytical learner

Students were surprised in many cases that they 'fell' into more than one area of the graph and a follow up discussion of this occurred in class the next day. Teachers have used this information when constructing class activities and discussing issues with parents at parent/teacher evening.

From this point the team planned, organised and implemented the second part of the learning theory day. A group of teachers worked with the year 8 cohort (in small group situations) on an innovative programme that focused upon further reinforcing information from the initial day, looking at how emotions and feelings affect learning. Activities on the day focused on the four Emotional rooms and how emotions affect learning.

The format and presentation of this day provided a conceptual framework and language to assist teachers and their students in establishing common ground for productive working relationships. The workshop focused on the building of resilience as well as highlighting and developing key emotional skills and understandings. Students were challenged to take control of their emotions and understand the role of the brain as the emotional epicenter. The outcomes of this focus are ongoing, and have so far included:

• A greater awareness for staff and students of the varying learning styles that are encountered every day.
• An understanding developed by staff and students of how their brain functions.
• A self-reflection on preferred learning styles and the impact this has on the ability to learn.
• Raised awareness of the impact of diet and environment on the functioning of the brain.
• Raised awareness of the impact of emotions on the functioning of the brain and on learning.
• A greater emphasis on cross-curricular planning and collaborative teaching.
• A core group of Year 8 teachers attending a full day conference on the Multiple Intelligences, run by Beth Woods from 'Heads Together'.
• A core group of Year 8 teachers sharing knowledge of the Multiple Intelligences with students and incorporating a wider range of learning activities into the negotiated curriculum.
• A core group of year 8 teachers sharing knowledge of Bloom's Taxonomy with students and working collaboratively to develop learning activities for a negotiated topic.

Year 8 teachers actively involve students in the curriculum and assessment planning by focusing on student interest and questions about their world. Staff are aware of James Beane initiatives (curriculum ownership) and actively encourage students to have input into learning opportunities.

At the end of term 1 the two year 8 teams guided students through the process of selecting an area of interest and mind mapping possible learning tasks using Bloom's Taxonomy and/or Multiple intelligences. As part of this process curriculum intentions were made explicit to students and the theories of learning styles outlined. Staff shared with students templates made available at the Heads Together conference. Using these templates staff supported students with the development of a range of tasks for each of the areas of learning that would accommodate different preferred learning styles. Students were encouraged to manage their time to complete open-ended learning tasks and investigate a theme chosen by the class. Lessons were structured to enable students to have input into their learning. Teachers worked with students to ensure that the tasks set were negotiated, relevant, manageable and achievable. Students were encouraged to investigate their world with all of their senses and not to be inhibited by curriculum barriers.

In 2000 members of the team were involved in developing a Power Point presentation and package of worksheets to explicitly teach students about the Key competencies. This presentation was closely linked to the work being conducted with the 'Pathway Planner' and members of the team were requested to share their good practice with a cluster of schools in the North of the State and with more local schools at a middle-school cluster meeting. The package was showcased at the launch of the Fleurieu Gateway. Subsequently, an article was published in XPress and the Power Point presentation was made on the Internet at a website known as the 'Gateway' to the Fleurieu.

Several schools took advantage of the materials developed and requested supporting materials to be sent to their school. During the first term of 2001 the year 8 team again utilized these resources to ensure that students became familiar with the Key Competencies by explicitly teaching them. Students are then able to collect evidence of their skills and strive to develop skills throughout the year. Links to the Key Competencies are made clear when planning a unit of work with students encouraged to critically reflect on learning outcomes and opportunities. The team values the development of basic skills, thinking skills and personal qualities. Members of the team have shared good practice by conducting workshops on Multiple Intelligences and curriculum planning, as well as presenting examples of an integrated unit to staff at various schools in 2000.

The Year 8 team values education as a collaborative partnership between students and themselves. The team seeks and values student input into curriculum planning and facilitates learning. Members of the team willingly share good practice with colleagues and are responsible for what is taught in their own classrooms. Students in these classes are empowered and encouraged to achieve their personal best. The year 8 team has made a significant contribution to school based curriculum theory and practice and has promoted the principles of middle schooling, both at Willunga high School and with colleagues at other schools. Each of the teachers nominated epitomises Garth Boomer's educational philosophies by:

• Promoting student understanding of how they learn
• Valuing inquiry
• Experimenting in learning
• Embracing student negotiation of curriculum
• Ensuring curriculum intentions are clear to students
• Encouraging all students to be active participants in their learning
• Working in collaboration with students and other teachers
• Fostering positive student, teacher, parent and community relationships.

Middle schooling methodology and student development continues to be embraced at Willunga High School. Professional development within this field will continue to be a focus throughout 2002.

The Garth Boomer Award is to honour the memory of Garth Boomer, who promoted the cause of collaborative teaching and learning. The actual award is a certificate to commemorate the success of the winners, and a cheque of $1000 to assist the continuation of the work being recognized. ACSA warmly congratulates the teaching team at Willunga High School on their success, and gratefully acknowledges the support of Curriculum Corporation in sponsoring the Garth Boomer Award.