1. DEPARTMENT OF EMPLOYMENT, EDUCATION AND TRAINING www.deet.nt.gov.au (Insert appropriate images as selected from Image palette) Middle Years Team 2008

2. Our Values: Respect; Professionalism; Inclusiveness; Integrity; Innovation Our Context: A newly formed team (1/5 has a recent history with the past Middle Years Teams). All are employed variously under contracts that will complete in December 2008. 3 new ET2 positions are filled by individuals who have all come straight from schools. Semester 1 focus: induction into Teaching, Learning & Standards Division & working as Teaching and Learning Educators across regions. Our Team: Middle Years Manager – Julianne Willis, 89994349, 0448868520 Project Manager Middle Years – Sonya McKenzie, 89994323, 0427872149 Teaching and Learning Educator, Darwin – Natalie Ede, 89994200 Teaching and Learning Educator, Alice Springs – Lisa Hall, 89517007 Teaching and Learning Educator, Arhnem – Jason Motbey, 89993794 Teaching and Learning Educator, Katherine – vacant Current Focus Areas:

3. How we began: A large platform of material has been inherited from the previous Middle Years Team. This material supported schools to create and implement the new NT Middle Years Stage of Schooling Policy. Full implementation of this policy began in schools at the beginning of 2008. In 2008, all Middle Schools in the Northern Territory are: Physically established; Actively creating new cultures; Trialling new structures and practices; Grappling with student learning data & APIF implementation; Valiantly working within their new worlds to do their best to make things work; Stressed about change – new schools, new teams, new practices, new Ce-Tool, NAP, and forced movement. Current Focus Areas:

4. We began: By identifying that schools were at various places along the Julia Aitkin professional learning continuum and largely: Preparing – mostly remote schools; Initiating – provincial and some remote. Consolidating - Some school believe they are. Our work needs to focus on: 1.Small trials and Action Learning; 2.Reframing, Redesigning & Vision reflection; and 3.Supporting evidence based decision making to grow capacity. THE CRITICAL QUESTION IS: What MAKES Middle Years, MIDDLE YEARS? Current Focus Areas:

5. DEET PRIORITIES: TEACHING LEARNING & STANDARDS PRIORITIES: Accountability Performance Improvement Framework – strategic improvement cycles Excellence in Literacy, Numeracy and Learning Strong community commitment to school attendance & completion High quality teaching & education services to maximize student learning & well-being National Curriculum and Assessment Intervention outcomes – remote Strong partnerships, research & innovation, evidence based approaches, targeted, rigorous & reflective, & explicit change facilitation Reconfiguration – regionalization of Teaching, Learning and Standards Stages of Schooling National Assessment Program National Curriculum New South Australian Certificate of Education Northern Territory Curriculum Framework renewal Teaching and Learning Framework 2008 MIDDLE YEARS PRIORITIES: Building our own community of learners Modelling a culture of learning using an evidence base for action Using assessment for designing learning with schools Researching, consolidating & embedding Middle Years ‘best practice’ (what makes middle years middle years?) Building and sustaining high quality Middle Years artefacts Reviewing & aligning Middle Years Coordination, Policy and Assurance Mapping pathways & transitions through stages of schooling Essential Learnings Link with Delivery Agreement: Our Systems: Strategic meetings Operational meetings Darwin / PARCS Middle Years Leaders Network Regional Offices & Networks? Professional Learning Programs Regional Termly ‘think tanks’?

6. Middle Years Scope:

7. Professional Learning Models:

8. Professional Learning Models: Educational Leadership in Community

9. Rivers ELICO : Building capacity in leadership in the Middle Years NT DEET Principles of Professional Learning NT DEET Leadership Framework Experiential Learning Action Learning / research cycles Learning Community and Individual Face to face and IDL Increasing capabilities of Principals as coaches for learning Safe learning environments Challenging perceptions, understandings and practice Professional Learning Models: Educational Leadership in Community

10. Rivers Coaching & ELICO : To produce self-directed professionals with the cognitive capacity for high performance both independently and as members of a community All behaviour is produced by thought and perception Teaching is constant decision making To learn something new requires engagement and alteration in thought Humans continue to grow cognitively Efficacy, Consciousness, Flexibility, Craftsmanship, Interdependency Professional Learning Models: Educational Leadership in Community – Cognitive Coaching Planning Reflecting Event (Observation)

11. Professional Learning Darwin and PARCS Analysing Student Learning Outcomes As a part of the commitment to ensure improvement in student learning occurs the Middle years have been: Working with schools to make assessment authentic, valid and reliable Using assessment data to monitor progress and to plan for improvement

12. Facilitating – Site based, targeted facilitation of learning aligned to school, NT DEET and National priorities. Data and research informed. Supporting and Encouraging - Authentic Learning Grants, Classmates Celebrating – Wed site, Darwin Convention centre Middle Years Event, Team members achievement and milestones. Connecting – Darwin Leaders Network, Middle Years portal, P&L, CDU, SSD, Regionally targeted personnel, Middle Years Wiki Innovating – Trialling and encouraging new models, tools and methodologies - ELICO, Cognitive Coaching, IDL, Batchelor Area School site based TaLE coach, Professional Learning accreditation Honouring Collegiality – Setting and maintaining the foundations conducive to individual and team growth, support and wellbeing. The Best of Where We Are Now

13. KNOW: There’s a restructure Regionalisation New org chart being developed NTCF renewal and TaLF released in next 12 months. MYCAM materials available in next 12 months Four stages of schooling with unique, individual student needs and teacher understandings Civics & Citizenship National priorities becoming a focus Band width / IDL capabilities expanding Recognition of need for PL accreditation. Know intervention has increased focus of Indigenous Ed What we know and our concerns re 2009:

14. CONCERNS: Infrastructure to support regionalisation Staffing- Insufficient security & sustainability and career pathways due to lack of long term recruitment. Repetition of work and gaps of work occur due to staff turnover and lack of communication / handover. Communication – lack of whole picture clarity across teams and corporate DEET. Consistency of messages out to schools NTCF / TaLF – implementation in schools / training DATA – Need across division consistency of 4 domains of data to inform practice. With data informed practice our image in schools as a division is not those that hold the ‘big stick’. Current inability to access up dated data NOW creates a message of corporate DEET incompetency to schools. Professional Learning – difficulty in releasing teachers for professional learning particularly in remote context. Lack of relief teachers. With the focus of the restructure will the NT initiative of Middle Years be effectively supported. Middle Years established via infrastructure – but much more work required to create & consolidate Middle Years curriculum, pedagogy and assessment educational reform.

15. With schools: Have simplified access to timely & accurate data Clear goals of where TL&S are heading. Clear TL&S organisational structure & understanding of roles and responsibilities within and across divisions Actively facilitating learning which is data informed, underpinned by research based models of PL and student needs. Working with schools, not for, or doing things to them. Across TL&S: Set up systems so ALL staff have access to information at all levels eg open the floor to managers meetings, portal, general staff meetings Set up a friendly inviting work space. Physical and cultural Eg pot-plants, nice coloured walls, funky carpet, low dividers or no dividers. Windows that open. Social club – not left to individuals trying to make a difference but set up properly. Where do we need or want to be in 2009?: