1. The Principles of Learning and Teaching P-12 Training Program
This PowerPoint presentation provides an overview of the Principles of Learning of Teaching P-12 (PoLT) and the PoLT Training Program. It can be used to provide an overview for the whole staff.
Slides 2 – 8 show the connections between the student learning initiatives and an overview of PoLT and associated resource materials
Slides 9 – 15 provides details of the PoLT Training Program
Slides 16 – 17 shows the involvement of schools within Victoria and their feedback to the PoLT Training Program
More detail for each of these slides can be found on the Department of Education web site in the Student Learning section. learning
Office of Learning and Teaching

2. OUR EDUCATIVE PURPOSE What is powerful to learn? What is powerful
learning and
what promotes it?
Who do we report to?
LEARNER
Victorian
Essential Learning
Standards
Principles of
Learning
and Teaching
Students
Parents
Colleagues
School
System
How do we know
it has been learnt?
This model is used to show how the different student learning initiatives interact, with the learner at the centre.
How do the Student Learning initiatives connect to support student learning?
The educative purpose reflects values, beliefs and understandings about student learning.
‘What is it powerful to learn?’ – a question we are seeking to answer through work around understanding and implementing the Victorian Essential Learning Standards.
However this work can’t be considered in isolation. The Principles of Learning and Teaching P-12 help to answer the question how should the learning process occur if we are to promote achievement of the Standards. The Assessment Advice will allow us to know if the learning has occurred.
Reporting on student achievement, including plans for their future learning is communicated to students, parents and other teachers. In addition schools report on student achievement to the education system. The aim of reporting is to improve student learning.
Assessment Advice

3. The Principles of Learning and Teaching P-12 (PoLT)
The learning environment is supportive and productive
The learning environment promotes independence, interdependence and self-motivation
Students’ needs, backgrounds, perspectives and interests are reflected in the learning program
Students are challenged and supported to develop deep levels of thinking and application
Assessment practices are an integral part of teaching and learning
Learning connects strongly with communities and practice beyond the classroom
The Principles of Learning and Teaching from Prep to Year 12 articulate six principles that can be used by schools, teams of teachers and individuals to reflect on practice and support professional dialogue to strengthen pedagogical practices. The Principles Unpacked provide detailed explanations and teaching examples for each of the principles.

4. Development of PoLT
Principles adapted from the Middle Years Pedagogy Research and Development (MYPRAD) initiative and extended to be applicable across all stages of learning and all domains
2004 pilot in 44 primary and secondary schools
2005 delivery of PoLT Training Program to 531 schools (811 participants)
2006 delivery of PoLT Training Program to 148 schools (211 participants)
This equates to almost 50% of Government schools participating in PoLT.
The development of the Principles of Learning and Teaching P-12 draws on:
Research - The principles have been developed with reference to international and national research and school practice. The principles, support materials and the PoLT Training Program, build on the work that has already been developed through the Science in Schools (SIS) and Middle Years Pedagogy Research and Development (MYPRAD) initiatives. The approach has however been extended to include all strands and stages of learning from the Victorian Essential Learning Standards.
Consultation - During 2004, 44 schools from seven clusters participated in a pilot program. The aim was to trial, discuss and refine the Principles of Learning and Teaching P-12, including audit instruments, professional development modules and support materials. In addition, extensive consultation has taken place within the education community to ensure the relevance and validity of the principles and support materials.
The PoLT Training Program has been delivered to approximately 50% of government schools.

5. PoLT Training Program Includes: Leading Change Program
Professional Development Program
Critical Friend support
Leading Change Program
As part of the program teachers are considered researchers – they collect their own data (data is aggregated to inform planning) and develop an Action Plan that reflects local needs
Component mapping is a key feature of the Leading Change Program – an agreed position is arrived at through discussion between teacher and coordinator of where the teacher’s practice sits along a continuum for each component
Teacher’s component map compared with student perceptions (sample only)
Component mapping is for individual reflection only - not for accountability purposes
Professional Development Program
Feedback from Middle Years Research and Development (MYPRAD) project indicated teachers would like the opportunity to explore the principles in greater depth – as after the component mapping they had identified areas they would like to develop
Different schools will have different starting points
PoLT coordinators receive professional learning in leading change to support the delivery of professional learning to school teams (supported by cluster coordinator if involved as a cluster)
The Online Professional Learning Resource provides greater flexibility in the provision of professional learning for individuals or teams of teachers
The Online Professional Learning Resource can augment the modules to provide professional learning tailored to meet specific need.
Critical Friend Support
provided by the tertiary providers

6. PoLT support materials
Web-based resources for all schools:
Background Paper
Components of the Principles
Principles Unpacked
Online Professional Learning Resource
This slide provides an overview of PoLT support materials. More detail on the Components of the Principles and Principles Unpacked and the Online Professional Learning Resource are found on the following slides.
The Background paper establishes the context in which The Principles of Learning and Teaching P-12 have emerged. It provides background on the initiative and suggests the role it can play in supporting teachers to reflect on their pedagogical practices and engage in long-term professional learning.
The components describe what teachers actually do to create an effective learning and teaching environment.
The Principles Unpacked provides a detailed explanation of the Principles of Learning and Teaching P-12 and teaching examples.

7. Components of Principle 4
4 Students are challenged and supported to develop deep levels of thinking and application
In learning environments that reflect this principle the teacher:
4.1 plans sequences to promote sustained learning that builds over time and emphasizes connections between ideas
4.2 promotes substantive discussion of ideas
4.3 emphasises the quality of learning with high expectations of achievement
4.4 uses strategies that challenge and support students to question and reflect
4.5 uses strategies to develop investigating and problem-solving skills
4.6 uses strategies to foster imagination and creativity
Each principle is supported by descriptors of what teachers actually do to create an effective learning and teaching environment. These are referred to as components.

8. The Principles Unpacked
4.4 The teacher uses strategies that challenge and support students to question and reflect
This component is demonstrated by teachers:
introducing ideas by using interesting and challenging activities
using short, group-based challenging activities to raise questions
challenging students to reflect on their responses to tasks
asking students to represent their understandings in a variety of ways encouraging students to see knowledge as a construction and to examine critically and even challenge information provided by the teacher, a textbook, a newspaper, etc.
The unpacking of each principle and its components clarifies the intention of each to provide a picture of what each component might look like in the classroom.
The examples are drawn from the actual experience of teachers, gleaned from interviews, reports and anecdotal notes for strands and stages of learning in the Victorian Essential Learning Standards.
As can be seen on the slide, examples are offered in terms of how the component may be demonstrated. It also includes examples of how teaching looks when each component is not being demonstrated as well as including examples of how each component looks from a teaching perspective.

9. Online Professional Learning Resource
Flexible resource – may be used individually, in small groups or by teams
May be used by schools who have already done PoLT training for further exploration, or by schools who wish to familiarise themselves with the Principles
Includes theory, practical suggestions, vignettes, opportunities for reflection, access to further information and glossaries
The PoLT Online Professional Learning Resource contains additional support for each principle including: a brief overview of the research; practical suggestions for classroom use; snapshots of appropriate activities; a series of questions to support reflection; relevant links to others sites and a glossary. It can be used by teams of teachers and individual teachers to further explore the principles.

10. The Action Research Model outlines the process through which individuals or groups can use to further develop skills and strategies related to their field of inquiry. Each section, or stage, of the PoLT Online Resource is linked to the process.
This process underpins the PoLT Online Resource and the PoLT Training Program. The principles support teachers to embark on a journey of evolving practice and include eight steps:
Step 1: Inquiry into pedagogy Being predisposed to inquire into teaching practice and student learning and being willing to work collaborative
Step 2: Identifying challenges Using the 6 principles to reflect on teaching practice and student learning (facilitated by a critical friend)
Step 3: Articulate goals Drawing on a particular principle (or combination of principles)
Step 4 & 8: Critical inquiry into practice and context Focussing on particular aspect/s of pedagogy
Step 5: Enact change in pedagogy Being critically aware of the principles
Step 6: Critical reflection Engaging in collaborative reflection and evaluation with respect to teaching and learning goals and the change process
Step 7: Articulate new goals Drawing on principles (invariably different from ones drawn ones drawn on earlier in the cycle
Information on the Action Research Model can be found in the Background Paper on the PoLT section of the Student learning web site. learning

11. PoLT Training Program Based on:
an explicit framework describing pedagogy
a change model that reflects contemporary understandings of teacher learning and school improvement
Provides a a structure for schools and clusters to:
examine their teaching practice
identify key areas for improvement
develop a plan to initiate improvement
monitor change
Designed to be implemented over three years
PoLT is a research based model by which schools and clusters can improve their teaching and learning across P-12 and monitor their progress.
The PoLT model includes:
A framework of effective teaching and learning
A strategy to support change, incorporating a range of support elements.
The PoLT Training Program provides a structure for schools and clusters to improve learning and teaching within the school context.
It is designed to be implemented over time and is a key aspect of School Strategic Plans and Annual Implemenation Plans.

12. PoLT Implementation Strategy
The PoLT Training Program is the process through which schools/clusters are supported to improve their learning and teaching. The strategy is the sequence of events & actions taken by teachers, working as a team, to improve learning and teaching in the school.
The change process is designed to develop locally based decisions about learning and teaching. The action plan is an agreed position, generated at the school level and reflected in the Annual Implementation Plan about actions related to pedagogy that the school will undertake to bring about change. The plan could also be linked to Performance and Development Culture and Leading Schools Fund.
For clusters undertaking this initiative, the school action plan may sit within a broader cluster plan.

13. The Audit Instruments Teacher questionnaire and Component Mapping
Student Perceptions
Student Learning
Professional Learning Team processes
Curriculum audit instrument
School audit
Cluster communication
Self-assessment tools are provided as part of the PoLT Program Training to assist school-based professional learning teams in their discussions about learning and teaching within their school and/or clusters.
There are seven major instruments to inform the audit review process and provide a range of information to focus discussion on appropriate directions.
Detailed explanations of each of these instruments and advice about the best ways to use them can be found in the PoLT Training Program Manual, which will be distributed to all schools/clusters undertaking the program.

14. Component Mapping
Principle 4 Students are challenged and supported to develop deep levels of thinking and application 4.4 The teacher uses strategies that challenge and support students to question and reflect In my practice:
5: I consistently design tasks that are structured to challenge and support students to engage with deeper levels of understanding and practice through questioning, interpreting, and reflecting.
4: Between these
3: I tend to use tasks involving standard procedures and interpretations, but occasionally use challenging tasks that engage students with deeper levels of questioning and interpretation.
2: Between these
1: I almost always use tasks involving standard procedures with fixed response formats. I rarely use tasks that require deeper level questioning and interpretation.
Comment
The component mapping process is an essential part of the Training Program. It serves a number of purposes.
To establish the principles of effective learning and teaching which are at the centre of the PoLT
To provide the basis on which teachers monitor their own practice
To support the development of the school action plan.
The component mapping process provides useful insights into a teacher’s current practice. The PoLT coordinator assists teachers to review their practice by individually interviewing each teacher and mapping them against the components of each principle. The PoLT Coordinator will arrange a 45 minute discussion with each participating teacher. The discussion provides an opportunity to acknowledge and affirm teachers’ expertise and professionalism as well as encouraging teachers to elaborate on or extend their practice.
It also provides an opportunity to discuss pedagogical beliefs, and to question whether particular components and their descriptors capture effective practice in the teacher’s particular context.
Note: It is important to point out that the component mapping exercise is not a discussion where the coordinator sits in judgement, nor should it be used a part of the school performance and development appraisal.
The learning and teaching profiles of individual teachers will not be publicly identified. The aggregated data from the component mapping exercise is intended to help build a picture of what is happening across the school/cluster. It will assist in suggesting directions to take and will assist in identifying pedagogical areas that are well developed and those which require further development and support. School data from this and other audit tools are analysed to form the basis of action planning.

15. PoLT Professional Learning Modules
Six modules, one for each principle
Facilitates discussion about the principles
Provide opportunities for collegial sharing of practice
Develop a common language for talking about pedagogy
PoLT coordinator facilitates delivery of the modules in the school
Module 1
This module provides teachers with an opportunity to discuss features of pedagogy that focus specifically on the needs of the learner within the learning environment.
Module 2
This module provides teachers with an opportunity to discuss features of pedagogy that focus specifically on the learning environment that promotes independence, interdependence and self-motivation.
Module 3
This module provides teachers with an opportunity to discuss features of pedagogy that focus on the needs, background, perspectives and interests of the learner and the application of these features into practice.
Module 4
This module provides teachers with an opportunity to discuss features of pedagogy that focus on students being challenged and supported to develop deep levels of thinking and application.
Module 5
This module provides teachers with an opportunity to discuss features of pedagogy that focus specifically on assessment.
Module 6
This module provides teachers with an opportunity to discuss features of pedagogy that focus specifically on connecting learning with communities and practice beyond the classroom, and using technologies in ways that reflect contemporary community practice.

16. 2005 Evaluation The principles depict effective teaching
96% agree or strongly agree
Component mapping raises awareness of effective pedagogy
94% agree or strongly agree
The PoLT program increases awareness of effective teaching
97% agree or strongly agree
Overview
588 participants including principals, assistant principals, cluster and school coordinators and teachers who had been involved in the Component mapping process responded to an online survey.
The Principles of Learning and Teaching were universally praised as a clear and a valid framework that captures the essence of quality pedagogy and provides a strong basis for a discussion of learning and teaching.
Positives
The component mapping instrument was strongly endorsed as a professional learning experience and as providing impetus for change.
The manual was strongly endorsed as useful in guiding the process of auditing and action planning.
The Professional Learning Modules were generally well regarded.
The role of Professional Learning Teams was strongly endorsed.
The role of the cluster educator was critical in driving the initiative.
The open comments by principals particularly, and by school coordinators, were very positive. Their comments generally indicated that PoLT was a great initiative and potentially very powerful, but the workload issue needs to be carefully managed.
Issues
There was an underlying issue concerning whether the focus should be at the school, or the cluster level.
A number of coordinators talked of the difficulty of getting teachers involved and committed to the initiative.
The issue of time release and the need for provision of resources to support PoLT was a universal theme.

17. Evaluation comments
It has been very useful to see both strengths and weaknesses in my teaching and student perceptions of their learning
Professional conversations were valued
PoLT seen as a catalyst for professional dialogue with the students’ voice
Valued discussion of results with a colleague in a non-threatening way and focusing on improving areas of weakness
The focus on individual teaching practice is where the value lies
Enabled reflection, structured support, direction, revitalisation
Has increased professional exchange between teachers at our school with positive results
Useful self-assessment of teachers to focus PD
Staff ready to view change more favourably
Provided shared language between professional learning teams and across the year levels
Refocused my thinking back on to the ‘how’ and ‘why’
These comments can be used to consider aspects of the PoLT Training Program that can be used by the school/cluster to strengthen participation in the program.