Using professional learning cycles to strengthen implementation at Maffra Secondary College

Narrator [On-screen text]: Using professional learning cycles to strengthen implementation at Maffra Secondary College.

Narrator: A public secondary school in Victoria.

Jennifer Roep, Principal, Maffra Secondary College: Maffra Secondary College is located about 2 and a half hours from Melbourne to the east and we're a regional school with approximately 550 students.

We've got a very well established and experienced teaching profile with approximately 45 teachers and 34 education support staff.

Narrator [On-screen text]: Maffra Secondary College is using AERO’s deliberate and structured approach to implementation to help embed explicit instruction across the school.

Jennifer Roep: It's been important for Maffra Secondary College to focus on implementation because we need to find a structure that works well so that we can apply the implementation process that's evidence based across any new initiatives that we're implementing in the future.

Narrator [On-screen text]: Maffra Secondary College is currently in the Deliver stage of implementation.

[On-screen text A key strategy that schools use in this stage is preparing and running professional learning cycles.

Jennifer Roep: Key benefits of running the professional learning cycles for us are that we do a whole-school approach, so that there is a consistent professional learning focus that every staff member is undertaking, which means we can stay consistent and be able to track the fidelity of what we're implementing a lot easier.

Marie Clark, Assistant Principal, Maffra Secondary College: Sometimes professional learning can be treated as sort of a one-and-done type situation, or a very discreet thing where you kind of get someone in and you have a workshop or a delivery of material and then teachers are expected to just pick that up and go with it.

So, Maffra Secondary College’s approach to professional learning differs probably from most schools.

Narrator [On-screen text]: Professional learning cycles consist of: 

• knowledge-building sessions
• planning support
• modelling
• and coaching.

Marie Clark: A professional learning cycle is basically a very set process.

So, you have normally a professional learning session, so some sort of workshop or clear knowledge-building session where you're getting everyone to have a shared understanding of the practices that you're wanting them to do.

Then we've got to make sure that the teachers have time to actually plan and implement the thing that they are going to be doing.

So, there's some planning sessions.

Then we would go into some sort of modelling.

So, that might be part of the professional learning session or separate, but somewhere where the teachers can see exactly what the practice looks like in the classroom.

We've done it through videos, but we've also done it through observations.

And underpinning all of that is our coaching program.

So, we make sure that every teacher in the school has a coach allocated to them and the coaches observe them and give them feedback on the practices that we're looking for.

Kristen Raine, Learning Specialist, Maffra Secondary College: As a lead coach, my role would be to model to the rest of the coaches these teaching practices that we're trying to implement. And then we would observe the coaches to give them feedback and that would all happen before the coaches go ahead and work through their professional learning cycle with their coaches.

Narrator [On-screen text]: Getting ready for professional learning cycles.

Marie Clark: Our implementation team prepares for professional learning cycles quite deliberately, and we've probably learned from some mistakes in this area.

I think initially when we started implementing explicit teaching practices, we were just, 'Let's just jump straight in. I want to get moving.'

And I think there's that pressure as a leader to feel like you're doing things and things are being implemented.

But we have learned from that process that we do need to very carefully plan.

[On-screen text] Implementation team meeting 

Marie Clark: So, the next item on our agenda is our upcoming knowledge-building session with all staff.

So that'll take place next week.

And I think we're fairly well planned there. Can we talk about how we're going to do the modelling?

Kristen Raine: I was thinking that we get some videos of us modelling some of these techniques in our classrooms to share with staff, and then we can have some coaches come and observe the lead coaches modelling the explicit explanation and modelling.

Narrator [On-screen text]: Running professional learning cycles.

Kristen Raine: So, when we are fully explaining, it doesn't mean we're talking throughout the entire lesson.

[On-screen text] Knowledge-building session

Kristen Raine: We need to be showing students how to complete tasks and not just letting them hear it.

Marie Clark: So, we'd love for you to write on your post-its. You don't have to put your names, but number one – what's been your one key take away?

What's been one key take away from today's session? And what strategy are you going to work on first?

Kristen Raine: So, after the knowledge-building session, we provide staff with some planning support so they can work with staff from their same similar subjects to plan resources around the new knowledge that they've gained through the knowledge-building session.

[On-screen text] Planning support for explicit teaching

Kristen Raine: They'll also observe those new teaching practices through modelling.

So the lead coach or the coaches will model for them in the classroom.

Jennifer Roep: And we have a really clear and consistent template that we use for observations.

So, it's consistent for every staff member on what that high-quality practices looks like.

[On-screen text] Modelling

Kristen Raine: Daphnia are ...?

Class: Macro invertebrates.

[On-screen text] Teacher observes modelled lesson

Kristen Raine: Macro means large, okay? Because you can have micro which is small.

[On-screen text] Coaching 

Kristen Raine: So coaching will follow the planning, support and the modelling because that allows for a coach to work closely with a coachee, and help them to develop those teaching practices.

[On-screen text] Coaching observation

Judd Newton: So when we're talking about this, we want to keep in mind what human wellbeing is, what it means to live well.

So when we're looking at different places, we're going to talk about whether they're living well for that place.

Kristen Raine: So we hope that the coaches can then work closely with their coaches, and build that trusted relationship so that feedback is easily given and received.

[On-screen text] Coaching conversation

Kristen Raine: And so all staff seeing improvement in their teaching practice.

Narrator [On-screen text]: Reviewing professional learning cycles

Jennifer Roep: So we use data to look at how we're tracking with the fidelity and implementation of our learning cycles.

And as an implementation team, we meet on a regular basis where we look at how we're tracking and use student feedback, staff feedback and observations to decide on whether we need to extend our professional learning, or whether we're at a point where we can move on to the next focus.

[On-screen text] Implementation team meeting

Jennifer Roep: So, based on the feedback from the students in the surveys, the coaching conversations that you've had, what do you think our next steps are?

Kristen Raine: So I've had a chat to a few coaches already and it looks like the pace of the explanations are going really well.

So, staff a little bit more clear and concise with when they're explaining things and not taking up as much time with their explanations.

Bianca Taylor: The coaches I've spoken to have noticed that there are some strong worked examples, but it's not consistent across the different areas.

Marie Clark: If we're looking for sustainability and other cycles, probably a really good idea to embed this.

Kristen Raine: I think what's working well is that all staff are on board and willing to improve their teaching practice, and I think that's been a really good thing to be happening to make sure we can move forward with the implementation.

Jennifer Roep: The changes that we've seen at Maffra from taking a deliberate and structured approach to implementation is an increased staff culture of collaboration and improving their practice, and therefore that's leading to a reduced variation between classrooms and a consistent teaching approach for all staff in the school.

[On-screen text] AERO would like to thank the teachers, students and community of Maffra Secondary College, Victoria.