Primary Years Programme (PYP)
Teaching and learning goals for 2015
In 2015, the Scotch College Junior School staff focused their teaching and learning goals around the concept of assessment for learning. Although this may appear somewhat generalised, it was in fact a calculated, methodical and, at times, a complex twelve months of ongoing collaborative planning and staff professional development.
The goal was divided up into four parts, one for each term (listed below with their definitions). Although in practice the parts are interconnected, it was important to first clearly define, explore and build deeper understandings independently before reconnecting as part of a whole system for 2016.
The four parts were:
Learning Intentions: a lesson, or series of lessons, that tell students what they should know, understand and be able to do.
Success criteria: helps teachers to decide whether their students have in fact achieved the learning intention. Importantly, the success criteria also answer the same question from the point of view of the student: How will I know whether I've achieved the learning intention?
Formative Assessment: (clear, concise and immediate) feedback provided for successes and areas for improvement, referenced against the Success Criteria. It is important to align supportive comments with the Success Criteria and the Learning Intention so the focus remains on the learning.
Differentiation: A differentiated curriculum is a programme of activities that offers a variety of entry points for students who differ in abilities, knowledge and skills. In a differentiated curriculum teachers offer different approaches to what students learn (content), how students learn (process) and how students demonstrate what they have learned (product).
Mr Warwick Norman
Junior School Dean of Teaching & Learning
