New course to help educators pursue evidence-based approaches to school transformation

School leaders have an opportunity to learn the secrets behind successfully transforming a school, as part of a new course being offered by The Academy for the Science of Instruction.

Leading School Transformation: Using an Evidence-based Approach is a professional learning workshop designed for school leaders and emerging leaders who are seeking a deeper understanding of the science of learning and how to apply evidence-based insights to improve teaching to enhance student outcomes across their schools.

Course convenor Georgie Wynne said the two-day workshop was aimed at principals, deputy principals, and other aspiring leaders, including literacy leaders, who wanted to strengthen their approach to school improvement by leveraging the lessons learned from schools that have embarked on successful transformations.

“Embarking on a school-wide project to overhaul approaches to teaching and learning can be one of the most ambitious challenges a school leader takes on,” said Ms Wynne.

“There can be barriers – such as when teachers have been doing things a certain way for a long time and are resistant to change – so building a healthy collaborative school culture and bringing people along in the journey is important.

“Also, knowing what to focus on, where to start and the right work to pursue based on the evidence can be confronting but it is a critical component of a successful school improvement plan.”

The two-day face-to-face workshops will be held in Brisbane (October 9-10), Perth (October 16-17), and Melbourne (October 23-24) and will cover topics including:

·       Leading school transformation

·       The core challenge to improving student outcomes in Australia

·       Actions of high-performing schools in relation to the Leadership for Learning Framework

·       Pre-conditions for school transformation and cultivating cultures for collaboration

·       Frameworks that provide a systematic approach to leading school transformation and prioritising actions that lead to improved student outcomes

·       The evidence underpinning the scientific evidence behind learning, including the Science of Reading

·       Implications for leading instruction, and decision-making for whole-school approaches

·       The ‘Response to Intervention’ model: Curriculum architecture for data-based decision-making, targeted teaching, monitoring student progress and assessment.

Each workshop will also feature a school leader as a guest speaker to share their story of school transformation using a strategic evidence-based approach, including opportunities for questions and answers.

“There can be a lot of pressure on school leaders to get things right so being able to learn from someone who has been there before – what worked for them, what they might do differently in hindsight – is extremely valuable,” Ms Wynne said.

Course participants will also have an opportunity to develop an action plan as a starting point for their own school transformation, including mapping out the next steps based on an analysis of their particular school context.

Leading School Transformation: Using an Evidence-based Approach is the latest course offered by The Academy, which launched earlier this year in response to a need for evidence-based education for teachers.