Increasing student participation in class. 'Like most, I started out teaching the way I was taught. By Friday afternoon, I had decided the approach that worked so well for my professors was not going to work for me.' [Recent Items]
10:24:39 PM    

Encouraging student participation in discussion. Students' enthusiasm, involvement, and willingness to participate affect the quality of class discussion as an opportunity for learning. Your challenge is to engage all students, keep them talking to each other about the same topic, and help them develop insights into the material. Two common forms of quasi discussion are quiz shows (where the teacher has the right answers) and bull sessions (characterized by cliches, stereotypes, empty generalizations, lack of standards for judging opinions, and aimless talking). [Recent Items]
10:18:09 PM    

VCAL Changing Lanes - A Case Study.

The Dusseldorp Skills Forum has made available a case study report that details the ways in which many schools are developing applied learning initiatives to address the needs of students.

The report states:

The introduction of VCAL has provided a challenge to schools and teachers to rethink how schools are placed in their communities and how to deliver a curriculum that meets the needs of all students in the community. To deliver VCAL teachers have had to engage in activities that transcend the boundaries of the classroom and draw on the resources of the local community, agencies, Adult Community Education (ACE), TAFE, parents and local business.

We recommend this to members and stakeholders that have an interest in VCAL or more generally in applied learning.

A copy of the report can be downloaded from here [1.2MB]

Related Links:

• Central Ranges Applied Learning Network [CRALN]
•  Discussion Forum for CRALN [Login required]
• Community Based VCAL
• School Based New Apprenticeship Alliance

[Central Ranges LLEN News]
10:10:03 PM    

Youth Engagement Forum Hits the Mark....

Well over 100 participants [including six from the Central Ranges LLEN area] gathered at the Western Bulldogs clubrooms at the Whitten Oval in Footscray on Friday the 18th of August for the State-wide Youth Engagement Forum supported by Local Learning Networks across the state.

The forum had a two-fold purpose , firstly as a forum for Community VCAL practitioners, managers and stakeholders who collaborate to create alternative and engaging education programs for young people who are disengaged from mainstream schooling.

Secondly, it was about focusing on Youth Commitments. This was for LLEN members and stakeholders interested in establishing a collaborative regional approach to sharing responsibility for ensuring that all young people are supported to attain Year 12 or an equivalent qualification.

An outstanding example of the power of this work was presented in the case study from the Grampians by Regional Director of Education, Mr. Malcolm Millar.

Two years in the making, the Youth Options Guarantee is an initiative of the Grampians Education Partnership and will result in a seamless referral and support service to help young people at risk of disconnecting from education and training.

To read the full report, and to download a full outline and presentation of the Youth Options Guarantee, please follow this link.

 

[Central Ranges LLEN News]
8:59:13 AM    

MCEETYA approves national Statements of Learning. MCEETYA Ministers have approved the release of the national Statements of Learning for English, Mathematics, Science, Civics and Citizenship, and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) as a a means of achieving greater national consistency in curriculum outcomes across the eight States and Territories. It was agreed that Statements of Learning would describe essential skills, knowledge, understandings and capacities that all young Australians should have the opportunity to learn by the end of years 3, 5, 7 and 9, and it was proposed that, once completed, the Statements and their Professional Elaborations should be used by States and Territories' departments or curriculum authorities (their primary audience) to guide the future development of relevant curriculum documents. [EdNA Home Page Headlines]
8:57:17 AM    

School of life for Year 9. Middle year students in Victoria are taking part in programs that take them out of school and into the community, and may be able to attend campuses targetted to their special needs. These days year 9 is no longer about rigid timetables, conventional classrooms and textbooks as Melbourne schools embrace an innovative trend of opening campuses dedicated solely to this class. The aim is to foster self-management and personal-development skills at an age when students may become disengaged. The Age, 21 August 2006 [EdNA Home Page Headlines]
8:56:24 AM    

Teacher joins exodus for better pay. A news story about a young Australian maths and science teacher who is about to leave Australia to take up a teaching position in London. His departure and that of thousands of other teachers each year has led to calls by Labor backbencher Craig Emerson for a model that would allow all state school principals to pay teachers more money for good performance instead of seniority. The Australian, 21 August 2006 [Recent Items]
8:50:04 AM    

VCAL changing lanes: case study. The Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) was developed to meet the learning and educational needs of young people who have limited or poor outcomes from post compulsory education. The Dusseldorp Skills Forum has made available a case study report that details the ways in which many schools are developing applied learning initiatives to address the needs of this group of students. DSF, 21 August 2006 [EdNA Home Page Headlines]
8:48:30 AM