Teachers Teaching Teachers

One of the powerful instruction tools teachers use in their classrooms is peer learning. Research shows that students learn very effectively from other students. Likewise, teachers learn very effectively from other teachers. For this reason, our professional development meeting this week was a peer learning opportunity.

Collaboration is one of the real-world skills valued by the school and community at large. It is one of Santa Maria College’s Connecting Learning to Life attributes. But how do we teach collaboration in the classroom? And how can we improve our practice in this area?

On Monday afternoon our teachers were divided into mixed-faculty area groups. Each group had five presenters who showcased an activity, program or assessment where collaboration was used effectively. They also showcased examples of creativity and critical thinking in the classroom.

There were some very impressive presentations. Physical Education presented their SEPEP (Sport Education in Physical Education Program) which prepares students for the management skills needed in community sport and life generally.

Art shared their Term 1 Year 8 program called A Head Above, where students are designing incredible-looking masks to be featured in a performance piece created collaboratively.  This program showcases the staff’s wonderful creativity but also skills they attained over the COVID experience.

These were just two of the enormous range of presentations that got teachers talking and thinking about their own practice.

Santa Maria has beautiful facilities, however; our biggest asset is our staff. Teachers again demonstrated how fortunate our students are to have such innovative and committed teachers.