Quality teaching in the middle years

The new strategy, Our middle years learners: engaged, resilient, successful: an education strategy for years 5–9 in NSW, 2006–2009, was launched at the Middle years: engage, connect, create conference held on 11 and 12 October at Brighton-le-Sands.
The Middle years strategy has three goals:

The strategy (https://www.det.nsw.edu.au/media/downloads/newsroom/yr2006/oct/middleyrs.pdf) outlines 48 key actions that can be taken to support students in Years 5–9, particularly during their transition from primary to secondary school. The Australian Government Quality Teacher Program (AGQTP) in NSW supports this strategy through a number of activities. The following sessions, demonstrating Quality teaching through action learning as a model for professional learning, were presented as workshops at the middle years conference:

Lesson study – a model for building a continuum of learning across the middle years
Writing in the middle years
A model for middle schools in professional learning and quality teaching
Literacy in the middle years of schooling.

Quality teaching action learning

School-based action learning is based on the following principles:

a small team of teachers focusing on a professional learning issue or challenge that matters (to them)

distributed leadership (members of the action learning team)

sharing expertise through collaborative project-based learning

cycles of inquiry – planning, action, discussion, reflection and celebration

earning partnerships within and beyond the school

evaluation of the professional learning.

If you plan to conduct action learning in your school, the following resources published on the Quality teaching action learning (QTAL) web site http://www.qtp.nsw.edu.au/qtal may interest you.

Teachers as learners is the evaluation of the Quality teaching action learning 2003–2004 activity.

Evaluative inquiry into the sustainability of professional learning through school-based action learning documents the factors affecting the sustainability of school-based action learning projects.

Action learning: what works? is an evaluation report of the Quality teaching action learning 2004–2005 project.

Quality teaching action learning: classroom and assessment practices reflection journal provides useful proformas and guidelines for reflection on professional teaching practice.