Getting down to the details of our PLCs

Professional Learning Communities

#1    100 Languages

This fascinating group is exploring at the outset what the children in their classes understand by the phrase “100 Languages”. What a great start, pedagogically, in going to the children first!

As a sidelight discussion, Ms Battifuoco was telling us how in their double class with Mr De Palma they had minimised their “mat time” in favour of brief instructions to the class, the use of “flipping” content upfront and also breaking the class into multiple groups to enhance the opportunities for hearing different student voices. Moreover, because the teachers cannot be present in each group, strategic placement of students is being made. That is, some children are empowered to be lead learners

Watch this space as I will keep you up to date on how their investigation unfolds.

#2     iBooks

This group is collaborating on the project of creating one Whole-School iBook.

In contributing to the production of this group, the participants are gaining skills which will enable them to author their own iBooks in the future

#3     Ecological Conversion/Recycling

This group is considering how we can re-start our efforts to recycle materials and to integrate this with our STEAM program as we design, construct and appraise our work

#4     Documentation and Learning Design

This group is building on our understanding of the significance of prior learning informing future learning Documentation is a reflective process, a pedagogical practice that provides multiple insights into children’s thinking and engagement, as well as the teachers’ thinking.

“The motivation to document children’s learning should be about wanting to know more and to engage in critical reflection and debate to comprehend and unravel the wonders of children’s thinking and the complexity and inter connectedness that is the fabric of early childhood and education.”

This is a very exciting group and we are hoping to follow through from our recent professional learning with Kirsty Liljegren and Fiona Zinn. We are anxious to share this learning across the school and as we look forward to the Conference in November we want to build our capabilities in these Potential roles of Documentation

• Documentation as Professional Development • Documentation as Progettazione
• Documentation as Communication

#5     Fitness and Well-being

One direction being taken by this group is adopting the notion of “Language of the Fortnight” currently used in our school and applying it to a concept of “Multi-Cultural Games of the Fortnight”. In this way we will diversify the play options available to children in the play area of the school:

• The oval
• The hard surface playground
• The fixed play equipment
• The Centre (The multi-purpose space housing a prayerful space, Spanish and a Reception Class
• The Library
• The Hall

#6    The STEAM Group

This group is getting down to the nitty gritty of how we pitch STEAM to the children R-7. Some classes use whole class activities and some like to offer a range of activities