All In – No Gaps

This is not the ultimate end goal, but it is our focus for classroom instruction by the end of Term 2.

As we continue to pursue excellence across the College, and through this, excellence in student learning outcomes, two key priorities are guiding our teacher professional learning this semester. We are working to ensure that all students are fully participating in lessons, and that we are consistently checking for understanding to identify and close gaps in learning, knowledge or skill development.

Throughout Term 1, our focus has been on building full participation in every classroom. This means creating learning environments where every student is thinking, every student responding and every student is engaged in learning. Practice tactics such as ‘think pair share’, the use of mini whiteboards and whole class questioning are being used to ensure that all students are actively involved and accountable for their learning.

At the end of Term 1, staff engaged in a dedicated professional learning day with Dr Nathaniel Swain, focused on building trust through high expectations, participation and responsive teaching. Throughout the day, teachers explored how checking for understanding strengthens student engagement and achievement, experienced these strategies as learners, and worked within their Learning Areas to plan how they would embed these practices into their Term 2 units.

As we move into Term 2, we are building on this foundation through a focus on ‘Checking for Understanding’. At its core, this work is grounded in a simple but powerful idea -

If we don’t check, we don’t close gaps.

The focus here is for teachers to be continually gathering information during lessons about what students know, understand and can do. This allows them to identify misunderstandings, misconceptions or missing skills in real time and respond accordingly. This might involve revisiting a concept, prompting deeper thinking, or providing further practice to support students before moving forward.

This work sits within our broader commitment to our College Instructional Framework, and aligns with our ongoing focus on curriculum development and instructional design. By strengthening these core teaching practices, we are building greater consistency across classrooms and ensuring that learning is both engaging and effective.

Ultimately, our aim is to ensure that every student is actively involved in their learning and supported to grow in confidence, understanding and achievement!

Jemma Morris

Director of Staff Development