Teaching and Learning Report

By Director of Teaching and Learning, Mrs Julia Petrov

Review and reflection of the remote learning

One universal truth about remote learning is that it has been a unique experience for all involved. Every student’s home circumstance has presented a different learning environment with various distractions and temptations not found in a traditional classroom. A student’s individual attitude and aptitude to learning also influences the experience. This has meant our boys have returned with a broad range of feelings about their remote learning experience.

Now we are all back in the classroom, it is a good time for each student to reflect on his learning over the term and consider the following questions.

1. Have I acted upon the feedback my teachers have provided me?

Feedback has been presented in a number of ways over the period of remote learning. Often through SIMON and Teams as well as any number of other software providers like Education Perfect and Edrolo. As many teachers would attest, the most valuable feedback we provide is live in the classroom – sometimes just with our eyebrows! Boys should now identify the key elements of feedback teachers made over the period of remote learning and apply them to their ongoing work. Now is also the time to make the most of the teacher’s direct feedback in the classroom.

2. Have I any outstanding work that is still required of me?

Over the period of remote learning each subject set weekly tasks to provide the boys with some flexibility and agency in their schoolwork. While time was provided during set class time to complete the work, some of the work could be done out of school time. This is particularly true for the work requirements of senior classes. There will be some work that has not been submitted by the due date and the boy has simply missed the opportunity to complete that work. In other cases, again particularly for senior students, there will be outstanding work that will need to be completed in order to show the skills and knowledge required to meet the coursework requirements. It has been encouraging to see how many boys are working with their teachers to address their outstanding work requirements. In this last week, boys should ask their teachers for clarification of what work is still required of them.

3. Am I where my teachers expect me to be?

Boys can request individual conferences with their teachers. They can use email and the Teams chat function to contact their teachers or simply catch them at the end of a lesson. It is important that boys have a clear understanding of how they are tracking in terms of their acquisition of knowledge and skills in each subject. We find that some boys overestimate the amount of work they have done and underestimate the work that needs to be done to satisfactorily meet all the outcomes of each subject, particularly in VCE Units One and Three.

We have extended Term 2 into Week 11 is so we can spend more time with our students. Please encourage your son to review and reflect on his learning over the period of remote learning and to work with his teachers to ensure he has a clear understanding of what he has done well and what he needs to work on.