2013 Annual Review

GENERAL REPORT MR TRENT DRIVER DEAN OF ACADEMIC DEVELOPMENT

as teachers promote the depth and breadth of the learning experiences of our students? In other words, how is the quality of what teachers are doing, extending the opportunities and improving the outcomes for the girls they interact with? For Girls Grammar (as it should be for any educational institution) there exists no higher moral purpose. In all curriculum contexts Brisbane Girls Grammar is in the enviable position of being able to foster best practice in teaching and learning. It has a track record and culture of excellence in student achievement, and a philosophy that supports teachers in creating the ideal conditions whereby students can flourish. The ability of the School to say to its teachers, and as singer Lindsey Buckingham would urge, to ‘go your own way’, is as true now as it has always been. The experiences of our current student cohort, and those cohorts to come, will benefit from the School’s propensity to apply educational policy frameworks in a manner befitting our aspirations of exceptional scholarship.

The continual evolution of quality approaches to teaching and learning is now (as it should be) a regulatory requirement. The integrated approach to professional development and critical reflection on their own practice by teachers at Girls Grammar has made collaboration to find better ways of doing things in classrooms the status quo. Across 2013 teachers learned from each other in formal and informal environments, in workshops run by their peers or through observations of each other in classes. In different Faculties teachers broke down the walls between rooms and combined classes, working together and learning from each other’s different approaches. Similarly in our virtual spaces, teachers from across Faculties developed online learning courses used by students across subjects and year levels. Collaborative practices of these types are what Dr Ben Jensen argues are the most influential in promoting the quality of teaching in a school (Jensen & Reichl, 2011). In reviewing all of this professional learning, and as teachers reflecting on and evaluating our work, the School asks us to return to a central question: How do the practices we develop

REFERENCES Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). (2012). Australian Teacher Performance and Development Framework. Melbourne: AITSL. Australian Institute of Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). (2011). Australian Professional Standards for Teachers. Melbourne: AITSL. Jensen, B., & Reichl, J. (2011). Better Teacher Appraisal and Feedback: Improving Performance . Melbourne: Grattan Institute. Masters, G. (2012). National School Improvement Tool . Melbourne: Australian Council of Educational Research. Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs. (2008). Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians . Canberra.

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BRISBANE GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL 2013 Annual Review