Birchip P-12 School:
A Mindful School guided by
Powerful Learning Strategies
Introduction and
Context
Changing culture as well
as practice
Birchip P-12 School is a welcoming
hub in a rural community located
approximately 320 km northwest of
Melbourne, on the southern edge of
the Mallee.
The school serves the town of
Birchip and surrounding farms,
around 1500 residents in total. The
student population is currently 238
and becoming more diverse as
families with Maori, Philipino, Fijian,
Indian and Nigerian backgrounds
move into the area.
The school has a clearly stated
purpose of ensuring that they:
…develop in students a passion
for learning and an awareness
that learning continues
throughout life whilst embracing
the needs of our environment
and changing technologies.
They aim to develop all aspects of a
person (social, emotional, physical
and academic) as well as ensuring
that their students are literate and
numerate. They do this by aiming to
provide,
…a caring and challenging
learning environment that equips
children with the necessary skills
and knowledge to become
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valued members of the
community’.
Involvement with families in the area
begins at birth when a ‘welcoming
book’ is sent to the home of each of
the town’s newborns.
Prior to school enrolment, families
are invited to fortnightly sessions in
the school library that includes
reading to and with children. Once a
term, musicians expand this
program through song and music.
John Richmond is the passionate
and spirited principal of this learning
community. He has been at the
school since 1977, and principal
since 2007. He knows and
understands the community well
having grown up in the area.
John and his assistant principal
Eileen have both been very active in
and committed to researching and
designing the multi-faceted, multidimensional Birchip Powerful
Learning Framework.
experiences. This last point is
picked up by one of the students:
The development of this framework
has been informed by many
considerations, research and
publications including:
Birchip teachers are proud of the
positive educational environment
they have created, which allows
teachers, as well as students, to
flourish. As one staff member
describes:
1. Regional priorities, particularly
the Northern Metropolitan
Region’s Powerful Learning
publication;
2. The DEECD e5 instructional
model and associated materials;
3. Research on metacognition and
higher order thinking;
4. A range of different ‘theories of
learning’;
5. Thinking concepts and
frameworks such as Habits of
Mind;
6. Research and ideas around
visible learning;
7. A perceived need for increasing
problem solving and questioning
skills across the curriculum.
The teachers at Birchip praised their
principal’s ability to ‘read’ what was
presented by various consultants,
the region and DEECD, and to sift
out what he believed would be a
good fit and ‘of benefit to students
and staff’.
Both John and Eileen remain active
and connected to the classroom,
John teaching Mathematics at
various year levels and Eileen
teaching English. Both maintain a
robust research practice.
The professional culture at Birchip
P-12 is one that privileges:
conversations and care; high
expectations; open possibilities and
challenge; respect for individuality;
and, opportunities for everyone,
regardless of background or life
..the teachers have our best
interests at heart, and they try
and get the best out of us.
…if you’ve got a passion, you can
follow it, and there’s a culture of
everybody wanting to learn.
learning and student need. They try
to identify what might be the cause
of challenges, suggest solutions and
designate action.
This forum keeps staff and
leadership up to date with every
student in the school and provides
John with further evidence of each
teacher’s engagement and
perceptions. This process creates
another avenue for rich
conversations focused on continual
improvement, accountability and
active pedagogy.
Collaboration is highly valued and
appreciated here, and teachers want
to talk about each others’ strengths
and contributions.
The school also has a culture of
professional inquiry, with an
overarching question to guide data
analysis and the use of their
Powerful Learning framework:
…are we giving what the
students need?
This disarmingly simple question
keeps the focus of teaching and
learning on students and their
learning needs at Birchip.
An example of how well the school
attends to this question is the
establishment of Early Warning
forums. These are held after school
every 5 weeks and involve the
whole staff as two groups – teachers
of Primary and Secondary aged
students. During the forums, year
level leaders read out the name of
every student in their care, allowing
time for any member of staff to voice
observations that are of concern, or
particular highlights.
Forum conversations focus on what
each teacher is noticing about the
student cohort, with contextual
information such as disciplinary
How did teachers
learn about and
engage with the
model?
A commitment to learn
from and with everyone
Central to engaging with the
Powerful Learning framework has
been the need for everyone involved
to be reflective and to think deeply
about teaching, learning and being
learners.
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Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
Birchip’s use of their Powerful
Learning framework is anchored in
knowing and understanding the
students and what they aspire to for
them:
…we know the students so well
and we know what we want for
the students. We know the areas
that need attention and make
careful decisions about what
should be taught and when.
Teachers at Birchip P-12 have
ongoing access to a comprehensive
and connected range of professional
learning opportunities to deepen
their understanding and application
of the concepts and strategies within
the Powerful Learning framework.
Triad learning is focused by the
establishment of personal and team
goals, which are regularly discussed
in light of progress made.
The following examples of teachers’
personal goals show strong
alignments with the Powerful
Learning Framework:
…developing more strategic and
open-ended questions; making
learning intentions clearer; giving
students greater wait time; and
ensuring students leave sessions
clearer about and more conscious
of what they have been learning.
One of the most powerful
professional learning strategies here
has been participation in weekly,
mixed-discipline Triads by all 28
members of the teaching staff. This
is designed to promote rich, inschool collegial learning and to
encourage a diversity of
perspectives.
Via these Triads, teachers engage
in a feedback and analysis loop that
informs and progresses their
professional learning. This in turn
promotes a culture where ongoing
learning, changing, growing and
developing are at the core of how
adults learn at Birchip.
Teachers appreciate the benefits of
these triads as they ‘focus on the
fact that it’s a holistic education, not
distinct subjects of Maths, Science,
and English...’ Merrilyn, a teacher,
notes that this means, ‘we’re
teaching each other all the time.’
Within the triads, individual teachers
are able to draw on formally
structured professional learning
sessions, hands-on classroom
observation strategies, self/peer
engage with and apply what they’re
learning about concepts and
practices promoted in the
framework. These include:
reflection, student feedback and
data analysis.
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Creating a sense of shared
direction and purpose with
common areas of focus, which
school leaders clarify, promote
and support;
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Keeping administrative-focused
staff meetings short and sharp to
allow more time for professional
learning and dialogue;
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Making concerted and
coordinated efforts to capture
and analyse evidence of learner
needs and teaching impacts;
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Convening ‘Early Warning’
meetings, which focus on the
needs and progress of every
single student every five weeks;
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Negotiating individually
determined professional learning
goals with the principal;
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Providing clear and explicit
school-wide goals, with
suggested strategies, and
practical, visible outcomes, to
guide the efforts of everyone;
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Building self-organised and
focused classroom peerobservations into teachers’
allotments which are then
discussed during Triad meetings;
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Inviting three staff members each
month to present ‘Pedagogical
Snippets’ or an aspect of their
recent learning to colleagues and
how this was successfully
applied;
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Learning partnerships with
teachers from other schools are
promoted;
The 2014 School Goals also set
expectations that each teacher will:
Align their practices with the
school's agreed Powerful
Learning framework, supported
by the use of focused classroom
observations.
Detailed school support documents
provide teachers with practical and
visible outcomes related to each
school goal, suggest various
strategies to be explored, and
outline forms of evidence that would
meet expectations.
In addition to the Triads, a broad
range of other strategies also
support people to learn about,
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Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
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The principal visiting and
observing classrooms every day,
informally engaging with staff
and students and sometimes
participating in the learning;
The development of the Powerful
Learning Framework has ‘matured’
professional learning through
classroom observation and provided
a sharper focus to visits.
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Providing a ten week minimum,
one-on-one mentoring program
to support the induction and
development of all new staff;
Teachers are now increasing the
frequency of these observations,
making a commitment to undertake
five observations per term each
year. These are not timetabled – the
undertaking is left to each teacher’s
discretion. They are also exploring
new ways to enhance the
observational process and noted
that being filmed or filming peers
‘gives a new perspective’ to the
teacher as access to a view through
‘the students’ eyes’.
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Promoting a shared professional
language, based on the
framework, enabling reflection,
analysis and dialogue;
Engaging teachers in scaffolded
self and peer assessments with
an explicit focus on the desired
teaching practices articulated in
the framework; and,
Linking with annual teacher
reviews which promote evidenceinformed accountabilities tied to
the Powerful Learning
framework.
Every teacher’s review evaluates
their approach to achieving outlined
goals, with specific supporting
documentation expected. This
includes evidence of diverse forms
of student feedback being collected,
analysed, and responded to, and
completion of a self and peer
assessment scaffold.
The extensive engagement in
classroom observations, grounded
by the Powerful Learning
framework, has also provided an
evidence informed foundation for
professional conversations. Such
conversations are about ongoing
improvement and expand and
advance the next stage in each
teacher’s development cycle.
While the classroom observations
are often completed within their
triad, teachers are also encouraged
to observe a diversity of classes and
other discipline areas.
The learning culture at Birchip is
augmented by the flow of insights
and beneficial feedback that results
from every teacher’s ongoing and
ready availability for collegial
conversation.
As described by one teacher:
We know that everyone is willing
to listen, offer an idea, be
supportive.
Underpinning all of this is the Birchip
Powerful Learning Framework,
which offers a shared professional
language of powerful pedagogy and
expected teaching approaches.
The observation and peer-review
process is well regarded by staff:
We have a culture of
improvement and change. We
teach for the improvement of the
kids. These class visits and
Triads have purpose. They
develop our skills in targeted
ways.
Teachers spoke of the persistence
required to achieve their goals and
break down certain barriers as they
opened their classroom doors to one
another:
The journey has been long but
very rewarding. The process of
learning to take the ‘person’ out
of the equation and just focus on
what they saw rather than make
any assumptions was hard but
worth it. Now, the conversations
are constructive! No-one feels
threatened.
The sense of collegiality, trust and
understanding built throughout the
year ensures that triad members are
equipped to offer each other
constructive feedback and respectful
critical commentary.
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
The shared language, enabled by
the framework, has been integral to
strengthening teaching and learning
at Birchip.
Offering this broad range of
professional learning opportunities
means that people are able to learn
individually, in small groups and as
a whole staff, thus accommodating
different entry and readiness levels.
Such an approach aligns strongly
with research on effective
professional learning and has
fostered teachers’ commitment to
their own learning:
…we’re always expanding our
thinking and seeking to enrich
our context, by seeing the links
between all aspects of the
school.
The concepts and practices
promoted by the framework can now
be found in use during lessons in
classrooms, with and between
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students, between teachers, during
formal and informal conversations,
present in most aspects of staff
professional learning.
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How does the model
inform the way
teachers at the
school work?
Teachers as continual
learners – students want
to be challenged
Birchip sees value in offering a
breadth of subjects, which are often
‘tailor-made’ to meet the needs of
the students and context. They see
students:
…as partners in learning and
assessment, [who] need to be
reflective and aware of what
success looks like.
A student offers their own take on
learning at the school by way of a
provocation:
If we’re not challenged, we don’t
learn.
The Powerful Learning Framework
continues to inform the way that
teachers at Birchip:
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Create and use planning
documents;
Develop highly flexible and
responsive timetables around
student needs and interests;
Identify learning intentions and
success criteria;
Design and enable ‘rich tasks’;
Formulate strategies for
targeted engagement;
Choose what to teach explicitly;
Develop and employ strategic
questioning practices;
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Promote higher order thinking
practices and skills;
Prompt reflective practices in
both teacher and learner;
Engage in collaborative learning
processes;
Develop and enable effective
forms of feedback; and,
Develop and promote analytical
strategies and skills.
There is a deep commitment from
teachers to expanding the ways by
which every student’s learning
needs are catered for and to
ensuring that they have a voice in
their own education.
Teachers describe how students are
consulted through varied means to:
‘…find out what they want. We
then look at what we can offer,
we consider what teachers’
allotments can be, then from
there the timetable gets
designed. We don’t say, ‘here’s
the timetable, now pick and
choose!’ We are very much
student-centred in how we go
about things.’
Seeking student voice through
formal and informal conversations
begins early in their education. A
student shared:
We really get to have a say!
Through the Student Board and
other chats with the teachers, we
can tell the school what subjects
we want and if we would like
changes made in the grounds.
We’ve come up with subjects like
‘Lifeskills’, where we learn
everyday, but important, stuff like
how to change a tyre, sew
buttons onto a coat, simple but
important, practical things. Soon
we’re going to have Ancient
History.
Eileen, the assistant principal,
emphasised that students were
highly appreciative when teachers
shared their passions during these
new Units as their modelling of
being an active and enthusiastic
learner themselves had a profound
effect on students’ enagement with
the new Units.
An example offered was a unit of
work that explored the concept of
‘Flight’. A teacher with a keen
interest in aeronautics structured a
semester of rich-tasks and
interdisciplinary learning around this
concept. They combined both
AusVELS requirements with their
rich life experience to make the Unit
more relevant and real for students.
Students developed a holistic
understanding of flight through
Science, English, Maths, History
and Physics-based investigations,
looking at the history and physics of
flight, hot air balloons, navigation
and much more.
Students also had the opportunity to
go on a commercial flight and meet
a light-aircraft pilot who gave them a
memorable perspective of their
farms and the surrounding area.
A teacher described the flexible
ways in which teachers work at
Birchip P-12, collaborating with and
supporting each other across
disciplines, ‘and that’s what makes
teaching at Birchip really
interesting.’
This flexibility in how teachers
collaborate across disciplines has
had a significant impact on student
learning and students’ capacity to
better understand and observe
interconnections.
Collaborative design of Units that
emerge from the ideas of staff and
students ensure a dynamic design
process that draws upon the
expertise of staff working in a range
of disciplines while also being
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Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
considerate of students, their needs
and their input. The Powerful
Learning Framework informs both
the design and teaching approaches
employed in each Unit of work.
Another example offered was one
where students initiated the
development of a new Unit.
Students expressed interest in
psychology and active engagement
in sports which led to the
development of the ‘Improving
Performance’ unit. The Psychology
teacher approached the PE teacher
and together they structured a new
Unit that delved into the theory of
sports psychology for improved
performance.
Teachers were then guided by
students’ feedback as the course
was developed and enacted, and
consequently achieved a high level
of student participation and
collaborative learning.
Using principles introduced through
the unit - such as sports psychology
and physical coaching - students
organised and ran a basketball
competition as an application of their
learning. Numerous strategies from
the Powerful Learning Framework
are in evidence in this example.
The school offers a personalised
learning schedule for every student
in the Year 9/10 group, which also
enables differentiation.
ensures a breadth of relevant, selfinitiated choices for students.
A teacher explains that,
…there is no set framework for
the design of these elective
subjects. We are a non-text-book
school so it comes from a
backwards design. We start at
the end, looking at the key skills,
knowledge and understandings
we want the students to develop,
and we plan backwards from
there.
We source a great variety of
texts, we talk to each other and
bring in other teachers’ expertise.
It’s about being creative, listening
and talking, and the shared staff
room really helps with this.
The methodical collection and
analysis of diverse student learning
data informs teachers along with the
Powerful Learning Framework.
class:
… they cover key concepts,
equipping them with skills and
confidence so they are better
able to keep up, so we don’t lose
anyone in the learning.
At the same time, teachers respond
to students’ need for greater
challenge, offering opportunities for
extensions or enrichment tasks.
For example, a small group of Year
8 students have been able to join a
Year 9/10 English class where there
is a strong focus on conversation
and analysis of text through groupwork.
As a result, these students have
expanded their appreciation of
diverse opinions, developed
strategies for communication and
problem solving, and experienced
progression in learning through
different stages of school.
Differentiated learning opportunities
are provided in a very personalised
way at Birchip and teachers report
immediate and long-term growth, as
students progress to readily
participate in everyday learning
activities.
One student shared their view that:
As a result of the Early Warning
Forums, individual students are
targeted to work one-on-one with a
staff member either during or before
The Birchip framework both informs
and is in evidence in such resources
as: unit plans, rubrics and
templates; student research models;
…enrichment programs should
be for everyone, so that
everyone is always doing their
best, being challenged, going
further.
After drafting of the schedule,
students can have conversations
with the coordinating teacher,
Andrew, where alternative options,
learning interests, and suggestions
for beneficial subject inclusions are
discussed. Again, this exemplifies
the central principles articulated in
the Powerful Learning Framework.
This approach, along with the
biennial cycle for elective subjects,
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Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
strategies for developing students’
open-ended questions and problem
solving skills; feedback templates;
and open-ended, critical thinking
activities.
What has been the
impact of engaging
with the model?
More mindful practice
As a result of enacting the Powerful
Learning Framework, there is now
greater consistency across the
school, as common pedagogies,
teaching strategies, scaffolds and
associated tools and resources are
used to progress student learning.
The framework has also guided the
exploration of new concepts, and
supported deeper dialogue, analysis
and understanding. This has created
a strong sense of continuity and
connectedness in the school.
which can be so demoralising for
students.
Now I include pre and post-tests,
assessment AS learning, and
look at measurable growth over a
period of time. Lessons are
largely student driven, with
investigations in which students
extend past knowledge through
activities involving application,
analysis and observation.
I’m aware of the language I use
that helps students learn, and
while differentiation is a work in
progress, it’s improving!
Teachers described how:
…the focus is now on pedagogy
and as a result, is a lot more
productive and constructive. We
can readily ask, ‘how did it go
when you tried xyz…talking
about pedagogy is now a norm,
where in the past it was a foreign
concept that we often moved
away from.
The development of a common
language for learning has been a
strategic enabler for teachers and
students across the school and a
significant impact of developing the
Powerful Learning framework.
I evaluated students’ work rather
than involving them in self and
peer assessments. I focused on
students getting it right or wrong,
not their observable growth from
beginning to the end of a unit,
The design of more open-ended
activities with an emphasis on
higher order thinking as each ‘task’
progresses means that teachers are
better enabling differentiated
learning opportunities at each stage
of students’ learning development.
Students have clearly developed a
language of learning which they
revealed through their reflections on
what ‘good teachers’ do:
Good teachers give us
challenges, and gradually
increase the challenges. If they
go too fast or skip things, we get
lost, and bored if it is too slow or
repetitive.
A younger student, offered her point
of view:
A good teacher… they help and
respect you, give you support to
learn, but not give you the
answers. They are fun and urge
you to keep trying. They listen to
what you want to say, and give
you time to state your reasons.
A teacher of Middle and Senior
school students describes how her
practice has shifted and evolved:
(Previously), I taught content,
provided the theory and talked
for the majority of the class! I
wondered why students had
difficulties explaining and
justifying concepts.
of learning through their work across
different age groups. Collaborations
with teachers working in different
year levels have enabled them to
better understand the learning
trajectories of students’
development.
Teachers now think about the social
context of learning in addition to
what is important for students to
learn. They aspire to provide
relevant challenges to all students
and facilitate a process that ‘brings
out more of the student’.
Teachers also expressed a greater
sense of clarity regarding the
context, continuity, and progression
And that’s to do with school or
anything - like explain why you
were late or whatever. They don’t
assume things, they don’t think
they know everything. A good
teacher will let us do things
ourselves, try different things. A
good teacher gives you
pathways to the answer.
The Powerful Learning Framework
has provided teachers with a design
and reflection lens that is in use
every day:
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Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
We have developed a common
language, our understanding of
students’ needs has changed.
learning for staff, resulting in deeper
learning for students.
A teacher gives an example:
An experienced teacher notes how
her practices have developed and
strengthened over time:
I didn’t scaffold well enough, but
now I identify ‘difficult’ tasks and
teach strategies to work through
these. I teach strategies for
improved thinking skills.
Correspondingly, a student
expresses their appreciation of how:
…teachers introduce new
thinking all the time. They push
you to go one step further and
you see how many possible
ways there are to do things. We
are confident that the teachers
will help us, so we can ask
questions and it’s ok not to
understand.
The ethos of care, knowing students
and listening to their voices
continues to shape the vision, work
and learning of teachers at Birchip:
… We have developed our
perspective of students and
school, are determined to help
each student develop life-skills,
to be independent and capable
beyond their time at Birchip. We
aim for every student to be
reflective and focus on what is
required for success, to feel and
be employable, to see the value
in work, to develop a work ethic.
If we are to break a ‘povertycycle’, with long term
unemployment present in the
community, we need to reassess our own position.
Teachers described how increased
role clarity and opportunities for
professional conversations across
the school had led to significant
…last year, we all sat together
and rigorously went through what
we think we should teach at each
level, looking at the starting point
and end points, with clarity of
purpose. We question ourselves
and ask ‘are we giving what the
kids need, are we holding any
back?’ We want our kids to be
thinkers, we try and get them
away from the memory stuff.
Students are also increasingly
involved in assessment design and
reflecting on the process of learning.
They are positioned as partners in
the learning process and teachers
value being able to learn from the
input and feedback that students
offer.
This teacher offered by way of
example how Mathematics was
being approached this year:
We are emphasising problemsolving, higher order thinking,
and embedding the language of
powerful learning, while allowing
for diversity of capacities and
extension of capabilities. We
don’t follow AusVELS to a ‘tee’,
we always consider our
knowledge of the kids.
More rigorous collection and
analysis of student data now
underpin teaching and learning.
Teachers reported better
understanding learner needs and
the impacts of specific teaching
practices on student learning.
Practices such as presenting clear
learning intentions and success
criteria to their classes, explicitly
teaching targeted concepts and
utilising language associated with
‘higher order thinking’ are
increasingly a part of all teachers’
repertoires.
School leaders have been
encouraging, and are now seeing a
greater inclusion of formative
assessment strategies in teachers
practice. This includes use of
existing summative assessment
strategies in a more formative way.
Teachers value assessment as
learning practices because they
believe these better reflect their
ethos of care and attention for every
individual’s needs and potential:
‘…now we teach through the
content, not to it, via strategies
we have developed and in ways
that will improve outcomes.
Everything is seen in context’.
What might other
schools learn from
the Birchip P-12
College experience?
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Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
A multi-dimensional and
holistic approach to
teaching and learning
The team at Birchip are united in
their motivation to provide the best
opportunities for the students in their
care, with the knowledge that strong
teaching and learning outcomes are
founded on a sense of wellbeing
and belonging.
As a champion of innovation, John,
the principal, has galvanised his
staff to experiment and take risks
with their practice, so that they
experience and see benefits in their
personal and professional growth.
Such encouragement and trust has
led to ongoing improvements in
teacher practice, enhanced student
learning outcomes and stronger
community participation.
or judgement eases the anxiety
that was initially present.’
John makes it clear that he sees
these visits as a learning opportunity
for everyone, where he can
familiarise himself with the many
and varied activities within the
school, while having informal
conversations with staff and
students. This in turn informs his
own leadership practice.
While the staff readily acknowledge
John’s leadership strengths, it is
significant to note that he identified
the careful selection of an effective
team of leaders and teachers as a
vital factor in Birchip’s success.
Their skills and prior work
experience contribute to the
liveliness of the learning community,
which in turn has significantly
broadened the opportunities offered
to students.
One of the teachers noted how
important the principal and his clarity
and consistency of vision were to
the process of engaging with,
understanding and applying the
ideas and strategies in the Powerful
Learning Framework:
When recruiting new staff, John
goes to great lengths to ensure that:
Daily classroom visits by the
principal helped to create an open
culture for learning. John has
carefully observed his staff and the
students’ responses to these new
ways of teaching and participated in
classroom activities.
…nothing comes as a surprise
for the interviewee. Two to three
days prior to the interview, the
applicant receives the questions
they will be asked…We want
them to present in the best
possible way.
‘…no longer surprised or feel
scrutinised as the positives are
drawn out, and the realisation
that it is not a process of criticism
The school regards students’ access
to a range of curriculum options that
expand perspectives beyond
AusVELS, as a critical factor to
achieving their key goals.
Having developed strategies to
support such options, while
maintaining a firm focus on higher
order thinking, problem solving, and
targeted explicit teaching, the school
proudly states,
Here, We think!
Empowering all staff to have a voice
through formal and informal
structures, while continually seeking
authentic and well-informed student
voice, have been twin imperatives to
the successful Birchip learning
community.
A young teacher explains,
He has a strong belief, real
conviction. We understood that
the concepts and strategies were
not just coming and going.’
A cultural shift has occurred as
teachers and students are:
We want to see that they are the
type of person willing and
interested in participating beyond
‘requirements’, someone who is
willing to go out of their comfort
zone and go the extra mile. We
employ the person, not the
teacher.
Another member of the selection
panel explains that:
Honesty and altruism are highly
valued; we enquire about the
applicant’s passions and
community involvement.
I knew I would have the support
from teaching staff at Birchip P12 having done a professional
placement here and witnessing
the triads and other professional
learning meetings.
In this tight-knit, relatively isolated
town, John has also created an
environment, ethos and impetus for
connections to be fostered between
Birchip P-12 and the broader
community.
Various individuals, groups,
businesses and other educational
establishments see great value in
maintaining a link with this outwardlooking, forward-moving school.
Several Birchip Alumni provide
valuable sponsorship for end of year
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Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
celebrations acknowledging
students’ personal and academic
growth and community participation.
They share the respect they have
for their own experience of learning
at the school.
Teachers at Birchip – especially
those teaching VCE – are
encouraged and supported to form
learning partnerships with teachers
from other schools in the region.
Teachers share data, moderate
student work samples, and evaluate
and reflect on best practice
measures, as a means to progress
teachers’ and students’ learning in
each of the schools.
In terms of his own leadership, John
models the value of working
collaboratively with peers. On a daily
basis, he communicates with a
colleague at a Secondary School,
discussing ideas and concerns,
offering and considering solutions,
and supporting in-context
innovation.
John’s personal research has been
critical to nurturing his own and the
Birchip team’s learning. This has
helped him keep up-to-date with
innovative strategies and
contemporary pedagogy.
understanding of individual contexts
and related needs, while modelling
the school’s philosophy in the way
he works.
John ensures that all staff members
have ready access to learning tools,
resources, and professional
learning. He also provides frequent
opportunities for them to voice ideas
or concerns and to act on their
ideas.
A student, sharing her perceptions
of change at the school, picked up
on what this philosophy and the
Powerful Learning Framework mean
in action:
With recent changes to the local
community as a result of new
arrivals from overseas, the Birchip
team see a need to be nimble and
responsive. They are active in
equipping themselves with new
learning and strategies in order to
support any student that joins their
community.
John’s foundational principle of care
is evident in the ways he
communicates. Whether he is lightheartedly - yet persuasively reminding students of school
expectations or offering an attentive
ear when they share their personal
concerns, he demonstrates his
Teachers here are organised and
obviously communicate with
each other across year levels
and subjects, because it’s
unusual that we repeat things.
This also helps the teachers
understand us as students, and
how we like to learn best.
We can see that the teachers are
making changes to how they
teach, more with what works for
us, like they are really trying to
get more discussion happening.
We know we have a role to play,
and we should contribute to class
when the teacher asks for our
opinions, because they really
care.’
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Department of Education and Early Childhood Development