Southern Cross PS:
Using e5 as conceptual guide
May 2014
Introduction and
Context
numerous personal and
interpersonal behaviours that were
getting in the way of learning.
A highly diverse
community of learners
She recognised that these
behaviours needed to be addressed
before there was any chance of
productive academic learning. To
that end, she began introducing
programs that focused on children’s
social-emotional learning and their
readiness and capability to learn
together in a supportive learning
environment. In conversation, Averil
drew her long term goal for
Southern Cross along an 8 year
timeline with the following schoolwide initiatives highlighted:
Southern Cross Primary School is
situated in the South Eastern suburb
of Endeavour Hills, 50km from
Melbourne. It is a diverse
community catering for 180 children,
42 different nationalities and a high
turn-over of immigrant families who
move in and out of the area. Many
students begin at the school with
little or no English, necessitating a
need to modify teaching approaches
in order to give them the best
possible opportunity to learn.
Averil Nunn, the principal, is in her
tenth year at the school. When
Averil first arrived, she observed
Restorative justice ⇒ Tribes ⇒
Circle Time ⇒ Meditation ⇒ Better
Buddies ⇒ Think Plus
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
The e5 instructional model was
introduced to Victorian principals in
2009 around the time Averil was
introducing programs such as
Restorative Justice and Tribes at
Southern Cross.
‘It came along at just the right time’
and Averil immediately saw the
potential of the domains to guide the
way she introduced and connected
their subsequent social-emotional
learning and thinking programs. The
model also offered a common
professional language for staff, to
underpin their professional learning,
as well as offering a guide for
children’s classroom learning.
When each of the above programs
or initiatives were introduced, the e5
domains guided Averil’s strategic
thinking. She modelled enactment of
each of the domains, communicated
to her staff in the language of e5 and
designed professional learning so
that they also experienced a
translation of each of the domains
into practice. She was able to
create a cascade effect from
leadership to classroom, where
everyone experienced learning in
these ways.
Subsequently, the school’s learning
environment changed from one
where a great deal of time was
spent addressing the behaviour of
the children – ‘there was a lot of
roughness in the beginning’ - to a
calm learning environment. Children
and teachers commented that the
norm here is healthy and respectful
relationships:
I’m proud of the badge I earned
in Tribes – I feel a bit more
confident and resilient now, I feel
I can get along. The 1 / 2 s look
up to me. I do feel like I am a
leader. To me, I’ve been striving
at it and being calm. You need to
show respect to teachers and
elders. It’s important not to put
down others and always
participate in events. (Student
interview)
We strive to create a learning
environment where children
flourish. We question children to
find out what would engage and
motivate them to learn, as well
as to find out what they know
and understand. In this learning
community, children shape and
influence each other in terms of
what is expected. They
demonstrate great care for one
another. (Teacher Interview)
Averil stressed that it had been
essential to reach a different
mindset about learning. There was a
need to identify priorities (initially
their focus was on social-emotional
learning, currently their focus is on
promoting thinking and developing
academic rigor).
Staff then sought a way to guide
their thinking which allowed them to
translate learning intentions and
program goals into practice. Averil
noted that the power of e5 was as a
‘conceptual framework to think
about our work on multiple levels’
and ‘to guide our behaviour and
thinking about other programs’.
Southern Cross is very clear about
its core moral purpose – which is to
engage children in thinking about
‘what sort of person they are going
to be in the world’ and ‘becoming
the best person they can be’.
Teachers and leaders articulated a
vision for children to be ‘inspired,
creative, happy, curious, optimistic
and capable individuals who want to
become lifelong learners and
resilient and responsible members
of society’.
‘I’m proud of the badge I
earned in Tribes – I feel a bit
more confident and resilient
now, I feel I can get along.’
How did teachers
learn about and
engage with the
model?
Seeking teacher
perspectives
When information about e5 was first
shared with principals, Averil
brought the resources provided back
to the school and worked through
the e5 booklet in staff meetings. She
sought teacher perspectives, rather
than simply imposing the model on
them, and suggested that they think
about and make reference to e5
when planning.
Teacher Leaders said they found
the e5 booklets ‘very engaging and a
useful way to think about
practice…it opened up possibilities
for our own learning’.
Every classroom had an image of
the model on their wall. They found
that the model ‘steered the way to
reflect and was a different way to
approach’ their learning. Everyone
engaged and they found that it
helped to ‘get to deep dialogue, past
questioning that was at a surface
level, learning how to dig in for more
information with the children’.
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Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
Teachers also reflected that an
enabling factor at Southern Cross
was the way in which everyone was
encouraged to teach at every year
level. This had been a conscious
strategic decision on Averil’s part.
She wanted all teachers to develop
a sense of children’s developmental
trajectory as they moved through
each level of the school. This also
contributed to rich discussions and a
better understanding of what it
meant to translate the e5 model into
practice with teaching capabilities
exemplified from Prep to Year 6.
Graduates arriving at the school are
familiar with the e5 model through
their university studies – their prior
knowledge of the model is also an
important consideration of the
selection process.
One experienced teacher reflected
that as a graduate teacher, her first
reaction had been, ‘Oh, no, not
more work!’ However, now the e5
domains are always at the back of
her mind and this way of thinking is
‘not extra’. She found the domains
aligned with what she understood
good teaching to be and provided a
shared language to discuss teaching
more effectively. It gradually
became a situation where ‘everyone
started to talk e5.’
‘e5 is now a way of thinking
rather than...a checklist’
Structurally, staff meetings are a
forum for rich discussions about
practice but teachers stress that
informal learning is going on all the
time – they see themselves learning
from and with one another.
Graduates work alongside more
experienced teachers. An early
career teacher reflected that:
After four years of familiarizing
myself with e5 at Uni and 3-4
years of using it to plan and
deliver successful (and
sometimes unsuccessful)
lessons in schools, it is simple to
see that e5 is now a way of
thinking rather than an
approach needing to be used as
a checklist. Experiencing
successful and unsuccessful
lessons has helped shift my
perceptions, as has seeing other
teachers using the approach and
collegiate discussions
surrounding the approach.
(Teacher Interview)
Mentoring is offered for teachers
who have technical concerns about
‘how to’ teach and there is a culture
at Southern Cross where ‘everyone
wants to help’. Teachers observe
each other in the classroom and
leadership regularly model
processes of reflecting and
questioning. This has led to a shift in
the way people think and talk about
their practice, as e5 and its key
concepts have become part of their
everyday language.
Averil, the principal, has a strong
belief in ‘high performance/high
expectations’ and provides a
professional inquiry scaffold that
assists her teachers to both learn
and be prepared for their
performance reviews. Every teacher
chooses five students in their grade
and graphs their progress each
term. As they monitor and track
these individual students, teachers
refer to the e5 model to further
develop their practice in order to
best support each individual.
This professional inquiry and related
evidence of student growth and
teaching improvement becomes the
foundation for performance review
conversations. Teachers are
encouraged to gather evidence of
professional achievement in what
they call their ‘blue boxes’, which
serves as a body of valuable
documentation relating to their own
learning, improvement and impact
over the whole year. They are then
in a position to celebrate their
achievements and improved
capabilities during their reviews,
using the language of e5 to order,
analyse and articulate these
achievements.
Teachers reflect that the principal’s
approach challenges and enables
them to learn.
In particular the principal:

Inspires teachers, stimulates
new thinking and challenges
them to take on new
experiences;

Provides them with access to
information internally;

Supports and encourages them
to access external professional
learning opportunities –
promoting a ‘go for it’ mentality;

Sees more potential in teachers
than they often do themselves
– giving them a nudge or a
‘push with love’ – and identifies
opportunities that she believes
would benefit them;

Makes them feel valued and
appreciated - she notices their
strengths;

Always ensures they feel
supported;

Provides them with a valued
sounding board.
Engaging with the e5 model has
enabled teachers to have ‘insights
about ways to change teaching and
learning’ in their classrooms. ‘It
keeps us on the same page, we now
have a common language to use,
especially when we need to
introduce a new program’.
Every classroom had an
image of the e5 model on their
wall. It ‘steered the way to
reflect and was a different way
to approach our learning’.
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Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
How does the model
inform the way
teachers at the
school work?
Designing, choosing,
demonstrating and
reviewing learning
Great learning for me was a
Maths challenge. We took photos
outside and we’d never done this
before. Now I realize everything
has a shape to it. I found it more
exciting to work with a group and
share ideas with other people.
(Student Interview)
The whole school spends the first
two weeks of every year developing
the shared norms of a learning
community within their classes. This
includes finding out about and
engaging with each other, team
building and setting some goals and
agreements.
A group of teachers shared the
‘thinking through’ of a Unit of work,
which suggests there are four
distinct phases in their approach.
(The bracketed and italicized words
indicate the e5 teacher capabilities
evident in the practices described.)
Phase 1 – Designing for Learning:
Generally teachers begin designing
a unit by thinking about provocations
to engage and interest children
(prompting inquiry) and identifying
the introductory learning that will be
necessary to provide some
foundational knowledge and skills
(determining readiness for learning).
‘Our teacher encourages us to
give it our best try and to keep
at it. They really want us to
succeed.’
Teachers try to uncover learning
needs, particularly in the area of
skills development, and prepare
children so that they are informed
enough to choose some specific
learning pathways in the next phase
(developing language and literacy
and presenting new content).
Teachers also set some rules and
boundaries during this phase,
finding examples and providing
options (developing shared norms
and strengthening connections). For
example, when studying ancient
civilizations, five civilizations were
explored in the foundational phase
before a deep dive into a civilization
that students were more curious to
further investigate (establishes
learning goals).
Our teacher encourages us to
give it our best try and to keep at
it. They really want us to
succeed. I like it when our
teacher went through all the
questions and really explained it
to us. When I got stuck on a
Maths question, my teacher got
out the MAB blocks and we
worked on it together – we got
(the question) out together.
Teachers want to know where
you are so they can help you
understand. They ask you
questions to help you learn. They
get people involved and they
include everyone. They also
understand what levels kids are
at. (Student Interview)
Phase 2 – Offering Choices for
Learning: Children are offered
choices and the opportunity to delve
deeper into an area of learning that
was presented in the first phase.
This phase includes teacher
questioning, continuing to develop
necessary skills, conferencing,
researching, group and individual
work and self-directed learning
(facilitating substantive
conversations and cultivating higher
order thinking).
Children have to map out precisely
what they want to find out and
teachers provide scaffolding to
enable them to find their focus
(structuring inquiry). Teachers
emphasise children’s development
of their research and engage in
explicit teaching at the point of need
(establishing learning goals and
monitoring progress). In this phase,
different strategies are used to
support different children and the
structure provides flexibility and a
means to support and carry children
along in the learning (maintaining
momentum). The combination of
choice and delving deeper into
students’ interests cultivates a
strong sense of inclusion and
belonging as each child has agency
for and is contributing to their own
learning and the learning of their
peers. This is reflected in the
following student observation
(developing meta-cognitive
capacity):
It’s interesting here when we do
projects – I love doing creative
things. I learned that leadership
isn’t just about being up on top –
it’s showing the little kids how to
act. You get to put a lot of
creativity into projects and do
them in your own way – I like that
you get to put your mind into it. I
choose to do the extensions – I
don’t have to but I always give it
a go. Sometimes I’m excited
when it’s really challenging, for
example when we had a
challenge of how to make a bird
house. It was hands on and I
liked using tools. (Student
Interview)
Phase 3 – Scaffolding and
Enabling Performances of
Understanding: In this phase
children prepare to communicate
their learning and understanding in
some way. This might include a
collaboration with families, a festival
or celebration.
Students have opportunities to
explain their new learning to others
and to engage in discussions with
one another (develops language
and literacy). A rubric helps teachers
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Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
to monitor children’s understanding
and progress.
and what caused or enabled these
shifts for them.
Assessment includes consideration
of each child’s overall growth
(assessing performance against
standards), and a self-evaluation,
which is now an important aspect of
the learning (facilitating student selfassessment).
Before taking up and using the e5
model one teacher reflected that she
believed learning,
Phase 4 – Reviewing and learning
from practice: in this phase
teachers at Southern Cross review,
discuss and analyse their lessons
with e5 in mind. They ask
themselves questions such as: How
well did we manage to engage the
children in this learning? What
learning goals were we expecting to
achieve? Did we provide a
stimulating learning process to
ensure children experience
success? Why might this not have
worked and what can I do
differently? How well did we attend
to each of the e5 domains? How well
did we cater for and attend to each
child’s learning needs?
What has been the
impact of engaging
with the model?
Learning with and from
our students
Experienced teachers reflected that
they could probably characterize
their teaching prior to the
introduction of e5 as ‘teaching from
the front’. Now they see themselves
working together and learning from
their students.
The e5 model, particularly the way it
has been introduced and integrated
into the daily life of the school, has
transformed teaching practices and
led to school-wide cultural change.
This is reflected in the responses of
teachers to prompts about how they
practiced ‘before’ the model was
introduced, how they practice ‘now’
… revolved around the teacher –
the teacher was the person who
knew everything and was in
control. My practice was more
chalk and talk…students were
not supported to think deeply.
Rote learning was important then
– children had to learn from their
textbook. I taught from text
books, page by page and it was
mainly teacher-student
interaction.
She now believed in a ‘learnercentred paradigm and setting
achievable goals for students to
cater for their learning needs.’ She
identified her practice in terms of
‘embedding e5 in all our planning
and teaching’.
My practice is to engage
students to become deep
thinkers in their learning.
Students interact with one
another more. I know
collaborative learning engages
students and gives them the
responsibility to take ownership
of their own learning with the
teacher’s guidance.
I offer more hands-on learning
and children learn more from
what is around them. I explicitly
focus on my teaching instructions
and use the correct terminologies
with children.
My practice now is to ask for
reasoning behind an answer, ask
students to restate peers’
comments in their words,
whether they agree or disagree
and why. Students learn more
deeply this way. I believe they
need to be constantly challenged
by their learning experiences. I
also know that teaching and
learning for social skills is vital.
Enabling factors identified by this
teacher included: the presence of
new instructional models to guide
her practice; the close connection
between learning and real world
contexts; the role played by the
school’s strategic plan and schoolwide goals in clarifying and setting
direction; the opportunity to work
with ‘a great team of staff who
shared the same vision’ and ‘were
driven to find ways to bring about
successful teaching and learning
outcomes’; and what she perceived
to be an overall ‘change in the
school’s culture’.
‘My practice is to engage
students to become deep
thinkers in their learning.’
Another teacher reflected that
‘thinking learning through - in light of
the e5 model - has enabled me to
become a deeper thinker and this
has enabled my students to become
deeper learners’. In particular,
questioning to reveal children’s
reasoning and thinking has become
a focus for this teacher. Now she
asks children to elaborate on the
reasoning behind their responses
with questions such as, ‘What
makes you say that?’ or ‘Can you
restate that so you show me what
you are thinking?’
Children are encouraged to notice
and reflect on each others’ thinking.
They are supported to ‘learn about
learning’ and develop a language for
learning – e5 has provided a
conceptual framework for thinking
through how best to do this and
develop teaching practices that
enable this to occur.
Similar sentiments were echoed by
another teacher, who now sought to
actively 'stimulate student interest'
and 'connect to prior knowledge'
whereas previously ‘content was
similar for all students’, ‘teaching
strategies were the same’ for
everyone and she ‘required correct
answers to questions’.
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Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
Through shifts in her practice she
now aims for deep understanding
and employs a wider variety of
teaching strategies, which reflect the
e5 framework and the school’s
broader philosophy of teaching and
learning. Her practice now centres
on 'real life learning and stimulating
real world experiences (with)
challenging tasks that promote
higher order thinking (and offer)
opportunities for learning in multiple
ways'. She has developed higher
expectations of her learners and
encourages 'independent thinking,
resilience and self-reliance' while
also creating the conditions for peer
support. She sees her role in terms
of 'teacher and students working
together', developing ‘shared
expectations’ rather than expecting
students to do 'what the teacher
indicated or what they were told', as
had been her practice previously.
This teacher now employs a much
broader repertoire of practices that
can be linked and cross-referenced
to many of the e5 teacher
capabilities. Her reflections
demonstrate that she is guided by
whole school priorities, beliefs,
philosophy and vision for student
learners – that learning is authentic,
‘for real life’ and aims for deep
understanding, with balanced
attention to both personal and
academic development.
‘I believe the classroom is a
forum in which knowledge is
shared and celebrated
between the teacher and the
students.’
A fourth teacher reflected on the
changes she had perceived in her
practice and ways of working. These
reflections have been reproduced in
full because they capture and
illustrate the significance and depth
of the shifts in everyday practice and
school culture at Southern Cross.
Previously I believed that the
teacher was the only one with
the knowledge which they then
passed on to students, now I
believe the classroom is a forum
in which knowledge is shared
and celebrated between the
teacher and the students.
My practice (in the past) was
based on a traditional style of
teaching which included surface
based questioning… worksheets
and less hands-on experiences.
My practice now is to set the
foundation that will create
opportunities for each student to
scaffold their own learning, reach
their own potential and beyond.
Students engage in personal
reflections that promote
continuous improvement.
(Before beginning to use the e5
model) I knew I wanted to make
changes in my teaching - I didn't
feel at times I was getting the
most out of my students - I
wasn't sure what direction to take
and how to go about making
those changes. Now I have the
tools and skills based on the e5
model to continue creating a
positive, creative and supportive
pedagogical environment where
each student is being catered for
and challenged.
In the past I wondered what I
was teaching my students - was
it substantial for their level of
understanding? How far could I
go? Now I wonder what exciting
things my students are going to
teach me. Facilitating their
knowledge growth and their
personal growth - we learn from
each other.
Students' learning capabilities
are endless. I have learnt that
you can teach students anything.
It's the way you deliver it. For
example, for the past three years
I have introduced the word
‘neurons’ to my prep students.
The students know exactly what
a neuron is, how it's developed
and it's main purpose. They also
know basic facts about the brain.
When I taught middle primary
students we dissected main
organs, we stepped outside the
box.
When prompted to reflect on what
had enabled these shifts the teacher
reflected:
I have noticed a positive change
amongst staff and students. All
the staff have embraced e5 and it
is used as the foundation or
scaffold within our daily teaching.
There is more collaboration and
deep dialogue taking place
amongst staff. The innovative
programs that we have
implemented in our school are
complemented by the e5 model.
They are contributing factors to
the positive changes in who I am
as an educator and as a person.
I feel my students are gaining
greater, in-depth knowledge and
in return are achieving higher
results academically and they
are also flourishing as
individuals. The students are
becoming more engaged in
exploring the world around them.
These reflections illustrate the
confidence that has developed as
this teacher has deepened and
refined her practice, becoming
increasingly encouraged by her
students’ reactions, learning and
progress. Even the quality of her
‘wonderings’ has shifted from selfdoubt to exciting possibilities for the
future.
‘Now I wonder what exciting
things my students are going
to teach me.’
Teachers at Southern Cross could
readily describe significant changes
in their practice and school culture
triggered and supported by the e5
model. These changes took the form
of more active teaching and learning
where students now play a
prominent role in scaffolding, taking
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Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
responsibility for and progressing
their own learning.
When asked how engaging with the
e5 model has impacted the way they
think about their practice they
responded that the model has:
=> Provided us with higher order
drivers and aspirations for our
learners – the programs and
vision we have for our kids
together with their needs – and
the e5 model provides us with a
conceptual guide to bring our
ideas and aspirations to life;
=> Given us a common language
in the form of the e5 domains
which help us to engage in
continuous deep dialogue and
discussion – we have ways to
engage with concepts to identify
and see new possibilities for our
practice;
=> Provided us with a logical way
of thinking things through – we
use it to question ourselves and
to decide actions;
=> Enabled a more consistent
approach as we are all familiar
with this way of thinking – it is a
lens to understand and to plan
for practice and it works at
multiple levels.
Teachers reported that children are
now ‘more resilient’, ‘know
themselves well’ and ‘believe in
themselves more’. They are much
clearer about expectations and
norms and are more ‘articulate and
well spoken…Kids feel safe here
and that they belong.’
‘It has given us a common
language.’
Academically, they are now taking
more risks in their learning,
challenging and pushing themselves
and are more willing to give new
learning a go. They have an attitude
of ‘I can do this’.
What might other
schools learn from
the Southern Cross
experience?
of the story. The conceptual framing
offered by the e5 domains has been
an enabler of learning - the school
community decided what learning
their children needed and the e5
model guided how they could enable
them to learn.
Connecting up the
learning
The benefits of engaging with this
model, as revealed from analysis of
the Southern Cross story are many.
The e5 model has:
Reflecting on the school’s
successful engagement with the e5
model, the teachers and school
leaders at Southern Cross suggest
the following:
=> Maintain a strong belief in
your model – you need to be
enthusiastic, curious and
passionate about the multiple
ways in which the model can
support learning at your school.
=> Make sure staff have
opportunities to learn as much
as they can about the model you
choose.
=> Leadership must be
involved as much as possible –
strong visible supporters.
=> Build leadership capacity –
so teachers can gain support
from many quarters.
There is an absolute passion for
learning at Southern Cross and the
strong language of social-emotional
learning, confidence and self-belief
has cascaded through from principal
and teachers to children. A powerful
sense of collegial investigation,
honesty and deep learning has been
fostered through development of the
school ethos, where everyone’s
potential is nurtured.
Averil, as principal, is very much a
caring agent of change, dedicated to
everyone in her community and an
avid learner herself. Her role in
using the language of the e5
domains at every opportunity to
promote and embed this way of
thinking and working is a crucial part
=> Supported design thinking by
scaffolding teachers as they
planned and designed for learning;
=> Expanded pedagogical
repertoires, which demonstrably
enriched the experiences of
learning for both students and
teachers;
=> Functioned as pedagogical
connector, connecting up the
school’s efforts across multiple
initiatives;
=> Generated more choices for
learners and learning which
increased their sense of inclusion
and belonging;
=> Functioned as a guiding
conceptual framework to enable
people to think about and consider
their practice-in-action everyday;
=> Provided a shared
professional language to promote
collegial dialogue and shared
understanding;
=> Scaffolded and enabled rich
‘performances of
understanding’, which provided
students with authentic,
meaningful assessments and drew
parents and the community into
the school; and,
=> Offered a means of reflecting
on and reviewing designs and
practices, as a means of learning
from and improving practice.
This last point is particularly
significant because it has led to a
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Department of Education and Early Childhood Development
culture of continuous improvement
at the school as teachers strive to
build on and improve their designs
and practice, drawing out
possibilities and alternatives,
considering why something may or
may not have been as successful as
intended.
The contextual challenges at
Southern Cross Primary School are
of the highest order. The school
must effectively cater for the diverse
social, interpersonal and academic
learning needs of 180 children from
42 different cultural backgrounds,
compounded by a need to
accommodate and integrate
students from low-income families
recently arrived in Australia, with
little or no English.
The e5 model has provided this
highly committed, passionate and
enthusiastic team of educators a
means of drawing together and
pedagogically connecting a raft of
initiatives (e.g. Restorative
Practices, Tribes, Think Plus) to
create a learning environment for
students that is safe, respectful,
inclusive and calming while also
challenging every learner to explore
and realise their potential.
The principal played a crucial role in
creating the conditions in which
teachers and students could
translate the e5 model into everyday
practices.
Teachers at Southern Cross have
found conceptual engagement with
the five domains of e5 more powerful
than the specification of capabilities
– this seems to be because they are
capable of translating the domains
into meaningful practices locally and
they do this with a learning purpose
in mind (e.g. social-emotional
learning and thinking). Yet the
capabilities outlined in the e5 model
were all strongly in evidence in
teachers’ practices.
The learning culture, fostered by the
principal, of ‘deep dialogue’ and
ongoing professional inquiry,
encouragement of new practices,
opportunities for collaboration,
observing one another and sharing,
and commitment to a respectful
learning community have all
contributed to the outcomes
achieved at the school. The ethos
that guided engagement with the e5
model was crucial to their success,
and can be summed up as follows:
I was a bit shy when I came here
but the teachers are more helpful
and enthusiastic than at my old
school. They are great friends.
The teachers here are always
worrying about how we’re
going…. They are passionate
and enthusiastic and enjoy their
jobs and being around us.
(Student Interview)
Teachers say they feel safe with a
structure of reflection, scaffolded by
the e5 model, where identifying
areas for improvement is perceived
to be a positive experience, ‘if
something didn’t work, we can
consider how we’ll engage
differently next time’.
The teacher capabilities
outlined in the e5 model were
all strongly in evidence in
teachers’ practices.
8
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development