We are a group of committed, passionate educators currently working in schools and
classrooms across Victoria. As educators, learning and teaching in schools, our opinions
and our ideas count. We believe in ambitious reform, we believe that it needs to be
systemic, sustainable and that school leaders need to be supported in the transformation
process. The world has changed and students need a new set of skills and characteristics to
survive in the new world. Transformation of education must reflect the changes that are
taking place in society because of ‘disruptive’ technologies.
‘These technologies and organisational innovations are not threats. They are exciting
opportunities to make learning intrinsically motivating, that make teaching professionally
rewarding, and that transform our schools from being economic and political liabilities to
sources of solutions and strength.’ (Christensen 2008)
Goals for education as outlined in ‘New directions for school leadership and the teaching
profession’ should be long term and focused on building a sustainable system that will take
our state well into the future. To understand this we need to understand the needs of
learners and teachers.
Learners today
In responding to the “New directions for School Leadership and the Teaching Profession” we
believe it is important, to first describe the present and future characteristics of a learner.
Students today learn very differently to students of the past. It is imperative this is reflected
in education. We no longer prepare students solely for the labour market but for a society
that desires creative and innovative people who are critical thinkers, problem finders and
solvers, and have a range of skills necessary for an uncertain future.
Technology changes so rapidly that we cannot rely on teaching for the here and now but
need to develop students who have the skills necessary for their future. These skills include
communication using a range of media, collaboration in a range of circumstances, and an
ability to seek information and collectively construct knowledge.
In a world where content and knowledge is now so easily accessible, students of the future
will need to maximise the advantages afforded by networking and forming and contributing
to online and face to face collaborative groups. They need to be reflective and self aware in
their own learning, aiming for excellence through persistence and resilience.
In a technologically advanced society students will need to be fluent in the use and creation
of digital, media and information resources. “This changing digital landscape needs to build
on the increasing and wide-ranging experiences in the use of digital technology that children
now have at home (ACMA, 2010). Schools need to support students to develop the skills
needed for critical evaluation, online collaboration and communication and behaviours which
support the safe, responsible and ethical use of digital technology – essential to participating
in life and work in the 21st century.” DEECD (2010)
Quality Teachers
Teaching is about learning and integral to being a quality teacher is the notion of the teacher
being a learner. A quality teacher values lifelong learning and sees their own learning as a
daily, shareable and essential activity. One of the most effective ways of embodying in our
students what it means to be a learner is to actually model the disposition itself (Tishman
1992).
The efficacy of this depends on the teacher having the time and space to reflect on their
own learning. A quality teacher needs to be able to share their learning in a supportive and
collaborative environment. Provided with these conditions, a quality teacher will individually
and collaboratively build the skills to provide learning that is autonomous, inquiry-based,
self-directed and collective in nature (Olsen 2012).
A quality teacher is a connected teacher. The transformative and disruptive effects of
technology on our society should be reflected in our education system. No longer is the
world’s information held captive in libraries or books and only accessed by a privileged few.
Ubiquitous fast access to the world’s information through the internet has changed the way
in which schools, learners and teachers operate. The idea of a teacher delivering and
transferring content has been disrupted. Large learning communities of educators are
connecting through Web 2.0 tools such as blogs, Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus. There
are numerous examples of dedicated modern educators participating in daily and weekly
conversations about education, sharing ideas and resources through Twitter hashtags such
as #vicPLN (Victorian Personal Learning Network) #edchat (Education Chat) #pbl (Project
Based Learning). This very submission has been constructed using our own #PLNaction
twitter hashtag and blog.
Quality teaching comes from the time, opportunities and inclination to be an inquirer and a
learner.
The “New Directions for School Leadership and Teaching Profession” states there are many
great teachers working in Victorian schools at present, achieving outstanding successes in
education, motivating and inspiring young Victorians. We would agree, the teaching
profession is full of quality teachers already, so how do we take the next step to lift the
performance of Victorian students? How do we change the way we evaluate and assess
students to reflect learning in a technological and creative world?
Supporting innovation in education, school structures and provision of effective professional
learning are the priorities that we, as practicing educators, believe are essential in
transforming education and providing a system that will take us well into the future.
1. Supporting Innovation in education.
Supporting educational innovation is essential for empowering teachers to be creative, build
on capacity and generate new ideas. When we support teachers to be innovative they
become the change agents for schools and enhance student learning.

Teachers need to be in control of their professional learning. Learning should be relevant,
timely, collaborative and based on team and school needs. Teachers should be able to
select inquiries and professional learning opportunities throughout the school year that
are best placed to impact on student learning outcomes.

School and wider educational structures need to be based on the support of innovation
and creativity. Promote innovation in education to the wider community and build a trust in
school leaders and the teaching profession to make decisions based on research,
evidence and best practice. Create the expectation that all schools will be providing an
education for the future and educational authorities should make it very clear that schools
are supported as they work towards the transformational changes that are needed.

For innovation to occur Principals need to be supported and to trust in teachers ability to
choose, undertake and share professional learning that complements school based
professional learning and is focused on a shared clear vision and goals. When goals and
visions are produced they should be collaborated on and developed to meet the needs of
individual schools rather than generic and system wide. Collaborative groups or
committees should be based around the needs of the school, the teachers and the
students and provide opportunities for teachers to actively participate in focused
professional learning based on identified needs and passions.

Innovation happens when teachers are enabled to work together to set individual and
jointly negotiated Performance and Development goals and provided with the resources
and support to achieve these goals. The timing, research area and focus of these goals
should be negotiable dependent on the needs of the educators and the schools.

Build capacity in school leaders to recognise, support and encourage innovation. Efficient
time management within schools, creation of professional networks and use of ICT tools
to create productive systems will allow time for professional learning teams to work for
real in-school purposes.

Consideration should be given to providing time for educators to take sabbaticals, or
extended time to participate with other educators in extended professional reflections and
discussions designed to further build knowledge, skills and understandings.

Revisit and revise the necessity of meetings, data collection and traditional processes
which are outdated and time consuming.
2. Structuring schools
As acknowledged in the New Directions paper, moving forward requires bold and difficult
reform. We are no longer teaching in the ‘factory model’ environment, the needs of our
learners have changed, the demands of society have changed and the opportunities to
network on a global scale have changed the nature of work. We cannot hope to provide a
quality education in schools that are built on and following models from last century. Whilst
we cannot always renew the physical spaces we can transform the way we use them. We
need to be bold about reforming the structure of schools. This is not possible without
support and trust from Education Departments and the wider community. We need to build
an image that reflects the quality education Victorian teachers offer.

We need to focus on regaining the trust of the community, through the active promotion
of the 21st century learning that is happening in our schools. We need to ensure our
schools are places of ‘real’ learning, and communicate our understandings of a viable and
guaranteed curriculum to students, parents, society and all stakeholders in education. As
knowledgeable and educated professionals we need to keep building our collective
understanding of how people learn and educating others in this process.

We need to start looking at options for structuring schools that move away from the
traditional isolated classroom. School leaders need system wide support to re-envisage
the structures within their schools. Schools should be built around collaborative teams
working to achieve student learning outcomes. Structuring schools so teachers are
working as teams, learning as teams, collaborating as teams.Teaching teams need to be
provided with some autonomy to decide upon and plan professional learning to meet the
needs of the team.

Empower teachers and school leaders to innovate with ways of providing learning for
students, use current research to support and promote innovators, recognise that one
size does not fit all, we need to provide educational options for all students and teachers,
within schools, across schools.

Teachers are connected, this means a myriad of opportunities for professional learning,
our energies need to be directed to developing communities of practice and supporting
teachers to maximise the opportunities to work with colleagues across schools. Sharing
knowledge and practice needs to be supported and enhanced. We have the tools.
3. Effective Professional Learning
Learning should be through collaborative, connected networks. For teaching to have an
impact on learning outcomes we have to move away from working in isolated silos and
become collaborators – builders of collective knowledge – and work together to improve the
educational (social, emotional, physical, spiritual) outcomes for our students. It is only
through taking collective responsibility for the building high performing schools and being
creative in the ways we provide opportunities for teachers to work together in schools that
we can achieve improved outcomes.

Leverage the use of technology for facilitating collaboration – by enabling educators to
access and build connections, ideas, resources and thinking beyond their classroom and
beyond their school. This in turn promotes system wide innovation through the sharing of
knowledge, skills and understandings.

Recognise and actively promote the concept that the effective professional learning is
workplace, job embedded and collaborative. By enabling teachers to build professional
learning communities that select appropriate areas for investigation and research, we are
building collective responsibility for improving student learning outcomes.

Teachers should be in control of their Professional Learning. Teachers should be able to
select inquiries and professional learning opportunities throughout the school year that
are relevant, timely, meet school needs and are best placed to impact on student learning
outcomes.

We need to find ways to maximise time for teachers to learn together in schools. We
need to question how schools have been structured in the past (timetables, single
classes, who is teaching, who is learning, structure of schools, spaces and environment,
traditional roles).

If we value collaboration and collective knowledge in building educators we need to be
supported to change the way access to professional learning is currently available. We
need practitioner led research and action research to be valued, funded, supported, and
time enabled.

If we want teachers to be action researchers, driving innovation and system improvement
we have to provide them with the skills to build their capacity and confidence.

The paper is clearly stating the importance of high quality, well educated teachers. This
should be supported with opportunities such as funded placements for postgraduate
studies.
We want to emphatically make the statement that we do not believe in the merits of
performance pay and that it has not proved to be an effective measure in improving the
quality of teaching. Performance pay and collaboration are enemies; teachers will not share
and learn with other teachers if they are being paid based on their individual performance.
Performance pay is divisive and only places value on that which is measurable.
We would suggest that there could be review of pay scales so that options are provided for
differing career paths and recognition that not all experienced and effective classroom
practitioners want to take on levels of responsibility or leadership. Options should provide
educators with choices of direction.
We are enthusiastic and optimistic about the future of education and believe if we make bold
reform in education in Victoria we can build a future of creative, forward thinking learners
who will have the skills and confidence to prosper in Victoria, Australia and the world. We
believe that the future of education and reform needs to begin with those who are in
classrooms, creating learning opportunities for students and working hard to build their
capacity -– teachers. We would welcome an opportunity to offer our ideas, knowledge and
understanding of learning to build reform in Victorian Education.
References:
Christensen, C. M., Horn, M. B., & Johnson, C. W. (2008). Disrupting class, how disruptive
innovation will change the way the world learns. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional.
Department Of Education and Early Childhood Development Digital Learning Statement 2010
Olsen R. What should students do once they can read? Richard Olsen Blog, Retrieved August
26 2012, http://www.richardolsen.me/b/2012/08/what-should-students-do-once-they-can-read
Tishman S, Jay E, Perkins D, (1992). Teaching Thinking Dispositions: From Transmission to
Enculturation, Harvard University
http://bit.ly/plnactionsupporters is a link to a list of educators who have collaborated in the
creation of the submission and support it.