This new CPL course will offer insights and advice for School Executives.
Through case studies, panel discussions and interactive sessions participants will learn the leadership skills that speak to them, how to work in the broader profession and looking at their legacy through a different lens.
The course will be led by expert presenters, including: Lila Mularczyk, Michael Hepi, Tracey Breese and Judy King
3 April 2025 – NSW Teachers Federation House, 22-33 Mary Street, Surry Hills, NSW 2010
$220
Judy King
Judy King is a former high school principal and a life member of the NSW Teachers Federation, AEU and SPC. Judy retired from Riverside Girls High School in 2010 after 19 years as a secondary principal.
Since retirement Judy has worked part time at Chifley College Mt Druitt campus, Northmead High and Georges River College in an executive support role with a strong focus on teaching and learning, assessment and reporting, especially in the areas of reading for meaning and writing for purpose.
She currently teaches History and Politics at WEA , the oldest adult education foundation in the CBD of Sydney.
Judy represented secondary principals on the Board of Studies (now NESA) from 1998-2004 and was History Inspector at the Board in 1991. Judy was deputy president of the SPC from 1998-2006
In 2018 she researched and wrote a history of the NSW Teachers Federation 1918-2018 as part of its centenary celebrations. The articles were published throughout each edition of Education in 2018 and were featured as part of a three week exhibition in the Federation building.
In 2007 Judy was awarded the Meritorious Service in Public Education medal by the Department of Education.
Judy has an abiding interest in all aspects of Ancient, Mediaeval and Modern History as well as archaeology, politics and film. In 2014 and 2019 she attended the Cambridge University History Summer School for international students and hopes to return in 2025.
Lila Mularczyk
Lila Mularczyk’s commitment to education was recognised by being honoured with the Order of Australia Medal (OAM). Lila has been contributing to public education for 40 years. She currently is undertaking a portfolio of work including leading or participating on multiple National and State Education Boards and Reference Groups and projects (including, PEF, ACE, UTS, UNSW, NSWTF and CPL.) tertiary professional experience officer, coach and mentor, UNSW Gonski Institute, State and Vice Chair ACE, supporting HALT’s, tertiary lecturer, work in and for schools, research, contract work, critical friend, innovation projects etc.
Prior, Lila was the Director, Secondary Education, at the Department of Education. Immediately prior to this, Lila was President of the NSW Secondary Principals’ Council (SPC) from 2012 to 2016. As President and as a school Principal, Lila represented Public Education around Australia, and frequently globally, at conferences over many years. Lila was Principal at Merrylands High School for 15 years until 2016.
Kathy Rushton and Joanne Rossbridge outline the theory and research about young children’s language and literacy development through play; and provide teachers with engaging and inclusive activities and resources to foster creativity and student engagement in the early years of schooling. . .
Learning in the early years
In the first years of schooling young children are encouraged to develop understandings about the use of language in a range of contexts – both oral and written. Before school, understandings and experiences have been developed through oral language interactions some of which may have been around the written word.
However, some children might experience the language to talk about language, metalanguage, for the first time when they go to school. Some children will be able to confidently discuss many aspects of how language works and how it is used in a variety of contexts, even if they are not yet independently literate.
Developing language for a range of purposes and the use of metalanguage to reflect on the choices speakers and writers make are most easily developed through play. Play provides opportunities for both individual choice and collaboration and, with a teacher’s support, in providing contexts and modelling language (Karaolis, 2023), individual students are enabled to develop and build on their own language resources. Scaffolding learning experiences to be both challenging and supportive (Hammond, 2021) is dependent on a pedagogy which supports language development as a catalyst for emergent literacy.
Developing language and the language to talk about language: metalanguage
In the school years students will engage with oral and written texts which are broadly categorised as imaginative, persuasive or informative. Within these broad categories there are a range of twenty or more genres (Derewianka, 2022; Humphrey, Droga & Feez 2012, p.199) which students will encounter and learn to both read and write. To comprehend or produce a text, written or spoken, the choice of grammatical features is always defined by the audience and purpose of the text and the genre. Metalanguage is developed when teachers read, deconstruct and jointly construct texts with their students. In this way knowledge of language and grammar is developed in a familiar context through oral interactions about texts (Rossbridge & Rushton, 2010).
The first language or dialect is not taught to a young child rather it is developed through meaningful oral interaction. The use of the speech functions such as statements (greet, observe, play); commands (command, demand, play); questions (greet, demand, play), exclamations (demand, command, play) begin to be developed even before a young child can speak fluently. Within a range of contexts, the choices a speaker or writer makes reflect both the audience and the purpose of the text. Grammar“is a way of describing how a language works to make meaning.” (Derewianka, 2022, p.1)
The use of the concept of the mode continuum exemplifies the range of grammatical choices speakers and writers make to produce effective oral and written texts.
The picture books and traditional rhymes and songs that young children encounter, often use more spoken like text and are, therefore, supportive in developing decoding skills and sound and letter knowledge and phonemic awareness for emergent readers. However, as they are sung or recited in a context in which the focus may be on movement the words are often ancillary to the main focus of the activity. We learn to use language to satisfy our needs as we play, perform and “do” the moves. If every song or rhyme also includes the presentation and exploration of the written text, there will be many opportunities to develop literacy.
Not only questions but also Think alouds (statements) can explore the meaning of the rhyme. Using the Here; Hidden; Head framework, comprehension and vocabulary can both be supported e.g. Here: I think I know what a candlestick is. Hidden: I wonder what ‘nimble’ means. Head: I wonder who Jack is and why he was jumping. Modelled and guided reading can be supported by jointly constructing texts developed in meaningful play-based contexts (Davis & Dunn, 2023 & Karaolis, 2023). Drama strategies like Readers Theatre; Freeze frame and drawing; Puppet Theatre and Interviewing can be integrated with the use of quality children’s literature to provide contexts for playing with ideas and language.
Reading for meaning (Comprehension, vocabulary development and decoding)
Most students enter early years classrooms with an amazing resource which forms the foundation of language and literacy acquisition as they move through their schooling. This resource is oral language, and it is the foundation of all learning. When used in meaningful contexts to communicate with others, oral language serves to draw upon, not only existing language, but scaffolds both reading and writing. (Hammond, 2021 & Gibbons 2015)
Talk and play as a context for reading development
An effective and engaging way to draw upon the language skills that students bring to classrooms is by connecting speaking, listening, reading and writing in real world scenarios. By designing learning through play, students are given numerous opportunities to practise language and interact with others by drawing on their own background and experiences as well as the languages and dialects they use in the home and community. As a teacher models being a reader, and students engage with texts, they are not only active meaning makers but developing vocabulary and hearing the sounds and rhythm of language as they decode in the context of engaging quality literature (Adoniou, Cambourne & Ewing, 2018).
Careful selection of texts, such as picture books, can be the catalyst for designing meaningful learning situations which can be placed along the mode continuum. A context, theme, topic or concept can be selected as a starting point for text choice. The following texts were chosen for their representation of dogs and their interactions with humans. Obviously, looking at texts and interactions around getting and caring for a dog may not be the best choice for all students given their interests and background, but any context can easily lead to a range of possible texts and scenarios for play.
Let’s Get a Pup! (Bob Graham, 2001, Walker Books)
When Billy was a Dog (Kirsty Murray and Karen Blair, 2019, Walker Books)
Too Many Cheeky Dogs (Johanna Bell and Dion Beasley, 2016, Allen & Unwin)
My Dog Bigsy (Alison Lester, 2015, Penguin)
Sad the Dog (Sandy Fussell and Tull Suwannakit, 2017, Walker Books)
A Human for Kingsley (Gabriel Evans, 2021, Hardie Grant)
Annie’s Chair (Deborah Niland, 2006, Penguin)
‘Let’s get a Pup’ by Bob Graham (2001, Walker Books) is the story of a family who visit a rescue centre to get a pup but end up with not only a pup but also old, grey Rosy. It celebrates the interactions of humans bringing dogs into their family.
Using this book, in conjunction with opportunities for play, and incorporating before, during and after reading strategies through shared reading (Gibbons, 2015), is an example of how to provide opportunities for comprehension, vocabulary development, and an explicit focus on sound and letter knowledge.
Before reading
Floorstorm (display covers of all books above and ask students to share what they see)Play sounds of dogs and humans interactingList noises dogs make in different languagesPredict from front cover by focusing on human and dog relationships – record student ideas and vocabulary (add to after reading)Take turns to walk in role taking a dog for a walk (with lead and dog puppet)
During reading
Read the book uninterruptedRead the book again with think alouds using Here, Hidden and Head statementsReread the book uninterrupted allowing students to respond
After reading
Students draw their own interactions with a dog and share with classRank a list of words/pictures/nouns in order of importance of what a new dog might need e.g. food, water, bed, blanket, brush etc.Group words from the book with the same sound such as ‘u’, e.g. pup and mum in comparison to cute and rescueRole play human/dog interaction scenarios with puppetsIndependent play with: a toy dog a vet kit dog washing/grooming kit etc.
Before reading strategies are critical prior to the first reading of a book as they provide opportunities to activate prior knowledge so students can bring their own life and language experiences to the book. They can also serve to provide knowledge and vocabulary needed for comprehension. Young children also feel a sense of satisfaction when they can confirm their predictions.
The first reading of a book needs to be uninterrupted, so students are able to take in the story as a whole and get the overall gist. When the teacher rereads with carefully designed think alouds, students are then exposed to what a reader does during the reading process whilst also being alerted to key meanings and language within the text. Subsequent readings invite the students to add their own thoughts and responses to the text. It is critical that the book should be read multiple times by the teacher throughout any teaching sequence.
When designing learning for after reading, strategies need to support response to the text particularly through the use of oral language and play. These strategies may need to be initially modelled and supported by the teacher but ideally the talk is coming mainly from the students as they use their own resources to directly engage with meanings in the text or beyond the text. With students controlling the talk, particularly during play scenarios, they are using their own language resources and building upon them with the meanings, language and vocabulary encountered in the book.
After reading is also an opportune time to explore targeted vocabulary and letter and sound knowledge in the context of the book as students are considering language choices, patterns andconventions based on meaning. They are in the position to discuss features with reference to meaning which is the time for the teacher to introduce metalanguage to explicitly talk about language. This might include the use of terms such as letter, word, sound, and nouns for naming things.
Extending access to a range of texts ensures students are exposed to a range of genres. Reading can be further supported through shared reading of a range of other texts related to the picture book. Based on student interests these may include:
looking at websites on dogs for adoption
viewing videos on how to care for dogs and dog training
reading information texts on dog breeds
locating pet products on pet shop websites
comparing online reviews / star ratings of possible food and pet toys
watching cartoons with dogs as characters.
Developing written text: Play as a context for writing
Many of the strategies suggested in the table above for after reading are play based and do not involve writing. For students with developing literacy, oral language is drawn upon when looking at responding to text and can be again drawn upon with the move into writing. Students can be supported to write through teacher modelling and joint construction and again the focus text and play opportunities can stimulate the creation of a range of real-world scenarios which provide a purpose for writing.
Purposes for writing could include:
a shopping list before going to the pet shop
description of a favourite dog
an animal meal plan or pet menu
instructions on how to care for a pet
recount of events with a pet
narrative about a problematic adventure with a pet.
Writing for a purpose and joint construction
To prepare for writing students can be involved in independent play such as visiting the vet, introducing a pet to other pets or friends and family, or shopping at the pet shop. This can be developed through use of props, costumes, toys and puppets.
The vet kit shown below provides opportunities for students to take on the role of a vet, client or pet. Students will need to make different oral language choices given their roles. The props such as stethoscope and thermometer also stimulate talk appropriate for the context. The mobile phone, clipboard and medication provide numerous opportunities for role playing both literacy and numeracy practices. From this play students are then able to transfer their experience and oral language to jointly constructing a text such as recounting an experience to the vet, writing a list of supplies and equipment needed by a vet or writing instructions on how to care for a pet. In doing so, language choices move from the spoken to more written-like choices along the mode continuum and possibly from a home language or dialect to include English.
When joint construction occurs with students there is a balance between the talk of the teacher and the students. The teacher acts as a guide to make thinking explicit whilst the students contribute ideas and discuss choices (Rossbridge and Rushton, 2014 & 2015). In the example below, students and the teacher were sharing the pen resulting in greater participation in the joint construction by students.
Thank you to Marie Bashir Public School.
During joint construction the teacher can support explicit discussion about the purpose and audience for the writing as well as the use specific metalanguage. For example, when writing instructions, action verbs will tend to be at the beginning of commands. When writing a recount, the focus will also be on the actions undertaken but in past tense. When writing a list, the language will be noun groups such as ‘medicine, dry food, dog treats’. If the students don’t have this language, they are able to share the experiences of other students through play which not only supports ideas for writing but also the development of metalanguage.
Conclusion
The school years are focussed on the development of literacy as well as developing knowledge about literature and language. When teachers recognise the differences between spoken and written language, they are most effectively able to build on individual students’ knowledge, understanding and use of language – both oral and written. As young students begin to explore the audiences and purposes of a range of genres, the diverse voices available in quality children’s literature can both expand and confirm children’s experiences of the world and help them to make connections to their own lives. Quality texts exemplify the effective use of language and provide great models for writing as well as opportunities to explore language and grammar in context and to develop metalanguage. Perhaps though the most important aspect of the early learning experience is that it is engaging, inclusive and enjoyable for all our young students. Play provides a context which can foster creativity and student agency as they engage with the challenges and rewards of becoming literate.
Adoniou, M. Cambourne, B & Ewing, E (2018). ‘What are ‘decodable readers’ and do they work?’. The Conversation.
Derewianka B. (2022) A New Grammar Companion for Primary Teachers. Newtown: Primary English Teaching Association Australia.
Gibbons, P. (2015) Scaffolding Language Scaffolding Language: Teaching English language learners in the mainstream classroom. Portsmouth: Heinemann.
Hammond, J. (2021) ‘Scaffolding in EAL/D education’ in Harper, H and Feez, S, An EAL/D handbook, Newtown, Primary English Teaching Association Australia, pp 16-18.
Humphrey S., Droga, L. & Feez, S. (2012) Grammar and Meaning: New Edition. Newtown: Primary English Teaching Association Australia.
Rossbridge, J. & Rushton, K. (2010) Conversations about text 1: Teaching grammar using literary texts. Newtown: Primary English Teaching Association Australia.
Joanne Rossbridge is an independent language and literacy consultant working in both primary and secondary schools and with teachers across Australia. She has worked as a classroom teacher and literacy consultant with the DET (NSW). Her expertise and much of her experience is in working with students from diverse linguistic and cultural backgrounds. Joanne is particularly interested in student and teacher talk and how talk about language can assist the development of language and literacy.
Kathy Rushton is interested in the development of language and literacy especially in disadvantaged communities. She has worked as a classroom teacher and literacy consultant and provides professional learning for teachers in the areas of language and literacy development. Her current research projects include a study of multilingual pre-service teachers and the impact that teacher professional learning has on the development of a creative pedagogical stance which supports translanguaging and student identity and wellbeing.
Catherine Myson-Foehner provides a guide to the new Mathematics Syllabus K-6…
The price of doing the same old thing is far higher than the price of change
Education is evolving rapidly, driven by a strong faith in the ‘magic’ of research. Inside the classroom we keenly feel this maelstrom, with seemingly constant changes to not only what students learn, but how, why and where they learn. In 2023, all NSW primary teachers are either trialing, or implementing, the reformed mathematics syllabus. Being given a new road map to your job in any field of work is a stressful and confusing time. It takes energy because things that ran on automatic pilot now demand attention to detail and thoughtful interaction. And change takes from teachers that one resource which is always in shortest supply – time. As teachers, we have a broad set of mandated goals. We must improve student achievement, but also take the lead in tackling social problems such as poverty, inequality, complex fast-paced change and fragile mental health. The new tasks thrust upon us require new approaches, new understandings, and above all, a closer relation between practice, research and theory.
And therein lies the story of our new syllabus.
Why change the syllabus?
There are three main drivers of syllabus reform.
Firstly, we are failing to meet our own national education goals. In 2019, Education ministers agreed on a vision of education for all young Australians under the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration (Education Council, 2019). The first goal is: ‘The Australian education system promotes excellence and equity.’ This means a commitment to ‘provide all young Australians with access to high-quality education that is inclusive and free from any form of discrimination’ (Education Council, 2019). And yet in our schools and classrooms, academic achievement is still tied to wealth, to gender, to indigeneity. By Year 9, students from the lowest quartile of socioeconomic advantage are roughly 3 years behind students from the highest quartile. And startlingly, for each 25% of wealth and social capital, you lose a year in mathematical achievement. Moreover, how is it possible that in 2021 the gender gap in Year 3 NAPLAN numeracy was the widest yet of any test in favour of boys at 2.52 months? (Thomas, 2021)
Secondly, the NSW Curriculum review (Department of Education NSW, 2022)voiced concern that Australian students’ level of mathematical achievement appears to be in decline. Analysis of PISA data suggested that Australian students have slipped from being some of the highest performers in mathematics to being near the OECD average. Reforming the curriculum was seen as essential step in ensuring all students are challenged and engaged to maximise their individual capabilities and potential.
Thirdly, and crucially for us as teachers, a major driver of syllabus change was our own feedback to the NSW Curriculum Review – that the curriculum ‘contains too much clutter, with not enough time to focus on deep learning’
These three factors, contextualized by the fast pace of educational and social change, brought about an inevitable reform to our curriculum. It is essential we reflect on the ‘why’ of the reform as we implement these changes because, as teachers, its success rests in our hands. The syllabus always was, and always will be, the basis for all teaching and learning programs. Until it is enacted in our classrooms, the attempts to support higher achievement, to untie educational destiny from socio-economic status, gender and indigeneity, and to (eventually) reduce our workload, will fail. We are mandated to carry out the reform and we can use it to illuminate possibilities for the way mathematics is taught and learnt in our classrooms.
The key changes
The structure and content of the syllabus was adapted to reflect current evidence on what makes good teaching and learning. The key changes are:
clearer, more explicit outcomes for what students are to know, understand and do,
more deliberate and careful sequencing of content K -6 with a reduction of content and repetition, and a focus on connecting knowledge
greater emphasis on mathematical reasoning, with one overarching Working mathematically outcome K-6
increased opportunity for students to apply their knowledge.
The syllabus now sits in a purpose-built, digital portal. Online links provide continuously updated resources such as teaching advice, vocabulary guides, assessment resources, and content examples. This framework of support is essential viewing because it provides context and support for teaching and learning. A resource tab provides tailored support such as work samples, professional learning opportunities, and parent/carer guides.
Explicit goals for what students are to know, understand and do.
To make it easier to identify what students need to know, the Mathematics K-10 syllabus has been streamlined and the content described in simpler, more precise language. Stage statements have been removed, reflecting the fact that content within a stage of learning represents what students ‘typically’ know, do and understand. The change acknowledges that students can have different learning trajectories and teachers are best placed to make decisions on student learning goals.
Syllabus content remains organised into three conceptual areas: ‘Number and algebra’, ‘Measurement and geometry’ (previously ‘Measurement and space’) and ‘Statistics and probability’. There are clearer expectations for students’ developmental progression in relation to foundational concepts such as place value, additive and multiplicative relations, and fractions. Focus areas have been renamed to make the learning content more explicit. For example, in K-2, Addition and Subtraction has been replaced with ‘Combining and separating quantities’, moving to ‘Additive relations’ in Years 3-6. This shifts the focus from treating addition and subtraction as two separate mathematical processes to examining the relationship between them. Similarly, Multiplication and Division is now ‘Forming groups’ in K-2, moving to ‘Multiplicative relations’ in Years 3-6.
Each focus area is also accompanied by teaching advice to assist with programming and lesson design. The advice covers aspects such as possible misconceptions, developmental progression, and interrelationships with other mathematical concepts. To clarify teaching and learning goals, appropriate content points have drop downs which provide unambiguous examples.
Student goal setting is supported through a tight integration of assessment resources. The K-2 syllabus has key progression point tasks in Representing number, Combining and separating quantities and Forming groups. To provide a direct link between observable behaviours and syllabus outcomes, National Numeracy Learning Progression V3(ACARA, 2020) are tagged to syllabus content from K-10. Teaching advice supports the development of assessment tasks by helping teachers understand where students are on the trajectory of learning. Linked assessment resources provide a range of strategies to monitor student progress and identify areas where additional support may be needed. Underlining a strong focus on equitable outcomes, sample access points are integrated for students with complex disabilities who are working towards Early Stage 1 outcomes.
The content is more deliberately sequenced and connected.
The new syllabus draws on contemporary research to redesign the way we identify, introduce and progress key concepts. Content within, and across, focus areas has been realigned and sequenced to improve the progression of learning and build stronger schemas of understanding. Purposeful connections have replaced isolated repetition. For example, in Measurement and geometry, content relating to time and mass now fall together under Non-spatial measure, emphasising the different conceptual approach required to measure things we can’t see or touch. Volume now falls under Three-dimensional spatial structure as a natural connection to how we describe and quantify objects.
Many of the changes reflect that ‘skills and knowledge for focus areas often develop in an interrelated manner and can be addressed in parallel’(NESA, 2022). For example, patterning is a basic mathematical skill that enables students to sequence, see order and make predictions. It underpins all mathematical relationships from the memorisation of the counting sequence to spatial thinking and geometry. Being able to identify the repetition of a unit is the basis of multiplicative thinking. Therefore, it just makes sense to liberate ‘Patterns and Algebra’ from its isolated outcome in the 2012 syllabus and entwine it in all focus areas.
Fractions are another (particularly striking and important) example of how making connections explicit can drive changes to the way we teach, and students learn. We know that almost all students find fractions challenging, and almost all teachers find fractions challenging to teach. Research suggests ‘a student’s proficiency with fractions is directly related to the conceptual and procedural interweaving they make over a long period of time’ (Australian Government Department of Education, 2022).
To support this, the ‘Fractions and Decimals’ outcome from the previous syllabus has gone from K-2, and fractional understanding is woven into Forming groups and Geometric measure. The emphasis is on conceptual understanding of the whole, and its relationship to the parts, rather than on fractions as a number. Of the three different fraction models – linear (partitioning a length or line), area (partitioning whole shapes or areas) and discreet (partitioning a collection) – the area model is the most challenging. The parts must be equal (‘exactly equal’), and students must understand that a shape or object has many different attributes and that only some of them contribute to the measurement of area (for instance – not colour, not orientation, not position). K-2 students are slowly building their ability to estimate and compare area by superimposing shapes, using indirect comparison and, finally, by using grid overlays. Introducing fractions through halves and quarters of shapes assumes students already have a deep understanding of this challenging concept. Indeed, the typical objects we halve (apples, pizzas, leaves, playdough) are often not halves in terms of their mass or volume, and only ‘about half’ in terms of their size. We are inadvertently contributing to the misconception that one out of two pieces is a half, rather than focusing on the equality of the parts and their relationship to the whole.
The new syllabus, therefore, introduces halves through collections when forming groups, and half (and about half) of lengths in Geometric measure. Students are then introduced to the focus area Partitioned fractions (or fractions as parts of things) in Stage 2, in preparation for representing quantity fractions (or fractions as numbers) in Stage 3.
All of these changes are framed by an increased focus on reasoning. Opportunities for students to reason are tagged to relevant content, and teachers are supported to engage students in mathematical reasoning activities through linked teaching advice. Research suggests that ‘children’s mathematical reasoning might be the mediator between social background and children’s mathematics’ (Nunes et al, 2009). If we are serious about closing the equity gaps in mathematical achievement, this is the place to start.
The focus on reasoning informs the move to a single, overarching Working mathematically outcome. It emphasises the interrelationship of the processes that make up working mathematically – understanding and fluency, problem solving, reasoning, and communicating through mathematical language and models. When teachers feel pressured,they often revert to more traditional teaching methods which don’t address mathematical reasoning. It seems like a more efficient way of getting through the content. Yet having students listen to, share, and make sense of their classmates’ reasoning is vital to building and maintaining a focus on mathematical understanding. For example,learning multiplication facts by rote can be helpful but many students are never able to recall them all accurately. In a classroom where reasoning and communicating is expected, students have to clarify and organise their thinking about the multiplicative relations underlying fact families. This helps them identify important mathematical connections and build fluency through understanding. That most incorrectly remembered multiplication fact, 6 x 8, can then be accessed or checked through more familiar facts such as (6 x 4) + (6 x 4), or (7 x 6) + (1 x 6).
Implementation Support
There is no shortage of support for teachers to engage with the new syllabus. NESA has an online learning portal, NESA Learning, which deals with all aspects of the new curriculum. The NSW Department of Education has a wide range of professional development opportunities, as well as on-demand support through Statewide staffrooms and Curriculum networks. A complete set of sample units for Mathematics K-2 Syllabus can be downloaded from the Universal Resource Hub. A selection of sample units for Stage 2 and Stage 3 are also available, with the rest being released in a phased manner into 2024.
However, after all the professional learning is done and all the resources are downloaded, the most important thing will be those discussions in stage meetings, in the staffroom, in classroom doorways and at student desks. It is here that we, as teachers, will really begin to ‘work mathematically’, exploring, connecting, choosing, applying, reasoning, and communicating newly acquired syllabus content knowledge, reflecting on our beliefs about successful teaching practices and illuminating our own way forward. The best advice I have? A cut and paste from Jenny Williams’ and Mary-Ellen Betts’ words of wisdom for teacher approaching a previous ‘new syllabus’ in 2014: “Open the syllabus and read it.”
Clinton, W. J. (1994). Public papers of the Presidents of the United States, William J. Clinton. Washington, DC :Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records
Catherine Myson-Foehner has held classroom teacher and executive roles in NSW schools. She is currently employed by the NSW Department of Education as a Teaching and Learning Officer within the Educational Standards Directorate. She assists in the development, implementation and evaluation of innovative approaches to planning, programming and assessment for primary mathematics teachers.
Catherine has a strong educational interest in curriculum development and its impact on student equity. She worked on the K-2 and 3-6 writing teams for the K-10 Mathematics syllabus and delivers professional learning for teachers on syllabus implementation, including workshops at the Centre for Professional learning.
Margaret Gordon writes on the importance of quality PE programs in primary schools and offers practical suggestions for classroom teachers. . .
“Personal Development, Health and Physical Education (PDHPE) develops the knowledge, understanding, skills and attitudes important for students to take positive action to protect and enhance their own and others’ health, safety and wellbeing in varied and changing contexts. Physical education is fundamental to the acquisition of movement skills and concepts to enable students to participate in a range of physical activities – confidently, competently and creatively.” PDHPE K-10 NSW Syllabus Rationale 2018
Why is this important?
If we learned nothing else from the COVID years of lockdown/pandemic let it be the importance of health, safety and wellbeing, for ourselves and for the students we teach.
Ask yourself- “How effectively can we teach children who are unhealthy, unsafe or unwell?”
We simply cannot! Arguably, this makes PDHPE the most important subject of all! If the aim is that “PDHPE K–6 equips students with knowledge, understanding and skills to support their health, safety and wellbeing.” (Draft new syllabus. NESA, 2023) then the importance of quality teaching and learning in this Key Learning Area (KLA) cannot be underestimated.
Primary school teachers tend to cover Personal Development and Health (PDH) concepts well. The Department of Education requires that Drug Education, Road Safety and Child Protection concepts are taught in every stage of learning across Years K-10 and ample support materials are made available online. Extensive instruction regarding respectful relationships and anti-bullying is provided through the plethora of positive friendship and social skills programs employed in public schools across NSW. These have even been commercialised, with great financial reward for savvy businesspeople worldwide. Furthermore, individual teachers address social conflicts daily making it feel like we are constantly going back over positive friendship behaviours, respectful relationships etc.
But what about PE? Far too often, Physical Education (PE) is relegated to an afternoon treat or reward. Classes play another game of Bin-Ball or Capture the Flag because the students love them, and the games just run themselves.
This is not because teachers don’t understand the importance of PE, and it certainly is not because they don’t care. Instead, PE simply is often not prioritised because we are all so overworked, trying to meet the minimum requirements for each KLA. Ask yourself; what’s the first thing to be scratched from your day plan when school-life gets busy, or your maths lesson didn’t quite go to plan? How often do you resort to the same game outside because the kids have been begging you?
We must mandate and prioritise quality PE and provide our students with a wide variety of physical activity experiences. Students thrive when challenged by the physical activities in which they participate. Unless it truly is meeting the students at their point of need, Bin-Ball is not a PE lesson in and of itself. By all means, go outside and play a game for fun. But it is not a PE lesson. Quality and authentic PE lessons need to be planned just as carefully and strategically as any other KLA. The development of both fine- and gross- motor skills should be a priority. So should be the all-important skills of resilience, cooperation and sportsmanship, which are inherent within a quality PE lesson.
PDHPE deserves same time and attention as the other 5 KLAs. Use strategies such as the teaching/learning cycle and backwards mapping. Consider the outcomes towards which you are moving your students.
Ask yourself- what do these students need to learn? How can I plan a program to help them learn it? How will I know when they have learned it successfully? Differentiate, by considering the four key classroom elements; content/process/product/learning environment. These apply to PE just as much as they do in any other subjects! Not every student will be the next superstar, but they still should be given ample opportunity to enjoy being active.
What does a quality PHYSICAL EDUCATION program look like?
The program will be unique to your educational setting, but here is my advice:
-Plan for PE just as carefully and strategically as you would for any other KLA. Meet students at their point of need.
Incorporate the Game Sense pedagogy; have most kids moving, most of the time. “In the Game Sense approach, individuals learn within the context of the game and teachers employ questioning instead of direct instruction.” (Georgakis, Wilson & Evans, 2015, p. 73)I highly recommend this article as a starting point if Game Sense pedagogy is new to you
The School Sport Unit offers some valuable professional learning online via MyPL. Search MyPL for the following short courses; School Sport Unit: Thinking while Moving.
School Sport Unit: Game-based learning in sport and physical activity
School Sport Unit: Delivering engaging sport and physical activity programs in K-2
-Warm up with a quick start, run around game which gets everyone moving. Two of my favourites are ‘Infinity Tag’ or ‘Who’s Got Game’.1
-Cool down with questions, but, whilst doing so, incorporate movement. Walk and talk with students as you guide them to consider:
What worked during our main event today?
What was the key concept of the game?
How could we challenge ourselves more if we played this again?
How did we solve this movement challenge collaboratively?
-Avoid teaching formal sports in PE as this instantly will put off some students. Those who already play that sport will dominate; those who don’t will not even try. Rather than teaching Touch Football or Netball select the key skills and concepts of these sports and simplify them. These are both invasion games which focus on moving the ball from one side of the play space to the other, without losing possession to the opposing team.
Repeat the same simple games but vary the experience by changing:
the ball you use,
the size of the goal zone,
the number of passes required between teammates,
or the allocated time for play.
Simple tweaks can make the world of difference.
Introduce sport-specific rules, such as no-contact for netball or backwards passing in touch football, as the students’ skills progress.
-As much as possible, avoid teaching skills through drills. “Game-ify” the learning! Keep all students occupied rather than waiting in line for their turn. For example, when teaching dribbling in soccer or basketball, pair students up then give each pair a ball. One player is the dribbler, the other is the chaser. If the chaser can steal the ball, they swap roles.
– Emphasise personal challenges- kids love to achieve a high score, though this doesn’t mean they need to compete against anyone but themselves:
How many safe passes can you make before a dropped ball?
How many safe passes can you make in one minute / two minutes / before your classmate runs all the way around the court?
Can you beat your previous high score?
Increase / decrease the play zone or game space.
GET THEM THINKING:
Ask questions to prompt students’ own critical thinking throughout the lesson.
Allow time and space for the learners to solve problems on their own = cooperation, collaboration, relationship building
Ask the students- how could we make this harder/easier for you?
How would you teach this skill to younger students?
When or where might this skill be useful?
Common excuses not to teach PE.
The kids’ behaviour is out of control. We can’t trust them to play games and sports.
As is the case for all teaching and learning, if you hold high expectations in PE the students will rise to them. Just as you would for any other lesson, give explicit instructions, provide clear boundaries and always have a back-up plan. Follow your usual behaviour management procedures just as you would in the classroom and consider carefully how you will group students throughout the lesson.
Two Key Tips for PE:
Make sure you have a good quality whistle and establish clear, consistent whistle signals for outdoor PE lessons-: one whistle means freeze; two whistles means stop & drop, three whistles means game over etc.
Incorporate movement and games into the allocation of groups or teams and by all means, PLEASE avoid the practice of selecting two team captains who then take it in turns to select individual players, which can be seen as a humiliating experience for some students. For example, play ‘Would you rather?’ where students move to one side to indicate their preferences such as chocolate vs. ice-cream, Summer vs. Winter, Socceroos vs. Wallabies etc. These groups then become teams for the next game. OR Play tips where students hold hands to form a human caterpillar when tipped. These groups can then be used as teams for the next game. Remember, sport isn’t always fair, so groups don’t necessarily have to be ‘equal’ – use this as another element of challenge!
We don’t have time
It is essential to make time. PE is mandatory! The NSW Department of Education Sport and Physical Activity Policy states that “NSW Public Schools are required to provide a minimum of 150 minutes of planned physical activity for students in K-10 each week” (NSW Department of Education, 2018)
This, however, doesn’t have to all happen in one hit. Make it work best for you and the learners in your specific context. Short bursts of daily fitness activities can be a positive way to start the day. Some schools use RFF teachers to deliver quality, consistent PE lessons across the school. Others incorporate deliberate movement opportunities in mathematics lessons, which is just one way to embed PE concepts in a meaningful, relevant context. As the old saying goes, “work smarter, not harder,” by combining KLAs.
We don’t have space.
Not all PE lessons need to happen outdoors on a football field or basketball court. You will not always have access to the school hall.
Think creatively and flexibly:
How can you use your classroom space to get kids moving? Get the kids involved in finding a workable solution to this genuine ‘movement challenge.’
Come up with safe, simple routines to either move or incorporate classroom furniture into your PE lessons.
Speak with your colleagues about how you can work together to share space for the benefit of all students. Could you swap classrooms for a session each week?
Combining classes or even stage groups for a giant game provides ample opportunity for practising respectful relationships/getting on with others.
Don’t be afraid to combine Infants with Primary classes.; This can be a great opportunity for peer-support or buddy activities! The older kids will LOVE teaching and helping the younger ones to develop key movement skills.
It’s too cold, too windy, too wet, too hot.
Honestly, fair call! No-one loves standing in the freezing wind or sleeting rain, and running around during the peak of Summer can be downright dangerous in the Australian climate.
My favourite back up plan, for when the weather won’t play nice, is to combine and conquer…PDHPE combines beautifully with Creative Arts. Lots of drama games incorporate sophisticated physical movements.
Dance is both a creative art and a physical activity. Once again, don’t be afraid to ask the students to help solve movement challenges. As I’m sure you can appreciate, they will come up with remarkably creative, flexible ideas about how to be physically active within the confines of a classroom!
Final thoughts
PE deserves your professional attention, for the benefit of the students you teach and for their health, safety and wellbeing now and into the future. Mandate it; make it as fun for as many students as you can; keep them moving and keep them thinking. You never know, you might even have some fun too!
Helpful Resources
The Australian Council for Health, Physical Education and Recreation.
This is the national professional association representing people who work in the areas of health education, physical education, recreation, sport, dance, community fitness or movement sciences. https://www.achpernsw.com.au/ accessed 21/07/2023
Sport Australia Playing for Life game cards.
These are a broad selection of ready to print, ready to use PE activities. There are examples of everything, from invasion games to ball-striking.
When a player is tagged, they must stand still with their hands on their head, to indicate to other players that they have been tagged. They are back in the game as soon as the player who tagged them gets tagged. If two players tag each other at the same time, they play a quick game of Scissors Paper Rock; winner keeps playing, loser stands still as though they have been tagged. Play continues infinitely, or until the teacher calls time.
(I am yet to meet a class where we reach the point of one player left but, theoretically, it could be done!)
Who’s Got Game H3 Similar to the classic playground games of ‘Bullrush’ or ‘Red Rover’.
Players stand at one side of the play zone. The aim is to cross to the other side without being tipped. One person or a small group stand in the middle of the zone. These are the tippers.
Tippers call out ‘Who’s Got Game?’
Players call out ‘We’ve Got Game!’
Tippers give a free pass; ‘You’ve got game if…you’re wearing white socks/have a brother/ate a banana with your breakfast’ Players cross safely to the other side if the free pass is true for them.
Other players wait for the tippers to call an action (run, skip, jump) then GO! Players and tippers have to move as per the action. If a player is tipped they swap teams and join the tippers. Play continues until one player remains. They are then ‘in’ for the start of the next game.
Light, R., & Georgakis, S. (2023). Teaching Physical Education for Happiness and Well-being. The International Journal of Sport and Society, 14(2), 41-50.
Margaret works as an Assistant Principal on the mid-north coast of NSW. She began teaching in 2015, leaving her hometown of Sydney to work in regional NSW.
Margaret has taught mainstream classes across all year groups, K-6. She worked for three years as a specialist PE teacher to cover RFF for all stages and loved every minute of it.
Despite making a return to classroom teaching in 2023, Margaret’s passion for quality physical education and wellbeing drives her classroom practice. She maintains active involvement in the local PSSA and seeks professional learning opportunities through the DoE’s School Support Unit. Margaret is also a member of the NSWTF’s Sport Special Interest Group (SIG). To be added to the Sport SIG’s mailing list, contact Federation on (02) 9217 2199.
In this course you will develop a practical understanding of modern assessment theory and look at strategies for promoting and assessing higher order thinking skills in your students. We will focus on two assessment formats: multiple choice, and performance-based items, and consider the purpose and design of rubrics. We will look in depth at the advantages, disadvantages, tricks, and pitfalls of these different styles, emphasising the interrelationship between learning and assessment.
Professor Jim Tognolini and Dr Sofia Kesidou from the University of Sydney’s Centre for Educational Measurement and Assessment lead an interactive and content-driven professional learning day. Completing this course will consolidate your expertise in helping your students develop analytical, evaluative, and creative skills.
This course is NESA Accredited. Please expand the ‘Accreditation’ bar for further details.
Face to face in Blacktown (Club Blacktown, 40 Second Ave, Blacktown NSW 2148)
5 November 2025
Prof Jim Tognolini
Professor Jim Tognolini is Director of The Centre for Educational Measurement and Assessment (CEMA) which is situated within the University of Sydney School of Education and Social Work. The work of the Centre is focused on the broad areas of teaching, research, consulting and professional learning for teachers.
The Centre is currently providing consultancy support to a number of schools. These projects include developing a methodology for measuring creativity; measuring 21st Century Skills; developing school-wide practice in formative assessment. We have a number of experts in the field: most notably, Professor Jim Tognolini, who in addition to conducting research offers practical and school-focused support.
Dr Sofia Kesidou
Sofia Kesidou is an executive leader and academic researcher with close to 30-years’ experience in international educational assessment, curriculum and research.
Sofia has taught courses in assessment to undergraduate and graduate students, and has conducted numerous professional-development sessions related to standards-based curriculum and assessment as well as assessment and data literacy internationally.
Completing Modern Assessment Theory and Assessment Strategies for Higher Order Thinking: K-12 will contribute 5 hours of NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) Accredited PD in the priority area of Delivery and Assessment of NSW Curriculum/EYLF addressing standard descriptors 5.1.2 from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers towards maintaining Proficient Teacher Accreditation in NSW.
K-12 teachers
$220
Face to face in Blacktown (5 November 2025)
“Great learning to empower teachers to be better professionals and create better outcomes for students, strengthen the profession.”
“A very practical course to use for the planning and implementation of classes with the intention of improving assessments/evaluating/testing for the students.”
“Every aspect of this course was informative and useful. I’ve had an opportunity to think about what has been presented and engage in collegial discussion.”
Helen McMahon, Michelle Gleeson, Andrea Gavrielatos & Trystan Loades consider one of the most important topics for all teachers … classroom management. Helen, in the introduction, returns to a topic that she wrote about in the 2015 edition of the JPL. Michelle and Andrea then give us the primary school perspective and Trystan discusses the high school context . . .
Introduction
Teaching is complex, no more so than when it comes to the management of student behaviour. Effective teaching can only occur when the behaviour of students is successfully dealt with at a whole school and individual class level. High standards of behaviour are essential in creating a productive and positive learning environment, as well as a safe and respectful school.
A high standard of behaviour should be expected of all students and applied throughout the school each day by everyone. From the outset it is important to understand a fundamental principle: while the public education system accepts all students, we do not accept all behaviours.
The student profile of many of our schools is becoming ever more complex and, therefore, teachers require increasingly sophisticated sets of skills to deal with behaviour in their own classes. However, it is important to understand that the management of student behaviour is also a collective responsibility, across the whole school by all staff, and in serious cases with systemic Department of Education support.
As all schools are required to develop a behaviour management plan, it is essential that this is developed collaboratively, and closely adhered to by all staff, in order to develop consistent approaches to unacceptable conduct.
Individual teachers, particularly for those who are beginning their teaching career, will usually need additional advice, support, and professional learning opportunities to acquire the range of skills that allow them to gain confidence and become professionally autonomous. Any professional learning should cover areas such as:
why engaging teaching strategies can be the basis for minimising unacceptable behaviour
how to manage persistent disruptive and challenging behaviours
strategies that could be used to de-escalate conflict situations
the need to engage parents and caregivers early and in a positive manner
the support that will be available from colleagues and executive teachers.
The NSW Department of Education’s Student Behaviour Policy (2022) states, “All students and staff have the right to be treated fairly and with dignity in an environment free from intimidation, harassment, victimisation, discrimination and continued disruption.” To ensure that schools are safe, productive, and stable learning environments it is essential that this fundamental policy position is embedded in the school culture and reinforced daily.
Classroom management – school contexts
During the liveliness and excitement of a bustling school day, there are many things out of our control. One of the things that we, as teachers, can control is how we set up our day and our classroom to ensure that we set our students (and ourselves) up for success.
The way classroom management looks in each classroom is ultimately up to the teacher. And whether or not you are working in a school which sets clear systems, expectations and routines, there are practices for your classroom that can make the day flow in a more positive direction.
Before we launch into the what and the how, let’s start with the why. On top of knowing our content and how to structure a lesson, classroom management directly affects the conditions for student learning and effective teaching. When the learning space is organised … students’ academic skills and competencies, as well as their social and emotional development are supported and enhanced (Kratochwill, DeRoos, Blair, 2009). This aligns with the Professional Knowledge and Professional Practice domains of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (NESA 2018), specifically that teachers ‘Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments’ and ‘Know students and how they learn’. The intersection of these two standards with regards to classroom management highlights that not only do our considerations about how we arrange the learning space matter, but this, combined with a deep understanding about our students’ individual characteristics and needs, can be affected and supported by that very learning environment. What are the things we need to factor in for our students before they’ve set foot through the door for our lesson or for the day? How can we suitably reflect on our lesson plan to anticipate how we might deal with behaviours that become too excitable? How can a teacher pre-empt and identify strategies to ensure all students are engaged safely and successfully in classroom activities?
Across both primary and secondary settings, there are universal elements to classroom management. that link back to the Standards. that can help us reflect on how we best set our students up for success in their learning. Let’s take a look at a day in the life of a primary school teacher and a learning period for a high school teacher, and, in doing so, share some strategies which you can add to your toolbox to support you…
A Day in the Life of Primary School – through the lens of classroom management
Starting the day
Classroom management begins well before the front gates open for students and families. This time is quite possibly the most important part of the day with regards to effective classroom management.
A good habit to develop each day when you arrive at your classroom is to map out the day plan in a visual timetable, either written or with visual aids, displayed at the front of the room. This practice is an example of how to utilise Universal Design for Learning as seen in the Universal Design for Learning planning tool (2021). This framework is most beneficial for students with additional needs, however it reduces the fear of the unknown and can be beneficial for all students. Taking a moment to walk through what’s happening, on any given day, can also help you to anticipate the flow of what’s planned and review what you’ll need for the lessons for the day. Using the morning routine to locate and organise resources needed for your lessons will assist in those teaching moments to maintain your students’ focus and minimise opportunities for behaviours to unravel. Being proactive in having what you will need at the ready, or mentally noting what you need to prepare during the session break and considering how and where resources are accessed during the learning is an important aspect of classroom management related to the routines you establish and maintain in your classroom.
Setting the tone of your learning environment
How you then organise your classroom with resources and routines inherently sets the tone of the learning environment. Giving attention and consideration to how the classroom helps to develop a culture of learning and structure is something which can often be forgotten. Setting up the learning space in a way which is conducive to teaching and learning is paramount.
It is helpful to ask questions such as ‘can students and teachers move around the room with ease?, ‘is there enough room to walk?’, ‘is the floor clear of resources?’, ‘are resources clearly labelled and packed in the appropriate place?’, ‘where will students sit for group discussions or brainstorming or modelled lessons?’, ‘what kind of noise levels are acceptable and at what times?’.
Ideas as simple as group structures and seating arrangements can promote positive behaviours and academic outcomes (Wannarka & Ruhl, 2008). There is evidence to support the idea that ‘if students are working on individual assignments, they should be seated in an arrangement that makes interacting with peers inconvenient…for example, in rows students are not directly facing each other’. Conversely, ‘when the desired behaviour is interactive… seating arrangements that facilitate interactions by proximity and position, such as clustered desks or semi-circles, should be utilised’ (Wannarka & Ruhl, 2008). Strategically planning these structures prior to the day beginning can have a positive influence on student engagement and behaviour.
Involving your students to establish a set of expectations supports a shared understanding of what is valued in the learning environment for everyone to be able to engage in learning. It can also assist students to regulate collaboratively the classroom behaviour. What is important to one group can be vastly different to another, so this process is a crucial component to classroom management and is most successful when students have agency in determining the conditions for learning as well as the positive rewards and negative consequences that go along with these. Along with collaboratively setting up, and explicit teaching of, class expectations, each teacher will have a different system of organisation with regards to student jobs, and overall set up. It is important to be strategic in deciding which student will be responsible for each job depending on their social, emotional and academic needs. Guiding questions such as the following are helpful to ask yourself when selecting students for each job: Do any students require regular breaks? Does a particular student require a peer to assist them in executing the job? Will the students be able to refocus upon completion of the job?
As with any element of classroom management, it is crucial to model and guide students in how to successfully perform each task before expecting them to complete it independently.
Relationships sit at the heart of effective classroom management and a simple yet effective way to connect with your students, and to set the tone of the day of learning, is to greet students personally as they enter the classroom. Positioning yourself at your door, monitoring both students as they unpack and those that are settling into the room allows you to:
start the day with a positive connection with your students,
remind students of classroom expectations through specific praise of preferred behaviours, in turn supporting the transition into the formal learning space, and
gauge the moods and mindsets your students have before the learning begins.
This, in turn, offers a “low-cost, high-yield” proactive strategy that complements the organisational elements to setting up the learning environment (Cook, et. al 2018). Coupled with your proactive measures of setting up your resources, being proactive with your students’ behaviour, and starting every day with a positive and personal acknowledgement of each student in your class, has been shown to promote higher levels of academic engagement. It also minimises, even prevents, the occurrence of problem behaviours that disrupt learning. Additionally, being perceptive to the emotional wellbeing of your students, not only as they start the day but throughout the day, and particularly following transitions, can assist you in managing behaviours through pre-corrections, further modelling or revision, or tuning in to students’ needs to support them to re-engage or regulate their behaviour.
Positive reinforcement extends the tone of the learning environment and can take varied forms without always being a tangible reward although, at times, the extrinsic motivator can help. Acknowledging and reinforcing the behaviours you expect supports students with direct feedback on what is valued, but is only effective when the reinforcement is genuine, clear, and explicit about the behaviour and given in a timely manner (i.e., straight after the target behaviour). If there are established positive reinforcement procedures in your school, it is critical that these are integrated into your own systems. Such integration, however, does not preclude the use of your own additional strategies, if required, which can be as simple as non-verbal cues and verbal praise, a positive phone call to parents, to tangible reward tokens or activity rewards. Knowing the individual preferences of your students will also inform the approach that you take for encouraging positive behaviour in your classroom. Most students will respond to the universal support and expectations for behaviours (be they the whole school or your class systems) but some students may require an individualised approach with targeted and specific behaviour goals that have positive consequences negotiated with the student and their parents or carers.
“Be the calmest person in the room”
And while giving attention to the routines and structures of our classroom allows us to exert some control in pre-empting behaviours, the only thing we can control is ourselves and to be the calmest person in the room. The key to effective routines and structures lies in modelling and explicit teaching but this begins with our own behaviours. Students are more likely to replicate calm energy if they have been shown this. The importance of being responsive over reactive, having and modelling empathy, and above all else being consistent, sits hand in hand with the positive, safe and supported learning environment that is conducive to the success of our students.
Transitions and breaks
When it comes to managing your expectations around behaviours at any point in the school day, it’s often safer to never assume your students will know how to behave. Establishing expectations not only with regards to the use of resources and interactions for group or independent work, but also around transitions requires explicit teaching through modelling. For example, if your students are expected to enter and exit the classroom quietly and in two straight lines or move from sitting on the floor to their desks, then preparing them from the outset with clear expectations and demonstrations is required, even for simple tasks such as these. Show your students what the transition looks like, sounds like and feels like so that they can experience that through practise, revising as often as needed.
While classroom management is often viewed as enacted within the four walls of the classroom, practices such as active supervision apply in the playground and have similar effect and impact in managing behaviour. The proverbial ‘eyes in the back of your head’ comes to mind. The effects of scanning, movement and proximity on supporting positive behaviour in any school setting will influence behaviour. It is important to remember that our job is to teach and that every moment is a teaching moment, whether we are in the classroom or elsewhere. Teach and praise what you want to see more of and celebrate the steps along the journey.
Managing the end of the day
The bookends of the day largely dictate the overall organisation of your classroom, and where much attention is given to setting up the day, the end of the day is equally important. Similar to the setup, pre-empting issues and being proactive is key at the end of the day – knowing that your students are going to start feeling tired and fatigued, consider what could go wrong with the planned group activity, or art lesson, and make adjustments to your plan where necessary. If you think they require some time to regulate, complete a calming ‘brain break’. If it seems as though they are lacking energy, complete an energising activity. (Although ‘brain breaks’ can be done at any time throughout the day, the end of the day is often when they are utilised most regularly).
Allow yourself plenty of time for packing up, giving yourself at least 10 minutes at the end of the day to finish calmly and smoothly with an activity before students are dismissed such as read a story/poem, play a game, silent reading or journaling, guided drawing, practise gratitude, dance or sing. The activity could be a routine one or be different every day, this is up to you and your class. Just as the expectation stands for entering the classroom, be consistent with clear expectations for how students leave the classroom when the bell rings. Think about how many students will you dismiss at once- will they be the same students at tables/desks or the students who are packed up and quiet? Supporting a positive and calm end to the day will not only support your students in finishing the day on a good note but is also good for our own wellbeing to avoid ending the day in frantic chaos.
When you need support…
With the increase of students with additional needs enrolled in public schools, over the course of a career, teachers will likely be met with students who challenge and provoke our thinking. Sometimes, when redirection and all proactive, positive systems have been exhausted or when the safety of a child, a class, or staff members is at risk, different strategies are required.
Whether or not an individual behaviour plan is required, at times, it is critical to utilise expert and experienced staff, including senior executives, for support.
Some things to remember, if and when faced with more complex, challenging and escalating behaviours, are:
remain calm – think about your tone of voice, body language, what you are saying, how you are moving, where you are positioned,
explain why the specific behaviour is unacceptable – Is it unsafe? Is it disturbing the learning of others? Is it respectful?
don’t buy into any secondary behaviours which may arise,
give short and direct instructions – it is helpful to use the student’s name first and then the clear, explicit direction,
follow through,
call for assistance.
Remember, once any incident is dealt with, it is important to move on and start fresh.
Students come to school to learn and they all have a right to do so in our vibrant and diverse public education system. With clear and visible expectations and routines which are reiterated and retaught consistently through a calm and predictable teacher, you set yourself and your class up for success (Dix, 2017).
Consistency
For many students, their school, and in particular their classroom, is the place where they feel most at ease, at baseline and where they can truly be themselves. Their teacher is a constant and when we act and react predictably to all situations, it makes our students feel safe. Safety allows students to remain calm, display positive behaviours and in turn, engage in learning. ‘Visible consistency with visible kindness allows exceptional behaviour to flourish’ (Dix, 2017).
A High School Context
Teaching is a highly complex activity, which, depending on which research you read, requires a teacher to make as many as 1500 decisions a day.
As stated earlier, teachers have a core responsibility to ‘Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments’ Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (2018). Our students also have a core responsibility to ensure that they are contributing to a positive learning environment. As Helen McMahon stated in our introduction: while public education accepts all students, we do not accept all behaviours.
High schools are busy places, in which movement and transitions are an integral part of every school day. The effective management of student behaviour is critical to ensuring that our practice and pedagogy impacts positively on the learning of our students. Without it, learning cannot take place.
Three ways in which teachers can impact on student behaviour are through: routines and structures, controlling the learning environment and engagement.
Routines and Structure
As high school teachers, we are always receiving students who are arriving from another context, be it roll call, recess, lunch or the previous lesson. Our class may be arriving as a group who were together in the previous lesson or be a group coming together for the first time that day. This poses significant challenges for a teacher who needs to ensure that the start to their lesson is both orderly and purposeful.
Paul Dix, author of When the adults change, everything changes (2017)states, “Your students might claim that they prefer to lead lives of wild and crazy chaos. In reality, it is your routines, and your relentless repetition of them, that makes the students feel safe enough to learn.”.
Managing the Start of Lessons – Explicitly teaching clear and consistent routines throughout the structure of your lesson has many benefits for you and your students. Meet students in the same way every lesson, if they line up, do it the same way every time. Greet every student, building a connection before entering the classroom. Ensure that the first contact is proactive, positive and within your control. If you search YouTube, you will find videos of teachers sharing elaborate handshake routines which are individual to each student. This would not be something we could all do, but a personal verbal greeting to all students is something we can all achieve, it could be asking about the lesson they have just left or simply a personalised greeting. These interactions also help teachers, before entry to the classroom, to pick up on issues students are arriving with.
Feeling Safe – Consistent routines and structures provide students a connection to, and a feeling of safety in, our classrooms. For students, the idea that ‘I know what to expect’ allows space for engagement in initial instructions and explicit teaching. For students who have experienced trauma and those who have additional learning needs this is critical to building a sense of trust and safety as a learner.
Managing the End of Lessons – Our role in supporting smooth transitions is particularly important at the end of lessons. It allows for reflection on the learning which has taken place and provides support to our colleagues who will be receiving our students during the next teaching period. It also directly impacts on the safety of students and staff as they move to the next location of their day. Having a consistent routine at the end of lessons is as important as at the start of each lesson. Developing a suite of strategies such as exit tickets, routines around packing up and preparing to leave the room are vital and the important thing is to, as Paul Dix said, be relentless in your repetition of them.
Controlling the Learning Environment
Taking control of your classroom is a vital component of being a successful teacher. There is no one way to do this, and every teacher is different, however, being passive is not an option.
The NSW Department of Education’s Classroom management: Creating and maintaining positive learning environments (CESE 2020) cites research which says:
Put simply, classroom management and student learning are inextricably linked; students cannot learn or reach their potential in environments which have negative and chaotic classroom climates, lack structure and support, or offer few opportunities for active participation (Hepburn & Beamish 2019, p. 82), and students report wanting teachers who can effectively manage the classroom learning environment (see Woolfolk Hoy & Weinstein 2006, p.183; Egeberg & McConney 2018)
Layout – Assert your control of the classroom environment through the arrangement of furniture. Set up the space before students arrive whenever you can. If there are materials to distribute to allow learning activities to begin, have them on desks before students arrive. This saves time and removes opportunities for disruption.
Managing Behaviour -Exercise power to gain power and, therefore, control of the environment. Gain compliance through small instructions which are easy to follow, such as completing a simple task of collecting or getting out equipment or setting up a page in a workbook can settle a class and establish your authority in the classroom. Taking ownership of behaviour management is critical in establishing your authority. You should always know how to get support from colleagues and your Head Teacher but resolving issues yourself will always pay off in the long run. It is important to note that knowing when an issue needs to be escalated is also critical.
Seating Plans – A well-considered seating plan allows students to know where to be and for you to control where individuals are in your learning space. Some students may have specific positions described in their Individual Learning Plans (ILPs). A seating plan can allow you to establish effective group work as a supportive structure in your classroom.
Non-Verbal Communication – The use of non-verbal communication is a core skill we all need to develop; it can allow us to intervene early and get behaviour back on track without drawing attention to a student or their behaviour. This can be as subtle as eye contact at the right moment, a hand movement to suggest calming or even a smile and a nod.
Positioning – Where you place yourself at key times such as student arrival, roll marking, giving instructions, asking questions will impact on each activity’s effectiveness. Your ability to move around the room while maintaining a scanning view allows you to keep on top behaviour and levels of student engagement. Some teachers use a specific position in the classroom to manage student behaviour which is separate to positions they use for explicit teaching. Used consistently, this can even become an example of non-verbal communication as students learn to associate it with an intervention by the teacher.
Pace – Your control of the pace of your teaching and the learning in your classroom is also a key strategy in developing an orderly and effective classroom. Research has shown that a slow pace of instruction can cause significant behaviour problems. The right pace in a lesson will positively impact on student engagement and progress in learning.
Engagement
Any teacher, who has become involved in a struggle of attrition with an individual or a class around behaviour, knows that it is a negative cycle, which needs to be broken. The way to break it is always through positive engagement in learning.
Explicit Teaching – Students’ knowledge of what they are learning, and why they are learning it, impacts on their engagement. Building their ‘field’ of knowledge around a topic or specific activity adds richness and promotes genuine understanding and interest.
Modelling – Modelling an activity for a class, or group within a class, draws students into a task and provides the opportunity for a teacher to build credibility with students. A teacher sharing skills is a way for students to see that their teacher is an expert from whom they can learn.
Questioning – A skilled teacher will use a wide range of questioning techniques to develop students’ ideas, to check on understanding, to draw individuals into the learning process and to inform their own decision making on where to take the lesson next. Questions allow a teacher to take a class deeper into a topic and promote students’ skills of justifying and explaining their reasoning. Simple techniques like ‘no hands up’ or ‘think, pair and share’ place structure and enhance the teachers control of order in a classroom. The use of closed questions to check recall and open questions to promote deeper thinking and analysis will be appropriate at various times within a class’s learning. Click here for the link to the Department of Education’s section on Questioning
Participation – Designing learning activities or tasks which require active participation is fundamental to building student engagement.
When teachers require that students participate in lessons, rather than sit as passive listeners, they increase the odds that these students will become caught up in the flow of the activity and not drift off into misbehaviour (Heward, 2003).
This idea is explored in detail by Geoff Munns’ JPL article from 2021. He said,
“We talked about students being ‘in-task’ (positively involved in their learning) as opposed to being ‘on-task’ (just complying with teacher instructions).”
No matter which stage you are teaching, being prepared, and having as much organisation in place as possible will enable any teacher to deal with the unexpected. As stated earlier a teacher will make as many as 1500 decisions in any normal school day, each one may be critical to a student’s learning or the management of their behaviour. Teaching really is rocket science.
Cook, C, Fiat, A, Larson, M, Daikos, C, Slemrod, T, Holland, E, Thayer, A & Renshaw, T (2018). ‘Positive greetings at the door: Evaluation of a low-cost, high-yield proactive classroom management strategy’, Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, vol. 20, no. 3.
Dix, P. (2017). When the adults change, everything changes: seismic shifts in school behaviour. (1st ed.). Independent Thinking Press.
Egeberg, H & McConney, A (2018) What do students believe about effective classroom management? A mixed – methods investigation in Western Australian high schools. Springer International Publishing
Hepburn, L & Beamish, W (2019) Towards Implementation of Evidence Based Practices for Classroom Management in Australia: A review of research Australian Journal of Teacher Education
Heward, W.L. (2003) Ten Faulty Notions about Teaching and Learning That Hinder the Effectiveness of Special Education. The Journal of Special Education
Wannarka, R., & Ruhl, K. (2008). Seating arrangements that promote positive academic and behavioural outcomes: a review of empirical research. Support for Learning, 23(2), 89–93. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9604.2008.00375.x
Woolfolk Hoy, A., & Weinstein, C. S. (2006). Student and Teacher Perspectives on Classroom Management.
In C. M. Evertson, & C. S. Weinstein (Eds.), Handbook of Classroom Management. Research, Practice, and Contemporary Issues (pp. 181-219). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Helen McMahon is an experienced secondary History and English teacher. For much of her career she taught in the south-west region of Sydney. Helen held the position of Deputy Principal at Bankstown Girls High School before being appointed as Principal to Leumeah High School. Following her retirement as principal she returned to the classroom, teaching English at Keira High School.
Helen is the author of a popular article on behaviour management published in the very first edition of the JPL which is still available. The article was based on beginning teacher professional development courses she delivered on behalf of the Federation.
Andrea Gavrielatos began teaching in 2015 at Bardia Public School in Sydney’s South West.
She has worked in mainstream and special education settings. Prior to her current role she worked as a relieving Assistant Principal in an SSP which caters for students with Emotional Disturbances, Behaviour Disorders and Intellectual Disabilities.
Andrea is currently an Assistant Principal at a large Primary School in the Canterbury-Bankstown area. She has worked in infants and primary.
Throughout her career, Andrea has supported early career teachers to establish planning/programming routines and classroom management strategies as presenter at various conferences and courses.
Michelle Gleeson began teaching in 2005 as a primary teacher and is currently acting Deputy Principal at a large primary school on Sydney’s Northern Beaches.
Throughout her career, Michelle has been involved in advising early career teachers on accreditation processes and supporting beginning teachers to establish planning/programming routines and classroom management strategies as presenter at various conferences and workshops for the CPL and NSWTF.
She worked as a Professional Learning Officer at the NSW Institute of Teachers (now known as NESA) and advised teachers and school executive on designing and implementing effective processes to support the learning and development of all staff, using the framework of the Teaching Standards.
Trystan Loades has been a high school teacher for 26 years. He has held classroom teacher and executive roles in both NSW schools and schools in the UK, where he was a Faculty Head Teacher for 6 years. He is currently a Deputy Principal at Keira High School in Wollongong.
In recent years Trystan has worked closely with the University of Wollongong Master of Teaching program. He collaborated in the writing and delivery of professional learning for teachers supervising Professional Experience.
He currently leads new staff induction and support for beginning teachers at his school.
The CPL and The University of Sydney’s Centre for Educational Measurement and Assessment (CEMA) have entered into a collaborative partnership to deliver professional learning Literacy modules for all K-12 teachers.
About the Assessment Literacy modules
The six modules include video presentations by Professor Jim Tognolini, downloadable PDF files, formative self-assessment, reflective questions, recommended short readings, and collaborative webinar opportunities.
Each module will take you between four and six hours to complete and achieve the requisite PD hours towards maintenance of accreditation.
You will be able to: develop an understanding that assessment involves professional judgement based upon an image formed by the collection of information and is used to locate student performance on a developmental continuum; contextualise the role of assessment in teaching, and know, understand and use assessment related terms and strategies including reliability, validity, assessment for learning, assessment of learning, performance standards, and normreferenced assessment. Modules also include a specific consideration of the standards referenced system used in NSW, predicated on a measurement model.
Module 1 – Modern assessment theory including standards referencing
Module 2 – Constructing selected response and short-answer items including Higher Order Thinking Skill (HOTS) items
Module 3 – Constructing extended response and performance tasks, and writing analytic and holistic rubrics
Module 4 – Evaluating the function and classroom assessment tasks and tests
Module 5 – Examining the impact of feedback on learning
Module 6 – Exploring the role of moderation and reporting in classroom assessment
A leading expert in educational assessment has designed the modules
You can start the fully-online modules when convenient and complete them at your own pace
Each module is competitively priced
Each module is accredited
Modules address Standard Descriptors in Proficient Teacher Standard 5: Assess, provide feedback and report on student learning (5.1.2, 5.2.2, 5.3.2, 5.4.2, 5.5.2)
The University of Sydney has approved the modules for articulation to postgraduate award courses. Details are available on the Centre for Educational Measurement and Assessment’s website
Please click here for further details on Assessment and Data Literacy. Data Literacy modules will be available at a later date.
$300 for each module.
Federation financial members are eligible to receive a 10% discount on each module.
On confirmation of your financial membership with the NSW Teachers Federation, you will be sent further details on how to register for the modules.
All Teachers K-12
These modules are delivered online and can be completed at your own pace.
Dr Lorri Beveridge, Michael Murray and Hannah Gillard explore the high gravitas and practicalities of raising awareness of intersex, sexuality and gender diverse people in the primary classroom through teaching LGBTIQ literature.1 Teaching students LGBTIQ texts can better address students’ academic and emotional needs…
SETTING THE SCENE
The scene is a Year 6 classroom. The lesson is a novella study of a text dealing with racism,
(Pascoe, 2016). Increasingly, deep and significant class discussions are sprouting and intertwining, making the text come alive, resulting in high student engagement, that oftentimes occurs when teachers draw on quality texts in the teaching of English. Defined by Ewing, Callow and Rushton (2016, p103), quality texts are those that engage students and teachers alike, are rich in language and imagery, multi-layered and evoke a range of different communities and responses. Conversations about quality texts allow children to dive into rabbit-holes, to engage in complex and nuanced conversations they might not be exposed to inside and/or outside school, yet are so crucially important to their young lives. These conversations help children to make sense of their world in an open way, as they explore issues dialogically through the eyes of characters in texts, fostering positive wellbeing, at a safe distance. Mrs Whitlam narrates the struggles of an adolescent girl, tussling against covert racism in her daily life. The teacher in the Year 6 classroom steers the class to strengthen meaning through the complex interplay of context, narrative and character. One eloquent class member contributes at length regarding a particularly relevant aspect of the text. To encourage continuation of the important conversation string, the teacher reflects to the class, “She said, …”.
The student promptly responds, “I am a boy”, in a matter-of-fact way. Surprisingly, there is no reaction from the class. The teacher apologises profusely and moves the lesson right along. The above narrative is a real-life example of a teacher feeling under-confident and underprepared to correctly address transgender and gender diverse students in the classroom. In this paper, we argue that teaching quality LGBTIQ literature can open up an exploratory and open space for students and teachers to learn about intersex identities, and sexuality and gender diversity. Teaching these modes of diversity through literature means intersex identities and gender and sexuality diversity can be explored in a way that involves all students (those within and outside LGBTIQ communities) so that LGBTIQ students don’t feel singled out and confronted in the classroom due to questions or speculations about their difference. Teaching LGBTIQ texts can help make school a safer environment for LGBTIQ students, as well as their friends and family more broadly.
Why primary schools should support LGBTIQ students and address intersex identities, and sexuality and gender diversity
It is a reasonable expectation that LGBTIQ positive content is provided to children so they feel supported, and also so they can envision sexuality and gender diversity, for instance, as positive potentialities for themselves.
A related reason to teach LGBTIQ literature is the confronting, unacceptable and possibly all-too-familiar narrative of a child being misgendered in a classroom, which is a timely reminder to educators to reflect on how we support transgender and gender diverse students and their families. We may not be providing these students with the attention they require, and deserve, to set them up for success at school. The idiomatic expression, “viva la difference”, attributed to the French resistance movement (Vernet, 1992), encourages us to celebrate difference and diversity. Yet academic research ubiquitously points the finger at insensitive education systems, including a lack of LGBTIQ support, failure to recognise transgender identity, bullying and victimisation. These are widely regarded as contributing factors to spiralling youth suicide rates (Gorse, 2020; Lee & Wong, 2020; Turban & Ehrensaft, 2017).
Paediatric gender diversity is a burgeoning area of research (Ehrensaft, 2020; Ristori & Steensma, 2017; Henderson, 2016). Young children who are transgender or gender diverse also suffer from anxiety, depression and suicidality. A recent Canadian parent-report study (MacMullin, 2020) found that 9.1% of 6-12 year olds who expressed gender non-conformity had attempted suicide or self-harm. What is particularly notable in Australia is the marked scarcity of data on suicide and mental health for young people who are Indigenous and LGBTIQ (Henningham, 2021 p14; Rhodes and Byrne, 2021 p34). Scholar Mandy Henningham says this requires further research to recognise the impact of factors like intergenerational trauma and institutionalised racism on health outcomes for LGBTIQ and Indigenous young people (Henningham, 2021 p14). In recognising the poorer health outcomes for many LGBTIQ young people (and the need for more research), we as educators can assist LGBTIQ children and their families by creating inclusive school communities underpinned by values such as respect, acceptance (as opposed to tolerance) and honesty.
In failing to address the learning and wellbeing needs of LGBTIQ students, we are espousing a particular, mostly unintended, point of view, relegating our LGBTIQ students to the null curriculum, often referred to as the hidden curriculum (Kazeemi et al, 2020; Banja, 2020; Eisner, 1994). Schools socialise students in ways that are viewed as educationally significant, including shared values, images and beliefs (Eisner, 1994). The null curriculum is that which is not taught at school, important due to its conspiracy of silence. Pedagogy around intersex people, and those who are gender and sexuality diverse may indeed be regarded as part of the null curriculum. LGBTIQ diversity may be an uncomfortable subject for many educators to address. The null curriculum implies that being heterosexual and ‘cisgender’ (a term meaning not transgender) is normal and being LGBTIQ is abnormal. Promoting awareness of sexuality and gender diversity reduces anti-LGBTIQ stereotypes, bullying and violence against LGBTIQ students.
Mel Smith (2020) argues that public schools are fundamentally, and necessarily, inclusive and have a particular responsibility to recognise and represent the diversity of their communities in the ways they plan and execute schooling. This responsibility does not begin in high school. According to Smith, ‘the need to also incorporate LGBTIQ inclusive topics in the curriculum in primary schools is highlighted by the fact that at least half same sex attracted young people realise their attraction while in primary school (Hiller et al., 2013), and that there are often rainbow families that are not recognised, or acknowledged, in the stories that are read or the content that is covered in class’.
Practical ways primary schools can support LGBTIQ students and address LGBTIQ diversity
It takes a village to raise a child, according to an African proverb. Similarly, it takes a whole community to support LGBTIQ students in schools. We can collectively create inclusive school communities by focusing on a number of key strategies:
Neither endorse nor empower heteronormativity2 or gender stereotyping3. Create spaces for discussion about being intersex, and gender and sexuality diverse. Encourage class conversations about LGBTIQ issues in ways that students can connect with, for example, relations with family. This can be achieved by making conscious decisions about what stories to read to children, setting up classrooms and school routines free of gender constraints, including enabling students to wear the school uniform they want. If teachers fail to discuss intersex identities, and sexuality and gender diversity, many students will go unsupported and find fitting in socially at school challenging. A culture of care and inclusion is necessary for successful school performance.
Explore LGBTIQ matters with young children in a safe, familiar space by reading books that reflect different family compositions, including LGBTIQ families, exploring classroom resources from a human rights perspective. In doing so, students learn that all families are special and to value diversity in our society. Students and their families have a right to see themselves reflected in books and other resources used in classrooms.
Ensure staff are well-informed and have access to, and opportunities to discuss, research-based articles about bullying, and LGBTIQ students. Professional learning provides teachers with methods to intervene and de-escalate threatening situations. Teachers need to know they will be supported because teaching content on intersex identities, and gender and sexuality diversity, is regarded as controversial by some sectors in society. That said, some students and families do not identify with the nuclear family and deserve to read about families similar to their own. Teachers need to know that they have the support of school leaders when intervening in challenging situations. Together, teachers and school leaders play an important role in challenging phobias against LGBTQ people and bullying in schools, providing support to our LGBTIQ students and their families.
Address issues of phobia against LGBTIQ students as a high priority. There is staff agreement that inappropriate language will not be tolerated, and staff will intervene to protect students from bullying and homophobia. Leadership attitudes are identified as the most influential factor in keeping LGBTIQ students safe at school. School leaders contribute to moral purpose in their schools and the wider community.
Seek feedback from openly LGBTIQ students as to whether they feel safe at school. Interview parents, counsellors, psychologists and students themselves as to how to support LGBTQ students and what assistance they require to succeed at school. (DeJean & Sapp, 2017; Dewitt, 2012).
In addition to the points raised above, we make two other important suggestions about how primary schools can be more LGBTIQ inclusive. Firstly, when developing curriculum for LGBTIQ topics and when teaching this content, teachers and education departments should be aware that there are often specialist groups and resources that should be consulted in relation to different parts of LGBTIQ communities. This is important given the distinctiveness of identities and issues faced in intersex, and gender and sexuality diverse communities. Finding out which groups and resources to consult can be facilitated by online searches, reading LGBTIQ media, attending LGBTIQ events as well as consulting with LGBTIQ groups and community members. The importance of consulting specific communities when teaching and developing curriculum is emphasised by intersex activists in the Darlington Statement- a document published by intersex activists in 2017. Here, they, ‘call on education and awareness providers to develop content with intersex-led organisations and promote delivery by intersex people’ (p8). Notably, Intersex Human Rights Australia (2021) and Intersex Peer Support Australia (n.d.) are both specialist intersex groups in the Australian context that provide things like resources, information and support regarding intersex identities. Teachers and education departments being consultative, and recognising the specificity of experiences in LGBTIQ communities, is a practical way they can make primary schools more LGBTIQ inclusive.
Secondly, to make primary schools more LGBTIQ friendly, primary educators should include content that recognises the way LGBTIQ identities intersect and overlap with multiple forms of minoritised difference – for instance, being a young person who is part of LGBTIQ and Indigenous communities in Australia (Rhodes and Bryne 2021, p30). Research by David Rhodes and Matt Byrne shows a lack of attention is paid to being LGBTIQ and Indigenous in the education of primary teachers and students in Australia. Given the specificity of being part of both LGBTIQ and Indigenous communities, and the importance of educating children about Indigenous histories and cultures, teaching children about the particularities of LGBTIQ and Indigenous experiences is crucial. Understandably, Rhodes and Byrne note this practice should be backed by the inclusion of non-tokenistic content covering the intersection of LGBTIQ and Indigenous experiences in the tertiary courses for primary teaching. In addition to this, they argue for, inter alia, the amendment of school and education department policies to speak to this intersection (Rhodes and Byrne 2021, pp37-38). One cost of not educating students about LGBTIQ and Indigenous identities is the potential siloing of minoritised difference, which can perpetuate the idea that being LGBTIQ and Indigenous, for instance, are mutually exclusive4. Writers who are part of LGBTIQ and Indigenous communities, like Maddee Clark and Mandy Henningham, have identified this stereotype as a serious issue (Clark 2014 quoted in Henningham 2019, pp101-102; Clark 2014 quoted in Henningham 2021, p12). For instance, drawing on the work of Maddee Clark, Henningham highlights the way Clark was questioned about the very existence of people who were both LGBTIQ and Indigenous (Clark 2014 quoted in Henningham 2021, p12). When teaching about LGBTIQ experiences at the primary level, education should be inclusive of the way gender and sexuality diversity, for instance, intersect with cultural and racial difference, to reflect the realities of young people’s lives.
Curriculum links
The NSW PDHPE curriculum (NESA, 2019) addresses LGBTIQ students indirectly. Outcome PDe-1 – 5-1 relates to characteristics that make us similar and different, and how we manage personal challenges as they arise. PDe-1 – 5-2 relates to feeling safe and strategies to support self and others. Following on from here, PDe-6 – 5-6 deals with the importance of context in health and wellbeing. Similarly, PDe-7 – 5-7 describes actions that promote health, safety and wellbeing. In these COVID times, there has been a particular focus on student wellbeing, which coheres with addressing gender diversity at school.
The NSW English curriculum (NESA, 2012, 2019) also provides space for teachers to address issues of gender diversity in the classroom. Objective D, in particular, states that students will develop knowledge, understanding and skills in order to ‘express themselves and their relationships with others and their world’. The outcome for Stage 1 (Years 1-2) that occupies Objective D, EN1-11D, requires that a student ‘responds to and composes a range of texts about familiar aspects of the world and their own experiences’, including of course the LGBTIQ student’s own experience of family. By Stage 2 (Years 3-4), the equivalent outcome, EN2-11D, extends this challenge to composing and responding to texts ‘that express viewpoints of the world similar to and different from their own’, indicating that by this stage students could be exposed, through texts, to experiences of gender that might be different to their own. For Stage 3 (Years 5-6), EN3-8D requires that a student considers how ‘different viewpoints of their world, including aspects of culture, are represented in texts’. Gender diversity, an essential aspect of culture, falls neatly into the gamut of ‘different viewpoints’, but this outcome is a reminder that in English it is not gender diversity itself which is the focus but rather how gender diversity is represented in texts. Concepts endorsed in the English conceptual framework (NSW DoE & ETA, 2017), co-developed by the English Teachers Association NSW and the NSW Department of Education that support a focus on gender diversity, include narrative, character, context, representation, perspective, and point of view. Clearly the study of English in primary school provides rich opportunities for students to learn about gender diversity in relation to themselves, each other, and the world at large.
Even the new skills-oriented K-2 English syllabus (NESA, 2021), recently released but not due for mandatory implementation until 2023, recognises the diversity of learners in the classroom and requires that students ‘identify aspects of their own world represented in texts’ (Early Stage 1) and ‘identify representations of groups and cultures in a range of texts’ (Stage 1). The rationale of the English K-2 syllabus (2021) states ‘students are to engage with Australian diversity by exploring a range of texts … and a range of linguistic, cultural and social perspectives’ (NESA, p9). By engaging with diverse literature, students feel empowered to express their identities, broadening their perspectives and world views.
Significantly, all curriculum documents in NSW schools (e.g. NESA, 2019) contain learning across the curriculum content, including cross-curriculum priorities, and general capabilities, areas that are embedded in all key learning areas, identified as essential learning for all students. Teaching students about LGBTIQ diversity in the primary classroom is supported, identified and incorporated by the following learning across the curriculum content. The icons below are visual symbols that identify the particular content embedded across the various syllabi:
Cross curriculum priority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures
General capabilities of critical and creative thinking, ethical understanding, intercultural understanding and personal and social capability
Additionally, other learning across the curriculum area of difference and diversity
The cross-curriculum priorities and capabilities, identified above, exemplify the high gravitas of learning about LGBTIQ diversity in primary classrooms. They are identified throughout our syllabus documents as important learning for all students.
Texts that address LGBTIQ diversity and ideas for their use in the primary classroom
Books hook us in, and it is our challenge as educators to ensure that “the right book falls into the right hands” (Old Souls Book Club, 2021). Age-appropriate books, that depict LGBTIQ characters and families woven into their storylines, expose students to the diversity of the real world. Similarly, texts that empower students to stand up for themselves and others help children to learn coping skills that assist them in dealing with situations of homophobia and bullying. Quality literature provides a safe space to expose students to LGBTIQ related topics, which some might regard as controversial, in thought-provoking ways. Schools can play an important role in countering anti-LGBTIQ sentiment and lead the way towards a better world for everyone.
Reading a great book and identifying with its characters is an enjoyable and powerful means of opening up conversational spaces with students. Many of the texts traditionally used in classrooms contain heterosexual and cisgender characters and images. LGBTIQ students do not see themselves or their families reflected in these texts. By drawing on texts that include LGBTIQ characters and non-traditional family structures, these students see mirrors of themselves. Characters are more relatable to them. Teachers are promoting self-acceptance in gender diverse students, and increased awareness in all students, curbing anti-LGBTIQ stereotypes and reducing bullying and violence against LGBTIQ students.
Appendix 1 below lists a wide range of texts for primary-aged children that address gender, sexuality and family diversity, including suggested links to the NSW curriculum, particularly English. It also provides an overview for teachers to assist them in selecting texts that address the wellbeing needs of students in their classrooms. These texts could form the basis of English units, focusing on concepts of narrative, character, context, theme and representation, perspective or point of view. Outcomes and content from other subjects, especially PDHPE, could be incorporated into these units. Note that while PDHPE curriculum fails to directly address issues related LGBTIQ experiences, there is enough scope in this syllabus to justify the inclusion of content that might promote learning for all students in relation to LGBTIQ diversity.
The books listed in Appendix 1 are but some of the vibrant LGBTIQ young people’s literature available, and we encourage teachers to be on the lookout for other age appropriate LGBTIQ texts they could teach. We encourage teachers to stay attuned for primary school texts that feature intersex identities, and that speak to the intersection between Indigenous and LGBTIQ experiences in Australia, so that students who occupy these identities can see themselves represented and feel included.
Lonesborough, G. (2021). The boy from the mish. A&U Children’s.
Whilst not a primary school text, we would like to highlight the recently released book The Boy from The Mish by Gary Lonesborough by Gary Lonesborough (2021) for exploring the intersection of Indigenous and LGBTIQ+ communities.
The book is a queer Indigenous novel for readers 14 and up about a 17-year-old exploring his identity in a rural community of Australia. Finding and teaching texts that speak to the diversity of LGBTIQ experiences is crucial so that students and teachers can appreciate the heterogeneity of LGBTIQ communities.
Conclusion
As can be seen through the narrative of the child being misgendered by a teacher at the beginning of this paper, it is crucial there is greater awareness and understanding of LGBTIQ issues within primary classrooms. Teaching students LGBTIQ literature, such as the texts that we have included in our appendix, in an accepting way creates an open, explorative space where children and teachers can be educated about intersex identities, and gender and sexuality diversity. As stated, we recommend teachers stay on the lookout for texts that address the multiplicity of LGBTIQ experiences – for instance, being Indigenous and sexuality and gender diverse. Teaching LGBTIQ texts is particularly important given the way LGBTIQ literature has been described as being part of the ‘null’ or ‘hidden’ curriculum’ in schools. The invisibility of the diversity of LGBTIQ experiences can perpetuate heteronormative biases in teaching, which can result in children being unaware that being a part of the LGBTIQ community is a positive potentiality for them – one life course amongst many that is legitimate and that they can be proud of. Providing students with the opportunity to explore LGBTIQ experiences in an open, explorative way through texts is a positive move in the direction towards promoting better health and wellbeing outcomes for LGBTIQ students and teachers.
While this paper explores the power of literature to educate about LGBTIQ experiences, it is one change amongst many that could occur to make primary schools more LGBTIQ inclusive. For instance, we have discussed the importance of consulting with intersex communities regarding the development of educational curriculum relevant to that community. Additionally, education scholars David Rhodes and Matt Byrne have highlighted an array of opportunities for improving the primary school experience for teachers and students who are part of both Indigenous and LGBTIQ communities (Rhodes and Byrne 2021). This includes embedding teaching about the intersection of these identities in the university education of primary school teachers, and the modification of school and education department policies to recognise the experiences of those who are LGBTIQ and Indigenous (Rhodes and Byrne 2021, p.38-39). Doing so would improve pedagogy and encourage the celebration of ‘diversity in all its forms’ (Rhodes and Byrne, 2021 p.38).
Endnotes
‘LGBTIQ+’ is an acronym that popularly stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer and more (signified through the ‘+’). The ‘+’ is intended to be inclusive of gender and sexuality diverse identities not explicitly or fully represented by the letters ‘LGBTIQ’.
Heteronormativity refers to the belief that heterosexuality, along with other dominant identities like being cisgender, are the default, preferred, or normal modes of being
Gender stereotyping is the propensity to evaluate people on the basis of their perceived gender
Numerous writers have explored how sexuality and gender diversity is something that has existed in Indigenous cultures in Australia since before colonisation (for instance, see Moon 2020; Riggs & Toone, 2017 quoted in Henningham 2019, p.103). Texts such as Colouring the Rainbow: Blak Queer and Trans Perspectives. Life Stories and Essays by First Nations People of Australia (2015), edited by Dino Hodge, is an important anthology that explores contemporary Indigenous, queer and trans experiences.
Open All
Texts
Curriculum Links
Overview
Carr, J. & Rumback, B. (2015). Be Who You Are. Bloomington, Indiana: Authorhouse.
Suitable S1, S2. PDe-1 identify who they are PD1-1 describe characteristics that make us similar / different PD2-1 explore strategies to manage physical, social, and emotiona change English K-2 (2021): ENE, EN1-OCL-01; ENE, EN1-UARL-01
A child is born into the wrong body – one that doesn’t match the gender the child feels inside. Assigned male at birth, the child is described as having a “girl brain”. This book is designed to educate readers about gender diverse and transgender children.
Walton, J. & McPherson, D. (2016). Introducing Teddy: a gentle story about gender and friendship. London, UK: Bloomsbury.
Suitable ES1, S1. Useful text to discuss complex issues. The bear is the main character who is exploring gender identity in the text. Useful to act out and facilitate class discussion. English K-2 (2021):ENE, EN1-OLC-01; ENE, EN1-UARL-01
The main character is a teddy whose outside does not match what’s felt on the inside. A story about being true to self, friendship and acceptance. “Wear whatever makes you happy” is the main message of the text.
Gonzalas, M. (2014). Call Me Tree. Llamame arbol. San Francisco, CAL: Children’s Book Press.
Suitable ES1, S1. Multicultural text. English/Spanish vocabulary. Useful for teaching figurative language including metaphor, simile, personification. Also rhetorical questions. English K-2 (2021): ENE, EN1-CWT-01; ENE, EN1-UARL-01
The text figuratively describes a child growing from a seed, like a tree. “A seed, a tree, free to be me”. The inspiring text encourages readers to reach for their dreams and accept themselves for who they are.
Ewert, M. & Ray, R. (2008). 10,000 Dresses. NY: Seven Stories Press.
Suitable S1, S2; possibly S3. The changing use of personal pronouns when referring to transgender and gender diverse people. English K-2 (2021): ENE, EN1-CWT-01 English K-6 (2012): EN2-9B; EN3-6B.
Bailey is assigned male at birth but wishes to wear dresses-something others have told him boys can’t do. Bailey struggles when her family won’t accept her gender and dress preferences. She finally finds a friend who helps her feel confident in pursuing her dream to wear dresses and express her true identity.
Valentine, J. & Schmidt, L. (2004). The Daddy Machine. Boston, Mass: Alyson Wonderland Publishers.
Suitable S1, S2; possibly S3. A useful text to teach code and convention including punctuation, speech marks, sentence complexity. English K-2 (2021): ENE, EN1-CWT-01 English K-6 (2012): EN2-9B; EN3-6B.
Two siblings with two mums long for a father. They make a daddy machine out of junk materials and make many more daddies than they bargain for. How do they solve their problem? An extremely funny text.
Parr, T. (2010). The Family Book. NY: Hachette Book Group.
ES1, S1. Identifying words describing diverse families e.g. “Some families have two mums and two dads”. English K-2 (2021): ENE, EN1-VOCAB-01; ENE, EN1-OLC-01.
There are different kinds of families. Bright, fluoro colours characterise the illustrations in this simple text. The book has multiple layers of meaning. A lot of information is inferred in few words. It is a useful text to discuss family diversity with young children.
Arnold, E.K. & Davick, L. (2019). What Riley wore. NY: Beach Lane books.
ES1, S1. Vocabulary- building word banks from illustrations. Discussion questions: How is Riley different? How does this make others feel in the text? How does it make you feel? English K-2 (2021): ENE, EN1-VOCAB-01; ENE, EN1-OLC-01.
“Are you a boy or a girl?” the reader ponders throughout the text. Riley replies, “Today I’m a firefighter and a dancer and a monster hunter and a…”. Riley dresses according to how they are feeling, irrespective of gender expectations. The message of the text is, “We are all unique and important. It doesn’t matter whether we are a boy or a girl”. This text is a celebration of difference.
Gale, H. & Song, M. (2019). Ho’Onani Hula Warrior. NY: Tundra Books.
ES1, S1, S2. Multicultural text. Links to History syllabus: share heritage stories (ES1) investigate changes in family life (S1) identify traces of the past in the present (S2). English K-2 (2021): ENE, EN1-OLC-01; ENE, EN1-UARL-01; ENE, EN1-VOCAB-01. English K-6 (2012): EN2-9B; EN2-10C.
The protagonist doesn’t see herself as a boy or a girl, but occupies “a place in the middle”. She queries gender stereotypes and triumphs in a contemporary setting relevant to students today. The story is consistent with “Mahu” people in Hawaiian culture, who embrace both male and female traits. The theme of the text is “show respect for all people”.
Willhoite, M. (1991). Daddy’s Roommate. Boston, Mass: Alyson Wonderland Books.
ES1, S1. Large, colourful illustrations which lend themselves to teaching visual literacy. Discussion questions: What is happening in the pictures? What stands out? Why? -What feelings are portrayed in the illustrations? How do you know? English K-2 (2021): ENE, EN1-OLC-01; ENE, EN1-UARL-01.
A social story which opens a communicative space about divorce and a child’s growing understanding of homosexual love. “Being gay is one more form of love” and “Love is the best kind of happiness” are the main messages of the text.
Parr, T. (2010). The Daddy Book. NY: Hachette Book Group.
ES1, S1. Sentence building describing the diversity (and similarities) of fathers e.g. “My/ your daddy has…”. English K-2 (2021): ENE, EN1-OLC-01; ENE, EN1-UARL-01; ENE, EN1-CWT-01.
This book is about fathers who do different things with their children. Bright, fluoro colours in illustrations. Simple text. Multiple layers of meaning. A lot inferred in few words. The theme of the text is celebrating family diversity.
Richardson, J., Parnell, P. & Cole, H. (2005). And Tango Makes Three. NY: Simon & Schuster.
Suitable S1, S2. Discussion: Do the two daddy penguins act the same way as other penguin parents? How are they the same/ different? English K-2 (2021): ENE, EN1-VOCAB-01 ENE, EN1-SPELL-01 prefixes, suffixes compound words ENE, EN1-UARL-01.
This is a true story of two male chinstrap penguins who live at the Central Park Zoo, NY, and raise a penguin chick together. It raises questions about heterosexuality/homosexuality in the animal kingdom and how this might relate to humans. New vocabulary: carousel, cotton top tamarin, ice rink, red panda bear.
Newman, L. & Cornell, L. (2015). Heather Has Two Mummies. London: Walker Books.
Suitable ES1. Starting School English K-2 (2021): ENE, EN1-OLC-01; ENE, EN1-UARL-01; ENE, EN1-CWT-01. CAe3MVA makes artworks… to communicate ideas; CAe-4IVA explores how artworks and the artwork of others communicate ideas.
A useful discussion starter about starting school and learning about other peoples’ families. The setting of the text is a family consisting of two mums and a 5-year-old child who is starting school. At kindergarten, the children paint their families as an introduction to a lesson about family diversity. The main focus of the text is that each family is special, and the common link is that families love each other.
Savage, S. & Fisher, F. (2017). Are You a Boy or a Girl? London: Jessica Kingsley Publishers.
Suitable S1, S2. English K-2 (2021): EN1-OLC-01; EN1-UARL-01; EN1-CWT-01. Use background knowledge of a topic to make inferences about the ideas in a text. Identify text connectives, cohesive links in text. English K-6 (2012): EN2-11D. Responds to/ composes texts expressing views similar to/ different from own.
A child called Tiny likes to dress up and does not conform to gender norms. Children at their new school keep asking them whether they are a boy or a girl. Tiny avoids the question, as they do not identify as either a boy or a girl. A useful text to introduce the topic of gender diversity with young children. Discussion: Why does it matter if Tiny is a boy or a girl? Why do you think Buster tries to bully Tiny? How do you know this?
Donaldson, J. & Scheffler, A. (2004). The Gruffalo’s Child. London: Macmillan.
Suitable ES1, S1. English K-2 (2021): EN1-OLC-01; EN1-UARL-01; EN1-CWT-01.ENE, EN1-PHOKW-01;ENE, EN-REFLU-01. ENE, EN1-RECOM-01. Identifying rhyme, rhythm in text. Word families, vowel digraphs. Punctuation including question marks, exclamation marks, quotation marks, direct speech. Opportunities to make meaning through drama. Creating story map to sequence activities in text. Building noun groups, verb groups. Narrative structure is also something to discuss.
Donaldson’s widely popular, ubiquitous texts contain witty, rhythmic verses, instantly familiar to children and parents alike. The setting of The Gruffalo’s Child, a sequel to the award-winning text, The Gruffalo (1999, 2019) is a single parent Gruffalo family in the deep, dark wood. It is unclear whether the child is male or female, and the author embellishes on this in Miller (2020). Key discussion questions: Who looks after the Gruffalo’s child? Did you wonder about the gender of the Gruffalo’s child? If so, why? If not, why not? Do you think the child’s gender matters?
Hegarty, P. & Wheatcroft, R. (2017). We are Family. London: Caterpillar Books.
Suitable S1, S2 English K-2 (2021): EN1-OLC-01; EN1-UARL-01; EN1-CWT-01; EN1-PRINT-01. Visual literacy – following story maps in text. Recording student responses and captioning illustrations in text. Identifying contractions, rhyme, figurative language, nouns, verb groups.
A simple text that elaborates on the diversity of families. The book celebrates family similarities and differences. The story in this text is descriptive, presented in rhyming couplets, with no clear storyline. However, the illustrations are multifarious and lend themselves well to modelled, guided and independent writing activities (EN1-7B, EN2-7B).
Green, B. & Zobel, A. (2020). Who’s Your Real Mum? Brunswick, Vic: Scribble.
Suitable ES1, S1. English K-2 (2021): ENE,1-OLC-01; ENE,1-UARL-01; ENE,1-CWT-01; ENE,1-PRINT-01. Modelled, guided and independent writing activity. Students write a text in Q&A format.
An imaginative text. Elvie has two mums. Both mums are equally important to Elvie. She compares her mums to superheroes. Her friend asks, “Who is your real mum?” The text is in a Q&A format. She tries to make her friend understand that both mums are equally important to her. Beautiful illustrations make effective use of colour – yellows/browns for reality, blues for imagination.
Bell, D. & Colpoys, A. (2017). Under the Love Umbrella. London: Scribble.
Suitable ES1, S1. English K-2 (2021): ENE,1-OLC-01; ENE,1-UARL-01; ENE,1-RECOM-01. Use comprehension strategies to build literal and inferred meaning. Discussion: What does “Under the Love Umbrella” mean? Who do you love? Why?
A text of rhyming couplets which describes a parent’s over-arching love for their child. Familiar situations of sorrow, fear and danger are outlined, including being scared of the dark, bad dreams, frightening dogs, broken toys, arguments with friends, feeling shy, and having no friends. The text is a segue into class discussions about significant people in children’s families and how they help them… Who do you love? Why?
Beer, S. (2018). LOVE makes a family. Richmond, Victoria: Little Hare Books.
Suitable ES1, S1. English K-2 (2021) ENE,1-UARL-01; ENE,1-CWT-01; ENE,1-PRINT-01. Code and convention focus.: Understands how sentence punctuation is used to enhance meaning and fluency. Focus on figurative language e.g. “lending a hand”.
A colourful text about family diversity. There are few words in this book. The words describe happy family situations to unpack and discuss with the class. The illustrations depict the diversity of families. Discuss, “What is happening in the pictures?”
Keegan, L.J. & Stapleton, M. (2019). Things in the Sea are touching me! Gosford, NSW: Scholastic.
Suitable ES1, S1. English K-2 (2021) ENE,1-OLC-01; ENE,1-UARL-01; ENE,1-RECOM-01; ENE,1-CWT-01 Understands how text structure contributes to the meaning of texts, text organisation, narrative structure. Make a story map to visually represent the story. Sentence complexity. Phonics.ENE,1-PHOKW-01 e.g. see, me.
A child with two mums participates in a family outing to the beach. The child is scared of the water and her two mums comfort her and explain each of the sources of her fear. A story told with humour and warmth through a child’s eyes.
Shirvington, J. & Robertson, C. (2020). Just the Way We Are. Sydney, NSW: ABC Books. HarperCollins.
Targets ES1, S1. English K-2 (2021): ENE,1-OLC-01; ENE,1-UARL-01; EN1-REFLU-01. Draw on an increasing range of skills to read, view and comprehend a range of texts on increasingly challenging topics.
The text deals with family diversity, racial diversity and inclusion. The main characters are children from different racial backgrounds who describe their families from their particular points of view. This text is useful for students to see children like themselves in quality children’s literature, in an engaging narrative format. It describes the inclusive, collaborative lived experience of children growing up in diverse families, through children’s eyes.
Wild, M. & Rossell, J. (2020). Pink. Sydney, NSW: HarperCollins.
Targets ES1. Publisher recommendation is for 2-5 years. English K-2 (2021): ENE,1-OLC-01; ENE,1-UARL-01; ENE,1-RECOM-01.ENE,1-CWT-01 Recognises linking words in texts, responds to shared reading for enjoyment and pleasure. Compose texts using pictures and graphics to support their choice of words. Make connections between text and own life, retells story in sequence, identify main idea. Explore how words and pictures work together to make meaning.
The main message of this text is one of self-acceptance. The main character, Pink, is born into a family of green dinosaurs. She struggles to fit in, but her difference finally saves her and her friends. This text is the second collaboration between literary heavyweights Wild and Rossell. The first, Bog Trotter (2015), encourages children to challenge themselves to try new things. The colours in Pink comprise vibrant pinks and greens. The textures and luminosity of the illustrations make the characters come alive. This text lends itself to class discussions about how we are the same, yet different, and how difference should be viewed as a strength.
Stuart, S. (2020). My Shadow is Pink. Dandenong, Victoria: Larrikin House.
ES1, S1. That said, I have discussed the important themes of equality, self- acceptance, diversity and gender identity in this text with adults- so possibly suitable for all ages. English K-2 (2021): ENE,1-OLC-01; ENE,1-UARL-01; ENE,1-RECOM-01. Discuss how that students may have different responses to a text, explore the different contribution of words and images to meaning in stories. Share feelings and thoughts about the events and characters in text.
This text is a rhyming narrative. It is about a boy who likes to dress in female clothing yet feels ashamed when his peers at school laugh at him. The author, Scott Stuart reported on his website that he wrote the story for his young son, who, on beginning school, was bullied for dressing up like Elsa, from the movie, Frozen. Through this text, Stuart aims to raise awareness of gender identity and diversity, in doing so broadening society’s narrow view of masculinity. He aims to affirm to his child, and all children; “You are loved. Exactly as you are”.
Walliams, D. & Blake, Q. (2008, 2018). The Boy in the Dress. London: HarperCollins.
This text suitable S3. EN3-2A: Engage personally with texts, experiment and use aspects of composing that enhance learning and enjoyment, present a point of view about particular literary texts using appropriate metalanguage and reflecting on the viewpoints of others. EN3-3A Understand, interpret and experiment with literary devices; summarise a text and evaluate the intended message or theme.
A children’s book written by David Walliams, a comedian well-known for the television series, Little Britain (his first), and illustrated by Quentin Blake, well known illustrator of the Roald Dahl books. The text uses humour to explore children wearing clothes not normatively associated with their cisgender, their assigned gender at birth. Dennis, a 12 year old boy, enjoys football and fashion. His parents are divorced, and he lives with his father and brother, who do not tolerate or understand Dennis’s need to dress up in girls’ clothing. He is an ordinary boy, who lives in an ordinary town, with an unusual hobby. A humorous narrative which elicits interesting class discussions about the serious topic of gender stereotyping with pre and adolescent students.
Texts that address gender and family diversity in the classroom.
DeJean, W., & Sapp, J. (2017). Dear gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender teachers: Letters of advice to help you find your way. Information Age Publishing.
DeWitt, P. (2012). Dignity for all: Safeguarding LGBT students. Corwin Author and Consultant.
Ehrensaft, D. (2020). Treatment Paradigms for Prepubertal Children. In: Forcier, M., Van Schalkwyk, G., Turban, J. (eds) Paediatric Gender Identity. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38909-3_13
Eisner, E. W. (1994). The educational imagination: On the design and evaluation of school programs (3rd ed.). Macmillan.
Ewing, R., Callow, J., & Rushton, K. (2016). Language and Literacy Development in Early Childhood. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9781316442791
Gorse, M. (2020). Risk and protective factors to LGBTQ+ youth suicide: A review of the literature. Child & Adolescent Social Work Journal: C & A, 39(1), 17–28. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10560-020-00710-3
Henderson, B. (2016). Building fires: Taking a critical stance on how we view gender in early childhood education through teacher research. In Voices of Practitioners; Washington volume (Vol. 11, Issue 1, pp. 25–29).https://issuu.com/naeyc/docs/vop_for_web_fall_2016/32
Henningham, M. (2019). Still here, still queer, still invisible. In T. Jones (Ed.), Bent Street 3: Australian LGBTIQA+ Arts, Writing and Ideas 2019 (pp. 98–105). Clouds of Magellan.
Henningham, Mandy. (2021). Blak, bi+ and borderlands: An autoethnography on multiplicities of Indigenous queer identities using borderland theory. Social Inclusion, 9(2), 7–17. https://doi.org/10.17645/si.v9i2.3821
Kazemi, S., Ashraf, H., Motallebzadeh, K., & Zeraatpishe, M. (2020). Development and validation of a null curriculum questionnaire focusing on 21st century skills using the Rasch model. Cogent Education, 7(1), 1736849. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186x.2020.1736849
Lee, C. S., & Wong, Y. J. (2020). Racial/ethnic and gender differences in the antecedents of youth suicide. Cultural diversity & ethnic minority psychology, 26(4), 532–543. https://doi.org/10.1037/cdp0000326
Lonesborough, G. (2021). The boy from the mish. A&U Children’s.
MacMullin, L. N., Aitken, M., Nabbijohn, A. N., & VanderLaan, D. P. (2020). Self-harm and suicidality in gender-nonconforming children: A Canadian community-based parent-report study. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 7(1), 76–90. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000353
NSW Department of Education & English Teachers’ Association NSW. (2016). English textual concepts and learning processes. English Textual Concepts. http://www.englishtextualconcepts.nsw.edu.au/
Rhodes, D., & Byrne, M. (2021). Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander LGBTIQ+ issues in primary Initial Teacher Education programs. Social Inclusion, 9(2), 30–41. https://doi.org/10.17645/si.v9i2.3822
Ristori, J., & Steensma, T. D. (2016). Gender dysphoria in childhood. International Review of Psychiatry (Abingdon, England), 28(1), 13–20. https://doi.org/10.3109/09540261.2015.1115754
Turban, J. L., & Ehrensaft, D. (2017). Research Review: Gender identity in youth: treatment paradigms and controversies. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines, 59(12), 1228–1243. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12833
Dr Lorraine (Lorri) Beveridge is a sessional academic and independent consultant. She has published articles on aspects of teaching subject English in primary schools. Her doctoral research area is the impact and sustainability of collaborative teacher professional learning.
Michael Murray
Michael Murray is a former English teacher, head teacher and chief education officer, and working as an independent consultant in English and literacy K-12.
Lorri and Michael share a website that provides resources for teachers in subject English: https://primaryenglish.education/. Their shared passion is teaching the big ideas of English through the vehicle of quality texts.
Hannah Gillard
Hannah Gillard is a non-binary academic in the final stages of their PhD at the University of Sydney. Hannah’s doctoral research area is LGBTQ+ diversity in the workplace.
Rayanne Shakra and Jim Tognolini give clear and comprehensive advice to teachers on how to use modern definitions of assessment to better assess their students’ Higher Order Thinking Skills.
Defining Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS) is no easy task. Research nearly forty years ago noted that “Defining thinking skills, reasoning, critical thought and problem solving is troublesome to both social scientists and practitioners. Troublesome is a polite word; the area is a conceptual swamp” (Cuban, 1984, p. 676). Four decades onwards not much has changed definition-wise, to clean-up the ‘conceptual swamp’. However, modern definitions of assessment have emerged that are useful in guiding teachers to better assess HOTS for students in any school year.
To produce evidence on how students think, teachers need to develop assessments that enable the students to demonstrate what it is they know, can do and value. For the purposes of this paper the focus will be on cognitive abilities and the following definition of assessment will be used. Assessment involves teachers making informed judgements based upon an image formed by the collection of information about student performance (Tognolini & Stanley, 2007). This image is used to monitor student growth (progress) through an area of learning or domain of knowledge. The higher levels of growth are differentiated by students having to demonstrate that they can do something with the knowledge that they have gained e.g., they can solve problems, think critically, evaluate the effectiveness of different strategies for solving problems.
Thinking is an internal process. Teachers cannot see this internal process, so they must depend on cognitive models and tools that can be used to categorise levels of learning. These models use verbs to describe the complexity of the thought processes students should demonstrate. Blooms’ revised taxonomy (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001) is one of these models.
This taxonomy is a powerful tool for teachers because it provides a way for teachers to differentiate between different levels of cognitive depth. It categorises learning into the following three domains: psychomotor, cognitive and affective. The cognitive domain. This domain involves six major categories to which students’ skills and abilities are listed from the simplest thinking behaviour, also known as the Lower Order Thinking Skills (LOTS), to the most complex, known as the Higher Order Thinking Skills (HOTS). The taxonomy lists the skills in hierarchal order from the LOTS to the HOTS, as in Figure 1. These skills include the mental processes of remembering, understanding, applying, analysing, evaluating, and creating.
Figure 1Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy
The logic behind this hierarchy is that before students can understand a concept they must remember it; to apply a concept they must first understand it; to evaluate a process they must have analysed it; and to create an accurate conclusion, students must have completed a thorough evaluation. Students’ thinking progresses from the LOTS to the HOTS. While the skills are presented in hierarchical form, the way students’ skills are developed does not necessarily have to be linear, that is, the skills may overlap onto each other (Krathwohl, 2002).
The thought processes are usually linked to the verbs associated with the thinking level that teachers are aiming to teach or assess. The mention of the verb here is not the actual word denoting the verb, it is the thought process or action behind the meaning of the verb. If teachers want to assess critical thinking, they should not look at a question beginning with ‘criticise’, rather the focus should be on how the student is going to solve the task that is being set. That is, when the students have produced the evidence from answering the task, does their evidence indicate a higher level of cognitive functioning? It isn’t the verb but the manifestation of the response to what is requested in the task that indicates whether the students have demonstrated higher order thinking in this circumstance.
Learning, by its nature, is developmental. Teachers act as facilitators in assisting the students to grow in knowledge, skill and understanding through the teaching of subject content. As students gain more content knowledge, and can use this knowledge to demonstrate growth, then teachers are required to provide tasks that are cognitively more demanding, to tap into the higher order thinking of their students. The cognitive level needed to solve these tasks is generally referred to as the depth of knowledge associated with the task (Webb, 1997). Cognitively demanding tasks require the students to think and use the knowledge that they have gained to solve both real life problems and even conceptually abstract problems.
HOTS are not only fostered and assessed in both mainstream primary and secondary students of diverse racial and socio-economic backgrounds, but also for students in special education classes. In fact, students in years 9-12 enrolled in special education classes, and who were given cognitively challenging tasks, outperformed students without disabilities at the same year level and who were given tasks that were less challenging (King, Schroeder, and Chawszczewski, 2001). Teachers need to deliberately provide their students with tasks that academically challenge and engage them. Often teachers think that their classroom assessments incorporate higher order thinking however, most do not (Care, Kim, Vista & Anderson, 2018: Hoogland & Tout, 2018; McMillan, 2001; McMillan, Myran, & Workman, 2002). Teachers are teaching HOTS through many new pedagogical methods such as inquiry learning or Project-Based Learning, but are not assessing for these skills (Anderson, 2002).
Assessment is integral to teaching and learning (Baird, Andrich, Hopfenbeck, & Stobart, 2017). The success of HOTS development is determined by the alignment between learning outcomes to be achieved, as stated in curriculum documents, and the implemented assessments (Fitzpatrick & Schulz, 2015). The importance of teachers knowing the targeted HOTS they are teaching and assessing means that teachers need to actively engage in developing appropriate assessments and to use both formative and summative assessments together. Formative assessments provide timely, regular feedback that informs instruction as students learn increasingly complex tasks. Summative assessments are necessary to determine if standards have been met or if students can perform tasks that involve HOTS.
Devising HOTS tasks that can lead to the production of valued outcomes and can be recognised through intuitive understanding is quite burdensome. Teachers need to formulate HOTS tasks that require reasoned thinking on behalf of the students, and this is far from simple.
Therefore, it is important when planning for lessons to know where to incorporate HOTS in teaching sessions (Collins, 2014). Without prior planning, the tasks that teachers might end up requesting spontaneously may not lead to their students’ demonstrating HOTS.
Not every difficult task immediately measures HOTS. In fact, difficulty is not the same as cognitive depth. The difficulty of a task is usually determined by how many students can get the task correct. If very few students get it correct, it is a hard task for the group of students. If everyone gets it right, it is an easy task for the students.
This does not necessarily align with the cognitive depth of the task, nor the level of higher order thinking required to solve the task. Cognitive depth refers to the thought process, knowledge and skill required to solve the task. Hence planning beforehand, specifically for assessing HOTS, is key.
Professional Development and HOTS
For lasting changes to occur in education, it is imperative that teachers recognise necessary changes in learner expectations as well as the purpose of teaching: teaching students to think (Retna & Ng, 2016). In addition to the cognitive thinking models that teachers can utilise, they can also look at research that documents practices that encourage students to develop and practise higher quality thinking.
Professional development courses are a key factor in reviving teachers’ understandings and methods of implementing higher order thinking skills in our classrooms. Professional development courses should be structured in a way to provide teachers with a better understanding of what higher order thinking skills are. These courses also help teachers to conceptualise how the three categories of transfer, critical thinking, and problem solving are coherently interrelated in their instructional strategies.
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Appendix A – Tips for writing HOTS tasks
The following are some tips for teachers to think about when they are writing HOTS tasks for their students:
First, teachers should focus the load of the item on the problem to solve rather than on the content.
Second, items that require students to predict the outcome of a situation are more suited for HOTS than simply labelling or listing.
Third, give them examples and ask for the principle, or theory, they illustrate.
Fourth, design items that permit multiple interpretations or solutions.
Fifth, the skill required to respond to the item is what determines the relative difficulty, not the verb used.
Sixth, make sure that the item is written in a way that makes it very clear to the students as to what is required of them in their responses.
Appendix B – Examples of tasks that promotes HOTS in students and assess their cognitive depth
The following are some examples of assessment tasks that help to both promote higher order thinking skills and assess their current cognitive depth:
Example 1:
Suggest a method, other than a vaccine, that scientists might develop to keep us safe from COVID. Then provide a short persuasive paragraph arguing why people should support this method.
This task can be given to students in any year. It is authentic and taps into the students’ creative thinking skills. Suggesting a new method other than the current ones available assumes students will formulate or create a new method. The persuasive text assumes that students will argue and provide an evaluative judgement of why their method should be accepted widely by the public.
To answer this the students will have to compile information together in ways that they have not yet been explosed to and combine content elements to propose new solutions. The answer to this question can be done collaboratively between the students and in conjunction with the teacher. This collaboration will spark higher order thinking because the students will acknowledge that the teacher does not know the answer and will work to devise one together.
Example 2:
The following is taken from NAPLAN year 3 Numeracy
This question presents the students with an unfamiliar scenario where they must extrapolate a mathematical pattern and apply it by making connections to more than one set of information. The students have to rotate the rectangle and make the connection of how the shapes within it will also vary and change their location.
Example 3:
The following is taken from NAPLAN year 5 Reading
Students are required to make connections between the meanings presented and the text. They also need to infer the meaning of each of the answer choices according to their comprehension of the text to be capable of providing a prediction of which answer best resembles the phrase in the question.
Anderson, P. (2002). Assessment and development of executive function (EF) during childhood. Child neuropsychology, 8(2), 71-82.
Anderson, L. W., Krathwohl, D. R. (Eds.). (2001).A taxonomy for learning, teaching and assessing: A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives: Complete edition. New York, NY: Longman.
Baird, J. A., Andrich, D., Hopfenbeck, T. N., & Stobart, G. (2017). Assessment and learning: Fields apart?. Assessment in education: Principles, policy & practice, 24(3), 317-350.
Bloom, B.S. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives. Vol. 1: Cognitive domain. New York: McKay, 20 (24), p.1.
Brookhart, S.M. (2010). How to assess higher-order thinking skills in your classroom. ASCD.
Care, E., Kim, H., Vista, A., & Anderson, K. (2018). Education system alignment for 21st century Skills: Focus on assessment. Center for Universal Education at The Brookings Institution.
Collins, R. (2014). Skills for the 21st century: teaching higher-order thinking. Curriculum & leadership journal, 12(14).
Cuban, L. (1984). Policy and research dilemmas in the teaching of reasoning: Unplanned designs. Review of Educational Research, 54(4), 655-681.
FitzPatrick, B., & Schulz, H. (2015). Do curriculum outcomes and assessment activities in science encourage higher order thinking?.Canadian Journal of Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, 15(2), 136-154.
Hoogland, K., & Tout, D. (2018).Computer-based assessment of mathematics into the twenty-first century: pressures and tensions. ZDM, 50(4), 675-686.
King, M. B., Schroeder, J., & Chawszczewski, D. (2001). Authentic assessment and student performance in inclusive schools. Research Institute on Secondary Education Reform (RISER) for Youth with disabilities brief. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED467479
Krathwohl, D.R., 2002. A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy: An overview. Theory into practice, 41(4), pp.212-218.
Lewis, A. and Smith, D., 1993. Defining higher order thinking. Theory into practice, 32(3), pp.131-137.
McMillan, J. H. (2001). Secondary teachers’ classroom assessment and grading practices. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 20(1), 20-32.
McMillan, J. H., Myran, S., & Workman, D. (2002). Elementary teachers’ classroom assessment and grading practices. The Journal of Educational Research, 95(4), 203-213.
Retna, K. S., & Ng, P. T. (2016). The application of learning organization to enhance learning in Singapore schools.Management in Education, 30(1), 10-18.
Tognolini, J., & Stanley, G. (2007). Standards-based assessment: a tool and means to the development of human capital and capacity building in education.Australian Journal of Education, 51(2), 129-145.
Webb, N.L., 1997. Determining alignment of expectations and assessments in mathematics and science education. Nise Brief, 1(2), p.n2.
Prof Jim Tognolini
Professor Jim Tognolini is Director of The Centre for Educational Measurement and Assessment (CEMA) which is situated within the University of Sydney School of Education and Social Work. The work of the Centre is focused on the broad areas of teaching, research, consulting and professional learning for teachers.
The Centre is currently providing consultancy support to a number of schools. These projects include developing a methodology for measuring creativity; measuring 21st Century Skills; developing school-wide practice in formative assessment. We have a number of experts in the field: most notably, Professor Jim Tognolini, who in addition to conducting research offers practical and school-focused support.
Lisa Edwards
Lisa Edwards is a school leader passionate about the potential of public education to change lives.
With over 20 years of experience with the NSW Department of Education, working in schools in Sydney’s south and southwest, Lisa is an English teacher by training, and at heart. Her leadership journey has included the roles of Head Teacher Wellbeing, Head Teacher English, and Deputy Principal. She has developed resources and presented on assessment, pedagogy and programming, working in collaboration with the Department’s secondary curriculum team, and has published and presented for the NSW English Teachers’ Association. Lisa received an Australian Council for Educational Leaders award and a Premier’s Award for Public Service for her work leading improvement in literacy and HSC achievement, and currently presents for the NSW Teachers’ Federation’s Centre for Professional Learning on leading lifting achievement and quality assessment practice.
Lisa is a strong advocate for public education and educational equity, dedicated to supporting teachers in public schools to maximise learning outcomes and, therefore, opportunities for our students.
Rayanne Shakra
Rayanne Shakra is a NESA sponsored scholarship doctoral student at the Centre for Educational Measurement and Assessment CEMA) and a sessional academic at The University of Sydney.
The Supporting Students with Autism in K-6 course is designed to:
develop an understanding of the wide range of characteristics of students with Autism ;
explore a range of strategies which address the needs of students with Autism in the areas of language and cognitive development, communication skills and social behaviour;
develop specific strategies to help students with Autism access the curriculum, manage their own stressful reactions and modify their behaviours
Participants will also write a social story that addresses the individual needs of students; and develop an understanding of how to set up an effective learning environment for students Autism.
14 March 2025
Online via zoom
Dr Rose Dixon
Dr Roselyn Dixon has been a special education teacher in both mainstream and special education settings in primary and secondary schools. Rose has been in academia and involved with Inclusive Education for more than 25 years. She has published research in the fields of social skills and behavioural interventions for people with a range of disabilities including students with Oppositional Defiance Disorders and Autism.
She has been actively involved in examining the relationship between digital technologies and pedagogy in special education and inclusive classrooms for students with Autism as well as the implications of the NDIS on people with disabilities in rural and remote communities. Rose is an Honorary Associate Professor at the School of Education, University of Wollongong, where she was previously the Academic Director of Inclusive and Special Education. She continues to support doctoral students in Inclusive and Special education with a focus on Autism.
Completing Supporting Students with Autism in Years K-6 will contribute 5 hours of NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) Accredited PD in the priority area of Students/children with Disability addressing standard descriptors 1.1.2 & 4.1.2 from the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers towards maintaining Proficient Teacher Accreditation in NSW.
Teachers in K-6
$220 (Federation members only)
Online
JPL Article
Supporting students with autism: Strategies that really work in the classroom
