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Newcastle Herald
Newcastle Herald
National
Damon Cronshaw

'Teachers love it': $5 million boost for school program

Thornton Public School's acting principal Nathan Collins and teacher Paige Packwood are part of the Quality Teaching Round program. Picture by Marina Neil

Schools will benefit from a $5 million federal grant to expand a University of Newcastle program that research has shown improves teaching and student achievement.

More than 1000 beginner teachers will benefit from the expanded Quality Teaching Rounds (QTR) program.

It involves groups of four teachers working together to refine their practice.

Federal Education Minister Jason Clare announced on Tuesday that the government would fund a four-year expansion of the program under the "National Teacher Workforce Action Plan".

University of Newcastle Vice-Chancellor Professor Alex Zelinsky said this represented "a significant agreement".

Professor Zelinsky said the QTR program was having a "great impact in schools around the country".

He added that it empowered "teachers and schools to grow and improve collectively".

Mr Clare said teachers were "experts at what they do".

"Who better to learn from than each other. Over a decade of data shows this program works," he said.

University of Newcastle Laureate Professor Jenny Gore. Picture by Max Mason-Hubers

Laureate Professor Jenny Gore and Dr Julie Bowe established the program, which began in 2009.

"Teachers love it. It really respects their professionalism. It also gives real clarity about the quality of teaching," Professor Gore said.

Professor Gore said the program was "not about whether you do this or that approach, or whether you're a traditional or contemporary teacher".

"It's about how you structure your classroom," she said.

It gives teachers a chance to "focus on their core business of teaching and learning".

"So much of teaching gets caught up in everything else - assessment, yard duty, mindfulness, anaphylaxis training and all that stuff," she said.

"But fundamentally what teachers do most of the time - and want to be able to focus on - is teaching students and refining their practice. The program gives them a chance to do it."

Thornton Public School's acting principal Nathan Collins introduced the QTR program at the school.

Mr Collins said the program helped foster "highly motivated and reflective teachers and improvement in school culture".

He said the program had produced "huge growth in expertise in our teachers".

"Teachers are more confident and willing to share and collaborate," he said.

Paige Packwood, a first-year teacher at Thornton Public, said "going through the process of observation" was helping to improve her "pedagogy" [the method and practice of teaching].

"For example, explicit instructions in the classroom," she said.

Mr Collins said the program set new teachers up in "professional learning communities" with experienced colleagues.

"It levels out the hierarchy. Everyone is valued and contributes equally."

Professor Gore said the program was "supportive and safe, if you like, for teachers to do critical analysis of their practice".

"Often in teaching, people are super polite and kind to each other, which is great. But this is a way of giving supportive feedback to teachers in a way that really gets into the detail of what's happening in lessons."

She said teachers value this because "teaching is one of those occupations where there are lots of different views about how it should be done".

"This approach honours the complexity of teaching, then creates a practical way to reduce the complexity and focus on what matters in making a difference for kids."

The Paul Ramsay Foundation funded a five-year research program, including multiple randomised controlled trials, to examine QTR's effects on teachers and students.

The findings show student achievement in reading and maths improved by "at least two months' additional growth", compared with students in control groups.

It also found the program improved the quality of teaching and morale.

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