The Day Sir Gets To Learn

Sydney Morning Herald

Saturday March 29, 2008

Kristie Kellahan

They can be a headache for parents, but pupil-free days are a huge help to teachers, writes Kristie Kellahan.

Most of us remember the pupil-free day as a fantastic excuse to stay home from school and watch cartoon re-runs. Teachers, of course, have a different perspective. For them, school development days, as they are now known, are an opportunity to refresh their skills, network with other education professionals and hear about the latest teaching initiatives.

High school principal Betty Harper is responsible for 640 students and 55 teachers. She says school development days are planned 12 months in advance and based on school targets for the year ahead.

"Teachers don't get many opportunities to have deep professional dialogue without interruptions," Harper says. "It's time well spent for teachers to enhance their skills and ultimately offer a better learning experience for the students."

This year, Harper will oversee four development days (one each term) with the focus on improving School Certificate results and developing students' ability to participate in self-directed learning. The teachers will also be brushing up on advanced strategies for imparting literacy and numeracy skills.

Harper says all teachers will participate in workshops and tutorials run by school staff and external consultants, including a literacy consultant and an expert on the tricky transition from school to university or TAFE. The normal order of a school development day would have the teachers initially listening to presentations before breaking off into faculty groups to talk about what they've learned and how it can be integrated.

"The workshops are planned a long time in advance around the needs of the teachers, which are based on the needs of the kids," Harper says.

The age of the students may be different but the focus is the same for infants' school principal Sharon Curran. "Our aim is always to assist in the development of staff so that students reap the benefits of highly developed teachers," Curran says.

Her school will hold three development days this year, on the first day of terms. To make the most of resources and provide networking opportunities for teachers, Curran's school will link with two other infants' schools in the region for a combined training day next term.

"When a community of schools joins together they all benefit," she says. "For teachers at the beginning of their careers, for instance, it's a great way to network with teachers with more experience."

Curran says learning opportunities vary from school to school. Far from being a day when teachers put their feet up, on the next development day her staff will be focusing on the best way to teach mathematics, with training from two of the Department of Education's top teaching consultants.

"The feedback from teachers is they always relish this opportunity to develop their skills," she says. "Schools are constantly evolving every day in every way and to give children the best education we must be up to date with teaching methods and curriculum."

As a teacher with 24 years' experience, K-6 principal John Massard says his perception of school development days has changed over the years. "I'm at the leadership end now rather than the one being workshopped, so I have a different perspective," he says.

"I've realised the chance of it being a wonderful day depends on how engaging the speakers are and how well the teachers' personal interests are catered for."

Massard is quick to highlight the practical elements of development days: "It's not just about filling them up with information; we provide very practical information and training and discuss with teachers how they will then implement the information." The next school development days at his school will focus on sports safety and comprehension skills.

And what does Massard say to parents who grumble that these days are an inconvenience for carers, forced to find alternate supervision for their children?

"Ultimately we are doing this for the students," he says. "There's nothing more important than them and what they're learning. One day's inconvenience will ultimately lead to better learning."

Teaching is the sort of profession that demands a constant refreshing of skills.

"If I still taught the way I was trained twentysomething years ago, it would be to the detriment of education," Massard says. "Times have changed, learning strategies have changed, children have changed and teachers most definitely need the opportunity to update their skills to provide the best education possible."

© 2008 Sydney Morning Herald

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