Large Urban School
Professional Developement at Varsity College, May 2007.
Terry Welch (Acting Head of Department, Curriculum) of Varsity College (Junior School) facilitated an extended Professional Development experience for the teaching staff.
The purpose was to creatively manage a Student Free Day into an evening with dinner included. This also fulfilled the requirements for Numeracy PD for the semester.
The Years 4-6 teachers met one week, and the Prep to Year 3 teachers, the following week. The numeracy strands were chosen to fit with the needs of the teachers
Prep to Year 3 teachers chose Space, and Patterns and Algebra
Years 4-6 teachers chose Space and Measurement
Our teachers said:
”Very well presented and hands on”
”Great workshop. Terrific presenter. Thank you!”
”I gained some valuable ideas to use in my classroom, and was
inspired again to ‘break the chalk and talk safe routine”
”Excellent Hands on”
”Interesting and fun. Thank you”
”This was one of the most useful PD’s I have been part of. Thank you”
”Thoroughly enjoyable and totally practical and useable.
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
”Interactive and enjoyable. Learned a lot and will make many
resources from the evening”
The Middle School picked up the model, and varied it slightly to fit in with other priorities of their day. Their topic was ‘Working Mathematically - Investigations for Middle School’ Here is one of the comments:
“Thanks for the great workshop last night; I really enjoyed it and now have a whole new slant on teaching Maths. The ones who will benefit the most are the students.
I work with students from Prep to Year 12 and admit to being ‘creatively and mathematically challenged’, but now I can see how all of our students will learn more using your approach.
Thank you again.”
Maureen Durney
Varsity College
Special Education Class Coordinator