Moving towards the Science of Learning - Jack Neil

Webinar
Written By Think Forward Educators

Background

In this practical and reflective talk, Jack Neil will explore an example of how to initiate school change towards the Science of Learning, and how to lead in a new space.

Through the discussion, Jack will emphasise that key to leading change is embracing teachers as your greatest asset. Key to this journey is asking the right questions and listening for every possible answer.

Jack will focus on the leadership space and how to plan change at a whole school level; what supported these changes; and how St Monica’s have attempted to embed practice and build a culture of learning. This has involved extending systematic and intentional practice beyond the early reading space and across all elements of the curriculum. A key lesson learned has been to invest in the School’s biggest asset, their teachers, and design ways of empowering and equipping them with the tools they need to be their best.


Monday, Aug 30, 2021
7:30 PM - 8:45 PM AEST Melbourne Time

Still have questions? Read the follow up blog post now!

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A school improvement journey: St Monica’s Wodonga
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Hundreds of TFE members tuned into Jack Neil’s session in August 2021. If you haven’t see it yet, you can catch up in the Members’ Area. While Jack tackled many member questions in the session, he couldn’t get to all of them.

Enjoy this blog of his responses to a few key questions from this talk. If you have more questions feel free to add a comment to this blog post.

First Question: What assessments do you use?

We use the following assessments.

  • Sounds Write screener and segmenting and blending assessment

  • Castles and Coltheart 2nd Edition (CC2)

  • Phonological Awareness Skills Test (P.A.S.T)

  • Morrison and McCall Spelling Scale

  • DIBELS Data System that target sounds, letter ID, word accuracy, segmenting blending, fluency, comprehension among other things.

For writing we split our assessment into writing TRANSCRIPTION assessments and writing IDEATION assessments. We have established school wide level expectations on both as success criteria and working towards moderating these to refine accuracy and information to inform teaching.

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Photo on 2-8-21 at 10.33 am #3.jpeg

Jack Neil

Jack Neil is the senior leader of learning teaching at St Monica's Primary School in Wodonga Victoria, a catholic school in the Sandhurst diocese with around 520 students currently enrolled.

St Monica’s are 18 months into our Science of Reading and Science of Learning journey, and approaching 12 months of Explicit Direct Instruction (EDI) practice.

Think Forward Educators
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