About Our Blog

Our Archibull Prize blog for 2015 is compiled in a slightly different way to years past.

8WL is a mainstream supported learning class. All lessons are differentiated to meet the diverse range of academic, social and emotinal needs. I teach the same group of students across 4 subjects for the entire year.

One of the challenges we faced as a class was how to fit in all of our Archi lessons, artwork and regular Key Learning Areas (KLA’s) as well. It was a lot to try and fit in, so this is how we have done it. Our blog component is team effort, which I stress we are all responsible for the learning. As I type, I am simply facilitating the student’s learning. Our lessons are filled with discussions and conversations about our learning, and the results are recorded in the blog.

Our English lessons for term 3 consisted of Archi learning, focusing on increasing extended writing skills and responses. These lessons were heavily scaffolded and teacher modelled to increase my student’s ability to access the information being taught.

We studied a variety of different text types including information report, persuasive writing, narrative, reflective journal writing and survey writing skills to obtain answers. At various stages through term 3 we sat assessment tasks and student samples were picked for display on our blog. Throughout this process all students worked to their personal best and most have demonstrated an increase in literacy skills as a result.

Sometimes we uploaded information onto our blog as a class from the Smartboard, however I decided that this year I wanted our blog to serve a number of purposes. The first was of course as a way to document all aspects of the learning journey through out 2015, secondly as a tool for students to be able to share classroom learning with parents and caregivers at home. And by all accounts our blog has really started some lovely conversations around the dinner table. Thirdly our blog contains all class notes from KLA’s taught in class. It has been a wonderful way to engage all my students in learning even when they are absent from school, they are still able to logon and see what we are up to.

I have been able to find a job for every student in my class, working to their strengths. Students have learnt a load of new skills along the way, some they didn’t even know they could do, like hand sewing and wool swirling. It has been absolutely wonderful to witness my students grow through this process and see them taking more risks in learning, leading to greater academic outcomes.

I have selected work to be edited and published as class, visible to my students on the Smartboard. This enables them to see in action the editing and publishing process.

I have used the Archi artwork this year as a space for us all to come together and also as a reward tool for appropriate behaviour, not just for my class, but also for other students at Northlakes High School as well. The Archi artwork is invaluable in the way it opens students hearts and minds. The activity of creating and making gives students something very positive to focus on, and the incidental conversations that have taken place around the cow are wonderful and insightful to the places my students are. I have found that while the hands are busy creating, the heart speaks. Through the making process, students are able to see me as part of their team, not their leading who is responsible for all of their learning.

My students and I are very proud of the efforts we have put in the 2015 Archibull Prize. We have tackled the different components in a somewhat unconventional manner, but I think it has worked for us as a school and as a group.

Tenille Dowe

Proud 8WL Classroom Teacher

Northlakes High School