Teaching Learning Communities (TLCs) – through Lesson Study at St Michael’s

On Tuesday St Michael’s hosted a Teaching Learning Community (TLCs). These communities take place in classrooms in real time. The structure brings educators together from across schools to build knowledge and skills and to engage in mathematics tasks designed to deepen their understanding of the concepts, structures, patterns, and relationships that underpin all of the mathematics they are expected to teach.

Participants came together at St Michael’s to refine their pedagogical content knowledge through collaborative discussions. All participating teachers are then encouraged to try the refined lessons in their own classrooms. At subsequent sessions teachers bring artefacts to demonstrate the impact on learning for their students and build next steps improvement goals. These communities typically meet once per term. (4 times per year)

Last term 1/2F were the class chosen to work with Leonie who ‘borrowed their learning’ for teachers to observe and discuss. This term 1/2M worked with Leonie and the feedback by both Leonie and the wider teaching community over the last two sessions highlighted that we are so lucky to have such engaged, persistent and deep thinking students.

Leonie is an Educational Consultant in Instructional Leadership and Mathematics & Numeracy Education. She currently holds a Masters of Education, based on research of the Skills and Knowledge for Mathematics Teacher Coaching. Leonie was formally a Principal in Victoria/Australia for 6 years and has worked as a Teacher/Principal Coach for 5 years. Leonie’s teaching background includes Senior Secondary (Mathematics/Physics), Primary. She has also supported Early Childhood settings to implement Mathematics and Science strategies.

In 2010, Leonie was presented with the prestigious Lindsay Thompson Fellowship for her work in raising mathematics achievement for middle years students across a network of schools. The fellowship focused on Instructional Leadership at the school, district and national levels in America, Scandinavia and the United Kingdom.

Leonie has presented at National and International conferences on Mathematics, Leadership and Thinking. Topics have included Professional Learning Teams, Questioning, Australian Curriculum and Leadership practices.

We look forward to future Teacher Learning Community Numeracy Cluster meetings and sharing further learnings with you.