Building in the early years
BUILDING young thinkers who are confident, capable and resilient learners is a defining aim for educators at St Mary’s College.
With the ongoing support and guidance of their teachers, students across the school are inspired daily to seek and enjoy challenges, think outside their comfort zone and progress in all areas of their education.
St Mary’s College principal Helen Spencer said the school takes pride in offering a vibrant environment that encourages students to be curious and enthusiastic about their learning.
“We value the benefits of challenging, learning and fostering a growth mindset in students through explicitly welcoming mistakes, using continuous feedback and rewarding effort, not attainment,” she said. “This approach, which is based on work of leading international educational consultant, James Nottingham, and Stanford University psychologist, Carol Dweck, is introduced from kindergarten and carried on throughout the College.”
Student learning is also significantly impacted by the way teachers work together. Developing a culture of collaboration is one way educators at St Mary’s can reflect on and consciously improve their teaching practice.
St Mary’s director of pedagogy, Tameika Grist said this was a focus of her role, which sees her work across the Junior and Senior Schools to help teachers find new ways to improve and challenge the young people in their care.
“We are always looking for ways to move forward, while remaining in touch with current practice,” she said. “Research on student learning shows that when teachers focus collaboratively on improving their pedagogy, student outcomes improve.”
Ms Grist said the college recognised the importance of encouraging staff participation in quality professional development, facilitating teacher review processes and looking internationally for best practice teaching strategies.
“We recently worked closely with James Nottingham, whose insights and ideas around promoting challenge in learning have prompted a renewed sense of excitement and focus among staff,” she said.
Having someone of Mr Nottingham’s calibre visit the College was a catalyst for continuing the focus on evidence-based teaching that really puts students’ learning at the fore.