The Educator Deep Dive: The groundbreaking program driving educational excellence in Australia’s schools
Featured in The Educator Australia on 14 June 2024 – Kate Hehir, Assistant Principal, Junior School contributes to the deep dive on Quality Teaching Rounds (QTR), a groundbreaking program driving educational excellence in Australia’s schools.
Fostering a common language for teaching
Lauriston Girls’ School introduced QTR in 2020 as a way for teachers to observe each other and give lesson feedback using an evidence informed model.
Previously, the school had used Cultures of Thinking (Harvard) to guide classroom observations but found it lacked the structure that QT provides.
Kate Hehir said QTR uses a known framework which allows teachers to converse deeply about pedagogy and complex educational ideas using a common language.
“Our Junior School teachers have completed the two-day QTR Foundational workshop face-to-face so have built a strong knowledge of the 18 elements, giving them the confidence to code and discuss lessons in depth,” Hehir told The Educator.
“The ‘QT: Enhancing Assessment Practice’ one day workshop encouraged our Junior School teachers to look carefully at our current assessments through a QT lens.”
Hehir said teachers at the school have spent time analysing assessment tasks, considering how to include high levels of the three dimensions: Intellectual Quality, Quality Learning Environment and Significance.
Hehir said PLCs (Professional Learning Communities) of 3-4 teachers create genuine opportunities to connect with colleagues and spend valuable time talking about educational ideas using a common language.
“QT has encouraged rich lesson planning as teachers carefully consider including the 18 elements, some which they may not have focused on in the past.”
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