Teachers cannot be expected to create dynamic learning communities among students if they don’t have a parallel community that nourishes them professionally. Nor can teachers authentically cultivate lifelong learners if they themselves do not model this.
The current professional development requirements for teachers across Australia varies and can range in the types of learning activities and forums in which they occur. Often the most relevant and productive PD happens informally through daily conversations with our colleagues. Engaging and insightful conversations happen in staff rooms and poky department offices when teachers share their knowledge of effective teaching practices, complex subject matter, student learning styles and strategies for behaviour management. Informal interactions like these facilitate an important form of collegial support and learning for teachers. However, these discussions can become even more powerful when we have evidence to direct them.
The automatic and detailed data that Neap digital tests deliver, presents teachers with opportunities to review and reflect upon what you’re doing well and areas of the curriculum that may require alternative strategies. Guiding these conversations with an evidence-based approach enables the learning goals and progress of students to become measurable. The data just becomes another tool that teachers can use to cultivate better student learning without having to sacrifice the time it takes to calculate and gather.
