Teacher Professional Leave - TPL

This year three of our teachers have been given an opportunity to undertake TPL. One of the Teachers, Jason Horton, is using his TPL to continue the great work that has been done at the school in the area of Sustainability.
 
He is currently investigating the impact of peer influence and personal attitudes towards students' involvement in sustainability issues and activities. This study will lead to implementing sustainability throughout the whole school curriculum, linking it to the AusVELS curriculum standards. Jason is hoping that as a result of his study and investigations that he will be able to use the school Core Values as a starting point for sustainability teaching.
 
The School Core Values are Community, Relationships, Communication and Respect.
 
Jason has identified that to be sustainable, individuals need to have active values which include:
Fairness
Generosity
Sharing
Empathy
Compassion
& Safety

Combined with the school values Jason will work with two small groups of children enhancing these values and their sustainability awareness. He believes that if more time is spent on developing student values the more successful and worthwhile sustainability practices will become.
 

His investigations will be based on the Evidence Inquiry Cycle which will be combined with the e5 Instructional Model. He is supported in this undertaking by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development EdPartnerships TPL Support Team, TPL Support Group comprised of over 20 other teachers undertaking TPL, School Staff in particular Brendan Hodge and Angela Smith who are also completing TPL, Principal Leonie Anstey and importantly the students who are always enthusiastic towards their learning.

In the past Jason has undertaken studies in Teaching for Sustainability in Malmö, Sweden. Here he considered local and global challenges for sustainable development and developed knowledge of environmental problems and ecological, social and economic perspectives of sustainability. His course included theoretical knowledge of teaching and learning, practical knowledge and teaching skills. During his studies he had to collaborate with students from across the globe to understand economic issues related to local problems, he visited schools in Sweden to gain and understanding and to discuss with the students how School Representative Councils are vital important in being sustainable. He also worked with students from an International Baccalaureate School - Bladins,

to develop an understanding of the crisis in Darfur. The students developed a perspective of the lives of children their own age living in Darfur and compared that to their own lives and developed presentations around what they learnt about Darfur.