Catching up: Learning from the best school systems in East Asia

21 November 2012

NEAT,The Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania

Ben Jensen

P 2

Some challenges

1. Student learning is the start, middle and end point.

2. Less is more

3. Doing what matters is easy. Only doing what really matters is very difficult

4. Teachers professional development is a waste of time

5. Teaching is NOT a collaborative profession

How are they high-performing?

P 3

US UK EU21* AustraliaRead Math. Sci. Read Math. Sci. Read Math. Sci. Read Math. Sci.

Shanghai 17 33 23 19 32 19 20 30 23 13 25 15

Hong Kong

10 20 15 12 18 11 13 17 14 6 12 7

Singapore 8 22 13 10 20 9 10 19 12 3 14 5

Korea 12 17 11 14 16 8 14 14 11 7 9 3

* Unweighted average

> 2 years behind1 to 2 years behind< 1 year behind

Source: PISA 2009 (OECD)

Figures represent the difference in performance (expressed in the number of months of school education) between students in the USA, UK, EU, and Australia and the four high-performing systems in East Asia. E.g. The average 15 y.o. student in the USA performs at a level that is 17 months behind the average 15y.o. student in Shanghai in reading.

Number of months behind – PISA 2009

-15 -10 -5 0 5 10 15 20

Korea

United States

Australia

Hong Kong

OECD Average Statistically significantly different

Change in reading – PISA 2000 - 2009

Western Australia

The Northern Territory

South Australia

Queensland

New South Wales

Western Australia16

The Northern Territory

8

South Australia31

Queensland2

New South Wales23

Victoria 3

Tasmania31

The Australian Capital Territory

21

P 7

P 8

Why are they high-performing?

P 9

Student learning is at the centre of everything

P 10

Student Learning

Curriculum

AssessmentPedagogy

Improving learning and teaching in Hong Kong

•Broad learning experiences (project, enquiry-based learning)

•Critical thinking, problem-solving and communication skills

•Diversified learning and teaching materials

•Formative assessment

•Integrated learning areas across the curriculum

•Developing learning skills rather than just knowledge

•Learning experiences in the broader community compared to learning confined to the classroom.

Learning and teaching

• Improving learning and teaching is behavioural (and sometimes cultural) change

•People will change behaviour when:1. They have a clear purpose to believe in2. Role models act visibly and consistently3. They have the skills and capacity for the new behaviour4. Reinforcement systems are consistent

•Strategy succeeds and fails with implementation– Successful policy involves 20% design and 80%

implementation

Behavioural change

•Less is more– Successful policy involves 20% design and 80%

implementation

•All must be pointing in the one direction– Mixed or conflicting messages will kill you

Behavioural change

1. People will change behaviour when they have a clear purpose

•Hong Kong’s education strategy Learning for Life, Learning Through Life reads like an implementation plan

• Where learning is and where it should be• A detailed picture of what was needed from policy to achieve

this change• A clear and convincing rationale for reform

Behavioural change

2. Role models act visibly and consistently

•Strong links between leaders (at all levels) and schools

•Change must start with leaders

•Communication is vital– Teachers and all stakeholders must want to own the

change process

Behavioural change

3. Capacity building

•All PD and professional learning must be aligned to the new objectives

•Professional learning is much broader than PD

•Shanghai has the best professional learning in the world

Behavioural change

3. Re-enforcement mechanism

•Strong accountability at all levels

•Comprehensive school evaluation

•Comprehensive teacher appraisal and feedback– All aligned to the new objecitves

Whole-system implementation

•View each element of the education system as an implementation tool

– Curriculum– Student assessment– Teaching and learning resources– School leadership– Academic research– Teacher professional development and in-school support– Teachers’ teaching and working time– School accountability (including ‘focused’ inspections)– School autonomy

We say it They do it

• Mentoring programs fail to provide the constructive feedback necessary for teacher development and improved learning.

• Teacher development is often not suited to teachers’ needs

• Just under three-quarters of teachers say that they would receive no recognition if they improved the quality of their teaching or were more innovative in their classroom teaching

• In Shanghai, all teachers have mentors and new teachers have multiple mentors. Observation and feedback is constant.

• Teachers are researchers. In Shanghai, the first step to advanced teacher status is to have one of your published papers peer reviewed.

• Teachers regularly observe each other’s classes, providing instant feedback to improve each student’s learning.

• Comprehensive performance management systems continually improve teaching to improve learning. Horizontal accountability is high.

Connecting policy to the classroom

Efforts are concentrated to continually improve learning and teaching

Key programs

• Initial teacher education

• School principal education

• Induction and mentoring

• Research and lesson groups

• Classroom observation

• Teacher career structures

These systems recognise that learning is complex and therefore teaching is complex. These programs are designed and continually evaluated to have the greatest impact on teaching and improving student learning.

Programs

P 21

Skills Knowledge

Learner-centred values

Teacher identityService to the profession

& community

– Collaborative learning and practice

– Building apprenticeship and mentorship

– Social responsibility and engagement

– Stewardship

– Aims for high standards– Enquiring nature– Quest for learning– Strive to improve– Passion– Adaptive and resilient– Ethical– Professionalism

– Empathy– Belief that all children

can learn– Commitment to

nurturing the potential in each child

– Valuing of diversity

– Self– Pupil– Community– Subject content– Pedagogy– Educational foundation and policies– Curriculum– Multicultural literacy– Global awareness– Environmental awareness

– Reflective skills thinking dispositions– Pedagogical skills– People management skills– Self management skills– Administrative and management skills– Communication skills– Facilitative skills– Technological skills– Innovation and entrepreneurship skills– Social and emotional intelligence

Initial teacher education at NIE

Partnerships

Ministry of Education

National Institute of Education

Schools

Initial teacher education in Singapore

Induction and mentoring in Shanghai

•All teachers have mentors

•Beginning teachers have two mentors

•Mentoring focuses on learning in the classroom– Not administrative and emotional support

•Feedback based on classroom observation is very frequent– e.g. middle-level teachers observe lessons once per week

•Mentoring is an explicit component of teachers’ job description

•Effective teachers are promoted into more classrooms with additional mentoring roles

Research and lesson groups in Shanghai

• All teachers participate on at least two formal professional learning communities

• Frequent meetings – in some schools for 1-2 hours per week

• Teaching is a research-oriented profession.

• Peer-reviewed publications are a requirement for promotion

• Lesson groups focus on the learning of all students– Classroom observation– Ensuring each individual student is progressing

“From what I have seen in western countries, teachers

work in the classroom with students coming and going.

In Shanghai, teachers’ main place of work is their office.

The emphasis is on their professional learning and

research.”

School Principal, Shanghai Experimental School

P 26

Research groups

Classroom teacher

Teaching Track

Leadership Track

Senior Specialist

Track

Senior Teacher

Lead Teacher

Principal Master Teacher

Subject / Level Head

Head of Department

Vice Principal

Principal

Senior Specialist 1

Senior Specialist 2

Lead Specialist

Principal Specialist

Cluster Superintendent

Deputy Director

Director

Director – General of Education

Chief Specialist

Master Teacher

Career track in Singapore

Active professional collaboration

•OECD distinguishes between

1. Exchange and coordination- Exchange and coordination of teaching material,

discussion individual students’ development, attendance at team conferences, ensuring common standards

2. (Active) Professional collaboration- Team teaching, peer observation and feedback,

coordinating activities across classes, effective group professional learning

Shanghai Australia

10-12 hours 20 hours

As a result, teachers in Shanghai spend many non-teaching hours each week in:

Teachers in Australia have

50% less non-teaching

time than Shanghai

teachers to do the things that

matter (a)

– classroom observation– team teaching– school-based research– giving feedback– identifying learning needs– modeling good practice– active collaboration

a proven impact on learning

USA

30 hours

American teachers have

only 12 minutes

between each class (a)

The average teacher’s week

Catching up: Learning from the best school systems in East Asia

21 November 2012

NEAT,The Royal Yacht Club of Tasmania

Ben Jensen