Staff readiness

Support staff capability

Schools moving to NAPLAN Online might like to consider these staff activities.

• Support teachers to align what and how they teach with what and how they assess learning.
• A whole-school approach to assessment provides a balanced assessment approach using paper and digital modes, across curriculum areas and year levels. If an assessment is digital, the supporting lessons, units and teaching practices should align and support digital practice.
• Foster digital pedagogies and online assessment.
• ICT capability is a general capability in the Australian Curriculum. Schools can foster and support contemporary teaching and learning practices as described in the Australian Curriculum.
• Support staff in their NAPLAN Online roles.
• Similar to the paper based NAPLAN tests, there are school roles and responsibilities to support the delivery of tests.
• The principal: is the accountable officer for the administration of NAPLAN Online at their school
• The NAPLAN coordinator: schedules tests and supports test administration
• Test administrator: starts, monitors and finalises test sessions (e.g. teacher of class)
• Technical support: assists in the use of school IT resources including the installation of the locked down browser on school owned devices.

The Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) and each Queensland sector—Independent Schools Queensland (ISQ) Queensland Catholic Education Commission (QCEC) and the Queensland Department of Education (DoE)—support schools to train their staff in effectively using the NAPLAN Online assessment platform.

Your school leadership teams might like to consider these reflection questions when supporting effective contemporary practices.

Reflection questions

• How confident are teachers in their ability to support the development of students’ ICT skills?
• What existing school curriculum programs could be adapted to support teachers to use ICT effectively in their practice?
• Do teachers align what and how they teach with what and how they assess learning?

Practical examples

Teachers who are planning, teaching and assessing using the Australian Curriculum are already embedding the ICT skills students will use in online assessment. Capitalise on these opportunities to further develop relevant ICT skills without having to plan any additional learning programs or practice.

Three ideas for staff

• Use the contemporary practice resource (department login required) which contains practical ideas, strategies and resources to support contemporary teaching and learning practices.
• Use the ICT skills guide (PDF, 1.7MB) and the ICT skills: Quick reference guide (PDF, 682KB) to support ICT teachable moments. Independent and Catholic schools should note that ISQ and QCEC have tailored versions of the ICT Skills Guide for their sectors.
• Use the resources e.g. videos, information bytes and cube grenades, to foster staff discussions.

These initiatives are designed to support teachers to use contemporary practices that assist students to have positive experiences with online assessment. Schools are invited to use these ideas and information to support building staff capability.