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:
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The Principal: is the accountable officer for the administration of NAPLAN Online at their school
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The NAPLAN coordinator: schedules tests and supports test administration
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Test administrators: starts, monitors and finalises test sessions (e.g. teacher of class)
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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 Queensland DET] support schools to train their principals, NAPLAN coordinators, test administrators and technical support officers 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 (DET login required) which contains practical ideas, strategies and resources to support contemporary teaching and learning practices.
- Use the
ICT Skills Guide (PDF, 1.6MB) and the
Quick reference to ICT in the Australian Curriculum guide (PDF, 351KB) to support ICT teachable moments. Independent and Catholic schools should note that ISQ and QCEC have tailored versions of the ICT Skills Guide to 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.
ICT Skills Guide
Use the
ICT skills guide (PDF, 1.6MB) to help develop students' digital capability. The guide links to ICT learning activities from the Contemporary Practice Resource and aligns with the Australian Curriculum.
To successfully engage in online assessment, students need to be confident and capable users of ICT.
The ICT Skills Guide supports teachers with identifying opportunities to use ICT through their teaching programs.
Seven ICT skill sets are identified for online assessment. For each ICT skill set, the guide includes:
- curriculum teaching and learning where ICT can be used purposefully
- links to related learning resources
- considerations and tips for teachers
- question examples (screenshots) of how NAPLAN Online might use the skill in the four domains of reading, writing, conventions of language and numeracy.
Each activity and resource is age-appropriate and can be differentiated to suit learning needs and contexts.
They draw from the Department of Education's
Contemporary Practice Resource (DET login required) and other key curriculum resources.
The
Quick reference to ICT in the Australian Curriculum guide (PDF, 351KB) further supports curriculum planning.
ISQ member schools can access a version of the guide, tailored to their needs, through ISQ’s NAP and NAPLAN Online community on Connect&Learn (ISQ login required).
C2C Resource Library
The
C2C digital resource libraries (DET login required) contain a wide range of interactive learning objects and materials. The libraries below are accessed via the staff Learning Place and a DET login is required.
Independent and Catholic schools, may access these resources through
Scootle.
Contemporary Practice Resource
Use the
Contemporary Practice Resource (DET login required) to tap into peer-reviewed teaching ideas and resource banks to support the effective use of ICT in the classroom.
eBooks and eJournals
Queensland state school staff can access professional learning resources and eJournals through the
department's online library (DET login required).
ERIC
The
Education Resources Information Centre (ERIC) is an online digital library of education research and information that provides access to a comprehensive range of bibliographic records and full-text articles.
Online coaching modules
The five self-paced
online coaching modules (DET login required) available on this site develop effective pedagogical practice and strengthen teacher content knowledge in the following priority areas.
- How to teach reading
- How to teach writing
- How to teach mathematics
- How to teach science
- How to assess learning and use evidence to differentiate
ISQ offers independent schools several online coaching courses as well as a Coaching Partnerships Program. Please contact ISQ for more information on (07) 3228 1578, or visit
http://www.isq.qld.edu.au/.
STEM hub for schools
Innovations and technological advancements in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) play a key role in our lives.
The
STEM hub for schools (DET login required) supports state schools in delivering a world-class STEM education and in preparing Queensland students to take advantage of the opportunities provided by our changing world.
ISQ offers independent schools an online STEM community of practice, including STEM professional learning. Please contact ISQ for more information on (07) 3228 1578 or see
http://www.isq.qld.edu.au/.