Macquarie Anglican Grammar School

The Macquarie Teaching and Learning Framework has a clear focus on strengthening our students as independent learners through the development of habits to assist them with engagement and strategies to become better learners.

We engaged with Guy Claxton’s Building Learning Powers to develop a framework which uses the best of the available educational and neurological sciences as well as outstanding educational practice. The Teaching and Learning Framework was developed over 2020 and 2021 and officially launched early this year. It is a five-year project to embed the framework within the entire school community.

We commenced Term 1 by focusing on the first of our 4 Rs, this being ‘Resourceful’. To be resourceful we worked with our students on the following three areas:

Planning
Using your logic skills to map out a path, suitable timing, and resources, and use your imagination.

Making Connections
Seeing connections and patterns in learning experiences and weaving them together to make sense of new learning.

Questioning
Asking questions of yourself and others in a curious way in order to expand learning.

Each of our 4 Rs has a handy ‘Helping at Home’ section. For Resourceful it is the following:
Helping at Home

• Encourage questioning
• Model linking ideas and information
• Encourage imaginative play and experimentation
• Practice using resources - books, dictionary, web searches to find information.

The complete framework can be found on our website by clicking here.

In Term 4, being Reflective is the fourth of the Rs we are exploring with our students. The key message is, “Being, ready, willing and able to become more strategic about learning.”

The three key points for being Reflective are:
Refining
Becoming your own coach and recognising the lesson from experience.

Revising
Understanding that plans can be adapted and changed, and making the most of new opportunities.

Refocusing
Knowing yourself as a learner and understanding when things need to be re-established and adjusted.

To be a reflective learner is to not only learn from your successes but also engage with and grow from your mistakes. Learning is not about the marks you receive but the skills, habits, strategies and knowledge you gain through the process. Far too often our political leaders attempt to simplify our students' learning to a series of numbers or letters. NAPLAN, ATAR and PISA are all exams or ranks that are bandied about regularly with a monotonous approach on perceived success or failure. This fits well with a 24-hour news cycle and three-year political cycle, but it devalues our students and the 14 years of wonderful wholistic education that our students receive at Macquarie.

I encourage all of our school community to continue to explore and engage with our Teaching and Learning Framework and please get in touch with any questions you might have. We at Macquarie are proud of the results our students achieve in the many and varied external exams. I am even prouder of the young people our community produces and the impact they will have as adults.

Our Teaching and Learning Framework plays a key role in the development of our outstanding young adults.

Mr Craig Mansour
Headmaster