In November, two leading Sydney educators were awarded for breakthrough approaches to individualised learning – a practice that research shows has profound academic benefits for young people.
Brad Swibel, Deputy Head, and Penni Maher, Director of Specialised Learning, of St Andrew's Cathedral School (SACS), were recognised for driving higher student engagement and outcomes at the school through their targeted programs.
The Australian College of Educators’ (ACE), which provided the accolades, highlighted the importance of teacher agency in contributing towards educational excellence.
ACE CEO, Helen Jentz, said “it is essential to recognise that teachers have a vast array of skills, knowledge and expertise as professionals.”
“It’s important they are given the opportunities, resources and support to develop and implement learning programs they know will deliver the best outcomes for their students,” Jentz told The Educator.
Jentz said individualised learning has been a focus for a number of years, with supporters and detractors on each side.
“Rather than fixating on a singular ‘solution’ that will supposedly deliver improved outcomes [across the board], as was noted in the Gonski Review into Australian Education, what is needed is greater flexibility in curriculum delivery, reporting and assessment regimes,” Jentz said.
“The way in which to achieve this is to ensure teachers, those professionals working with students day in and day out, have avenues through which to innovate and develop learning models they know will deliver the best possible outcomes for the individual.”
Jentz said individualised teaching models are one of these avenues that, as in the case of St Andrew’s Cathedral School, have shown great results.
“What these results also show is that when teachers are given the autonomy, support and resources within a collaborative, well networked and inclusive professional environment, the results for students can be amazing,” she said.