At Caulfield Grammar School, we recognise the impact that quality teachers have on student learning outcomes. We have a passion for innovation in education, offering blended technologies, contemporary learning facilities and resources, and a globally focused and adaptive curriculum.
Central to this innovation is fostering student and teacher agency.
Quality teaching for quality learning
We attract and retain outstanding and highly credentialled teachers, specialists and support staff – fostering innovation and collaboration to deliver a broad and balanced range of learning experiences and resources for each student to thrive.
With ‘quality learning’ at its heart, our dynamic continuous improvement approach helps anticipate and plan for emerging skills and careers and underpins our innovative teaching and learning practice and priorities.
Teacher Agility & Student Agency
Campus-based Teaching and Learning teams take collective ownership of developing strategic Teaching and Learning priorities. Our commitment to research-informed practice and ensuring a consistent experience for each student in the classroom and each learning environment is illustrated by our Quality Lesson Design Model. This Model ensures students have the opportunity to learn from experts (the teacher) and be active participants in their own learning. Students are encouraged to voice their thinking openly and to share and critique one another’s understandings – fostering responsible, active learners.
Quality Lesson Design Model
Research indicates that one of the biggest influences on your child’s learning outcomes is the quality of the teacher and their teaching practice. A distinguishing feature of Caulfield Grammar School’s approach to teaching is weekly professional learning for all teaching staff. Quality teaching for quality learning.
Our professional learning is shaped by our Quality Lesson Design Model, the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) Standards, and leads to our School Strategy Plan 2031.
The Model is designed to promote and highlight the core components of a great lesson – including clear objectives, explicit teaching, checking for understanding, independent and guided practice, and an opportunity at the end of each lesson to assess progress made against each objective.
Every member of our teaching staff is introduced to and immersed in our Quality Lesson Design Model, ensuring consistent research-informed practice takes place in every classroom. This model is designed to ensure a measure of consistency in every learning environment with the most impactful elements of teaching featured in every classroom across the School.
Professional Learning
Teachers take part in their own learning explorations over the course of the year linked to various aspects of our Quality Lesson Design Model, drawing on a body of international education research about what constitutes the most effective teaching and learning. Caulfield Grammar School subscribes to ‘Walk-Thrus’, a series of evidence-informed teaching strategies to support teacher explorations. Educators are encouraged to share practice across learning areas and share their strategies across campuses to design effective environments that maximise student learning.
Leveraging Integrated Technologies
AccessCGS is our online student learning environment – enabling collaborative and visible learning processes. The CGS Learning Devices plan is designed to provide a comprehensive and pedagogically sound toolset for blended learning. Our approaches evolve with and leverage the dynamic digital landscape to keep creating future-focused and powerful learning experiences.
Embedding Inquiry
Guided by the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF), and inspired by the principles of Reggio Emilia, our Early Learning and Junior School educators collaboratively embed the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP). The impact of these approaches is seen through the high calibre of work showcased in our Year 6 PYP Exhibitions, the integrity and consistency of our classroom practices, and the confidence and capability of our students.
Excellent ELC, Junior and Secondary School facilities and resources enhance the functionality of the ‘environment as educator’, and our flexible learning spaces have received industry recognition and design awards.
Our Secondary teachers embed the inquiry-based Middle Years Programme (MYP) framework from Years 7–9 to improve learning outcomes by focusing on authentic learning experiences underpinned by the IB learner profile. Professional learning enables our teachers to further develop MYP curriculum design skills and assessment processes to meet Australian Curriculum requirements. Transferable skills and agency are acquired through the MYP and enhanced by context-specific practices such as through our Yarra Junction Education Outdoors Program and Year 9 Kakadu Program This provides a rigorous foundation for purposeful and more self-regulated learner experiences in the Senior School years (Years 10–12).
Some Class of 2022 students were asked to share which staff mentors at School have made an impact on them.
These mentors were then asked the same question.
