It is an expectation at The Sydney Russell School, that teachers will plan and deliver lessons that are interesting, stimulating, challenging and appropriate for the academic targets of the students. Programmes of Study are constantly reviewed and updated to ensure that they reflect developments in educational theory and practice. There is an ongoing programme of staff development to ensure that all teachers have up to date knowledge of initiatives in education and have opportunities to develop and refine their skills.
The most important principle which underpins the Programmes of Study is that students should be actively involved in their learning. Lessons should be designed to ensure that students are engaged and challenged and have opportunities to reflect on their progress. Some key aspects of this are:
- students will be made aware of the learning objectives of each lesson
- teachers will implement a ‘no hands-up’ policy, using a random method to select students to answer
- teachers will implement the ‘no opt-out’ policy, ensuring that all students participate in discussion
- throughout lessons teachers will use a range of strategies to check the progress of students
- students should be ‘on task’ at all times
- any student whose behaviour interferes with learning will be relocated from the lesson after two warnings
- homework will be set regularly, as appropriate for a particular subject
- marking of work will identify what a student has done well and what he or she needs to do to improve
- teaching of all subjects will reflect the school’s Literacy and Numeracy policies.
