Julie Harris on reflective practice
The use of observations and feedback in a coaching and mentoring process
processes. Her successes in education have led her, more recently, to working with coaches in high profile NRL teams.
This was an invaluable time for the CTER. Although we have all been involved in observing lessons and giving feedback, this was a rare opportunity to significantly reflect on: • what the purpose of this process is for teachers at College • how we, as a group, carry out this process effectively • how this is going to fit with coaching and mentoring for our school Julie helped us critically evaluate the “journey so far”. She shared her processes and examples of past observations. For us to gain a more “experiential” approach, Joe Eccleton volunteered to have Julie and the four Heads of Teaching and Learning observe his Year 10 History class and engage in a formal feedback review process. We also spent some one-on- one time with Julie in our own learning areas Julie’s insight, successes and challenges have provided the platform for a greater clarity for the CTER, both within the specific observation and feedback area, and in the wider context of coaching and mentoring and working towards our goal of furthering reflective practice and supporting teachers in their development. to utilise her expertise and try out some different methods with College teachers.
Teaching, by its nature is a “people” profession. It may be surprising to some however, that the regularity with which teachers interact with other teachers is not as often as you might think. One of the key goals of the CTER is to build greater capacity for collaboration, reflective practice, and for developing and sharing our strengths and ideas. This is partly done through our regular professional learning mornings, but, moving forward, will also be delivered through coaching and mentoring. As part of this initiative, the CTER invited Julie Harris, Director of Teaching and Learning at Guildford Grammar in Perth, to College for two days in August. Julie has been working for many years in teacher development, and specialises in observation and feedback
Katie Southworth Commerce and Mathematics
College Issue 35 2018
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