Last week all Tasmanian Catholic Principals met for a three day conference to discuss current educational issues.  As part of the agenda for this gathering, our school was asked to present what we are doing as a part of our school improvement process, with regards to implementing inquiry cycles.  These cycles of inquiry aim to enhance and facilitate better learning for our students through the collection of data, allowing teachers to identify areas in which students require further teaching and learning opportunities.  Our school was recognised as being leaders in this space.  The cycle follows 5 key stages:

SCAN AND ASSESS

• What is our whole school data saying?
• In which areas are our students in need of further targeted instruction?
• Do we need to collect further data?

PRIORITISE

• How will we identify the essential and specific skills and knowledge students are expected to master during the cycle?
• What is important and therefore worth spending time prioritising given where our students are at?
• What are the indicators of students being at standard/above standard/ below standard?

DEVELOP & PLAN

• Are our pre-assessments measureable?
• How will we gain the skills and knowledge ourselves to be able to teach this?
• Are there professionals / guests we can bring in to provide professional learning in this area?

ACT: TAKE ACTION

• Are our teaching methods flexible?
• How do we monitor how our students are going?
• How will we know when students have learnt it? 
• How do we respond when some students don’t get it?
• How will we extend the learning for those who already know it?

REVIEW

• What impact have we had on student learning?
• What was effective / what wasn’t?
• What have we noted about our processes?  Do we need to adapt anything for our next cycle?
• How can we share and discuss our successes / challenges?