Lift Learning

Parents, teachers, tutors, allied health professionals, individuals suffering from decision fatigue - this write and wipe spinner is available for $12 in Kmart. You can thank me later ;) My youngest two kiddos are already hatching their own plans for how to use it to their advantage 🤭

Yesterday was a day of celebration after Victoria's Education Minister, Ben Carroll, announced that Victorian primary schools would be mandated to used structured synthetic phonics to teach reading in conjunction with explicit instruction in oral language development, phonemic awareness, fluency, vocabularly, and comprehension. Today, the joy and relief of that announcement has been usurped by frustration once more, as the Victorian branch of the Australian Education Union firmly positioned itself in opposition to yesterday's announcement.

The AEUVic denounced Ben Carroll's announcement as a show his "lack of respect for the teaching profession, who must be at the centre of any decisions around teaching and learning". The AEU insists that the announcement ignores the "deep pedagogical expertise [developed] throughout their careers, based on a detailed knowledge of the context in which they are teaching" and demands that "the capacity of the teaching profession to successfully meet the learning needs of students must be recognised, respected, and supported by the Education Minister". What isn't addressed in the AEU's response to the Education Minister's "breathtaking disregard" for our profession is why they seem to think the 20-30% failure rate is acceptable in education. Would we be satisfied if 20-30% of our buildings and bridges collapsed within the first 15 years because we didn't insist our engineers followed the evidence for best practice in their fields? Would we be happy enough if only 70% of a surgeon's operations were successful? No, it would not be acceptable and professionals with those kinds of statistics would be out of a job. Teaching is dealing with peoples lives and livelihoods. Every child has the right to learn to read, spell, and write. Not 70-80% of children. EVERY child.

The Education Minister's mandate reflects decades of educational, psychological, and cognitive research about how human's learn to read and write. A failure to acknowledge this burgeoning body of research is a decision to champion professional opinion over research and every childs right to read.

See the AEU's full response below, share it, write to your union representatives and share your thoughts. I, for one, do not want to be on their side of history when it comes to teaching Victorian kids how to read.

https://www.aeuvic.asn.au/aeu-branch-council-rejects-government-mandate-teaching-practice?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR380tdQeC3s9VYhjXcDqAuXktp04UyWU9doNLHm_sdwnbdsjXCnwvtO7nQ_aem_AbxNuXk8Zj4hOZ05LURnpAk4NVPQF75QICfEihE-QDPTqg6ElIIgHA2P66hexPbShAuudQIvX0p3SYxQjo1VktXq

AEU Branch Council rejects government mandate on teaching practice | Australian Education Union (AEU) Victorian Branch That the AEU Joint Primary and Secondary Sector Council views with significant dismay the policy announcement by Victorian Education Minister, Ben Carroll, on the misnamed 'Making Best Practice Common Practice in The Education State', without proper consultation with the profession and the AEU.

"Education is vital to both individual development and societal progress. One of the tools used to gauge the quality of education worldwide is the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Conducted every three years by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), PISA assesses the knowledge and skills of 15-year-old students around the globe in reading, mathematics, and science."

Overall, Australia ranked 19th in the world. Nineteenth. We were 15th in science and reading, and 26th in mathematics. As a nation we need to do better and that is going to mean a serious overhaul of our education system from the ground level all the way to our initial teacher training at the very least. It's also going to mean upskilling educators in the field to ensure they have the skills and knowledge they need and deserve too!

https://www.datapandas.org/ranking/pisa-scores-by-country?fbclid=IwAR2bJ9TPam4G_fCLal6fRctSk5JZx3kQqEZxku4KcjJ0072zgFzqWnDeCGI_aem_AXnSkOErRy-F7DOzctW5Tqh31vBGv4WfJ_5WNxc7LrGcTksu-EQRETRkEjnEivFCd7s

PISA Scores By Country 2023 Education is vital to both individual development and societal progress. One of the tools used to gauge the quality of education worldwide is the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA). Conducted every three years by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), P...

Can anyone help please? A fabulous researcher is looking for 15 students in grades 3 -5 for 2 x Zoom meetings to be part of an important research project supervised by Prof. Anne Castles. Children receive a certificate and $25 each for participation.
We only learn more through further research, so please consider 🙏

THIS! I'm super excited to be part of the team at La Trobe University where pre-services teachers are getting the education they deserve, so they can give their students the education they also deserve!

🎯🎯Training teachers in the science of reading will be our greatest weapon in ensuring EVERY child is taught to read!


Quote: John Corcoran - the awesome team behind The Truth About Reading

Auspeld's Next Steps Screening Tool has been designed to provide an informal indication of the likelihood of literacy or numeracy related difficulties. The aim of the screener is to determine whether an individual may benefit from targeted intervention and/or formal assessment. The results can also help to identify appropriate strategies for support.

It is important to note that the Next Steps Screening Tool doesn’t take the place of direct assessment or formal measurement of academic skills, but it can be useful for providing an understanding of current difficulties and an indication of future support needed.

➡️ Check it out at https://auspeld.org.au/screening-tool/ and be sure to bookmark 🔖 the webpage for future reference.

'[Prof. Serry] believed the department was hesitant to advise schools on the best way to teach reading, because of Victoria’s policy of school autonomy, in which schools are responsible for their own operations and performance... “In other professional areas, people aren’t given autonomy over how to remove tonsils or build bridges. There is best practice evidence about how to do certain things.” '
Click on the link below to read the article in full 👇🏻

https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/department-blocks-good-news-story-on-schools-reading-transformation-20230622-p5dii6.html?fbclid=IwAR3jS9mH9NzIF_JYZ98bUthfiOoKE8D7rfvL00VOQLjRJfpIecjLJZYAKRY

Department blocks ‘good news story’ on schools’ reading transformation A study was held into six state primary schools that improved their results after changing their approach to reading – but the results have been blocked by the education department.

Lift Learning is fortunate to work with amazing kids, teens, and their supportive families, but sometimes even in our very calm and consistent setting young people can have some big feelings because the skills we're working on can be super challenging. It doesn't happen often, but last week we had a moment of disregulation to the extent that it could have been a point of no return for the day. Thankfully a few minutes to sit quietly with the young person, hear and recognise their concerns, allowed us to reconnect and the session was able to continue as if nothing had happened. Co-regulation works 🥰

Source: Kristin Wiens

Lift Learning's headquarters has some room to spare! The rooms are ideally suited to allied health professionals, and start from $190pw - perfect for both established professionals, and those just stepping into private practice.These rooms are ideally located within 5 minutes walk of GV Health
We offer:
• a large shared waiting room, amenities & internet access
• a fully equipped kitchen
• furnished and unfurnished options available
• large therapy space
• 12 month lease
• limited hotdesk availability
• immediate availability
• Off-street parking

Our waitlist is burgeoning and we're looking for passionate educators to join our team! Please share this far and wide - education support staff will also be considered, particularly those experienced in the implementation of SSP programs :)