Queensland Government Home Education Unit Department of Education

Home Education Unit Education House 30 Mary Street Brisbane PO Box 3710 South Brisbane BC Q 4101 Phone: 3513 6755 Freecall: 1800 677 176

homeeducation@qed.qld.gov.au

NATIONAL TESTING Years 3, 5, 7 & 9 - Update

Children registered for home education who participated in the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) testing this year can expect their results in Term 3, 2019. As soon as the Home Education Unit receives information from the Queensland Curriculum Assessment Authority, which is expected from mid-August to September, individual results will be sent to parents.

For further information about NAPLAN, refer to the following link for the National Assessment Program (NAP) website: http://www.nap.edu.au/naplan

Newsletter

Volume 72

Winter Edition 2019

Dear Parents

Welcome to the winter edition of the HEU newsletter.

At times, parents send an email advising the HEU when they have posted the required written report on their child’s

educational progress. Please note there is no need to send an email of this nature as the Unit does not follow up to

ensure receipt of the material after such advice is received. The usual practice is the Unit will send you an email

confirming receipt of a report. If you have not received an email after allowing for postage times and an additional

1-2 days for the article to be scanned by the department’s security system, please follow up with Australia Post using

the article’s tracking number.

I would also like to remind parents of the arrangements regarding a nominated additional contact person for your

child’s registration. On registration, you may have nominated an additional person (possibly your child’s other parent)

with whom the HEU can discuss registration details about your child. It is important to note this authority remains in

place unless otherwise advised in writing by the applicant parent.

To remove or add an additional person or make changes to you or your child’s personal details, please use the

Change of Personal Details for Home Education form available on the website.

Also on the website is a short, 6 minute video Reflect Review Report which provides guidance on meeting your

reporting obligations. You are strongly encouraged to watch this video prior to commencing your report.

Best wishes

Madonna Fogarty

Manager

Queensland Government Home Education Unit Department of Education

SCOOTLE is an online database of educational resources directly linked to the Australian Curriculum which is

available (and free) to HEU registered families. Please note that parents of children who are provisionally registered are not eligible for Scootle registration.

Available resources include video clips, information sites, games and material to promote critical and creative

thinking. Further information can be found here. If you would like to access Scootle to support your child’s home

education, please contact the HEU at homeeducation@qed.qld.gov.au.

Please note, your Scootle request must be sent from the same email address the HEU has recorded on its

database, and include your registered child’s name.

HEU ID CARDS

What is it? A photographic identification card used to show a child is registered for home education.

Who is eligible? Any child who is fully registered (ID cards are not available to provisionally registered children).

How long is it valid? Cards align with each individual child’s registration date. However, in some cases, the card expiry may show

a different date depending on several factors (such as covering the end-of-year holiday period).

TRANSPORT CONCESSION FARES

The Department of Transport and Main Roads determine concessions. Children aged 5 to 14 years fall under the child concession category. Students aged 15 years or older are eligible for a concession fare and will need to show the HEU ID card when purchasing tickets.

HOW TO REQUEST AN ID CARD: Email an electronic passport style current photograph of your child to the HEU (blank

background, head and shoulders, facing forward) to: homeeducation@qed.qld.gov.au. Unlike passport photos, smiles are permitted.

Please include the following statement: This is a current photo of my child (full name). His/her birthday is (date); and our current postal address is (number, street, town/suburb, post code).

Queensland Government Home Education Unit Department of Education

What’s on

Brisbane City Council's Sir Thomas Brisbane Planetarium opened in 1978. Located in the Brisbane Botanic

Gardens Mt Coot-tha, the Planetarium is home to the Cosmic Skydome - a 12.5-metre-diameter projection

dome.

Visit the Planetarium to enjoy a show (including a tour of Brisbane's night sky), or visit the Display Zone. The

Planetarium also includes an observatory, Galaxy Gift Shop and Sundial Courtyard. If you want to want to

further your interest in the universe, you can find useful links to discover more about astronomy.

NAIDOC WEEK

NAIDOC Week celebrations are held across Australia each July to celebrate the history, culture and

achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. NAIDOC is celebrated not only in Indigenous

communities, but by Australians from all walks of life. The week is a great opportunity to participate in a range

of activities and to support your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.

Follow the link to view NAIDOC Week events, teaching resources, news and FAQs: https://www.naidoc.org.au/about/naidoc-week

Queensland Government Home Education Unit Department of Education

If your child is thinking about a creative or IT career, you can discover pathways into the industry at the TAFE

Queensland Coomera campus open day. The creative hub is open to the public on Saturday 20 July from 9am to

1pm offering interactive exhibitions, demonstrations, tours and career advice.

The state-of-the-art facility is home to specialised courses in cyber security, virtual reality, screen and media, graphic

design, interior design, building design, software development, information technology, music and much more.

There will also be displays and career advice from other areas including nursing, health, hospitality and trades.

Visitors will be entertained with performances from current music students, as well as competitions and giveaways

running throughout the day and 107.5 Radio Metro broadcasting live.

REGISTER TO ATTEND HERE

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The Cairns Festival was founded by the Cairns Regional Council on 26 May 1961 and it continues to

grow under Council's direction, through Council's Cultural Services branch. The overriding vision of this local

festival is to deliver a bright, bold and challenging program spanning visual and performing arts, culture and

entertainment while showcasing the city's key cultural precincts, nurturing local talent and driving tourism.

To learn more about the festival and planned events between 23 August and 1 September 2019, go to the

Cairns Regional Council’s festival website at: https://www.cairns.qld.gov.au/festival

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Programs and activities for children on the Queensland Government website

Check out upcoming sports events, arts programs and activities for you and your children during the school

holidays and beyond on the following link:

https://www.qld.gov.au/recreation/holiday-activities/programs

Queensland Government Home Education Unit Department of Education

2019 Premier's Reading Challenge – Update

If your child wishes to participate in the Premier's Reading Challenge (which started in May), they can still register – the challenge runs until 23 August 2019. The challenge is not a competition but aims to improve literacy and encourage children to read widely for pleasure and learning. Children and students can participate in the challenge within their school, early childhood centre or as individual readers including children who are registered for home education.

Key dates: 13 May 2019 - Reading period commences for Prep to Year 9 age-equivalent children 12 – 23 August 2019 - Early childhood participation period 23 August 2019 - Reading period finishes for Prep to Year 9 age-equivalent children 6 September - Reading achievements to be finalised in the database Late September 2019 - Certificates of Achievement issued and Certificates of Participation available for download 4 – 5 November 2019 - Celebration weeks

If you are in North Queensland, there are many educational and entertaining events scheduled this winter. Visit

the What’s on Townsville website https://whatson.townsville.qld.gov.au/categories/markets-festivals-and-

ceremonies for further information about cultural events, workshops and markets.

Queensland Government Home Education Unit Department of Education

Useful resources

The Student Wellbeing Hub provides information and resources for students, teachers and parents to assist

them to create and maintain a safe and welcoming learning environment. It is guided by the Australian Student

Wellbeing Framework, with resources aligned to the Australian Curriculum, for the promotion of student

wellbeing and the development of respectful relationships.

The Student Wellbeing Hub has been developed by Education Services Australia for the Australian Government

Department of Education and Training and has a wide pool of experts, academics, professional associations

and industry providers who have contributed to the site.

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To help children of kindergarten age and younger process the events of a natural disaster, the Queensland

Centre for Perinatal and Infant Mental Health has released a suite of free resources on its website. Although

these resources have been designed for Kindergarten-aged children, they are also suitable for older children.

Birdie’s Tree is a series of five storybooks that can be read in hard copy or on a computer or mobile device. You

can choose from Birdie and the Cyclone, Birdie and the Flood, Birdie and the Fire, Birdie and the Earthquake

and Birdie and the Drought by clicking on the Storybooks tab.

Parents, educators and carers can play interactive games with children online or find information to help them

support babies and young children through extreme weather. Adults can use these resources at any time to

help build children’s resilience.

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Speld QLD is a not for profit organisation receiving a small grant from Education Queensland to support people

experiencing learning differences. Speld Qld supports all Queenslanders experiencing learning differences in

all circumstances. Working with families and teachers, this not for profit organisation provides evidenced based

advice, professional development and services to assist students to meet their individual educational needs.

More information about the services and resources Speld can provide can be found on the following website

link: https://www.speld.org.au/

Queensland Government Home Education Unit Department of Education

Feature Article

Teaching Strategies: Excellence in Teaching and Learning

Adapted from High Impact Teaching Strategies

There are many components to planning high-quality home education programs and lessons. In addition to

determining your child’s learning styles and abilities, and considering their individual goals and specific needs,

another fundamental component of preparing and delivering a high-quality education program is to determine

suitable teaching strategies that support the learning needs of your child. However, this begs the question: what

are teaching strategies?

Teaching strategies should relate directly to and support your child’s specific individual learning needs

One way to think about teaching strategies is to consider what you (as your child’s teacher) will do to effectively

engage your child in high-quality education ensuring educational progress is made. The teaching strategies you

employ should relate directly to, and support your child’s specific individual learning needs. ‘One-on-one’ may

be an effective teaching strategy for children in some circumstances; however, there are other effective options

available that can be tailored to meet your child’s individual needs. How do you know which strategies to use

and how do you know which ones will be the most effective for your child?

There are effective strategies other than one-on-one teaching that may meet your child’s individual needs

The Victorian Education Department has provided a paper that suggests some high-impact teaching strategies

based on the work of John Hattie and Robert Marzano – international experts in the field of evidence-based

teaching practice. Although this paper was designed for schools and classrooms, the principles of observation

and reflection for the purpose of improving practice also apply to home education programs and support positive

educational outcomes. The following High-Impact Teaching Strategies or HITS can be adjusted to suit your

circumstances and some additional practical strategies have been included.

1. Goal setting (SMART goals) – it is good practice to set clear learning goals for each lesson in addition

to the overarching long- and short-term goals of the program. Children should always know what the

purpose of the lesson is, what they need to be able to demonstrate by the end of it and how they will be

able to demonstrate it. For example, a goal for an English lesson may be: (name) will be able to

construct sentences that use adjectives to describe a character. How will they know they have achieved

that goal? They will be able to use adjectives to describe characters in, for example, a narrative.

2. Structuring lessons – it is easy to get caught in the trap of ‘worksheets/textbooks’ or ‘online’

independent work where, although your child may be engaged in busy work, this may not involve

explicit teaching (see below). While worksheets/textbooks and online activities can be useful for

assisting to reinforce understanding, it is important to consider how the topic will actually be presented,

i.e. the specific sequence of instruction (introducing key concepts step by step), how learning will be

linked to previous lessons, and include questioning or exit cards upon completion of the lesson (to

check for understanding). It can help to write down the lesson steps including the introduction

(objective), body (steps) and conclusion (reflection, demonstration of learning).

3. Explicit teaching – when there is a new topic or new content, it is explicitly presented. There are many

strategies available to support the explicit teaching of concepts, including worked examples where the

application of the concept being taught is demonstrated in a step-by-step process.

Queensland Government Home Education Unit Department of Education

4. Worked examples –explicitly outline and scaffold the solution to problems (in Mathematics), sentence

building (in English), and inquiry questions (in Science and Humanities and Social Sciences -

HASS).Each step is explained so the worked example can be used when the concept is attempted

independently.

5. Collaborative learning – sometimes this is not an option in the home education setting; however, when

it is possible for children to work together to apply knowledge and work cooperatively on meaningful

problems, such skills as negotiation of roles and responsibilities are being developed. Additional

strategies can include, 5Ws and 1H (organising thinking and ideas using Who? What? Where? When?

Why? How?).

6. Multiple exposures – it is important for children to be provided with multiple opportunities to

demonstrate newly acquired knowledge and reinforce understanding. These are opportunities for

gauging understanding and should be carefully monitored. Feedback should be provided in a timely

fashion to ensure corrections are made where necessary. It is suggested that opportunities be provided

over numerous days. Strategies and activities that can be used to support multiple exposures can

include problem solving opportunities or pop-quizzes.

7. Questioning – this is a highly effective strategy when it is employed appropriately and can assist in

determining understanding. The most effective questioning occurs when the questions are purposeful

and planned. Consider whether the purpose of your questions is probing, extending, revising or

reflecting and ensure that you use open questions that require an explanation as opposed to single

word answers. Additional strategies can include: Bloom’s taxonomy for reflective thinking (Anderson

and Krathwohl, et al., 2001) which assists children to scaffold their thinking using sentence starters such

as: I did…(remembering), I learned… (Understanding), I wonder…(applying), I conclude

that…(Analysing), If I changed…(Evaluating), I would like to further explore…(Creating)..

8. Feedback – it is important that feedback is precise, timely, specific, accurate and actionable. It should

assist in understanding performance against the goals which are set for the lesson, unit of work, and

subject. It can be written or oral, formal or informal and should provide advice regarding improvement. It

will also assist in determining ‘where to next’ as well as the necessary adjustments to the teaching

strategies or learning activities to better suit the learning situation.

9. Metacognitive strategies – at this stage, when an understanding of the content and topics has been

established, it would be appropriate to teach specific problem-solving skills (application of the content to

specific situations), study skills, and inquiry-question development (questions developed in order to

thoroughly research a topic). Additional strategies can include: Bloom’s taxonomy for reflective thinking

(see ‘Questioning’).

10. Differentiated teaching – as home education programs will be highly individualised to cater for the

learning needs of individual children, reflection is a necessary part of the teaching and learning cycle

and provides opportunity to make adjustments for future lessons to ensure educational progress.

The concept of ‘teaching strategies’ can be very daunting and may also be a new notion to those parents who

are taking on the role of home educator for the first time. Further information about teaching strategies is

available on the Home Education Unit’s website under ‘Preparing an application’.

Acknowledgements:

Adapted from: Victorian Government, 2017, High Impact Teaching Strategies – Excellence in Teaching and Learning

(online) https://www.education.vic.gov.au/documents/school/teachers/support/highimpactteachstrat.pdf

[Online link accessed 21 June 2019]

Bloom’s Taxonomy for Reflective Thinking adapted from: Anderson, L.W. and Krathwohl, D.R., et al., A

Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing – A revision of Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, Addison

Wesley Longman, New York, 2001