Workshops: Complex Learning Needs
Identifying and Tracking Students at Risk of Failing: Using Information Systems and Automation to Improve Student Success
Workshop Presentation Tristan Baskerville
A data-informed decision-making culture doesn’t necessarily occur naturally within schools. It takes time, consultation, education and the right tools. Using the right tools in developing your school culture is vital, as procedures and initiatives need to scale up to work for all students to ensure that each one is succeeding. This paper outlines the journey that The Brisbane School of Distance Education (Brisbane SDE) has taken for the last four years to improve the engagement and success of students; and looks at the role that information systems and automation have in the future of distance education. Brisbane SDE has a large number of enrollments occurring after the first day of school. These students frequently come to Brisbane SDE because they are disengaging from their face-to-face school for a number of reasons. Often these students continue to disengage from educational instruction when they start at Brisbane SDE, and it is the duty of Brisbane SDE staff to identify, re-engage and track these students to ensure their success. This problem was evident in the school’s data, with numerous assessment items not being submitted. To address this problem of practice and begin a cultural change, one of the steps Brisbane SDE took was to create a whole school student information system to track academic performance. This system enables the school to quickly and efficiently identify students who are at risk of failing in their education program, and informs intervention programs.
Pedagogies of Engagement in Distance Learning: The Inextricability of Feedback, Engagement and Inclusion
Workshop Presentation Ryan Bishop
As a school of choice for students with diverse and complex learning needs, the Brisbane School of Distance Education faces challenges relating to student engagement, social and geographical isolation, and high levels of student anxiety. Through teacher-led action research and a school-wide focus on pedagogies of engagement, our school community has come to learn that feedback between teachers and students is significant to well-being, active participation and improved learning outcomes. This workshop presents insights and strategies to engage students in active online learning in the context of a large and complex Queensland State School offering education to students aged 5-18.
