Reece High School

- published, October 2009

School profile

Reece State High School is located in Devonport, Tasmania. It is a Grades 7–10 school with 690 school students and a staff of 54. Reece is a relatively homogeneous school with students coming from similar cultural and language backgrounds. A long-term objective is to ‘create a school that is Asia-engaged, students that are Asia-wise and a community that recognises and values the growing interconnectedness between Australia and Asia.’

School website www.reece.tased.edu.au

Sheree Vertigan, Principal

My personal interest and expanding knowledge and experience of Asia have rekindled my concern that in our schools we have not recognised or fully understood the role of Asia in the lives of students, teachers and the broader community. Asia had dropped off our radar. My engagement with the Leading 21st Century Schools: Engage with Asia initiative has strengthened my resolve to work towards ensuring that Reece students understand their place in space and the connections they will need to make to be successful in it. At Reece we have now adopted a systematic approach to studies of Asia. Our focus is on the building of knowledge, skills and understandings required for global citizenship. Our energies have been directed toward the design and implementation of sequenced Asia-focused learning programs, expanding teacher knowledge and expertise, obtaining high-quality teaching and learning resources, and working with local primary schools to ensure continuity from Years 5 to 8.

View video of an interview with Sheree Vertigan at the 2009 L21CS Forum

A new mindset

I recognised that we had a very good base on which to build. Much work had gone into developing a conceptual curriculum framework with programs and activities increasingly personalised to students. For some time though, I had realised that the focus for students needed to be broadened. We had not gone far enough in helping take students confidently into a future characterised by increasing globalisation. It also struck me that, in the school context, we were limited in our understanding of our Asian neighbours and our awareness of the increasing importance of connections to Asia. I wanted to create a climate for embracing ways in which we could incorporate approaches to enable teaching and learning about Asia.

In my professional interactions with staff I continually ask questions prompting teachers to reflect on ways they could address Asia in their classroom programs and activities. I find this a way of doing a quick scan across the school. I value a reflective, focused approach to change and I was determined to provoke continuing conversations about Australia as part of Asia.

The L21CS project has given me access to significant resources for presentation to, and discussion with staff. The 2020 Schools Engage with Asia DVD captures in a very engaging way the importance of creating Asia-wise students. Staff, the school association and groups of students responded positively to the key messages contained in the DVD. A key issue for us then became one of turning our guiding principle of citizenship/connectedness into teaching and learning practices which embraced an Asia focus.

A multilayered approach to change

From the outset, I determined that we would operate within a framework enabling us to develop programs and activities to engage teachers and students with Asia. I was aware that there were many ways of effecting change and that there would need to be layered approaches within the framework. It became clear that our overall approach would include curriculum collaboration and mapping in our own school and in partnership with local primary schools; building student and teacher connections with Asia; and providing an opportunity for students to learn an Asian language.

Leading the change

I assigned the role of project leader to one of our advanced skills teachers. She brought passion, enthusiasm and high levels of commitment to the work. An important initial step was to create an Engage with Asia Learning Circle Team to plan for the incorporation of studies of Asia into the school’s curriculum. It was important for me to communicate to staff that this new team would be a normal part of the school’s leadership, management and professional learning infrastructure, and not an ‘add-on’.

Mapping the curriculum: auditing programs and resources

Led by the Engage with Asia team, staff participated in a thorough review of the curriculum for Grades 7–10 to determine the extent to which studies of Asia were included. In addition, we conducted an audit of the resources available to teachers and students. We found that there was some coverage but also that there were significant gaps. Importantly, it was recognised that there was a clearly defined need to take a systematic approach to sequential teaching and learning about Asia. It also became clear that our students were coming to Reece with very little prior knowledge of Asia. This prompted us to think seriously about working with our four feeder primary schools on a Grades 5–8 approach to studies of Asia.

Working with our feeder primary schools

I instituted a meeting with my Primary Principal colleagues to discuss the potential benefits of working together on a Grades 5–8 Asia-focused curriculum framework. An agreement to commence work on a curriculum mapping exercise marked a new and exciting phase of our work. I recognised the importance of collective leadership and joint ownership of this initiative. Teachers in each primary school met with our project leader to build common understandings of the need for studies of Asia across the five schools. Mapping of the curriculum in the primary schools took place. It was generally recognised that there was significant potential for the schools in the cluster to work collaboratively on the development of programs designed to engage students with Asia.

Developing a sequential framework for Grades 5–8 studies of Asia

With focused leadership from our project leader, it was decided as an initial step to generate a Grades 5–8 Asia-focused scope and sequence framework for Society and History. Key resources for this work were the Society and History K–10 syllabus of the Tasmanian curriculum, the Asia Scope and Sequence for Studies of Society and Environment and the National Statement for Engaging Young Australians with Asia in Australian Schools.

Development of the Grades 5–8 scope and sequence for Society and History has generated significant discussion and activities designed to raise awareness in each of the primary schools. Engagement of staff in each school has been enhanced by support from the Principal, provision of release time for key staff and the purchase of resources for each school.  

Professional learning and classroom practice

A professional learning and planning day involving key staff from the five schools was held in April 2009. A significant part of the day was devoted to discussing the Grades 5–8 Asia-focused teaching and learning framework prepared by the Reece project leader. It also provided ‘hands on’ experiences with teaching and learning resources for studies of Asia.

We were determined not to create an ‘add-on’ to the curriculum. We are striving to embed studies of Asia into each school’s teaching and learning programs. In this way we are aligning national and state imperatives with each school’s vision and our teaching and learning practices.

Units of work based on the Grades 5–8 scope and sequence framework are now being developed and trialled in classes. These are providing significant opportunities for curriculum collaboration, sharing of resources and professional learning. The project leader recognises the importance of continuing professional dialogue and planning. Structures and processes are now in place at Reece and in the cluster to ensure this occurs.

Connecting with Asia

Aligned with our continuing work on the curriculum we are continuing to build our relationships with schools in China and Singapore. We see this as another way of broadening our students’ understandings of Asia. ICTs are proving to be important vehicles for communication and the sharing of resources.

Twenty Grades 9–10 students will be visiting Vietnam later this year as part of a World Challenge education service program. This will provide hands-on living and working experiences for our students. Students and families at Reece also have the opportunity to participate in World Vision projects.

I strongly believe that we should continue to explore ways of assisting students to see things through an Asian lens.

Introducing an Asian language

In past years we have had little success in sustaining an Indonesian language program. Students and the community became increasingly disengaged. We now believe the conditions for re-introducing an Asian language are right. Accordingly, I have established a review group to develop an implementation strategy to support any introduction of an Asian language. We are keen to ‘grow’ the value of language learning for students in a world in which our connections with Asia are becoming increasingly important. The learning of an Asian language will occur in a context in which studies of Asia have high importance. Students’ engagement with Asia will therefore be enhanced.

Next steps

• We will support parents and students who wish to continue to learn or start learning Japanese as we have developed a proposal with two of our feeder primary schools.
• We will also increase our focus on developing connections with schools in Japan and China and further develop the Asia focus in our curriculum, targeting the visual and dramatic arts.
• We will continue to work collaboratively with our neighbouring primary schools to implement the Grades 5–8 scope and sequence framework for Society and History. This will require focused leadership within the cluster of schools, continuing professional learning, opportunities to develop units of work, sharing of resources, celebration of achievements and the monitoring of progress. Reece will continue to take a leading role in supporting the cluster of schools in this work.