itc Workshops

Integrating ChatGPT in Education: Enhancing Australian Curriculum Lessons

Overview:

ChatGPT, used knowingly and well, can produce exciting, creative and curriculum-aligned lesson plans in seconds. It has the potential to deliver real time-savings for our profession, like no other technology. This workshop aims to familiarise teachers with the innovative use of ChatGPT in lesson planning and curriculum development, ensuring that all ChatGPT generated lesson plans are systematically checked and customised with aligned cooperative learning tools, additional tasks, explicit Lesson Intentions and Success Criteria and sufficiently scaffolded to ensure student success.

This workshop will cover professional ...

Backward Mapping and Sequential Unit Planning

Overview:

Quality planning is the difference between success and stress!

This workshop will focus on a time-efficient process for creating unit outlines and designing explicit tasks. 

Powerful unit planning begins with a clear and articulated purpose for the unit that complies with the relevant syllabuses. Ideally, the unit should provide students with a clear sense of direction from the outset by providing an overarching question / task, supported with carefully crafted exercises and tools to enable students to address the formative and summative assessment requi...

Cooperative Learning - the power of peers!

Overview:

Cooperative Learning should not be confused with group work. If students are working in an unstructured interaction, then this is group work. Cooperative Learning activities, on the other hand, must have all four of the following elements:
•    Positive Interdependence
•    Individual accountability
•    Monitor the groups
•    Equal Participation

Research verifies that students’ results improve with cooperative learning as opposed to individual learning (Hattie, 2009). With cooperative learning, students have the opportunity to see other perspectives...

Creative Thinking - Unleashing your students' creative talents

Overview:

To be truly creative, it is important that students go beyond the obvious. Students must be encouraged to try and develop the unexpected in their work and avoid just recycling old ideas. 

However, some students can limit themselves by feeling that they are ‘not very creative’. Everyone is creative. This workshop will explore the principles of creative thinking in creative writing, creative design and creative problem-solving. 

This workshop is suitable for all year levels and most subject areas.

Note: As most creative thinking in mathematics is focused on extrapolation and forecasting, this workshop will have lim...

Critical Thinking

Overview:

Quality critical thinking involves casting one's prejudices, bias, and passions aside for rational, open-minded and evidence-based decision-making. 

This workshop will focus on the careful scaffolding or teaching of the cognitive verbs for critical thinking. This means that the appropriate thinking tools are aligned to the cognitive verbs, students are supported with their written or oral responses and that feedback is provided to the students at the key junctures. 

A pratical thinking skills framework for assessment and unit design will be offered. This workshop will also emphasise the importance of designing critical thi...

Explicit instruction and student feedback - scaffolding for success!

Overview

Explicit tasks are clear, provides students with a clear sense of direction from the outset and eliminates any potential confusion.

The design of any task begins with a cognitive verb, such as ‘explain’, ‘design’, or ‘compare’. The selection of the right verb is crucial as it defines the task, determines how a student will organise their thoughts and research and influences the language they will use.

This workshop will focus on the careful scaffolding or teaching of the cognitive verbs. This means that the appropriate thinking tools are linked to the various task verbs, students are supported with their written or oral responses and...

Lesson Observations and Feedback

Overview

How often are there visits to classrooms to observe the teaching and learning occurring at your school? Does everyone feel comfortable with classroom visits? Are these visits and observations linked to targeted Professional Development?

Lesson Observations are a powerful way to improve teaching and learning through gathering objective classroom data with effective feedback. It involves visiting classrooms for 40 – 60 minutes and observing students, their learning and their work. It should be a non-threatening and non-evaluative process, aimed at improving the teaching and learning in your school.

The purpose of Lesson Obser...

Differentiated Instruction (DI)

Overview

Differentiated Instruction (DI) occurs when we make adjustments to our lessons to cater for the different learners in our classrooms.

There are four opportunities for differentiated lessons:

• Activity - designing higher-order thinking/challenging questions and tasks
• Process - scaffolding tasks with the appropriate thinking tools and language to ensure that all learners can experience some success
• Cooperative learning - using cooperative learning tools, which allow for peer tuition and caters for the different learning styles of students
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