Learning Diversity

Learning Diversity

Learning Through Extension

Enrichment opportunities for students at St Michael’s are offered within classrooms on a regular basis. Classroom teachers gather assessment data throughout the year to gauge how students are progressing and what extension they require. This most often happens through small group work, extending prompts and sometimes separate extension programs, such as Maths Explorer Program, Problem Solving tasks, Maths Olympiads and various competitions on offer. These programs are designed to challenge students intellectually and help them to develop individual talents of students.

Learning Diversity

At St Michael’s, we offer several structures and support programs to cater for the wide range of students’ needs. These programs include:

• Explicit Teaching – Direct instruction with clear goals, modelled and guided practice and feedback with a gradual move to independent application.
• Little Learners Love Literacy Prep – Year 2 Program
• Synthetic Phonics approach
• Personalised Learning Plans, which set specific learning goals and actions.
• Macquarie Literacy (MACQLIT) Reading and Phonics Intervention Program

St Michael’s also has access to the resources available at the South Central Zone of the Melbourne Archdiocese of Catholic Schools (M.A.C.S.) These resources include general curriculum consultancy advice and personnel who provide professional assistance with education programs for children with special needs such as speech pathology, educational psychology and individual needs assessments.

Learning Through Intervention

Students requiring additional support and / or intervention with their learning can access this through various means at St Michael’s School:

• Classroom program / Parent Partnerships – In consultation with the classroom teacher, parents have the opportunity to engage in discussions around additional strategies that can support students in the home eg. specific reading skills or numeracy skills.  The nominated strategies can further assist a child to consolidate or embed classroom learning. This level of support also consolidates the role of the parent as a co-educator in their child’s learning journey.
• Small focus group teaching – Reading and Writing sessions at St Michael’s School are conducted using small focus groups, where teachers work with 3-4 students at a time with similar needs in their learning to guide them to next steps. Students are selected for focus groups based on whole class assessment data, teacher expertise and knowledge of curriculum and on the ongoing assessments completed in classrooms every day. Numeracy sessions have a similar approach with small focus teaching as well as the use of “enabling prompts” for students who need more structure and guidance. “Extending prompts” are used to assist with students who need extension in their Mathematics learning.
• Strategic Intervention programs – If students require further structured intervention to support their learning, they can be selected for intervention programs. These programs are supported by trained practitioners and will often focus on the key areas of English and Maths. Students are chosen for additional support by their classroom teacher and other staff members, e.g. Learning and Teaching leaders, as part of a ‘Case Management’ process of identification. Intervention programs remain fluid, with students entering at different times and returning to classroom programs as well. 

Please note, membership of intervention and extension programs at St Michael’s School remains with the specialist staff, the classroom teacher and the Principal in consultation with parents.