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Sandringham East Primary School is proud and passionate about our commitment to Walker Learning and the implementation of this teaching and learning approach at our school. The Walker Learning Approach is the first major Australian based total and holistic teaching and learning philosophy to be designed and implemented in many schools across the country and recently internationally. It is based upon decades of research about child development theory and brain research. It promotes the importance of student engagement and developmentally appropriate practice, placing the child at the center of their education ensuring a learning journey which is authentic and personalized. It is an approach which supports the need for children to be active participants in their learning through hands-on and creative exploration and investigation, which sits alongside formal instruction. There is explicit teaching and development of not only literacy and numeracy skills and knowledge but also the range of vital social, emotional and life skills.
At Sandy East the Walker Learning Approach is embedded from Foundation through to Level 6. Many common elements are utilised in all Levels across the school to develop consistency for our Students and Staff. It is the style of investigation and research, the content knowledge and presentation of projects and artefacts that changes as students develop skills and maturity. It is also important to note that our explicit teaching of Literacy and Numeracy and other Victorian Curriculm areas continues daily.
Sandy East is proud that as a study tour school we share our good
practice with educational colleagues from across Australia and
internationally.
Staff focus on professional learning with Kathy Walker and
associates as well as from mentors within our staff team.
All Learning Environments across the school are - Child centred, Engaging, Literacy and Numeracy rich, Intentional, Stimulating, Developmentally Appropriate and Safe and Orderly.
At Sandy East, students from Foundation to Level 6 are encouraged to – Create, Explore, Communicate, Make, Explain, Think, Cooperate, Discuss, Investigate, Construct, Participate, Reflect, Persist, Report, Get Along, Analyse, Manage, Take Risks, Collaborate, Share, Inquire, Design, Problem Solve, and Have Fun Learning.
In the Foundation, Level 1 and 2 years children take part in play based and investigative learning. Literacy and Numeracy are embedded within investigations as well as explicitly taught throughout the rest of the day. The nature of play-based experiences promotes creativity, imagination and scope for children to invent, explore, create and problem solve. The children’s interests are the predominant means for learning experiences during investigations. The teacher works with focus children each day using their interests to extend, scaffold and support them with their investigation to ensure ongoing engagement in all areas of learning. Observation and documentation by teachers identifies key skills, needs, strengths and interests of individual children and is used to further plan and implement appropriate experiences and set further learning and developmental objectives.
In Levels 3 - 6, students continue to develop their skills and knowledge through a number of new elements within the Walker Learning Approach. Students fine tune their investigative skills from their early years of learning by producing an Educational Research Project (ERP) based around a Subject Focus / AusVELS area. Students are able to personalise their learning by demonstrating their understanding of the Subject and learnt skills through their interests. Staff continue to scaffold and support students' learning through daily focus children and small Clinic groups. Another element of the WLA that is introduced at this stage is the Class Meeting. Students come together once a week to discuss world and community events. Class Meetings are a wonderful opportunity for students to voice their thoughts and ideas in a supportive environment. As students progress through the school it is our goal to support their development in becoming independent, resilient and confident learners. At the end of each term all students showcase their Educational Research Projects (ERPs) in an Expo for the school community.
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