Posted March 2005 Bayside schools PLOT way to success Ed Views, January 14 2005
		Schools in the Bayside District are committed to meeting the learning needs of young people in the Middle Phase of Learning and understand the importance of developing professional learning communities to facilitate that. PLOT (Professional Learning Online Tool) has been trialed by twelve district schools as a vehicle to help them address this and other school and systemic reform initiatives. Pilot schools include small and large primary schools, a special school and a large secondary school. School teams have selected from the PLOT resources bank of workshops, processes and strategies to successfully provide engaging and relevant learning opportunities for staff and community.

Many of the schools have used PLOT material for the purposes of Team Building and Curriculum Development. Some teams have taken ideas from PLOT and developed innovative processes for the development of Triennial School Reviews, Annual Operation Plans, Middle Phase of Learning Action Plans and Early Childhood Philosophies.

The schools have been supported in their PLOT journey by an enthusiastic District Office team as well as world renowned educational consultant, Joan Dalton. Workshops based upon the themes of leadership, pedagogy and school reform in the Middle Phase of Learning has scaffolded increased professional dialogue and built common understandings within and across schools.

Executive Director (Schools) Bayside Dr Jan D’Arcy is excited about how PLOT assists schools in increasing their leadership capacity. “PLOT provides an extensive resource bank for the development of professional teams and enhancement of pedagogy in classrooms,” she said. “The Pilot Program in Bayside has focussed on the development of leadership skills in teams in the participating schools. It’s been great to see the engagement of so many teachers and leaders in our District in conducting tailored professional development with their staff.”

Educational Consultant, designer and writer of PLOT, Joan Dalton enthusiastically supports a whole of District pilot that reflects its learning needs. “Visiting several of the pilot schools has enabled me to see firsthand what school leadership teams have instigated. They are not only excited about the difference they see their efforts making for staff, but about the transfer of good pedagogy to classrooms for students. “I think the key to the success of this pilot lies in its strategic design by District personnel. It models what we know about good learning”.

The PLOT trial schools are well on their way to achieving the pilot goals of increasing leadership capacity, innovative curriculum leadership, increased professional dialogue about pedagogy and change, improved classroom pedagogy, stronger networks across groups and sharing of good practice beyond the District.

Further information about the activities, outcomes and future of the Bayside PLOT Pilot can be found at Bayside Communities website.

Visit the PLOT website for a 70 percent discount on PLOT subscriptions (for Education Queensland schools only).