The National School Improvement Tool (NSIT) brings together findings from international research into the practices of highly effective schools and school leaders. The NSIT assists schools to review and reflect on their efforts to improve the quality of classroom teaching and learning.
The Teaching & Learning Toolkit can help school leaders as they consider approaches across the NSIT nine inter-related ‘domains’. Use the links below to access Toolkit approaches mapped to each domain.
The school leadership team and/or governing body have established and are driving a strong improvement agenda for the school, grounded in evidence from research and practice and expressed in terms of improvements in measurable student outcomes. Explicit and clear school-wide targets for improvement have been set and communicated to parents and families, teachers and students, with accompanying timelines.
Feedback
Mastery learning
A high priority is given to the school-wide analysis and discussion of systematically collected data on student outcomes, including academic, attendance and behavioural outcomes, and student wellbeing. Data analyses consider overall school performance as well as the performances of students from identified priority groups; evidence of improvement/regression over time; performances in comparison with similar schools; and, in the case of data from standardised tests, measures of growth across the years of school.
Behaviour interventions
Feedback
Social and emotional learning
The school is driven by a deep belief that every student is capable of successful learning. A high priority is given to building and maintaining positive and caring relationships between staff, students and parents. There is a strong collegial culture of mutual trust and support among teachers and school leaders and parents are treated as partners in the promotion of student learning and wellbeing. The school works to maintain a learning environment that is safe, respectful, tolerant, inclusive and that promotes intellectual rigour.
Collaborative learning approaches
Feedback
Metacognition and self-regulation
Parental engagement
The school applies its resources (staff time, expertise, funds, facilities, materials) in a targeted manner to meet the learning and wellbeing needs of all students. It has school-wide policies, practices and programs in place to assist in identifying and addressing student needs. Flexible structures and processes enable the school to respond appropriately to the needs of individual learners.
Extending school time
One to one tuition
Parental engagement
Performance pay
Reducing class size
Repeating a year
Small group tuition
Teaching Assistant Interventions
The school has found ways to build a school-wide, professional team of highly able teachers, including teachers who take an active leadership role beyond the classroom. Strong procedures are in place to encourage a school-wide, shared responsibility for student learning and success, and to encourage the development of a culture of continuous professional improvement that includes classroom-based learning, mentoring and coaching arrangements.
Behaviour interventions
Collaborative learning approaches
Feedback
Mastery learning
Metacognition and self-regulation
Oral language interventions
Phonics
Social and emotional learning
Reading comprehension strategies
The school has a coherent, sequenced plan for curriculum delivery that ensures consistent teaching and learning expectations and a clear reference for monitoring learning across the year levels. The plan, within which evidence-based teaching practices are embedded, and to which assessment and reporting procedures are aligned, has been developed with reference to the Australian Curriculum or other approved curriculum and refined collaboratively to provide a shared vision for curriculum practice. This plan is shared with parents and families.
Feedback
Homework
Mastery learning
Metacognition and self-regulation
Oral language interventions
Phonics
Social and emotional learning
The school places a high priority on ensuring that, in their day-to-day teaching, classroom teachers identify and address the learning needs of individual students, including high-achieving students. Teachers are encouraged and supported to monitor closely the progress of individuals, identify learning difficulties and tailor classroom activities to levels of readiness and need.
Collaborative learning approaches
Individualised instruction
One to one tuition
Peer tutoring
Setting and streaming
Small group tuition
Teaching Assistant Interventions
Within-class achievement grouping
The school principal and other school leaders recognise that highly effective teaching is the key to improving student learning throughout the school. They take a strong leadership role, encouraging the use of research-based teaching practices in all classrooms to ensure that every student is engaged, challenged and learning successfully. All teachers understand and use effective teaching methods – including explicit instruction – to maximise student learning.
Reading comprehension strategies
Phonics
Oral language interventions
Metacognition and self-regulation
Feedback
The school actively seeks ways to enhance student learning and wellbeing by partnering with parents and families, other education and training institutions, local businesses and community organisations. Parents and families are recognised as integral members of the school community and partners in their children’s education. Partnerships are strategically established to address identified student needs and operate by providing access to experiences, support and intellectual and/or physical resources not available within the school. All partners are committed to the common purposes and goals of partnership activities. Procedures are in place to ensure effective communications and to monitor and evaluate the intended impacts of the school’s partnerships.