Breakout Session

Workshops and Spotlights 3

10.00am

1. Beyond KPIs to KIIs: Impact Development Planning for School Leaders

Ellen Moffatt

Attracting, engaging and retaining quality staff are strategic imperatives for schools, now more than ever. The nature and structure of schooling, as well as the experience of school students, staff and families in their places of learning and work, are evolving continuously. Today’s learners, educators and families now exist, work and develop in an age of ubiquitous AI.

The purpose and priorities of the contemporary school leader are, therefore, ever changing. For school leaders, working towards traditional targets such as KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) may not suffice; there should also be an explicit and analytical approach to identifying, measuring and developing one’s ’leadership shadow’ (Goldman Sachs, 2019) – the sum of what a leader says, does, prioritises and measures – and one’s impact on the community one serves.

Impact Planning is a process traditionally attributed to the fields of research and urban development. In this workshop, Ellen Moffatt will introduce the Impact Development Planning (IDP) process in the context of school leadership. Ellen will offer a synthesis of research and best practice regarding impactful school leadership, highlighting the priorities required by any school leader seeking to further develop their impact.

In this workshop, leaders of all roles and levels of experience will be called upon to consider their own ‘leadership shadow’, and to identify their KIIs (Key Impact Indicators) for various stakeholder groups. Throughout the session, interactive exemplars, pulse checks and group discussion will focus on new ways of measuring and enhancing each leader’s impact on their school community, moving beyond their Position Description, 360-degree review feedback and traditional KPIs. Participants will leave the workshop with a suite of practical ideas and tools, as well as a call to action and some new wonderings that will challenge them to interrogate their leadership impact in an ongoing way.

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2. Achtung Baby! Reimagining Curriculum to Help Address Our Cultural Attention Deficit Disorder

David de Carvalho

Advances in digital technology have brought many benefits to society, but have also facilitated a measurable decline in our ability to exercise effortful focus – to pay attention to something that we may not necessarily be intrinsically interested in.  This is affecting how we learn, our personal well-being, our productivity, and our ability to be responsible citizens. We live in an “age of distraction” and “an impulse society”.  The ability to attend to things that matter is a crucial capability that education should aim to foster, but how?  This session will explore this question, taking the ideas of thinkers as diverse as Simone Weil, Bernard Lonergan, Matthew B. Crawford and Gert Biesta as provocations to stimulate discussion and debate about how the curriculum might evolve to help address our cultural attention deficit disorder.

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3. Decoding the Future: Empowering Minds through Algorithmic Literacy in Complex Times

Kelly Ilich

In an era where digital algorithms shape much of our reality—from the news we read to the way we learn and interact—equipping the next generation with the ability to understand and navigate this complex landscape is more crucial than ever.

This presentation will delve into the essence of algorithmic literacy—not just as a skill set for understanding coding and computational thinking, but as a foundational pillar for fostering agency, identity, and purpose among students and educators in a digitally dominated world. We will explore innovative approaches to integrate algorithmic literacy into the curriculum, making it accessible and engaging for all students, regardless of their backgrounds or abilities. Our discussion will extend to practical strategies for teachers and school leaders to create inclusive, agile, and adaptive learning environments that cater to the diverse needs of their communities.

Teaching algorithmic literacy can empower students to become critical thinkers, informed decision-makers, and responsible digital citizens. Furthermore, we will address how this empowerment can lead to a stronger sense of independence and interdependence, preparing students to face the uncertainties of the future with confidence and purpose. Doing so will help to enable students to decode the complexity of the digital age and carve out their unique path in it.

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4. From Theory to Action: Practical Tools for Building Student Capabilities

Steven Scotti

An engaging hands-on session designed to equip educators with practical Capability Skill Builders that drive innovation in the classroom. This session will provide actionable tools and fresh perspectives to transform your practice.

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5. Foundations for Flourishing: Leading the Early Years for the Future

Louka Parry and Dr Amie Fabry

If we want children to flourish, we must create the conditions for them to learn well and be well—not just today, but for the future. Flourishing is cultivated from the very beginning of life, and the experiences of our earliest years (birth to age 8) shape who we become as human beings and lifelong learners. The impact of early childhood education is profound and enduring, influencing how children engage with learning, with others, and their sense of self. Yet, when we discuss transforming education, how often do we truly centre the early years in that conversation? Early childhood is foundational to the entire education ecosystem, but its role in system-wide transformation is not often elevated..

Join Amie and Louka in a dynamic, participatory session that will challenge conventional thinking about education reform and explore how early childhood leadership can be a catalyst for not just meaningful change but as a prism for the emerging future of learning across all of K-12.

Through collaborative discussion, reflection, and interactive activities, we will:

• Unpack the essential conditions that enable all learners—children and adults—to flourish.

• Explore how principles from early childhood education (such as play, relationships, agency, and wellbeing) can drive systemic transformation across the entire education landscape.

• Reimagine what is possible when early childhood leadership is amplified.

• Identify concrete actions that participants can take to integrate early childhood-informed leadership principles into our own contexts

This is a collaborative exploration of what’s possible when we lead with the early years in mind.

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6. Regenerative Futures: Storytelling for Student Agency and Community Transformation

Amy White

The Year 10 Regenerative Futures Program (RFP) is designed to equip students with the skills and knowledge to navigate a complex rapidly changing world. Through the RFP, students explore responses to some of their generation’s defining, social, environmental, and economic challenges. By investigating these topics, students learn how their actions can positively impact the future.

This workshop delves into the innovative Year 10 Regenerative Futures Program at Woodleigh School. Learn how project-based learning, coupled with personal storytelling, allows students to connect with their community and develop a sense of agency. We'll explore how sharing vulnerabilities builds accountability and strengthens community, fostering a foundation for regenerative practices.

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7. Making Connections

Lara Mackintosh

This session will explore the many experiences offered by Learning Environments Western Australia through our events, our network, and our national and international connections. You will hear from boards members and others about the LEWA story, upcoming events, and how we grow the 'thread' beyond classroom, for learners, teachers and designer's alike.

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8. Learning Impact Mapping as Evaluation and Recognition of Learning

Michael Bunce

Participants will have the opportunity to explore learning impact mapping collaboratively, characterising different patterns of learning through exploratory play using Lego.

Following this, we will discuss and evaluate complementary processes of teaching, leadership and skills development, and the holistic nature of resulting learning impact.

The session will also provide participants with the opportunity to collaboratively design their own learning maps, exploring metaphorical concepts for learning.

We will reflect on learning impact mapping as a process for evaluating and recognising learning at multiple levels, examining emergent profiles of the complementary patterns of learning, teaching and learning impact, and consider its ecosystemic value as a multi-perspective teaching, learning and leadership tool, complementary to conventional assessment methodologies and practices.

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