Tim Sproule

An educator at Templestowe College. With a background in Digital Learning and Pedagogy, and a fascination with how to improve students' literacy outcomes.

[Tim Sproule @tlsproule]

@dylanwiliam @MathsLyndsey I can't believe the education industry (at least in Australia) still expects teachers to be creating lesson resources and lesson plans. Why isn't that all provided for us. I think assessment is incredibly important but so much cognitive load is used on lesson planning.

[Tim Sproule @tlsproule]

@SoundSyllable Which doesn't really help me when I am teaching highschool kids who have been totally failed by the system! ���

[Tim Sproule @tlsproule]

@SoundSyllable Because English. 🤦 Not many rules that don't have exceptions. Like the 'k' sound rule. If it is followed by an 'i' or an 'e' it's usually a 'k' otherwise it is a 'c'. Kite, catch, crap, kitten, keel, scrape, etc... Then we have skate.😞

[Peps @PepsMccrea]

I've been thinking hard about the science of learning for the last 15 years.

Here are 5 big ideas that every teacher should know, and how they hang together.

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[Ben Meer @SystemSunday]

10 free websites so useful they should come pre-bookmarked on every browser:

[Alex Quigley @AlexJQuigley]

🧵 'On Language & the Power of Rhetoric'

Why do some political speeches stick in the mind, or lines from poems linger in the heart?

There's a near-invisible heritage of language that we still use in speeches & writing today: it is rhetoric. Let's revel in rhetorical devices...

[Tim Sproule @tlsproule]

@hattdesigns @DaveMorkunas @EduMelb @NextLevelCollab ❤️ lovers in a dangerous space time. My vote would be for Keep Talking and Nobody Explores.

[Tessa Davis @TessaRDavis]

10 mind-blowing AI websites you probably didn't know existed:

[Tim Sproule @tlsproule]

@hattdesigns I knew I should have TMd our subject name! Check out https://t.co/19qqdpMuoB the website that houses the articles the students in our Level Up subject write about gaming. It's a high engagement English Elective that uses gaming as the content to allow us to focus on writing!

[Tim Sproule @tlsproule]

@spunkyfuzzguts @lifeoflottie @ossboss2110 @alexanderrusso Actors imply that you think that it is a passive interaction. It is not. Information continually flows back and forth between the teacher and students. As a teacher you are freed up to just focus on the learning that is taking place and making sure that errors aren't automated.

[Tim Sproule @tlsproule]

@spunkyfuzzguts @lifeoflottie @ossboss2110 @alexanderrusso You need to see a Direct Instruction lesson in action. It's not just reading a script. There are choral responses for whole class formative assessment. There are tasks scaffolded to point of need. And the whole time the teacher is checking student work and correcting errors.

[Tim Sproule @tlsproule]

@spunkyfuzzguts @alexanderrusso @lifeoflottie Tthe formative assessment aspect requires you to go off script. But honestly, I don't have an issue with following a script if it gets results. Too many teachers make the classroom about them. It's meant to be about the kids. You do whatever works, not what you think should work.

[Tim Sproule @tlsproule]

@alexanderrusso @lifeoflottie 10. Reach out to more knowledgeable others! They will support you, teach you, and encourage you to keep going. Build a group within your school that can take ownership.

[Tim Sproule @tlsproule]

@alexanderrusso @lifeoflottie 8. Don't get tunnel vision. You'll start to see everything through a literacy lens. The issues aren't always literacy related. I have a student who dropped spelling and misses a lot of reading. I assumed the anxiety was due to literacy. She just changed her name and pronouns.

[Tim Sproule @tlsproule]

@alexanderrusso @lifeoflottie 8. You won't save everyone. Focus on the ones that want to be there. It isn't a quick fix. Many students will drop out. But trust me when I say that it is worth it for the ones that do. Listen to their stories. They make the early mornings well worth it.

[Tim Sproule @tlsproule]

@alexanderrusso @lifeoflottie 7. Get your Prin on board. We workedout time in lieu for the staff that took part. Our prin also funded the program so that these students families aren't footing the bill for it. I can't stress this enough. If your Prin isn't onboard then it's going to be a hard slog.

[Tim Sproule @tlsproule]

@alexanderrusso @lifeoflottie 5. Get the parents on board. (I do this by explaining the programs that we use to them. I call every parent). 6. Try not to lose faith in the students. They are doing the best they can in a world fraught with social pressures. Keep offering them solutions instead of problems.

[Tim Sproule @tlsproule]

@alexanderrusso @lifeoflottie Tips cont. 3. Have a decent understanding of Cognitive Load Theory and Explicit Instruction. (do the program as many days a week as possible - multiple exposures for the win.) 4. Choose rooms that are hidden from the outside works. There is a lot of shame assoc. with low literacy

[Tim Sproule @tlsproule]

@alexanderrusso @lifeoflottie And celebrate your wins! There will be plenty! Here are my tips: 1. Run the sessions before school. The kids are too cognitively overloaded after school. 2. Use staff that can build relationships with all students not just academic ones.