Graduate Certificate in Education (Learning Difficulties) Keelonith Primary School

https://player.vimeo.com/video/1023787374

[GENTLE MUSIC]

[Brooke Slopak, RTI/MTSS Intervention Teacher, Keelonith Primary School]

I had my son see a speech therapist, through his school, and they rang me and told me that my child would never learn to read. I took myself through my own learning, my journey into pedagogy, I guess, the science of learning, and taught my son at home. And all of a sudden, he started to see gains. He just needed to learn the basic code.

When he got his NAPLAN score back and it was that exceeding level, it was like, wow, we’ve done it. We’ve learned to read. And he’s an avid reader.

[On-Screen Text: Graduate Certificate In Education (Learning Difficulties) University of Melbourne / Enhance Your Inclusive Practice]

[Loren Peavey, Principal, Keelonith Primary School]

So Keelonith Primary is a supported inclusion school. We are very open to supporting every learner in the local neighbourhood who wants to be at our school.

[Brooke Slopak]

I decided to take on the Graduate Certificate of Education in Learning Difficulties. I wanted to take that research that I’d done with my child at home wider.

[Loren Peavey]

I think she could see that it fitted beautifully in with our school, and that she would have a place to be able to impact more students, than she could impact just in one classroom.

[Brooke Slopak]

I decided to do my change project on Multi-tiered Structures of Support. My school context was so advantageous because the research I did was all around how a good RTI framework might look. And this year, based on my studies, I’ve had the privilege of working in Response to Intervention.

[Loren Peavey]

She has learned how to really look closely at the data and then pull out what are the interventions and supports that a student requires.

And she’s putting it into ways that myself and the rest of the team and the teachers can understand.

[Brooke Slopak]

Taking the research off the page can be very tricky, but being involved in the Graduate Certificate has really helped work out what does that actually look like?

[Loren Peavey]

So Sam’s our Assistant Principal for Curriculum and Learning Development. Her having Brooke with the same research knowledge and deep understanding, there’s a synergy in how they work with each other in developing the RTI program, which has always been our vision. It was just about building the expertise.

[Brooke Slopak]

And now to know that with the knowledge I’m learning within the course, that they’re trusting me to go into classrooms now and help coach other teachers.

[Loren Peavey]

It’s a side-by-side model, so they get immediate feedback. And it’s not just sitting in a room thinking what this looks like in a classroom, it’s actually doing it.

[Brooke Slopak]

So my son’s perspective is to keep going. We’ve started this journey together. Mum, you’ve got to go and advocate for children that maybe are neurodivergent like me and you, mum. Every moment I still think about what does that look like? How can that transform? What can we change? And I’ve currently bridged into the Master [of Learning Intervention].

[Loren Peavey]

I can see leadership in her future, especially in the area of curriculum development.

[Brooke Slopak]

If every student has what they need to learn, then we can really make radical change to society in the future.

[On-Screen Text: Disability Inclusion Education For All / The Education State / Victoria State Government / Department Of Education / Victoria State Government – Authorised by the Victorian Government, Melbourne]

[END TRANSCRIPT]

Updated 27 December 2024

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Graduate Certificate in Education (Learning Difficulties) Keelonith Primary School

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