2024 Teacher Fellow, Catholic sector
Rebecca Scollen
Reimagining practice: Putting voice, agency and evidence at the heart of educational design
Rebecca Scollen from St Mary’s College in Seymour was awarded a Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership Teaching Impact Fellowship. As part of her fellowship, she developed a project involving the use of teacher agency and student voice to co-develop learning progressions. These progressions informed planning, lesson delivery, assessment, feedback, and supported self-regulated learning.
How would you summarise your Teaching Impact Fellowship
I collaborated with a cross-curricular team of primary and secondary teachers to reimagine teaching and learning at the school, with a strong focus on differentiation, explicit instruction, meaningful feedback, student voice, and self-regulated learning. Our approach was grounded in assessment data, classroom observations, and student feedback to ensure it was both evidence-informed and context-specific. We launched a pilot program made up of a series of classroom-based inquiries to explore how these priorities could be effectively embedded into everyday practice.
What have been the impacts of your project so far?
Our pilot data highlighted the effectiveness of co-constructing developmental learning progressions with students and using them to guide teaching and assessment. This led to improved student outcomes across all abilities, boosted wellbeing and motivation, and enhanced student confidence in self-assessment and peer coaching. Explicit instruction strategies were particularly impactful, leading to measurable growth in assessment scores. We found that these strategies not only drove student success but also built strong staff engagement and laid the foundation for whole-school professional learning.
What have been the benefits to date of taking part in a fellowship?
Completing a Teaching Impact Fellowship under the guidance of the expert practitioners and mentors provided by this program was a transformative experience. I was supported in my professional growth and empowered to become an agent of change within my school communities. The school also benefitted from funding that encouraged innovation and fostered a culture of inquiry. My participation in the program has helped elevate the profile of teaching as an evidence-informed and respected profession, both within our school and across the wider community.
