At St Margaret’s we are committed to giving each student a deep learning experience through the provision of a broad, balanced and flexible curriculum within an optimal learning environment. The factors we have identified as being fundamental to good learning are articulated through our own Framework of Quality Teaching and Learning. They can be categorised in terms of environment, process and pedagogy. When these three dimensions are considered with a view to fostering high quality student and teacher engagement then deep learning is the outcome.
At St Margaret’s we believe that the best learning environments are characterised by five key pillars: connection, differentiation, motivation, challenge and feedback. These five pillars form the foundation of pedagogical practice, inform curriculum development and shape the thinking which underpins educational leadership at the School. Together they enable the provision of optimal learning experiences through thoughtful pedagogy and a systematic, transparent approach to deep and sustained learning.
St Margaret’s aims to provide students with an understanding of the learning process and how it feels. Our taxonomy of learning articulates three stages as being central to the learning process - surface, deep and deeper. Categorising learning in this way allows us to engage students in a discussion of different types of thinking with a view to pushing them towards metacognitive functioning.
Within our subject disciplines, through specialised, targeted classroom offerings and as part of our extra-curricular program, we explore with students, the beliefs and behaviours which constitute good learning. We focus on fostering an appreciation of the importance of challenge and difficulty, failure and reflection. This gives our students the opportunities they need to engage deeply in learning and ultimately transfer their understandings from familiar to unfamiliar contexts.