Professional Practice at MLC School

Professional Learning Teams Update

We came together in our Professional Learning Teams on the Staff Development Day to reconnect with retrieval practice, observe and analyse baseline evidence and begin the process of creating action plans to implement ‘one small shift’ in our teaching practice to enhance student growth. There was a real buzz across the various PLTs due to the sharing of strategies and ideas to deepen thinking, enrich creativity, make learning more visible, and to develop routines that empower critical reflection. The process of working through the PLT Action Plan for staff is a powerful metacognitive opportunity to reflect on practice and be responsive to the learners in front of them. The Action Plans that our teachers have completed are outstanding; they are mapped to current research and learner data from their classrooms. Here are some of the driving questions from staff action plans:

• How might incorporating Making Thinking Visible (MTV) strategies assist students in formulating a thesis to an unseen question that holds depth and allows for nuance in answering?
• How might the use of Socratic circles increase student engagement and understanding for all students?
• How might timed retrieval practice and reflective peer feedback improve recall of key concepts and develop deeper responses?
• How might implementing wait time and discussion habits improve student engagement, confidence, and communication skills in Health and Wellbeing lessons?
• How might knowledge organisers improve learner independence in Year 11 Music?
• How might elements of the Harkness model improve intellectual risk taking and participation in discussion?
• How can the use of writing scaffolds and self-assessment tools encourage students to take intellectual risks and produce more thoughtful, resilient extended responses?
• How might a three level walk-in activity with close and open ended questions increase the participation of every type of student in my Year 9 class?

We’re genuinely eager to explore the insights and far-reaching implications of the evidence-based strategies our teachers are implementing in their classrooms.

Voluntary Professional Learning Opportunities launched

In Week 2, MLC School launched two new voluntary professional learning opportunities for staff to engage with.

1. The MLC School Collab: Co-plan, Co-teach, Co-grow Pilot is a collaborative professional learning pilot where individual teachers work in collaboration with Amy Murphy, Director of Professional Practice, to design, deliver and reflect on impactful lessons.

Grounded in the lesson study model and informed by best-practice research, this approach supports co-planning, co-teaching and co-reflection. Through this cycle, teachers will grow their practice together, building shared expertise, deepening instructional design and identifying next steps for student learning.

2. The MLC School Chapter Collective is a voluntary professional learning initiative designed to foster curiosity, connection and reflective practice in a relaxed, low-pressure environment. Inspired by the spirit of a book club, with an educational twist, it invites staff to explore thought-provoking chapters from books or episodes from diverse education podcasts, spanning topics such as leadership, pedagogy, wellbeing, and learning.

Each session is guided by a peer who nominates the resource and facilitates discussion using simple routines or reflective questions. This format encourages meaningful dialogue, cross-team collaboration and practical takeaways that can be applied in both classroom and leadership contexts.

Our Week 2 Chapter Collective focused on an academic article on the power of embodied learning. We unpacked this through experiential learning and the ancient reading practice of florilegia.

The academic chapter ‘Moving, Making, and Mingling: Moving Towards an Embodied Pedagogy’ by Susannah McKee and Marie Stephenson critically examines the enduring influence of mind/body dualism in educational practice. It argues that traditional pedagogies often privilege cognitive, disembodied learning, sidelining the role of the body, emotion and social context. In response, the authors propose a more holistic ‘mindbody’ approach to teaching and learning, drawing on insights from neuroscience, embodied cognition and the theory of the extended mind. They introduce a reflective framework centered on movement, making and mingling, three embodied practices that encourage whole-person engagement. The chapter showcases examples of embodied pedagogy across disciplines and calls for collaborative experimentation to reimagine education as inclusive, creative and socially just.

Our Week 3 Chapter Collective focused on the Knowledge Matters podcast episode ‘How the Brain Learns’, where Dylan Wiliam explores how cognitive science can inform and improve literacy instruction. Joined by Daisy Christodoulou, David Geary, and John Sweller, Wiliam highlights the importance of building background knowledge to support student learning. He explains that while some skills, like speaking, develop naturally, academic skills such as reading must be explicitly taught. The episode emphasises the limits of working memory and the need to strengthen long-term memory through rich, connected knowledge. Wiliam’s key message is clear: to help students think deeply, we must first give them more to think with.

Instructional Coaching with Growth Coaching International

Twelve teachers recently took part in Growth Coaching International’s Two-Day Impact Cycle Course, a powerful professional learning experience focused on instructional coaching and improving teaching practice. The course invited deep reflection, vulnerability, and collaboration, as participants explored how to support colleagues through purposeful coaching conversations. Teachers rehearsed coaching techniques, considered their own practice through a new lens, and engaged in big-picture thinking about growth and impact. The experience left staff feeling buoyant, energised, and equipped with practical tools to foster meaningful change in classrooms.

– Amy Murphy
Director of Professional Practice