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Teachers' Views of the Ballajura System
Interviews with ten teachers from BCC, including two deputy Principals and the Acting Principal of 1997 revealed several issues about the Ballajura system.
 
The Integrated Curriculum
The teachers spoke positively about their freedom to develop and share their own curriculum within their learning team. The teachers found the breadth of curriculum choices available allowed them to be creative.
One teacher commented that, in contrast, the system in her previous school seemed to be somewhat prescriptive. Teachers enjoyed the professional respect they received as curriculum experts and found that through the improved communication of the team structure they were able to reduce the amount of curriculum repetition.
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My ability as an English teacher has really improved at BCC because I am able to be creative. Also I have not had to justify my curriculum to any head of department. I have received full professional support for my ability and judgement as an English curriculum expert.
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Teachers also commented that the assessment system was positive because there was not a tight schedule for common assessment tasks and teachers and students could chose material that demonstrated the students' abilities and achievements.
Even though the teachers enjoyed the relative freedom of the curriculum at Ballajura Community College there was general agreement that the curriculum needed further structure and support from the school's curriculum consultants.
Teachers described how curriculum inconsistencies resulting from different teams teaching modules of work with different emphases had created difficulties.
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One example is that I currently have a Year 9 class where some have studied body systems in Year 8 and others have no background at all. We need to reach a compromise between team flexibility and creativity in creating their own projects and choosing broader knowledge constructs from year to year.
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Several teachers commented on the need for balance between structure and flexibility and one teacher suggested that a sequenced framework was needed, especially in mathematics and science.
Another teacher commented that the skills of the primary trained staff, who had experience in integrated program writing, had not been utilised adequately and that all staff needed further professional development in integrated program writing.
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We still need to improve on writing integrated programs. There needs to be more professional development for staff on writing integrated curriculum which incorporates the broader overall curriculum aims and the basic requirements of post compulsory.
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Concern also was voiced by several teachers about some teachers' lack of confidence and skills in particular curriculum areas. One primary trained teacher was critical of the secondary trained teachers who didn't have skills and experience in all areas of the curriculum.
The following two interview vignettes, the first from a primary trained teacher and the second from a secondary trained English teacher, describe their experience and concerns when having to teach secondary level mathematics.
Primary
In 1996 I was a home room teacher for a Year 8 class. This task was particularly daunting to me. My lack of speciality in all areas of the curriculum really was a genuine worry to me. For me this was the down side of my middle school experience.
I had to work particularly hard in the areas of science and mathematics for I did not want to disadvantage my students. Particularly in maths I did a lot of learning with my students. One positive side to all this was when I was a student, maths was not really my strongest area, so I could really sympathise with students who found the work difficult. I had a kind of "birds-eye" view into their mind and their struggles. This I think really helped me teach the subject from a really different perspective.
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Secondary
My first year at BCC was extremely challenging for me. It was the first time in my teaching career that I had to teach in learning areas other than English and media. My mathematics was my weakest learning area of all. My home room in general consisted of a great group of students, and we learnt maths together. I admitted to my students my deficiency at times and often I learnt from them. The more able students got a real buzz out of teaching their teacher at times.
What I am good at though is modelling learning and re-phrasing so that all levels of students will be able to grasp each concept. At times, certain students taught me concepts and then I could model the learning process to the others.
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Even though these teachers initially were concerned about their lack of skills or knowledge, especially in mathematics, both were able to turn their concerns into positive learning experiences for both students and teachers.
Middle School Structure
Some teachers commented on the middle school structure at BCC and how it was conducive to an integrated curriculum because of the flexible timetable, the better relationship between students and teachers, having a homeroom to display students' work and the interaction between secondary and primary trained teachers.
Three teachers commented that the middle school structure allowed for a smoother transition for Year 7 students into a high school and that the Year 7 students had better access to specialist teachers and specialist materials such as computers, sports equipment, science laboratories and design and technology facilities.
further professional development in integrated program writing.
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Year 7 students get a lot more freedom away from their classroom teacher and curriculum opportunities than they would have received in a traditional primary school model. That is the students receive 180 minutes a week for Arts compared with maybe an hour a week in the traditional system. They get access to science labs, a gymnasium, and a technology and enterprise centre.
The pastoral care role is very important for the young adolescent. It has really stopped those students who may have gotten lost along the way in traditional high school. The gradual transition from a one teacher focus in Year 7 and Year 8 to a two teacher focus in Year 9 has really worked well. It is really important that the students have teachers that they can identify with and a lot of personal and academic problems have been overcome because of our pastoral care system.
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The focus on individual students and their needs was considered to be a positive aspect of the middle school system at Ballajura. For example, teachers commented that students with literacy problems were given extra help and students were streamed in Number and Algebra to facilitate the focus on individual students' needs.
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Students in Year 8 who are at risk with literacy receive a lot more personalised help and attention.
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One teacher commented that the middle school structure ensured that teachers had to be adaptable to be able to teach across the curriculum and that this best suited the needs of the students at this age. In addition, the learning team structure meant that each teacher was responsible for fewer students, and this led to a better learning environment.
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What I like about BCC is, as an educator, I am able to be adaptable. I can teach anything, which I believe best suits the needs of my students.
Teachers at BCC are responsible for fewer students and have to work with the same students for a large majority of the school week. As a consequence, teachers have to tighten up on classroom discipline and have a higher level of interpersonal skills and pedagogical practice to deal with many different styles of learning. In the end, a far better relationship is developed between teacher and students, which I believe promotes higher level learning outcomes.
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The developmental approach taken at the school to curriculum and the portfolio system of assessment was considered to be advantageous for students at BCC.
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Through student portfolios our students are becoming more aware of what they can do and how they can work to improve. The developmental continuum of student outcome statements and time for reflection has really assisted in this process.
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Generally, the middle school structure was supported by the teachers from BCC. However, some teachers found deficiencies in the middle school model that they felt were important for the social and intellectual development of the students.
One aspect was the students' insularity within their learning team and also within their sub-school. Some teachers commented that the limited interaction between students from other parts of the school created a negative atmosphere and in some situations open animosity between students who were not part of the same team.
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As a result of home rooms of students staying mostly together as a unit throughout the year "cliques" have formed. By Year 9 there is almost an "us and them" culture between the students and teachers they do not know very well. Almost a law unto itself. Relief teachers are treated particularly poorly as a result. The students are so used to a few strong home room teachers that they do not adapt very easily to change. Middle school has almost gone too far in creating mini isolated teams and cultures.
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Some teachers were concerned that students may lack the organisational skills necessary to move from class to class as they would be expected to do in the senior school. As a result, home-room teachers have put in place strategies to address students' organisational skills.
The relationship between the students and the administrative staff at BCC was perceived by two teachers to be limited and one deputy principal commented that it was difficult for him to get to know all the staff because of the large size of the school in 1997.
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Another important point is that not all students even know who the principal and/or deputies are. Often the only students that know are the ones that get in trouble. This is a really sad state in my opinion... The administration really seems to lack an image and profile with the student body in general.
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One teacher felt that many changes, including integration, had happened at BCC in a short time and that it would have made life easier for the teachers if the change had been implemented in stages.
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BCC has introduced too many changes all at once to meet the "middle school ideal". Here we have expected changes in pedagogical issues, student centred learning and student outcomes statements. We need to now, after three years, slow down, take stock, and reflect on what we have done. The changes in hindsight should have been phased in over time for this may have prevented a lot of staff stress.
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One teacher complained that the Arts team is treated by other teachers as DOTT (Duties other than Teaching) providers rather than a legitimate learning area.
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After a year working within the Arts team now I really think the middle school ethos just treats the Arts team as DOTT providers. These feelings emerge because I feel the homeroom teams and the administration, without even considering the Arts team, makes lots of decisions in the school. Examples of this exist in the time-tabling of classes and the lack of resource allocation. The Arts team is a great young and dynamic team and their talents are not being acknowledged enough.
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Teachers Working in Teams
An aspect of the middle school structure that teachers found to be of particular value was working in teams. The teachers said that working in teams promoted high level thinking and discussion and resulted in cross curricular planning of a high standard. Teachers also commented on the collegiality, the sharing of materials and the help that teachers could get from their counterparts especially in the curriculum areas in which they had a weaker background.
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The collegiality between the staff in a team is great. Staff share 80 to 90 percent of their curriculum materials with each other. The teacher team support is really wonderful and whole team activity days are a highlight.
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One teacher said that because she planned and developed her own curriculum she had a heightened sense of passion and interest in teaching it to her students and this passion was transferred to the classroom environment.
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Writing your own curriculum materials means that my passion and interest is transmitted to the students. Often students who are at times switched off become immersed in my enthusiasm and succeed in areas they have never succeeded before. A case that comes to mind is a boy in my Year 10 class who has very poor literacy skills and a really unsettled home life. He really excelled recently in poetry. I really love war poems and I'm convinced this transferred to this particular student. It was the first time I really saw him enthusiastic about writing. I know this opportunity would never have occurred in a traditional high school model.
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The teachers found that an essential pre-requisite for the development of an integrated curriculum was collaborative planning time. The Deputy Principal explained his commitment to incorporating collaborative planning time for each learning team in the school timetable.
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It was my responsibility to create a workable timetable and an overall organisational structure. The collaborative team planning time I feel was the biggest contribution to the BCC structure. I was firmly committed to this time for, without it, teams would not have been able to plan their integrated curriculum. Also, I knew from experience that without this time the learning team concept might not have worked.
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Three teachers also commented that they liked the teaching teams to be reallocated each year.
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One of the positives of the BCC middle school is the learning teams which are not single subject based. I've found single subject based teams become too introverted after a while. I also like that we re-mix the teams each year so they can be re-stimulated professionally.
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Professional stimulation, collegiality and support were aspects of the teaching teams that were valued, however teachers commented on the large amount of work required at BCC.
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Everyone works so hard that all staff become very tired and reach a burnout factor. Probably because we have a staff of highly motivated teachers where everyone tries to do their job to the best of their ability that by fourth term all staff are extremely tired and ready for a holiday.
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Community Perceptions
The community is reported to be highly supportive of BCC but a lot of communication has been necessary to help community members understand and come to terms with the middle school structure, integration, the developmental learning approach and outcome-based assessment.
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The community perception at times is partly a negative. I guess we are a new school that's doing something different that the community is still not completely ready to accept and embrace. They find it different because it is so different from their own personal experiences and they have nothing to relate it to. Some of the community think that student outcome statements is something that BCC has made up. Our community members miss the old "letter grade" system which they themselves had in their schooling and can relate to the best. We need to be more proactive in our communication with our community.
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Other teachers voiced concern about the perception of BCC from some community members and teachers at other schools. These groups of people were seen by BCC teachers to be ill-informed about the theory and ethos behind the BCC system.
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There is also, at times, a personal stress amongst our educational peers and colleagues out there from other schools who find our new model a little threatening as we question the traditional norm. I think it frightens them that BCC is an example of the future and many of my colleagues are not ready to accept this educational change.
We are getting an educational reputation of being that crazy new idea. We are the avant-garde and the newness is scaring educators off. We need to work on forming our own culture and tradition and this will only come with time. We need to tread "softly-softly" and get it right.
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The teachers who voiced these opinions seemed to convey concern about the high expectations placed on BCC by the community because of the school's alternative approaches, especially to school structure, assessment and reporting.
Even though the community perception of BCC was perceived as being negative by some teachers, the need to form their own culture and tradition and, at the same time, progressively build a positive image with the general community was recognised.
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