Approach to supporting MYLNS students
When considering how support may be provided for MYLNS students, improvement teachers should consider:
- the particular learning needs of the students
- the evidence with respect to interventions that could be implemented
- the time allocation to work with students
- each prioritised student’s timetable and the classes they are enrolled in.
Some students prioritised in the MYLNS initiative may have complex learning and wellbeing needs, and may already have an Individual Education Plan (IEP) which should be considered in the design of support.
MYLNS improvement teachers have the flexibility to support MYLNS students through:
- individual student support, such as withdrawing a student from class and working 1:1 with them
- in class co-teaching, such as:
- teaching a segment of the lesson
- providing in-class support for prioritised students
- small group work.
The following MYLNS case studies can be used by improvement teachers when deciding on an intervention approach.
Working with individual students
A numeracy improvement teacher has worked with the school improvement team (including the numeracy leader and learning specialist) to analyse a wide range of evidence of a prioritised student’s learning in numeracy. They realise that the student has a gap in their understanding of place value and decimals that is impacting their achievement in mathematics as well as in science.
After meeting with the student to build a relationship and to further understand their learning needs, the numeracy improvement teacher learns that the student feels frustrated with this gap in their learning and would like to receive targeted support to address it. The numeracy improvement teacher plans to work with the student individually prior to their maths class for 20 minutes, 3 times per week. The numeracy improvement teacher monitors the student’s learning each session, and helps the students master this key element of numeracy.
Working with a small group in class
A Humanities class is working in small groups. One group is with the classroom teacher, one group is working independently, and one group is with a literacy improvement teacher.
The literacy improvement teacher is working with a small group of prioritised students, plus a few of their peers who the classroom teacher thought could use additional support.
The literacy improvement teacher is guiding their group through a year-level text by pre-teaching key vocabulary and modelling through a ‘think-aloud’ on how students will make sense of the text. The literacy improvement teacher then checks in with students about their understanding during and after reading.
Pre-teaching key concepts
A numeracy improvement teacher meets regularly with small groups of students to preview the concepts that are coming up in their Mathematics classes.
The numeracy improvement teacher coordinates with the regular classroom teachers to know the language they are planning to use to teach the concepts, along with the learning intentions and success criteria for the unit. This ensures that students can be prepared to access the mathematics content.
Reviewed 17 August 2023