Professional Learning at Davidson High School

At Davidson High School, professional learning is fundamental to improving teaching practice and strengthening student outcomes. We recognise that high-quality teaching has the greatest in-school impact on student learning, and that sustained improvement occurs when professional learning is evidence-informed, collaborative and focused on practice.

Our approach is guided by the NSW Department of Education’s High Impact Professional Learning (HIPL) model, supporting a culture of continuous professional learning aligned to student needs. Professional learning is driven by evidence, enabled by leadership, and strengthened through the sharing of best practice from experts within our teaching community. This work is aligned to the NSW School Excellence Framework, the High Potential and Gifted Education (HPGE) Policy, and our School Improvement Plan.

Professional learning at Davidson High School follows a Learn–Do–Reflect cycle, delivered through regular staff meetings, School Development Days (SDDs) and faculty collaboration. Teachers learn through targeted professional learning, do by applying strategies in their classrooms, and reflect on evidence to evaluate impact and refine practice. This ensures professional learning is practical, sustained and directly connected to improved teaching and learning.

Our professional learning approach is informed by:

• NSW Department of Education – High Impact Professional Learning (HIPL) model
• CESE – What Works Best (Explicit Teaching, Wellbeing, Collaboration, Use of Data)
• NSW School Excellence Framework (SEF) – Learning, Teaching and Leading domains
• High Potential and Gifted Education (HPGE) Policy and HPGE Framework
• Rosenshine’s Principles of Instruction (explicit teaching and cognitive load)
• John Hattie’s research on visible learning (impact, effect size and feedback)
• Dylan Wiliam’s work on formative assessment and responsive teaching
• NSW DoE Wellbeing Framework for Schools

Our key focus areas include:

• Explicit teaching and effective classroom practice
• Literacy development, including vocabulary and writing across all KLAs
• Numeracy development
• Data-informed teaching, including tracking student growth
• Assessment quality, feedback and differentiation, including HPGE
• Responsible and ethical use of AI to enhance teaching and learning

Through this approach, Davidson High School builds a culture of collective efficacy, professional trust and continuous improvement, ensuring every teacher is supported to grow and every student is known, challenged and supported to succeed.