Supporting Effective Learners at Clare High School

The South Australian Department for Education’s Strategy for Public Education sets a bold vision for the future of our schools, outlining a roadmap to ensure that every child and young person thrives in learning and in life. The strategy emphasises four main quadrants of learning and development, including the Effective Learners quadrant; a focus area where we are actively working at Clare High School.

The Effective Learners quadrant highlights the knowledge, capabilities, and dispositions students need to become adaptable, curious and resilient in a rapidly changing world. At Clare High School, our journey began with a focus on strategic awareness – helping students know what to do when they don’t know what to do. Now, we are extending our efforts into building a strong culture of effective feedback as a crucial part of learning.

Deepening Our Work: From Strategic Awareness to Effective Feedback

Strategic awareness is vital for developing independent, capable learners. It enables students to:

• Recognise when they are stuck or challenged
• Consider different approaches to a task
• Select helpful strategies to move forward
• Reflect on their successes and areas for improvement

Having laid strong foundations in strategic awareness, we are now deepening our practice by supporting students to develop a thorough understanding of feedback, both in giving and receiving it. Our goal is for all students to know:

• How to give and receive peer-to-peer feedback effectively
• How to use feedback from teachers and peers to improve their learning
• How to reflect on feedback and take meaningful next steps

Building Feedback Skills for Learning

Through our focus on effective feedback, students at CHS will learn to:

• Recognise what they are doing well and where they can improve
• Understand the purpose behind feedback and how to act on it
• Approach feedback conversations with confidence and a growth mindset

By developing these capabilities, we aim to create learners who can work collaboratively, give and receive constructive feedback, and take charge of their own progress. Over time, this will help our students become more adaptable, reflective and resourceful – skills that will serve them well beyond school.

Next Steps – SA Curriculum – development of Dispositions and Capabilities

Our upcoming Pupil Free Day on Tuesday, 9 June will centre on deepening our understanding of the SA Curriculum. The SA Curriculum is a tailored adaptation of the Australian Curriculum Version 9 (AC V9), specifically designed to reflect South Australia’s vision for public education. This new framework seeks to empower all young people with agency, self-worth and the capabilities to thrive – not only academically, but also socially, emotionally, and physically.

We will have a particular focus on the explicit inclusion of dispositions and capabilities in each SA Curriculum learning area. Staff will engage in professional learning about how these elements shape our school’s pedagogy and drive meaningful outcomes for every learner.

Dispositions and capabilities are central to the SA Curriculum’s purpose.
Dispositions are tendencies to think, act or relate in certain ways; such as being curious, persistent, empathetic, or collaborative. They are integral to both learning well and living well, expressing our values and shaping how we approach challenges in and out of the classroom. Dispositions connect the social, emotional, cognitive and physical aspects of the learner, becoming part of each student’s identity and underpinning their agency and wellbeing.

Capabilities answer the question, “What do we want learners to be capable of?” They represent the adaptive, enduring skills and competencies students need to thrive in complex, unfamiliar situations. Capabilities are cultivated within each learning area, building signature practices and habits of mind – such as critical thinking, effective communication, and creative problem solving – that strengthen disciplinary understanding and prepare learners for real-world challenges.

The purpose of placing dispositions and capabilities at the heart of curriculum and pedagogy

• Ensures learning is designed not only for academic achievement, but for whole-person growth, empowering students to understand themselves, connect learning to their lives, and take action in their communities.
• Makes the intent and impact of learning visible, inviting purposeful engagement and helping students reflect on how learning shapes their thinking and actions.
• Supports teachers to model, nurture, and celebrate these qualities, building a school culture where positive habits of mind are recognised and valued.
• Drives a shift in pedagogy – from transmitting content to rich, meaningful learning experiences that strengthen skills, competence and capability, fostering reflective, resourceful and resilient learners.

On the Pupil Free Day, Clare High staff will explore practical strategies for integrating dispositions and capabilities into daily teaching, planning, and assessment. By embedding these elements in our pedagogy, we equip students not just with content knowledge, but with the ability and willingness to apply their learning confidently and purposefully throughout their lives.

This focus sits alongside our commitment to Positive Behaviour for Learning (PBL), Restorative Practices, and new behaviour processes; aligning our wellbeing and learning priorities for a holistic approach to student success.

We look forward to sharing more about this work and its impact as we move through this important stage of curriculum implementation at Clare High School.

Warm regards,
Natasha Dunn, Principal