Our educational model

At LLV, our practice is collegial and collaborative. This means that teachers work in relationship with each other and the students with a team player attitude. We are flexible, creative, have a willingness to change and will always look for another/better way. We are teachers that are always learners and we will stay on top of global research and best practice. We are happy to fail spectacularly and learn from that. We have and expect our students to have a growth mindset.

Our pedagogy encourages and develops autonomous, independent investigation, supported with ‘masterclasses’ or ‘pop-up workshops’ as well as ‘flow’ where students engage in deep learning.

The learning should include opportunities for students to develop skills and attitudes relevant to the modern world. These are captured in the LLV Learning Characteristics Wheel.

Our role as teachers is to scaffold and teach thinking and thinking processes and to introduce concepts, big ideas, help make connections and question deeply.  

It is a pedagogy of responsiveness. We will minimise teacher talk and worksheets, looking for better ways of capturing understanding and measuring growth. We will seek to design ways to measure what we value. Learning will be kinaesthetic, reflective, personal, driven by the students, and supported by excellent teachers. It will always have a clear purpose and will be well supported by rigorous feedback, check ins, formative assessments and observations. It will be fun, dynamic and celebrate failure. 

Our focus is on growing EQ, transdisciplinary connection and multidisciplinary projects and on developing the innate capacity of our students to own their learning.

The Lindfield Learning Village Learning Characteristics Wheel is embedded in every aspect of a student’s learning experience. These characteristics are explicitly taught and assessed against a rubric.

The ultimate goal of Human-Centred Learning Design at LLV is to enable the student to direct their own learning journey and thereby, shape school organisation and pedagogy. Students will own their learning and be able to track outcomes, negotiate assessment with teachers and articulate their learning process. Learning characteristics will be deeply embedded into the learning language and culture.

An 'all through' school encourages daily connections between older and younger learners. Older students can be mentors to younger students and younger students see the learning they can look forward to. 

Every student at LLV is a member of a Pod. Each Pod has a ‘Learning Guide’ – a teacher who is responsible for each student in the Pod. The Learning Guide plays a critical role in the educational model and wellbeing framework of the school.

The Learning Guide is the key conduit between the child and home, they know and support the student to grow academically, personally and emotionally throughout their time at LLV.

Collaborative co-teaching occurs in every stage at LLV. The goal for co-teaching at LLV is to establish trusting relationships and a shared understanding of how to enhance learning through co-teaching.

Joint accountability, pooled resources and a variety of effective co-teaching strategies will be embedded into daily pedagogical practice.

Individual learning allows for students to engage in their learning any time, anywhere on any device. Teacher time allocated across master classes, guru time, explicit teaching sessions and individual student coaching. Students access expertise of various teachers as required. The Primary timetable will remain flexible and directed towards empowering students to become independent learners. A whole school focus on learning characteristics will enable students to reach this goal.

Teachers will be intrinsically aware of maintaining a balance between the explicit teaching of new learning and supporting students as independent learners. Teachers will engage in regular self-reflective practices and embed the evaluation of pedagogy into practice. Teachers will be able to articulate evidence of the impact of learning design strategies on student learning.

In Stage 6, transdisciplinary learning will become intrinsically connected to authentic learning experiences through a blended learning model as as well as embedded partnerships with community, business and university links.

Individual learning is at the heart of the educational model at LLV. Individual learning applies to all members of the school community and is embedded in the model of professional learning for staff.

The ultimate goal for individual learning at LLV is that every member of the school community is deeply engaged in pursuing their own individual learning pathway, empowered in this pursuit through the mentor and expert teaching practitioners. Individual learning will involve a balanced program of explicit and independent learning experiences.

LLV is focused on providing innovative, relevant, high quality learning for every member of the Village community. When we talk about stage-not-age learning, this applies to students, staff and parents as well as the wider educational community. We share our learning with others, are open to feedback and see failure as an important learning opportunity.

The proximity of the Lindfield school to a wide range of high-profile businesses such as Microsoft, CSIRO and Macquarie Hospital creates the possibility for students to engage in real life learning. There are opportunities for students and community to learn from each other through mentoring programs. The school will work in collaboration with neighbouring schools and their communities of practice. The schools within schools model has no boundaries and extends to the expertise demonstrated in the high performing neighbouring schools.