Senate Education and Employment Legislation Committee, , 4:07:38 to 4:11:20
Inquiry into the amount of teaching time lost to classroom disruption and the potential for national data collection through NAPLAN or regular surveys to track improvement.
Topics: Education, Child safety
Speakers: Senator Matt O'Sullivan, Dr Jennifer Donovan, Senator Marielle Smith
>> Okay. We'll um we'll make sure we leave some time. Um I want to ask about classroom disruption. As you know it's a a topic I've been very interested in for quite some time. The center of independent studies released survey based research earlier this year indicating that nine minutes out of every half hour of teaching time was lost to classroom disruption. Do you have any uh any of your own data and do you agree that the disruptive classroom behavior is substantially reducing learning time in Australian schools?
That was uh evidence available from recent PISA surveys as well that have identified the fact that learning time is lost to low-level classroom disruption and disengagement. And that was the reason that the Commonwealth government m commissioned Arrow to examine the evidence base for how to improve the quality of the classroom environment so that it is conducive to learning. And over the last 3 years, we've developed a suite of resources for teachers in schools to help them implement evidence-based practice that helps to manage the way classrooms operate uh and enable good learning to happen. It's a feature of explicit teaching. Making sure that the classroom is managed and that students understand their expectations of them and their behavior provides the environment that the learning can happen.
do you have a an estimate the same way that CIS have come up with the number of amount of time spent lost on learning?
>> We uh used the estimate that was available from PISA not the most recent PISA the previous one which had a quite a focus on that which I can supply to you uh on notice.
>> Okay. And with that, can you do you have an estimate on the amount of teaching time lost annually to classroom disruption?
>> Similarly, I'd have to supply it to you on notice.
>> Yeah. Great. Okay. Does Australia currently collect data on the extent of classroom disruption nationally?
>> No. Uh it is it is part of the question that is asked through the PISA student and teacher survey. That's how we we managed to get a bit of insight into that. But it's not something that's conducted as a a national survey in Australia on a regular basis.
>> I'm not sure if you recall, but there was a recommendation from this committee that there be uh included in a questions uh in uh as part of NAP plan and as part of regular assessment of from students getting feedback so that we've got that uh ability to be able to track improvement in this area. Would you
Yes, I think there's an opportunity with NAPLAN to collect information about a range of things and that would be one that would be really interesting to know more about at a national level.
>> Has ERO recommended that education ministers establish a national a regular national classroom behavior survey?
>> Uh we haven't made such a
>> Right. But you would endorse that which was your previous answer. Um the can I ask about and sorry two seconds actually what I might do can can we go to senator pain and if there is time um before the break I'll come back I just need a table so I want to make sure I've got the right document
>> almond pain you have the call for 10