Melbourne teacher’s ‘highly researched, progressive’ style a winner with students

Some parents were initially resistant to Jarryd Bradford’s “different” approach to teaching. But his ability to engage students has won them over.

Getting children engaged in class is a challenge many teachers face. But Jarryd Bradford has a simple solution: listening to them.

The notion of valuing children for “who they are now, not simply what they will become” has driven an innovative approach to learning Mr Bradford has helped implement at St Gabriel’s Reservoir and St Stephen of Hungary in East Reservoir.

The passionate deputy principal and “learning and teaching leader” of the partnered primary schools said he and principal Gemma Goodyear had aspirations to share their tailored teaching model with other institutions, to help enrich even more students’ educations.

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“We’ve seen a clear, visible shift in children being engaged in their learning, as opposed to compliant,” the 34-year-old said.

“They’ve had some part to play in that, so of course they value it.

“Gone are the days when we see children as empty vessels who come to be filled with knowledge.”

Jarryd Bradford of St Gabriel's and St Stephen’s primary schools, believes in valuing students for “who they are now, not simply what they will become”. Picture: Mark Stewart

St Gabriel’s and St Stephen’s combined 200 students, who are from culturally and socio-economically diverse backgrounds, learn in three-week cycles. Afterwards, Mr Bradford and the schools’ educators use data and feedback from the children to reflect on where they are at and how their learning should progress.

“We get some of the best and most important data from listening to children,” he said.

The cycles are made up of “inquiry projects”, which are connected to traditional subjects like history, civics, science and the arts.

“Alongside that, we have small teaching groups with learning goals aligned to the curriculum but also designed to target the needs of the children,” Mr Bradford said.

“We’re designing learning that is very specific and targeted to children’s individual needs.”

Another important consideration is, “how do we teach children for a world that does not exist yet?” – so much so, Mr Bradford has this question stuck to the wall above his desk.

He believes the future of education should focus more on teaching children “skills you can use in any context”, such as “ethics, creative thinking, problem solving and emotional intelligence”.

His schools, which are governed by Melbourne Archdiocese Catholic Schools (MACS), achieve that by using subjects like history to teach lessons like “building relationships” and “learning from past mistakes so we can build a future that’s more positive”.

The deputy principal is an advocate for learning being tailored to individual students. Picture: Mark Stewart

“The education system has been slow to respond to how quickly the world is changing,” he said.

“We live in world of global interconnectivity, AI, automation – the needs and requirements of jobs today are outliving the relevancy of what schools are capable of offering.”

For example, Mr Bradford thinks too much importance is placed on NAPLAN testing, which should be considered “one piece of the pie” rather than “a beacon for how well a school is going”.

He said some parents were initially resistant to his revolutionary approach. But winning them over has been one of the proudest achievements of his 13-year teaching career that began in his home city of Wellington, New Zealand.

“I’ll often get statements (from parents) like, ‘I found some of the things you did challenging because they were different from when I was in school, but I totally get it now. I want to let you know my child is so grateful and happy’,” he said.

“To get a thank you for challenging the status quo, for being highly researched and progressive, and for being brave to do something you know is right is really rewarding.”

Originally published as Melbourne teacher’s ‘highly researched, progressive’ style a winner with students