Tess Barnes

Tess believes that activating collective teacher efficacy through understanding thinking preferences, learning together and embedding a collaborative inquiry process makes the most difference to student achievement, school improvement and teacher empowerment.

Tess believes that if we build teachers understanding of thinking and learning so that learning can be visible, differentiated and meaningful for students, then students will be thinking, questioning and developing a deep understanding of their learning.

Tess has a passion for continuous improvement and has led teams to develop a situational analysis to understand the needs of students and teachers. She has developed evidence-based professional learning to drive the development of a theory of action and support teachers to implement strategies in the classroom the next day.

Tess has spent the last 10+ years working with SCHMIC and implementing Whole Brain Thinking, The Learning Thinking Scope and Instructional Rounds as a Teacher, Assistant Principal and Instructional Leader. Tess has seen first-hand the impact SCHMIC professional learning and mentoring has on teachers’ knowledge and skills and student learning outcomes.