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PEEL News

For the last 18 months, because of funding problems there has been very little activity in PEEL. Now that more funds are available it is possible to provide more support to teachers engaged in PEEL and to PEEL groups. This website is currently being updated and again provides new ideas, information about upcoming events, and more general information about PEEL. There are new editions of PEEL SEEDS with the most recent edition published in October 2011. The Sharing Pedagogical Purposes research group has continued to meet and develop exciting ideas for teachers interested in promoting deeper learning in their classrooms. The October edition of PEEL SEEDS features articles from this group. .We have resumed PEEL newsletters.

You will also be interested to know that Ian Mitchell the founder and co-ordinator of PEEL was awarded an Order of Australia this year for services to education, notably PEEL

Try this Idea

Several times a year a new idea or procedure will be published here. Most of these ideas are published along with many others in PEEL Seeds. Our archive currently contains a number of  excellent ideas developed by teachers for use in their classrooms.The current idea described here by Ian Mitchell gives another dimension to PEEL.

Using the website

 For first time users you can find a great deal of useful information about PEEL on our About PEEL page. Just follow the links to obtain extra information. If you wish to find out more don't hesitate to contact us. Some features of the website include

  • Detailed information about PEEL  including PEEL Groups in schools and Primary PEEL
  • A tutorial showing the features of and a how to use guide of PEEL in Practice which contains a huge repository of teacher knowledge acquired over the 26 years of the Project
  • Easy ordering of all PEEL publications together with summaries of the contents of each item
  • For registered users of PEEL in Practice online an easy log in. Simply log in with your user name and password on the side of this page and you will see the active link at the top of the page "Start PEEL in Practice application". This will enable you to access all the articles published up until the end of 2010.
  • A Search facility which will enable you to find articles on a huge range of topics from the PEEL in Practice database. To access the articles you will need to subscribe to become a registered user or buy the CD but a free two week trial is available.

PEEL Resources

PEEL has developed a number of rich resources for teachers fimly based on what works in the classroom. Three of the more important of these are listed here, others can be found on our Publications page.

PEEL in Practice

PEEL in Practice is a very rich range of innovative, classroom-tested teaching proceduresdeveloped over the 26 years PEEL has been operating. This is available in the form of a searchable database T.he latest edition features new and revised procedures  to reflect recent ideas from 2009 and 2010. There are many new articles on the database with search fields that enable to find articles relevant to their students and classrooms.  You can see a complete description of all the search categories  here.  The latest edition of PEEL in Practice is available from the PEEL office or can be ordered online.   

Principles of teaching for effective learning: the voice of the teacher

This book is a comprehensive amalgam of PEEL practice and theory developed over the 26 years of PEEL by practising teachers and academics. It contains many examples of teachers writng about their experiences in applying the 12 PEEL principles in the classroom to improve the learning of their students. The stories and anecdotes from practicing classroom teachers, together with accompanying analysis provide an invaluable guide to teachers wanting to improve their practice.  This book explores teacher and student journeys in learning how to learn and what makes a successful learning community. It is a companion text to our book of teaching procedures (Teaching for Effective Learning).

Teaching for Effective Learning, the complete book of PEEL teaching procedures, 4th Edition

The fourth edition contains descriptions of the 223 generic teaching procedures developed or adapted by PEEL teachers since 1985.  These procedures are generic in that they allow readers to apply each procedure to a wide range subjects and year levels, and nearly all are applicable at both primary and secondary levels.

Teachers will find that the procedures encourage more purposeful learning, and higher levels of student engagement and interest.

PEEL Research Groups

Sharing pedagogical purposes project

This was set up early in 2008 and has continued for the last three years. Some of the themes being investigated by participants include:

  • Doing things WITH students, not for or to them.
  • Teacher models being a learner/thinker
  • Remembering/recounting vs reflecting
  • Noticing good learning (and getting excited)
  • Students select procedures.
  • The physical environment
  • The emotional environment
  • Language for learning
  • Learning as a journey.

Some of the stories of the teachers engaged in this innovative project were presented at a PEEL conference in 2008. These were published in PEEL SEEDS #101. More of their research will appear in SEEDS #110 to be published later in 2011.

Please contact us if you are interested in finding out more about this project

Short courses and Professional Development 


Other Resources 

Science continuum
A team of writers and researchers from Monash University developed the Science continuum for the Victorian Education Department. This now provides a very valuable resource for all teachers of Science and contains many ideas which use a PEEL focus. The resource which covers Levels Prep to 10 is arranged around a number of key Scientific ideas.

 Each topic has four sections:

  • Student everyday experiences - this section based on extensive research, describes many of the preconceived ideas students bring to the concept based on their everyday experiences
  • Scientific view - here the currently accepted, age-appropriate scientific view is provided; encouraging contrast of this with often very different student conceptions
  • Critical teaching ideas are then identified; these are specific ideas that are interconnected and important for student conceptual development.
  • Teaching activities - the critical teaching ideas are supported by purposeful teaching activities that scaffold student conceptual development. These are built around the key idea that effective science teachers recognise the importance of working from students' existing ideas to build rich understandings of currently accepted science. The teaching activities have been designed to support conceptual understanding

To view this website go to:

http://www.education.vic.gov.au/studentlearning/teachingresources/science/scicontinuum/default.htm