In September 2019, 70 additional Instructional Intelligence Facilitators, from 20 different schools, began their exciting 10-day journey with Professor Barrie Bennett. These participants would be trained as Instructional Intelligence practitioners, presenters and follow-up support providers for their own schools. This group, known as Cohort Four, joined a total of 270 previously trained Instructional Intelligence Facilitators.

Cohort Four commenced four days of their learning in late September 2019 and headed back to school with plans for working with their students. The 70 facilitators left the training eager to refresh their effective group work skills in the classroom, to work on helping students to be more accountable and safer, or to experiment with a new instructional strategy of interest.

In Term 1 2020, the facilitator school groups returned for a planning and implementation day at the SSTUWA. The goal was to reflect on their learning over the past months and to begin to consider a whole-school approach and a plan to share information with other teachers across their school. Once again, a successful day was completed, and plans were created.

Shortly after this date COVID-19 came into our lives, creating an interesting year full of change and uncertainty for all. As a result in 2020 the Cohort Four project was put on hold as we awaited the possibility of Barrie Bennett returning to Perth from Canada. That is unlikely to happen soon, as we now know.

There have been a series of challenges along the way, none that on their own were a problem, but combined have prevented us from completing the work begun with Cohort Four. This year, the SSTUWA is committed to completing the training days. We are excited to welcome Cohort Four facilitators back to the SSTUWA during August and November.

The training obviously will not be face-to-face with Barrie, but will include the use of Zoom from Canada, as much as the 12-hour time difference will allow.

Barrie is busy on Prince Edward Island preparing recorded sessions of chapters 9-14 from his Instructional Intelligence publication. Chapters to be covered are:

• Four Complex Group Structures.
• Concept Attainment.
• Concept Formation.
• Picture Word Inductive Model (PWIM).
• Graphic Organisers.
• Socratic Dialogue.

Barrie’s recordings will provide the group with the theory and explanation for each chapter. Input and support will be provided by selected Instructional Intelligence Specialist Coaches who have worked with the content in their own schools for several years. Coaches will conduct the practical activities as documented in the facilitator notes. They will also field questions and facilitate discussions around each topic.

We look forward to some fantastic learning in 2021.