Accelerate the reading progress of your akonga using culturally responsive practices and digital technologies

I had the great opportunity to attend a break out at U lear 2016 on "Accelerating the reading progress of your Akonga using culturally responsive practices and digital technologies"
This was hosted by Takanini School. Some of the aspects talked about in the session are listed below:

• Relationships: Between teacher and student, whanau and community, School: These are important in being able to accelerate student progress.
• Always referring back to the SC-agency as a learner: Using the SC as referral point. This is how children know how they will achieve their learning intention, 
• Using a familier context when teaching then a new strategy: students having background knowledge on, accessing prior knowledge-Using realistic contexts in learning that children can relate to such as their cultural backgrounds. 
• Choosing text that build on from each other: Bikes, bike race etc.
• Learning focussed conversations : talking about their learning, and making learning visible. 
• Growth mindset, learning pit
• Explain everything: recording, making a video etc, screen cast to help with fluency.  
• working things out together: choices working together or individually.

What really caught me during this session is when the presenters talked about "Growth mindset and the learning pit". These are two aspects that I refer to in my classroom setting. 

The children in my class know that for them to get to the top of the mountain they must first encounter struggles and challenges in their learning. And for deep learning to happen, we will encounter mistakes and failures, but it it through this growth mindset that we grow in our learning. 

I also like when the presenters talked about being culturally responsive. This to me means being able to bring the cultural knowledge that the children have into their learning and embracing this. 

It also means using a student-centered approach to teaching in which the students' unique cultural strengths are identified and nurtured to promote student achievement and a sense of well-being about the student's cultural place in the world.

It also means creating bonds with the children-building good relationships with them in order for the children to be in that Zone or proximal development.

I liked the theory the presenters talked about which was on careful scaffolding" I do, we do, two do, you do". This is where the teacher models, then they do it together, then they do it in pairs, and then individually. This gets children talking, communicating, and sharing their ideas and knowledge and also creating new knowledge. This I would most def. try and implement with my Target group in reading, writing and maths,

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow, learn as if you were to live forever"- Mahatma Ghandi

Breakout 1: Accessing Deep learning
Presenter: Derek Weymouth; Margot McKeengan.

Today I attended a breakout on "Accessing Deep learning"
Firstly, we as a class looked at what deep learning is and what is means to us. We used the famous Padlet to collaborate out ideas on this topic. Below is an image of the padlet. Some of the key questions the we also talked about were:


What is deep learning?
How might we measure it?
What evidence would we use?

Some of the things that first came to my mind when I hear the word "DEEP LEARNING"
What is deep learning are listed below

• Critical thinking
• Zone of proximal development. 
• Making connections 
• Digging deeper. 
• Questioning.
• Understanding. 

Created with Padlet

Link to the padlet 

We then went onto:
DEFINING DEEP LEARNING:

• Share a story of a lesson/unit/learning experience that you consider to be a good example of "deep learning"
• what made it "deep"
• What indicators do you use?
• Authenticity: About the learner. 
• Real world context: making connections. 

We looked at how Deep learning also means that the students has a voice. The leaning is more student entered.  Deep learning also involved the learner being reflective and growing in their learning. This is where they asked themselves questions: What worked for me, what could I do better next time.  Deep learning to myself also means empowerment. Seeing the  learner as a WHOLE and not just a part. It is about  COLLABORATION-Working together and bringing different knowledge and putting them together.

For deep learning to also happen it also involves Partnerships. These partnerships are: Home/school/families/communities: learning partnerships=learning opportunities.

I am a huge believer in the Zone of proximal development. I believe that when the child is in the zone of proximal development that is when the most amount of deep learning takes place. It is up to use teachers to capture those moments and run with it. 

Digital Tools for knowing your learner

I had the great opportunity to attend a U learn breakout on "Digital Tools for knowing your learner".
To begin with the presenters introduced themselves and go us to do a task using an online app called "Answer Garden". The question that we had was "What are 3 words that come to mind when you hear the word assessment".
We as a group collaborated out thoughts and ideas using Answer garden. I was really amazed and very excited about this new app as this was the first time that I can come across it and for all of in to be able to use our own devices and collate our ideas together on this one page was amazing and very exciting. I had the mindset of a student: I felt really engaged as well as excited not only to share my ideas but also being able to see my idea pop up on the projected screen when I wrote my answer.  I was also very engaged in finding out what other teachers would put down.  This is a tool that I will most def. implement in my classroom as I can see that the children would be very engaged and very responsive.

Some of the Questions that also come up during this breakout were:

• What is my actual purpose here?-Why am I using these tools in my classroom. What is the reason behind it.
• Am I asking the right questions? How do I structure these questions so that I get the answers that I need:  Asking of rich key questions. 

We also went through a range of other app which I also found fascinating. One was using Kahoot! This app can be used not only on iPads and netbooks but also on phones which is just wonderful!

There are many purposes of this tool. You can use it for reading, writing, maths, inquiry and many ore. 

I have the great pleasure of using this in many forms in my classroom. 

In the first week back at school to have fun with the children as well as engage the children I did quiz with them. These were quiz based on learning as well as general knowledge questions and building relationships with the children after a 2 week break. 

I found that the children were very excited and engaged. They stimulated and had an adeline rush just because they knew that the timer was on and they had only 20seconds to answer a question. 

I found that in regards to my classroom climate it had a great team nature to it. The children worked well in their teams, they were all cheering, suing positive praise for the teams that got the correct answer. It was just a great atmosphere to be in seeing that the children were engaging and having fun with their learning as thats what learning is all about. Through participation and engagement is how we learn.

We also looked at using google forms and how this can be used to gather data as well as can be used for reading and writing.  This is a great tool I find even for Inquiry.

Below is an example of two types of forms that can be used to gather information/data. Google forms

Google Form Quiz - uLearn          Quiz- Maths
These forms can also be used for spelling.


One other App that the presenters talked about that REALLY took my fancy and just can't wait to implement in my classroom was Socrative tool. This app is very popular in schools not only in New Zealand by also around the world in regards to using is for writing. You can insert a picture prompt and students can work collaboratively and write about the picture prompt. You can print off the students work also to share with the class.


Im really looking forward to implementing more of these tools during Term 4. 

Together, we can ensure that all children will be able to achieve at their highest levels despite whatever traumatic circumstances they may have endured

Children come everyday to our classrooms carrying their Schools bags. But what we don't seem to realise as teachers is what kinds of excess baggage they also bring with them to school such as  experiences of trauma. Children have their own expectations and views and oppinions which are shaped by what they are exposed to at home and the community. Those experiences are what also shapes them and their views when they arrive at School.

I read an interesting article on helping Traumatised children learn and it came up with some of the behaviours that these children may show in the classroom and there were a few which stood out.


 Defiance
Children who enter the classroom in a state of low-level fear may refuse to respond to teachers either by trying to take control of their situation through actively defiant behaviour or, more passively and perhaps less consciously, by “freezing.” Either way, the child is not receptive or responsive to the teacher or the demands of the classroom. Children who actively try to take control may be more overt and deliberate in their unwillingness to cooperate. This can be particularly frustrating to teachers, since these children can appear to be in control of their behaviour.

 Withdrawal
Children who withdraw in the classroom cannot participate effectively. Unsurprisingly, these children rarely attract their teachers’ attention. Feelings of vulnerability may foster reluctance to engage in the classroom.

These are two behaviours that I have noticed. I have experienced defiance where the child has been non-compliant. Analyzing this senario now I have a better understanding of this situation. Some thoughts that come to my mind are that the child possibly wasn't allowed to do anything at home, and wasn't being listened to, or their needs neglected. So in terms of the classroom context, this is the only area/place where they possibly felt they had the most amount of control in their life.

"Traumatic experiences in childhood can diminish concentration, memory, and the organisational and language abilities children need to succeed in school" (Helping Traumatised children learn, http://www.traumasensitiveschools.org)


Scientists have found that children who have been subjected repeatedly to trauma suffer from other social, psychological, cognitive, and biological issues, including difficulty regulating their emotions, paying attention, and forming good relationships—all of which make it very difficult for a child to succeed in school


Today for our staff meeting we talked about Vulnerable Children's Act and how it applies to our School. We talked about procedures and processes and what we should do if a child in our class confides in us and lets us know that they have been abused. 

School is usually the one place that a child that has been going through abuse or traumatic experiences feels safe. So I feel as teachers it is our job to be able to know the child and recognise any patterns or trends that we notice and document these.  We can do this by asking open ended questions and asking statement questions such as who was where, what happened, when did it happen  and so forth. 

It is also important to make sure that the principal is notified about your concerns as well as other people such as SWIS, Health nurse, previous teacher as they may have also noticed patterns and trends and are able to add to the documentation. 

Protecting vulnerable children is everyone’s responsibility. Working together we can achieve our goal.

 

"We don't learn by doing, we learn by reflecting on what we've done"

       Day One: University workshop


Today at University we talked about reflecting on our Teaching and Inquiry process in Schools. We discussed our highs and Lows, what worked and what didn't work.
Some of the highs that we came across were:

• Accelerated teaching-Where a target group made accelerated progress within a certain amount of time. 
• Having a supportive teaching environment where the associate was supportive and helpful.
• Having built really good relationships and bonds with the children. 

Some of the lows that we talked about were:

• Some teachers found that they loss their joy of teaching due to being in the classroom full time and the pressure of a full time teacher and the workload. 
• Associate teacher did not want to know anything about University work and didn't show any interest to the Teaching as Inquiry process-Not very supportive. 
• Not much guidance and mentoring support. 

We also talked about student lead learning-Where students take more ownership in their planning and learning-Where the task is in the learning. 

Setting rich activities and tasks where children have more ownership of what they are doing. 

An example is : Reciprocal reading model-Creating a culture of learning-Kids have roles to play and teaching and modelling to the children how to do these roles. 

                                    

We also talked about how learners all learn in many different ways. 

DESIGN THINKING PROCESS

1. Being a very active listener 
2. Ability to probe: digging deeper and asking questions
3. Paraphrasing-Say or talk about your interpretation about something-Clarification...If what these people are trying to say?...
4. Ideas -Thinking right outside the box/circle about the way you might do things. Be creative in your thinking. Taking risks.  

TASK: Talk to someone about the inquiry that you went through with another person about what you did. Then someone will PROBE you and then interpret that. Ideating: If that is the situation lets think of possible way we can deal with this? what can we do differently....(becomes your future question)

FOCUS INQUIRY:

Data

Culture

knowing about the students. 

TEACHING INQUIRY

Pedagogy

Strategies

Research drawn on. 

LEARNING INQUIRY

Impact

Your impact on the achievement.

Elevator pitch: Saying the most powerful thing in the shortest amount of time. 

"Embrace the ideas that people both young and old are forming a lateral network arrangements to learn and change what they think and do"

Using learning Maps 

Student engagement

Student agency 

Being agentic: What would it look like? 

Student agency: Students reflecting-understanding what reflection is and know what  they are reflecting on....visible learning, setting goals. 

Student being Agenetic: Being able to talk about it, able to have that dialogue, student lead conversations, whanau conferences. Training children to be agentic.  They need to have a criteria, clarity of the learning so kids know success looks like. Students to talk about what they are going to d next, next steps. 

Self assessment: Diagnostic maths test online-Opt into the clinic for that level (google classroom)

What student ownership of learning is?

Self management

The more that you read the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go-Dr Seuss

Today the lead teacher of my syndicate came into observe me take a reading lesson with a group. Now, to be watched as everyone knows can be daunting at first, but when you look at it through difference lenses and a different perspective, this was a fantastic learning opportunity for me and also a time for me to shine!

I learnt a great deal from my feedback from my syndicate leader which was very informative.
It was honestly great to get positive feedback on my group teaching session.
I choose to do my reading lesson on my highest group in reading: Mustangs. Their focus for that day was: WALT: We are learning to locate and summarise ideas by skimming and scanning.

Here is an example if my lesson plan below:

Text: What is Sleep

Mustangs:

WALT: We are learning to  locate and summarise ideas by skimming and scanning

SC: I know I can do this by:

• Identifying key words that will help me with writing my summary. 

Before reading:

1. Go through the WALT and SC with the children.
2. Explain to the children what summarising is

Teacher shows children poster on Summarising.

A summary is a shortened version of a text that contains all the main points.

Summarising is an important skill that helps us when we are researching, gathering and presenting information.

Finding key words and phrases helps us to summarise the text.

Example:: My summary is that Cheetahs are the fastest land animals in  the world and that their bodies have made adaptations to help them to go fast.

During reading:

1. Get children to read through part of the text: Why do people need sleep.
2. Get children to write down key words about why people need sleep on a post it note
3. Get children to peer share their ideas.
4. Repeat with What happens during sleep.

After reading:

Go through what children have learn today? What is something new we learn today about sleep?

What is summarising?

Follow up Activity:

Mustangs are to use the keywords that they came up with to write up a summary about what is sleep. They can choose the DLO they want to do this on: Presentation, Google drawing.

Remind children that they are to use their own words when writing their summaries.

I really thought that my reading lesson went really well, though to be honest, time is an essence. So for future lessons I need to make sure that I keep an eye on time so that I am able to fit in other reading groups during a certain time frame. As teaching, this skill grows with experience and at times, we are so engrossed in the depth of teaching that I feel the best forms of teaching happen with time and in that moment.

Feedback from my observation:

• I like the way you exposed an expert example of the meaning of summarising.
• A very good example given to students to help develop their understanding of the skill of summarising.

T gives students highlighters and asks S to highlight key words in the text - first page. Doing this with a buddy

S highlighting text with a buddy.

T gives students post it notes - S are required to write key words they have highlighted on the post it note.

• Great way to start reading - highlighting with peers as this encourages talk and critical thinking to happen - encouraging learning from each other.
• Great to see students to report back to the group and sharing their thinking with their whole group.
• It’s great to have teacher driving some of the discussion during the reading lesson and encouraging students to join in with the discussion.
• A good learning task related to sleep and the learning focus of the lesson - summarising key ideas.

Well done Kaveeta for using your group data analysis to inform the planning of this reading group. I can now see strong links between your data analysis, the learning focuses in your planning and the content of your teaching.

The structure of your lesson was done really well with a mixture of Think, Pair, Share skills and buddy reading. Students were engaged with the text and with what they were reading during the lesson.

My next steps for future group reading sessions would be:

• Develop the SC with students - Ask them how they think the WALT should be achieved (this encourages student voice and gives students ownership of learning)
• Keep referring back to the SC during the lesson - check that students are using the skills they have identified @ the beginning of the lesson (use as a check list to reiterate the learning focus)-This step I have done with my instructional writing lessons, but I need to make sure that I also do this with my reading and mathematics groups as well.

Art is the journey of a free soul...

As a Senior Syndicate, in Term 2 we have been doing Syndicate Arts as a way of making crafts for our School Market Day in Term 3. The Senior Teachers chose to do a range of different Arts and Crafts. For my Crafts I chose to do Button Crafts. I know right, it doesn't sound exciting when you hear "Button crafts" but when done correctly, it is actually very fun and you end up with a great piece of Art work.  Below I have included a screen shot of my planning for the button crafts.

Firstly, to begin with the to motivate and inspire the children in my crafts group I showed them a You Tube video on different button art creations. The children were really mesmerised by the amazing creations that they saw.

Secondly, the children were then given an opportunity to plan their creations. They were to create an outline of their images on draft paper. Once they had done that, they could then draw the outline onto canvas and then choose buttons to create their masterpiece. This used problem solving because they had to think about the sizes they chose to fit certain areas of their images to create an effective piece of Art.

The students really engaged in the crafts and really enjoyed creating their pieces of craft. They were really proud of themselves on their finished products and so was I. Below I have included my lesson plan for my craft lesson. It is based on Learn, create, share cycle. The learn part is where the children learn a certain technique such as button craft. Create is when they use their creativity and create their pieces of button Art and Share is how they choose to share their work with others such as a video explaining the process of making a button art, share on their blogs etc.

Below I have included some photos of the children with their finished crafts. 

(Siale, Ida, Cerenity)

I believe Art and Crafts is an important part of children's learning and development. 

Creating art is a fine way for children to make choices and solve problems. Every step involves making a decisions: What colour to use, how to make a line, what size to make something. With every choice the object becomes more and more their own and children are able to take ownership of what they create using their imaginations. 

Everyone has an imagination. Art takes it a step further. Through art, children create something that, until that point, was only imagined. Thus, they create visual manifestations of abstract ideas.

Art is also good for children that find other curriculum areas difficult and are able to use Art as a form of expression. It is a way that children can express their ideas, feelings and solutions that they may not be able to express verbally or through writing. 

My next steps for myself, if I was to do crafts again, would be to make sure that I have enough equipment such as buttons and glue. As I found that even though I had bought a lot of resources that was not enough, so we had to improvise and we did picture collages which turned out really nice and the children enjoyed also. 

GTS: 4, 6, 1, 2