Saturday 30 November 2013

Mixed Ability Grouping


Thousands of UK primary schools are locking their pupils into a cycle of disadvantage by separating them into ability groups, a major international study has warned.

theguardian.com/education

Common practice in NZ too!
Thanks to some timely Maths PD this year, I have been doing more work across the curriculum in mixed ability groups (not just maths).

The idea behind this is that if students are ability grouped their exposure to a range efficient strategies, wider vocal, models of effective learning are limited and therefore their outcomes are limited.

In reading we mix practising our own strategies and utilising whanau support to decode words in groups that include a diverse range of skills - often we open instructional groups to all reading level learners (and increasingly we are seeing that lower level readers join these groups and even are motivated to do the independent activities as well!)
In maths we spin a partner wheel for pair sharing and spend a lot of time explaining and listening to our partners in small teaching groups to increase exposure to successful (and even just different) strategies. Students are encouraged to try out these other strategies and reflect on their effectiveness.

Peers are a valuable tool for learning and this whole strategy has an endless array of bonus outcomes for example -  increased student talk (explanation, justification, empathy),

Teachers should not be the source of all info nor should they do the majority of the talking.

Friday 29 November 2013

Māori Cultural Lens Walkthrough

Sonya came through to do the walk through today. Specifically looking at evidence for aspects of Wananga, Whanaungatanga, Manaakitanga, Tangata Whenua and Ako. I was pretty happy with all the things she noticed in ten minutes - except "Uses Te Reo in the class and encourages learners to speak Te Reo if they want to" (and the corresponding Leanrer side) as I specifically remember when this occurred. I think she got into an in-depth conversation with SP and didn't hear this. Oh well - it's not like we're fluent!

This sheet is great as it helps me to self identify next steps e.g. we need more local tikanga as part of our classroom culture. How can I achieve this?

Thursday 21 November 2013

Modern Learning Environments (MLE)

Earlier this month I travelled to Melbourne for some  self-initiated Professional development in two areas

  • Equine Assisted Learning
  • Modern Learning Environments (MLEs)
This post is about the MLE part of my trip. I had time to visit two very different schools renowned for their MLEs.
Silverton Primary and another one that made so little positive impact on me I can't even remember the name.

Of the two Silverton primary seemed to have their pedagogy aligned with their practise.
They have been on the MLE road since the 90s with the introduction of a strong innovative leader.

Both schools had large teaching spaces that had up to 120 students of similar age and about four teachers.
Silverton had a long serving Principal with vision and direction for his learners. The school had an excellent learning atmosphere and showed a real celebration of their students. It seemed open minded and focused.

The other school seemed to be a traditional old school at heart that was embedded in a fear based system. The teacher talk I over heard was very dated - terms like punishment rather than consequences - that sort of thing.

While the idea of a Modern Learning Environment sounds like something everyone would want I am wondering about the practicality of doing it in a way that increases outcomes for all students.

One the one hand it seems that more students are provided for with a schedule of swapping between tasks that is reminiscent of the almost hyperactive multimedia world our students live in.... however on the other I am wondering about that connection with the teacher - that is so beneficial, especially to those at risk learners who need guidance and direction (where those other students will access curriculum concepts no matter what).

Pondering!

Wednesday 13 November 2013

Tātaiako

Wanted to make a note that I am enjoying spending time looking at the Tātaiako document and readings in our Change Team PD with Cat. Using this as a lens on my own practise has been enlightening and rewarding.

The dimension indicators have been really useful in identifying and refining my existing practise as well as  putting labels on the gaps (aka areas I can improve for the benefit of our learners).

My current favourite of the cultural competencies is Manaakitanga as it is all about showing integrity, sincerity and respect; the foundation of my teaching pedagogy! Aspirationally and inspirationally.

Although, to be fair, I think I do AKO best. Lots of teina/tuakana, reciprocal teaching and student initiated learning.


Saturday 2 November 2013

Digital Storytelling

http://web.tech4learning.com/blog-0/bid/101225/Using-Animation-and-Digital-Storytelling-to-Support-Common-Core

From the moment they wake up in the morning, animated cartoons and powerful digital stories surround our students. Animation and digital storytelling provide a myriad of opportunities for high-level performance tasks that engage students in Common Core Standards for English Language Arts.
Having students create content-rich and learning-focused animations and digital stories connects the work they do in the classroom to their media-rich world in which they live!
Will have this as an expectation next year - not as a goal. To get student engagement I think I will present them with an overview of a bunch of apps/programmes and a list of activities and get them to work in groups to match activities with apps/programmes they could use.


http://classtechtips.com/2013/08/23/publish-stories-on-ipads/
iPads are a great tool forcontent consumption but there are plenty of free iPad apps that help studentscreate content too!  Our Story for iPad lets users write their own stories using images saved on their iPad camera roll.  Add text and record your voice for each page before sharing your final product as a PDF or zip file.
Check out my Common Core aligned lesson plans for teaching ELA on iPads: story mapsfigurative languagefluencycurrent events, andmore!

http://classtechtips.com/2013/01/30/pic-collage-to-make-ipad-posters/
You might have used a app like this to create a scrapbook page of family pictures but it can be easily used in the classroom.  Pic Collage is a free app that allows users to take multiple images and place them on a blank canvas or within borders and add text and captions.  Students in my class use pictures that they’ve taken themselves or gathered from Google Image search.  They can save their “posters” to their Camera Roll and email their work.  These make great bulletin board items!
Check out my Common Core aligned lesson plan for using this app in your classroom!


http://www.slideshare.net/PerpetualRevision/making-a-digital-storytelling-project-in-imovie-11