Kāhui Ako ki Orewa

Friday, 2 August 2019

Rāmere, te 2 o Hereturikōkā, 2019

In this week’s update:

1. Ngaio pukapuka kōrero/ Professional Development: Digital Curriculum

2. Rōpū Tuhituhi / Writing Group: Rethinking Success Criteria

3. Rōpū Te Reo Me Tikanga Māori: Kupu you already know

4. Rōpū Taunaki Ako/ Learning Support Group: Assisting students

5. Rōpū Pāngarau/ Maths Group: Maths programme at Dairy Flat School

6. Pānui ngaio/ Professional Reading: Teaching as Inquiry

7. Podcast number 5: Students creating podcasts. And Project Based Learning

1. Ngaio pukapuka kōrero/ Professional Development

Orewa Primary are hosting a Kia Takatū ā-Matihiko (the MoE’s National Digital Readiness programme) meetup on September 3rd 2019.

“Brand new to the digital technology curriculum content, not sure where to start? Join us for a fun-filled, hands on session to look at practical ideas to get you started. During this session we will look at both device based and unplugged activities, resources and ideas to implement readily with your students.” Registration details:- Link here

Te wiki o te reo Māori PD: See details below:

2. Rōpū Tuhituhi / Writing Focus Group

Our focus for our Across Schools moderation has been set for week 8 of Term 3. Aspects for moderation: Text type – Information Report

• Using writing to think and organise for learning
• Creating texts to communicate current knowledge and understanding
• Writing meaningful text: vocabulary knowledge

Please send your writing samples to sblackburn@wainui.school.nz by Monday 26th August, week 6.

Here is an alternative to listed ‘success criteria’ for writing, which we call ‘boxed’ or ‘expanding success criteria.’ It is very easy to adopt, and teachers have been finding that it can transform how writing is talked about and approached in the classroom, with an immediate impact on the quality of what pupils are producing. Follow the link to a blog by James Durran on Re-thinking ‘success criteria’: a simple device to support pupils’ writing

3. Rōpū Te Reo Me Tikanga Māori

Māori Language Week

                                                 Monday 9 – Sunday 15 September

‘He mauri te reo Māori nō Aotearoa māu, mā tātou katoa’

‘Make te reo Māori an essential part of New Zealand for you, for us all’

In week 8 of this term, Te Wiki o te Reo Māori is being celebrated up and down Aotearoa. Over the coming weeks, we will be adding ways you can join the celebrations in your classroom and kura. The link above will take you to the official website where resources can be found to upsize your reo.

 

 

Top tip for normalising te reo Māori!: Normalise kupu/ words you already know

One really easy way to normalise te reo in our kura is to start by using the kupu we already know. Words such as hui, kai, kōrero are commonly known by most people these days and by simply using them rather than defaulting to English we make a huge impact towards transformative change with very little effort.

Some examples might be:

“Come to my table for a hui”

“I think we need to have a kōrero”

“Go and fetch you kai”

At first, it may feel a little cheesy but the more you do it, the more comfortable you will feel.

Hui

Noun – gathering, meeting, assembly, seminar, conference.

Verb – to gather, congregate, assemble, meet.

Kōrero

Verb – to tell, say, speak, read, talk, address,

Noun – speech, narrative, story, news, account, discussion, conversation, discourse, statement, information

Kai

Verb – to eat, consume, feed (oneself), partake, devour

Noun – food, meal

4. Rōpū Taunaki Ako/ Learning Support Group

This is the final section of four major areas in which we can assist our learners.

So far, we have examined, Adapt, Adopt and Modify. This week we look at how we can Assist our students in practical ways. Remember UDL – any strategies (design) we use can assist other students naturally.

Classroom layout can hinder access to resources, work stations, smooth movement, feeling of belonging, interaction and collaboration. These can be physical barriers and/ or emotional barriers.

• Provide clear physical pathways, spaces to interact and move around
• Resources at accessible heights
• Assigning a peer tutor/ buddy can help a student to interact, contribute and record their ideas in a collaborative manner. This enables participation and inclusion as well as a sense of purpose.
• Technology can play a big role in assistance
  • take photos of learning/ progress,
  • record work in video or images
  • showing videos to demonstrate and repeat processes
  • speak text out
  • record answers
  • share work and contribute to shared documents
  • apps which provide immediate response
  • storage of work, build portfolios to show success rather than grades which can degrade
• Students can use the microphone key to voice record their responses rather than struggle with typing/ writing.
• Use highlight and speak text functions on device. Text can be read out to students – accent, speed, volume, pace can all be adjusted to suit the learner.

5. Rōpū Pāngarau/ Maths Group

We began our first meeting with Fran Earwaker leading us through a discussion on the maths programme at Dairy Flat School. She discussed the Student Profile Learning Progressions and this led to an exploration of the Basic Facts Teaching Coverage that is required. We also had a look at the work of Marie Hirst, in particular at the Basic Facts Diagnostic Tests. Marie Hirst makes the valid point: “Testing basic fact knowledge is always problematic as we want to know whether these facts are known by instant recall rather than by working them out. Hence timing is always an issue.” Fran led a rich and rewarding discussion about maths in our kāhui ako.

6. Pānui ngaio/ Professional Reading

Without a shared understanding of the role of the teacher and how to leverage the powerful tool that is Teacher Inquiry to create desired learning experiences, you will solely rely on the models of teaching you have always used, despite the resources at your fingertips or those of your students.

Creating an environment where learners are empowered to take risks in pursuit of learning and growth rather than perfection is foundational to shifting educational practices. This statement is often spoken in relation to student learning. I would also challenge you to think of the learning of teachers in your school in this way.

Tabitha Leonard

If you would like to read more on the idea of teaching as inquiry, here is a link to Tabitha Leonard’s website where she examines TAI more closely.

7. Podcast number 5

• Interested in getting students to create podcasts? For primary schoolers, this website might offer some ideas. And for secondary schoolers, this article might be of benefit to you.

We still need direct instruction within PBL. According to John Hattie’s research, inquiry-based learning had only a .31 effect size on student learning. However, Hattie clarified that inquiry is still vital for learning. Inquiry-based and problem-based learning are ineffective in learning surface-level information. However, they are highly effective in learning deep information. Hattie argues that inquiry should occur after students have gained prior knowledge.

John Spencer

•  In this link, John Spencer includes a number of interesting podcasts about his research into project based learning, which also includes inquiry-based learning.

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