Maths Program

I had a chat with a DP of a school and she turned out to be a numeracy enthusiast. She talked to me about how to use the nzmaths website for maths progressions and how to use numeracy games and the Figure it Out books to reinforce the learning. I am finding that this is working as the kids are holding onto information. Also, she mentioned to incorporate marking into my teaching time. I have found this beneficial as we can look at how they got it wrong and it reinforces the learning.

RTLB Writing Beginning of Term 3

Meet with Rachel to look at how the program was going and things that are working or not working. She observed a tumble and then we discussed what she saw. One thing to develop was the self managing of the spelling program and the noise level.

The guided group were writing a persuasive piece about whether they should do homework. I'm am really enjoying using the learning intentions that are glued in their books. This helps them to focus on the skills that they should be using in their writing.

One thing that I needed more support with was the conferencing. She sat with me to look at what I was doing and found that I was doing the right thing. The only thing I need to think about is not letting the chn get confused between the genre of writing and the learning intention.

On the whole, I feel really positive about my writing program and feel there has been some improvement in the chn writing.

Writing Program Reflection Term 2

Below is a list of things that you would have seen in my writing program and what you would see now.

Before:
-See one group for 45 mins. This included teaching points, conferencing and proof-reading and editing.
-Chn would follow tumble of activities that they had to do e.g word activity, publishing, handwriting and creative table.

Now:
-I see the whole class for 15 minutes working on something genre based or a skill the whole class needs e.g. features in a cameo or how to proof-read and edit.
-I see 2 groups for about 20 minutes each.
-One of those groups is a teaching group where we a re focusing on one skill. The chn have their learning intentions in their books and their success criteria.
-The other group is a conferencing sessions where each child should be able to tell me what their learning intention is and their success criteria.
-There are actives that the chn have to do that target other skills e.g. spelling, punctuation and word work etc.

I have found the latter to be successful as the kids know what they are focusing on and the have to prove that they know what they are focusing.

Writing Program- with RTLB

Currently we have organised a tumble program, I have started a spelling program and I have a topic for Cameo writing. Things that I need to have organised; spelling words from the essentials list, putting the new tumble up and get the new writing tumble organised.

I am really excited to begin the new tumble, I am able to target skills in which the chn can practice when they write individually. I have collaborated with Rachel to come up with suitable ideas for the tumble.

Observation at Stonefields: MLE

Stonefield's had a centralised learning/teaching area with different spaces to accommodate the children s learning. We witnessed a literacy tumble where 3 teachers were teaching workshops, teach aides working with children on specific tasks and the rest were working on a literacy activity. Some were working in groups and some were working individually. Resources were out in the open and were accessible to everybody and the children had a device or working at a computer. Children looked engaged and on task and the learning looked exciting and engaging. The children had the ability to personalise their literacy time e.g. at the beginning of the day the children were told what was happening for that day and they could opt into what they wanted to do, with the exception of if the teacher wanted to work with a group for that day. Then children began the day. Instead of stopping everyone's learning the teacher hit a xylophone and the children knew that it was their time to go to reading. Some kids were working on a book cover on the computer, some were working on a KWL chart about an animal, some were in a workshop learning about language features through song, some were learning about descriptive writing through a PS3 game and some others were working on other projects. In the junior school the centralised learning area was in a room with glass doors so that you could see out and the children had the ability to walk to different areas to suit their needs.

Observation of Teacher

I watched a reading program but the teacher was testing so I got to walk around and talk to the children about what they were doing etc. The children were on task and knew what to do. I liked how the tasks were differentiated and were open so the children could do things at their own level.

Next week I'm going to think about how I can incorporate more differentiation with my groups e.g. the top group was rating their story and why they gave it a specific rating.

Linking Pedagogy and Space: Dr. Kenn Fisher

This document outlines the linking between educational pedagogy and space. It states that a range of pedagogies will be used according to what they are learning provided given the right platform to do so. These pedagogies require specific spatial qualities to be effective. There are 5 core activities (or modes) that support the pedagogy; delivering, applying, creating, communicating and decision making.

The modes encourage a whole range of learning such as; integrated problem and resource based learning, creativity, projects on practical problems, collaboration, peer to peer learning and even individulaised learning. In the Nair article ‘The Classroom is Obsolete: It’s time for something new’ , he talks about a need for individualised learning as opposed to efficient learning, and with a school that is designed to accommodate this I believe that spatial awareness is important. 

There are spatial settings that accommodate the different modes and Kenn Fisher believes that a multi-modal learning setting should be collected and clustered to allow students to move around the different learning areas to fit their different tasks. The different learning settings are; individual settings, group settings, activity rich settings, informal learning settings and staff settings.

1.       Individual Setting:  is a home base for students when learning. Provides a sense of ownership and builds responsibility for own learning.

2.       Group Setting: provides a platform for collaborating, team teaching, team meetings, use of technology and practice ideas. Encourages creativity, brainstorming, the opportunity to present work and team work.

3.       Activity Setting:  provides a variety of work spaces such as work surfaces, work storage spaces, access to tools and technology and specialist areas. Provides an area for critical thinking and problem solving.

4.       Informal learning setting: can be outdoors, a common area, a small work space or some place that allows for gathering away from formal activities. Provides an area for socialising, individual study and reflecting.

5.       Staff Setting: A place for staff to access resources. Encourages team teaching, P.D, integrated planning and informal discussion.

This document prepared by Kenn Fisher lines up with the key competencies of our curriculum. The special settings allow for children to think, managing themselves, to relate to others, to use symbols, text and language and it allows for children to collaborate (participating and contributing).