Teacher Inquiry Backwards Map 2020

Will comprehension increase if the opportunity to focus and notice

syllables and sounds are provided?

I want my students to see that learning used in one area can be transferred to another if I help them make links with vocabulary, instruction and strategy. 

How I changed my teaching practice was by increasing the time I spend on phonics and how I approached the teaching format.

I introduced a puppet that the students named 'Blippy', this assisted in the process of see, say, do. I built on the learners prior knowledge and increased teacher modelling - repeat back to me - check and using phrases to make connections with the students comprehension.

Spelling banks has been a fun way to increase the learners word knowledge and comprehension - the students get to write as many words as they know in a certain time, they get points if the words are correct as well as if they have sounded out the words and have some letters correct. This has become a peer competition game that they support and scaffold each other in.

From assessments I can see the shifts in both reading and spelling, this shows me that the focus of my Teacher Inquiry has been beneficial and with the planning and teaching changes I made are justified and shown in the data.  

Running records

Spelling assessment

I will continue to reflect on my teaching practices and teach authentic contexts that the students can connect with.

The biggest change in my practice is recognising when and where the opportunities for explicit teaching are within a lesson.

Bots PLD

This was the first time I had seen Bots and I was amazed how interactive the Bots can be.  The 'bee' Bots were controlled by the coding button on the Bot its self, the other Bot was coded on the ipad and was far more superior in what it could do with the coding.

       

The coding of the bee Bot at first seemed very simplistic but we were soon to be proven wrong - one wrong press of the arrow button to code the movements really threw it off kilter. 

 

The Literacy Place - Reading PD

 This reading PD was a whole school PD which covered all ages/years.

Reading over laps all curriculum areas, thus making it imperative that the learner understands what they are reading to increase their knowledge of the curriculum area we are working within.

Learners need to have the ability to read multiple types of texts and understand what those texts are conveying.  As a teacher I feel it is my duty to expose the learners to as many forms of text available to enable them.  Exposer to these texts can be covered in the three types of lessons as shown below left.  Exposer to all texts includes some resources that I previously had not classed as texts that are relevant to learners or explicit teaching.  Multiple texts that could be utilised are as below.

Scaffolding the learners to be confident in recognising and understanding words in multiple texts is crucial when supporting my learners to become independent on their journey to be  confident proficient readers.

Learners needs these steps to be effective readers and understanders. 

These are strategies that I use with my groups but implementing the visual cues will benefit the learners - this could be used on their iPads as a visual cue to refer to when reading

Shared reading is an opportunity to see the shifts in the students.  Once they have the structured tools to prompt them where to go to next they feel confident in making that move towards the next level when they are ready.

Using the comprehension strategies solidifies where each leaner is and where they need to go next.  Having the strategies visible it aides in sifting out the missing link as to why the student hasn't made a shift.

 

Maths PLD Workshop - Marie Hirst

A one to one lesson workshop with Marie was beneficial to see how important it is to have the learners doing the work.  For them to be hands on and being involved in the math gave them the ability to work out the math problem with tangible objects. 

The wording of the math sentence is crucial in making the connection to the learner.  One of the most interesting strategies Marie has shown me is to use post-its as a tool, using the word 'some' in the first instance helps the learner to think about the problem and not the numbers.

Another strategy is to use different coloured counters when working out a number sentence.  This is so the learner can identify the difference between the numbers in the sum. Writing the number sentence and the numbers under the counters gives the learners ownership of the outcome.

The Literacy Place - Reviewing and Celebrating Writing

 Reviewing and Celebrating Writing was a zoom PD presentation during Covid 19.

In my classroom I have always celebrated writing but during this PD it came apparent that there are more explicit ways of not only celebrating but reviewing writing in an explicit way.  

As the side below shows, reviewing our writing gives the student more of a chance to improve their writing by firstly going through their writing and making changes or adding more information before they share it with a peer and/or the teacher.

Using resources to checkmark where the learner is at with their learning is something that I will be using in my teaching.  Having a simplistic visual resource for the learners to use will be a benefit to them as they can monitor where they are at rather than having to come and ask what next after each activity.  Some of my favourite visual cues from the PD are below.

I think it is important for the learner to share their story to at group or class as below in the 'Sharing Circle' as it is giving their work more of a purpose.  Knowing that you are sharing your work gives the incentive to ensure that you have made sure you work makes sense, is interesting/exciting and keeps the other students engaged.

 

The Literacy Place Workshop - Retelling

During the Covid 19 lockdown I had the opportunity to do a 'Retelling Workshop' through zoom with The Literacy Place.  It was the first time I had done a PD over zoom and I was quite anxious about it.  It was in hindsight a great opportunity to talk with educators from all over New Zealand, where that would not have been possible in another setting. 

The workshop itself was very interesting and reinforced the ideas behind retelling a story.  The importance of orally retelling a story was solidified, where previously with time constraints I wouldn't utilise retelling as an important part of the learners writing lesson.  

Another aspect of retelling that I have introduced into my reading/writing plan is to get learners in work in pairs or groups and get each other to retell sections of the story that I have read to them.  Once they have done this either one person or the group stands in front of the class and retells the story, this way they are increasing not only their vocabulary but gives them the confidence to talk in front of an audience.

A few ideas of retelling that I will implement are the picture sequence and ice block sequencing.  I really like the idea of the short sharp story to retell with the ice block sticks.  It is something tactile that the younger learners can really get their hands on.

Math PD

Maths PD 2020 #1

We began our school year with a Maths professional development session run by Marie Hirst. It was a great way to begin our 2020 journey as we heard a shared message that helped us unpack what an effective balanced maths programme looked like.

My big takeaways from the day, apart from some awesome ideas to use in my programme were:

• Mathematical communication is using the language in context deepens understanding so need to provide opportunities for this to happen
• Arranging for learning
• Students learn best when they are mixed with students of different abilities
• Mixed ability problem solving + needs based ability workshops
• Needs based groups mean groups are not labelled
• Flexible grouping allows the focus to be on the learning goal that meets the needs of the students who need the information
• Have 'teams' not 'groups' for collaborative challenges
• Unpack 'team' roles one at a time to strengthen connections to what is expected of that role
• Teacher content knowledge is critical
• Equipment allows for visual connections but we need to be able to use this effectively

                                    
Jo Boaler

• Fixed mindset happens with ability grouping when students develop fixed ideas about their learning potential and affects ability to learn.
• Loose confidence.

John Hattie

• Tracking progress sets expectations to students that this is where you perform.
• Teachers tend to teach to that level which locks out components of the curriculum.

Christine Rubie-Davis

• When students have more advanced opportunities to learn they make more progress than they expected they could.