TBCS - Craig - Teaching Maths 2020

I have spent time reflecting on last year and what my students were able to achieve in Maths...
While I was happy that all my students made good progress, I still felt that because the topics changed so quickly, that the basic foundational concepts were still not second nature and that there was hesitation and not confidence displayed when given a random problem to solve. While my emphasis was on learning the lessons and not just completing them, it was hard to keep on top of 20 students all doing different things at the same time. There was still a resistance to learning times tables and this also caused a more than acceptable reliance on times tables charts. There were also common concepts that were shown up when helping individuals and in the e-asttle testing. some of these were Rounding - Greater Than, Less Than - Place Values - Words associated with different operations like difference, sum, quotient, product etc...

This Year

I have decided to put more effort into group teaching and to use Maths Buddy more as a supplement.

I made up two Maths groups determined by the levels each student is working at on Maths Buddy.

I have made a list of topics to cover and a spreadsheet to record each student's progress.

I will pretest the group at the start of each topic to find out where each student is in their understanding. I will teach the topic and give time for practice. When a student feels capable and I am confident that they have proved their capability they can carry on with their Maths Buddy lessons. The remaining students will practice further with me until they are confident. My emphasis is knowing the concept and confidence and not in covering a certain number of topics. I am going to focus mainly in Number and go at the speed of the students. I want my students to enjoy Maths, and enjoyment comes from confidence.

I have also renewed my determination that every student will know their times tables as second nature by the end of the year. To do this we have a set of tables that we will focus on every week. They will be chanted and gone over every day and will be tested on Fridays to give weight and importance.

A welcome letter was sent to all families of my students to let them know what is new in the program this year and how they can help and monitor their child (ren)


12 - February
Because of what has come up in Maths Buddy very early on, I have decided to teach Rounding first.
I started this topic as a whole class rather than two groups as everyone seemed to be at the same place with the same struggles.

20 - February
Some students are happy that they understand rounding and are spending time on Maths Buddy. Their knowledge has been put to good use as they have easily passed the Rounding portion of their lessons.

Some students are still struggling to pick up the process being taught to circle - arrow - ask - write - zeros. I am persevering, believing that once they can master it, consecutive concepts and processes will become easier.

• Structuring learning tasks so that all ākonga experience a degree of success, but also ensuring that they are required to stretch themselves to fully succeed.

• Adapting lessons to ensure they address ākonga needs and interests as they arise.

• Holding high, but attainable academic expectations and sharing those expectations with ākonga and their whānau.

• Monitoring of ākonga learning during the implementation of a programme of learning, so that the programme can be adapted where needed to better achieve desired outcomes for ākonga.

• Using feedback from classroom observations to improve learning programmes.

Margaret- Deliberate Acts of Teaching - Writing

Writing in Room 4

Link to Standards

Design for Learning 

Design learning based on curriculum and pedagogical knowledge,
assessment information and an understanding of each learner’s strengths,
interests, needs, identities, languages and cultures.

Elaboration

• Select teaching approaches, resources, and learning and assessment activities based on a thorough knowledge of curriculum content, pedagogy, progressions in learning and the learners. 

Harness the rich capital that learners bring by providing culturally responsive and engaging contexts for learners.

One of our targets is to lift the achievement in Year 8 Writing.  As part of our strategy to do this, we are again running the ALL program with a small number of students in Room 4.  Alongside this, we also aim for daily journal writing where students choose to write about whatever they are interested in without worrying about spelling, punctuations, etc.  The aim is to have students choose at least 2 pieces of writing from their journal each term to edit and publish with support from the teacher.

The context for learning: Learning how to summarise using newspaper articles in preparation for writing our own articles related to our Japan topic.

Wednesday 12 February 2020
Mel/ALL group:  Mel took a group of 4 out including our Year 8 student to discuss the activity of reading the news article/highlighting main words in each paragraph and then summarising orally.
Back as a whole class we then read through the article altogether.  We highlighted the main words in the first two paragraphs together as a class.  The class was then asked to read through the next paragraphs in their groups and record the words. Mel worked with the ALL group for 10 minutes while I worked with others needing support.  When Mel left we moved that needed support together and read through paragraphs one at a time.  Students had to come up with 20 words to summarise the article. We finished by going around the groups sharing what we thought the article was about.

What worked well?  The ALL students showed a good understanding of what was expected with some needing support to stay on task. 2 manages to do this independently 3 still needing support.

Next Steps:  We will do another article next time again scaffolded before letting students complete independently.  More time to discuss unknown words to develop comprehension.  Review who needs to be in the group as 2  seemed very capable but will try them out on a few different activities first.

Wednesday 26 February 2020
After looking at who actually needs to go out with Mel we chose our 4 who need that extra support.  Today we began our Get NZ writing topic which was writing a poem of our naughtiest moment.  The discussion time with Mel beforehand meant that the group came in ready to start immediately after our introduction.  They had their idea.  I did get them to write out the questions to answer which took a lot longer than I had hoped so perhaps for this group have the questions printed up to simply answer.  Some had lots to say verbally but did not get much written down.  Could we record their ideas for some of them and they write out the final copy just to get ideas started.

Links to Standards

• How am I planning my learning programmes and selecting appropriate teaching strategies to best meet the needs of my ākonga?  I think about what skills are needed for the end product eg a newspaper report advertisiing Japan and structure each lesson around this skill unitl they can do this independently
• How can I improve my pedagogical content knowledge in areas where my ākonga struggle to master new skills or knowledge?
• How can my knowledge of human development, especially cognitive and social development, inform my planning and teaching?
• Do I effectively analyse and use assessment data to inform my teaching and planning?
• Do my own and the school’s systems generate the formal and informal assessment information that I need to plan for and effectively support my ākonga? 
• How can I use the schoolwide assessment data effectively to inform my practice?
• What other formal and informal sources of data could I be using?
• How do I know that my ākonga are progressing?

Margaret - Maori Language Program 2020- Deliberate Acts of Teaching

2020 Maori Language Program

Links to Standards

Te Tiriti o Waitangi Partnership 

Demonstrate commitment to tangata whenuatanga and
Te Tiriti o Waitangi partnership in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Elaboration

• Practise and develop the use of te reo and tikanga Māori.

Questions I might ask myself?/Next Steps

• Have I actively sought support and guidance to expand and build on my understanding?
• Have seeked support from our Maori Resource Teacher at Parklands - Tania Corbett and Sean Delany (Kapa Haka Teacher and Parent within the school)
• Do I practise and develop my use of te reo Māori, and incorporate this into my teaching?
• I am taking an online course in the evenings to develop my own language skills - Te Kakano
• What are the educational aspirations of my Māori ākonga?
• Will be meeting with families to discuss this in Term 1
• How do I plan to further develop these aspirations?
• From meeting put into place actions discussed where practical and continue to feedback to families.
• What efforts have I made to engage with the local iwi and members of the local Maori community, and involve myself in community events?
• Discussions/conversations with parents, resource teachers, attending local marae events - Kapa Haka, Mau rakau where students are involved.

I have consulted with Sean Delany and Tania Corbett about the most suitable language programs
available.  We have decided on Ka Mau te Wehi which is available in the school and has a structure that is easy to follow and meets the curriculum requirements.

The plan is to try this out for term 1 then review.  I also plan to meet up with families to get there ideas.  Tania Corbett is coming in for 4 weeks to offer support as I begin teaching language.
See Plan below.

Term 1 2020

Integrated Maori Language Program

Room 1and 3 - Year 0-5

Frequency:   Room 1 :1 full day a fortnight

        Room 3 : 15 minutes once a week plus 1 full day a fortnight.

Marae visit as whole school

Tiriti o Waitangi - The Treehouse Treaty

Waiata - Tena Koutou/Greeting song. Revisit known Kapa Haka, Christian Waiata

Nga ra o te wiki/Days of the week

Pepeha - from junior journal.  What is a pepeha. Learning our pepeha.

Stories in Maori along with translations - from resource room

Weekly bible verse - translating using the Maori Bible main words from our verse related to our character trait - courage

Our Amazing Bodies Unit

Waiata around our body from Hei Waiata

Vocabulary related to our bodies 

Developing Resiliency Unit

Use Ka Mau Te Wehi - to ask how you are and respond using different emotions.

Room 4 - Years 6/7/8

Frequency:  Two days a week

 -Marae visit as whole school

- Waiata - Tena Koutou/Greeting song.  Revisit known Kapa Haka, Christian waiata, karakia, whakatauki, preparing waiata for Woodlands visits. 

- Weekly memory verse - translating from the Maori Bible the main words to share with the school - related to our character trait courage.

- Devotions - carving a courage rod

Language

Unit plans from Ka Mau Te Wehi.

If students are progressing well in term 2 begin Toku Reo program

Health/Art

Model of Hauora/Health - Whare

Class activity making our own whare 

- design a class/individual kowhaiwhai for each physical, spiritual, emotional, mental health using patterns in nature.

- research our pepeha and practice speaking

- All About Me interview from class buddy

- What are my beliefs/foundation

Science

Researching Matariki - making links to similarities/differences to Japanese New Year

Cooking - Japanese/Maori foods

Olympics - Japan

Looking at similarities to NZ European/Maori culture and Japan

NZ Olympians

Possible plans for the rest of 2020

Linked to Abel Tasman Tramp in November

History of the local area - Motueka/Abel Tasman - Who can help with this?

Maori Fishing Technology - amazing looking program run through NZ Marine Studies.  Survival game at Marahau Outdoor Education Camp - firelighting, net and hook making etc.  There is a cost involved??

Kapa Haka Term 3 and 4

(AREAS NEEDING SUPPORT IN)

Resources

TKI - Hei Waiata

https://tereomaori.tki.org.nz/Reo-Maori-resources/Hei-Waiata

Toku Reo program for seniors

https://resources.tewhanake.maori.nz/te-kakano.html

Ka Mau te Wehi - videos and unit plans

https://tereomaori.tki.org.nz/Reo-Maori-resources/Ka-Mau-te-Wehi/Introduction-to-the-units


Links to Standards

Deliberate Acts of Teaching
12/2/20
First Ka Mau Te Wehi with Room 4
Discussed with the class why we are learning Te Reo Maori - It is part of our culture and part of our agreement in The Tiriti O Waitangi to keep the language alive.
Began learning what macrons were and how to use them.
Watched video with today's phrases - Ata Marie, Haere Mai kei te kai.
Students wrote these  down to help them remember - seeing, hearing, doing, writing
Students each had a go at welcoming their classmates to breakfast before sitting down to a breakfast of pancakes.  I said a karakia which I am hoping the students will learn and be able to say also.

Next steps: Review what we have learned today - saying aloud by memory, working on pronunciation and being able to write fluently -  print self and peer assessment sheets for students at the end of each unit so they can see their progress.

26 February 2020
Our final lesson in unit 1 today.  We first reviewed all the phrases we had learned using our books and our memory.  The task was to create a play using all the phrases.  Our group of year 6 boys needed a little more support with this.  Students were made aware of the peer assessment looking at our memory, pronunciation and writing of the phrases learned. Students were very enthusiastic and most were able to say their plays by memory.  Most of the peer assessment showed memory and writing were areas they would like to improve on.  They all now have their indivual goals to work on from this activity.

Next Step:  Continue to unit 2.  Continue use of waiata to learn phrases.  Have paper copies for individuals when copying phrases as some seem to struggle copying from the board.

16 March 2020
Room 3
Taught new songs with actions related to the body as this is what Craigs topic currently is.  Studewnts glued new phrases into their books focusing on asking where we come from.  Role modelling and asking whole class this question to show pronunciation.  Using the language repetively worked well with this group as some do not read so beginng to say from memory.

Next steps:  Continue practising songs - the students responded well to these.  More role plays to reinforce langauge - videoing also so students can hear themselves.

TBCS - Reflections on PLD with Rob - Judy-Anne

Rob has asked us to look over our blogs related to our PLD and reflect on what we have implemented and what changed in our classroom or in ourselves.

Without looking I know that one change we had in the classroom was ensuring that children were showing their work on the big screen as often as possible. (This let others see what they were doing so they could get help if necesssary or they could help others by showing what they were currently doing.) Once the screens were changed we had considerable difficulty getting things onto the screen so this stopped. I hope we have casting to the new screen under control a bit more so we can restart this practice.

I think I have a better understanding of my strengths as well as the strengths of others on our team and therefore how best to work with our strengths, as well as understand our weaknesses a bit more. Mel is always a great sounding board for me so I can check in with her to see if I am on the right track.

Right- to the blog.

About now I am wishing that I had a different strength set and hadn't written so many blog posts! Or at least that I had labelled them differently so the connection to PLD with Rob would have been more obvious.
Found one on Strength Finders- "For me it is the knowledge acquisition and the process rather than the end product which is important."
strengths finders
Obviously this can be a bit of a problem when others want the end product!
Talking with Rob at the end of last year helped me realise that I haven't necessarily been acting as an official part of the management team, and I need to look at how I develop both myself and others in the team in a better way. Without pushing beyond our collective capacity we do need to do more research on effective teaching and keeping updated with nationwide initiatives eg digital technologies curriculum. In trying not to overwhelm our new staff members there is too much we haven't actually showed them of our current resources for instance.
I have always tried to look after the wellbeing of our staff, but hopefully now I am actually able to look after their wellbeing in a way that is effective for them, rather than just doing what would be effective for me.

I see I looked into learner/student agency quite a bit when we started this whole process. I always felt that my children get a good chance to have theri say in the classroom. We do lots of voting and have begun our Learning Through Play journey so there is lots of free choice for them.
I need to ensure I keep our school work about learner agency in my planning folder and / or on the wall so I actually refer to it!



Undertaking PLD and further professional reading.

• Appropriate and professional communication with colleagues, 
• Establishing collegial relations by participating with colleagues in staff activities, and taking an interest in what others are doing through positive professional interactions.
• Participating fully in school/syndicate/faculty/department meetings and be an active member of the team. Share ideas with others.
• Participation in professional development (PLD), both in school and through outside agencies. Working with colleagues to enact the new learning. 

TBCS - Duh Moment - Judy -Anne

I had a bit of a duh moment driving over to school this morning.
Steve and I had been talking about K yesterday in a discussion about why some of our children had moved and some had not. I mentioned a comment I had put in his report about his perfectionism getting in the way, and his ability being higher than his confidence. I had a similar discussion with Mel as she works with him too, and has noticed the same thing.
So my duh moment was thinking about similar children I have taught, J from here and a child years ago at Victory. One of the strategies we used then was to set a timer during writing time. When they got stuck on a word they had a set amount of time ( generally a minute) to make their best attempt at the word then they had to move on.
Time to try this with K!

Reflection:
Sometimes we just forget about things we used to do.
One of the advantages of being in a small school is that we talk with each other a lot, and everybody tends to know about all the children, not just the ones in their own class. It means there are lots of brains trying to come up with solutions.

Next steps:
Set the timer for K when he gets stuck on a word during writing
Continue to work on adding  sounds and words to his kete so his bank of known words continues to grow.



Discussing my practice with colleagues and being open to new ideas.- or maybe retutning to old ones!

TBCS - Craig - Programme Changes 2020

I consulted with my class at the end last year about how the year had gone? What did they like, what did they dislike, and If they would change anything, what would it be?
one overwhelming thing that came forward was the desire to learn more Science. The year fives who were moving up to Room 4 also asked if it could be done when they will be in my room. This happens when MOTEC is on for the Year 7&8s. The class enjoyed the little research I had allowed them to do and wanted to do more. They wanted to range of things we learned to increase and to do more art...


New Year's Resolutions are all the rage at the beginning of the year and no less so as a teacher of a class of young people. We always look at what we do and deliberate over how we can do what we do better. We are of nature never satisfied with what we have done in the past and dream of the effect we will have on our next group of student's progress and desire to continue learning.

One thing I heard over the holidays which I thought was memorable was about new year's resolutions. The person said that most resolutions are wishes. Willpower is enough to get you started, but you need to form habits to continue and to make real change.

In my class this year, I want to change. I want to do better then last year. I want my students to learn more about God's wonderful creation and about how amazingly they have been made. I want them to marvel more at God's power, majesty, and creativeness. I want them to know individually how much God loves them and that they can have a personal relationship with him.

Over the last couple of years, I have made a priority of Bible reading and prayer and encouraged the learning of memory verses that I have chosen to help them. This has gone well and the students have begun to understand God's Word in a deeper way and I want to continue this and go a step further.

This Year

The way to make habits in a classroom is to change the class programme and intentionally give time for subjects that need including and to change the way some things are taught to accomplish the best results.

What I plan to change or include:

• Teach Math in groups so I know each student has the foundations necessary and include Maths Buddy as a secondary teaching tool.

• Teach Science as a subject to increase the student's wonder and knowledge of God and the world around them. 

• Teach Geography as a subject so the students are more aware of the greater world and people groups around them and give them the skills to read and interpret maps.

• Programme time for students to research topics of their choice and interest giving them skills to research, skills to become discerning about what they read, and the desire to continue learning wherever they are.

• Allow time for students to record what they have learned and develop the oral skills and confidence to report back to the class in an interesting manner what they have learned. This will, in turn, allow the further use of digital skills in the form of Powerpoint presentations movies, etc.

Have I bitten off more than I can chew?

Time will tell!

To have Student Agency, the students need to be confident in the basics, excited and enthused about their learning and realise that the more they learn, the more they have to learn. If I can be the spark in this, I will have done my job.

I will report back on each change and reflect on how each is going.

Learning focused culture

• Providing opportunities for ākonga engagement in co-operative learning, and reciprocal teaching. 

Design for Learning

• Adapting lessons to ensure they address ākonga needs and interests as they arise.
• Helping ākonga appreciate the value or importance of what they are learning.
• Providing opportunities for co-operative learning, peer tutoring, reciprocal teaching and inquiry learning to occur.

Teaching

• Undertaking a detailed evaluation of learning programmes and their impact on all ākonga, that takes into account ākonga feedback.

TBCS- Word of the Year - Judy-Anne

When I first started at TBCS Lyn used to get us to choose a word for ourselves for the year. It would be interesting to go back and see if I could find some historical ones.

This year I have chosen the word Capacity. Yesterday I was thinking that I should choose a more uplifting word as well but I think this will be sufficient. Our capacity directly affects our well being and the sustainability of what we can manage to do so it’s a useful start.

Reflection:
Why Capacity?
Recently Steve and I met with Rob from Learning architects. He talked about the capacity of our team.  Obviously a smaller team means a smaller capacity, plus each member has a different capacity. It is important that we’ve don’t exceed the capacity of our team. We need to be wise about what we take on. The challenge is to know how much is too much for each member of the team I guess.

Then Daryl commented that I have a large capacity, because I put my hands up for lots off jobs at church. I did say that was related to my family situation because I don’t have as many calls on my time as someone who has young children or a partner. I also commented that my capacity is decreasing.

When two unrelated people mention the same word in connection with you it is worth listening!

I have been finding that I have a lot more ability to make plans than to carry them out!

One way capacity gets decreased is by negativity. We have taken some hits about our performance and  abilities over the last year  so that’s takes a bit of recovering from.
As I get older I am feeling more tired so also have less physical capacity.

I am hoping that Nick coming in to increase Teacher Capabvility is going to be within our capacity!

Definition of capacity:
Your capacity for something is your ability to do it, or the amount of it that you are able to do.

1 (noun)  in the sense of ability

Definition

the ability to do something

Our capacity for giving care, love and attention is limited.

Synonyms

ability 

power 

strength 

facility 

gift 

intelligence 

efficiency 

genius 

faculty 

capability 

forte 

readiness 

aptitude 

aptness 

competence or competency

Next steps:
Talks to Nic at Dovedale. How do they manage with just two of  them?
Improve health- increase fruit, vegetable  and water intake and exercise.
Learn more about everyones strengths and therefore what indicators they may demonstrate to indicate they are being overloaded.

•  Engaging in regular professional communication as appropriate. 
• Participation in professional development (PLD), both in school and through outside agencies. Working with colleagues to enact the new learning. 
• Actively listening to what is being said by others and reflecting thoughtfully on information shared. 

TBCS - Craig - Deliberate Acts of Teaching - Maths

Teaching Maths

Maths is one subject I love to teach. I have seen such pleasing progress in all my students. Most of my students are happy to do their Math lessons, and some will even choose to do it at break times or when they have finished other work. I have had a multi-faceted approach to teaching Maths this year.
This year, I have had students working at all the Grade levels from Year 1 - Year 7


My deliberate acts of teaching have included...

• Testing each student at the beginning of the year to access where they are.
• Each student is placed at the appropriate level for their skills in the Maths Buddy Programme that the School Uses. (Please see my Blogg on Maths Buddy)
• Monitor how each student is doing by roaming the room constantly and encouraging and giving help where needed.
• Monitoring each student through my laptop after hours to identify students who need particular help or groups of students who need help in a particular area and writing them in my weekly planning folder.
• At the beginning of most lessons, students who needed extra help are brought down to a table so I can help them as individuals or in groups as required. They will go back to their individual desks once they are confident and have passed the lesson they were stuck on.
• Setting a minimum achievement rate of 80% or more in any given lesson before allowing a student to move on.
• Year 6 students are to complete a Diagnostic test at the end of each section to ensure all lessons have been learned. If gaps are identified in their learning, they are required to redo those identified lessons again to ensure they are confident before they move on.
• The emphasis I encourage is not on completing a certain about of work or working at a certain speed, but on learning the concepts and being able to confidently use them, especially in Problem Solving situations. 
• I encourage students to redo lessons, even if they have passed them at 80% if they are not completely confident in themselves.
• I place an emphasis on learning times tables which we start every day with.
• I get the students to do warm-up activities of times tables before they go on with their lessons.
• If there are particular lessons that the whole class needs to learn, I will gather the whole class around the board and we will go over them together. These have included... 

                      -  Understanding mathematical words like addends and sums, minuends, subtrahends,                              and differences, etc.
                      -  Greater than and less than
                      -  Rounding
                      -  Telling the time.
                      -  And other issues identified in daily classwork or testing such as e-asttle.

• I try to know where each student is at, and plot their progress on an XL spreadsheet to help me have an overview of the whole class.

Next Steps

Place a bigger emphasis on learning Time Tables and add a Times Tables test at the end of each week to keep the spotlight on our need to know them by rote.

Be more forthright with the expectation that the lessons need to be learned and not just passed. This will include encouraging the students to use a star chart to indicate how confident they are at the end of every lesson, so they can revisit or redo lessons that may have been passed but not confidently grasped.

Make better use of the e-asttle tests that the class sits to identify areas of weakness and get more group work established based on what is identified at the time.

Standard 6
Teach in ways that ensure all learners are making sufficient progress, and monitor the extent and pace of learning, focusing on equity and excellence for all.

Standard 5
Select teaching approaches, resources, and learning and assessment activities based on a thorough knowledge of curriculum content, pedagogy, progressions in learning and the learners.

Standard 4
Manage learning setting to ensure access to learning for all and to maximise learner's physical, social, cultural, and emotional safety.