2016 Appraisal

I recently completed an appraisal for 2016. Please find attached link.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1__CfusRr9h6analE1ZIbk44ZwWLTEXViqmgEoDT7Sj4/edit

Graduation Ceremony

On Friday the 2nd of December I attended my NZEI graduation ceremony at the Novetel in Rotorua on moving to full registration as a teacher. Myself and around twenty others graduated at the ceremony.
Their was fantastic support from the staff of Lynmore too with a large amount of staff attending to give their support.

Culturally Responsive Practices

We recently hadMaria Tibble from Core Education talk with us about Culturally Responsive Practices, Cultural Identity and the role Ngati Whakaue and Te Rangihakahaka can have in supporting your teaching in 2017. She discussed the importance of Maori achieving success as Maori and our responsibilities as teachers to ensure this happens. I have also started to read Ka Hikitia Accelerating Success 2013-2017.

http://www.education.govt.nz/assets/Documents/Ministry/Strategies-and-policies/Ka-Hikitia/KaHikitiaAcceleratingSuccessEnglish.pdf

Unit Plan

As part of my role as curriculum leader of the Science RLE group we were also tasked to try and create a new planning template for the unit.
We first looked at creating templates within our own group then the leaders met with the Deputy Principal and Principal to discuss the ideas we came up with.
What was clear was that we had all came up with similar templates which truth be told were not too dissimilar to the templates we had been using previously.
Then as a leadership group we tried to think more outside the box to create  a more responsive template that could change as the inquiry from the children changed so that we weren't stuck going down one avenue.
I am yet to see the finished template but below are some of the core ideas that came from that brainstorm.

New Zealand Sustainability

I was fortunate enough to go on a four day science P.D course in Tauranga, which was excellent, I will discuss that in my next blog. The course is named after Sir. Paul Callaghan a New Zealand physicist. Sir. Paul passed away a few years ago but the course started with a clip from him based on the idea of sustainability in New Zealand. I have linked the clip below as I felt it asked so many questions with regards priorities within New Zealand education.

Reporting

With the end of Term 2 came mid year reporting and there has been a format change in Lynmore School. The PACT tool is the central tool in making OTJs. If you are unfamiliar with what PaCT is please allow me to explain.

The PaCT has been designed to help teachers make dependable judgments on students’ progress and achievement.
The PaCT is more than an online tool:

• ›  It supports the New Zealand Curriculum. It prompts teachers to notice what students know and can do across the breadth of mathematics, reading and writing. It helps teachers to understand the learning progressions set by the Curriculum and amplified by National Standards.
  
• ›  It supports moderation. It moderates individual teacher expectations through the frameworks and illustrations. It provides a common framework for teachers to discuss their judgment decisions with one another.
  
• ›  It also supports assessment for learning. The breakdown of mathematics, reading and writing into aspects gives greater clarity about what to notice when making observations of students, in learning conversations and through set tasks. 
  
  
  
  
  
  

PACT Reading

My Year 6 Team Leader and my BT mentor recently went on PD course on PACT reading. This year will be the first year at Lynmore that we will be using PACT for reading. Below our her notes from the seminar which gives clarity on reading and PACT.

Reading to learn - PACT Otonga
Presenter- Melanie Winthrop

Was does reading to learn look like?
How does this relate to the children we have in front of us everyday.

Reading to learn:
Making links to the reading processes and strategies years 3-6
Revisiting the literacy learning progressions - expectations for year 3-6
Reading to learn - with the curriculum learning areas
Exploring and making sense of the pact reading framework.

Students need to do more than just read (or write). They need to use their reading (and writing) to meet the demands of the curriculum. These demands are integral to many of the teaching and learning activities that support students in developing the key competencies as well as knowledge and ind skills in the essential learning areas.

Partner task- With a partner, discuss your responses to the follow questions.
Think of your class and all the reading they do in school day, including out of school.
At the end of year 6, what sort of readers do your students need to be in order for them to succeed at intermediate, high school and beyond.
How are you setting them up to succeed.

The discussion around the text is so important.

What do we know about readers entering year 4.
By now most students:
Have constrained skills pretty much under control
Can monitor their reading
Use some basic comprehension strategies’Have some knowledge of how basic text work
have built up sight vocabulary
Can evaluate straight forward information
Can identify the authors purpose
Are fluent readers

Literacy Acquisition:
Diagram in literacy progression.
Engagement in literacy activities.
Learning the code - decode, understand punctuation...
Making meaning - awareness of what you are doing
Thinking critically - evaluating, purpose, my response, what do I think?
These all work together at the same time - fluent readers do automatically.

Integrating sources of information - 
Diagram in literacy progression.
What children bring to the text is so important
Knowledge and experiences
Meaning
Language structure
Shapes and sounds

Partner task
Group 1- The literacy framework.
Group 2: Integrating sources of information

Group 1 task:
Learning the code is…
basic level- read and write.
More advance- build on basic skills, increase on vocal, more complex text structures, visual features/ diagrams.

Making meaning:
involves understanding the text are written for a range of purpose for audience

Thinking critically: 
considers different perspectives and the different intentions of the text.
Reflecting on them, finding rewards in being a reader… and writer.

What does all this mean when teaching reading?
Using a range of codes, understand who the writing if for, reading a range of more complex text to apply their skills.
Think and talk about the learning and how to apply the learning of new concepts.
Advance readers will automatically do all three together - make connections reading and writing. Deliberate acts- control of their knowledge. 
Prior knowledge, pull the text apart with discuss, word knowledge.

The literacy Context:
Effective literacy
The New Zealand Curriculum - is central.
Reading and writing standards
Learning through talk

By the end of year 4: 
locate, evaluate information and ideas (navigate, have read it and understood, vocabulary…)
Within text

By the end of year 5 and 6:
Locate evaluate, and integrate information and ideas
within and across a small range of text (pulling information from a range of texts and link it together across a small range of texts)

By the end of year 7 and 8:
Locate, evaluate, and synthesis information and ideas- (synthesis- a new idea is developed)
Within and across a range of text

Reading to learn for a curriculum purpose -
Reading to learn strategies- tools to achieve a purpose (many strategies working together).

Reading and writing as interactive tools:
This means that students read and write texts in ways that help them:
Organise their thinking
construct and create meaning
communicate information and ideas in print and electronic text, an
reveal their developing knowledge of content across the curriculum

Introduce the purpose for reading-
Why are we reading this…. introduce the text. Reading has a purpose … find out information or pleasure.
Need to tell the students about the purpose - why are they reading it and why its important… before the W.A.L.T.
Introduction important to the text.

Need to keep showing students how to keep using taught strategies.

By the end of year 6- they need to have a combination of strategies use them independently.

A note on …. comprehension strategies

Students need to be able to use some key comprehension strategies by the end of year 4, with some support, and be able to select from a repertoire of comprehension strategies by the end of year 6, mostly by themselves.
Specific strategies instruction needed
Teaching of strategies sports a wider reading/learning purpose.
By the end of year 6, student need to understand how strategies work in combination to meet reading purposes.

Very important to show and model your enjoyment around reading. Also model the purpose for reading.

High 5 strategies: Enhancing comprehension
Sue Dimick

Activating prior knowledge
Questioning
Analyzing text structure
Creating mental images
Summarising (quite highly skilled task)

Kids need to be ask question - not the teacher asking question.

Activating prior knowledge: High 5! #1
Make connections between what they know, what they have experienced…with what they are reading
Differentiate between back ground knowledge that is useful for their reading purpose, and background knowledge that isn’t useful?
Articulate how back ground knowledge helps them to enhance their understanding of what they are reading.
Need to be thinking in relation to the text.

High 5!#2: Questioning
When reading, can your students:
Ask ‘wondering’ questions?
ask question to clarify confusions?
Search for specific information that answers their question, think and search question, beyond the text questions.

Language of the learning areas:
Each learning area has its own language or languages. As students discover how to use them, they find they are able to think in different ways, access new areas of knowledge and see their world from new perspectives.
Using the proper language.
For each area , students need specific help from their teachers as they learn:
Specific language to that area.

Partner task- essence statements 
Health and PE
recipe reading
personal goal setting -fitness goals
understand specific exercise by understanding the exercise
Puberty- 
healthy community and environment - reading, talking about finding out about their own and others wellbeing. More opinion based - facts/opinions.
How they contribute to healthy communities - promoting supportive physical and emotional environments - role playing...
achievement awards - community task
Need to make connection more with what we are currently doing.

High 5!#3 Analysing text structure
Recognise common text purposes ( to narrate, to describe, to recount, to explain..etc..)
Recognise common text structures for fiction and non fiction text (sequential descriptive, persuasive, problem - solution, cause and effect. compare and contrast?0
Negotiate continuous and non-contiguous text.
Recognise different text types within a text?
Recognise and use specific language and visual features of the text?
Look for the text structure by noting key words, subheadings, etc. that reveal the text structure
Recognise and use signal or cue words
Follow and keep track of pronoun references
Build ideas within and across increasingly complex sentences
Articulate how using knowledge of text structure helps them to read and understand the text.

Purpose - what has the author done to achieve their purpose?

High 5! #4 Creating mental images
Its probably not what you think…
Visualise how the text is structures as they read.
Can they read like architects?
Can they see the ribs and bones of the text.

My reflection-
Find out more about passive and active voice.
How to ensure during my guided reading I promote student to ask questions - not just me as the teacher.
Not to rush through texts….. spend more time on them.
Sometimes start teaching/train students by using a lower level text - one they can easily read.

Afternoon session:
A closer look at the PaCt reading framework.

Measuring how students are using reading across the curriculum.
What it looks like when students are using their reading across the curriculum.

The following aspect comprise the reading framework
What are the knowledge and skills a reader needs?

Reading for literacy experience
Acquiring and using ideas & information in informational texts
Reading to organise ideas and information for reading
Making sense if get: reading critically
Making sense of text: vocabular
Making sense of text: text structure
Making sense of text: processing system

The components of an illustration
Annotation - The interpretation of the response and why it fits
Text and task
Student response- What the student does or says

Looked at Tevins response to the task.

Pre-reading task……. read to find out….

What is the place for fiction in reading to learn?

Empathy cultural values

High 5!#5
Summarising
Can you students:
Delete irrelevant details?
Combine similar ideas?
Condense the main ideas?
Connect major themes into concise statements (that capture the purpose.

Connected-
Fact or fiction?
Purpose for writing
text structures generally mirror how scientist communicate ideas and information
includes content relating to NOS
each year a different

Parent Pupil Discussions

The relationship between teacher, parent and child is very important and PPDs (Parent Pupil Discussions) act as a great way to link between home and school. The format of how I ran the 15 minute discussion was we would talk about the five key competencies so I could give the parent an overview of the child. I then discussed the core subjects of reading, writing and maths and shared some testing results. This was followed by an outline of their work in the area of afternoon topic and then any questions they might have.
For me it is very important to keep the conversation positive I want to focus on what the child can achieve and give some guidance as to what they need to do achieve to the best of their ability. The conversations that I had with the parents was overwhelmingly positive and that myself and the parents were on the same page with regard the child.

Teaching as Inquiry

I posted with regards setting myself a teaching inquiry at the start of the year http://teacherandrewdoyle.blogspot.co.nz/2016/02/goals.html after discussions with my tutor teacher, my year six team and a meeting with the Deputy Principal my inquiry has been set out for next term. The link below will outline the inquiry and the goals.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1mZNnaC-vofdi9p7CRM0Y7yX4ABgQo96wpZg_2RRw2t0/edit

Running Records

One of our recent professional development staff meetings was on running records with Wendy Johnstone. She was here to outline the importance of running records and the importance of consistency across the school when marking them.
It also it posed the question as to how effective Probe, which is the resource used at the senior end of the school, is as a running record tool. The idea of a seen text being a text that the student has already read in an instructional setting setting such as guided reading. Is this happening with the use of Probe at the senior end of the school?

Ministry of Education (2000)
Using Running Records: A resource for NZ classroom teachers

"The text used for a Running Record will usually be a 'seen' text- one that the student has previously read......The child's familiarity with the text will support the reading by providing prior knowledge of the content and the language, and so the reading is likely to be an example of the best processing that the student can do."

Google Docs

I am moving toward using Google docs across the classroom. My W.A.L.T.s and M.O.Ss on each subject and each group are going to be created using google docs and the class can actively co-create the success criteria and then they will be able to go back in and look back and add comments.
Today I also trialled an interactive lesson on Google docs with one of my reading groups. I had sent the group a document on energy to fill out. They were each given a colour to type in, each child had  an iPad and were all logged in and working on the same document at the same time.
I was not in the classroom I was working in the staffroom but I was watching them complete the document and I was able to pose questions and comments to them as they were typing. It was great from my perspective as I could see the work they were doing and how they were able to use the technology. It also felt even more interactive and engaging than if I had been in the room posing the questions to the children.
I talked to the children afterwards to get their opinions on it. They were positive in their feedback and super engaged.
With these live documents it really allows more of an ownership and engagement and I hope that it will become a feature of the class.

Questioning In the Classroom

As a teacher asking questions is what we do on a daily basis. The reasons we do this and the manner of the questions may differ. It is however essential that the child understands what is being asked of them.
Judith Thomas was presenting at our staff meeting on questioning in the classroom. She talked about four levels of questioning. The first level being based around more straight questioning. Who? What? When? Where? The level 2 being more the how? and why? The next two levels were about getting a deeper understanding of the topic more inference based answers and an understanding of the wider world.
For me personally I feel my choice and range of questioning is a strong point I encourage the children to access prior knowledge or use inference and most importantly I give them time to answer.

Goals

We emphasise the importance of goal setting to our students within a classroom context. We then measure and evaluate their progress and realign their goals accordingly. This goal setting is a vital aspect of a teachers practise too.
I feel sometimes that goal setting can be an internal conversation "I want to achieve this". I think it is important to externalise the goals that I have for the coming school year. I will use the SMART goal setting above to work toward my goal. Below I will list my primary goals for the year and then on further posts I will deconstruct each one using the above criteria

1. Achieve full teacher registration

2. Set out an inquiry based around the use of I.T in writing

3. Clarity in the classroom cornerstone of my teaching

These three goals are my starting point some will run the course of the year others may be achieved at earlier points.

Team

Even though teaching can be perceived as a very individual job, you alone are in your classroom front and centre to an audience of children everyday. The reality is you are a part of many teams, the class, wider community, wider staff and my Year 6 team.
The Year 6 team that I am is a vital part of how I progress. I am fortunate to have a very supportive positive team leader that is always willing to listen and give honest feedback. I have formed positive relationships with the other members of the team and feel comfortable to go in to any of my teams room to ask for advice or to share an opinion.
These kind of supportive relationships help to ease pressures and create a positive atmosphere that permeate throughout the wider school and your life outside of school.
I have been in many different work environments throughout my life, some positive and some negative and the difference a positive environment has on achievement in the workplace and happiness in and out of work is significant. So I feel lucky to be part of such an awesome team.

Interlead Self Appraisal

As part of my assessment I complete an online self assessment tool called Appraisal Connector. A series of questions are asked with multiple choice answers and I answer as to which one I feel most accurately reflects where I am.
It gives back a feedback form and from this the avenues for improvement are clearly marked. I have provide a link below to my feedback form.

https://appraisals.interlead.co.nz/report/18177

Tutor Teacher

I have been fortunate to have two excellent tutor teachers this school year. My first tutor teacher went on maternity leave in term two so I have had a different tutor teacher from week 8 Term 2 until the end of the school year.
I have had a very positive relationship with my two tutor teachers. I have been eager to listen to their ideas and I have been able to use them as soundboards too. The clear depth of their curriculum knowledge and classroom experience allows me to get succinct feedback and a clear action plan as to what I need to adapt in my classroom environment, lessons or planning.
Their feedback also reflects the positive things that are happening in my class and positive reinforcement definitely helps to build my confidence as a teacher, especially when I can be very self critical.
It has also been very encouraging for my tutor teacher to say that they have taken ideas from my lessons that they have implemented in their own programmes.
Below I have the observation notes from my tutor from Term 3.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Mq-ghxAsZaQ2dJRo8ZGqaFM3SX9tHt2jQdnCh_kg25s/pub

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xczPxnd6DTKaSLQ98CaJZ0daVMahJRtcg6W3YRChKIk/pub


https://docs.google.com/document/d/1_dgkva65KaB2wvleYT4PeV7YUPJEdFtWJDWf3AEgDcs/pub

Reading Observation Notes

Below are three documents that relate to the reading lesson observation that took place in Term 3. Following my reading lesson that was observed by Lorraine, Lorraine conferenced the pupils about their learning and their responses are noted below.  What was encouraging was the fact the students all acknowledged that they helped to decide what we were going to learn that day.
The next document contains the notes taken by Lorraine during the lesson.
 I was happy to see that the choice of resources chosen and the background information I gave was considered to be "excellent".
The final document is the rubric that reflects on where I sit and I was very happy to move to stage 4 on the rubric, the top stage on the rubric, on 4 of the six aspects and to be at stage 3 on the other two aspects.
 I also have a clear goal moving forward with regards to where I am going with co-creation of success criteria and W.A.L.Ts. This will remain my teaching inquiry moving forward.

Video Reading Lesson

Reading Lesson

In term two there was a whole school audit on how we teach and I along with every other teacher in the school was videoed for a reading lesson. I was videoed and then I reviewed my video and had a meeting with the person that videoed me, in my case the principal Lorraine Taylor. I then completed a rubric with Lorraine outlining where I thought my teaching sat.

That video and feedback form is linked here

Feedback form
http://teacherandrewdoyle.blogspot.co.nz/2015/06/blog-post_65.html

Lesson
http://teacherandrewdoyle.blogspot.co.nz/2015/06/blog-post_17.html

This process has been carried out again in Term 3 same principle but with the hope that some of the questions raised in the first session will be answered and my feedback rubric will have moved forward.
Watching ones self back on video is a very informative and analytical process and definitely allows for thorough self analysis. My lesson went well and the things that I had looked to implement namely co-creation of success criteria were present which was pleasing. The full video and feedback forms I will post in my next blog and you see the steps forward that I have made and the steps that I still need to make.

Teacher Inquiry/Success Criteria

My teaching inquiry over the last couple of months has been "I want the children in my class to help me co-construct success criteria. How can I achieve this and what do I see as the benefits? How can I then use this to get them to create their own WALTs?"
The co-creation of success criteria has become a feature of most of my lessons. I have found that the students are very capable of helping with co-construction of criteria. This gives them a greater understanding and ownership of their learning on the ground floor. I feel for me I have to have a clear vision of what success is in the lesson or else the lesson can lose focus.
The benefits for the students is that they are less passive and more active in their own learning goals and they can see if they are reaching the expectations that they set themselves.
The co-creation of WALTs is still a work in progress I feel that I need to know where I want to go in the next three, four lessons so that I can leave breadcrumbs for them to create WALTs and that is where my shift of focus will go to. I think this requires a clear vision in my planning and a clear understanding of what my students needs are. 

I have attached a link from John Hattie on learning intentions and success criteria.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGyvDvOegXE