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ULearn 2014- Modern Learning environment

This years focus is the modern learning environment.  An exciting time for me as we are preparing for team teaching next year.  I am looking forward to the ideas that are about to be shared and understanding I can share with my team mate.  The first key note is about go start. I will blog notes with a brief reflection after each session.  The one thing I will take from this.  Here we go!

WOW WOW WOW! MLE !! What a step

We are right in the thick of things now!  Over the past 5 weeks we have visited five different schools.  Heard lots of different philosophies and school visions.  Over the visits we have seen great spaces with little thought around what MLE means and we have seen amazing MLE in action with thoughts and ideas behind it.

Throughout this journey which has taking 18months to change my own practise to get to where I am today!  So it is time for a quick run down on what I have done!

Professional readings!!!!! So many it is not funny.  Child centred learning and self regulation.  All last year I knew the definition of self regulation but had no idea where to start.  So this week I have introduced just knowledge goals for my students.  Students used their knowledge testing to define their own goals.  Here is an example of a goal sheet.

It is great to see the students choosing what they want to learn.  The biggest challenge for me has been having all the learning set up for the individual goals at the moment I have kids working on 15 different goals over 4 stages!  It is a headache!  However,  through reflection with the kids they are more motivated to find out their learning.  It was interesting listening to two of my boys, the two I have to manage a lot for behaviour and being on task,  teaching each other at morning tea how to do different goals so they could move on quicker.  

I know this post is all over the show but so much has happened and I am having an explosion.  The furniture is set and the basic workshops are running with little student choice.  After visiting Amsbury School I thought how can I get my students setting their own goals and turning up to workshops as they need in relation to their goals.  I am good at running before I can walk so I needed to make this manageable. Hence the knowledge goals.  Then I thought how can I tie in reading with our solo matrix.  I broke down the skill of main ideas and what I wanted my kids to be able to do which was write a summary.  We then self assessed and that allowed my students to place themselves into groups.  After my workshop today I had one of my students come to me and say I get it can I move up a group now.  I wasn't expecting it so I now have to give her an opportunity to move on and link up to the key words group.  

It is so true that students learn and different paces and stages.  I think with the goal setting it is allowing students to move forward at their pace and seek help when needed. 

Students are now able to regulate their learning and have ownership over their goals.  Only a small step but a big one.  

I had to pull back on the activities that I am getting the students to do as I was overloading them.  I would next term like to run the 20% passion project time as an opportunity for self directed inquiry.  I just need to work out structure for the inquiry so students have a purpose!

Knowledge Data Reflection from Term 1

How did our students go?  Most students are working below expectation in knowledge.
Yr 8

• 9 students at or above
• 17 students 1 stage below
• 5 students 2 stages below
• 1 student 3 stages below

Yr 7

• 3 Students at
• 9 students 1 stage below
• 10 students 2 stages below
• 1 students 3 stages below

How do these results contribute to my overall understanding of my students needs?

These are highlighting the need to build knowledge within my students.  It is obvious when working with students the gaps in knowledge but also the lack of understanding the maths language. 

What are the implications for further teaching? 

Dedicate 10min each maths session to hotspot teaching of knowledge.  Refer to links within the unit plan so students connect to what we are teaching. 

What are the implication on the data for feedback to students?  

Students to set learning goals on what they need to learn in order to move to the next stage.  Highlight key areas of assessment for improvement.  

Reflection on Teacher Inquiry

What have I tried? This last fortnight I have been introducing the writing and the structure. I have started running workshops on features and strategies for writers. I also introduced a writing reflection time.
What has worked? The writing reflection was really successful I found students were able to identify what they wanted help in. Workshops are working however, I find students will not opt into these I need to tell them.
What hasn’t worked? My modelling of the writing reflection. I think I need to model how to write this against my modeled piece.
Where to from here? I am going to carry on with the writing reflection. I need to use this to form the workshops that I am running as this will give students ownership over the planning.

Effective Writing Instruction Chapter 1

After changing my focus to working on my pedagogy of writing I have been reading Alison Davis book. The one thing that I have taken from the first chapter is the need for students to be self regulated writers. This term 'self regulation' is not new to me. However, I have struggled with the how?? To create it in my classroom. Alison has lead to prompting questions for students to reflect on to develop self regulation. These are:

1. Why am I writing this? Who am I writing this for? What kind of writing is this?
2. What information do I need to be able to write?  How will I plan to use this information effectively?
3. Why have I made this decision? Why have I chosen this word/phrase/ form of sentence? What are the alternatives?
4. What have I learned about my writing?  What have I learned from my writing? Why was this difficult? What did I do well?  What are my future targets?  What will help me reach these?  

I am going to work with number 4's set of questions this term and introduce it in on a Thursday before we head off to tech.  At this point my students have usually blogged their piece and are ready to reflect.

Keynote Speaker - Dr Roberta Hunter Developing Mathematical Inquiry in a Learning Community

Maths is like a cobweb.  Not one strategy but lots of pieces that come together to learn maths. As a teacher your job is to sit outside on the edge of the cobweb not in the centre.

Word problems or problematic tasks are always used.  Plan for all the possible strategies that could come out to discuss it.  

Let the children read the problem.  Then let them facilitate the conversation. 

Explore the incorrect solutions the mistakes are leading towards the new ideas.

How often have we taught active listening? 

This could be where I am going wrong.  I haven't explicitly taught them how to active listen.  Next term I need to teach how to active listen and how to have the discussion.

Talk moves look into how to teach these.

Come up with a discussions criteria for success.  How do we work together in maths.  What counts as evidence? 

Celebrate when kids get it wrong because they took a risk.   3 levels of the same problem differenatited problems.  

Launch the problem correctly use the visualising strategy.  

Don't underline key words in maths.  It confuses the maths problem.