MIT - Clarelle's Blog Post on my Tool

Below is Clarelle's Blog post about my tool, see her Blog Post here.



Today the MIT teachers had another wonderful day at KPMG. As part of our day we explored our inquiry projects and talked about our next steps for amplifying these inquiries.

Rebecca's inquiry focuses on increasing critical literacy in her classroom through argumentation. She has also been using a range of prompts to support critical and inclusive discussion in her classroom.  

Her tool focuses on sharing the prompts and the discussion boards that she has used to provoke critical thinking.

Some of the collective feedback for Rebecca was to provide more description of how teachers can effectively engage students in using the discussion boards. We also suggested that she adding an about this tool page to provide more support for the users of her resource.

MIT Tool Feedback - Zac

Movie Making

Zac presented his Tool on our MIT day out at KPMG. Zac's tool is an interactive website that is all about 'movie making' as a means to improve student achievement in writing.  Zacs site has four main sections; How to videos, Film techniques, Teaching strategies, Graphics & Images. Each section has examples and videos made by the students in his class. Zac's site has a great flow- making it easy for teachers and students to use.

The tool is a one-stop site for everything movie making- from storyboarding, to editing using iMovie. It is a great place to learn more or to start out!!

Next Steps:
- State on the site that the students have created the videos.
- Give more information on how he manages the students and what he does as the teacher when they are filming.

MIT KPMG Session 3

KPMG Session Three

Feedback/ Next Steps:

-Includes mini lesson Plans with each argumentation board
- 'About this site' -blurb + short video. ( The why? Whats the deal with argumentation boards and critical literacy?)
-Site flow: The site will be in three parts.
Part One- Argumentation Boards + teacher notes.
Part Two - Prompts - Each question prompt will have a link with a short video showing how students use that particular prompt.

https://developingindigitalworlds.blogs.auckland.ac.nz/ 

MIT Tool

As the end of the year creeps up, I have been thinking about my 'Tool' for my MIT Inquiry. This year I have explored multiple options and ideas- each with its own advantages and disadvantages. I have to constantly take myself back to my problem; Student achievement in literacy. As my students have begun making accelerated progress I have reflected on the what? and how? What has made this shift and how has it helped them. I have changed many aspects of my literacy programme this year to suit the needs of my learners. The biggest change has been the use of argumentation boards to prompt critical literacy, critical reasoning and evaluating texts at a deeper level, and also my pedagogy has developed through my developing digital worlds PD.

Tool: 

My tool idea has been to create a resource bank of Argumentation Boards- to allow other teachers to use the resources that are already made. Sometimes the problem for teachers to give it a go is they don't know where to start. So I am wanting to have a place where the can view and copy our argumentation boards. 

Hurdles: 

- How will the site update? How can I ensure that it is added too?

- How can I ask other teachers for their resources to add to it?

- Should I include reflections on each argumentation board... What worked? 

- Could I add question cards as a resource? 

Science PD Term 3 and Science Observation

Staff Meeting Points:

• Use interest/ engagement to strengthen and go deeper.
• Changing their identity so they become competent.
• CrossCuts make the knowledge coherent.

We talked about how Identity, Interest, Contextual strands, crosscutting concepts, and science and engineering practices integrate to build strong scientific knowledge and lessons. 

I talked about how my squid dissection lesson focused on the living world. We carried out an investigation and collected data using our five senses. We used the crosscutting concept of function and systems to discuss how the squid's internal systems are suited for is habitat. 

This week Susan came into our classes to model more science lessons. She did a water-based science experience, a static experience and then with my class she did  "Can we heat water in a paper cup".

Introduction: 
Susan discussed the science field we would be working in; chemistry and physics.  (Using this vocabulary from a young age was important to help students make connections within science). She started with a story about the droughts in Australia. (Vocabulary: Agriculture, emergency, water needed for life, livestock, problem)

Discussion of Apparatus: ( Talked about the structure and function of each tool that we would be using, students drew each tool and labeled it  )

• Thermometer 
• Meth Burner 
• Gauze Mat 
• Tri-pod 
• Beaker 

- Students drew a diagram that represented the creation of heat. ( Discussed this is a symbolic representation for heat- it is standardized)

Experiment: 
Students set up their heat source. They had a beaker of ice cold water- they took the starting temperature. They then poured water into a small paper cup (Muffin case). They lit the meth burner alight and then watched the water in the paper cup start to steam and bubble. They retook the temperature and recorded it.

Reflection: 
PMI - What happened? Questions? Thoughts?
Recap of key vocab.

So what ? 

For me, the biggest take away was how Susan constantly stated and went back to the key vocabulary. At the end of the lesson, the students were using that vocabulary to describe different parts of the experience. Instead of saying 'I used the pointy thing' They were saying ' I used the thermometer to measure the temperature of the water'. This is the most important aspect of the lesson and I think would extend my students thinking and how they discuss science.