Writing Inquiry

This week we took part in PAC observations. My focus was around looking at my 'buddy check' system and seeing if students have a clear understanding of the expectations. I felt my observed lesson went well and it allowed me to see that there were gaps in what I thought my students knew. After watching my video and recording what I felt went well, I felt like my focuses were around;

• making specific links between learners’ use of strategies and their experience of success; encourages students to make and discuss such links
• Rich conversations include student-generated questions and dialogue.

During my PAC meeting with our literacy facilitator and senior management, we looked at my focus being around my Scuess Criteria and making sure that I connect it with what students know and an experience they have just had- This will help increase their understanding of expectations and their knowledge around the skill they have just learned. It will allow students to be set up for success. I am going to make my buddy check workshop is specific and teach it to my target group. I am going to move away from a star and wish as my students don't need that framework and it is confusing them. I will encourage students to hold their own books when buddy checking to make sure the ownership is kept with the writer.

So what?

The next few weeks I am going to continue buulding a succinct writing progamme where all my students are consantly self assessing against the success criteria.

Manaiakalani Intensive Session Four

Today's session was around sharing to learn, Chromebooks  (Screen castify) and Ipads (explain everything).  Dorothy discussed that sharing is not the end of the learning. We share to get further feedback to promote further learning; specific and focused feedback is "one of the most powerful influences of achievement" according to John Hattie (2009). Sharing also enables others to learn from our learning. TheManaiakalani pedagogy focuses on learning being; rewindable, visible, transparent, personalised and accessible. My goal this term has been around making the learning in my classroom rewindable; I have created online modelling books where students can refer to examples, learning intentions and success criteria. In my class, most students refer to modelling books every day, to either check what they need to be doing or to assess themselves against the success criteria. I am wanting to take this rewindable learning further and record lessons so that students can revisit key learning ideas, this would be hugely beneficial to my learners giving them opportunities to go back and re-listen to instructions or specific learning. My first screen castify is going to show students how to post on their blogs- this is new learning for my students and there are many steps involved, it would be a massive teaching tool to have a video showing students what to do saving my teaching time repeating the same instructions. 

Below is an example of me using screencastify, in the video below I am discussing the four elements of effective feedback. I mainly discuss focused feedback. The feedback I give my students in particular in the area of writing has been the most effective in terms of their achievement outcomes.  I have had PLD around feedback. We learned about connecting our success criteria to a model or an exemplar and annotating it so that students can see exactly what their success criteria is. I then give them feedback on their success criteria and if they have completed all components I provide generative feedback ( I make sure to keep them achievable) I am hoping to incorporate a buddy feedback and self-check effectively into my writing programme so that when I conference with students my feedback can be an additional next step that is going to promote further learning and hopefully provide some acceleration.  (This is happening in my class but they are still getting the hang of buddy feedback and making sure that it is specific and linked to their learning intention or goal). 

 Current annotated modelling books ( I am hoping to include a video with the lesson for some of my groups)

Digital Intensive Session Two

Todays 'Digital Intensive Session' focused on google sheets and google forms. I have attached below both my google form and map to share my learning. The session helped enhance my knowledge in google spreadsheets and gave me tips on how to save a lot of time such as dragging down to automatically formulate numbers/ days of the week etc. I am going to try and create a spreadsheet for my student data as I now know how to calculate the average results, and condition the formatting to focus on a particular set of data. I saw google forms as a helpful app to gather whanau and/ or student voice. In particular I am going to use google forms in Parent interviews to gather more information on my students and how the parents view their learning- this will help direct my teaching focus. For my writing inquiry I want to use google forms to gather student voice- I could put the data into a google spreadsheet and track my student voice over the term to show progress and improvement. 

Manaiakalani Intensive - Session Week 1

Session One (5th May 2017)

Learn

Today’s session focused on exploring google docs, google extensions/ add ons, harper teacher dashboard. Here are the notes below.

Main goals of Manaiakalani:

• Was to motivate learners to engage with the curriculum.
• Create an authentic audience (more than just the teacher)
• Personal voice is valued and powerful
• Raise achievement outcomes

Lead teachers of Manaiakalani achievement was observed. (Large shift in N.S results 2010 compared to ‘normal’ classes not using the learn create share philosophy.)

-Internet into students homes??? Kotuitui

-Whanau- need to be active partners- Could we do a whanau/student- chromebook share? On top of what G. is doing?? -Could the students take part and present as part of next years induction?/ could students present what and how the chromebooks can be used for?

-How can whanau support their students at home?( Is this monitored?)

- School collaboration - Primary/ College.

-Parents can constantly view students work.

-Purpose of this - Intensive programme about supporting teachers outside of the classroom.

Google Save (Similar to bookmarking but a visual display a large amount of content)

Google Drive- Organising folders.

Am I teaching my students what I learn here? Think am I building my students tech capability? Can I give suggestions throughout my lessons?

Google Docs

Create headings and a table of contents (Each heading has its own link. So you can send your document and it will take the person to the specific heading/ part of doc you want them to look at).

Example

Figure out how to put it into my site!

Google Voice typer

• Using google typer (Next week could do for follow up for reading) - English NZ
• Reports/ reflections.
• Get students ideas down.

Publish to web- becomes a mini website.

Addons

• Easy accents - Maori accents for words
• Docutube- (Keep students on a specific video)
• LucidCharts- About charts and diagrams.
• “Move it” - Get students up on their chromebook (Chrome Extension)
• Hyperlink
• bitly
• Doc secrets
• Word Cloud
• https://www.jasondavies.com/wordcloud/  - (Shared document, PB4L- then create a wordcloud).
• Talk and comment ( to support low level readers and ESOL) ( Allows you to voice comment on a document- students can listen to the comment if you want to discuss something in depth.

Teacher Dashboard

-Drop and drag to move students.

-Can show more than 5 items.

- Parent dashboard?

-Password- Maybe students have their own?

- You can email students all at once.

Create

Share

I was able to take away new tools and skills for myself and for the students. As you can see in the venn diagram I have many tools and new skills that I am going to implement in the next few weeks. The comic about the kawa of care will help me pull in my digital skills and also support my students in caring for their chromebook. This session has helped enhance my confidence with google docs, harper and the learn create share pedagogy. I am hoping to present some ideas back at my school and cluster in particular for my school inquiry ( Writing) using the voice typing add on for google docs- this will help my lower writers get their ideas down on paper. ALSO the extension of type and comment will help me give more detailed feedback that students can listen to again and again- opposed to me saying it once (Rewindable learning). Could also use the type and comment to give students instructions.