18/8: PRT Meeting Focussing on PTC 3 & 10

Reflection: PRT Meeting Focussing on PTC 3 & 10

18th August 2017

During last weeks meeting Melissa & I recognised that as registration looms closer and closer we may want to focus on certain PTC criteria in future meetings. We decided to use our next meeting to target PTC 3 & 10. This is because I feel like I have less evidence on these criteria in comparison to the rest.

Below are some of the conversation points I had with Melissa on PTC 3 & 10. Some of these points are reflecting on what I am already doing in my practice and others are what I want to focus on.

PTC 3: Demonstrate commitment to bicultural partnership in Aotearoa New Zealand

·      Cultural determinant of health

o   Year 9 & 10 – learning of the different determinants of health and how they can impact ones life. Looking into how different Cultures can view different topics e.g. Drugs

o   Year 11 - Dark Horse movie. Students are identifying different ways cultural determinants of health impact the main characters in the movie

·      Students own experiences & cultures being allowed and utilized in the classroom

·      Mentions of praise (warm fuzzies) – postcards & emails

·      Correct pronunciation of student names & Māori words

·      Emails & calls to Sanjida & Xela around Term 1 and repots etc, Kapa Haka

·      Cultural Games unit in Year 10 Physical Education

·      Hauora model in Health – emphasis on the Māori names for each dimension rather than just the English & relating back to the Whare Tapa Whā model

·      Traditions & history while teaching Ki-O-Rahi

·      Cultural traditions  - ensuring I know about them and if I’m enforcing them or not e.g. touching of the head, sitting on desks

·      Creation of pepeha – reflection from PENZ with presenters introducing themselves at the start of a presentation. Makes me want to create my own

PTC 10: Work effectively within the bicultural context of Aotearoa New Zealand

·      Use of language

·      Cultural protocols e.g. sitting on desks, shared treats at mentor & shared meals to celebrate

·      Postcards & emails acknowledging positive behaviours

·      Acknowledgement & are aware of wanting to learn pepeha

·      Wally’s help with pronunciation & learning new words

After today’s meeting I feel a bit better about PTC 3 & 10. I felt worried that I wasn’t doing enough in my own teaching practice, hence the reason why I was lacking in evidence. After targeting these criteria and looking into what possible evidence could be I realised that I am already doing a lot in my own practice but may not have reflected on it for evidence.

Where to from here? Alex has mentioned about a reading that she has on Culturally Responsive Pedagogy. She suggested that if I read this I will be able to identify what I am already doing in my own teaching practice and identify areas I would like to work on.

6/6 - PD: Student Agency

Staff PD: Student Agency

6th June 2017

For our Staff PD session today we had two students and a teacher from Kaipara College talk to us about their recent journey to include student agency within their school. They started a student agency group for Maori students with the key idea of being culturally responsive. They started with a student agency day to discuss what this would look like. What is it? What do they want to achieve? When they will meet? Key themes of what student agency in action would look like are:

• building relationships
• group work
• controlled but fair environment
• humor
• positivity
• fair work pace - not too fast
• having activities that allow students to move

Students organized a Whanau evening. They sent letters to family so they could come in and learn about NCEA. What is it? What are credits? How do you pass level 1, 2 & 3? The evening was fully ran by students. They also included a session based off Kamar results. 

They then held a PD Day for staff. There were multiple sessions which included:

• deficit theorizing
• this was confronting & uncomfortable for some teachers as they gave examples such as  a teacher growling a student for not having a pen even though they had pens on there desk, a student was missing for 2 weeks - didn't ask where they were and they had been attending a funeral
• Amazing Race for staff where they were graded A, M & E
• Whanau evening #2 - rang parents rather than letters, greater success
• Awards evening/success assembly - PRIDE awards, Ruben Wiki also attended, students MCed the night

They continued their journey this year and just last week completed their first Whanau evening for 2017. They rang parents again as well as sending emails.  They found the phone calls were more effective & drew in more parents. This night included 5 Pods, ran by students, and made sure to include upcoming events at school.

So how has implementing a student agency program implemented staff & students? Some examples of how they have been going are below:

• students interviewed teachers from different facilities to provide a range of different voices. They were asked what effects and impacts have worked for them:
• increased relationships including greater respect & partnerships
• helped gain extra knowledge & Maori students were more engaged
• cultural language = more involvement
• impacts on students included:
• Maori are more engaged and participating in class
• students personal excellence was being acknowledged even if that was even just an Achieved or Merit
• Interview with the Principal
• Why did you let the group happen? - stepping back from leadership to allow students to have more of a voice, in turn parents became more involved after seeing the development
• Effects of staff - teachers were more open to change. They sometimes knew that change was needed but they were unsure of how this would happen

So a key question is where do you even start on a journey like this?

Kaipara College started by addressing the needs of the students. It is vital to make sure students have the biggest voice, because after all it is all about them. They then ensured they focussed on pedagogical development. This was mainly through co constructing holistic strategies with both students and staff. This included what does it look like and how is it visible? They did acknowledge that having a new principal and faculty leaders may have helped to have created more momentum for change.

This PD session left me feeling inspired. It reminded me that although I may not be able to change everything in the school, I can at least ensure ALL of my students feel included and valued within my classroom. 

30/6: Health Reflections Pt 2

Year 11 Boys Health Reflections Pt 2

30th June 2016

After a few more attempts at creating effective Health lessons for my Year 11 boys class I asked for help from Alex.

Alex's Advice:

• Ensure that I am at the class before all students arrive. This then allows the 5 minute bell for me to write an outline of the learning activities, instructions and discussion questions up on the board before the students arrive
• As the second bell goes in which class is meant to start address the students with an instruction before they enter the class
• Make sure to spend time developing relationships with the kids e.g. greet every individual student as they enter the class, double check on instructions for those who might need clarification, little reminders such as phones away etc
• Don't use Health as a time to work on PE booklets - crossing between subjects can be confusing
• OVER PLAN - plan 4-5 different activities that only are about 5-10 minutes each. Can be structured; individual activity (3-4 mins), peer activity, group activity, class activity. By spending a short amount of time on each activity it stops students from getting bored

After a few lessons of following this procedure, especially the over planning, I have found them to be effective. Below are a few notes reflecting on the points above:

• I have found that due to having PE classes beforehand that I am not always able to make it up to the Health class before the 5 minute bell. This means that my notes aren't always up before the class arrives and I make sure to write these up while students are completing the first activity
• I have still been starting Health lessons with students completing their PE logs. They know that this is their 'Do Now' activity as soon as they enter the classroom and have become familiar with this routine. Students know this is always their first task in which they are able to listen to music etc. I make sure to use this time to chat to students about their work and finish writing up the lesson outline
• As student don't always arrive to class at the same time I allow students to enter when they get to the class. I make sure to acknowledge them and greet them as they enter
• I have found that planning lots of smaller activities have helped them to keep focussed and on task for longer

14/4: Cultural Awareness PD

Cultural Awareness PD 

14th April 2016

2x PD sessions on cultural awareness - held by Lincoln Savage

-focussed on Maori culture

Notes in links below:

Session #1:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8SyJqn0M1mhT2JHRUQ3bDRYdTg 

Session #2:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B8SyJqn0M1mhRkFfWU1SYXM0ZWM

Possible PTC Evidence

Mallory Bish Practicing Teacher Criteria: Possible Evidence

PTC	Evidence:
Criterion #1: establish and maintain effective professional relationships focused on the learning and well-being of ākonga	-Leading rec swimming group -Attending all assemblies and meetings, keeping accurate attendance records and following up concerns with relevant people -Professional relationships with staff from different areas within the school e.g. Taylor Housemaster & Mentor teachers, Jim & Marcel for swimming, PE department, inquiry group, new staff catch ups, provisional staff meetings, attending staff events
Criterion #2: demonstrate commitment to promote the well-being of all ākonga	-Leading mentor group -Providing safe classroom environments
Criterion #3: demonstrate commitment to bicultural partnership in Aotearoa New Zealand	-Cultural sensitivity within classrooms -Help students to create cultural groups? -Incorporate te reo in class
Criterion #4: demonstrate commitment to ongoing professional learning and development of professional practice	-Meetings with Alex, department -PD/ inquiry group -Reflections
Criterion #5: show leadership that contributes to effective teaching and learning
Criterion #6: conceptulise, plan and implement an appropriate learning programme	-Unit plans/lesson outlines -Lesson plans -Working on questioning (questioning blog) -Learning intentions at the start of each lesson – what did they learn blog
Criterion #7: promote a collaborative inclusive and supportive learning environment	-Management strategies to engage and motivate students
Criterion #8: demonstrate in practice their knowledge and understanding of how ākonga learn	-Students can create links between prior and current learning
Criterion #9: respond effectively to the diverse language and cultural experiences, and the needs of individuals and groups of ākonga
Criterion #10: work effectively within the bicultural context of Aotearoa New Zealand
Criterion #11: analyse and appropriately use information which has been gathered formally and informally	-Year 9 unit -Year 11 unit
Criterion #12: use critical inquiry and problem-solving effectively in their professional practice	-Inquiry readings and reflections -Observations from Alex