Key Changes & Takeaways while Distance Learning

14th May 2020

Distance Learning started with a hiss and a roar. I found it easy enough to transfer what I would had been doing in class with my students and just move this online. The junior programmes seemed to be running well (apart from the myriad of questions I was receiving) and I really enjoyed what felt like more individual time with my seniors to give feedback on their internal assessments. However, prior to seniors completing their internal assessments I was finding that engagement levels weren't the highest and I felt that was partially due to my lack in creativity. Moving into Term 2 I was determined to create changes within my teaching and learning programmes to increase collaboration and engagement of students. So what were my key focus points of change?

1. Be creative

Our Level 3 students were moving into their biomechanics unit of work. At first I was stumped - how the hell was I going to teach this? Typically when teaching biomechanics students learn about a principle and then learning is reinforced with a practical and class discussion. How can I teach students about biomechanical principles while keeping it fun and how can I still check for an understanding? Students firstly learnt about the principle via Edpuzzle, before completing a practical task and then applying their understanding to some knowledge review questions. A few of my favourite lessons included homemade tenpin bowling to see Newton's Laws in action, homemade or online angry birds to analyse projectile motion and the use of yoga and pilates to identify principles of balance and stability in action. A few of the students awesome setups from these lessons are pictured below.

2. Increase Engagement

By being more creative with my lessons this instantly helped to lift engagement. As mentioned above I also used Edpuzzle to help me with this. Edpuzzle is a great way to set video tasks for students, while also tracking whether or not they have watched the video. However, the best function is the ability to pause the video to add a note or ask students either multi choice or open ended questions. In our following lessons we could then discuss questions all students struggled with or I could catch up individually with students regarding a principle they may have struggled with.

Other ways I tried to increase engagement in lessons was through completing knowledge review tasks on the content for the week. This worked particularly well with my IGCSE students who had tasks such as a Kahoot or to create a video applying their knowledge of the skeletal system. Not only was it a great way for me to see potential gaps within student knowledge, students also commented that they enjoyed these application activities and had more motivation to complete these rather than practice exam questions.

3. Increase Collaboration

I identified that while distance learning in Term 1 I hadn't been encouraging collaboration between students. Normally students are always collaborating in my lessons - why had I stopped? To introduce collaboration again I started off nice and slow such as a shared group document in Google Classroom where students had been separated into groups and had to work together to create notes on a particular joint. I then moved to Padlet where all students needed to contribute and then work with a partner to summarise all of the ideas presented on the Padlet and feed this back to the class like this example here. We then finally got back to the point where in a Webex call students were collaborating through the chat function, discussion and working together on a shared document.

4. Pre-recorded Videos

In Term 1 I found pre-recording videos really useful when helping to breakdown achievement criteria or specific questions in assessments for my seniors. Students also liked the idea of being able to go back and rewatch a clip of my explanation and how it was available for them to access when they wanted or needed it. To help with the myriad of questions form my junior classes I decided to enlist the same approach. At the start of the week we would meet for a Webex call. In this call we cover their tasks and expectations for the week. I would also prerecord a short video clip to post to Google Classroom of their tasks and expectations of the week and post this prior to their first lesson. This allowed us to briefly recap and go over questions in the Webex call and the breakdown of their task was also available for them to rewatch if they needed to. This was also followed up with an email reminder before the start of their remaining lessons for the week. This along with the familiarity of the routine meant that the number of questions I was reaching dropped significantly.

5. Wellbeing

The time in distance learning has also given me time to reflect on my own wellbeing. I noticed that before our 'holidays' I was so tired and felt like this distance learning meant that I was working harder and longer everyday. I also found that over the holidays I was turning to my school work for something to do leaving me feeling like I didn't get much of a holiday. I also attended a webinar on teacher wellbeing which helped me to put some strategies in place when returning to Term 2.

1. Collaborate - I didn't need to recreate everything. Instead reach out for help and ideas, which also helped with my creativity!
2. Work-life balance - Don't touch any work after 5pm & no work weekends (with the exception of a possible hour on Sunday to prepare for the week ahead - if needed).
3. Self-determination theory - control what I can - let the other things go.
4. Connect - catch up with colleagues and others in the profession, not only about work.

So What?

Although I'm looking forward to returning the the classrooms, continuing to build relationships and increasing collaboration once again I also plan to take a couple of these tips with me. I plan to take the pre-recorded videos with me, particularly for seniors with achievement criteria breakdown and explaining questions in an assessment. I also plan to hold onto the creativity of lessons rather than returning back to usual and what I have just always done. I am also looking forward to returning to more of a settled routine which helps me feel settled - I can also ensure I set time aside for myself.

Below is also an article I wrote in Term 1 for the school's e-news about our distance learning setup in PE.

Self Evaluation for Improvement - Using feedback & other evidence to improve performance

6th May 2020

What’s going on here? For which learners? Who are my priority learners this year? (Those in danger of not achieving)
I had a hunch at who my priority learners were prior to completing our first written internal assessment in Level 3 PED. I had used knowledge of learning difficulties, observations of students transferring into the subject and other observations such as students with low motivation levels. I had identified 5 students with learning difficulties, an additional 3 students who may struggle to settle into both a new subject and a new school and 2 students who were struggling with motivation levels in class. Throughout the process of completing our first written internal assessment a lot of these priority learners were confirmed.

What does achievement data tell me about my current cohort? Is this what I expected?
The achievement data from the first internal assessment told me that I have quite a large range of ability in my class this year. This had already been quite obvious through the different teaching and learning activities, having to differentiate lessons to ensure the top are being extended enough and that the bottom are getting enough support. The assessment results confirmed this. However, I believe it has shown me that the gap is bigger than I expected it to be. The results from the first internal (3.7) were as follows: 7 Achieved (3 Low, 2 High), 3 Merit (1 Low) & 7 Excellence (2 Low, 2 High).

What are my learner’s perspectives on the situation? What do my learners and I agree are my strengths and areas for development?After completing our first written internal I ensured to collect feedback from the students regarding the teaching and learning process and the assessment itself. In terms of strengths key themes included; help & explanations, support & feedback, range of resources provided, use of sentence starters and the use of class discussions to reinforce learning and share ideas and perspectives. In terms of areas for development key themes included; more personalised feedback, explanation of questions, aid with research, the assessment layout and one student wanted more encouragement.

What changes can I make to my practice? How long will it take for me to notice improvements in outcomes?
I ensured to take their feedback onboard when moving into our second written internal assessment (3.1). We managed to get one week of teaching and learning at school before lockdown started and continued online with distance learning. Before starting the assessment we did an activity that aided students with where and how to find relevant research for their upcoming assessment. I also made sure to review the assessment layout to make it more structured, including sentence starters to help guide student answers. As I was not there to explain the questions in person I decided to create videos breaking down the assessment questions. I choose to do this over a Webex call as students might struggle with different questions, therefore they could watch the video relating to the question they were struggling with. Students commented that they found this really helpful and it is something I will consider continuing to do even once we are back at school. As for feedback, I notice that when we are completing assessments in class it is always the same students who would ask for help or feedback. To try and avoid only helping these students I kept a tally of help/feedback given. This gave me a quick visual on who may have not received as much help or feedback and who I should turn my attention too. At the start of each day I also choose 7 students in which I was going to give feedback to before the end of the day. This helped me to balance out the amount of support and feedback I was giving. As for the encouragement, the one student who noted this is also one of the students who has been struggling with motivation levels. Because of his honest feedback I was able to ensure I was giving him more encouragement and 'warm fuzzies' rather than mainly constructive criticism.

How has this impacted on my learners? Which of my learners are/are not benefiting? How do you know?
The results from the latest written internal assessment (3.1) were as follows; 5 Achieved (1 Low, 1 High), 2 Merit (1 High) & 10 Excellence (3 Low & 3 High).I do acknowledge that the increase in results may also be due to the different content and 3.1 being rather personalised. However, I also believe that the improvement in grades for certain students were directly due to students being able to act on the feedback from their last assessment and due to the more equal spread of support and feedback throughout this assessment, as these students don't always ask for help or feedback. E.g. one student went from a High Achieved to a High Merit as he was able to include more detail in his analysis, another from an Achieved to a Low Excellence. However, what I found frustrating is that even giving the one particular student encouragement like he asked his motivation levels still appeared to remain low and he remained at a Low Achieved.

What further adjustments might be worth considering?
I do believe I need to focus more on giving all students more encouragement and 'warm fuzzies'. I realise when providing feedback particularly on assessments I mainly tend to provide feedback on how to improve rather than telling them what they have already done well.
I also want to focus on how I can extend and encourage those achieving to achieve higher. I know two are definitely capable of achieving at a higher level as they were achieving with Merit & Excellence last year in Level 2 PED - how can I motivate them?

Harnessing & Enhancing Assessments in Schools

29th April 2020

Name of Course/Programme/Seminar: Harnessing & Enhancing Assessments in Schools

Provider/Presenter: Stuart Kime

If I was to summarise the key things I took away from this Professional Development what would they be and why?

• There are 4 key principles that should always guide assessment; purpose, validity, reliability and value.
• I really liked the way Stuart explained how assessment, pedagogy and curriculum interrelate. He explained that assessment is only a tool for pedagogy which is guided by curriculum and that assessment is a tool used to understand the next steps when guiding a student through a curriculum and therefore can guide pedagogy.
• Tips for assessment while distance learning - ensure there is a slower pace and do fewer assessments however, do them better. This could be by varying the mode of assessment

How has this professional development challenged my thinking?

This presentation helped to remind me that testing and assessment are different, although testing can be a part of assessment. This is something I often get caught up in with my IG students. The tip of varying the mode of assessment has also made be consider the assessment I have been conducting with my IG students while distance learning. I have been completing the same style of tests that I would in class however, they are open book. I have actually found that some students have done worse in these open book tests than they do in a closed book test. I believe this is because students are focusing on certain key words to do with content and writing from their notes about that rather than reading the entire question properly. This has already made me think about how I can trial different methods of assessments with my students to see if I achieve better results.

What aspects of my practice would I consider changing as a result of this professional development and why?

His tip about ensuring a pragmatic approach spoke to me. He suggested that by revisiting content that was introduced earlier it can help students create more dependable and credible connections with their assessment. The example he gave is a teacher starting each class with 3 questions; 1 question on current content, 1 question on content from the last topic and 1 question from an old topic. This is definitely something I can introduce more in IG PE. Students quite often do well in end of topic tests. However, some students struggle when completing end of unit tests as there is more for them to remember. Normally this is not a strategy I bring in until Term 3 but is definitely something I could look at starting this term.

I am also going to trial different methods of assessment with my IG students while distance learning. Can I create a knowledge review that is more meaningful from a Quizizz or by getting students to create a video applying their knowledge rather than a test?

08/11: 'What does it mean to be a Successful Teacher?'

'What does it mean to be a Successful Teacher?'

8th November 2019

'What does it mean to be a successful teacher?' - John Hattie

"Your job is to help them do better than what they believe their best is"

Synopsis - Key Things I have taken away?

Throughout all of his research Hattie's focus for educators is to understand learning through the eyes of the student. So what is the most important influences on student achievement and growth?

• Hattie acknowledges the tension amongst priorities e.g. pedagogy vs content. However, he emphasises the need and importance of PD - that it’s not about what you learn today but what you do tomorrow
• He suggests moving the focus away from the strategies and instead provide evidence that you are having an impact on your learners
• Hattie addressed Educator Burnout in his book '10 Mind Frames for Visible Learning' - he believes this is because too many teachers believe they need to be constantly busy and work individually. Efficiency, reprioritising and removing certain content, collective and collaborative work can help to minimise burnout

How has it helped me?

Hattie emphasised that we need to take a look at how students are learning. Students need to be able to relay the ideas they are taught and relate them to each other. However, the strategy on how to do each of these are different. Hattie also emphasises that students need to be given a range of different strategies so they can be successful. This is what I have been focusing on with my inquiry throughout the year - ensuring to provide students with a range of different strategies to suit different levels within the class and learning styles. However, I may have not fully acknowledged students ability to decide when a certain strategy is applicable.

Hattie identified some examples of what student impact could look like; changes in test scores, change and growth in student work, student voice and how they believe they have changed/grown and teacher reflection on impact and change. I notice and identify these impacts. However, I don't always ensure that the student also notice these. Test scores could be obvious, but often students won't recognise the growth in their work. This was evident to me via a discussion with a student in my Level 2 Physical Education class. The student had chosen not to take PE for Level 3 because they were unsure they were good enough. I pointed out to them how much they had grown and developed throughout the year moving from Achieved's to Excellence's. This was not something that he had already identified himself.

So What?

• In recognising that students don't automatically know when certain strategies are most applicable, next year I will focus on introducing students to a range of strategies I will also emphasise when they would be appropriate to use.
• Next year I am going to aim to introduce further strategies to celebrate student achievement and growth. I hope in doing this that students themselves will be able to then recognise and celebrate their own growth.

30/10: Reflection of HPE Scholarship Process 2019

Reflection of HPE Scholarship Process 2019

30th October 2019

Today was the final day of the Health & Physical Education Scholarship process for 2019. For the Health & Physical Education scholarship students self-select a topic or issue they would like to exam in depth over a 30 page report. As this was my first year leading the programme I thought I'd take the time to reflect on the positives and negatives of this year's process to help improve for next year.

Tips for 2020:

• Multiple afternoon workshops
  This year we held 4 afternoon workshops in Term 4. Each workshop ran for about 3 hours. The aim of these workshops was to give students an opportunity to chip away at their report, while having the support of staff in the room. Overall this process was really effective this year. This worked better than previous years where we held two big workshops that ran for about 6-7 hours each. For 2020 I would look at potentially adding some in the final week of T3 to encourage students to start working earlier.
• Insist on drafts by end of T3
  This year it seemed like students started the writing process later than previous years. I'm not sure if this is because we had less NCEA students participating this year who are given class time? By adding a workshop or two in the final week of Term 3 I would hope that would encourage students to start writing earlier. I would also push for students to have a rough draft before the end of Term 3.
• Push criticality
  This year some students struggled with the level of criticality needed for their report. They often chose topics they were passionate about, which is great, but they often had a strong view or opinion which reflected as a one sided argument. This typically was harder for the Cambridge students and I wonder if this is due to the level of criticality in Level 2 & 3 Physical Education? I wonder if we can push the idea of criticality earlier e.g. in Dragon’s Den workshop?
• Focus on solutions
  Students often also underestimate the importance of the solutions that they suggest towards the end of their report. By really looking in depth to what they suggest such as how it would be implemented, the change they hope it will have etc it will show a deeper understanding and a more critical view.
• Encourage students to reference as they writeStudents often underestimate the time it takes for them to reference their work properly once they have finished their writing. By teaching students how to reference and to reference as they go this will help to eliminate the rush of referencing once a report is deemed complete.
• Research & ReadingsSome students struggled to find academic readings and references to refer to while writing their report. Next year a base folder could be made with readings applicable to different scholarship topics for students to access and utilise.

This process wouldn't be as effective if it wasn't for the help and support of the department. For now all we can do is wait until the results come out to see how our students have gone.

26/05: Reflection of 2.2

Reflection of 2.2

26th May 2019

What went well:

• Most students smashed the anatomy - this came through in student feedback where students identified that this was the easiest section

What could have been better:

• Students found the interrelationship slide hard. This was voiced both in class while completing the assessment and in the student voice feedback. This was also evident as some students chose to leave this last slide blank
• Students commented that they would have liked more one-on-one time throughout the assessment. I agree with this and when reflecting on the assessment I spent more time with 'needy' students who had a lot of questions or by checking in on students who I had previously identified struggling with the content. This meant that I didn't push some of my more capable students as much. This resulted in some students needing to resubmit their work as they are boarder line High Merit/Low Excellence

Changes for next time:

• Emphasis on referring back to anatomy slides at the start - quite often students complete this and then don't refer back to their anatomy. Is there a way to combine the biophysical principles more rather than laying them out in three separate sections e.g. focus the assessment on the prep, action and follow through phases incorporating anatomy and biomechanics and then using motor skills as a section later on how to improve? Will this create a more natural interrelationship?

09/04: Inquiry Update for 2019

Inquiry Update for 2019

9th April 2019

What’s happening and why?

• As this has been my second year looking into independent (2017 - L2 PED) and self-directed learners (2018 - IG PE) have found that a lot of strategies that I was purposely putting in place now come naturally.
• I find it easy to note the difference in the need between independent and self-directed learners and what is needed for different students at varying levels levels of age, ability and curriculum. This makes it easy to identify the needs of the students and action points that can be put into place.
• I am involving whanau and other support networks more effectively and earlier on. An example of this is identifying students who were struggling in IG after the first 6 weeks and contacting Housemasters, Mentor teachers & the Y11 Academic Coordinator to flag these students. This also lead to contacting home for a couple of these students. This has largely had a postive impact and in most cases has increased the work ethic of students in the class. Another example of this is that by identifying that I have a lot of priority learners in my Level 2 class I emailed home before the start of the written assessment with due dates and where they can go for support. I also broke down these dates with students in the lead up to their assessment, 3 weeks prior to them starting the assessment, so they didn't feel it had been sprung on them. Majority of students felt that going into the assessment that there were no surprises. They knew what was expected of them to reach an Achieved, Merit or Excellence.
• A new initiative for 2019 to help IG students identify weaknesses is that I complete a 'End of Unit Test Teacher Reflection'. An example of one of these reflections has been attached to this post. By doing this I am able to analyse what went well, what didn't and what needs to change. By completing this before handing back student test papers with results it gives me an overview of what may need to be revisited. Following this students are given back their test papers and are encouraged to look through these. We then go through common mistakes or questions that were not answered well as a class before students being able to ask their own questions about the test. Students then write in the correct answers on their test papers to help them with future studies.

What’s not happening & why?

• Although student ownership and accountability has increased within these classes from the start of 2019 to the end of Term 1 not all students are on board. I believe this is largely contributed to in the range of abilities in both my L2 and IG classes. The top students tend to take all advice on board where as those towards the bottom need more help in finding their own way. As this gap is large I have been trying to incorporate strategies to ensure I am still pushing those at the top and helping those at the bottom reach their level of success.

What am I going to do to influence what is not happening?

• This is something that I am considering looking into further and is a potential inquiry for 2019. How can I focus on differentiation in my senior classes to help push students at the top while not leaving those at the bottom behind? It was interesting to listen to Bridget presenting on her inquiry from last year as I could take and adapt some of her strategies such as scaffolding, key word lists, focus on fun/hands on activities in Periods 5 & 6 to help lift and students creating quizzes and mark sheets. I'm sure that there are other strategies that I already have in place to help with this that I could make more deliberate.

28/02: Goals for 2019

Goals for 2019

28th February 2019

Before returning to school I took the time to sit down and think about what I want to get out of the year ahead.

Below are the goals I created for myself in 2019:

1. Work/Life Balance
   1. Use 3 tips on the way home
   2. Ensure work is completed prior to deadlines e.g. reports started and completed before deadline
2. Student Support & Contact with Home
1. Continue with termly emails home
2. Notify parents earlier if student is struggling – copy parents into email reminders to students, call home for help and support
3. Help parents to support students by sending out term planners with due dates and notify parents when internal assessments are starting
4. Continue to keep academic coordinators, teacher mentors and housemasters in loop
5. Also remember to write home if a student is doing well – email, postcards, EPAs
3. Leadership Development
   1. How can I support my HOD more?
   2. What new initiatives can I bring to the department? Or how can I help to strengthen existing initiatives?
4. Differentiation (possible inquiry topic)
   1. How can I personalize teaching and learning experiences for my learners?
   2. How can I support the needs of my priority learners more?
   3. How can I show students that I know what they do and don’t know?

With it only being Week 5 I find it interesting reflecting back on these goals. I believe I have been focussing and working towards student support & contact with home and differentiation of lessons:

• I have been in contact with all parents and guardians of my students to introduce myself and inform them about the course
• I have been wrapping support around students who are already struggling in certain courses
• I have been using different teaching styles to meet the needs of different students and to match what students identified as their preferred learning styles
• Students have had options in class to have more guided help and instruction vs more independence and extension

However, I feel like I have been neglecting my work/life balance and leadership development. Although my work/life balance isn't bad at the moment I have no set structure or rules in place which I will probably need later in the year as we start to reach crunch points. As for leadership development I have been asking my HOD if there is anything I can do to help but nothing more.


It will be interesting to reflect on these goals towards the end of Term 1 to see how they progress.

3/5: 2018 Inquiry Plan - How can I create self-directed learners in my 11 IGCSE Physical Education class?

2018 Inquiry Plan: How can I create self-directed learners in my 11 IGCSE Physical Education class?

3rd May 2018

Why have I identified this as an important focus for me?
Cambridge is content heavy course. This requires students to work through content at a fast pace - content in which most students have not come across before. I have identified through student achievement data (end of unit tests throughout Term 1 & student voice) and Collegial Feedback (discussions with Alex) that students need to become more self-directed learners.


What initial steps forward am I going to commit to and why have I identified these as my first steps?
After having a hunch that this would be a good inquiry to further my own teaching practise, I collected student voice from my class around the three Teaching & Learning categories. These were relationships, motivation & communication. The results helped to solidify my thinking. Next week I am going to share these results with students and reinforce changes that will be occurring & why.
-After attending the Cambridge PD course at the end of last term and reflecting on my own practise I told students of changes that I am planning on implementing in Term 2. Students had an opportunity to share their thoughts about these changes - would they be positive & why/why not? Students were also able to add any extra changes they would like to see.

I have recognised that students need to be self directed in this course rather than independent (last years inquiry). I am going to compare and contrast independent learners vs self directed learners. By finding out the similarities I can refer back to strategies I used last year and see whether or not I will be able to implement them this year. By finding out the differences I will be able to focus on finding out new strategies I will be able to implement that will better suit the needs of self directed learners.
Once I have found new strategies I will be able to implement them, alongside the other changes I have already recognised. Then my aim is to collect student voice at the end of the term to see whether or not the data has changed.


How, by focusing on this, do I propose to contribute to and influence Student Achievement Outcomes?
By creating an environment that encourages self-directed learners I am expecting to see higher levels of motivation for learning. I am hoping that students will display qualities and behaviours such as; problem solving and seeking their own answers, seek feedback, knowing their strengths & weaknesses within the course and action a way to minimise their weaknesses, higher levels of collaboration - conversations where students are correcting each other and teaching each other etc.
I am hoping that these qualities will be visible. Also if students start to display these behaviours their test results should have a positive impact.


Who may I need support and assistance from and what might that look like as I look ahead to achieving success?
Alex - possibly professional readings, discussions, learning activities etc.
Melissa - possibly professional readings & pointing me in the direction of other colleagues that could help with strategies (ie observations)
Looking out for content on Twitter - posts, Twitter chats, English teachers in the IG curriculum etc.
Chris & other colleagues met at Cambridge PD course - help with IG curriculum?

12/4: Reflection - Term 1 Review of Junior Classes

Reflection: Term 1 Review of Junior Classes

12th April 2018

What's going on for my learners?

What does achievement data tell me about my current cohort?
Current achievement data from Junior classes, especially Y9s, show me me I need to focus on making learning more visible within my lessons. Although we start lessons with learning intentions and relate back to these through questioning both throughout activities and with a class discussion at the end of the lesson, some students are still not getting it. I am hoping that students are still adapting to the change from primary school PE but it is something I want to work on next term to see if there is a difference.

What am I going to do about it?
-spend more time reinforcing key terms & continually checking for understanding with individuals
-ensure students understand achievement criteria e.g. get them to break this down - how do they get graded for this unit, what are the differences between each of these levels
-see if there is a difference between work that is produced in class time vs prep time
-give students more written feedback on their work between submissions

Who are my priority learners this year? (Those in danger of not achieving)

I have a wide range of priority learners throughout my Jnr classes. Some have more than others and I have identified these students in their class spreadsheet with help from data from Synergetic in regards to ethnicities and SAP reports. Also after Term 1 I have noted other priority learners who struggle with learning intentions and handing in of assessments to an appropriate level and on time.

16/3: Reflection - Inquiry Update for 2018

Reflection: Inquiry Update for 2018

16th March 2018

What’s happening and why?

At the end of last year I identified ways to carry on and continue my inquiry of creating independent learners. I knew that I would have the IGCSE PE class as my senior class for the year. I was able to reflect on what strategies were successful last year with my Level 2 students and apply some of these concepts from the start of the year. Some of the successful concepts from last year were:

• introducing concepts such as checklists, ask 3 before me etc. at the start of the year
• the release of learning
• ensuring students understand the why
• using student voice to interpret teaching style/activities

Setting up the year

I ensured to start my year off valuing the importance of building relationships and setting expectations and routines. This included spending longer on setting routines - what happens at the start of a lesson, how to find things on iTunes U & submit assignments, how to use PDF expert, using class Quizlet for revision etc. My thoughts on spending time ensuring I do this well was that I would be saving time later on in the course. Overall I feel like this has been relatively successful. Students understand basic processes and this has saved time. Also if students do get stuck other students have been proactive in assisting.

Relievers & Student Ownership

The start of the year often brings disruptions to classes. Whether it's swimming sports and athletics or PE department camps.  As a result of camps, professional development and other inevitable absences such as sickness I have missed a few classes with my IG class. During this time students were left work complete with instructions on their iTunes U course. I simplified their work as much a possible knowing that not all new content they would be covering could be found in their textbooks. For content that was not easily accessible I left them notes in which they had to fill in the blanks and then had to answer some questions to show their understanding.

Just before returning to school I received an email from one of my students. In summary this email said that they did not think it was fair that they were left to learn this new content on their own, especially with relievers that weren't able to help them. This email was a response to my email to the class about the lack of work that had been submitted while I was absent. When I returned to class we broke this down and discussed student ownership. They identified that I do not tell the the answers and they need to seek them themselves, so I challenged why should it be different if I was absent. This discussion resulted in referring back to the range of places where students can revert to for help while learning new content. These included; textbook, iTunes U, notes, Quizlet, Google, classmates or myself.

I have been absent since this conversation and it was great to see that students completed and submitted all work as expected. I also noticed when students were studying for a recent test that they were referring to the wide range of resources available.
I have been trialling different teaching styles and types of activities with this class to show them that I am interested in how they like to learn and how they learn most effectively. I have also received informal verbal feedback and actioned this.


What’s not happening & why?

• Although students most students are starting to become more independent and show more ownership of their learning not all are. Certain students can be quite needy. Whether it is handing in incomplete work as they 'don't know what they are doing' or where to find answers. These particular students are also the ones that ask questions expecting me to give them the answers when completing activities. 

What am I going to do to influence what is not happening?

• I can introduce the use of checklists before students hand in any completed work. This could ensure that students have completed all tasks by utilizing all resources when trying to complete activities, have included key points for each topic, have broken down the questions and used appropriate sentence structure when applicable
• I am going to ensure I do some formalized student feedback & learner voice before the end of term to help construct my 2018 inquiry and see whether or not I will continue pursuing this inquiry or something similar