1/5: PD - Term 2 Staff PD

PD - Term 2 Staff PD

1st May 2017

Today's Staff PD was based around the idea of inquiry and appraisal. For a lot of staff the idea of inquiry was new last year and this is the first year that the school has built up an appraisal system, through the use of the Interlead system. The aim for using Interlead is that staff will be able to complete their inquiry and appraisal in the same place, while collecting a portfolio of evidence for PTC criteria. 

The day started with Judith, from Interlead, coming in and introducing the system to the staff as a whole. Before jumping straight into the basics she went through some key points as to why inquiry and appraisal are important. 

Interlead was created to be "a tool for growth"by intrinsically motivating yourself to improve rather than being told. It was based off a book called 'An everyone culture'. Judith also covered Professional Capital and the 3 parts it is split into:

1. Human Capital - the talent of the individual teacher comprising their knowledge, skills & ability
2. Social Capital - the ability of the teacher to learn with and through their professional relationship
3. Decisional Capital - the wisdom and expertise of the teacher to make sound judgements about learners (cultivated over many years)

She used this diagram of Tātaiako to explain certain points of inquiry and appraisal. An example is the accountability circle - self assessing around the King's Pillars in our appraisal questionnaire to create goals. She also said that due to us as teachers having more data is means that we will be able to lead the discussion with our appraiser in terms of how we are tracking and our needs. This could include you setting the scene and telling our appraiser how we want to be appraised. Whether you want an appraiser who is appreciate (which is 96% of NZ teachers), evaluative (gather data and observe for about 5 mins and then give the data back), a coach or a mentor who is good in the area that you want to improve on.

She also compared teaching as inquiry to coming 'upstream'. Important questions could include:

• What are you doing & changing? 
• Why are you getting the results that you are?

Judith explained how judgements are dangerous and gave some examples of how we may want to improve our own practice. These included:

• observing others to learn
• getting others to observe you in areas that you want to learn
• how can be open up to receive open & honest feedback
• final evaluation at the end/completion 

So what is the difference between an inquiry & a goal? An inquiry can also be known as "action research" as we research the unknown. Goals are the completion or the 'destination' and could be dependent on a school target for you and your department. Judith recommended setting goals & inquiries in the 'Health Anxiety' zone as we can then push ourselves outside of our own comfort zones.

When writing a new inquiry/goal make sure to write a question and end with a goal. This helps you to envisage the destination or end point. Then ask yourself 'what steps do I need to take'? Possible steps could include:

1. Collect student voice as much as possible and then taking their voice back to them to see how they want you to improve
2. Relevant research/professional readings
3. Visit other teachers
4. Invite someone to observe my practice
5. Get feedback 
6. Engage in professional conversations with a coach/mentor

Remember: "It's not about the person giving you the feedback, it's about how you react to the feedback"

She recommended the book 'Thinking fast and slow' by Daniel Kahneman. Judith explained how it gets inside the teacher's head where we have a fast brain and a slow brain. A fast brain is based on intuition & instinct (school's are a fast brain place). The slow brain is based on evaluating, analyzing, planning, reflecting & inquiring.

For the next part of the day we moved into department time. This time was allocated for us to focus on appraisal & inquiry. Our departments aim was to brainstorm possible inquiry ideas and then look at how we might go about some of them or why. Here is my brainstorm of possible inquiry topics:

• 21st century competences
• Visible learning
• Culturally Responsive Pedagogy
• Higher order thinking
• Literacy/language of learning
• Self regulated learners/creating independent learners

Unfortunately we didn't get to spend too much time on this as a department so hopefully this will be too be continued.

20/4: Reflection - The Power of Twitter

Reflection: The Power of Twitter

20th April 2017

Today was a really showed the power of Twitter and how great it can be for networking and professional development.

After waking up this morning I was lying in bed scrolling through Twitter. I came across a post about #ohedchat and that they were having a chat based around partnership. Since I have been putting extra effort into building three-way partnerships I thought what a great chat to try and involve myself in. After figuring out that 9pm EST was 1pm NZST I set a reminder and got on with my day.

My reminder went off (thankfully otherwise it would have slipped my mind!) and I got comfy to start participating in #ohedchat. The chat started and it was cool to see people over in the States introducing themselves. It was obvious that a lot of them must be regulars in the chat but I felt welcomed in as a newbie. I spent the next hour networking, connecting and discussing with others in the same profession just on the other side of the world. 

Key points covered in the chat included:

• why partnerships are important
• why & how students and teachers can and should learn together
• how students can lead their own learning that involves the community
• what factors can harm partnerships and how can they be avoided

What what did I leave the chat with? Not only did I pick up on interesting opinions and ideas surrounding partnerships, I also recognized the importance of community in these partnerships. Although I have increased my partnerships and relationships with students, parents and housemasters I have not really included the wider community. This inclusiveness of the wider community was a strong theme throughout the chat as well as the idea of schools supporting and giving back. I also was able to share small parts of NZ through the chat such as introducing the term of ākonga to others on the other side of the world. 

Overall it was great to be able to participate in a new chat with others that I wouldn't normally get to chat to because of different time zones. I was able to takeaway some tips and widen my connections.

Now that my friends is a snippet of the power of Twitter!

My Storify of the chat can be seen here. 

4/3: PD - University Entrance

PD: University Entrance

4th April 2017

Today's Staff Professional Development session was around University Entrance. The main aim of covering this in our PD session was to make teachers aware of the University Entracne requirements for both pathways and some of the complications or 'fish hooks' that can let students down. As a Teacher Mentor I also thought that it was important to up-skill myself to be able to help my Student Mentees, especially as last year I didn't have any Year 13 Mentees so I didn't really need to worry about it.

So here are some of the key points that I took form today's presentation:

Cambridge

Firstly I found the talk on Cambridge interesting. I still feel like I don't know too much about this pathway. Having only taught NCEA and having taken that pathway myself I feel quite familiar with the University qualifications so most of the information surrounding Cambridge was new to me today. Key points included: 

• UE generally available at the end of year 12
• Minimum of 120 points over 3 subjects with no D grades
• Numeracy = D or higher in IG Maths or Maths passed at AS
• Gained in Level 1 – if gained under IG and then swap to NCEA they loose this
• Literacy = E grade or better in AS English (D or higher for AU)
• Gained in Level 2 – if gained in AS and then swap to NCEA
• Tables for AU entry with CIE - one subject from each side of the table (tables are different for both NCEA & CIE)

NCEA
As mentioned above having gone through the NCEA pathway as a student myself and having to look into Universtiy Entracne this was much more familiar to me. However, there were still 'fish hooks' to look out for. Key points included:

• Numeracy = 10 credits at level 1 or higher
• Literacy = 10 credits (5=reading, 5=writing) through specific Level 2 standards
• AU = 17 English credits at L2/L3
• What standards in your subject can be counted?
• Subject requirements = 42 credits in L3 subjects & 14 in 3 approved
• Minimum of 60 L3 credits (+20 from L2 = 80 credits total)
• Rank score calculated – E = 4, M = 3 & A = 2
• Max of 24 credits per subject from a max of 5 different subjects

Upon the completion of this PD session I feel more comfortable in regards to helping to track my mentees. I feel as though I will be able to question some of their subject choices more in future one-on-one meetings. However I do still realize that I am not an expert in this area and will ensure that my Mentees know that to. I will still encourage them to seek support from our Careers Advisors.

A hand out from today's session can be found here.

8/3: Reflection - PRT Meeting #1

Reflection: PRT Meeting #1 of 2017

8th March 2017

Today was the first chance to meet with Melissa in regards to the PRT program. We have both identified that as a second year my needs are slightly different to a first year. As I am the only second year teacher in the school I am having individual meetings with her rather than joining in with the first years. We have also acknowledged that there will be certain times in which I could be an asset to the first years and provide some of my own advice or knowledge from my experience as a first year.

In todays meeting it gave us the opportunity to chat about the following; this year’s inquiry, last year’s inquiry, stress management and goals for the year.

Currently my idea for this year’s inquiry is to get my Level 2 Class to become more independent with their learning. Throughout the term I have felt like I am trying to pull them through their assessments and theory work. I am aiming to find a way to ensure they feel more responsible for their own progress and learning so I don’t feel like I am chasing them for not having done their work all the time. As to how I am going to do this - I’m not entirely sure yet. However she gave me some pointers on trying to connect my inquiry to things such as the school's strategic goals and pedagogical model, 21st century skills and other components from my inquiry last year & key competencies. 

In regards to last year’s inquiry Melissa was interested to find out what my focus was, what key areas where and the evidence that I collected. We discussed different aspects I looked into in terms of building classroom rapport such as culturally responsive pedagogy.  She said it was a great inquiry for a first year teacher and that I need to ensure all my evidence is collated onto my blog.

As for stress management Melissa asked me to recall times when I felt stressed as a first year. I was then to compare them to how I have felt in those situations this year and to try and identify new challenges I have noticed this year. As we had so much to cover in our meeting she suggested I work through the pages in my Induction & Mentoring Programme Year 2 booklet so we can discuss the things I identify in our next meeting. These activities include:

• time management e.g. what takes up my time (tasks and time wasters)
• stress management - causes & relievers
• impact on wellbeing
• extended support

And lastly we discussed some of my goals for the year. I informed Melissa of my main goals for the year which are becoming more confident on my iPad, greater parent contact and ensuring I continue to put relationships first. we spoke briefly as to why I choose these goals and then talked more about the parent contact. I told Melissa about improvements I could have made in regards to parent contact such as getting in touch with parents after interviews to give them an update on their child or to ensure I give parents warning before getting in contact with them about their child failing an assessment. Melissa agreed and also emphasized the need for checkpoints. She suggested as many as possible to help keep track of student progress. She also suggested that by sharing these check points with parents and keeping them up to date with how their child is tracking it will help to minimize surprises if they do not do so well and can increase support from home. 

Overall I thought it was a great opportunity to sit down and discuss multiple topics with Melissa and it was exciting to see the outline she has created for the year. It was also nice to know I had some direction as to where our next meeting would be going and some things to do before that meeting.

17/2: Reflection - BLENNZ Meeting

Reflection: BLENNZ Meeting

17th February 2017

Today at lunch we were lucky enough to have a member of the Blind and Low Vision Education Network NZ (BLENNZ) come in and talk to us. This year we have a student in Year 9 with Oculocutaneous Albinism. The school and BLENNZ meet his teachers to discuss what this meant, learning challenges and how we can help him to overcome them.

Oculocutaneous Albinism means that this student has a lack of pigmentation in his hair and skin and it effects his eyes. The fovea (pit at the back of the retina responsible for sharp vision) is affected and this particular student has a vision ranging from 6/36 - 6/60 (the "normal/average" vision is 6/6. We were told that he can fluctuate depending on the level of tiredness, stress of hunger he is experiencing.

As his vision is impaired it can challenge his learning. Examples could be; struggling to navigate school especially when busy, not being able to see written work well without the use of technology, could struggle in situations such as sports/ games when a ball could be moving fast.

So as his teachers what can we do to help?

• use digital format so he is able to enlarge the screen/text
• may need extra verbalization of tasks e.g. not practical/visual demonstrations of work
• be conscious of glare on whiteboards/desktops
• use blue or black markers on whiteboards rather than red or green
• use black and white or blue and yellow on data projection
• consider everyday language of over there etc and try and give directions in more detail
• if watching video clips in class send the link to him prior to the class or after so he can review it

Personally I think a meeting like this proved valuable. I can now actually understand his condition and what his vision is like. I can now take this information into consideration when planning lessons for the class. I can consider if I need to modify lessons to better suit his needs and ensure that he is still included in all activities. 

A handout from today's session with more information on Hugo's condition can be found here.

16/2: PD - SAMR Model

PD - SAMR Model

16th February 2017

Tuesday's Professional Development time slot was allocated for Departments to look into their technology use. Our eVangelist (department expert), lead the session based around the SAMR model. The aim of our PD this week was to refresh ourselves as to what the SAMR model is and to identify where we think we currently sit in the model. Below is the YouTube clip we were shown that nicely explains the SAMR model:

SAMR standing for Substitution, Augmentation, Modification & Redefinition: 

Substitution - using technology when you could complete the same task without it e.g. answering questions or writing an essay on Google Docs

Augmentation - technology slightly enhances the task e.g. students can comment on each others work 

Modification - technology now has a great impact on the task e.g. creation of videos 

Redefinition - tasks that are set would be impossible without technology e.g. QR codes for gaining new information or interactive textbooks in iBooks

Pictures above give further examples of different apps and where they may fall in the SAMR model

Last year was the first time I had heard of the SAMR model. I was interested to see how one teacher was using the SAMR model to increase her use of technology in the classroom. As this is one of my goals for the year I thought this would be a prefect way to reflect on my use of technology so far this year.

When we were asked to identify what level we are currently sitting at on the model I originally thought I was at the Augmentation stage. My example to the department was a recent lesson I have completed with my Year 9 Health class. They had been given a task to answer about themselves and find a visual way to present this. As I gave the class the opportunity to choose how they would like to present the task this meant that I would have stepped closer towards Modification. I gave students ideas as to how they might like to present. Some stayed in their comfort zone while others decided to try something new.

I suppose this discussion made me feel that maybe I'm not as far behind in the technology scene as I thought I may have been although I know there is definitely still room for improvement and creativity.

8/2: Reflection - 12 PE Progress

12 PE Progress

8th February 2017

This year is my first time teaching Level 2 Physical Education and I was excited to see a lot of familiar faces from Core PE last year. Going along to my first lesson I thought that this class would be the easiest to form relationships with, having taught most of them before. Although I have a good relationship with most of the students in the class I noticed in my first lesson that they were rather awkward with each other.

Our first lesson was only 20 minutes long due to a '6 period morning'. I decided to use this time to learn more about my students and for them to learn more about each other. I decided to start off with an activity called Connections that I learnt on a PD course last year. This activity starts with someone sharing information about themselves. They choose what they are willing to share. While sharing they aim to make a connection with someone else in the room. When a connection is made that person says "I can connect with that". They then explain the connection, introduce themselves and share something new about themselves.

I have used this connection activity a few times with different classes and it has always worked really well, but this time it was just plain awkward.  No matter what question I asked the 12 PE class, in or out of the connections activity they were very reluctant to share in front of each other. The time they seemed most comfortable was when they were talking in their small friend groups.

Since that lesson we have spent 4 lessons completing a variety of ABL activities. The purpose of these activities were aiming to loosen them up and get them communicating with each other. Pictures and examples of those ABL activities are below:

Leap Frog 

Hidden Pathway

River Crossing

The way they were awkward in class, with the boys and girls keeping to themselves, I was worried about our first assessment of the year, 2.4 (Ki-O-Rahi). Even throughout the first couple of lessons of ABL activities the girls would work with each other and so would the boys. I trying to help them grow their confidence levels and start working together in a range of contexts.

By the end of our 4th lesson I was really proud with the progress the class had made. They were more open to communicating with each other and were working together better as a class. Even the segregation between the boys and girls was slowly disappearing. Fingers crossed that this improvement continues and the class keeps blossoming!