28/8: PD - Student Advisory Panel

PD: Student Advisory Panel

28th August 2017

As a part of today's Staff PD we had a group of students from various year levels who are members of our Student Advisory Panel present to us. After students from Kaipara College came and presented on what student led initiatives they were running throughout their school, staff and students alike were inspired to start here at King's College. As a result a Student Advisory Panel was created and approached one of our Senior Leadership staff to come and talk to staff about Student-Teacher Relationships. Throughout this presentation students covered the importance of; getting to know your students, feeling comfortable enough to ask questions,  getting to know your teacher on a more personal level, rapport in the classroom & staff participation in school or house activities.

Hotene started by giving us some background as to how the Student Advisory Panel was formed, who is represented and their inspiration. After the creation of the Panel they decided to discuss things that they all valued and what messages they wanted to portray. Key points that were highlighted were; students knowing that any mistake is fixable, feeling comfortable to ask for help and knowing teachers will approach you if you are stuck. He then introduced the students who would be speaking in today's session and what topics they will be addressing.


Importance of getting to know your students

• Students who learnt more felt more comfortable in their environment
• 4 main results due to having a student-teacher relationship:
• academic success
• less behaviour management by developing a relationship with disruptive students as no student wants to fail, instead you just need to find out what makes them click 
• development of self worth
• more productive environment
• How to develop:
• knowledge of names & pronunciation, ethnicity/cultural background, day student vs boarder
• Showing interest in students life outside of school - how was your day/weekend?
• Students felt that a stronger relationship with teacher resulted in better classroom environment, homework handed in on time and students felt they listened more in class

The importance of feeling comfortable to ask questions

• This particular Year 11 student felt like since she was new to the College that she wasn't up to speed. She included that she felt behind in regards to relationships with teachers and other students & teaching styles and platforms. This resulted in her feeling left behind and judged for having to ask questions
• She explained that since she was new people were more lenient in regards to certain aspects of school life such as handing in homework was late. This made her feel confused as she liked the extra help but also felt it was unfair that it was not being offered to the whole class and felt uncomfortable about her special treatment
• Another key message of hers was he importance of being open to allow all students to ask questions. E.g. don't single out new students, expect questions from everyone and specify when extra help is available outside of class (can students email, ask for help, have extra time, extra sessions etc.)

The importance of knowing your teacher on a more personal level

• This speaker addressed the importance of his teachers opening up about their personal life as he feels that he is able to develop more respect for his teachers and sees them as more of a mentor in their life
• Although stories may not be relevant to what they are learning they helped develop respect
• Sharing information about themselves on the first day helps to break the ice and show that we are all human
• Using personal experiences to help show practical examples
• Spending one on one time with students - sharing personal information/connection with students to help them through

The importance of rapport in the classroom

• Strengthen general collective respect for the teacher, individual rapport through conversations, have an environment in which
• Finding a common ground, maintaining eye contact throughout conversations

The importance of teacher participation in house/school activities

• Teacher involvement in school activities such as swimming sports & athletics
• Teachers showing interest in student lives outside of class

The idea is not to tell us what to teach, since we already know that but they are showing us how they like to learn

The aim of this session was for students to feel valued and get there points and feelings across on certain points. They stressed the importance that this session was not for them to tell us what to teach them as we know better. Rather, they were hoping to show us how they like to learn and feel in the classroom.

Some points really stood out from this session for me. An example is the idea that the more you give of yourself to your students, the more you are likely to receive back from them. I also liked the reminder that no student likes to be seen as disruptive or naughty and they don't purposely fail. Instead it is our job to try and connect with our students, to build a relationship and find the style of learning that works best for them.

Link to blog post regarding Student Agency from Kaipara College students found here.

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.

4/9: Reflection - 2017 Inquiry Update

Reflection: 2017 Inquiry Update

4th August 2017

At our Staff Professional Development Day on Monday, part of our day was spent in groups with people completing similar inquiries. I was in a group with inquiries based around student engagement, motivation and relationships. The idea was that by being placed in a group with people completing similar inquiries that we were able to share our progress and gain some new ideas from others. Below are some questions that our discussions were based off and will give more of an insight into my 2017 inquiry and how I am progressing.

2017 Inquiry: How to develop my L2 class into self-motivated learners

Why did you identify this as an area for inquiry?

I identified this an area for inquiry as I had previously identified that this class is very dependent in their learning styles. Some examples include students unsure on how to take notes, asking the teacher straight away rather than trying to problem solve or even check notes etc.

How will the inquiry impact on student outcomes?

I would like to think that throughout this inquiry process students will learn important skills or tips that will allow them to succeed in other subjects and even help with skills moving into year 13 and onto university.

Is the inquiry important and relevant in terms of improving student learning?

By students gaining more confidence in themselves and their own ability they will start to become more independent learners which may allow them to work more efficiently in my class but others as well.

Is the inquiry able to be supported by evidence?

Yes I will be able to collect some qualitative data. This may be in the form of student tracking sheets (are students up to date on work), teacher observations (student on task behaviour), noting who is asking for help & seeing if they have tried to problem solve before asking. 

What evidence have you gathered/utilised for far?

I have used student voice and incorporated it into my planning (more about this in the next question). I have also had a teacher observation at the start of my inquiry in which different strategies I already had in place. These included encouragement and guiding students to find the answer rather than telling them the answer. My reflection on that lesson observation can be found here.

Have you gathered student feedback? What did that tell you?

Student feedback I have gathered was in regards to preferred learning styles and tasks after completing our 2.2 assessment. This not only helped me evaluate the effectiveness of my teaching throughout this unit but I could also see preferred the learning activities. The results told me that students liked learning through notes, practical labs, practice paragraphs, worksheets & class discussions. By seeing these results I was able to ensure most learning tasks were taught through these preferred learning styles.

*Need to do another student voice survey to see if results are still the same

Could it be improved by phrasing it as a question?

I originally phrased my inquiry as 'how can I create a culture of independent learning in my classroom?'

What strategies have you trialled in class so far?

I did a small spiral inquiry to start about what actually is an independent learner. This involved research, readings and talking to and observing other staff members about what they are doing within there own classrooms to develop independent learners.

So far I have tried a few minor strategies to help increase motivation of learners in my class. This has included:

• setting clear deadlines with punishments if they are not met
• guiding students towards the answer rather than telling them
• 'dangling the carrot' - providing motivation through credits & practicals
• ensuring students understand the why
• time allocations to complete tasks vs having a list of tasks that need to be completed within the lesson

After this discussion on Monday I have started using Google Classroom with my Level 2 class. Students are responding positively as all tasks, assessments & announcements are all in the same place. I will write a future blog post updating on this.

So where to from here?

Throughout the discussion and after meeting with Alex I have gained some other strategies to try with my Level 2 students. These include:

• Continue unpacking the why - unpack the assessment right at the start of the unit to help provide more direction & then students can create their own links
• Timetabled tutorial times - this will help to establish expectations and routines. Hopefully students will have learnt their lesson that if they don't turn up and make the most of these opportunities they will not get extra time when they ask via email etc. Can also timetable these for students and parents to see so times are clear
• Ask 3 before me - students need to look through 3 different sources before asking the teacher, these sources could be google, notes or a peer
• Create a checklist that students need to check prior to handing in work whether it is a homework task or assessment. This would start as being constructed by myself before co-constructing and students creating their own.
• Differentiated learning vs independent learners
• Gamification? Can create psychological hooks for students - e.g. level up, key to unlock extra or reward when reaching a certain level, clan working together as a common goal working against another clan, progression bar

19/7: Reflection - National PENZ Conference - Past, Present, Future

Reflection: National PENZ Conference - Past, Present, Future

19th July

From 10th - 12th July I was down at Papamoa College attending the National PENZ conference. The conference is made from a wide range of educators, from Primary to Tertiary, along with other external providers from the 3 key organisations of Physical Education New Zealand, Education Outdoors New Zealand & Health Education Association New Zealand. This year's theme was around celebrating the past, understanding the present and looking forward into the future. 

Across the 3 days I was able to attend a variety of sessions, present my own session with Georgia & continue creating many new connections. Like last year, I had many great takeways from conference and hope to share some of my highlights.

The conference started off with 3 key note speakers - Professor Ian Culpan to represent the past, Cameron Smith to represent the present & Helen Tuhoro to represent the future. These 3 speakers were a great way of captivating the theme right from the start of conference and are my first highlight. 

Ian is one of the creators of our current New Zealand Curriculum document. He emphasized he would be to trying to address the influences of what is happening in our learning area. This started with the idea of HPE being the hostage of politics, ideologies and cultural concepts through key themes of controlling and discipling the human body and normalisation of behaviour. However, he wanted to remind us that HPE is a learning area based around humanism and the development of people. Throughout his Keynote Ian got us thinking about how we ensure we challenge these 'norms' we are faced with everyday.

Cameron's key theme was putting the emphasis in the value of Physical Education not physical outcomes. He got me to reflect on what the role of a Physical Education teacher is, ensuring that we are putting the learning and sociocultural thought at the forefront of our subject and whether we are doing enough in our junior curriculum to cultivate critical thinking. He also gave fun practical examples of how our students could learn, in, through and about movement rather than through theories in a classroom. One example was how Deb Robertson is trying to get away from formal standardized assessments, so is instead getting her students to reflect throughout the units.

Helen finished off by inspiring us all through Tarawera's journey. Helen spoke about the importance of relationships and giving students hope. To do so at Tarawera three things needed to change; the people, the environment & the curriculum. This involved the creation of the MANA (Manakitanga, Ako, Ngāku-pono & Āwhina) acronym and asking the questions of what are we here for, what do we want from them and how are we going to do it? Key points that I am going to take away is ensuring that my students see the point in every learning activity and where it is taking them in the bigger picture. Key quotes I am also going to take into my practice include:

• "Great teachers engineer great learning that put the students in the driver's seat"
• "The first step to raising achievement is by raising engagement"
• "If it is not tough and doesn't challenge you it won't change you"

Tracey Clelland along with Rachael Dixon & Jenny Robertson's presentations also stood out to me. I decided to go to these as I am currently trying to rewrite the Year 9 Health programme. Tracey's presentation was around building resilience. She gave us some activities that we can take into our classes to get students to truly think about who they are through using 'the power of vulnerability' and how we can put the '5 Ways to Wellbeing' in action not only within our classes but our own communities. Rachael & Jenny's was around teaching and learning activity ideas around the topic of Alcohol & Drugs. This 90 minute session gave us ideas on what we may want in the unit and activities that can allow us to challenge our students thinking. These activities included; continuums, scenarios, identifying influences & PIPS. Look out for a future blog post to see how my unit planning is going and how I have used these ideas. 

Another highlight was Sara Hayward's 'Engaging the disengaged' presentation. This session stood out to me as it closely links through to my inquiry for the year of how to create independent learners.  Sara's improvements were made over 3 years with the same cohort. These findings were inspiring and being able to talk to others in the session helped me to brainstorm new ideas. Not only was I able to pick up on some new ideas, but it also allowed me to acknowledge that I have been on the right track in what I have currently been doing and that maybe all I need is extra time. Keep an eye out for a future blog post on specifics that I took from Sara's presentation and how it has helped my 2017 inquiry. 

Other highlights included Lesley Park & Alison Schofields presentation on troubles with marking and moderation surrounding Level 2, Mike King's closing Keynote and presenting my first ever PENZ presentation with Georgia on our BT Journey and the part Twitter has played (see her post on this here). Georgia and I also won a prize for our costume (pictured below) and of course we were both humbled when we were awarded with the PENZ award of Outstanding New Professionals!

Overall it was another successful conference in which I am walking away with new ideas and inspiration, new connections and having finally met other educators that I have been previously connecting with!

20/6: Reflection - Life as a BT Presentation

Reflection: Life as a BT Presentation

20th June 2017

Last night Georgia and I had the awesome opportunity to go and present at Takapuna Grammar. The presentation was to a group of HPE students who are just finishing their study at AUT. The presentation was based around life as a BT. The opportunity arose as Hayden Viles (teacher at Takapuna Grammar & tutor to the AUT students) contacted the pair of us via Twitter. He thought it would be a great opportunity to have his students' questions answered by current BTs. 

In the lead up to the presentation we were sent 10 different questions which had been collated by Hayden, covering key points from his students. We started by writing our ideas down on a Google Doc before transforming them into key points in a Google Slide presentation. 

In some ways the whole presentation was a bit of a surreal experience. Students were taking notes throughout the session and asking extra questions. Some were even asking for advice! By being able to share my teaching journey so far, along with my learning curves and experiences, I hope others can take away tips and learn from some of my own mistakes.

Overall the feedback on the presentation was postive - even receiving a tweet from one of the students who was at the presentation last night thanking us for the presentation.

So what was the relevance to my own professional learning by taking this opportunity? 

By answering the questions given to us it actually forced me to stop and reflect holistically on my first year and a half of teaching. Not all of these were questions that I had previously thought of myself. 

A second part was being able to give back. By sharing my experiences I hope that it may help others in the PE community. I would have loved to have received an opportunity like this before starting teaching. To be able to question a BT and ask them about their experience, it would have helped me feel more prepared. Knowing how much I would have valued the opportunity as a student myself, why would I pass the opportunity to do this for someone else? I realize that everyone's experiences will be different but at least you can enter your first year of teaching with some advice and answers, rather than unknowns. 

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. 

22/5: Reflection - 12 PED Lesson Observation & 2017 Inquiry

Reflection: 12 PED Lesson Observation & 2017 Inquiry

22nd May 2017

Today I met with Melissa to review the lesson that she observed on the 16th of May. She observed me teaching my Level 2 class with the purpose of giving me some sort of starting point for my 2017 Inquiry. The lesson observation can be found here.

So for my inquiry this year I have decided to focus on my Level 2 class and how to create independent learners. One problem, I have been stalling and have been unsure about where to start. I thought that Melissa's observation would be a great start to identify strategies I am already using in class and to make any suggestions of what to try or what I can change within my classroom and my own practice.

Melissa identified that I already have some great strategies in place such as making my students working for the answer and finding it out for themselves, rather than telling them. This was something I had not even considered before!

A couple of days after my observation I had my regular meeting with Alex. We spent this time focussing on my inquiry for the year. She helped me to realize the reason why I was stalling and struggling to start was because I was unsure myself what I was hoping to get out of my students. I knew I wanted them to be more independent but was unsure what an independent student might look like.

So where to from here?

Obviously before I can start applying strategies to my students to help create independent learners I need to figure out what an independent learner might look like, sound like & feel like. I will start with a spiral inquiry researching this. This could be through readings and also talking to other teachers about independent learning and observing their strategies in action.

After reading into what an independent learner is, I will research strategies to see what I may already be using and what other strategies I can try applying. I will aim to find 2-3 new strategies to apply within Term 3.