Charlotte Verity Professional Learning (School Based)

3.9.2015 Focus questions How are target writers prompted? What activities/tasks meet their needs? What data is collected and how oftens Observations What I noticed: How can I bring this into my practice? Very positive having a small group and allowing for more teacher-student time Clear WALT discussed with students and written on board. Students could check on the WALT throughout session Having a writing challenge at beginning was positive and engaged children Lots of praise given one to one from teacher Spelling cards – students felt more able with this Use more tuakana teina in learning Review and write up WALT each writing session Ask children to count up and improve no. of words written each day   Use more praise, and encourage students to share and celebrate work  Get spelling cards

I was interested to focus my observation on Te Waka Una on: * How  do teachers collaborate - in terms of space, student groups, planning? * What opportunities are provided for student self-management, agency and voice? * What digital devices are used and how these are managed? I saw a very  calm ,  focused  working environment with all students doing, making, writing, reading together or independently… inspiring ! Teacher collaboration Each term, teams review data and group students, with a focus on target students. Target students receive additional teacher sessions (short, sharp sessions during other whole class work e.g. handwriting) Students are grouped (assessment) and matched to teachers' skills and interests e.g. one teacher may teach multiple art classes, across levels. Students develop relationships with more teachers, and get the best teaching skills available for their needs. Staff teach to their strengths Frequent data review and fle...

Something that has really challenged me this week is student motivation.   Do students believe they can achieve (i.e. that their effort can impact on outcome; intelligence/ability is not something that is fixed from birth - see Dwek etc) Do they feel what they are learning matters? Is it related to them and to the real world? How can they share what they are learning?  Do they have opportunities to experience success?  What can I/others do/say to help them feel/enjoy this success? How can I provide for and listen to students' voices? How can I give them a REAL  say in what and how they learn? What can I do as a teacher to engage them? What tools do I have? e.g. build relationships; bring in humour; use a variety of stimulus which connects to the real world; encourage positive connections with others; set up tasks which allow students to connect with others; knowing students' interests and planning learning accordingly; help students direct their ...

Inquiry into the  Māori migration to NZ - 'Getting there Together' Term 2, 2015 During Term 2, students learnt about how the early  Māori worked together on the migration to NZ and in early Pa life. This aligned well with our school value of 'we get there together'. We also explored the flora and fauna of NZ at the time the  Māori arrived, and reflected on how it had changed since. Students then took this learning and practised 'getting there together' by forming small groups and worked collaboratively. Students planned to create an aspect of early  Māori life; planned and collected their resources to do so; and then problem solved situations together. One of the highlights of this learning was having parents in class to work with the students. One father came and taught a small group of boys about carving. He brought cultural knowledge and experience far beyond anything I could offer the students as a teacher, and having a different personality in the roo...

Tilting the Seesaw Workshop 2015 - Autism NZ Notes by Charlotte Verity This workshop was amazingly informative...it helped me build empathy for my ASD students, and provided lots of new strategies for me to try. Sharing ideas and challenges with other teachers of ASD students was highly beneficial...I have used many of their ideas in my own practise with positive outcomes. My relationships with two ASD students have improved dramatically as a result. Key strategies to try with ASD students Allow wait time - 5 words maximum then wait 5 seconds + for a reply IMPERSONAL WORKS - when speaking with child about an issue or upset that has happened, use WE / ALL / US   ...not YOU / ME / I Start a ‘proud of’ book...listing all the things you are proud of each day, for whole class or solely for an ASD child Points or other systems for participation or on task work - e.g. marbles in jar, tokens velcro’ed to a board CLARITY - be clear on expectations (don’t add ex...

April  2015 Learning is Challenging! "It is too hard, I don't want to do this anymore." "Ohhhhh....not balancing equations again!" "...but I am no good at..." These student comments have really struck me...and made me look further afield. How can I help students realise that learning can and is tough at times; that you don't necessarily "get it" straight away; that all of the greatest thinkers and doers had to persist through challenge? A colleague suggested reading Karen Boyes' blog  and post on Modern Learning Environments - the underlying philosophy to success. , especially: ' Explain to your students that your job is to cause learning to happen and this will not occur if you give them easy work. However you must also give them the skills to cope with the hard. Can your student persist, think flexibly, be creative, take responsible risks?' I took Helen's advice, and the following day my co-teacher and I ...

20 November 2015 Teaching as Inquiry: Writing This year, I have been working on the following goals for 8 'at risk' Grade 3 & 4 writers. All are currently working toward the curriculum standard for their year. Our goals: Say and write 6+ sentences in one session Correctly form all lower case letters Spell Essential Lists 1, 2 and, if ready, List 3 Improve engagement in writing Results for Term 4 THESE RESULTS ARE FOR 6 CHILDREN. One child refused to complete assessments (behaviour). Another child has significant literacy difficulties, who has been referred to an Resource Teacher Literacy (RTLit) for further support. Children show: * Increased or maintained correct number of essential spelling words * All students forming 25 to 26 alphabet letters correctly * All stude nts have improved the length of their work, and now write 5-12 sentences * For the child under RT Lit support, he has shown improved engagement, story length, and now includ...