At the end of today's session we will be setting a team goal based on a reflection, lightbulb moment or pit moment you have had in your teams today.
Add a comment below to share your team goal with us. These will be reflected on during next week's PLD session.
To shift the focus away from making the mechanics of the collaborative teaching work back to meeting the specific needs of our learners.
ReplyDeleteThe collaborative teaching rotation flowed quite well this week for the first time. We also had the added challenge of incorporating T.A's into our literacy programme. We had a good focus on reading as wedge graphs were due this week. Now we are faced with how to cope with groups that are splitting while maintaining our rotation system. Writing still remains an area to review and refine.
DeleteThis sounds like a great goal - moving between the how, what and why to ensure that what you are doing meets the needs of your children, and their teachers!
DeleteReading worked out ok but we still haven't got to talk through the writing. This remains a goal. We are going to look at our rotation groups in the holidays and change a couple of stations on our rotation circuit.
DeleteWe combined and improved some stations in our literacy rotation and we find that the children are more engaged. The rotation is flowing well and we don't have to spend so much time thinking about how that is working. We are now thinking about ways to improve our planning to better meet the specific needs of the children. In light of our team/peer documentation appraisal we are now looking at ways to improve our planning in writing.
DeleteSenior Team Goal - our goal is to let students plan and implement their own learning programme based around our advertising unit for the morning. The main instructional parts of the lesson will come from pre-recorded lessons on our weebly. The students will plan their own read and feed breaks and have the choice of three presentation options using technology.
ReplyDeleteWe are continuing to further develop this goal and the tasks each week as the students become more accountable for their own learning. Really enjoyed reading Stephen Heppell's blog about the spaces and teacher roles so we will continue to refine this as we go.
DeletePlus
DeleteMajority of students highly engaged...
...These children produced some excellent results
'Expert' children teaching others, especially with technology
Tasks forced children to work both cooperatively in groups and independently
Motivated children enjoyed the freedom of planning their learning and not having to wait for others
Because the set up was already done their was much less 'teacher talk' and more time for the session - and this also encouraged self management from the children
Minus
Unmotivated children need constant attention…
work output from some children
Some of children need to risk take - plan an idea and just rip in without thought
Interesting
Acting skills of senior team
I am really interested in what you have trialled here! How exciting and motivating for your children and it is great to hear that they were engaged! After our middle team trip to Auckland last week, Bianca and her team are looking at ways they can make their timetable more flexible which links so nicely with this!
DeleteRefine our collaborative teaching practices to further encourage children to see teachers as a team unit rather than individuals. We need to reinforce the expectations of who children can go to for help (ie not just their maths group teacher) there is a roving teacher always available. HB 10,11,12 are going to trial meeting together at the end of maths session (HB 7,8,9 are already doing this) UJT
ReplyDeleteHB 10, 11, 12 have been meeting at the end of maths sessions Mon, Wed, Fri and a different teacher will lead the plenary. Have been using a game, word problem, video etc. They have also had a day where all children were mixed up and worked on maths games together - a maths game bonanza!
DeleteConscious of setting expectations for the children that they are to go to the roving teacher rather than interrupting the teaching teacher.
New goal for UJT - to fine tune our maths programme and use of teacher aide time to better meet the needs of our large number of target students who are well below the standards.
DeleteIt is great that your goal has changed as your emerging needs with some children have been identified. Being able to use the TA time to support the teachers and allow teachers to spend time with those who most need it could be a really powerful tool. I love how you have been experimenting with who the best 'roving' teacher is
Delete* Student led discovery, take on board the Passion Project. Collate ideas of what the students want to do during discovery.
ReplyDelete*Take down the internal walls between each home base, add a playful element by putting in tunnels?
*Stage a 'coup' to take over the Year 5/6 MLE space which will provide a smoother transition from early childhood to school.
Comments by the amazing Blue Block Teachers
We are planning to get students to plan their own Discovery zones for the next Discovery planning cycle next week.
DeleteAdele's HB made swords today and are practising manoeuvres for a more fluid MLE space.
Additional goal: to involve children in designing learning spaces and depersonalise current HB's... starting with Year 2's.
All teachers are going to work with their HB"s to decide on what the Discovery Zones will be for the next two weeks. If there are several suggestions, we will note these down and add them to a poster that will be displayed in the learning studio.
DeleteThe Y1's have worked with the children to create their library in the breakout room - this was the children's idea. Some of what the children wanted was a surprise to teachers. A bigger meeting space was made in HB14 which has been renamed the "Watering Hole." Next week Serena and Erin will work with their children to arrange their own furniture.
It sounds like Adele might have an answer to the 'space dilemma'!
DeleteGreat to hear that choice is really being encouraged and that discovery is being targeted to the requests of the children.
I am also excited to hear what you are doing with the furniture to develop very agile and flexible spaces - nice one!
This term's Discovery has been geared to what the children have requested. Discovery Zones are proving very popular. A very cool "forest discovery" zone was held by Adele last week - pretty much the entire team went through the zone.
DeleteThe Y1's have further developed the spaces idea. Hb14 continues to be the "Watering Hole" for all three classes with less furniture inside. In HB14 the children haven't had enough tables so now use different spaces including the floor. At guided reading, two teachers work in the one room, the other roves and monitors the other children.
In the Y2's it's been interesting to see how they perceive their space - many look upon their HB number solely as THEIR room and can't get past the shared environment. Our aim is to de-personalise the spaces even more with the teachers working in "each other's" homebase.
The Y2's see the space as a shared space. This is more apparent before school and where they choose to work during literacy time. They are changing the way they think and the way they see the learning spaces provided for them to utilise.
DeleteIt will be interesting to see how the Y1's will respond to this next year.
We talked about depersonalising the space through children's work being displayed across the learning space.
Will create a closed group on Facebook to add ideas for teaching and learning spaces for 2014. We feel this would conducive for instant recording of our ideas.
Continue to implement Reggio inspired aspects into our learning programme. Encouraging and allowing for more student voice in our inquiry, and allowing the children's interests to decide the direction of this.
ReplyDeleteBoth Sarah and I have continued with our wall story for dance inquiry. Using thinking keys for inquiry and reading this week.
DeleteDiscovery is student lead. We are considering allowing the children to suggest possible zone ideas. Discovery zones are linked to wonder wall ideas.
Still working towards using more student voice in the direction of inquiry.
Having an opportunity for choice and voice is so powerful! I know that this is a specific tool for GATE students as well to keep them motivated and empowered in their learning - being able to choose what, where, when and how gives ownership to GATE students.
DeleteI am really excited to hear more about what you have been doing in your team on Wednesday afternoon!
During team planning day we have discussed how we will include student voice in our discovery planning. Where children will have choice about the zones on offer. Hope to have this in place by week 5/6. Re-inite wonder wall.
DeleteDuring week 3 Sarah and I are observing numeracy at Freeville. This is on the recommendation that they have a really hands-on and discovery style of teaching numeracy. This fits with our Reggio inspired influence.
Sarah and I have returned to group based writing this term. Trying to best use our team teaching time.
Ana has created numeracy resources that encourage gross motor skills and movement in line with the Reggio idea of kinesthetic learning and meeting a variety of learning styles. To continue to be developed.
Middle Team
ReplyDeleteOur goal is to look at the MLE in regards to space; creating spaces within spaces, and rooms within rooms, to ensure we are utilising the learning environment and creating and most inspiring place for our children to explore.
Ask Caitlin and her passion project team about their experiment!
Middle Team
ReplyDeleteGoal is still a work in progress - will have rooms within rooms by the end of term! Watch this space!
I love the way that you are including the passion projects in this goal so that it is truly being student led - nice one team! Looking forward to your rooms within rooms too - reflective questions - do these 'rooms' have to have walls?!
DeleteHB40 Goal!
ReplyDeleteBy the end of the term we would like children to be more independently:
- Plan their weekly independent tasks
- Refer to their plan during independent time and manage their time
- Reflect on their weekly tasks and be able to talk about what they achieved each day
Reflecting on our Rooms within Rooms goal in HB60...
ReplyDeleteIn construction and technology, the children constructed rooms within rooms. The children were excited about the prospect of new spaces and building and designing these themselves. We now have a permanent tent in our space! Children at times do not use this appropriately so whether we now look at it as a privilege 'super space'?!
New goal for Term 4...
This term we have implemented flexible timetables where students plan their own timetable during the week. We would like to see the children self-managing their own time and using their initiative as to when to move onto a new task. Our goal is to model and scaffold this process further to give the children the skills and knowledge they need for success.
Kids are doing an awesome job! We can't wait for next year and kick off this style of teaching and learning.
DeleteNew UJT Goal re self-mamaging and behaviour which has slipped this term. Continuos high expectations, aspiring leaders for 2014 awards, bean bag and learning studio passes back into action, STEP's system and golden time consequences. We want to encourage the UJT children back to the responsible self-managers they were last term.
ReplyDeleteContinue to manage who is working out in the learning studio. Inquiry went really well - we think this is due to the topic. Loved the way we were able to integrate so much of our classroom programme into this inquiry. Had great buy in from the kids. We need to carry on with high behavior expectations until the end of the year. Anyone who is caught in blocks during break time misses the next break or for second time offenders their lunch time!
DeleteSenior Team has been extending our goals around the flipped classroom approach to other learning areas. We have learning pathways being used in Maths and have introduced Media Monday - where the students have been producing a school magazine. The development of Media Monday has allowed the students to select their own genres for writing and opt into interest groups. Students are leading the direction of this magazine and a core group are overseeing the final product. Some students are "stepping up" and using their initiative more to lead others without being asked. Groups are re-arranging the environment to suit their needs during these sessions.
ReplyDelete