Qu 3: Building an accurate profile of students' learning - tools, measures and approaches...

Students who have achieved at a level considered to be 'below' the level they should be, are approximately a year behind the level they need to be at to make sense of the new learning. These are the students who with encouragement, scaffolding and explicit teaching will often make the gains needed to reach expectation.

Professional development empowers teachers with the skills to improve classroom practises, by introducing them to new learning which can make the changes needed in their practice to help strengthen the connections their students have to the learning. On occasions PLD is something that is simply attended so that a box can be ticked, but when embraced, can make a real difference. Sometimes despite having all the I's dotted and all the T's crossed shift does not take place. 

The conversations that often follow these results tend to apportion blame towards the student.... We have all at one stage or another heard phrases like '...did not connect to the test...'didn't read the questions carefully'... 'ran out of time'... 'was having a bad day...' It is only in recent times that we have been hearing teachers truly reflecting on their practice. What excites me as a team leader is hearing teachers identify where the gaps are in their own practice, then actively explore ways to try and fill these gaps. It the teachers who see student shift as a collaborative journey who make the most difference.

After the beginning of year data was collected and analysed at class level, this data was then shared at team level. As a group we celebrated our successes and looked at what teachers were doing in their classrooms to achieve these results. These strategies were then shared with examples that helped people see what it looked like in practise. Collectively we identified the support we would need to make both big and small changes in our practices, that would help to accelerate shift in all our learners, and together we formulated a plan that will help us get there.

The tools/measures/approaches:

• Planning 
• Long term
• Site DLOs
• Shared format
• Sharing time at syndicate meetings
• 10 minute quick tips that can be used in literacy
• Feedback from PLD and resources shared
• Classroom observations 
• linked to literacy
• Peer observations
• linked to literacy
• noticing ideas that are working and are embedded in the program
• Surveys
• Teachers
• Students - target group
• Time point 1/2 data analysis

Qu. #2 - Why we judge this to be the most important and catalytic issue of learning for this group of learners this year...

Achieving accelerated shift in Literacy was identified as being one of the most important and catalytic issues of learning facing our students in Y4 - 8, this year, when the time point one data was analysed. Exploring how learning gained from professional development is helping to strengthen teacher practice and achievement in literacy is something I haven't looked at before so I am looking forward to sharing my findings.

As I am not looking specifically into my own practice it is important to maintain anonymity. This inquiry is a syndicate wide focus and therefore not a focus on individual teachers. Our starting point with professional development linked to Literacy undertaken by the senior syndicate (Y4-Y8) in the 2023/24 period consists of:

• In Class Support (ICS) 2023
• Reading Program Intensive 2023 teacher/mentor meetings and observations 2023
• T Shaped Literacy 2023
• The Code 2024
• In Class Support (ICS) 2024
• PRT Y1/2 teacher/mentor meetings and observations 2023/24

To measure the shift I needed clear picture of where our student's starting points were. What to collect for baseline data was something I struggled with as I couldn't decide on the best way to do this. Like many faced with a direction conundrum, the task ahead found its way to the 'I'll do it later basket'. My problem was 'later' became a hard time to find. I knew I needed help and today that help came in the form of Amy Tofa and Matt Goodwin. 

I explained my inquiry focus and together we came up with a way forward that made sense to me. A really useful piece of advice here is to talk to your colleagues as saying things out loud and getting a 2nd opinion, or 3rd in my case, is one of the most valuable resources we can tap into. Amy pointed out to me that the picture I was trying to capture was huge and suggested I focus on one group of students. I am 100% taking her advice to focus on our students who scored 'Below' on our beginning of year literacy assessments.

The data above shows the percentage of our Year 4 -8 students who scored Below expectation on the PAT Reading Comprehension and e-asTTle assessments. I will be using this data to measure the shift made between the two cluster wide assessment timepoints in my target group. 

Qu 1: Student Inquiry Foci...

With the Manaiakalani goals of achieving 1.5 years progress inside a year (big 3), improving teacher practice, increasing attendance and hauora in mind, Richard Johnston, (our principal), challenged me to look at 'How we (PBS) are using PLD to accelerate shift across our school'. Having inquired into my own practice for many years I was excited to embrace this much bigger school wide focus. However, when I sat down to map out the way forward I realised I could make more impact if I looked across my own team, the senior syndicate.

To do this I am going to need to drill down into student achievement and teacher planning across our syndicate and look closely at how my team is using their new knowledge to change their practice and accelerate shift in student achievement in Literacy. To ensure this new learning becomes embedded within teacher practice we capture the journey via our appraisal system. This gives both myself as the appraiser and the teacher as the appraisee, a shared vision of how we can both contribute to their professional growth moving forward. It also means I can, to quote Russell Burt, capitalise on my role as our in school COL teacher to lead the teacher inquiry process to help 'build teacher and school capability in raising student achievement outcomes by linking evidence to practice.'

When looking at our class data we already have processes in place that allow each teacher to identify where the gaps are and think about why these gaps might be there before we can begin to fill them. It is not about trying to fix everything but rather strengthen the areas that need the most focus. In our team we do this both individually at class level and collaboratively at syndicate level. It helps to identify the commonalities so that we can move forward together learning with and from each other along the way. I will share this process in my next post.

My challenge now is to find out how I can capitalise on the learning gained from professional development undertaken by my team to help accelerate shift across our Year 4 - 8 classes. When I unpacked my journey forward I realised it's not about only strengthening teacher practice but also about how we can harness the creativity and power of our new learning to strengthen student engagement and spark curiosity in literacy.

TOD 2024...

We began our 2024 learning journey this year with a staff challenge to meet at the top of Mt Wellington / Maungarei. The reason, to help all our staff (old and new) to strengthen their connections to the whenua our kura stands on, and set them up for success as we step into our first Inquiry focus of the year, 'Our Whenua'.

Back at school we revisited the Learn-Create-Share model which was unpacked and applied to rich discussions as to how we could apply the learning across the curriculum to our pending whole school visit to Maungarei.

Following on from this I lead a PLD session to show how we could find the story behind our local area through a close look at the street names. This was adapted from a previous challenge set by Richard Johnston in 2022, and the learning from a toolkit run by Scott Mansell from Tamaki College. What I appreciated from this was the buy in from the staff and suggestions of ways we could adapt was was originally planned as a Year 7/8 lesson to every year group. We definitely do learn best when we learn from each other!

Bursts and Bubbles 2023

Last week the Manaiakalani COL teachers shared the impact of their 2023 Teacher Inquiry. The link to all the inquiry bursts can be found here. 

Here is my journey...

Here’s a question that frustrates me each time I mark easttle writing samples… Why have you used that word? Yes, the words change, but the question stays the same. 

We model, unpack and provide rich opportunities for a wide variety of vocabulary to be explored and used, yet at the end of 2022 and again at the start of this year, most of my learners reverted back to using simple everyday words in their independent writing. I thought this was the catalyst for the low vocabulary and spelling scores. Scores, I thought, we could improve with a concentrated focus on spelling conventions and rules.

The time point 1 data analysis showed that my learners were using words they could spell, instead of the words they wanted to use, but couldn’t spell. 

However, as we all know, some ideas don’t go the way you want them to. I thought, if we knew how to spell the words, we would use them. Wrong! Yes my learners could easily spell and define the vocabulary we explored in class, but unless directed to, simply did not use them. 

This all changed when Dr Jacinta Oldehaver sent me a professional reading that unpacked the word gifting journey Sylvia Ashton Warner had been on many years before me. In a nutshell, what began as a focus on spelling conventions and rules, quickly morphed into an inquiry into word consciousness which involved my learners being aware of new words, their meanings, and how these words are used. 

My students were conscious of the words they were meeting in their T shaped literacy units because they owned them. When I say owned them, it is because I physically gifted them a word each. A word on a square of paper that they had to keep alive by looking after them and bringing with them physically, to each literacy lesson. 

The motivation to learn these words, and more importantly use them in context came through daily challenges that as a group they were expected to meet. Who would have ever thought these small squares of paper would encourage 15 students to make sure each word had been used by its owner twice each lesson! This group knew when a word had only been used by it’s owner once, and got very creative in their ways to ensure the daily target had been met. Intrinsic motivation at its best.

Ironically I started hearing these words used in discussions across the curriculum and noticed they were spelt correctly when used in written responses, which was something we never actually focused on. 

The inclusion of these words in the T4 easttle writing samples resulted in a noticeable change in vocabulary and spelling scores when time point 2 data was analysed. Student voice collected at both time points shows the fear of making a mistake remains the biggest hurdle. However for these students, the journey towards overcoming this has begun.

The most important learning I made in regards to fostering a culture of word consciousness, is that sometimes things don’t go to plan so don’t be afraid to start again if it all goes wrong. Drive the change and find ways to give your students ownership of the change you want to effect by making it purposeful and fun.

Sharing time at PBS...

Over the last few weeks we have had our own PBS version of Bursts and Bubbles to share our 2023 teaching inquiries. This was really interesting to listen to as I could see the change in practice being embraced. There were many successes celebrated as we continue to work together to accelerate shift in the achievement levels of our learners.

The DLO below is a snapshot of a year of inquiry and is shared with permission. If you would like to read about the journey behind the summary, click on the teacher's name and it will take you to their professional blog.

COL interview 2024...

What achievement challenge are you considering as an area of focus in 2024 and why? Include in your WHY both evidence and your own passion/expertise

This year my inquiry focus began with me thinking it was the challenges spelling brought to the table that caused most of my learners to revert back to using simple everyday words in their independent writing. I thought I could improve with a concentrated focus on spelling conventions and rules. My thinking was by doing this my learners would start to use the words they wanted to use. I was wrong!

It turned out what I actually needed to do was swamp them with words they had never heard or seen before and make the challenge of connecting to them fun and purposeful. This journey is explained on my blog, and made this year of change practice a fun one. This made me think, I need to do more of this, but in different ways, which is why I think strengthening vocabulary is the direction I see my 2024 inquiry going. 

What learnings from the 2017 - 2023 CoL teacher inquiries have informed or inspired your thinking.

Learning with and from my fellow CoL teachers has meant I have collected many ideas from others along the way that have become firmly embedded in my practice, like this one. A number of years ago Kiri and I observed Matt Goodwin teach a guided reading lesson. What stuck with us was the collaborative doc he was using with his students. We were inspired to use and have overtime, adapted his original idea to what is now our planning format.

How would your work support Manaiakalani pedagogy and kaupapa?

I have for a very long time run a visible site. A large number of my resources have been shared across the motu. I see them in Manaiakalani programs like the DFI and RPI, and have been a part of a number of research initiatives with Wolf Fisher for a number of years. All initiatives that have helped me continue to change and adapt my practice to help my students achieve the 1.5 times shift and give them the tools they need to find success.

Which elements of the extensive Manaiakalani research findings inform or challenge you as you think about this?

Recognising our tamariki don’t have the academic literacy to access the learning is the research finding that continues to challenge me. Many of our learners simply do not have the literacy skills and confidence needed to record their ideas independently. When you add to this the fear of failure or making mistakes, it’s not hard to see the reality of the struggle many of our children face in Y7/8 with topics they are struggling to connect to.

How would you like to be supported in 2024 as you undertake this inquiry?

The support I would like in 2024 is to continue to be a part of planned opportunities to see and hear how other COL teachers drive inquiry in their schools. This would enable us to build on and strengthen the processes we already have in place.

How would you plan to support your colleagues in your school with their inquiries and/or teaching in the area you are exploring?

Aside from continuing to model my inquiry on my blog, I have found that the best support I can offer my colleagues with their inquiries is to guide them through the inquiry process term by term. To make this rewindable and manageable a few years ago I created our PBS Teacher Inquiry DLO, which is our version of a ‘how to’ process and is shared with staff in termly chunks. In term 4 we come together and have our own sharing session. Something I have driven as our PBS within school kahui ako is to ensure opportunities to focus and discuss our teacher inquiries are planned for, in order to keep the process alive throughout the year. 

I would like to add that even though I am not in a position due to my teaching, mentoring and DP responsibilities to apply for the across school role, it is not because I do not want to challenge myself in this role. It is simply because I do not have the time available to commit regularly to the time requirements of an across school kahui ako. However, I am, as I have been in the past, always happy to support anyone with their teaching inquiry or teaching program if I am able to.