Week Three

A week of full control completed with satisfaction but also joined by a head full of ideas, reflections and alterations to consider for next week. Throughout the week I had numerous challenges and celebrations with lessons which needed reflecting on and revisiting. But that is simply the life of a teacher; teaching, evaluating, planning and teaching again. Two personal goals which I have reflected on throughout the week are being connected to whanau and multicultural knowledge. Throughout the week I had many opportunities to consider these goals and question my practice.

Standard six of the graduating teacher standards states that teachers must develop positive relationships with learners and members of learning communities. Throughout this week I had a number of opportunities to interact with student whanau. Each morning a number of parents/grandparents bring their students to class. Over the week I made deliberate effort to connect with each person to discuss casually and also about their child. To begin it was quite uneasy but as the days went on the connections became easier and more natural. I was able to learn all about whanau concerns and considerations for their child each day. This would often be in regards to how the student is feeling and doing at home. It was really valuable to have these discussion and it showed me personally how important whanau to teacher connections are. A point which was further highlighted to me within this is the benefit of connecting with whanau right from the beginning even if it is awkward.
The topic for this term is globalisation so the plan is to each week look at a different country/culture and learn about about it’s differences. We began by looking at Maori culture this week and learning about some traditional crafts. When considering  Graduating Teacher Standards three my goal is to gain deeper multicultural knowledge of tikanga and te reo Maori. Throughout this week as a class we made a number of very cool things which are related to maori culture. It was encouraging to learn background information about some maori art forms and then teach them to my students. Then it was further encouraging to have students engaged in the learning by showing that they were interested asking questions and adding further information. It highlighted to me again the importance of connecting to the culture of my students in order to create a rich learning environment.

Week Two:

The first week of term 4 done and dusted. Over the past week I have reflected on a number of different areas within my teaching practice. A personal goal which I have addressed is in relation to knowing what to teach at level one, in regards to pedagogical, assessment and content knowledge.

Over the holidays I spent a lot of time planning and familiarising myself with the teaching content appropriate to level one. During the week I looked into the numeracy project to try and make clearer sense of the content needed to be taught at this level. My first reactions was that the numeracy project is not an easy, nicely laid out programme. I found myself getting confused between the names of stages and strategies. There is a number of areas that don’t overlap or connect nicely. After frustration and a lot of time I decided to stick to following the progression sheets printed of tki. These sheets are very handy but they are quite vague and do not break down the strategy very clearly. Also it must be remembered that these sheets to not show number knowledge progression only strategy progression. And a good numeracy programme must take into account both strategy and knowledge. From discussion with my AT I have come to an understanding that strategy is often the deliberately taught material during groupings. Whilst number knowledge can be easily taught during whole class teaching and also it is likely to be taught indirectly during whole class and group teaching. Another area which students must have daily learning is basic facts. From reflecting on this learning I have come to the conclusion that a numeracy programme needs to be very focused and include a number of different aspects, of which need to be clearly defined and deliberate. Group work must include deliberate strategy teaching because it is in these groups that a teacher is able to listen, discuss and critique a students working in order to direct them towards develop correct strategies. As a whole class, within groups or during follow-up activities number knowledge needs to be taught to in order to give students the foundations to being able to learn and complete strategies. And within this number knowledge, basic fact knowledge must be deliberately taught to give students speed and efficiency in solving strategy. Therefore from my reflection on teaching level one numeracy I have been able to understand what an effective numeracy programme can look like by breaking it down into separate yet deliberate acts of teaching.

Week One

After three years of training I now find myself at the end of my first week of my final practicum. Over the coming weeks I know I will be challenged in many different areas but also find strength from the past experiences and knowledge that I have. Over the next six weeks I hope to achieve my criteria well but my motivation and commitment is much deeper than that of an assignment. This practicum is the foundation to which my 2015 classroom will begin from, so I want to test, experience, develop and define my personal teaching style, pedagogy and proficiency to a high standard of excellence. But, deeper than all this is my motivation to see this class excel and learning flourish daily.

This week brought a big change to my recent previous experiences, not only in year level but more significantly in digital integration. As a teacher who has had experiences in and believes in the full integration of digital learning I want to challenge and consider my views as I take a step back to experience a non-digital classroom. Over the coming weeks I hope to redefine and establish a richer personal pedagogy for the integration of digital technology in the classroom. Although I come from a biased standpoint already I hope to be able to see both sides to this issue to truly establish a strong understanding and position.
Other goals which I hope to achieve during this practicum are in relation to the Graduating Teacher Standards. Of which all relate to content, pedagogy, multiculturalism and learning excellence. Satisfaction of all these areas will hopefully create space for learning within a classroom that is inclusive, empower and inspiring.

Reflecting back over the past week I want to begin to question the differences I found within this non-digital classroom. One of the most apparent differences that stood out to me was the amount of content that was delivered. For example in mathematics students were required to copy down a list of 30 equations which were written on board then solve each problem and finally go to the teacher to check their answers. This process took a long time with some students not even competing half the equations. Here I see one huge benefit where digital technology can transform learning for example using a web programme such as Xtra Maths, Maths Whizz, Mathletics. Using these programmes students are able to solve numerous problems in a short amount of time whilst also receiving instant feedback allowing them to rethink their strategies and understandings for further questions. If I try to consider negatives effects of such programmes only aspects such as number formation, writing skills and strategy steps would be absent. But, these do not affect the actual process of learning to complete strategies in order to solve a problem. Although in some situations allowing a student the ability to write down the steps used would be of benefit to their learning. Mathematics appears to me as one subject area that digital technology can bring significant transformation. It allows students to complete more problems in a shorter time period and also gives instant feedback to guide students.

In conclusion, the past week has felt like I’ve stepped back in time to where digital technology isn’t used within education and worksheets are the key medium. It has been interesting to reflect again on how education is without digital 1:1 devices. Overall I found that the learning content appears to be at a slower pace because the medium doesn’t offer the speeds that devices do. Motivation within the classroom didn’t appear to be lacking at all and students appeared to be mostly all engaged with their learning and most completed all their learning efficiently.

Fun and Games

During a visit back to a past placement I got the opportunity to teach literacy for the week. I was given free reign to teach anything I wanted... so we ended up making board games and writing instructions for them. Over the week we looked at all the things needed to write our game instructions as instructional texts - structure, purpose and language features. During this week I thought it was the perfect opportunity to try out a behavioural management game. So as a class we discussed four points that would help us to get the best out of the learning time that we had. Then using Google Drawings I created an image of a snakes and ladders board with movable counters. As the students went about their learning I gave them opportunities to roll the dice and move their teams counter up the board. My inquiry into this activity was to observe and reflect on how students respond to behavioural games within the classroom. I wanted to reflect on whether behaviourism methods work and if they are effective. During the week we played the game on and off whenever students where working on their personal games. In the beginning I found some students quickly responded to the game and stayed on task well with their groups. Whilst others weren't so interested in the beginning they did respond as the days went on. Another observation I made was during a period when the teacher was absent from the room and the students were a little off task by introducing the game order was quickly established. One factor within the classroom which changed was the mood. Whilst playing the game students enjoyed seeing each other get a chance to have a turn and were generally cheerful. In conclusion from this inquiry, I think this behaviour game did have overall positive effects. I would not agree that this would work in all situations due to other factors but overall I would be keen to try and experiment with other activities to bring good behaviour and enjoyment whilst also learning.

Week Four

The final week of my four week placement has quickly drawn to an end. Over these past four weeks I have had an opportunity that has deeply affected and contributed to my journey as a teacher. It has been a rich experience to be involved in a school that is excited and passionate about learning with strong focus on seeking new ways to which education can be taught and acquired better and better. From the first time I walked into the school I felt welcomed and accepted into a staff environment that was far beyond what I had ever experienced before.

During these four weeks my personal philosophy, experience and attitude to teaching has developed significantly. Before beginning this placement I set some goals to develop my philosophy with specific relation to ICT and pedagogies. As I now look back over the weeks I can clearly see that I have taken to heart the pedagogy that this school is based upon; learn, create share. But also I see that I have developed in my philosophy, understanding and skill of using ICT in the classroom. This interest and enthusiasm for ICT in the classroom has been building throughout my three years training as a teacher with now this experience being built upon stronger. The pedagogy of learn, create, share has made me think about how as humans we learn and what is the purpose for learning. From reflection upon why we learn I think it is reasonable to say that we learn (gain) knowledge to use and effect our lives. If knowledge is learn’t (gained) and not used then I would question its purpose and supporting reasoning. Therefore ultimately all learnt material should be used in a way that is useful and/or affects life. If during education students learn knowledge that isn’t used (in the present or future) or doesn’t affect their life or the lives of others, then the conclusion might be made that it is useless and in vain. Therefore what gets taught to students needs to useful or taught in a way that makes the knowledge important. This is where I think the pedagogy of learn, create, share has excelled and can bring revolution to education. I want my students to think and know that what they learn is useful and/or can affect their life or other peoples’ lives. So by teaching my students to learn knowledge, then create using that knowledge, and finally sharing their creating, I believe that students are able to gain purpose and enthusiasm for education. In my own life I learn new knowledge because I either need it to create or contribute to other knowledge or actions. Then from this step this knowledge or action often affects or is shared with others for joined appreciation, understanding, ability, effectiveness, growth or productiveness. I do not often find myself learning something that I don’t use or share. Therefore I greatly see the effect and significance of teaching students to learn in order to create then share. And now with the use of ICT in the classroom creating and sharing can be easier and more efficient. Which in conclusion can potentially make learning more efficient and meaningful which is what as a teacher I strive for.

Day Twenty

Today was my sad final day of my four week placement. Over the past couple blogs I have reflected on the classroom management with the goal of creating a high expectation learning environment. I believe that the foundation upon this goal is that there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ method that teachers can use to manage behaviour. Each teacher must find their own method and style of managing behaviour to succeed. This method and style is determined by the character of the teacher but also from the unique students who make up the classroom. Today I took the opportunity to trial something that I studied in university. During an ICT lesson where all my students were busy working on drawing animations I began playing some music. Halfway through the lesson the students were very loud and continually talked to each other. So I decided to play some music from Mozart, because in my studies one reading said that his music is very good for aiding learning. In the beginning there were a number of comments such as. How long is this soundtrack? Does this song ever end? I like this song. But quite suddenly the noise and distraction level dropped significantly. Then for a significant amount of time the room was really quiet with students all focused and working. Once I stopped the music is was amazed to see how fast the students quickly got noisy and distracted again. So I tried playing another song which was more secular, but the students didn’t quieten down at all. Upon reflection I don’t think I could state that playing Mozart was more effective than other music due to the breaking of the flow between the songs. But my conclusion from this test is that I clearly did get better classroom management from playing a song whilst students were working. I was taken back by the effect that the music had and want to test this further during other learning times in a class. From my reflection I think music can break awkward silence that can be created if students are working silently. During this silence is when students would speak up because they can’t stay focused due to the unfamiliar quietness. Every day as humans we are bombarded by noises and sounds and when entered into a period of silence suddenly unease and discomfort can be created. This may be a good thing to teach students to be able to cope in but at the same time my attention would be stronger in getting my students to learn and study efficiently. Therefore even more after today I think that music can potentially increase learning.

Day Nineteen

In my last post I reflected on the issue around students behaviour with specific relation to fights. Today I again witnessed another outbreak of anger between two students. The situation was sparked but a simple action of one student being helpful but having a bit of fun and silliness at the same time. But as soon as objection was shown against him he quickly got very threatening and serious. This resulted in the moving of objects with one student falling to the ground. In this situation the initial student was not able to manage himself and let himself get angry very quickly. Therefore this resulted to the student being quite calm to getting angry quickly. The key learning goal is that students needs to learn is to be able to control their feels and not react in anger. From this event and earlier ones it was sad but eye opening to the reality that if these students continue down this path then it might lead them to possibly ending up in a jail cell. This fact is extremely sad and empowering to push on harder training these students to deal with their anger. But again it highlights the importance that each teacher needs to provide a safe and learning efficient environment because students won’t learn well if they are scared or feel uptight.