Student Voice

My school is part of a pilot project aligned with the South Australian Teaching for Effective Learning  (TfEL) Framework. We're looking at ways we can (do and should) use student voice and engagement to design learning programmes, and ultimately education systems, that intellectually stretch students and create powerful expert learners.

One part of the project involves seeking direct feedback from the kids about their learning. How do they feel about the learning activities they're doing? How do they learn best? What would they like to change about the way we 'do' learning in our class? Doesn't sound overly challenging or out of the norm except that we have to do it explicitly everyday and keep a record of it.  Other than an end of week written reflection (that is in students' diaries and goes home to show parents) most of these conversations are usually quite spontaneous and informal in my classroom. Whilst I act on what I learn from the conversations I don't keep particular records of them. Well, I didn't. I do now of course!

One way that I've found to keep a good record of the kids' feedback is through Socrative.  Socrative is a 'student response system' that is available on whatever device you want to use, either through the website or apps. I set a 'quiz', open it to the kids, they submit their responses, and Socrative emails me a report of their responses. I set questions like "I am still wondering about..." and "I learnt best when I..." and "The lesson would have been better if...". I have also started to include a silly multiple choice question that relates to something we're doing the next day. The kids LOVE it.  It's quick, simple and instant.  I put the teacher screen up on the board while they're doing it; it shows how many kids have logged into the 'quiz' and how many have submitted. It can also show the names of kids and a live coverage of how many questions they've finished.  

The report is a simple table that lists all the answers. (If you've set multiple choice questions (and listed a correct answer) the table marks those questions for you.) In terms of the way I'm using it: I have a daily record of this feedback. I'm able to scan all the answers to a question to spot trends and anomalies. I can quickly see what needs to happen more or less. Patterns emerge easily.

This isn't the only way I collect feedback and data but wow! It's certainly one way I'm particularly enjoying.

How do you collect this sort of feedback? How do you respond?

This relates to the following Australian Professional Standards for Teachers...
Standard 1 Know students and how they learn.
Standard 3 Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning.
Standard 4 Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments.
Standard 6 Engage in professional learning.
Standard 7 Engage professionally with colleagues, parents/carers and the community.

Way Back Wednesday

Every Wednesday afternoon my class gathers for a chat.  We spend a whole lesson talking.  If I'm being totally honest: we often spend lessons talking but that's quite a different blog post. Today I want to share one of the best parts of our week: Way Back Wednesday.

The basic idea is that I present the class with a small group of artefacts - often a photo, sometimes a song or video, even a concrete object - that somehow all relate to an overriding historical event, concept or time period.  What happens after that is the part I love.  The children start talking.  Really talking. After some coaching in the early weeks of the school year they have started to ask questions and make statements like:

Museum of Australian Democracy

"Who took that photo?  And why?" 

"What does that mean for the Aboriginal people who are alive today? How do they feel about it?" 

Daily Telegraph

"Ned Kelly wasn't a hero. He was a criminal! Just because he was doing it for his family doesn't make it right."

Powerhouse Museum

"The way we treat asylum seekers before they are given the ok to be refugees is just the same way that the government treated people with the White Australia Policy."

Pretty amazing huh?

I've kept the topics loosely related to our integrated topic for the term (or to a particularly timely issue like ANZAC Day).   Our WBW topics so far have been:

• The Eureka Flag
• The 1967 Referendum
• Women's Suffrage
• The White Australia Policy
• Vietnamese Boatpeople
• Ned Kelly
• Paper Money
• Holden
• Sydney Olympics
• ANZAC spirit
• Uluru
• The rock art of Koonalda Cave

You may have picked a theme there! Our year 6/7 unit's overriding theme was  Australian identity! As a unit we've moved now into a unit of learning that encompasses various ancient Mediterranean civilisations AND historical inquiry.  We've been unpacking the thinking and work of various professionals (archaeologist, historian, anthropologist etc.) which enhances my class' WBW discussions beautifully.

WBW has been a powerful tool for me to engage the children with the ACARA History strand of Historical Skills in a meaningful way.  We've looked at different perspectives; compared primary vs secondary sources of information; drawn conclusions about the usefulness of various sources; sequenced important events leading up to and following our particular topic of discussion; unpacked historical concepts; posed questions that have been discussed later (either at school or at home). I've noticed that these discussions have built my students' capacity for debate and reasoning in ways I never imagined; and that they are making links between these discussions and other parts of our learning program.

During our discussion I play the role of facilitator. I occasionally ask a clarifying question or encourage a response to be expanded. I will, if I notice a particular area of quiet, ask specific children for their contribution. If there's a point of debate or need for further information I will sometimes step in to resolve the issue but more regularly support the class in their own resolution. I have, on occasion, followed their request for more information by 'googling' it for them while they continue talking. (Hip hip hooray for the Apple TV!) More recently I've been encouraging the children to jot down notes on tiny postit notes to jog their memory later.  This has certainly improved since we've been focussing on summarising in our writing block.

The children's home learning task (I don't like the word homework) each Wednesday is to write a response to a reflective question that I've posed about our topic.  I usually set two questions and let them choose.  (I sometimes provide these questions before the discussion, and sometimes after. It really depends on how I'm introducing the topic and whether the questions, in themselves, include a lot of prior knowledge.) It is the only home learning task they ALL complete every week.  Their responses have improved from "I think we should have the same flag we have now because I like it" to well considered responses with references to the discussion or other sources to support their statements. Some of the responses are bordering on taking the form of a formal exposition! Can't complain about that!!

The worst part? Finding time to read their responses. These children are putting such thought and energy into their responses that reading them all is not something I can - or want to - do quickly. I try to engage with each response individually and provide specific feedback either on the development of their argument or the actual argument itself.

This relates to the following Australian Professional Standards for Teachers...
Standard 1 Know students and how they learn.
Standard 2 Know the content and how to teach it.
Standard 3 Plan for and implement effective teaching and learning.
Standard 4 Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments.
Standard 5 Assess,  provide feedback and report on student learning.

Girls? Boys? Mixed? All of the above!

I teach one of four year 6/7 classes at Hackham East Primary School. It's a pretty awesome gig: amazing kids; part of a great team; small class; staff focus on student support; good ICT set up; and strong focus on professional development. Yep, I love my job.

Anyway, I digress. I teach one of four 6/7 classes. None of the classes has more than 24 students, in fact I have only 20. Why so many classes with so few students? Aha! Here's the particularly interesting thing about HEPS: we run a parallel (and opt-in) single gender program. In our unit of four classes there are two mixed, one boys and one girls class. (I have one of the mixed classes.) The year 4/5 unit is run on similar lines also. In the past the junior years also had single gender classes but there wasn't a huge demand for it this year. (Hopefully next year!)

Based on the work of Michael Gurian, a gender based education expert from the USA,  and Ian Lillico, a boys' education expert from Western Australia, HEPS developed a boys programme back in 2008 and it has grown from there. (To get a bigger picture of how it all started and developed, check out the blog of Jarrod Lamshed. He's the single gender legend of HEPS. He's sadly missed though: this year he moved to another school.) The whole school operates on the understanding that the philosophies around single gender education can, and should, be implemented in both single and mixed gender classrooms to better meet the needs of everyone. And it's not just lip service: our unit splits into gender (and year level) groups for maths lessons; all planning actively considers gender learning differences; at each staff meeting we discuss how to better implement one or another of Lillico's 52 Recommendations (for school reform) etc. (We're all constantly working toward AITSL standards 1, 4 and 6!)

Mohammed Al-Khwarizmi
The 'father of algebra'

I'm currently learning with the year 7 girls. The year 7 boys are right next door, and we usually have the dividing wall open so that we're effectively occupying opposite ends of the same space. We're all aware that we're learning the same topic but we're not doing it the same way. The boys jumped in and got into 'doing' immediately. At the other end of the space we started by talking about what we already knew. From then on the boys had short snippets of instruction followed often by concrete materials and big picture problems. We looked at a short video about the history of algebra which gave the topic a personal hook for most of the girls. (It's a great little video: check it out here.) Since then we've broken it down into discrete building blocks that we're in the process of putting together. Some girls have raced ahead and are blowing me away with the way they're putting it all together, while others are still building their basic understandings. That happens in all classes though right? What's different about this is that the girls who can race ahead are racing ahead and doing so loudly and proudly while the girls who need more time are equally loud in their requests. They are taking risks and making mistakes. They're playing and having fun with maths ideas. I've never seen this sort of behaviour in girls before. Well, OK, that's not completely true: I have seen it but not to this extent. I also invite my year 7 girls and boys to share their learning as an added dimension to this process. The confidence my girls show in maths class spills into this interaction. My girls (and boys) are getting the best of both worlds. 

I'm still learning about single gender education; still working out how to implement the 52 recommendations in my own classroom. I doubt it's the kind of thing I'll ever stop learning.


This relates to the following Australian Professional Standards for Teachers...
Standard 1 Know students and how they learn.
Standard 4 Create and maintain supportive and safe learning environments.
Standard 6 Engage in professional learning.

What Would an Alien Visitor Think?

Aliens visiting my classroom last week would have been treated to a particularly poor viewing of how we 'do' education in this country.  It was NAPLAN week.

By way of explanation...

The National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is an annual assessment for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. It has been an everyday part of the school calendar since 2008.
NAPLAN tests the sorts of skills that are essential for every child to progress through school and life, such as reading, writing, spelling and numeracy. The assessments are undertaken nationwide, every year, in the second full week in May.  (National Assessment Program 2011)

(On paper it's a three day event with up to 5 tests (depending on the year level) administered under strict control.   In reality it's a week long interruption; causing stress and anxiety for almost everyone involved, returning largely redundant data too late in the school year to be meaningful to anyone. The tests ignore current pedagogy in favour of a colour the bubble format that, in itself, excludes the type of answers we usually seek from our students.)

So what would the aliens have seen?

Children neatly sitting at rows of desks, all silently facing the front and following specific, set instructions before answering mostly multiple choice questions on paper, with a pencil. Children anxious because we don't 'do' assessment this way because we know it doesn't tell us what we want or need to know. Children panicking as they come across *yet* another question that they have little chance of fully understanding because the test covers the full breadth of the year's curriculum and it's only week 14 out of a 40 week year. Teachers patrolling the aisles and making lists of absent students ready to pounce on their parents for keeping them home for the week.

And if aliens come this week, what will they see?

Children learning in whatever space best suits their needs at any point in time, whether at a group table, on a couch/bean bag/the floor, outside, in another teacher's space, in the canteen!  Children using whatever tool best suits their individual learning goal, whether pencil, paint, play dough, laptop, iPad, smart phone or hula hoops! Children democratically negotiating their learning processes and outcomes as a group and individually. Children learning about the world around them. Children connecting to the world around them. Children making a difference to the world around them. Children making noise.  I'm largely invisible as I play the part of lead learner alongside of the children.

I've read the rationale for NAPLAN and am willing to, for the sake of my job, administer it BUT I could not justify it to visiting aliens.

I just hope that any visiting aliens would have stayed long enough to see my students' end of week reflections. Many commented on the challenges of NAPLAN. One, in particular,  stood out...

"Mrs RP taught us that it doesn't test the important things about me. I'm more than what those tests can show. I make strong choices all the time. I'm polite and am trying to get better in my learning all the time. That's more important than the NAPLAN I reckon."  

I reckon so too.  What about you? What do you think of NAPLAN? 

One down...

Thirty nine to go. And already the idea of it ending makes me sad. I have 21 delightfully challenging and interesting young people in my care, and I adore them!  My classroom is a peaceful and inviting place. My team comprises four very different individuals which makes collaboration interesting and productive. The wider staff is fun and supportive. The leadership team is great.  I love my new job.

I cry every single time I read this.
It deals with death so beautifully.

Some highlights so far:

1. Meeting my class. Starting to make connections. Watching tears well in one little man's eyes when I told him that I believe in him. (I said it many times because he didn't want to believe me; it was a little bit like that scene in Good Will Hunting where Robin Willliams' character tells Matt Damon's character that "it's not his fault".) 
2. Allowing my class to see me nearly cry while I read a picture book to them. (Yes, they are year 6/7s but nobody is EVER too old for good picture books. And this one is amazing.) 
3. Reading to my class. Reading with my class. Setting up the class library (well, more like guiding the children through the process because it's their library so they did it all). Starting our reading journals.
4. Reading the students' end of week reflections. (I insisted on at least one positive comment and one comment about future growth.) 
5. Collaborating with the other teachers in our 6/7 unit. Love it.
6. Hearing, from a parent, that one of my students already loves me (always gratifying right?) and is boring the family senseless with endless commentary about "things that Mrs RP said". I'd better keep that in mind hey?
7. Setting up a Facebook group for the parents of my class. Within 24 hours I have nearly half the class represented. How awesome is it that I can communicate so easily and directly with my parents?
8. The school's very well developed value system and use of Play is the Way. (If you're unfamiliar with PitW, I highly recommend you check it out.)

There are so many more, but off the top of my head this was a good start. In case it's at all ambiguous... I love my new job.

And for a change in proceedings...

... I have a contract for this year! Actually I've known about it for nearly a week now but I've been so busy sorting out the classroom and getting my head around a whole new year level that I've not had time to scratch myself let alone blog about it.

So, I have a class of 22 year 6/7 children in a collaborative unit of four 6/7 classes. None of the classes has more than 23 at this stage. AMAZING! Two of the classes are mixed gender and the other two are single gender. Interesting huh?  We're a 1:1 Ipad unit in a completely Apple school, so this little Microsoft/Android user is on a steep learning curve with a new Macbook Pro and Ipad. Lots to learn!

I'm a bit in love with my classroom. It's apparently the biggest in the school, and it's beautiful. (So far as classrooms go!) I've set  it up along the ideas of learning spaces: I have a desk area, a reading area and an active learning area which doubles as a group meeting area in front of our Apple TV. (No IWBs in this school - all Apple TVs.) Our unit has a lovely open common space linking our rooms which we've set up along the same idea. (And by we I really mean they because that was pretty much done before I arrived.)

Here's a sneak peak of what it looks like...

One friend has described it as having a rather minimalist look. I guess it does, but it also feels really warm and inviting. Once we've got books on the shelves and work on the walls it will look rather different I imagine.

The planning process has, so far, been fantastic. This school works VERY collaboratively so we plan as a unit team.  The four teachers in our team are all very different which has lead to some great ideas being generated. They've all taught this year level before which makes me a little less concerned about my lack of experience in it - I know they'll keep me on track.

School goes back tomorrow and I'm both incredibly nervous and excited. This is the first time I've started the year with a class, and my first time teaching year 6/7.  Wish me luck!

Coasters

My love affair with Pinterest began quite some time ago and, if I'm honest, often vies with my children/husband/housework for my attention. I've improved recently, but it's still an issue.

It's hard to not find yourself engrossed though when it's such a treasure trove of ideas. One of my favourite Pinterest ideas of the last few months was the project my year 3/4 class made as a Christmas gift for their families. You can find the pin that started my excitement here.  We made coasters from 10*10cm tiles.

The photos don't do them justice. They looked great.

The process was a little fiddly and time consuming (that appears to be a recurrent theme in my blog lately) but completely manageable.
\
I introduced the project by having the kids brainstorm (or thought shower if the term brainstorm is too un PC in your part of the world) all kinds of words that relate to Christmas. We covered an entire whiteboard with them. It's quite an interesting exercise in showing family values and culture.

My nearly complete coaster.

I then showed them my 'nearly' completed coaster. They were impressed by my 'artwork' as only 9 and 10 year olds can be. :) I then asked them to rule up a 10cm*10cm square using the corner of a piece of paper as two sides. That was my first mistake. GIVE them the square already ruled up. It will save time, heart ache and a whole lot of 'tell me what you know about squares and then tell me if what you've drawn is one'.

Filling their square with a 'word cloud' of as many of the Christmas related words as they liked was harder than you'd imagine. Lots of 'design issues' (to quote one little gem) and more spelling mistakes than I care to remember.  (How do kids do that? How do they incorrectly spell a word that's right in front of them?)  When we were all happy with their design they traced over it in black pen and erased their pencil.

An example of what each kid
got back from me.

I then gathered the squares and, here's my second mistake, took them home to scan and create a 2 by 2 grid of their design. Why didn't I just run them through the copier a few times? *Sigh* Well, to be honest I didn't do that because we'd blown our photocopying budget and I was trying to be frugal. Ha! Next time I'll just kick in some of my own money and do it because I don't get paid enough to spend an entire Saturday morning scanning, copying & pasting and printing kids' work at home.  (Yeah right, like I won't do it that way again just to make sure their work is exactly the right size/shape etc. Control freak!)

Third mistake coming up... I explained that whist the base of each coaster was, obviously, exactly the same they were going to use colour to make four different coasters. I let them use pencils, pens, coloured markers... Don't. Let them use pencils or ball point pens but NOT coloured markers. You'll see what in a moment.

Thanks LifeStyles!

They cut the four bases and used Mod Podge to carefully adhere them to the tiles. I was really fortunate that a lovely man at one of our local tile shops sold me some 'end of lot' tiles for a very reasonable price. The fact that they were blue and grey didn't matter at all because the art covered the colour completely.
 (I think I paid about $25 for enough tiles for about 200 tiles.)

Even unfinished they look great!

After adhering the art to the tiles came the painstaking process of waiting for it to dry before applying two more coats to the top. It was about now that I discovered that coloured markers were a baaaaaaad idea. They bled into the Mod Podge. It wasn't a disaster but it did mean that the kids had to be very careful about dabbing not painting their coasters with Mod Podge at this stage.

Drying between ooats.
You can see an extreme case of
bleeding near the words egg nog.

For the final coat we mixed a little glitter glue in with the Mod Podge. Nothing like a bit of sparkle to brighten up Christmas coasters!

We applied little self adhesive felt feet on the back at this stage too because the underside of the tiles was a bit rough.

Drying after the lacquer was applied.

In case  you thought I'd finished making mistakes, I have just one more for you. I wanted to seal the coasters with a lacquer to make them water proof - after all, what good is a coaster if the condensation from an icy cold beer water is going to ruin it the first time it's used? Anyway, let's just say that I hope the smell of the lacquer wore off the coasters faster than it did out of the room in which I applied it.

We finished the project by tying the four coasters together with some ribbon. I wish I had a photo of them all to share because they looked so pretty. :(

 So, there you have it.  A great outcome after a few hiccoughs along the way. I'd do it somewhat differently if I did it again, but isn't experience an awesome teacher?

What's your favourite gift to make with your class?