PACT training

 We explored how to make teacher judgements today using the PaCT tool. Reviewing what we have already covered reminded us that we need to remember to look at what we are taking away from each lesson.

Take aways:

1. It is important to view the illustrations provided to get a really good idea of what the big ideas really mean for each set/ signpost.

2. If you think a student(s) is displaying evidence at one signpost then read the descriptions above and below to double check the level of sophistication fits.

3. The illustrations are also really great ideas for teaching a big idea.

4. You don’t need to review each student for each set. You would group students to think about where they are to decide your deliberate acts of teaching for the next steps, one aspect at a time.

5. We will rotate our specific focus each term on reading this year as we familiarise ourselves with these learning progressions. It would be impossible to be thinking about all the aspects for R, W and M constantly!

6. As always we would use OTJ from a number of evidence sources to decide where students are.

7. The focus should be less about where students are in terms of giving them a ‘level’ and more about “What do I need to teach, and them to learn next”. 

We took a sample of students work and then looked at each aspect and used the blurb and the illustrations to help us place a student on a sign post. 

A good discussion happened at the end of the hui regarding E-asttle v's PACT tool for end of year assessments. Below are some of the things we took away from this lesson. 

We have noticed ...

...with practice I will get faster at this and more confident with making judgements

…need to change year levels of some students, classes have been set up with names to use now, look at notifications

… writing LPF is good to use. Want to use instead of asstle this year as doubling up. Maybe can for yr1-2??

...… would be really valuable to go to experts on staff to moderate with my tricky judgements

… PaCT tool - taken lots away. Talking with others about what our kids are doing at different levels, useful to collaborate

… Feel confident with it and I want to finish putting them in

… just get it in! You know more than you think you do with your first sense.  Calm the farm a bit - you can’t teach it all

… after so long thinking about it, procrastinating and not doing it. Getting stuff in has been beneficial. SO many opportunities to double check and triple check, so it’s robust and thorough. 

Distance Learning - Learning from Lockdown

Once again we found ourselves teaching from home. As a school we tweaked a few things such as only one google meet in the morning. I had the advantage (or maybe disadvantage) of having a class site up and running this time. So I was able to focus on the learning I thought I could achieve through lockdown and then present it on one page. It was good to collaborate with syndicate colleagues just prior to starting distance learning. Having two sons in two other junior classes gave me a great opportunity to see and steal good ideas, particularly as we had unit planned together and had similar themes happening.

I was particularly glad that Sarah had suggested sunshine online was a great app and this time round (even though it was a web browser and no longer an app) it did prove to be a lot easier for students to use at home and then teachers to listen to online.

It did seem that we weren't overflooded with heaps of suggestions of activities and websites to use which was a relief. It did seem though that outer education organisations realised it was still an opportunity to carry on professional development. And so I have utilised a great deal of any extra time preparing to implement the Better Start Literacy Approach. 

I took a gamble to run a parent workshop online. It helped me to understand the importance of whanau involvement in learning to read but the lack of attendance online from parents means I still will have to do a lot of other stuff to get whanau involved in our new literacy approach.

Once again, having Hannah during google meets was really good to carry on the consistency from class of having a sound of the day. Also, she had to step in to keep things going a couple of times when things popped up at home, such as screen freezing.

What will I carry on into the classroom?

I enjoyed using one class site page with links and being planned one day at a time. I had a general plan for each learning area but adapted activities based on buy in and what my own sons enjoyed doing for distance learning. So I will have a go at using this style as a daily plan.

I am hoping that some students have used sunshine online enough to be able to use and teach others how to do this independently.

Also, some of the tweaks to phonological activities I did during google meets I will continue to use in class.

I will also print out some of the NZmaths pages that were used so those students who did use them can be experts on Fun Day Friday.