TAI2020 WFRC Inquiry question and task #2: Collaborate

Inquiry question and task #2: 

Will my inquiry make a contribution to the wider school and cluster goals?

My task was to collaborate with my school's leadership team and colleagues to identify areas where my inquiry will make a powerful contribution to the wider school and cluster goals.

My Inquiry focus for 2020:

Does project based collaborative ways of learning in a Talanoa environment make the difference in the learning journey of our kids?  

At this stage, ‘Making a difference’ relates to:

• Raising achievement in PAT reading or asttle writing
• Wondering if kids can learn in an environment where Talanoa is prevalent and at the forefront of the teaching and learning?  Compared to other year 9 classes, will it help raise achievement in reading and writing?  How can I support the lower ability students whilst engaging and enriching the learning for others?

Specific Outcomes:

• A ‘framework’ for collaboration between teachers
• A ‘framework’ for success in collaboration between students
• A positive shift in achievement data related to PAT or asttle writing

Wider school goals: 

• School goal:  Focus on school goal #2, raising the literacy levels of our junior students (see specifics here).

Cluster wide goals: 

• Manaiakalani Achievement Challenges
• Challenges identified by Woolf Fisher at our cluster wide meeting specifically reading (please see blogpost #)

Through formal and informal discussions, I have talked to the following people:

My school’s leadership team: 

• The SLT (Senior Leadership team).  
• Vision is to see the collaboration as supporting our schools goals.  
• ‘What kind of support is needed to ensure this succeeds?’.  
• Connecting with the families from the beginning is key
• Heads of Department (related to curriculum).
• What does this look like in our subject area?
• How would we support our teachers who are part of the class
• Share your learnings - good and bad

Colleagues:  

• Teachers in my department
• How much more work is required?
• Can it work in my classroom? Strategies and tasks that you can see works.
• We would like support in how to scaffold collaborative groups because we don’t do it enough.
• Teachers from other curriculum areas
• I can see the value in working across curriculum areas.  How would assessments and reporting on the class look?
• Sharing ‘knowing the learner’ in a consistent centralised place important
• There seems to be a lot of time and planning going into this but we haven’t really heard much about the class, please share more about who they are and what they are doing.
• Literacy experts: Dr Jannie Van Hees
• This is an ‘Action Research’.  As the participant, you are essentially inquiring as you go (refer to blogposts # and #)
• Narrow your focus to think about it in two parts: A community of learning and a community of learners.  A group of teachers who are trying to cohese and a group of learners.  You would make a bigger impact.
• Manageability is important.
• MIT teacher from the cluster
• How are the year 9’s managing the changes in teaching and learning?
• From your findings, I’d like information on how we can work together better to support our year 8’s going to T.C
• Colleagues who are supporting the learning of the project based class.
• Community Activist 
• How will you sustain and maintain engagement within the groups without losing them?
• What limitations are there with regards to timetable for example, if we want kids to really utilise their time around projects?
• Kath Murdoch’s ‘The Power of Inquiry’ inquiry learning cycle may be good to scaffold students in their groups.
• Co-design is important to enable students and stakeholders to work together.
• MOE Principal Advisor Secondary 
• Keep making the main thing the main thing
• How do we make sure the learners do not miss out on key learnings required in the curriculum?
• MOE Lead Adviser - CoL
• How will you measure the success of the programme?
• Think about using the ‘Key Competencies’ and how different capabilities come across different areas of the curriculum.

I have found discussing my inquiry has helped me shape it better and think about the pros and cons of where I am going.