COL Inquiry #3: Schools profile and designed change in student learning

1. From what you know already about your classes and your school’s profile and leadership goals for the year, share a possible inquiry focus.
   
2. Frame your focus as a desired change in student learning NOT a change in teaching (as yet!)

From what I know about my level 9 class, they are a class of diverse needs and abilities.  We have a core group of students have scored well in their reading levels with the majority sitting at levels 2 and 3.  I can tell I would need to motivate the boys more, particularly one or two of my Maori boys and that would need an engaging programme that is essentially differentiated.   

Our school goal number 3 focuses on improving literacy for different groups of students so that would support my inquiry focus so I am hoping to look at improving reading skills and opportunities in my year 9 class as a focus as it will benefit them in their learning more.

A designed change I hope to see is a desire for my students to want to read widely and deeply texts are interesting and engaging in a hope that they will gain better results in their PAT tests at the end of the year.

COL Inquiry #2: Collaborate with school leaders and colleagues

Collaborate with your school’s leadership team and colleagues to identify areas where your inquiry will make a powerful contribution to wider school and cluster goals.

Today we met with our Principal, Deputy Principal in charge of Curriculum and our other COL leaders to discuss what our inquiries may be based on this year. I shared my possible inquiry and talked extensively about the links to our school wide goal on raising achievement and cultural visibility for our Māori students. I shared the fact that working with the Level Up team and literacy experts would help not just my inquiry but should support staff who are find supporting their learners in read difficult. I also shared the need for us to delve into Dr Russell Bishops writing of 'Teaching to the North East' as a support guide for our staff.

My presentation was received well my our leaders who offered support and advice for my inquiry. They felt is was important to support the literacy needs of our students and could offer PLD for our staff.

Here is my presentation:

COL Inquiry #1: Summarising, describe and explain the challenge of student learning

Question #1: Summarise the challenge of student learning you plan to focus on in this inquiry.

The challenge of student learning the I plan to focus on is around supporting my year 9 students to read.  I am thinking about my Māori students as a particular group to focus on.  A number of reasons for this are:

• My focus has always been writing but I’ve learnt that kids can’t write if they can’t read
• I have a new year 9 class with mixed abilities and ethnicities and I enjoy hearing their stories and where they’ve come from.
• Reading is a key focus for our cluster.  
• Our students arrive at our school well below the national norm.

Question #2: Describe how and why you have selected this challenge of student learning. Locate your inquiry in the context of patterns of student learning in Manaiakalani overall.

• A key factor to succeed in Senior Social Sciences is the ability to critically think and comprehensively describe and understand key concepts.
• In our recent cluster wide discussions, a number of groups are tracking well in reading but at our school, there is more work needed to be done with our juniors.

Question #3: Explain why you judge this to be the most important and catalytic issue of learning for this group of learners this year.

• This year I teach two year 9 classes and have compared their term 1 PAT schools. One class has a number of students sitting at stanine 8 where as the other one has a number of students at below 3. I can see in the students' behaviour and engagement the impact of not have literacy (or numeracy) skills could impact on their learning. I believe it is important look at strategies which could support the wide spectrum of learners in each class as well as accelerate who are below the national norm.