COL Inquiry #4: Building an accurate profile of students' learning - Tools, Measures and Approaches (T.M.A)

COL Inquiry #4:  Building an accurate profile of students' learning - tools, measures and approaches.

Describe the tools/measures/approaches you plan to use to get a more detailed and accurate profile of students’ learning in relation to that challenge. Justify why you chose these approaches and tools.

My challenge is to create a learning environment that would encourage our students to be readers to feel comfortable to read and to approach reading with confidence.  I feel that by doing this it will help my learners to make shifts in their reading so that they will be able to engaged in their learning.  In our lessons students are have to read and respond to questions and this is an important skill to have if they want to succeed in Social Studies.  I know that students might not be interested in learning about the news but if I make it a cool thing, hopefully they will be able to appreciate the value of knowing what's going on around them better.

Link here

PAT and diagnostic test results in reading

I am using PAT data from year 9 year as utilising mid-term and end of term exam results in the Current Events skills section

Reading Frameworks and strategies

These diagrams show the overall ethnic breakdown of my year 9 class.

Expert Support

I will be using the help of our PAT guru Mele Suipi-Latu and our literacy expert Marc Milford to help identify key gaps in the learning for our students and key strategies in my teaching approach to support achievement.

Student voice

I will use student voice, both formally in the form of google forms as well as have in-depth discussions about reading.

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.

COL meeting number #1 2024

Today we had our first COL meeting for 2024.  It was good to reconnect with the other COL teachers in our cluster and to hear from our COL leader Russel the challenges that we face as a cluster.

We looked at our data from last year in PAT Reading and Maths and although some results were good, it was also a sobering reminder that we have a lot of work to do.

There were 4 cluster goals that our Principals have discussed and were relayed to us.  We want to:

• Have 1.5 Years progress inside a year (big 3)
• Improve Teacher Practice
• Focus on Hauora
• Focus on Attendance

These goals have led to two big ideas:  Acceleration and engagement.

Currently, our College faces the same challenges as many schools simliar to ours, in that students come to school behind in their literacy and numeracy levels.  We are struggling to get our kids to the correct learning levels as we have to accelerate their progress from behind. This challenge is something our inquiries can address through understanding the challenge in student learning. 

A focus for us is our student reading levels and our literacy experts and researchers have developed a Reading Practice Intensive to support staff in understanding, designing and implementing effective reading practices needed to our learners.  This programme will be something me or my team will be keen to do.  

Level Up! A Tāmaki College literacy and numeracy initiative

As part of an initiative to drive Literacy and Numeracy at Tamaki College, a group of HOLA's (Heads of Learning) banded together to look at ways to address the challenges.  In year 10 we started by offering level 1 credits before they expired which helped to put our kids on the board.  It was a successful programme which led to 95 of the 120 students achieving at least10 credits in literacy and 103 achieving at least 10 in numeracy.

We wanted to continue that moment into 2024 so formed a committee.  Recently we presented at our staff teacher only day to share insights into the initiative, ways to support staff and future goals we have moving forward.  

A key focus for term 1 in the junior school is reading.  At our presentation we discussed two key aspects we wanted to address in term 1:  PAT data and how to understand it.  There are two people at Tamaki who have excellent insight into what the data tells us and how we can use it and they are Marc Milford our literacy expert and Mele Suipi Latu who has a masters degree focussed on literacy and currently works with our ESOL learners.  We enlisted the help of these experts to show support for our staff.  Here is the presentation that we led, along which has accessible links on the presentation.

COL Interview 2024: Questions 2 - 6

2. What learnings from the 2017 - 2023 CoL teacher inquiries have informed or inspired your thinking.

In no particular order.  

• Karen’s innovations in creating learning for the kids on social media platforms and her watching her create and trial the innovative teacher inquiry game 'Boost' with our staff.
• Christine and Poto from Glen Taylor. We have created a strong bond and have connected in our knowledge of identifying the challenges and support needed for our Pasifika kids. 
• I know that Christines supporting teachers and their pedagogy and being culturally responsive in our practice.  
• Andrea who is currently building a Pasifika teachers network she is building is needed and important in building last.  

3. How would your work support Manaiakalani pedagogy and kaupapa?

• Through ensuring that students and staff know that the Learn, Create, Share model is one of the ways we continue to be connected to each other.
• I will continue to work and support Kerry and the Manaiakalani team through department discussions and secondary connected.
• I will continue to challenge and question systems to ensure the appropriate voices are heard.

4. Which elements of the extensive Manaiakalani research findings inform or challenge you as you think about this?

Here are some of the findings that I have found useful, challenging and enjoyable in guiding my pedagogy and the pedagogy of my department.

• Reading Research tool observations.  These tools are so beneficial and need more 'airtime' to be incorporated across the cluster more purposefully.  I would love to see PLD from the team for our school to work out how to implement the tools better.
• Critical literacy page 4
• Cluster-wide PLD

5. How would you like to be supported in 2024 as you undertake this inquiry?

• I would like to continue to work more closely with other COL teachers within our school but also across the cluster.
• I would like to have a regular check in and talanoa with Fiona.  
• I would like to book in and see Matt more to help with my workspaces.
• I would like to meet Dr Russell Bishop and be led in a PLD by him.

6. How would you plan to support your colleagues in your school with their inquiries and/or teaching in the area you are exploring?

• I would like to support teachers by inviting them to observe my classes.  I would like to allocate my time COL time once a week to have one on one conferencing with staff. 
• I want to continue to present to our staff once a term with our COL team.

Me looking interested in library books