Reading Observation- Renee

Today I observed Renee with her two lower reading groups. The focus for both groups was on evaluating- one group focused on evaluating a character while the other focused on evaluating events and why they occur in the story.
Renee only stopped to ask questions about the text if they related to the specific learning intention- this meant that the reading of the text was quick and more time was available to spend on the follow up task which the group would do together.
As a group they completed the follow up task together. The students then practised this same task indepedently but for a different character/event/story.
Renee said that she will normally use the same text for at least a week and will vary the activity that they do.

What does this mean for my practice?
The biggest thing I took from watching Renee was how she had a clear focus for the lesson and did not stray. This would help the students to have a clear understanding of what each strategy is and also keep the lesson on track.
Doing a follow up activity as a group and then doing it individually is another good idea as it will give a true assessment of the student's understanding. They will have had the activiity modelled to them properly.

Using web 2.0 tools

I believe that ICT is a huge driving force for students and if a computer is in front of them they will be engaged no matter what the task. The other week I was doing a CSI reading lesson which linked well with my writing topic. The follow up activity was to create a venn diagram. I had a look and found an easy venn diagram template online which the students would be able to type directly into and then embed on the class blog.
The engagement of my students when completing the task was fantastic. They worked in pairs and every single student was on task. Students took half the time it would've taken them if they had been doing it in their books or on a piece of paper because they were so focused .

Maths Teacher Inquiry- Dinah

Dinah led a staff meeting on using our data to come up with our next steps for teaching. She wanted us to think about how are we going to teach better- not how is that student going to get better.

We had to choose a target group in which we would start a mini teacher inquiry. This had to be a group of students who have made little or no progress all year. I have one student who has moved in strategy this year but has not moved in knowledge all year. She is my focus.

Dinah suggested my first step be to give her a stage six knowledge test even though she has not yet passed stage five. This has allowed me to identify what she knows and what she doesn't- and I can start targeting the things she doesn't know first. I am going to be setting aside ten minutes at the start of maths everyday where I work one-on-one with her in order to fill her gaps. She will be given extra homework and practise to reinforce the learning.
I will also have to find suitable materials to use when working with her- these will form an image which she can refer to when solving the problem.

Maths Observation- Dinah

I observed Dinah with a group of stage six students and some stage seven students.
Dinah's focus was on giving students number problems in non-number contexts. Students should be able to apply the strategies they have been taught into problems which do not specify what they need to solve.

The stage six problem:

The majority of students struggled with this problem because of the way it was presented to them. All they had to do in order to solve it was 144 divided by 8- which had they known, all students could've easily done.

The stage seven problem:

The students ability to solve this problem was similar to that of the stage six one- they couldn't apply it due to the wordy problem where an equation is spelt out for them.

Once the students shared their answers (without the shame of getting it wrong, or the pressure of it being marked) Dinah used equipment so the students could replicate the problem they were given. For stage six, it involved making the triangle out of a rectangular piece of paper, and for the sevens, it was constructing three different coloured squares (to scale) out of popsticks.

By giving them the equipment (even if they didn't even really need it) the students were able to get a visual image for the particular problem which will mean that next time they can associate that image with a similar problem.

Dinah maintains that when we rate students at a strategy stage then they should be able to apply the specific strategies in a range of problems, and it makes sense. How often in life are we asked to solve a direct equation? Instead we have to problem solve, to come up with an equation ourselves based on the information we have.

What does this mean for my practice?

It is clear that while I rate students at a stage where they can confidently use particular strategies, they are not necessarily able to apply the strategies. This was evident in my stage eight studnets who were unable to answer the stage seven problem.

I am going to aim to implement this way of thinking into my maths problem. This will involve providing my students with a rich questions which seem like they are targeting a strand, but are actually addressing number strategies. An idea is maybe to have a problem of the day, everyday, in which they are solving a number problem in a non-number context.

Student's time management

Yesterday I got very upset with a number of my students who had not completed tasks I had told them they had to get done in their own time, because they hadn't finished them during class time.
What am I going to do to ensure they get this done, and that they are motivated to get work done?
No computer until maths tasks are done- computer maths games are to be used for students who are up to date.

Using maths equipment

My maths goal is to use equipment more regularly when teaching my students. Yesterday I was focusing on a knowledge gap- decimal place value and ordering decimals. My students were given decimats and we watched an equipment animation off www.nzmaths.co.nz to introduce them to how a decimat represents decimal place value. I then got the students to show me various numbers by shading in parts of their decimats.

Today I followed on from that lesson but introduced decipipes and decimal arrow cards. The decipipes were fantastic as the students were able to actually see the worth of the number I had asked them to create. They were able to look at numbers other students had made and tell me if it had been made correctly. Once the students seemed confident with the decipipes, I introduced the decimal arrow cards to give them an understanding of how to order decimals. The students were all very engaged because they were able to manipulate the equipment and there was enough cards for everyone to get a few and play with. I noticed a lot of students talking to themselves while they moved the equipment around, and it was a great way of me understanding where they were at with the concept.

I will definitely have to continue to use the various equipment with my lower students as I know they still struggle with decimals.

My research on Formative Assessment

From: "Advancing Formative Assessment in Every Classroom" by Connie M. Moss & Susan M. Brookhart, 2009.

Six elements of the formative assessment process:

• Shared learning targets and criteria for success 
• Feedback that feeds forward (next steps)
• Student goal setting
• Student self-assessment
• Strategic teacher questioning
• Student engagement in asking effective questions. 

For my development, I will be focusing on the highlighted areas to start off with. I am going to start using formative assessment in my writing firstly, because writing is our team focus and I have had some PD in writing conferencing which is a form of formative assessment. 

Learning Targets and Criteria for Success

Example: Students are to write a book report. The learning intention is not "to write a book report", it is "read and comprehend the plot and be able to make a personal connection with the story". 

She will instruct them to: "Write two paragraphs- the first should summarise the story so that someone who has not read the story will know what happens. The second is to tell the reader what your favourite part of the story is and why." 

This teacher has given clear directions. She has also started to share the learning intention. 

This, however, is only the first step. While the students understand what they are supposed to do, they will have different ideas of what the paragraphs will look like. 

Showing students good quality examples, at various levels, and then comparing them, will help them to understand what is expected and how they can achieve the learning intention.Students should also be given a rubric with specific descriptions so that their understanding is clear. 

Feedback that feeds forward

Effective Feedback...

• Observes where the work did a good job of meeting the criteria and where it did not. 
• Suggests ways the student could go about understanding the reasons for these observations, building on strengths and improving on weaknesses. 
• Shows students how to look at their work using criteria from the assignment, and thus, by modelling, helps teach them self assessment skills. 

How well did the feedback...

• Compare the student's work with the learning target?
• Describe what the student did well?
• Suggest a specific strategy for next steps?
• Arrive as soon as possible after performance?
• Match the student's developmental level?

Student Self- Assessment

The biggest part of self-assessment is involving the students when developing the success criteria. Question them or prompt them to clarify their thinking "why?" "explain that" "tell me more about..."