New year brings new teaching level

It's been a while since I posted my thoughts on this particular blog but a recent change brings me here once more.  Starting 2012, my sixth year of teaching, I will be teaching year one and two students (5 and 6 year-olds). I'm really looking forward to it.

The biggest change for me will be planning a predominantly 'learning to read' (decoding) programme rather than 'reading to learn' comprehension programme.

I'm interested to see how maths will go.  I feel confident in this area. Especially as having worked with the older students, I know where I am expecting them to achieve as well as common gaps I came across in their knowledge.  I will be able to plan a programme which hopefully strengthens these gaps rather than focussing too much on lesser-needed areas.

I still have some of my original practicum folders from when I worked with this age during my teacher training, so will look back at them.

Here's to a new year of new learning for the whole class, including the teacher!

(note to self: routines, routines, routines)

3rd New Beginning

Welcome, 2009. I'm a fully registered teacher with a permanent teaching position and about to start my third year of teaching.

One good thing about this career is that each new year can be seen as a fresh new start; taking all the good things from last year and adapting them, and taking all the bad things from last year and.. well adapting them.

This 'start-of-year' round I will take a mental note of student behaviours on day one, to assess for possible problem areas.  Normally students are a bit reticent on day one, slowly emerging from their shells as they get to know you.  Last year, they we're a bit too 'loose' with their own conversations during class discussions or teacher directions - this led to a whole year of struggling to have an appropriate environment where all students listened to one another and felt confident enough to take the risk of sharing to all students.  I realise now that if I see a similar 1st day lack of concern for listening to others, I will need to set some very firm routines and protocols in that first term to hopefully allow for a positive environment for sharing, learning, and discussing throughout the rest of the year.

A mixture of team-building fun but also strict expectations on behaviours during independent learning, group work, whole class work (particularly appropriate noise levels in those different situations).

Accountability and Consequences

I continue to have some issues with dynamics at a whole-class level.  That is, when teaching, discussing, sharing with one-another.

Even with regular direction as well as reflection on the physical environment and 'interest' of learning content, and other aspects of my pedegogy, I find some key elements of having a constructive team-learning environment difficult to establish to a level that I am content with.

After considering many possible reasons for this, and discussions with my tutor teacher, I am leaning towards developing the way in which I communicate expectations backed up with a system of accountability and consequences.

A likely scenario will be where I have some system of adding names to a list (on the board) whereby the consequences of making it onto that list mean students will have some form of negative consequence, such as staying in at break time (possibly combined with a 'time added' component based on time wasted).  Although I would like to use positive reinforcement, in this particular case (and for a time) I feel some negative consequences to promote positve behaviour may be necessary.

The most common type of behaviour occurring that impeeds on thinking and learning are... having separate conversations during whole-class discussions, movement around the room, distracting others or self from the learning activity.  General routine things that are needed to ensure a positive and engaging time of learning as a large group.

Watch this space and see how we go.

ps. I think I will also try to increase my use of positive verbal praise to reinforce postive behaviour.

2nd Year, 2nd First Day

Well, under way again. A couple of things to note that I need to look back on in maybe a couple of weeks.

1. Possibly a bit more of a boring first day, focussing this time more on setting up some administration things and setting out books. Some good benefits of doing so, I think. But possibly could have mixed in some more 'fun' starter/getting-to-know-you stuff?
2. The students seem a lot more 'chatty' during class for a 'first day' where they are normally a bit more reserved. Not sure if this is a reflection of the different group of students from last year, but may have to keep a particular monitoring on this because it may need a slightly firmer/direct instruction about expected behaviour than required last year?
   

End of Year One Summary

Well, I had to get my priorities right and have my holidays first! Now for my brief reflection before gearing up for a new year of learning (for both myself and my students).

Overall a positive year - very demanding and plenty of long days, but successful all-the-same.

Strong(ish) points

• Positive learning environment where students feel safe and happy
• Promoting thinking through scenario/action-based learning
• Good use of new-media technologies to promote learning
• Encouraging independent learning and intrinsic motivation
• Success in extra-curricula video production for Panasonic competition
• Trying lots of different approaches to teaching, and being willing to change
• When used, shared learning intentions were successful in directing students' learning focus
  

Points to focus on

• Establish writing groups and fairly regular 'conferencing' to improve learning in writing (and assist in my formative assessment of individuals)
• Both Maths and Reading groups to have more routine to help students focus on beneficial learning habits
• More regular setting/sharing of learning intentions and goals

I'm looking forward to this coming year, and the challenges it may bring. Also looking forward to hopefully being stronger in some areas so I can focus more attention to the (seemingly never-ending) gaps in other areas of my teaching.

Kia Kaha (have good strength)

Read read read

At a recent staff meeting we looked at reading level statistics of our students measured over time. It did highlight some need for change or improvement in the way some of us run our reading programmes.

For me, it seems apparent that I need a much more structured, almost junior-style reading programme. I am currently basing a lot on topic-related reading and information gathering. However, many of my students would benefit more from a systematic programme that strengthens reading comprehension which, for many of my readers, is not currently effective when using topic related texts that are often only suitable for higher level readers.

I have also tried this term to give some freedom of choice to students, which on one hand they appear to engage with, but on the other, gaps appear in their ability as independent learners. I am thinking that this may well be an age thing. In our quest to promote independent learning and thinking skills, some of the basic skills needed to underpin this type of thinking is being given less time. That is, the ability to effectively decode and then comprehend what we have just decoded.

Again, like in maths, I need to get back to some basics and follow some good structure. Topic can take a back-seat within my reading programme.

Lessons from Practicum 3/5

Class Routines - Key foundation to building a positive learning community
Being with a new-entrance class is a great way of noticing, in a more obvious fashion, what is often regular teacher practice throughout all primary age classrooms. One of the most amplified examples of effective practice observed on this occasion was that of consistent class routines - although this was not fully apparent until after my stint at full control, when things sometimes became a little ‘undone’ :-) …

During my three days sole duty it became quickly evident that class routines were crucial in helping class management and establishing an effective learning environment.

When planning for my three days, I had prepared all the lessons needed. However, on the first day I found it more difficult than expected to ‘run’ the class in the same way as the associate teacher. After some interactions and discussion with the associate teacher, I realised that I hadn’t been fully aware of many of the seemingly small & incidental aspects of her teaching, which were in fact very measured and considered routines and instructions which she had established over time.

I didn’t really have a full realisation, or prior practical experience of the value of established routines. Therefore, in addition to this, my first-week observations were not focussed on this area. Maybe because I didn’t know what I was actually seeing, or the reasons behind it. I also probably had assumptions that the children were in some aspects managing themselves, when in fact they were operating in the comfort or familiarity of established routines.

When I become a teacher of my own class, if I want to create a better learning environment (and make life easier for myself), it will be important for me to establish routines right from day one. These routines, whatever shape they take, need to be measured, considered, and clear.