Today we had PL with Anne Grady. This had a focus on boys learning, specifically writing. We also unpacked our school data and formed a plan or to do list of how we will move our students learning in one or two aspects of writing.
My big take aways from this PD are:
- Be courageous enough to challenge/change my beliefs about my teaching practices, students learning styles and interests, how I will implement these changed beliefs.
- Boys are different and need to be thought of carefully in planning (already do this but need to break it down even more) for learning.
- Doing, moving, making, manipulating
- Clear identification of student strengths - goals - how to move from point A to B
My struggles/worries/challenges in early 2017
- I don't know what a good model is or where to find one? What will I do about this?
- Talk to colleagues
- Read and classify as I do this
- I get overwhelmed by quantity of things to teach in writing.
- Break it down
- Simplify
- Do one or two things well
- How to lead our team and keep things simple when there is some much to do!
- Talk regularly to Vicky & Jo
- Improve my planning and diary maintenance
- How do we utilise three teachers to accelerate learning in our ILE
- How do I coach / mentor my team?
- What is the right balance between telling and letting the students come up with how
- Is my feedback effective? Does it help?
How will this impact on my teaching:
The following are notes relating to our Professional Learning with Anne Grady (January 2017)
2017 Writing beliefs - Teacher Only Day Professional Learning
Reflecting on 2016
Using a model which allows exploring what the writer has done.
There has to be an audience for the writing
Authentic purpose - know the audience, purpose
Success criteria - clear and constructed with the students when appropriate, sometimes it will be teacher written
Keeping it simple, achievable learning intentions/success criteria
Holding the learning intention for a longer time
Knowing the learner and what works for them
Some early writers with a sentence frame can develop their writing
The purpose will determine the genre not fitting the writing to a timetabled genre teaching time
It takes courage to be a writer trying new things, taking risks, having a go
Teacher feedback/responses to the writer is important and needs care not to stop the writer to be a risk taker
Teacher as a writer, allowing the students to see the blocks, difficulties through think alouds.
Writing occurs daily - may not be a completed piece of writing.
Link between reading and writing - using the model in reading, links to concept.
Knowing the students - relationships and their identities
Writing is a tool for thinking
Writing has a complex relationship to talk
‘We can’t give children rich lives but we can give them the lens to appreciate the richness which is already there’ Lucy Calkins
Can we have courage without beliefs?
Or do we need courage to change/develop our beliefs?20
Graham Shaw - TEDxHull
Why people believe they can’t draw
-and how to prove they can
How many beliefs and limiting thoughts do we can around with us everyday?
Who are the people that are influencing you?
Share these with others. Developing your own beliefs.
Reading Research - Boys
What do we already know about the ‘Boys’ at David Street School?
What do you know about their learning styles?
What do we know about their culture and identity?
What do we know about their language?
What do we know about preschool opportunities?
What do we know about attitudes?
The ladder of Inference - Chris Argyis
The way we often reach decisions. Observations and lead to assumptions.
Pool of data
Professional Readings Activity:
Using a selected professional reading about boys.
Prepare a slide or a chart to bullet key messages from the reading to share with the groups.
WALT:
‘Sift’ key messages from the text
Success Criteria:
Identify key words
Explore a key phrase with a partner
Make connections (to David Street School)
Re-write information in our own words
Evaluate information by adding -agree or disagree to researcher statements
