Integration, Authenticity and Learner Outcomes

Arohamai, it seems to have been forever since my last blogpost. This year has been a whirlwind of exciting learning both for myself and the children in my hub. 

I was prompted however to write this post today after our PLD session this morning. This provoked us to think about, and discuss how we can accelerate learning. Well, that was the unconference workshop which I chose to opt into. 

During this we came up with the following possibilities for accelerating learner outcomes. 

What I enjoyed most about this conversation two-fold. Firstly as a teacher of 3 years experience I actually had a lot to contribute, and secondly, I was able to make connections to others contributitions also. I think that sometimes being surrounded by so many extremely talented and effective teachers I forget to give myself some of that same credit... 

Only an hour later I was back in the hub with my numeracy group. We were working on our 'stained glass window' designs. This activity combined one of the learners favourite pursuits, art, with strand: Measurement and Geometry. Plus, our recently built knowledge of fractions. What I enjoyed the most about this was not the learner's designs, but their ability to articulate and problem solve to describe their designs. 

Designing #stainedglasswindows #problemsolving to determine the #fractions #geometry + #measurement @StonefieldsSch pic.twitter.com/wJI6HRJVK7

— Stephanie Parker (@Sparketter) September 14, 2016

The benefits of integrating the curriculum was in fact one of the things that came up in our accelerating outcomes korero this morning. By doing so, learning would become richer and more authentic. This is exactly what I witnessed this morning with my learners as they worked together to not only create, but explain and justify their thinking around things like the fraction of the square which was yellow, or what fraction was made up of triangles. This activity meant we had to add fractions with different denominators, make equivalent fractions, consider the symmetry, rotation, and translation and apply all of this knowledge to our own drawings. A very proud teacher moment to see all of this learning coming into authentic action. 

Reflecting on this activity lead me to make some connections. The integrated learning I had created for these learners was enabling them to make connections and apply their understanding of mathematical concepts in an engaging and authentic context. 

It's moments like this that I realise why I love teaching, that I do make an impact, and that I cause learning to happen!

Take a look at some of the learner examples on our hub blog, and feel free to leave them a specific and positive comment.

 

Changing Spaces & Developing Learner Agency

Last week my school, Stonefields School, had the pleasure of hosting the first Changing Spaces conference in partnership with CORE Education. The day was a great success with nearly 300 delegates attending. 

It was an honour to participate in the event and alongside Kirsty Panapa (Associate Principal) and Amy Shields (Year 7/8 Teacher),  I presented on the topic of Student Agency.

Below you'll see our presentation where we first define student agency, then consider how different factors can affect it. Half way through the workshop, we broke off into three mini workshops where we each followed our strengths. You'll find my section on the digital space on slides 45 - 49. 

We discussed learning design and benefits of digital space before having some 'sandpit' time to explore free online digital learning tools. After this we followed the delegates interests where I was able to share my expertise in setting up and managing a class of individual blogs, and data management strategies. 

Overall it was a fantastic experience, we had a full house with over 80 delegates attending our workshop. 

#changingspaces @StonefieldsSch Dream Team! Learned so much about student agency through collaboration with these 2 pic.twitter.com/jqBZoTmWxm

— Amy Shields (@AShields27) April 29, 2016

Full house in hub 8 for #changingspaces talking #studentagency 80pax and great dialogue pic.twitter.com/0G7vijUJMN

— Stephanie Parker (@Sparketter) April 28, 2016

The Learning Process: Building knowledge to make meaning and apply understanding.

Some of you might know that this year I moved to a new school, Stonefields Primary in fact. Meaning that this year, not only have I had to familiarise myself with a new group of learners, but also new colleagues, systems and ways of thinking. 
At Stonefields we use the building blocks learning process, where, as per the title of this post you need to: build knowledge, before you make meaning of it, then you can apply understanding. This learning process model has a range of verbs underneath each building block for teachers to use in the design of learning. 

This post is about how I have put the learning process, which we use with the children, into my teacher learning journey of how I design for learning. And trust me, I have certainly gotten myself into the 'learning pit' a few times during the process. 
Firstly, I've been doing just that: Building knowledge of the learning process. I had to 'bring what I know' [BWIK] of teaching and learning, the NZ Curriculum and learner's needs. This involved a bit of trying out and experimenting with using the different learning verbs and learner qualities, and of course some practice. 
Secondly, I had to make meaning of this, comparing and contrasting, how I formerly designed for learning with this learning process, in doing so I was able to weave together and synthesise my own pedagogy with the Stonefields way. Finally, I have been able to apply some of this understanding in my design for learning in an upcoming statistics series of lessons. Here I decided upon the steps the learners needed to take using the learning process to build their knowledge, make meaning and apply their understanding. 

A beautiful process really, and upon doing so I reflected on how I too had used the same process that I intended them to use, as I designed for their learning. The reason I am sharing this is because it resonates with my philosophy of ako, that as a teacher, I too am a learner. Plus, I am looking forward to repeating this cycle and building on it. 

Learn Code Teach Code

This week I have been teaching myself coding. Well, studio.code.org has been teaching me coding. I began with Course 2 aimed for children who can read and suitable for ages 6 - 18 years. This course took me through coding using visual blocks learning everything from the basics of simple commands, to loops, 'if' statements, loops within loops and allowed me to practice these skills to create simple images, solve puzzles, and even create games using rules and logic. 

Throughout the course were several 'unplugged' activities and teacher lesson plans which described how to teach some of the principles of coding, without computers, great for classes with limited resources, and for getting to understand the purpose and function of different code capabilities without the distraction of the computers bells and whistles. 

One of the things I liked the most about this 'code' business is the practical side I can see to, how purposeful it can be to develop a child's problem solving capability, logic, reasoning, creativity, and open up a world of future pathways. A lot of the activities included tasks which required understanding patterns, angles, symbols < > =, 'if' and 'when' clauses which link perfectly with geometry, algebra and other mathematical applications. 

The best part however, was that it was actually quite fun. I was learning while having fun. Ideal. Check out some of my learning examples below. Click the image to be directed to the activity and code behind it. 

At the completion of Course 2 I also received my Certificate of Completion - Well done me. I think I'll enjoy incorporating this learning in my class this year. 

Getting Google Educator Certified

For the past two years I have been using google tools in the classroom. Everything from building class sites, google doc, sheets, forms, drawings, slides, my maps, blogger, gmail youtube - you name it. Google makes everything easy in one place, and accessible from anywhere, on multiple devices. 
When I saw the online Google Educator Certification Fundamentals course I knew that it wasn't something I needed to do skill wise, but decided it would be worthwhile anyway. In case you've been wondering whether or not to give it a go, here's my feedback on the course. 

Content 
Majority of the things on the course were targeted for people new to using google products, however, I did still learn a few valuable things including: 

• Google Keep 
• Google Groups
• 'Add to tasks' 
• Google Classroom 

It's one of those, you don't know what you don't know scenario's.

The Level 1 course covers 13 units which cover everything on using the various products, to how they might be applicable in the classroom, and tips on being cybersmart and how to use search engines more efficiently.

Time
Without prior experience using google, the suggested time to complete each unit was probably accurate. As I was already familiar with most of the products I was able to do each unit in a fraction of the time. Completing all 13 within a day. 
After registering for the exam you need to wait for it to become active - up to 24 hours, then you need to sit the exam within 7 days. 
You're given 3 hours to complete the exam. The first section is multi-choice which takes about 10 - 20 minutes. The second section is more practical, where you are supplied a google drive to carry out set activities to show competency using the tools. This bit takes a bit longer due to the requirements, but the three hour time limit is more than sufficient. 

Cost
The 13 units in the Level 1 certification are FREE, however you need to register for the online exam - there is a US$10 fee for this, but I figured the 'certification' was worth it. 

Quality
Though I was already confident using most of these products I found the process and reinforcement worthwhile. The units however were quite targeted to people new to google products, so in terms of the SAMR model, suggestions and 'tips' often sat within the Substitution or Augmentation levels of learning with digital technologies. In saying that it's just a foundation point - we all have to start somewhere right? 

Now that I have completed the Level 1 Fundamentals Training I'm looking forward to moving onto the Advanced Training - which I hope includes more innovation and creativity to allow for Modification and Redefinition of the learning process.