How do you RATE your teaching practice?

Today's staff PD session led by Dorothy Burt was a timely reminder that effective teachers are THE key component in achieving success in the classroom.  The world of digital learning offers many bells and whistles but nothing can replace what a competent teacher body can bring to the classroom.

Dorothy introduced us to the RATE framework. I found it very useful to breakdown how I can access EFFECTIVE TEACHING PRACTISE and continue my own personal journey to develop my teaching skillset.

R = RECOGNISE Effective Practice by seeking out out teaching practices that work. We got to see this in action at the end of our PD session with staff split into groups, role playing a guided reading session with a focus on a specific element of the NZ Curriculum (Reading, Level 2) with a 'teacher'  supporting 'students' to overcome decoding challenges. Lots of great ideas on display!

A = AMPLIFY Effective Practise by using the Learn-Create-Share pedagogy. Staying connected to other educators through our networks, keeping good practice visible, feeling empowered to get out and put different ideas into practise and taking advantage of colleagues skills and experiences at at time and place that suits (ubiquitous) e.g. online toolkits

T = TURBOCHARGE Effective Practise by using digital technologies to provide learning experiences that were previously not possible (SAMR model) or were not available 

E = EFFECTIVE PRACTICE 

Inquiry 2019 - A focus on Reading

BACKGROUND: The 2018 Woolf-Fisher research findings showed a clear achievement gap for Manaiakalani students in Reading across all age/gender groups in the cluster.

Reviewing my end of year data for 2018 highlighted a group of Year 7 students who had made no or little shift in their reading level over the year. Their end of year test results showed a reading level below their chronological age of 11 and 12 years old. In 2020, these students will  transition to their first year of high school and as Year 9s, will need a higher level of reading to support their learning

HUNCH: The reading comprehension of this group is being negatively impacted by a limited knowledge and understanding of essential vocabulary. My intention is to build an approach to language acquisition that uses specific word consciousness activities such as strategies developed by Paul Nation and Janni van Hees, that can be supported at home by a student's parents/caregivers. 

INQUIRY FOCUS FOR 2019: Manaiakalani CoL Achievement Challenge 4: To increase the achievement of Years 7-10, in reading, writing and maths, as measured against National Standards and agreed targets.

TARGET GROUP: a group of five Year 8 students (2 female, 3 males) who have reading ages ranging between 8.5-9.5 years. An initial goal is to raise their Reading Age (R.A) to 10 years by the end of the year.

FOCUS QUESTION: How will an explicit focus on words and word meanings improve the reading comprehension of Year 8 target learners?

STARTING POINT: I will test each target student to assess their current reading age and vocabulary levels. I will then trial a set of vocabulary strategies over a period of time before re-testing each student using the same test tools to determine what, if any, changes have happened.