Self Reporting Grades Part i)

Students Self Reporting Grades

On Friday last week Vicky, Jo, Leon and I were lucky enough to make the trip up to Auckland to hear John Hattie speak at the Visible Learning Plus summit.  John Hattie has forged a strong reputation as one of the world premiere educationalists and is in high demand around the globe.   

I have reviewed one of his books Visible Learning for Teachers : Maximising Impact on Learning.  Here is a link to my review (click here).  Here is a link to the Visible Learning website (click here).

Previously most pd has been focussed around the things that teachers can do to best maximise the learning in the classroom.  Such as providing formative assessments, reciprocal teaching and feedback.

One of the key messages from the summit was that teachers should also look at the effective means available to students themselves.  Interestingly these are quantifiable more beneficial to learning than what the teachers can influence (aka getting the students flying themselves is better than teachers driving).

Here is the same diagram but looking at the strategies that the student is in control of...





At the conference there was much made of the 'self-reported grades'.  At an effect size of 1.44 this equates to over three times as much progress as just aging.  Or 50% more effective than formative evaluation.  

How is it that we can get our Waihi College students to be better at self-reported grading?  Is it enough to just get the students to judge themselves as "N", "A", "M" or "E"?

Primarily it is about having the students moved more towards become auto-didactic.  Being able to be their own teachers.  

Historically the system has been that teachers have been the gatekeepers of knowledge and would typically drip feed that knowledge out in the classroom.  Students would sit assessments at times where the teacher had confidence that the students have 'received' enough learning.  Sometimes teachers would have little appreciation of whether the learning had actually taken place.  

Hattie was interested in having the learning become 'Visible' - that is the students can explicitly see their progression through the content.  Question - what would that look like here at Waihi College?


This post relates to RTC #6  "Conceptualise, plan and implement an appropriate learning programme." And RTC #8. "Demonstrate in practice their knowledge and understanding of how ākonga learn- i) enable ākonga to make connections between their prior experiences and learning and their current learning activities & iii) encourage ākonga to take responsibility for their own learning and behaviour."

How To Update Your OneNote Appraisal Documents

Hope that this helps...

This is a step by step tutorial to help you with getting the technology sorted.  I'm anticipating there are still some technophobes who it probably is best to come and see me for a couple of mins.

This video is about just copying and pasting from OneNote.  This is probably the easier of the ways to do this job (although you'll have the notes you've made from 2014 that will need overwriting).  

This is another video showing you step by step.  This one here is from the email that  your appraiser would have sent to you.  

This post was actually some PD for me as I used a new software called Open Boardcast Software.  It was actually pretty easy and I'd recommend it.  

This post relates to appraisal and tracking  your progress through the RTC's

Internal Review

End Of Term One Review

As a part of processing through our planning for this and next year we thought that it would be a good idea to gauge from staff their thoughts/views/insights over the first term.  

Here is a copy of the questionnaire that we handed out today...

 The hope here is to better streamline our systems here at the college.  All staff, of course, are warmly invited to bring ideas or issues to any of the SLT (we value your feedback and initiatives).

This post relates to RTC #1. "Establish and maintain effective professional relationships focused on the learning and well-being of ākonga."  And RTC #6. "Conceptualise, plan and implement an appropriate learning programme." 

ART Year 12's

ART Program The Next Steps

We have a new ART (Achievement, Retention and Transition) and Vocational Pathways coordinating supervisor assigned to us from MOE.  Her name is Dr Christine Pritchard and her role is to guide the programs we have in place for achieving 85% of our students getting Level Two.

Here is a timeline that I've created to try and illustrate the events that we'll put in around our students (those that we identify).  The mantra for the ART programme is the idea of working with the three N's (names/numbers/needs).

The intent at this stage of the year is to narrow down our year 12 cohort into those 25-35 students that we will assign individually to teachers (hoping for teachers to have a one to one relationship).  These teachers will mentor these year 12's through this year of schooling.  This is a too big of a job just for a dean or for the learning advisors - although they are key stakeholders too.  

This week we will be looking at our cohort and which students are in greatest need (remember that we're looking at the amber students (those on the margins of passing).  What I am hoping for is that for these students we will have one staff member each who will be able to engage with these students about their progress.

Green - Those students who will pass.
Amber - Those students that are on the margin.
Red - Those students that won't pass.


This post is related to RTC #1. "Establish and maintain effective professional relationships focused on the learning and well-being of ākonga." And RTC #7. "Promote a collaborative, inclusive and supportive learning environment part ii. foster trust, respect and cooperation with and among ākonga."

Professional Learning Groups

PLG's First Half of Year

All the staff here at the college have now started their Professional Learning Groups for the first half of 2015 (until July).  We have seven groups up and operational.

Here is a list of which teachers are in which groups...

Here are the links to the web addresses of the PLG's blogsites...

1. Google Apps
2. Mimio
3. Te Reo and Tikanga
4. DEEP Planning
5. Friends Project
6. Flipped Classrooms

The intent of all of our PLGs is about collaboration and professional development.  It is also an opportunity for you as a professional operate with a degree of autonomy in your learning.

Collaborative - The idea is that you take people with you in your learning (sometimes you will lead other times  you will shown).  It is about recognising that those in this learning group share an interest in developing their practice around the same topic.

Development - The time you spend together working on your topic should ultimately add to the quality of your classroom relations and practices.  You will be expected to journey through with others (some will be at different stages of development)... but ultimately you'll want to get some tangible benefits from joining this group.


Rules of Belonging to Waihi College PLG

1. Get Involved.  Teachers often feel that professional development is something that is done to them.  The freedom of belonging to a PLG is to have a degree of autonomy.  You can take your learning where you want (especially where you feel you have the greatest benefit).  
2. Respect Others.  This should be a given but worth remembering.  Traditionally teaching is an isolated profession and some staff may feel reluctant to share.  Having a group with a high degree of respect is vital.  
3. Start ASAP - Please break the ice with your fellow teachers in your group.  Holding off will make it harder to get involved.  Set a good bench mark for the group.  
4. Engage With RTC's.  The next five months will provide you with plenty of opportunity to reflect upon the 12 registered teacher criteria.  Take some time to engaged for 10 mins a fortnight with these.  
5. Implement.  Lots of the topics of the PLGs this cycle are ideas.  There will be plenty of time to talk, debate and theorise about the topic.  But nothing beats trying things out.  Waihi College is a school of innovation, we genuinely encourage  you to try new things (mistakes are welcome). 
6. Feedback with Others.  This is a collective learning experience.  Let your group members know what it is your trying.  Let them know how things are going.  

This post relates to RTC #5. "Show leadership that contributes to effective teaching and learning i. actively contribute to the professional learning community." And RTC #12. "Use critical inquiry and problem-solving effectively in their professional practice."

 

Book Review

How Children Succeed : Grit, Curiosity and the Hidden Power of Character.  By Paul Tough

This is a book that I was very eager to read.  I'm a fan of education around character and believe that schools are charged with more than qualifications.   Paul Tough, himself a self confessed 'drop out' has taken the task of comparing intelligence with character.  I felt that this book was a good read and focused well upon the hidden curriculum.  

I felt myself linked closely to Paul's life experiences, he has a great chapter in there about being a father and looking deeply into the educational experience of children.  

Much of How Children Succeed  is based upon experience/case examples.  All of the ideas Paul presents are illustrated with some real life people and their ability to succeed where they would not expected to be.  

There were some very good quotes “The best way for a young person to build character is for him to attempt something where there is a real and serious possibility of failure.” (p. 85)  I think that this is something that our modern educational system can be guilty with.  We offer much of our assessment in 'low risk' assessments - I've never personally done a standard, I was raised in an examination environment where all the year was measured in a one off test.  [my preference is not for a major one off exam].  

Another thing for the plus side of How Children Succeed is the chapters he devotes to the study of chess and intelligence and determination.  

I would recommend this book for teachers, especially those with children.  Tough offers more in the way of observation than solution.  I found myself agreeing with much of Paul's points and enjoyed his illustrative writing style.  

Here is a nice YouTube clip where Paul is interviewed about his book.  

This post relates to RTC #12 - "Engaging with professional literature and reflecting on ones practice and RTC#5 

Latest Staff Books

Educational Reading Books.

Here are some new titles that we've added to our staff catalogue.  Please do take the time to have a read of any of these (school holidays are coming up which will give you some time).

I would greatly appreciate it if you can review any of these titles for other staff.

This post relates to RTC #12 - "Engaging with professional literature and reflecting on ones practice and RTC#5 - "Actively contributing to a learning community".

Creating Innovators

Book Review

Creating Innovators : The Making of Young People Who Will Change the Word.  By Tony Wagner

I found this book a very enjoyable read.  I have read another good book by Tony called The Global Achievement Gap which was an educationalist's view of the world around the Global Financial Crisis of 2008.

The thing that most surprised me was that Creating Innovators is a book that is intrinsically linked to a website (click here for link) with videos that drive the writing within each chapter..

Tony identifies the key set of skills and habits of mind that modern students need to thrive in the world.  Those are;

1. Curiosity,
2. Collaboration,
3. Associated and Integrated Thinking (aka adaptability), and,
4. Taking action (experimenting).  

Chapter Five was the most interesting for me as a teacher in a high school.  Here Tony works through the conservative nature of education within modern secondary schools.  He highlights the traditional nature of education was based upon facts, but that there is an exponential growth in the amount of facts.  Primarily he challenges secondary teachers to seek new ways of finding relevance and meaningful connections with their students.  Ideally creating within our students the development of passion and purpose in their learning.

Much of the lament of Tony's comments on the American education system (over emphasis on testing and a highly specified curriculum) are things that New Zealand schools don't face.  Our NZC opens up the opportunity for teachers to innovate their learning into wide contexts.

Another wee gem in Creating Innovators is the 'letter to a young innovator' - five pages at the end of the book where Tony writes directly to modern day learners.  Here he offers advice to young people about the opportunity and importance of becoming more and more innovative.

I would recommend this book to any teacher interested in the 'big picture' of education.  It is an interesting read (one you'll have to do with access to the internet).  It was a readable book, one that you can digest over a weekend.  If I had any critique it was that it was too intercontinental United States.

This post relates to RTC#8. "Demonstrate in practice their knowledge and understanding of how ākonga learn." and RTC#7. "Promote a collaborative, inclusive and supportive learning environment."

Hours For Senior Courses

Planning an NCEA Course.

It is really great to see that Kamar has an accurate record of all the entered credits for our senior academic students in NCEA.  I can see that all of our year 11 students (bar Alt Education and Memphis students) have over 100 credits that they're eligible for this year.

I thought that it would be a timely thing to look globally at our calendar of learning for the entire senior school.  Here is my analysis of the amount of time each subject/line has for the entire year.

Going from these numbers and the atypical credit count for courses.  I can see that courses that offer 20 credits (which is the modal number of credits at level one) have approximately five lessons for every credit.  So if you have a four credit standard that you're teaching then you should be allocating twenty lessons of time (this equates with our timetable to be thirty school days or six weeks of learning).

NZQA has some information on the guidelines around time and credit value (click here for the link)...

"Credits allocated to unit standards reflect the notional learning time expected for learners to meet the outcomes in those unit standards.  (Actual learning time will, of course, vary from learner to learner.)  Notional learning time includes time spent in structured tuition and self paced learning and practice; time taken to gather and provide evidence for assessment purposes; and time taken to be assessed in all the outcomes and contexts.   One credit represents a notional 10 hours of learning, practice, and assessment time."

I think that it is very important that all teachers are cognitive of the pressures of time for NCEA qualifications.  This needs to be thought of when considering the strengths of the cohort, the amount of credits you hope to cover in any course, the pressures of the time of the year (not much point in having internal assessments around the school exam week).FYI we are going to change the name of the school exam week to "compassionate consideration exam" to highlight the importance of getting the best possible grade.

All of this inherently links to study and homework.  That time where students can consolidate their learning from class.  With the above "10 hours" (which is very generous) there is a clear need for staff to plan on students learning at home.

Further to the idea of study is the increasingly common practice of posting learning online.  This can be achieved through a classroom blog or website.  Similarly the trend into 'flipped' classrooms will also add to the readiness of students to learn at home.

This post is related to RTC#  6. "Conceptualise, plan and implement an appropriate learning programme." and RTC# 7. "Promote a collaborative, inclusive and supportive learning environment. i. demonstrate effective management of the learning setting which incorporates successful strategies to engage and motivate ākonga." 

Communication Home

Contacting Parents.

A very important aspect of quality education is the involvement of parents/whanau.  There are the formalised lines of communication like the parent teacher interviews (these will be on Wednesday 17th Jun - week nine term two) and our school reports.

I believe that the more that our students families are involved in their education the better.  That all parents have a strong desire for their children to do their best and that many of them can assist them in this pursuit.  As a parent of a student at school I recognise that I greatly appreciate when the teacher makes contact.

Here are two recent instances where Waihi College communication practice has been highlighted...

1. A parent spoke with me at the school pool after hours.  That parent had very positive tones and wanted to express their thanks for the efforts of one of teachers.  That teacher had sent a letter (could have been an email) home... it introduced themselves, talked about the purpose of the subject the students was enrolled, gave dates and details (like credits) of the assessments this year and then invited any replies/queries via phone or email.  
2. Another parent sent me an email which highlighted... "I went to parent teacher interviews in April last year & a couple of teachers said that she had to put in a bit more effort but no one said that she wasn't coping.  I had no further direct contact with any of her teachers.  At           's previous school teachers would send a quick text or email with congrats (or not) for achievements throughout the year, & if there were any problems (from incorrect uniform or homework not done) then I was made aware.  I wasn't aware that           had received her end of year report until November & by that time it was to late to do anything about her work.  I do find it hard to believe that she crashed so far from her Level 1 results without her teachers being aware, especially in           ,           &             but didn't think to contact me directly."  

Queries - What standards of practice do we want here at Waihi College?  Where is the balance between duty of care (contacting home more regularly) and reasonable levels of effort (not exhausting our staff)?

This post relates to RTC# "1. Establish and maintain effective professional relationships focused on the learning and well-being of ākonga - i. engage in ethical, respectful, positive and collaborative professional relationships with: whānau and other carers of ākonga." 

Building Resilience

The Risks Of Praise

There was an interesting article in the Herald on Sunday which challenged the notion of positive praise for students.  It makes for a good read and an excellence source for discussion on teaching and learning.

I like educational articles in newspapers.  You see everyone is a self appointed expert, everyone has been through the schooling system.  I find myself liking this article too, but I think that it can be misused...

University of Melbourne's Professor Stephen Dinham has urged teachers to ditch untested learning styles - including glowing praise and shying away from giving bad marks - if they wanted children to succeed.
That included "self-boosting" where students were saturated in "rampant positivity".

I think that our NZ Curriculum works well with the wider education of the child (the core 'Values' of "excellence, innovation, inquiry, and curiosity").  I like to think that most teachers have a good instincts for pushing and encouraging our students.

Giving children regular, constructive feedback about how to improve was a better policy, he said.
"We need to say to kids that they can do this, they can't do that but to move their learning forward they need to do this, that or the other. What we don't say is you're good or bad at something," said Dinham.
This reinforced a valuable message that effort brought reward.

This is where I believe the notion of 'growth mindset' comes into play (see my posting on Dr Carol Dweck here).  The idea that we can build into our teaching practice that students can achieve more if they're in the frame of mind that they can grow.

This post is related to RTC#1. "Establish and maintain effective professional relationships focused on the learning and well-being of ākonga." And RTC#6. "Conceptualise, plan and implement an appropriate learning programme i. articulate clearly the aims of their teaching, give sound professional reasons for adopting these aims, and implement them in their practice." 

NZTC and EDUCANZ

NZTC (EDUCANZ) Discipline Tribunal Hearing

Here are some case examples from the last 12 months from NZTC.

Here teachers have had to appear before the Tribunal to go through some issues around professional boundaries.


\

Here are some instances where you might want to discuss the 'greyness' of relationships with students...

1. Going to the pub (not in school time) and there is a student (over 18) there.  Is it ok for that student to buy the teacher a beer?  Is it ok for the teacher to buy that student a beer?
2. Socialising after hours.  Say if there was a male staff member going for a training run with a student, just the two of them, in their weekend?
3. Solo tutoring subject material male staff member female student?  
4. Social media (Facebook) staff ‘befriending’ students (setting such that they can see each other’s personal settings)?
5. Staff who comment socially online about the social lives of students (such as discussion around their relationships)?  
6. Texting students personal mobiles after hours (late night texting about courses/assignments)? 

This post is to do with RTC #1. "Establish and maintain effective professional relationships focused on the learning and well-being of ākonga." and RTC#2. "demonstrate commitment to promoting the well-being of all ākonga i. take all reasonable steps to provide and maintain a teaching and learning environment that is physically, socially, culturally and emotionally safe."

Professional Learning Groups

Small Group Professional Learning

Here is the material that I presented to staff about PLG's.

Ideally the groups should be small enough to be personable.  Big enough to generate their own momentum.




This post relates to RTC#4. demonstrate commitment to ongoing professional learning and development of personal professional practice and RTC #5. show leadership that contributes to effective teaching and learning  i. actively contribute to the professional learning community