Term 2 Week 9 - Maori Youth Council report and the art of questioning

Professional Reading

In Their Own Words! presents the findings of the Māori Youth Council, prepared in response to the call from the Minister of Māori Affairs “to hear directly from young people what they think about how the Government’s policies and programmes work for them”.

The report contains a review of current policy initiatives including:

·         Kura Kaupapa Māori;

·         He Kākano;

·         Ka Hikitia; and

·         Te Kotahitanga.

There are four common themes present in the recommendations. They are:

·         greater use of whānau- and community-based initiatives;

·         improved access to information;

·         more targeted resources; and

·         greater use of Te Reo Māori to engage youth.

The full report has been saved on the T Drive (T:\Reflective Practice Group\2011) and a copy will be bound and put into the Teacher Resource section of the school library.

Thinking Strategy

Asking Questions - Asking questions is fundamental to helping students acquire knowledge. Ulrike Thomas looks at four key issues to consider when thinking about questioning.

Term 2 Week 8 - Literacy

Upcoming Events

Wednesday 29th  June - Free teacher preview to AQUA, Ak Museum at 4:30-7 pm.
True to the spirit of Cirque du Soleil's thrilling creations, AQUA is a multisensory adventure for the whole family. AQUA uses massive 360° projections, interactive digital screens, music and visual effects to draw visitors into the experience and tell the story of water. Carry your own water drop and interact with the digital screens - with a wave of a hand, you can create a stormy sea! Experience the magic of AQUA.

Free teacher preview to AQUA at Ak Museum at 4:30-7 pm on Wed Jun 29, Jul 7 or 13. Email ksargent@aucklandmusuem.com  to book your place for a preview.

Professional Readings
What characterises good teaching and good teachers? Here are two articles which explore this concept:

• A characterisation of teaching from Graeme Aitken (University of Auckland)
• New York Times article “Building a better teacher”. This article takes an in-depth look at the question, What makes a good teacher?

Literacy Resource/ Strategy:

There is a great website called “Teaching That Makes Sense” which is the brainchild of educator Steve Peha. He provides amazing resources for reading, writing and thinking for teachers to use across the curriculum. I have used some of the ideas myself and this booklet entitled - Learning Across the Curriculum: Reading, Writing and Thinking Skill Strategies for student success – gives teachers many easy to use strategies to improve reading, writing and thinking in their curriculum area. A copy of the contents page is below.

Term 2 Week 6 - e-Learning

Upcoming Events

• 13th - 19th June - National gifted awareness week. Don't forget to visit the TKI Gifted & Talented community for ideas on how to support our gifted and talented students.
• Wednesday 15th June - National Support Staff Day
• Friday 17th June - World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought
• World Refugee Day is on 20th June with events around the country.

Professional Reading

• A relatively old (2004) but nevertheless interesting paper from Rosemary Hipkins (NZCER) about the possibility of changing the way the curriculum is delivered in secondary schools.
• Teaching Secrets: Asking the Right Questions - by Elizabeth Stein. How the right questions can help students learn. Special-education teacher Elizabeth Stein offers suggestions for asking questions to determine whether students understand material or are merely recycling facts. Stein, who co-teaches an inclusion class, suggests educators first create an atmosphere conducive to meaningful learning. Then, she writes, teachers should ask open-ended, diagnostic and other questions that encourage students to analyze and evaluate what they have learned.  

e-Learning Strategy
Do you know anything about "flip-thinking" or the "flipped classroom"? I didn't until today. Read all about it here or get involved in a webinar about the concept. This "flipped classroom" concept is one that we would need to adapt in NZ because we don't tend to encourage lecture style teaching anyway. Similar things are being done here at SMC - the Science Faculty were recording demonstrations for students to watch at home on the Science wikis that they've set up and Tim has been creating help videos for all sorts of e-products that we need to know how to use. Has anyone else been doing anything similar? Last year I videoed myself planning and writing an essay on my laptop for my Y13 class but was too embarrassed to upload it anywhere - anyone else hate the sound of their own voice...??

Term 2 Week 5 - differentiation

Upcoming Events

• Samoan Language Week runs from 1 – 7th June and the Human Rights Commission has details in both Samoan and English, scroll down the page for the English text.
• Matariki is on the 4th June
• World Environment Day and Arbor Day are on 5th June
• World Oceans Day is on 8th June
  

Professional Reading
The Flexible Teacher - Leila Christenbury: Good teaching comes not from following a recipe, but from consistently putting student needs first.

The Overpressured Student - Richard Weissbourd: What school can do to curb destructive forms of academic pressure.


Differentiation Strategies
Objectives That Students Understand - Robert J. Marzano: Even seemingly straightforward classroom strategies like providing students with instructional objectives can be executed more or less effectively.

Giving students choices is a great way to differentiate for student needs and interests. This wiki has choice board templates that you can use or adapt to create resources for the topics that you teach.