Term One 2013
-Riversdale School, Year 7 and 8
* I was very
excited about Riversdale School. On my first walk through I felt like it
was a school where I could grow as a teacher and felt I had an instant
connection with Kay. I was also excited about the fact that it was a
rural school – like many other teachers I could see the benefits of a
supportive close knit community. I was excited about the high expectations –
I’ve always been very driven and this has sometimes made me feel awkward about
the amount of effort I put in compared to those around me. I had just
received an Excellence in Teaching Practise award from the University of Otago.
I felt like this, coupled with the Year Level I love and my bilingual
degree would give me a strong and professional starting point in any school.
I was excited about the Teachers flat which was warm, comfortable and
convenient. Once I had accepted the job all sorts of information about
Riversdale’s reputation was shared. Had I known about the staff turnover
(unusual for a rural school, where even beginning teachers go to settle) I
would never have accepted the position.
* I loved
getting to know my students and forming strong relationship instantly.
Seeing the potential they had as learners and leaders made me very
excited for the year ahead as a facilitator of their learning. I felt
confident I could develop an engaging and inquiring classroom that would truly
set them up for secondary school, despite their vast differences in ability.
I am proud of what they have achieved so far this year and am saddened
I’m not able to see it through til the end of the year. I’ve enjoyed
watching the students in my class buy into my initiative of big buddy roles
with junior students.
-PAT results
were recognised as the most important and valued method of assessment. This was
in direct contrast with my philosophy around assessment pulling together a
range of information to form an overall judgement. I received a lot of
pressure regarding the results of my students and was told I would have to
justify them to the Board of Trustees as they were unacceptable. The
students sat the PAT tests in Week 4 and had had no direct teaching as my
understanding was that these tests at the start of the year gave us a baseline
stanine.
-My planning
formats were never formalised until week 11, despite being informed that my
planning isn’t detailed enough (regardless of any changes I made) and working
with Di. Now expected to complete a 2 sided sheet with references,
detailed conversation and DATs for each group for each day. This took 45
minutes for a 20 minute lesson and I was told off for using abbreviations and
not photocopying the references (this meant Di had to hunt to check up on my
referencing). I have never had to do this, not even for assignments at
Teachers College. I was informed that the expectation was for planning
for three weeks in advance in literacy for term 2, which allowed no room for
teaching to immediate needs. I understand and appreciate the need for
unit planning but feel that planning in such detail, so far in advance for
three writing groups left no room for flexibility or student input.
-My role as
a teacher being described as being unclear, more of a facilitator. This
has always been something that I have prided myself on and have received
positive feedback about. It is an integral part of my personal teaching
philosophy.
-Writing
feedback every night as well as Handwriting, Reading activity books, Maths.
Students are heavily dependent on daily teacher feedback which they will
not receive at High School.On Mondays we had literacy meetings going until
5.30pm, then I would have at least 40 books to mark.
-I was
surprised by the lack of technology in the school as I’ve always seen it as a
vital part of developing 21st century learners for jobs that don’t
exist yet. This means that students are often not used to or are unable
to research and present work within a reasonable timeframe.
-No release
Friday for the last month of term made planning and contact with Di difficult
as we had Easter and 3 PD days.
-SLO’s are
often late to be shared which makes it difficult to plan an integrated engaging
curriculum with strong links with reading texts and writing ideas.
-Expectations
changing: Di helping me plan imaginative recounts then telling me in front of
Rachel that the work produced wasn’t a recount. Kay suggesting 10 minute
planning cap when Di had told me it was unfair to expect that of students.There
were also unclear expectations about quanity of writing. I have always
focussed on quality and feel at a senior level work should be crafted and
revised so that it has maximum impact on the reader. This is echoed in
the National expectations for writing at this level. Only looked in
writing books, didn’t take into account topic work OR links to topic when
writing OR the quality of the work produced due to intense crafting and
editing.
-Having two
different mentor teachers (Di for literacy, Rachel for Maths) meant that they
were in charge of different parts of planning checks.I was also told to only
take advice or ask questions of Rachel and Di. This was completely
different to any other staff I had been a part of where everyone’s strengths
and ideas were treated with the same high level of respect.
-At the end
of term while meeting with Di I received no positive feedback apart from a
comment about how we could rule a line under Term One and say I’d survived and
had a good rapport with students. This was extremely disheartening.
-My
relationship with Di has been very unusual. I didn’t feel comfortable
asking her questions as I feel that she holds this lack of knowledge against
me. I didn’t like discussing how I’m feeling as I feel like any emotion (good
or bad) is seen as a weakness. I didn’t like sharing my ideas because any
open discussion felt like an interrogation where I was in the wrong. I
have never had a professional relationship like this with any associate/mentor
teacher, lecturer or employer.
-Fear of
‘sticking head above the trenchlines’ because of the way we all saw Shona being
treated. Being a student teacher allows you to work in many different
schools and environments and with a diverse range of Staff. I have never
seen anyone treated this way in any of my positions of employment.
We work very separately as a staff and are not encouraged to
collaboratively problem solve. This would often lead to ‘round robin’
picking on people in meetings.
-Not feeling
like I could have a discussion about feedback/forward which is something I have
always been skilled in. I would spend most mentor teacher
meetings/planning checks pinching under my leg to ensure I could smile and nod
and agree without breaking into tears or be seen as disrespectful.
-No
professional trust or valuing of ideas or degree. I didn’t want them to
marginalise my award for excellence in teaching practise, so I didn’t tell
them.
-PD with
Mark Sweeney being a joke. Mark had some amazing ways of dealing with
staff issues and how people were working together and we all left feeling very
positive about how this might change working relationships. Unfortunately
these systems seem to have been twisted to suit Kay and Di’s management style.
There is no way that I would ever dream of confronting Di or Kay using
the suggested methods.
-I have
never felt so bullied and intimidated in my life.
Term 3 Reflections 2013
Term 3 Reflections 2013
Weeks 1, 2, 3, &
4
What went well: I was well over
planned for the first three weeks so there was lots of exciting activities for
the children to do. The children were
very excited about the behaviour management system and the ‘Minion Jobs’.
Singing “Whakarongo” and having them reply “Titiro” worked well to grab
attention as this was something foreign to them and when they heard this, they
straight away new to look at me for the next instruction. Starting with a mini
unit on ‘Who are we’ has been great and has allowed strong relationships to
develop. The current unit (on structures)
is going well – we’ve just started researching which some students are finding
a challenge but all students are learning lots from.
Something to work on: I’m still getting used to this age level – they’re much younger than
where my experience lies. I need to
ensure that my expectations remain high but don’t alarm the students – they need
to continue to experience success. Dakota continues to try and push the boundaries
so I need to remain firm. Monitor this
closely because I have a meeting with the RTLB in Week 6. Ensure I read to the children every day
and help them to choose books that are suitable for them to be reading. I need to keep building my relationships
with Ruby as well as Lyn and Jackie. Keep
developing planning formats – find that middle ground again!
Weeks 5 - 6
What went well: We are well into our
unit on structures and it’s going really well!
The kids are learning lots, are working hard and meeting my expectations. I think that integrating this topic into reading
and writing is really motivating. The
posters are really well presented and I think that the kids are developing
skills that will set them up well for the rest of their schooling.
Something to work on: I need to keep working on my time management – I still feel like I’m
taking ages to get through everything!
Maybe I need to get a timer, just so I’m aware when the 15-20 minute is
up just to keep me aware.
Weeks 7-8
What went well: We’ve finished our
posters! They look great and the kids
are very proud of them! It was awesome
to share these in assembly and see the pride the students took in the work they
had done. I need to continue to work on
information gathering skills and how to put things into their own words. Using
de Bono’s hats to reflect in the unit as a group was great – I need to keep
this idea in mind! I feel like I’ve developed a really strong relationship with
the students and have been impressed by the change in Dakota.
Something to work on: I’m a bit concerned about not having enough time to properly teach the
next unit on Plants. I’ve spent this Release day printing resources and
planning units to ensure that I’m well organised and can make the most of the
time that I have left this term.
Weeks 9-10
What went well: Really focussing in
on what we had to learn for our plants unit has meant that the last two weeks
have flown by. The kids have had
focussed activities to do that have been more fun than I would usually plan –
sometimes I get too caught up in what needs to be taught rather than enjoying
the learning with the ids.
Something to work on: Next term I need to keep working on my work-life balance and consolidate
my planning formats. I also need to
remember to have fun with the kids. I’ll
also need to get my CV up to date and start looking for jobs. I am so pleased that I ended up in this
school – nothing like getting back on the horse. I just need to keep that attitude up when
jobhunting!
Term 2 Reflection 2014
-Lumsden School, Year 4, 5 and 6
General
This term
has simply flown by! It was my first time team teaching/ streaming across
the classes with Lauren Hailes and it was great. We taught our own
classes based in the groups from Term 1 until we had done our report assessment
and then used that data to regroup the children. This was a really
positive experience had huge impact on our teaching - our range of ability was
more acute which meant that we could really focus in on our groups and the
small steps needed to transfer from one learning goal to the next. It
also meant that the students were more actively engaged in their groups as they
were so close in learning needs with the other members. I wish we had
done it sooner, but am excited for next term where we can continue what we have
started.
Organisation
continues to be a challenge - figuring out how I want my planning set out and
collected for the term and the use of modelling books effectively. I have
developed plans that are the same as what Lauren uses which means not only do
we have consistency across the two classroom but also that they are usable and
effective. I’m enjoying using them and find they are useful but not
excessive, which is a balance I have struggled with before. Lauren desn’t use
modelling books as everyday items and I’m finding them difficult to keep up
with so am changing the focus of my teaching to be work in books. I’ve
been writing practise questions on the whiteboard (which I rub off) and
students have been working them out also on whiteboards (which means there is
no tracking of their learning)! Next term I will be having students doing
the majority of independent work in their maths books and will be using smaller
books as modelling books - these willl be kept in the group maths boxes
(meaning they are accessible to students and don’t take up all the space behind
my desk) and will be filled with examples of problems that deal with each WALT
we have covered in our Mult/Div work. I’m still not sure on how to best
collate my reading planning - having them bound isn’t working for me so am thinking
that in a clearfile (like Maths) will work for next term.
Reporting to
Parents
This term we
had reports dues to Andrew at the end of Week 6 and they were sent home to
parents at the end of Week 7. Oral reporting to Parents occurred in Week
8.
I was quite stressed about reports at the start of the term simply
because I couldn’t use Tracey as my CRT teacher because she was busy.
This meant I was scrambling to find someone else and planning work for
the students to cover (Tracey just does her own after we’ve discussed what we
need covered). When I finally found a release teacher, they could only do
3 days in Week 5 (when I would do the majority of my testing). Just
getting on with it and using my PRT release days worked well and I finished and
edited the reports with a comfortable amount of time to spare. I was
proud of myself for the work put in and was reasonably confident heading into
parent interviews. These went well, though I need to work on what to say
to parents who have children that are great - maybe in Term 4 I need to have a
brag book, with samples of the students work for them to explain? Parents
can look through students books obviously, but it might be a good
conversation/question starter to have. I set up an assessment folder this
time and wouldn’t be without one ever again. It included the OTJ sheets
and the sample of work or tests that I could talk to to explain or share as an
example and was highly successful. I liked having the folder there with
all of the evidence for each student in regards to national standards reporting
- I will add in a page for each year level with a breakdown of National
Standard expectations.
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