Connections, Connections, Connections

As it is the start of a new school year I have only had my students for two days, however I have already been able to see connections that they have been making between their learning last year and this year.  What has been the most interesting thing to watch is that it is often a group of students making connections and building off each other's connections.

At the moment in Art we are creating self portraits.  For the students to make these they have to follow a four step process.

1. Trace/Sketch a photo of themselves onto A3 paper
2. Practice using finger painting to create bold lines and light shadows using a mixture of the techniques of dabbing and flicking
3. Choose appropriate colours and experiment with mixing these to create colours that they believe represent them
4. Apply this learning to their paintings in order to create a finger painted self portrait

One of the Art topics that all of the students in my class did last year was creating a still life finger painting that represented either a single flower or a group of flowers.  They have all previously done work on complimentary colours and learnt the techniques of dabbing and flicking. 

When I mentioned to a student today that I could see the effort that he was putting into flicking with the right amount of pressure to create the effect of shadow, the learning conversations that took off around what they learnt last year and how they could apply it to their new style of art were incredible. The quality of their artwork instantly improved also as they all wanted to make improvements on their work from last year. 

I guess that the learning that I have from this at the start of a new school year is the importance of providing the students the opportunities to connect their new learning with previous learning in order to develop their understanding of a topic.  This is something that is always on any teacher's mind but the importance of it was definitely highlighted today for me.  A beautiful reminder at the start of what is promising to be a wonderful year!

Below are a couple of photos of my students at the first two stages of this process.

Study Round Two

At the end of my BTch/BSpls I knew that I was keen to study and continue learning academically however I did not know what from this would take.  I was offered two jobs, one as part of the Manaiakalani network and one at my current school.  Both of these were exciting and provided lots of opportunities, however the first allowed me to only study at an honours level and involved working alongside another teaching coteaching. I thought long and hard and decided that for me, although study was a part of my future I definitely wanted to understand the requirements of teaching and being a beginning teacher first and so chose the school that I am currently working in. 

This year will provide many challenges of it's own - having moved from a traditional class to a 1:1 class and studying Maori papers through school however my passion for doing study has come roaring back now that I feel settled in and supported.  This year I am beginning my masters with my first paper being in an area of huge interest for me, health and physical education in New Zealand primary schools. I feel that this is an area of the curriculum that is often misunderstood and brushed over and so am looking forward to learning how I can make an effective difference in my school, especially within the health sphere. 

2015 - PRT, Year 2!

It's hard to believe that I have already completed one year of teaching - I have learnt so much, struggled at times and conquered many challenges.  When I look back on the past year I feel honoured to have worked in the school that I did, and to have recieved the support that I have from such a range of people.  I loved being a year 6 teacher and thoroughly enjoyed working with each and every single one of my students, I don't know how any other class can compare with your first class - so many firsts together and so many special memories made. 

However, a massive part of reflection is looking forward and so that is what today is for - considering what I want to achieve this year, how I can best help my students, how I can best help myself grow professionally, how I can help others grow. This year is going to be insanely full on and busy but I think it will be challenging in a fun and exciting way! 

2015 checklist:

* Begin Masters

* Become fully registered 

* Consolidate learning from last year 

* Explore and effectively teach using iPads

* Reflect at least once weekly

* Enjoy! 

Begin Masters

* Meet with Kirsten in January 

* Set topic and finalise supervisor

* Apply for IES funding 

* Enrol in paper for first semester 

* Talk to other Rotorua schools to see who I can work with

Become Fully Registered

* Ensure planning and reflection is kept to a high standard

* Keep records of children's work and achievements

* Discussions with tutor teacher on regular basis

This is a start on how I hope to achieve some of these things - will reflect more later on this week and in more detail closer to school! 

Getting very excited to be back in school and student mode!