POGIL and my Teacher Inquiry

It is week six of term two, halfway through the term, and therefore probably an appropriate time to do a formal reflection of my teacher inquiry for this term.

My teacher inquiry question was:

How can I, as the teacher of a year six class, use strategies associated with POGIL to help my students develop independence and autonomy over their learning?

When this inquiry came about I discussed with my tutor teacher the importance of having a variety of sources of evidence to show whether or not this is working and highlight areas that need to change/develop and so I endeavour to do so below.  I think that it is so important to have student voice as part of a measure of how successful I am in my teacher inquiry as realistically they are the ones whose learning it is affecting - and therefore they are the best people to be able to provide evidence.  At times this is formal feedback in terms of videos and PMI charts and at times this is in the format of questions that my tutor teacher asks my students when he comes to observe me.  As I will be referring to student answers to these questions throughout this reflection I have listed the questions below.

1. What were you learning today in …
2. Why were you learning that?
3. What tools have you used to ensure you are successful?
4. How will you know if you are successful?
5. When you are challenged in … what do you do?
6. How do you extend your learning?
7. What E score would you give yourself and why?

In order to do this reflection I am employing a variety of perspectives which I have attached as links either directly in here or in google drive:

 - A PMI chart from the point of view of my students

 - Video conversations with my students

 - The introduction of questioning cards to develop discussion for students

 - How blogging has provided a voice for my students
View the hyperlink above to see how blogging has given my students a voice - it has changed the class from our classroom where it is mostly teacher led to being there classroom where it is hugely student led.  Be sure to read the comments - it is heart warming to see the way that they support each other, both in terms of providing positive feedback and in the way that they help each other through providing appropriate and timely feedforward.  What is most amazing is the way that this feed forward and feedback has crossed from simply being an online tool and become part of how they communicate in the classroom - even my shy students are no longer hesitant to tell other students when they think they are doing well, or how they think they can improve.

 - The purpose of success criteria, and how these have influenced what and how my students are learning

 - Excerpts from professional discussions that I have had, both with my tutor teacher and with other teachers within what I consider to be my professional learning community

 - Reflections on my planning for this style of teaching and how these have changed week to week

Success Criteria
I have hyperlinked Reading Success Criteria that students have created since the start of this term.  This is entirely written in student voice with the children referring back to Sheena Cameron's reading comprehension strategy sheets when they get stuck.

I believe that success criteria tie in very closely with POGIL in terms of helping students have responsibility and ownership over their own learning.  The following quote speaks volumes about this:

" If learners are to take more responsibility for their own learning, then they need to know what they are going to learn, how they will recognise when they have succeeded and what they should learn it in the first place." (An Intro to AfL, Learning Unlimited, 2004).

Between the learning intention covering the what and the why - and the self created, and peer reviewed, success criteria covering the how students are able to gain insight and control over their own learning - and this is demonstrated both in the PMI chart and the video that are hyperlinked above.

Professional Discussions
When running a programme such as POGIL in a classroom it is important to consider what deliberate acts of teaching I am still doing as a teacher.  Recently we were video observed and these were some of the deliberate acts that were discussed:

My focus now is to move away from questioning as the students have the tools and the experience to do that and move towards prompting as my key form of feedback - obviously all strategies are going to need to be applied at different times.

Reflections on Planning
My planning has changed nearly every week that I have been running a POGIL based programme in my classroom.  The children contribute to the changes, telling me what they like and what they do not like - and what is beneficial to their learning and what is superfluous.  Based on my most recent discussions with my Tutor teacher I will be changing three things:

1. Writing the learning intention for the week in the format of 'We are learning to... because...' so that students can see immediately what the relevance is and therefore be able to discuss this.
2. Recording the way that I frame the activity and the learning so that students are able to clearly identify the difference between the two. This is where students have been getting stuck when asked the questions identified earlier - whilst my top students are able to highlight the difference without any problem some of my lower students struggle to and this is the group that I need to be specifically targeting.  An example of this is recorded below:
3. Giving students full control about what they learn and when based on appropriate data.  An example of this:  We are just beginning an algebra based unit.  The students have all recently completed a pretest - the level of which was determined by me from looking at data against knowledge and strategies.  The pretest has each page set out in the following format: 
   
   Each skill that the children need is recorded at the bottom of the page and once we have marked each page together they select 'not yet', 'kind of' or 'got it'.  The students work with other children in their skill level and determine their learning for the next five weeks.  They have decided to split their data up into two categories for them to focus on when they are with me: a revise category, based on the problems that they kind of understand, and a learn category based on the problems that they do not yet understand.  An example of this is recorded below
   
   
   
   This style of planning where students have such a high level of input develops feelings of responsibility, pride in what they have already achieved and a sense of direction and ownership in what they will achieve next.  Obviously I still have to make judgements based on their self directed pathways - but planning this way and letting the children access and read their data is very much personalising both the planning and their learning journey.

Overall - when I reflect on the question of "How can I, as the teacher of a year six class, use strategies associated with POGIL to help my students develop independence and autonomy over their learning?" the following things come to mind:

What I have already done and need to continue to do:

 - Continue to use POGIL sheets to structure students learning

 - Continue to use question sheets 

 - Adapt my planning to meet the needs of my students

 - Use the weebly to make learning interactive and engaging for students

 - Allow students to direct their own learning

What I need to do next:

 - Provide students the opportunities to have a real contribution to what they are learning

 - Use their weebly as a place where all students have the opportunity to view similar problems (for want of a better word) to the ones that they will be working with when they are with the teacher.

 - Move away from questioning and towards prompting

 - Change how I structure the learning intentions for students - especially in writing and reading.

Children beginning to share their learning

As the children now have a live blog audience with children from other schools commenting on their learning they are wishing to demonstrate the skills and knowledge that they have in a visual format.  Here is an example of their first try - feel free to pop to the weebly to see all of the comments and feedback and feedforward that they have left each other.

Strategies for maths

The power of blogging

Up until now, our class weebly has been an interactive website run by myself that allows students to share their learning, allows parents to view what happens in our classroom and becomes a noticeboard.

Today, that all changed...

We have become a part of an Australian/New Zealand blogging group which has provided student with a real life context for which they are blogging.

The students have spent this afternoon learning how to transfer all of their learning onto the blog - whether it be text, photos, or videos that they have first had to upload to youtube and hyperlink in.  The students are already seeing sharing as a key aspect of why they wish to complete their work to their best ability - so that they can share it with others and help them learn also.   These children know how to use categories to search for their own work and share it with their parents.  Since uploading the work this afternoon, these students have had four comments on their blogs in four hours - all providing some form of feedback.  This provides students with feedback that their voices are being heard, well and truly.

As part of the NZ/Oz blogging group, the students rotate around the blogs and each class has a week where everyone focuses on commenting on that blog and sharing for that week.  I look forward to seeing the spin-off effects for the children wish to continue sharing their blogging with this.

Learn, Create, Share, is one of the key ways that Manaiakalani run their programme - it underpins mostly everything that they do for both the students and their staff.  One of the key benefits for Manaiakalani taking this on board is that it allows them to provide parents who aren't comfortable coming into school, usually their Maori and Pasifika parents, with a way to view their children's learning in real time.  I hope for this to have a similar

I aim to run a similar programme that works alongside, and underpins, the POGIL learning that is currently occurring in my classroom. The way that they do this learn, create, share framework also allows students to assess each other and provide each other and myself with insight into their understanding of the task and their success criteria.

Take a look at the last few posts of the sharing page to see how the children are beginning to take control of their blogging...

Superstar Bloggers!

Feedback - Why do we take it how we do?

We have a plaque in my house that says 'Write your hurts in the sand, carve your blessings in stone'.  The only problem with this plaque is that this is a lot easier said than done, especially in regards to my career.  

Over the past couple of weeks I have had two parents come in to see me about issues in the playground, however I initially took both of these parental visits as attacks on my teaching.  After thinking these through I could see them for what they were - simply parents concerned about their child and their social interactions, and nothing to do with my classroom, let alone how I teach.

In contrast to this, I have also had some very positive feedback from my tutor teacher and my assistant principal.  Both of these people have provided feedback that is extremely encouraging about my practice - messages that I initially brushed off as positive feedback for feedbacks sake but have since come to take as a true commendation about the hard work that I put in each and every day.  

I find it interesting how, as humans, we are so critical of ourselves - especially where we would not be of others.  Words of praise are often brushed aside and words of criticism (not in a constructive way) are often taken to heart.  It is especially important for us as educators to consider this - as not only do we react this way but our students do also.

My challenge for myself for the next fortnight is to indeed carve my blessings in stone - and to believe in myself as I would believe in a friend.  This is a challenge that I am setting for my students also.  Tomorrow, during cross country block, we are doing art based on the idea of what makes each of us a superstar? I will post this art once students have completed it.  

Student self esteem is huge - and greatly impacts the way that students work.  I am hoping that by encouraging my students to see themselves in a positive light they will in turn be encouraged to believe that they can indeed achieve anything they set their mind to.  

In response to my question of why we take feedback the way we do - who knows? Not me... but I do know that my students will leave my class with a backbone of self belief that cannot be crushed by the words or actions of others - and I know that I help the students contribute to this each and every day - whether it is through small comments and gestures or whether it is through an activity such as the one above.   Each student in my class is a shooting star with huge potential, and I will do everything I can to make sure they believe it!

Personalisation, differentiation or individualisation?

Over the weekend I have been doing some reading about the difference between personalising learning, differentiating learning and providing individualised learning.  All three of these words are thrown around in education and are often referred to interchangeably.  This chart and this report have provided me with a lot to think about in relation to what style of teaching I am currently implementing with the POGIL style learning, and where I want to move this too.  Very interesting and worth a read.

Personalisation vs differentiation vs individualisation chart

Personalisation vs differentiation vs indvidualisation Reading

Learning through Drama

In class we are currently doing a drama unit based on Maori Mythology.  However, in addition to learning about the Maori Mythology the students are also learning about the elements, conventions and techniques of drama.  At the end of this unit the students will be creating their own production to perform to their parents that includes using the conventions and techniques of drama to represent the creation story.  I have attached some youtube videos of my students participating in improvisations during their first time exploring conventions and techniques.

Drama improvisations - technologies

Drama improvisations - conventions

I have found that the drama unit has really helped the students with working in a variety of groups, asking questions, seeking clarification, being open to other student's ideas and to experience more success with POGIL styled learning.  As well as the improvisations that have been videod we have been solving real life problems using improvisations.  During cycle safety, one of my students located $20 on the ground.  He didn't know what to do with it as it was cash and so he brought it back to school and told me and the local policeman about it when he got to school.  The policeman told him that he had done the right thing letting him know that he had found money, but that noone would go into the police to ask for a lost $20 and so he could keep it.  This student asked if we could do drama improvisations around the topic so that he could apply others ideas to help him solve the situation.  Essentially what he was doing - doing research before solving the problem aligned directly with POGIL and when this was pointed out to the students they were able to make great connections with their learning in drama and the learning style that they are exploring in other subjects.  Many other students also shared stories of when similar things happened to them and so it was great to be able to use the vehicle of drama to make a real life problem into a teachable moment in many senses.  Below is a photo of the students participating in cycle safety before hitting the road with Constable Neil.