This week I maintained full control in
mathematics, but went back to assisting groups rather than full control of the
whole class. It is nice to get this time towards the end of practicum to focus
on group and one-on-one work to wrap up all of my learning. This also meant I
was able to work on my questioning technique more thoroughly, whilst at the
same time maintaining development towards management for learning.
I worked towards scaffolding my questions
more effectively rather than jumping ahead a few stages because of the
students’ age group. I began questions with basic knowledge and understanding,
scaffolding towards evaluative questions (partly following Blooms Taxonomy
structure). After trialling this on Monday, it became clear that this was the reason
why my technique had not been working. I started including simple recall
questions in group discussions, such as ‘What happened in the story?’ and then
progressing them towards unpacking meanings. This was very beneficial as it
scaffolded their thinking. Jumping straight to the questions about deeper
meanings tends to confuse students, as they are not supported to make the
connections between what happened and evaluations. They need to cover all
aspects in discussion before evaluating texts. It is the same in all curriculum
areas. For example, in Mathematics I began group discussions covering the
fundamental knowledge needed before learning the new concept. In regards to
adding fractions with different denominators, we firstly began by how to add if
they have the same denominator and why we do not add the denominator. We did
this with materials and diagrams to enhance their understanding. This then
scaffolded them towards applying knowledge of equivalent fractions to learn how
to add with different denominators. Without the first discussion in regards to
knowledge already obtained, they may have struggled to understand why we had to
apply knowledge of equivalent fractions. There will always be room for
improvement in questioning, and it will always need to be adapted to individual
needs. However, this week I think I made great progress towards improving my
technique to better suit this group of students.
Progress towards equitable learning within
writing was improved this week. With the guidance of my associate teacher, one
approach for how to do this became clear. A poetry competition on fishing was
running this week, whereby all students had to create a piece of poetry based
on the ‘Hiwi the Kiwi’ performance. To make this more collaborative and engaging,
we allowed students to write these in pair’s or groups of three with the
expectation that everybody contributes to the writing. This displayed equity as
it meant those who liked to work independently could; yet those who needed
extra support from peers were able to have this. Students were also allowed to
choose any type of poetry. They could do a basic rhyme or research a new style.
This again gave students’ choice and enabled them to complete the same learning
focus but to individualised levels. Every student had the same expectation, to
complete a poem with 4 verses. However the level of independence and quality of
detail was their choice based on their individual learning needs and abilities.
This task was heavily collaborative and engaging; with all students completing
a quality piece of writing that clearly was to the best of their ability.
This week it became clear how important it
is to place an importance on effort and emphasise this value in learning. In our team meeting, we discussed the youtube clip TED - Power of Yet, in relation to our professional development focus of a growth mindset. This clip truly emphasised how crucial it is to explicitly value effort in the classroom. Students need to develop awareness that effort creates success. If we do not
try our hardest, we will not reach our potential. Students can tend to compare
their success to others’, leading them to not even bother to put in effort
because they know they will not be ‘as good’ as another peer. This is where the
idea of competition can impact negatively in the classroom. This is a natural
human instinct; we always compare ourselves to others. However in the classroom
we need to prevent this as much as possible, especially when discussing our
learning. We need to guide students towards developing intrinsic motivation and
realising that if they put in effort they will progress. Progression and effort
should be valued rather than the specific ‘grade’ or ‘label’. Maybe a student
does not understand equivalent fractions. That does not mean we should allow
them to give up and label it as unachieved. It means they have not developed
that knowledge YET. With further guidance, effort, and motivation, they will
reach that goal. In the classroom, it is crucial to discuss this with our
students and place value on effort. Including specific questions in reflective
sessions at the end of learning such as ‘Have I put in my best effort?’ ‘What
challenged me?’ ‘How did this challenge make me feel?’ will ensure that effort
is valued. It will also guide students towards seeing the link between effort
and success. Next week I will try to use these questions at the end of lessons
and reflect on the responses students have. Effort is key to learning and most
definitely needs to be explicitly valued in the classroom.
Once again this week has broadened my
knowledge of learning and teaching as a profession. As I head in to my final
week of placement, I aim to spend the week having lots of fun with the students
and keeping variety in the learning. It will be more of a wrapping up and
reflective week, where I can reflect on my learning from this placement in
entirety and move towards how I will apply this in my own classroom. I will
seek student voice in terms of myself as a teacher, and see what advice they
can give me for my own classroom. No doubt, they will have multiple ideas that
I can reflect on and use to set up my own classroom.
No comments:
Post a Comment