Our Advice For Whaea Nicole

This is my final week at Rotorua Intermediate School where I have been for the past eight weeks. I am very sad to be leaving and will miss this class greatly. They have helped me to grow and develop as a professional teacher and have really broadened my perspective of what it means to be an effective teacher. I have formed strong positive relationships with every single student and I know I will be back to visit this school and class in the future.

As one of my final professional development activities with this class, I selected a range of students to complete three sentences:
* The way Whaea Nicole helps me the most is...
* I enjoy working with Whaea Nicole because...
* One piece of advice I have for Whaea Nicole is...

They either worked independently or in groups to complete each sentence. Each student clearly felt valued that I was seeking their opinions and advice. They gave clear and honest feedback, which has helped me to identify my strengths and areas I can further improve on.

The most common piece of positive feedback was the way that I always take the time to explain concepts clearly and support every student with their own individual learning needs. It also became clear that they have enjoyed the learning activities and resources included throughout my teaching.

Students seemed hesitant about giving advice, however those that did mentioned that I need to 'growl naughty kids more.' This made it clear that I still need to progress towards my behaviour management goal; this will always be an area with room for improvement and will always be dependent on the students I have in my classroom.

I truly value seeking feedback from my students. They are always at the centre of learning; their ideas and opinions should be sought, acted upon, and valued.

'What We Think About Our Maths Learning'

These are comments made my some of my students from my maths group at the beginning of this practicum. (It has taken me a while to upload as it is the first time I have use iMovie...that in itself was a learning curve for me!) We discussed what they enjoyed and would like to change in terms of the structure of these sessions, half way through the unit. They said they liked using materials, including math games, and having whole group hands-on discussions. They were unsure what they would like changed, but they did make the suggestion that when some people understand the concepts and other's do not, then maybe they can help each other.

This feedback was hugely beneficial to modifications for the following sessions. I took on board all of their suggestions, and began including math games at either the end or beginning of each group session. We then started using these with the whole class. I made sure each of the following sessions used materials and had enough for each student to use them in pairs, enhancing their idea of those who do understand helping those who are still unsure. We kept up the whole group discussions and I tried to ensure every student was contributing and justifying their thinking. Their idea of buddying up to help those who need further guidance was enhanced when completing independent tasks; when one student finished and felt confident, they would help a buddy who was still practicing and wanted some assistance.

This feedback is further being enhanced in my whole class mathematics planning and teaching. I am trying to use as many materials and visual aids as possible. When I cannot find appropriate materials, we draw the images (for example, drawing circles and dividing into parts to represent fractions, or using scrap paper as a folding tool to compare sizes). Whenever materials are used, engagement and achievement levels increase substantially. Next week, each session focuses on a different piece of equipment (deci-pipes, hundreds blocks, and number lines). It will be interesting to see how this works with the whole class rather than single groups. I also try to include a quick game at the end, but often we run out of time. Next week I will try to allow time for these games. I am also maintaining lots of group discussions and collaboration in terms of assessment, feedback, and sharing ideas. This means students are responsible for helping other group members in their learning and assessment processes.

I will aim to collect further feedback from students to see how I am progressing and where else I can make modifications to better cater for their interests, needs and abilities.

What Makes An Effective Teacher?

Today was my very first day of 8 weeks in an awesome class of year 7 and 8 students. There are so many different characters within the class and I am really looking forward to getting to know each student individually and working with them effectively. I highly value building reciprocal relationships with students, so today to kick start these I asked the class to think of the most important thing that makes a teacher effective. They worked in groups of four to decide on the one most important thing for them as a group. The picture below shows what each group decided upon. 

It is clear that organisation and communication are important to these students, alongside having a sense of humour and knowing how to help them reach their best potential. Throughout my practicum I will strive to uphold these aspects and continually adapt my practice to best suit these students' interests, strengths and needs. I will make reference to these in my weekly reflections and continue to seek feedback from my students about what they have learnt, would like to further improve on, and what I can do to further facilitate their learning. 

Student Voice

Over the next eight weeks on my practicum, I will be recording - either through video, photos or written documents evidence of student voice within my teaching programme.  This is where I will be keeping it.