PGC 2023 - Noticing and Investigating

Within a few weeks of starting the year, it was noticed by the senior syndicate team that we all had the same issue. A lot more tamariki that were well below in their reading. We had a stark separation between year 6 and year 5 students, far greater than previous years.

We also noticed that the new akonga were unable to do things for themselves. They lacked the ability to get themselves a chair, didn't seem to be able to figure out how to use an exercise book to write in or how to follow simple instructions.

This required a massive rethink of the organisation of our classrooms. Cognitive load had to be reduced, daily routines unpacked and simplified and repeated constantly and even then I found I was still struggling. 

These akonga were behind primarily in reading, some had an inability to decode, but the biggest issue for my classroom was comprehension. As a student of te reo Māori, I have spoken the language since I was young, however I am unable to understand a majority of it. So in effect, I can decode and say a word in te reo, however, I can't understand everything I read. These tamariki are like this too but with their first language.

A few do have difficulties with decoding, these were put into a special reading programme developed by the RTLit for one student, and copied for 3 others in my classroom. But how to tackle comprehension?

The current route is to teach comprehension strategies in isolation, for example, how to infer, how to find the main idea etc. We choose books that make it easy to use that strategy and teach it regardless of the topic. 

Unlike the "reading wars," there has not been the same focus on comprehension as there has been in decoding. However, there is plenty of research about it and most points to the way we teach comprehension as individual strategies is not best practice. It will be interesting to see the way this research develops further. 

In my opinion, this research makes sense. Readers who have relevant knowledge about a topic prior to reading a piece about the topic, or have a good vocabulary before reading about a topic, understand what they are reading more. 

One example given was a reading comprehension assessment which was about baseball. Those kids who played baseball or were involved in the sport in some way did far better than the readers who knew nothing about the sport before reading the text. Even poorer readers (as assessed prior) scored well if they were in baseball teams in comparison to their "normal" reading level. Knowing a bit about something first (especially vocabulary) meant the children could comprehend better the article or story they were reading.

According to research, understanding word meaning accounts for as much as 80% of reading comprehension (Davis, 1972; Nagy & Scott, 2000). So why are we spending so much time on teaching strategies when we would be better off increasing their word knowledge base instead? If the strategies may only account for 20% or LESS of a child's reading comprehension, why would we waste so much time teaching them how to find the main idea in a story? Which they may indeed miss because they don't understand what they are reading in the first place?

Good general knowledge or "topic" knowledge means better comprehension. Being able to find the main idea in a text won't happen unless they understand what they are reading in the first place. They need the vocabulary involved at a basic level to be able to make inferences from the text that the author is making. You can teach them what an inference is, but if they can't understand a few key words, it won't be apparent to the reader. 

Building Knowledge. The Case for Bringing Content into the Language Arts Block and for a Knowledge-Rich Curriculum Core for all Children By E. D. Hirsch, Jr.

Reading comprehension is not a “skill” Robert Pondiscio

How Knowledge Helps It Speeds and Strengthens Reading Comprehension, Learning—and Thinking By Daniel T. Willingham

Dramatic New Evidence That Building Knowledge Can Boost Comprehension And Close Gaps Natalie Wexler

Vocabulary Instruction: Essential for Proficient Reading Timothy Rasinski, Ph.D.

A Kindergarten Lottery Evaluation of Core Knowledge Charter Schools: Should Building General Knowledge Have a Central Role in Educational and Social Science Research and Policy? 

So, practically, what should I be doing in the classroom?

Professional Development 2023

This year has been a year of breathing. A year of trying to not take on too much outside of direct school work. Late 2022 I was diagnosed with long covid. It has been a rough time for me personally. My mental fog has lifted, but unfortunately my body is still on the floor. If I spend a couple of hours doing something outside my energy "envelope", I suffer for days afterwards with overwhelming fatigue, muscle pain and headaches. 

As a result, I made a decision not to take on extra PLD that I organised myself this year until I felt I was able to cope with extra commitments on my time. 

Our school PLD focused this year on Restorative Justice. I also attended a Manaiakalani conference where I was upskilled on everything from maths, history and minecraft, to the latest google updates we can use in class. I attended an archaeologist's tour of a local battle site between Māori and the crown in the 1860s as part of the Taranaki wars and also when on holiday, made sure I went on a tour which taught us about the stories in Rarotonga and how they reflect our stories here in NZ.

Here are my reflections on my PLD:

Restorative Justice

Manaiakalani BOI Summit

Waireka Battle

Manaiakalani Principals' Conference

Migration stories

2022 - Professional Growth Cycle - Professional Learning

Here are the reflections and learning I have completed over 2022.  I had samples of my work for the year and the data for my class all in Hero, but it appears to have all disappeared - or I no longer have access. A lot of work gone, but hopefully this log will show what I have achieved and completed through the year. Use this link below to access a list of learning which then each link to a reflection of what I have learned.

Professional Learning Log

It has been a very busy year. I took on probably too many courses in term 1, but it was great learning. With covid hitting hard in term 2 it was good that I had these finished mostly.

If a course popped up, I said yes! I love to learn and find out new things and expand my horizons. I need to ensure though that I don't overcommit myself and burn myself out. I will limit any future learning to one course per term (ha ha!) to ensure I can get through what I need to. Maybe skip term 4? 

A year of many ups and downs with health for myself and that of my tamariki. It has probably been the worse year since covid started for having large chunks of kids out of school for extended periods as they got ill. It means there are gaps in their learning this year which I have tried to fill, but I am sure there are areas I haven't managed to get through or cover thoroughly enough. Here's to 2023 and plugging those gaps and moving them upwards and onwards!

2022 - Professional Growth Cycle - Handwriting Inquiry - Senior Syndicate

As a syndicate, our staff in Te Kàhui o Ngà Manu Hihiri have identified Handwriting as an area that we would like to inquire about. Follow our inquiry journey on the attached slide. Feel free to add your whakaaro to the Jamboard on slide 7.

2022 - Professional Growth Cycle - Dysgraphia Inquiry - Hypothesising & Reflecting

The first step is to see if my hypothesis of dysgraphia is correct, if I'm on the right track etc. The issue is I am unable to get a formal diagnoses of dysgraphia without my tamariki being able to access sessions with an educational psychologist on a private basis or being referred with months (potentially) years of waiting on a public list to get a diagnoses.

My kids cannot wait that long NOR should they have to, but that is another issue for another day. In the meantime there are several online "tests" and I have approached the RTLB for her assistance. She has recommended several written tests as well which all could indicate that the child might  have dysgraphia.

I filled in an online questionnaire: https://www.lexercise.com/tests/dysgraphia-test

and also got my tamariki to fill out a handwritten set of exercises. All tested as having a high probability of dysgraphia. These came from the RTLB for me to use. As this is my only option to "diagnose" them, I am working on the assumption they have dysgraphia at some, if not different levels. 

I then enrolled and paid for an online seminar from Tammy McMillan, https://www.shareshapeandshine.org/  Based in Australia. This seminar discussed what dysgraphia is, how to identify it, and most importantly, what to do about it in the classroom.

The biggest takeaway from this seminar was that I needed to let go of the expectations that I could teach them to write and then everything would be ok. These kids can learn to write, but in fact, is it necessary? Is the stress that is induced in the children, and myself, necessary to go through when there are accommodations that I could use?

These boys all have reasonable reading skills. They are at Gold level. How can I know that of my boy with mutism? Because he can type answers to questions that are basic but understandable and which show me he can read. He cannot however make simple inferences but works more at a fact and literal level. This is probably a symptom of his autism diagnoses and he may pick this up as he gets older, but right now this is something I not concerned with.

What have I changed in the classroom?

• I have stopped requiring them from answering in writing, they can choose to talk to me about their understanding of something, or draw a picture or record something.
• I am working more one on one with them (when I can) to check their understanding more frequently during a lesson.
• I am offering more drag and drop options for these three so they don't have to type their answers, they can choose an answer and drag it to where it should be.
• I am continuing with handwriting lessons that I just let them join in at the moment to encourage hand strength. I will be correcting them on formation, but not pushing them to be perfect.
• I have purchases grips for pencils and pens to see if that helps with grip as they are all poor tool handlers. They tend to hover over the page and to hold the pencil quite high without their hands touching the paper sometimes. This is particularly true with my autistic boy which may be a sensory thing, I do not know. Again, if it helps it helps!
• Writing - these kids have great stories to tell, but they are currently unable to do anything but verbalise them. They are unable to access assessments such as asttle or other writing assessments.
• The kids have been introduced to speech to text (well, two of them!) and they are able to write short sentences with them. Whilst this helps somewhat, the lack of ability to focus and stay on task means they still get very little work done without someone over their shoulder keeping them going. This is very difficult with others in the class. It also needs to be done in a quiet environment which is all good as we have quiet break out rooms. However, this means leaving them alone to do their work which they are not capable of doing for any length of time. A catch 22. Especially when the mute boy won't do anything while I am with him, but can't do it on his own without me!
• Being able to let go of the THEY MUST WRITE OR THEY AREN'T ACHIEVING paradigm I was desperately hanging on to is a big relief. These kids can achieve without being able to physically write.

I believe this has changed my relationship with these boys, learning is more enjoyable from both sides of the teacher's table.

I will be constantly monitoring their progress and their abilities to ensure that I am meeting their needs and if something changes with their writing, that's great! We will celebrate it, but their worth as a writer won't hinge on this occurring.

It also has made me more aware of issues that children may face that I am not able to fix. I think as a teacher you believe you can do anything and it can be disheartening to see children not progress as you expect. But with a bit of jinking and jiving, an accommodation here or there, and alternative assessment options show that they are indeed progressing and are learning, just not as I may have formerly wanted or expected them to do. This is still valid.

2022 - Professional Growth Cycle - Dysgraphia - Noticing & Investigating

2022 is my 5th year of teaching. It has been a huge learning curve after my 12 months of studying to be a teacher. Over this time in classrooms, I am becoming increasingly interested in learning issues my ākonga face. 

My cohort I teach is year 5 & 6. At this level students "should" be able to read well enough to access the curriculum and do learning in more subject areas. Their comprehension of what they are reading is vital for them to be able to learn about more complex ideas and their writing should be able to demonstrate that knowledge.

This year I have several students whose writing is several years below what is expected of the average student at this level. Handwriting is poor, construction of sentences are weak and even copying down text is difficult. Their reading is slightly behind, but is not of major concern and they understand clearly what they are reading. I am finding it difficult to consistently differentiate my teaching whereby what I am expecting of them to "create" to demonstrate mastery of the knowledge is within their abilities.

What is going on? 

There are three tamariki that fall into this group. 

• One is a selective mute and will not talk to many adults. 
• One has a lot of absences put down to anxiety by his whānau. He is also easily distracted.
• One has also had a lot of absences, and is a big procrastinator who needs constant reminders to do his work.
• Two fall outside the level required to do an asttle writing assessment and one is level 1 beginning).
• Maths levels are sitting at Stage 3 to 4 depending on the area. Fractions are proving very difficult to grasp and then retain. 
• All have very poor handwriting and find it hard to type words. They have had varying success with speech to text with Google docs.
• All play on devices at home although not extensively. They are very capable on devices at home.
• They are all unable to form letters on a consistent basis in their writing. They find it difficult to write on the line/between the lines. They have nearly normal grips.
• The two students I can talk to are embarrassed about their work and what they can achieve. They won't let others view their handwritten work and are bright enough to see that even their digital work is not as good as the rest of the classes. It is heartbreaking.

My hunch is that they may have some level of dysgraphia. I stumbled across the term and read about its manifestations in tamariki and feel that it may be involved in the process I am seeing in these children.

My inquiry question:  If these tamariki have dysgraphia or similar, what can I do as a classroom teacher to better support them in their work to better access the "create" portion of our mahi and to help them in alternative ways to demonstrate to me their learning?  This is way too wordy!

First of all I need to get better educated on what dysgraphia is. I need to talk to their whānau to get information from them and I need to get some screening done to see if this is in fact the issue. If it isn't, I will have re-look at my inquiry question and move from there. If it is, what practical steps can I take for these students to help them? What differentiation in assessment (ie work created) can I put in so they can clearly demonstrate how amazing they are?

If I can get this differentiation in place at a better level for them, I should see them grow in confidence and create work that they are proud of and which shows everyone how they understand what they are reading and learning about. 

Now to work on what dysgraphia is and getting screening in place.

Example of one child's writing:

Incredible Years Training - Session 1

I have been waiting for this for years and finally it is here. I get to complete the Incredible Years training. There are about 17 in our group and they come from various schools around the region. 

We started by introducing ourselves via our pepeha and it was great to see everyone giving it a go whether in Te Reo or English. 

The biggest part of the day that I found helped me was the sharing of ideas with other teachers, finding out what they do and how they do it - and best of all - did it actually WORK?!  I was fortunate enough to be with two kaiako who teach at an immersion Te Reo Māori school so they gave me new kupu to use in class. My goal is to use more Māori in class for my Māori learners - I will be cultivating these relationships.

We started using the planner and a large part of the session was learning how to use it properly. We focused on the WHY tamariki exhibit certain behaviours; what lay behind that behaviour. Being able to identify the reason for the behaviour (not that they had a bad day prior to this, or something has happened at home) made it easier to figure out how to handle that behaviour. If they want attention from others in the class, getting attention from the kaiako is not going to help them necessarily to overcome this. 

Although it is a programme from the USA, I feel that its relevancy to a New Zealand setting is going to be good. Psychological behaviours are of course influenced by the culture it is centred in or comes from, but the brains of humans are a universal constant across the world. We certainly also do not need to reinvent the wheel. As long as we tailor it to each CHILD then we are doing right by them, whether the programme comes from the US or Timbuktu.

I am really looking forward to the rest of the course. There is a large amount of reading but since I love to read - I can't wait! 

The Incredible Years Website