Visible Teaching and Learning

Sky is in Year 3 and started at Hornby Primary at the beginning of the term. Sky is in a digital 1:1 (chromebook) Yr3-4class. For most children, this is the first time they have used a chromebook.

Yesterday she shared her Google slide Mini Country Study on the Phillipines with me. I left a comment and she replied soon after. My initial reaction was - how cool is this! Not so much the wonderful presentation she had done, but that she had responded to a comment on her work.

These are the things that were going around in my head at the time

• Learn Create Share, not only for Sky but myself. I learned what the Filipino name for pork was and how to say 'thank you'
• Sky was sharing her knowledge with an authentic audience
• Sky has created something no one else has ever done
• Empowerment for the learner
• Strengthened our relationship - she had a big smile on her face when I went to her room this morning
• This type of interaction would not have happened in an analogue classroom

This is fantastic - Learn Create Share and the affordances of digital technology is the best thing since sliced bread!! What a great way to end the week and head into the weekend!

Uru Mānuka Manaiakalani Outreach WFRC Feedback

Today Outreach Principals and leaders hosted our Woolf Fisher Research Centre (WFRC) colleagues Aaron and Selena, and Dorothy from Manaiakalani Education Trust (MET).

Aaron and Selena presented our Uru Mānuka 2016 Student Achievement data and its implications for next steps.

The day provided a wonderful forum to focus on student data and the implications for teaching and learning practice that will accelerate student achievement. The data provided clear evidence that we are accelerating student achievement in writing in Years 4, 5, 6 and 7. Our next steps are to identify the teaching and learning practices that are making these significant shifts so all learners across Uru Mānuka can benefit.

Our next meeting will clarify our achievement challenge and how and what we will do to achieve this goal. We have a wealth of data and emerging findings to focus on.

Leaders LEARNING
Leaders CREATING
Leaders SHARING

A big thank you once again to the Hornby Working Men's Club for hosting us and supplying us with yummy food!

Professional Learning Groups (PLGs)

Six of the Uru Mānuka Manaiakalani Outreach Schools met this week at the Hornby Working Men's Club after school. Using the 2016 emerging findings from Woolf Fisher Research Centre, teachers chose an area of focus for their Teaching as Inquiry; eg. multi modal, feedback, rewindable learning, visible teaching, ... These are the teacher practices identified by WFRC as having a positive impact on student achievement.

There is good practice happening in all of our schools - Learn Create Share. Our cluster goals are to grow the capacity of all teachers and their understanding of Learn Create Share, provide opportunities to connect and share, strengthen Teaching as Inquiry so that it makes a difference for teachers professional practice and development, and also improve learning outcomes for all of our learners in Uru Mānuka.

Teachers in each group created a shared folder to keep resources in. Over time this will provide a valuable resource for all teachers within the cluster. Groups will meet each term in Week 9. No other meetings have been scheduled for these weeks in order to manage workloads.

We received great feedback about the session and teachers valued the opportunity to connect with others and discuss and share what is happening at various schools. Some have already organised visits to other schools before the next meeting. The afternoon was topped-off with tea/coffee, sandwiches and muffins!

Teachers LEARNING
Teachers CREATING
Teachers SHARING

"Excellent professional development initiative and what better way to enhance collaboration across Uru Manuka!!" (Kris, Acting Principal, Sockburn Primary)