Inquiry Term 3 2018 - Is language being acquired during Maths?

One always hopes that by this time of the year shift would be noticeable in language acquisition and maths skills.  The children have had two terms to get use to DMiC maths norms and to begin to find "their voice" in solving simple maths problems.

While seeing the children day by day you often don't see the small changes that they are making.  It is not until a Maths mentor comments on these changes that you also see them.  The fact that they sit in a U shape so that everyone can see each other for class discussions shows that they understand the need to look at people when they are talking and not just at Maths time.

A small group of children are beginning to get better at putting their thoughts together and not just offering up one word answers.  They are attempting to explain what they did in a logical sequence - "First we did...", "Then we ...".  They still need guidance with prompts or specific questions to help them become more organised but it is progress.

I am surprised at the "Wow" moments that have occurred.  A child who previously had difficulty joining the group will say "I want to count!" and will be engaged at least for that part of the discussion.  On another occasion a child suddenly starts to skip count when previously they were unable to.  When asked why she counted in twos, she was able to say, "It is quicker like that."

The child discovery about order not affecting the outcome led to a long discussion.  They wrote out the sum and discovered it "was the same but different."  They painstakingly looked at each digit and its position discussing in not very mathematical language "That's there but there is that..." and in the end the two boys who were leading the discussion said, "The answer is the same so it must be the same."  I was amazed at the interaction so asked would it work for another sum?  This hooked more children into the discussion and we found it worked for other sums.

So how do I measure this engagement?  Using the rubric that was devised in collaboration with two colleagues one can see a small amount of progress.  Child 1 will engage in conversations by talking and listening but as yet she is not adding much to the group discussions.

Child two is normally a fairly quiet observer but the mentor was able to draw her into conversations which I hoped would help her see that she was a valued member of the group.  After some absences she continued to try to a be group member by counting and agreeing with how they were trying solve a problem.

Child 3 is beginning to see what group work is all about but he still relies on others to do the real talking and thinking.  He will occasionally be drawn into watch what the others are doing but he is not taking part in group discussions or adding any comments.

It is this engagement and small steps for some children that show progress.  I do not have all my class fully engaged with the problem solving.  There are some who still have not engaged fully in group discussions.  Others who won't work with someone as they prefer to be the dominant partner.  Discussions still need modelling for some eager beavers who want to show they know the answer and don't want to give "wait time" to others.  Language might not be the precise language one would hope for but there is language being used instead of a shoulder shrug and some children are prepared to try to offer an explanation.

We were told not to expect things to happen over night and how right the tutors were.  Be patient and observe the small steps by looking back at the beginning of the journey.

Digital Fluency Intensive: Day 9

The Manaiakalani kaupapa and pedagogy link this week was ubiquitous learning. Ubiquitous learning is so important in extending the time of learning for our children.

Prior to the digital age learning occurred only between the hours that a school was open.  That meant that the children only had a teacher in front of them for 6 hours a day (not including lunchtime), 5 days a week and for up to 200 days a year.  With technology, learning time is extended to be 24 hours a day.  This is not to say that a child sits in front of a screen for 24 hours a day but it means that they can organise their lives better.  If they wish to attend a church meeting or rugby training and do their home learning at another time it is not an either,  or situation.  They can choose when they do their work because their work will remain on their site, it is rewindable and accessible at any time or anywhere.

Most children arrive at school having heard at least 30 million words.  Our children arrive at school up to 2 years behind those who have had a more privileged up bringing.  They need to run to catch up those lost two years but in the meantime the more privilege children do not stand still which makes the gap even wider.  Manaiakalani children are expected to make one and a half years progress if they have a hope of catching up and closing the gap.

Being able to learn any time, anywhere, any pace empowers our students to continue to learn and not be part of the summer drop when school is out.  Children are encouraged to take part in the Summer Learning Journey to blog and receive comments on their posting.  Research by Woolf  Fisher has shown that by blogging twice a week this will maintain their progress and by blogging three times a week this will actually increase their progress.

This shows that technology is not just a tool but is a super power enabling gadget.

It was then time for some to sit the Google exam while others of us worked on various aspects of the programme we wanted to revisit.  Being able to do the Apple Teacher exam was another alternative offered.

This has been a great journey of learning and putting myself in my learners shoes and I have been grateful for having this opportunity to learn so much digitally.

Digital Fluency Intensive: Day 8

The Manaiakalani kaupapa and pedagogy link this week was cybersmart. 

Even when Manaiakalani was in its early stages of development, cybersmart was an important part of the digital learning.  In the real world teachers are responsible for children's care and well being so this same care should taken in the digital world where a device can take children anywhere in the world.  

We need to be able to say to our parents that we have a positive programme to make children cybersmart which will begin in Year 1 with smart learners and smart relationships and continue to be intensionally delivered weekly through out their children's schooling.  It uses positive language and teaches children to navigate and be responsible.  A smart person is a positive and empowered person.

Manaiakalani has put together eleven categories that children, teachers and parents need to know.  These range from smart learners and smart relationships through to smart footprints.

The Harpara Teacher Dash Board was devised by Jan Zawadzki and because it was created by a New Zealander with Manaiakalani in mind it aligns well with visibile, ubiquitous, connected and empowered learning.   It helps keep learners focused and organised on line and provides the teacher with visibility into what learners are working on, thus allowing quick feedback.  Work does need to be saved in the correct folders so that visibility is not challenged.  Blogs and comments can also be kept track of without having to actually visit the blog.

We found out what it is like to use the devices that our learners use.  We used the Digital Dig that is designed for learners to become familiar with using a chrome book by doing tasks such as taking screen shots, using the webcam and finding keyboard short cuts.  It was interesting putting ourselves in our learners shoes.

Khismira took us through how we use our iPad sites for our year one learners to access their learning.  At the beginning of the year we teach the children the kawa of care and introduce the skills they need to complete tasks such as taking a photo, copy and paste, duplicate and locking items down.  They very quickly learn these skills and use them to complete activities in Explain Everything.  We were all able to try out our skills on an iPad.

Screen castifying was a skill we looked at.  This could be useful in making tutorials for students to learn new skills.  Listening to yourself talking through a process shows how much practise you need to become a fluent speaker to get the precise instructions across without "umms" and pauses.  It is something I need to practise!  We had to prepare and castify using one of applications that we have found useful.  I chose Goggle Keep which I have found very useful in keeping organised.

Here is a quick video tutorial on how you can use Google Keep. 

Digital Fluency Intensive: Day 7

This week to connect with the Manaiakalani kaupapa and pedagogy Dorothy took us through the visibility aspect of "Learn, Create, Share".  All aspects are important and interconnected but we need to ask ourselves is the whole of our learning journey, as well as the learning, visible?  We expect our learners to be at the centre of the learning and for every part of the learning journey to be genuinely visible to them.

We like to plan and be prepared in many aspects of our lives.  Mystery trips might have a place but most of us will use expedia, Trip It, Goggle travel or similar to plan our travel and look for where we will be staying, plan day trips or excursions so that there is no surprises or guess work when we are in unfamiliar territory.

This is true for our students.  If there is no timetable or they are not told what to expect with their learning it can leave them in the dark.  Even my Year 1's look at our visual time table displayed and say "Yay, we have Makerspace today!" and they will remind me that after reading they have Makerspace.

In our digital world this is just as important that we do not shut our learners out of their learning but having the site, folders and blog visible.  Learners need to know the path ahead through their learning to help everyone understand and have rewindable learning.

Previously parents were able to look at their children's books to view their child's learning but with a digital device they often feel shut out.  With Harpara Teacher Dash Board, which is not only for teachers, there is a parent portal.  Parents are able to see what their children are learning, the books they are reading and the resources they are using.  Everything is visible and they are not locked out of the learning process.

Gerhard introduced us to Goggle Keep.  I had installed this during the previous week after being introduced to it by a colleague.  It is good to make notes and keep links together but Dorothy and Gerhard introduced so many more uses for class and personal uses from shopping lists, reminders, typing notes and taking photos of cursive writing and turning it into text for students who have difficulty reading cursive writing.  A useful addition to keep yourself organised and on top of your work.

We also looked at our sites to check the visibility.  We need to keep in front of mind who will be using our sites.  For me, year one children need a clean and clear site with an easy "three click path" to their learning.  Using photos of their group or the subject helps them navigate their way around the site more easily.  Having the chance look at our own site with a new set of knowledge and to take on board comments from others was very beneficial.  Making up a list of what worked and what to avoid will be a great help in setting up next years site as well as using the feedback to make improvements to my present site.