Attendance Monitoring

Tracking and monitoring student attendance is an important part of my role. Working alongside Kaiarahi to monitor students, especially those that are in the 'at risk' category is important so that we can put in place necessary interventions. Kaiarahi select students in the 'at risk' category, put interventions in place and monitor whether their attendance improves or not. Displaying this information on a google sheet allows me to also monitor how students are tracking. Then I can offer or support Kaiarahi with decisions around what further inventions can be put in place to help improve overall attendance.

Me and My School Analysis

After the survey was complete and data was collated by NZCER, I started analysing trends. First of all I compared 2015 cohort data to 2019. Also, I was intrigued to see how we were tracking compared to national average. Comparing data gave me a good indication of how our current student body felt about our school. There were a lot of positives, especially compared to 2015 which is an indication that the school is moving in the right direction. It also gave me valuable information in regards to what we can work on as teachers. In the analysis I have highlight key points- these are either huge improvements made by the school, compared to 2015 and national average or areas of concern. Areas of concern are key points that we can address as teachers/staff to help further improve student outcomes.

Student Tracking

A huge emphasis has been placed on student tracking over recent years. This year we have made students track their own achievement and in particular using a hard copy sheets. It is important for students to see their credits accumulating so they have a clear view of what they are achieving throughout the year. These sheets along with constant monitoring from Kaitohutohu (tutor) help students understand what they have achieved and gaps they have in their learning. If students are not tracking well, interventions are put in place to help students possibly achieve as many credits as possible.   

Teaching Site- Providing Literacy Strategies

Throughout my years of teaching I have constantly updated my teaching site to help cater to student needs. This site provides learning intentions and success criteria for students to refer to throughout the lesson to give them some direction. Also, I have provided links to all my slides that can be regularly updated if need be, so students can have access to all the necessary information. However, the most recent and important inclusion I have made to my site is scaffolding each assessment for students. An important part of our pedagogy at Papakura High school is providing literacy strategies to help improve student understanding and outcomes.

Unpacking Important Data

Engaging in professional conversations is important for building relationships with particular people that have a positive influence in the education sector. Videoing calling an expert from the ministry of education was important for me to help unpack data from the 'Me and My School Survey' that I conducted earlier in the year. Having clarification over certain data was important for me to understand what areas the school can work on to help improve student outcomes.

Tataiako

This is a resource provided from the Minstry of Education and has become a common feature of my daily life. Tataiako is cultural competencies for teachers of Maori learners, basically meaning how teachers have relationships with Maori leaners and their whanau. If used correctly this document can help provide the tools and resources needed to help Maori be successful in education. The key competencies are: 

• Wänanga: participating with learners and communities in robust dialogue for the benefit of Mäori learners’ achievement. 
• Whanaungatanga: actively engaging in respectful working relationships with Mäori learners, parents and whänau, hapü, iwi and the Mäori community. 
• Manaakitanga: showing integrity, sincerity and respect towards Mäori beliefs, language and culture. 
• Tangata Whenuatanga: affirming Mäori learners as Mäori. Providing contexts for learning where the language, identity and culture of Mäori learners and their whänau is affirmed. 
• Ako: : taking responsibility for their own learning and that of Mäori learners.

Everything I have to do in education and at school on a daily basis, I use these cultural competencies. Having a school roll with majority of Maori learners, it is important that I am living and breathing these key values. For me these competencies are important for students to feel a sense of belonging in their school and have success as Maori. 

MIT Spark Innovative Teachers

Today was the first time we gathered as a group of #spark innovative teachers. After the formal introductions, we presented our problems faced in our respective schools which helped form the basis of our inquiries. I outlined the problems faced at my school, which was poor student attendance, low literacy levels and a lack of self-efficacy in students ability to achieve. These problems stemmed from underlying issues at home, lack of support structures put in place by schools and previous failures associated with school work. As a group we identified many inter-related issues within our respective schools, which provided a perfect opportunity to bounce ideas off each other. After these discussions it has given me motivation to implement strategies to help my group of students be successful. I look forward to working with these like-minded people and improving student outcomes in 2017.