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.

Culturally Responsive Teaching Observation

Apart of my appraisal process this year was to demonstrate ways to becoming a culturally responsive teacher. Having an observation gave me an opportunity to be able to get feedback in regards to what I am doing well in this area and what I need to work on. Creating a well managed learning environment is important in a successful classroom and I got positive feedback in this area. From the observation form, I want to continue improving on discursive interaction in the classroom. Using feedback, feed-forward and reciprocal learning opportunities creates a better learning environment. Students feel that their ideas and appreciated and used to help in the learning process. This is something that I want to continue developing in my classroom. Hopefully this will help improve student outcomes.

2017 Observation

Giving Feedback

Encouraging students to feel comfortable and confident to interact with a teacher is important element in the classroom. I create an environment where students feel confident to ask questions in class and also interact with me in a digital form. Below is an example of how one of my students has asked me for support in their work. In my own time I can reply to this comment, and then discuss it further in class the next day.

Teacher Feedback

This year was the introduction of the whanau system. As a Kaiarahi (leader of whanau) my role and responsibility was primarily to create a sense of belonging for our students. Everything this year was new, there was no expectation set, therefore I could help create a whanau that was unique to Otuuwairoa. As this concept was new, I needed the help of my colleagues to help build a whanau structure. Feedback and feedforward was important and this was something I drew on regularly. Taking feedback onboard was important to help create a whanau that everyone wants to belong too!

U-Learn Presentation

During the Term 3 School Holidays I presented my Teaching inquiry at ULearn. This was a chance for me to share with the teaching community about innovative learning. My focus was on increasing literacy level among Year 11 students who were well below the required level to achieve. Using the innovative tool, "speech recognition" I was able to have a conversation with my students while evidence was captured on a document. This gave students a starting point for their assessment and gave them more confidence in completing the task. Overall, using this tool helped improve student outcomes and evidently achievement levels in NCEA.

Analysing Data

Analysing data at the end of academic year allows me to evaluate what went well and what needs improving. Analysing my data allows me to see what achievement standards have a poor success rate. This gives me time to reflect on the unit and think about what I can do to improve the statistics for next year. Also, I look at what achievement standards had a high success rate. Obviously, what I am doing is working well, so I look to only make a few tweaks to help maintain the high success rate.

Toolkit Presentation

This year I was fortunate enough to be chosen as one of the eight teachers to conduct an inquiry with the help and assistance of Manaiakalani and the Spark Foundation. Throughout the course of the year I was sharing with others what I had been doing in my inquiry. Not only did teachers follow me online but they also got a chance to listen to me discuss what I have being doing with my inquiry. I shared my inquiry with our community of learning in a Kootuitui toolkit and I received some really positive feedback from our primary schools in terms of what I am doing to be creative with digital tools. Also, throughout the year I presented my front of my whanau group, the entire teaching staff and Kootuitui digital leaders. Overall, having this opportunity has allowed me acquire a greater understanding of the teacher inquiry framework and further my knowledge area digital tools. With this knowledge added to my toolbox (kiti), I can now share this with my colleagues to help them gather better understanding of these tools.

Toolkit Presentation

Te Ara Reo Level 2

Last year I was fortunate enough to complete 'Te Ara Reo' Level 2 course. This course helped me improve my basic 'Te Reo' language and also increase my knowledge of Tikanga Maori. I was very grateful for this opportunity, as it has helped me further my journey in to learning Maori. The knowledge I have gained from this course was extremely valuable, as I am able to implement this in to the classroom to help further the outcomes of my students.

Inquiry 2017

Attached is my appraisal booklet for 2017. Within this booklet are my personal and school wide goals. These goals helped me identify ways in which I could improve my teaching to help outcomes of my students. The goals I identified for 2017 also tied in nicely with my inquiry. I looked at how I can help student's self efficacy and ultimately improve literacy levels.

Inquiry 2017

Teacher Inquiry

Within my professional blog, I take you through every step of my teacher inquiry. This year I focused on my Year 11 PED class and how positive praise can lift efficacy within students writing. Undergoing this inquiry this year has really helped me become a better reflective teacher and recognise how to use appropriate data to help better student outcomes.

2018 Inquiry

Blog Posts

Analysing Data

Analysing data at the end of academic year allows me to evaluate what went well and what needs improving. Analysing my data allows me to see what achievement standards have a poor success rate. This gives me time to reflect on the unit and think about what I can do to improve the statistics for next year. Also, I look at what achievement standards had a high success rate. Obviously, what I am doing is working well, so I look to only make a few tweaks to help maintain the high success rate.

Analysis of PE 3.2 Standard

Appraisal Document 2018

Attached is my appraisal booklet for 2018. Within this booklet are my personal and school wide goals. These goals helped me identify ways in which I could improve my teaching to help outcomes of my students. The goals I identified for 2018 also tied in nicely with my inquiry. I looked at how I can help student's self efficacy and ultimately improve literacy levels.

Appraisal 2018

Tracking Students

A school initiative this year is tracking senior students through their NCEA year. As a Kaiarahi it is important that track my students and keep an eye on how students are progressing with their NCEA credits. Letting students know how many credits they have achieved gives them a good indication of how well they are tracking and how many credits they have left to get out of a possible number. Knowing how many credits they have got gives students a sense of achievement and satisfaction but it also makes them hungry and motivated to work hard to achieve the remaining credits on offer throughout the year.

2018 Priority Learners

As a teacher it is important to analyse previous assessment data so you can make necessary changes to improve results in the future. I have interventions in place to help me reach my calculated targets for the year. Once this year has finished I can make the final calculations and reflect on what worked well and what needs improvements in certain areas.