Unpacking Practicing Teacher Criteria









Over the summer I decided to have a look at why I didn't really feel confident about what I should be including in my teaching portfolio.  These photos are the pages of wonderings about my teaching stacked up again the criteria.  My brainstorm to help me make sense of it all.
I think as a staff it would be helpful to do more of this kind of practical unpacking work together - at least until we have working example of what would highlight our current teaching against these criteria in combination with what our school feels are the important aspects we are focusing on school wide.
When I chat with my colleagues we all seem to have different ideas about what we should include.  Many of the teachers have a closed blog  and aren't willing to share what they feel are the parts that are good enough to share with the Teaching Council.   I don't really understand that either.  Surely we should be supporting each other and in that collaboration will come the biggest and most sustained change.
It would also be helpful to talk to someone who is part of the teaching council to look at what we are doing.  Are we on the right track or are we missing the point entirely?  And where should I be looking in my teaching to see where I can include it in my portfolio to curate my best reflective teaching practice.

The longer I teach, the more I am aware of trying to focus on things that will have the biggest and most effective outcome on my future teaching and leaving the rest.  At the moment I get little feedback  - and the feedback I may receive I am not confident that it is that productive. Reflecting in isolation...a challenge of trying to identify areas for development and not taking the time to celebrate my successes.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Benefits of Cup Stacking on Student Reading Outcomes

Image
I have always used chess and cup stacking in my yearly teaching programme - from nearly the beginning of my time teaching in NZ.  Learners of all ages are keen to get in and learn these “games”. The benefits of teaching chess to young learners is well known. But the benefits of cup stacking perhaps not so much. Cup stacking has many benefits for learning in the classroom.   Researchers have found that it targets specific areas of the body and the brain to increase intelligence, problem solving skills and critical thinking.  It is a fun yet and intense game. “What many teachers and educators may not know is the impact cup stacking can have  on a child’s visual processing skills and reading ability. Because the child is moving their hands so quickly, their eyes must also track the cups and the movement of their hands as they participate in the activity. The eyes naturally cross the midline to accomplish this task. These skills are very importan...
Read more

The e AsTTle Mystery

Image
I had a look at my e AsTTle marking in a bit of depth because I don’t have enough to do already.  But I had a question. Why were my spelling scores low for my class? I think I found out. But I have no idea what to do with what I’ve found.   I analysed the data to help scaffold my learners to set goals based on their learning in writing.  What I found surprised me. For instance the rubric for Ideas.  There is a score for level 2, Level 4 and Level 5...but no rubric for level 3.  Why not? If I my students are at R3 it is equivalent to 2P, and R4 = 4B and and R5 = 5B.  ( I looked at each of the scores provided in the e AsTTle printout for my class. The rubric for Structure is similar.  R3=3B, R4 = 4P and R5= 5P. It is hard not to score my class above or below...especially a Year 6 student.  The Organisation rubric is fair. Each curriculum level is evident and it is 2P, 3P, 4P and 5P. Vocabulary again there is no level 3 available. ...
Read more

(Term 1 2017) Camp: Engaging with our Community

Image
This year our senior classes took our classes to have an authentic two night camp on a local marae.   Students were part of the p ō whiri and welcome onto the marae.  The only other context many of our students had was on the school welcoming groups to special assemblies.   These would often involve the kapa haka group taking the lead with the remainder of the school left to follow along. To support the children (and me too) to make the most of this fantastic opportunity, in class we learned the vocabulary, completed puzzles to help students remember the order of events.  The team leading the camp were very supportive of schools coming with a low base of marae based learning. There were teamwork activities involving paddling a waka down rapids in Kawerau, making poi, using a taiaha.  There were games played and links to local history through the carvings in the whare. My class loved playing Ki-o-rahi.  It was new and fun...and I promised w...
Read more