Teacher Appraisal

One of my personal goals for the first half of the year is to challenge high attainers in math.  A lot of focus tends to go towards the lower attainers and supporting them, however, I want to keep pushing and challenging other children. During one of my meetings with my associate teacher, we came up with some ideas of how to challenge the students: Word problems (one or two-step) Mathematics challenge cards Mathematics e-books Writing explanations and reflections 'Why' questions, 'Convince me' or 'Prove it' Work set at a higher level Integrate technology Self-Assessment Real world math practice NRich maths challenges Tuakana Teina NZMaths Larger numbers Converting Missing numbers Solving backwards Not all children learn the same way so I need to be aware of how they learn best and also I need to incorporate a variety of learning opportunities. Here is a useful  website explaining ways to meet individual needs in the classroom in

Observing a Science Lesson Monday 18th March 2018 Inertia Cup Tower Experiment Notes from observation: The lesson started with reviewing last weeks science lesson. This included what they did and how they laid out their work in their books. The teacher went over all the expectations again very carefully so that the students remembered how to complete their task and what they need to include.  As the teacher was talking about the experiment, she modelled aloud some thoughts and questions about what might happen.  She also modelled on the board how to layout the experiment including: title, materials (bullet points), a prediction(sentence starter) and the outcome.  The children then went and wrote all of this (apart from the outcome) in their books. When they were finished, some students shared their predictions.  Next, they all gathered around a table and the teacher modelled how to perform the experiment. After a few goes and a discussion, the students went bac

PB4L Restorative Practice  Thursday 7th March 2019 Notes from Restorative Practice PD What did I learn? I learnt that restorative practice is all about the relationship between student and teacher. It is about respect, dignity and taking ownership and accountability for behaviour and choices. From this workshop, I learn a lot about myself and how restorative I am (or not) without even being aware that it was restorative practice. I am able to stay calm and listen during conversations with students, however, I do not always refer to the school values during these conversations. This is probably due to the fact that I am new to them but my goal is now to be including these in most, if not all, restorative conversations. I also learnt that follow ups are very important and we need to stick to our word and give students the message that they will be checked up on. This could be in a positive way too, depending on the situation and if the student has made improvements. otherw

Incorporating ICT Effectively One of my first goals this year is to incorporate ICT into lessons more often and effectively. Thinking back to a staff meeting in February we touched on making  SMART Goals . To make sure my goal is SMART I needed to ensure it meets these five essentials: S - Specific M - Measurable A - Attainable R - Realistic/Relevant T - Timely Specific: To make my goal more specific I need to ensure it is clear, precise and concrete. My goal is to incorporate the use ICT effectively in lessons at least two days a week. Measurable: To guarantee my goal is measurable I need to have some way of recording progress.  Term One Inquiry Plan My goal is to incorporate the use ICT effectively in lessons at least two days a week which will be shown within my planning. Attainable: To make sure I attain my goal I need to develop a pathway that will lead me there.  My goal is to incorporate the use ICT effectively in lessons at least two day

Murray Gadd - Writing Workshop Saturday 2nd March 2019 Murray Gadd Flyer PowerPoint What did I learn? I found this writing workshop very inspiring! I learnt that, as a whole, New Zealand is underachieving in writing and it is critical to keep pushing. Writing is important for all aspects of school, including NCEA tests. "It is what teachers actually do, moment by moment in their classrooms, that makes a difference to student [engagement and] achievement."                                                        ~ Effective Literacy Practice, back cover. As teachers, we can't change the past of the child and their background, all we can do is work on what we do with those kids inside the classroom. To help children understand what they're writing about and to emerge fully in the process it is key to explore their topic. For example, if writing about a Winters day, go outside on a cold day and touch, smell, look and listen to the things around them. Then th

Review after the first two weeks of school: The first two weeks of school at Longford have been incredible. All the staff have been so welcoming, helpful and supportive. The culture here is so positive and I have already seen how safe the environment is. People feel safe sharing their opinions and feelings about aspects and ideas brought up during meetings etc. I am so happy to be apart of such a compassionate and real group of people and I can't wait to see what 2019 holds! The students have also been really amazing. Not only in my class but others as well that I have had the chance to interact with on duty. They are respectful and learning to take responsibility for their education and behaviour. The students are keen to learn and enthusiastic about school. Our classroom has already developed a friendly, positive and safe learning environment where everyone is able to participate. Room 19 is going to have a great year! What have I learnt? What have I incorporated? As

Professional Development Days - January 2019 My first PD at Longford School occurred over the two teacher only days on Monday 28 th January and Tuesday 29 th January.  PLD Timetable Longford Handbook What did I learn? During these two days I was able to get my head around the many different systems used at school in regards to behaviour, schedules, timetables and responsibilities.  My areas of responsibilities consist of the school production, music, drama and social sciences.   We also had the pleasure to hear from Marcus Gough from the Ministry of Education. He spoke to us about relationships, routines and recognition and how these are essential in the classroom.  I learnt that in the first few weeks of school it is important to set up meaningful relationships with the students, establish set routines (through modelling and teaching) and recognise what the children are doing right. Something to keep in mind with the latter is the 'mag