Summary:
Use of the Question map:
I have had trouble getting my head around this thinking map, so I joined with a colleague and observed how it was done with older children. Once I had visually seen the map evolving over several modelling sessions I felt more competent in trying the map with my own class and it worked!!!!. Observing the older children in group situations, I realised that 3 or 4 heads of differing levels, enables them to bounce ideas off each other and that the young kids are learning from this “watching and listening”.
The young children are thinking about using the key word before asking a question and most of them are remembering the 7 servants to begin with.
Key Competency: Participation and Contributing:
Observations of mixed groups, differing levels of abilities and ages, to me was a valuable time in which to see how these groups of children could / couldn’t work together. That gave me the opportunity to encourage and teach those children who hadn’t developed the skills as yet to “get a turn” to share their own ideas, regardless of what it might be, and further extend their ideas with my help.
Stages of Sharing and Action:
This stage was highly successful with the “hands on activities”
Those children who have some difficulty with abstract oral explanations blossomed in the “making side” of the activities, where it’s actually the “doing and seeing” that they can talk about.
Cheers Room 4
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Inquiry Review
The staff at Oroua Downs School are using this blog to review INQUIRY and to see where our next step is.
Each member of staff is asked to reflect on the following questions and write responses, this is to refine our teaching, the learning children do and the monitoring of this. This is also being used as a tool to develop on going professional development once our ICT contract is completed at the end of the year.
As lead teacher I am asking that staff reflect upon and suggest ideas for further development under the following headings:
Each member of staff is asked to reflect on the following questions and write responses, this is to refine our teaching, the learning children do and the monitoring of this. This is also being used as a tool to develop on going professional development once our ICT contract is completed at the end of the year.
As lead teacher I am asking that staff reflect upon and suggest ideas for further development under the following headings:
- How do you thnk our model is working? Are there any changes that need to be made?
- Within each stage, are there any issues that you have, what are they and do you have any suggestions for further development?
- The assessment rubric seems to be working thus far - do we need to make changes and are there any other aspects of assessment that need further discussions?
- Can you suggest any ideas to further develop our understanding of inquiry?
- Discuss the use of ICTs throughout the inquiry process.
- How do you hink our supporting documentation is going - are there any gaps that we need to fill?
- What PD support would you find most beneficial in 2010 as far as ICT and inquiry goes?
Thanks for your time and input.
Tarnz
Thursday, October 22, 2009
Reflections on Inventions
Immersion/Organise
This was a really good Inquiry as it catered well for both genders but particularly saw our boys achieve success throughout the stages.
Reflection:
I have been reflecting on the fact that a lot of the time is spent on these stages and I am finding that Immersion continues through to the Organising stage and I'm wondering if I am not providing enough time for the Discovery stage?
My other thought though, is whether this contributes to more focussed participation/motivation for the Discovery stage (which I do see with majority of students) and this may contribute to the students working quickly through it.
Do teachers work to a time frame for each stage?
Immersion/Organising
We discovered, within the first few days, that we had the knowledge of Inventions and could brainstorm excessively various types of inventions. One of the true successes through this, was the discussion that the students instigated about all types of products/machinery... and were debating whether this and that were inventions. They concluded that everything was invented at some stage! I listened tentatively as more and more students volunteered their opinion and watched others take it on-board. The Contributing and Participation in the discussion was great and it continued for 15/20 minutes.
Our brainstorms lead us to look more closely at who the inventors were. Through the use of an Alphaladder on Inventors, the students were focused into discovering what was invented and when. Thus the gap in knowledge began to close. From here we went on to create our Wonderings wall. This involves the students writing a question or two (using our seven servants and higher order questioning skills - these are on permanent display) based on what they want to find out. The students needed more modelling of the skills required and so more teaching time was required than anticipated. However, I discovered later on that this would be beneficial when we went on to use our question map as we went through the teaching process quicker than I thought. The constant use of Graphic Organisers and the questioning skills display is what I really enjoy about our entry into our specific Inquiry. The students are still thinking about their task but it appears more focused as the emphasis on recording is lifted. (ie: pressure to write lots is off and most recording is more succinct).
The purpose of the Inquiry was set very early during this one and the motivation to become inventors and retailers! lead to a very successful Inquiry for Rockin Rua.
This was a really good Inquiry as it catered well for both genders but particularly saw our boys achieve success throughout the stages.
Reflection:
I have been reflecting on the fact that a lot of the time is spent on these stages and I am finding that Immersion continues through to the Organising stage and I'm wondering if I am not providing enough time for the Discovery stage?
My other thought though, is whether this contributes to more focussed participation/motivation for the Discovery stage (which I do see with majority of students) and this may contribute to the students working quickly through it.
Do teachers work to a time frame for each stage?
Immersion/Organising
We discovered, within the first few days, that we had the knowledge of Inventions and could brainstorm excessively various types of inventions. One of the true successes through this, was the discussion that the students instigated about all types of products/machinery... and were debating whether this and that were inventions. They concluded that everything was invented at some stage! I listened tentatively as more and more students volunteered their opinion and watched others take it on-board. The Contributing and Participation in the discussion was great and it continued for 15/20 minutes.
Our brainstorms lead us to look more closely at who the inventors were. Through the use of an Alphaladder on Inventors, the students were focused into discovering what was invented and when. Thus the gap in knowledge began to close. From here we went on to create our Wonderings wall. This involves the students writing a question or two (using our seven servants and higher order questioning skills - these are on permanent display) based on what they want to find out. The students needed more modelling of the skills required and so more teaching time was required than anticipated. However, I discovered later on that this would be beneficial when we went on to use our question map as we went through the teaching process quicker than I thought. The constant use of Graphic Organisers and the questioning skills display is what I really enjoy about our entry into our specific Inquiry. The students are still thinking about their task but it appears more focused as the emphasis on recording is lifted. (ie: pressure to write lots is off and most recording is more succinct).
The purpose of the Inquiry was set very early during this one and the motivation to become inventors and retailers! lead to a very successful Inquiry for Rockin Rua.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Inquiry - Inventions Room Five - Yr 3 & 4
SUMMARY
Successes
Immersion
The idea of ‘Invention’ is huge so the children had to think about what they knew already, about inventions and their purposes. These ideas were recorded on a Fishbone G.O. They worked in pairs, learning from one another, then shared their ideas in groups of six. Some students debated whether something was an invention or not. eg. carrot seeds. I asked them to find out. The children worked in pairs filling in an Alpha Ladder, thinking about how many inventions they could think of in 15 minutes. FUN
Making another person’s invention and experimenting with them [origami peeking crows and sailboats] made the children think about the process of making someone else’s design. They learned that you needed to follow instructions carefully to succeed but also, that there was always someone in your group to help you, a benefit of participating together. They found out that inventing was creating.
Guess what I am? talks about an Invention where the students had to describe the Invention and it’s action, was fun and made everyone listen carefully to the clues before they gave a calculated guess. Then the invention was shown to everybody and handled. The children gained a lot of knowledge from each other. They also had to think about a previous or similar invention which had the same purpose or a later adapted invention, these class discussions took place after each talk.
During instructional reading, two groups read about Inventors and their unusual Inventions. They had to read a short passage of information, then choose their answer from 4 multiple choice possibilities and then substantiate their answers. The children had to think carefully, assimilating information from the text and the diagrams. The children gave very valid explanations for their answers having made informed judgements.
Participating and Contributing
Working in teams with the Year Ones and Twos, from the ORGANISING Stage to EVALUATION gave the Year Three and Four students an opportunity to be leaders. They learned to accommodate the younger children, and the younger children watched and listened, and were encouraged to participate and contribute to their team activities, learning all the time from the older children. The younger children were supported in activities eg using Graphic Organisers. The teacher’s role was to encourage.
The Participating and Contributing Rubric which the classes ‘owned,’ was referred to often – how do we work successfully together? And the children knew. The biggest benefit to the children in Teams was the pooling of ideas and shared expertise. They analysed possibilities together, agreeing or disagreeing – reasoning, looking at Data- finding out what information it was giving them etc. Everyone listened to each other and asked questions.
Graphic Organisers
Question Map –Organise Stage - Difficulties and Successes
This has been modelled by the teacher more than once, with the children contributing their ideas for them. The KEY WORDS became obvious to most children eg. Chocolate Sailboats need to be TASTY. How can we make them TASTY? I still find that a few children have the greatest difficulty working out what the verb should be. For example, Snake pencils NEED pipe cleaners, Snake pencils MUST be attractive. Also when this part has been done, the odd child forgets to write the question and just writes the answer. They need to look at the question starters - Kiplings Seven Servants down the side of the page to help them. I give these children examples of verbs you can use and a model to check on.
When each team did a question map for their product, a large model was displayed on the wall for them to refer to. Each part was done in a different colour to make it stand out clearly. All the teams completed theirs successfully with lots of discussion, and they found out that they’d gained some very useful information that would help them with the next Stage, the planning and design of their product. They learned ‘where to go next.’
Chain of Events-Discover Stage
Using the Chain of Events G.O. made the children think about the practical aspects required, before making their chosen invention
eg. when, where, how, what, etc This G.O. clearly illustrated ‘discovery’ the children learning from it, what was needed to be done before they could begin the Sharing Stage of Making.
SUMMARY
Successes
Immersion
The idea of ‘Invention’ is huge so the children had to think about what they knew already, about inventions and their purposes. These ideas were recorded on a Fishbone G.O. They worked in pairs, learning from one another, then shared their ideas in groups of six. Some students debated whether something was an invention or not. eg. carrot seeds. I asked them to find out. The children worked in pairs filling in an Alpha Ladder, thinking about how many inventions they could think of in 15 minutes. FUN
Making another person’s invention and experimenting with them [origami peeking crows and sailboats] made the children think about the process of making someone else’s design. They learned that you needed to follow instructions carefully to succeed but also, that there was always someone in your group to help you, a benefit of participating together. They found out that inventing was creating.
Guess what I am? talks about an Invention where the students had to describe the Invention and it’s action, was fun and made everyone listen carefully to the clues before they gave a calculated guess. Then the invention was shown to everybody and handled. The children gained a lot of knowledge from each other. They also had to think about a previous or similar invention which had the same purpose or a later adapted invention, these class discussions took place after each talk.
During instructional reading, two groups read about Inventors and their unusual Inventions. They had to read a short passage of information, then choose their answer from 4 multiple choice possibilities and then substantiate their answers. The children had to think carefully, assimilating information from the text and the diagrams. The children gave very valid explanations for their answers having made informed judgements.
Participating and Contributing
Working in teams with the Year Ones and Twos, from the ORGANISING Stage to EVALUATION gave the Year Three and Four students an opportunity to be leaders. They learned to accommodate the younger children, and the younger children watched and listened, and were encouraged to participate and contribute to their team activities, learning all the time from the older children. The younger children were supported in activities eg using Graphic Organisers. The teacher’s role was to encourage.
The Participating and Contributing Rubric which the classes ‘owned,’ was referred to often – how do we work successfully together? And the children knew. The biggest benefit to the children in Teams was the pooling of ideas and shared expertise. They analysed possibilities together, agreeing or disagreeing – reasoning, looking at Data- finding out what information it was giving them etc. Everyone listened to each other and asked questions.
Graphic Organisers
Question Map –Organise Stage - Difficulties and Successes
This has been modelled by the teacher more than once, with the children contributing their ideas for them. The KEY WORDS became obvious to most children eg. Chocolate Sailboats need to be TASTY. How can we make them TASTY? I still find that a few children have the greatest difficulty working out what the verb should be. For example, Snake pencils NEED pipe cleaners, Snake pencils MUST be attractive. Also when this part has been done, the odd child forgets to write the question and just writes the answer. They need to look at the question starters - Kiplings Seven Servants down the side of the page to help them. I give these children examples of verbs you can use and a model to check on.
When each team did a question map for their product, a large model was displayed on the wall for them to refer to. Each part was done in a different colour to make it stand out clearly. All the teams completed theirs successfully with lots of discussion, and they found out that they’d gained some very useful information that would help them with the next Stage, the planning and design of their product. They learned ‘where to go next.’
Chain of Events-Discover Stage
Using the Chain of Events G.O. made the children think about the practical aspects required, before making their chosen invention
eg. when, where, how, what, etc This G.O. clearly illustrated ‘discovery’ the children learning from it, what was needed to be done before they could begin the Sharing Stage of Making.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Tools, competencies and Stage reflections
DISCOVER STAGE:
A hands on stage where children really had to think outside the square, the information that they were searching for wasn't necessarily found in conventional areas. Children were required to design, create and market a product - it was the gathering of information that really saw the use of ICT and competencies in action.
Children worked together in groups to locate materials, it was amazing to see the children so confidently bargin with suppliers, to make deals that suited them and to use technologies to help them. Children sourced materials, made deals as far as sponsorship goes and managed to negotiate their way into making a considerable profit. Each group had an intial budget of five dollars but by the time the 'selling day' was upon us, six groups had made over $270.00 profit! Groups managed to contact merchants, negotiate and compare items and prices and get things shipped from various parts of the north island free of charge. They became true entrepreneurs and were so confident to do so - very impressive.
KEY COMPETENCIES
Throughout this unti the competencies were a key focus. Children showcased the competencies and the skills involved throughout the unit in practical ways. This reinforced their importance to learning. The children could see how the competencies assist their learning and their language of reflection was developed throughout.
Children became more honest about setting themselves goals and although the all competencies were threaded throughout the unit, they could see what ones were used more frequently and for which purposes - very powerful learning.
Tony Ryans thinkers keys
These were fantastic tools fr this unit - it forced creative and critical thinking.....
The BAT key was used directly for inventions and the children quickly let their imagination go wild but then had to turn around and justify their ideas and wether or not they would be practical, this tuned in their critical thinking. Children could analyse ideas quickly and then take a step back and be honest with their thought and were more accepting of criticism than at other times. Children became more confident to experiment with ideas but also look at others ideas with a greater sense of maturity.
A hands on stage where children really had to think outside the square, the information that they were searching for wasn't necessarily found in conventional areas. Children were required to design, create and market a product - it was the gathering of information that really saw the use of ICT and competencies in action.
Children worked together in groups to locate materials, it was amazing to see the children so confidently bargin with suppliers, to make deals that suited them and to use technologies to help them. Children sourced materials, made deals as far as sponsorship goes and managed to negotiate their way into making a considerable profit. Each group had an intial budget of five dollars but by the time the 'selling day' was upon us, six groups had made over $270.00 profit! Groups managed to contact merchants, negotiate and compare items and prices and get things shipped from various parts of the north island free of charge. They became true entrepreneurs and were so confident to do so - very impressive.
KEY COMPETENCIES
Throughout this unti the competencies were a key focus. Children showcased the competencies and the skills involved throughout the unit in practical ways. This reinforced their importance to learning. The children could see how the competencies assist their learning and their language of reflection was developed throughout.
Children became more honest about setting themselves goals and although the all competencies were threaded throughout the unit, they could see what ones were used more frequently and for which purposes - very powerful learning.
Tony Ryans thinkers keys
These were fantastic tools fr this unit - it forced creative and critical thinking.....
The BAT key was used directly for inventions and the children quickly let their imagination go wild but then had to turn around and justify their ideas and wether or not they would be practical, this tuned in their critical thinking. Children could analyse ideas quickly and then take a step back and be honest with their thought and were more accepting of criticism than at other times. Children became more confident to experiment with ideas but also look at others ideas with a greater sense of maturity.
Inventions and Inventors - Tremendous Tahi
Creativity was key for this unit. Rather than focussing on inventors as such we looked at the qualities of inventors and linked these to the virtues and key competencies. This allowed the children to think on a broader scale. Yes they had the chance to focus on a specifc inventor but we didn't use inquiry time to do this. Children gained a better understanding of the processes involved when inventing, the process of modification, or trial and error, no longer are the children satisfied with the final product, they needed to look deeper into the idea. Children were not distracted by the 'bells and whistles' of inventions, rather, they focussed on the competencies and processes that inventors showed/took.
This gave the children a wider angle to look at the topic, I think this is why the unit was so successful, the children really took charge of their learning and the pathway of that learning. I do think that if we had of focussed on specific inventors or inventions then the unit may have just been a research project. This way the children felt more confident to experiment, to take risks and make mistakes because they realised that nothing ever works first time (only if you are truly lucky)hehehe - I guess the next step is to encourage them to transfer this thinking into their everyday learning.
This gave the children a wider angle to look at the topic, I think this is why the unit was so successful, the children really took charge of their learning and the pathway of that learning. I do think that if we had of focussed on specific inventors or inventions then the unit may have just been a research project. This way the children felt more confident to experiment, to take risks and make mistakes because they realised that nothing ever works first time (only if you are truly lucky)hehehe - I guess the next step is to encourage them to transfer this thinking into their everyday learning.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
"An overview of how the implementation of the Inquiry Process has gone at Oroua Downs School."
The inquiry process has had a significant schoolwide impact on the way our students are learning, how our teachers are teaching (or as is the case with inquiry, more a role of facilitation), and how we now go about organising classroom programmes. Gone are the days where a narrow topic of focus is chosen and adhered to stringently with no input (or interest at times) from our students. Now an overarching and broad topic is chosen that allows all in sundry to explore different tangents, and also gives the opportunity for individuals to find answers to questions that are pertinent to the individual.
Here at Oroua Downs School, Tanya Zander took on the role of facilitating the immersion of the inquiry processes with regards to school practice and staff development and it has gone exceedingly well. Children are becoming familiar with the processes to the point where they are becoming second nature and our teaching staff have willingly made alterations to accomodate the new style of teaching that inquiry demands.
We are still 'learning on the job' so to speak with regards to the 'perfect' inquiry approach, but through blogging and professional discussion between staff members, we are gradually fine tuning our practices and they are becoming more and more effective.
Here at Oroua Downs School, Tanya Zander took on the role of facilitating the immersion of the inquiry processes with regards to school practice and staff development and it has gone exceedingly well. Children are becoming familiar with the processes to the point where they are becoming second nature and our teaching staff have willingly made alterations to accomodate the new style of teaching that inquiry demands.
We are still 'learning on the job' so to speak with regards to the 'perfect' inquiry approach, but through blogging and professional discussion between staff members, we are gradually fine tuning our practices and they are becoming more and more effective.
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