Taking responsibility for learning/success

I am so impressed by one of my "Jumpstart" learners who encountered something that she did not understand and instead of waiting for the maths period the next day, tried to figure it out for herself by accessing her CHEAT SHEET.

This is her message to me.

6 Dec 2018, 23:04
Hi Miss, 

I just want to make sure if I'm on the right track with my Conclusion in Activity 7: French/German PPDAC 1. From the site, there is one column of data that shows a question mark. So I read through the site where there was guidance for this missing data. I managed to understand what could be done to this missing data, I just want to know if I can talk about it in my conclusion as "predict" for excellence. 

Thanks. 

Her interpretation was spot on. By having a clear understanding of the requirements of the standard and the evidence needed for the various achievement levels, she was able to make headway despite coming across what could have been seen as a stumbling block.

Learners taking ownership of their learning/success

Straight after junior exams, our school embarked on what we call "Jumpstart"  where year 10 students were given their NCEA L1 timetables and began working towards their NCEA L1 certificate.

For the first few periods I deliberately chose not to teach the curriculum as I needed to focus on the 3 R's - ROUTINES, RELATIONSHIPS, RESPECT.

After initial introductions, my goal was to learn each students name so I modelled a repetition technique where I shook hands with student number 1 and welcomed them by name. I did the same for student number 2 and then repeated names 1 and 2 before moving onto student number 3. By the time I went around the room I had mentioned names up to 10 times. Students saw me as a learner and when they laughed at me for mispronouncing a name, I had an opportunity to teach them about expectations and acceptable behaviours when in class; otherwise known as the DUNN way and it was an ideal opportunity to practice our school RISE values and the Key Competencies with a few fun challenges thrown in.

Once we began focusing on the curriculum, students had access to a CHEAT SHEET, LITERACY STRATEGIES and LEARNING STRATEGIES and the learning programme with resources for the standard. The expectation had been set, so success was our goal and for each learner success started by setting an achievement goal which they have been working towards. After 2 and a half weeks of Jumpstart, a student had completed her learning programme, practice test and student voice survey and felt confident enough to sit her first NCEA L1 assessment. Her goal was to get excellence and that is what she got. She has now moved onto her second standard.

Another student who has been away on a regular basis has just sent me this email:

Hi Ms Dunn, 

I was wondering if I could come in today at interval (6/12/18) and practice for the maths assessment? 

I will keep you posted about the outcome.

Student Voice

3 of my NCEA L1 learners sat their maths external exam yesterday. 
One of them gave me verbal feedback saying that only question 
about median confused them but they chose the middle value.  

The other sent me an email

Afternoon Mrs! The exam was good! It wasn't too hard as I 
had already knew what to write for each question because 
of your study notes and help!  It was like doing a normal assessment in class! 
Thank you Mrs for your help and guidance! :)

The final analysis

As I sum up my two-year inquiry on "Raising Maori Achievement", I noticed an increase in engagement as well as an increase in the quality and quantity of work produced.

The evidence that I have, shows that in 2017, 39% of my students got numeracy from achievement standards compared to one of my classes this year where there was a significant 77% increase from the previous year. My final analysis showed that in one class 94% got numeracy and 100% in the other. Particular mention needs to be made for the quality of grade for a Statistics achievement standard worth 4 credits that has both a literacy and numeracy component.

National statistics show that 27% of the students who sat the assessment got a merit grade, national decile 1 statistics was 17% and in my class, 85% of the students got a merit grade.



What did I do to make this happen?
Well, we started with the basics to build up learner confidence.
Maths is like a foreign language so each standard had a list of subject-specific vocabulary which learners had to explain AND in most cases, find an appropriate image to reinforce their understanding.

Achievement criteria and Teaching/Learning Strategies were explained in “student speak” and each standard had an accompanying CHEAT SHEET with Achievement Criteria, subject-specific LITERACY STRATEGIES and learning strategies needed for success.

Prior to any learner evidence being gathered, goal-setting was done where learners had to choose an achievement grade; either Achieved, Merit or Excellence so that they had something to work towards.

Whole class teaching was replaced with conferencing which was done at the learner’s request and
questions were answered with questions to promote independent thinking and proactive learners

Academic achievement was celebrated with phone calls and/or postcards sent home and the use of a wall of fame in the classroom.

The bottom line

I am in the process of reviewing my NCEA L1 Maori achievement data and because I had the benefit of teaching two NCEA L1 maths classes this year, I have evidence to show that the most successful Maori students this year were the ones who arrived at the college in year 9 at curriculum L4 and were in smaller classes in year 11.

The bottom line is that a firm foundation in maths and class size matters for our Maori learners.

What I would like my teacher to know about me....

Today I met my 2019 NCEA L1 students and after initial introductions, I set myself a challenge to learn each students name within a timeframe of 10 minutes. This was a ploy for me to gain their trust AND to teach them about expectation in my class. After student 1 told me their name, I shook their hand, welcomed them to my room and repeated their name. I did the same with student 2, but then repeated names 1 and 2 before moving on to student 3.

When I mispronounced a name, a few students laughed at me ......................just what I was waiting for .................. this was a teachable moment about appropriate behaviour/responses when someone is trying to learn. Apologies flew across the room and when I called a student by the wrong name a short while later, I was met with responses of his correct name - what fast learners?

I managed to learn and pronounced all their names correctly so I think I got off to a pleasing start.

We discussed our school's values and I explained how, as a teacher, each one applied to me.

For the next phase of the lesson, I shared my Y11 academic data which compared my 2018 achievement with other decile 1 schools and with NZ schools nationally. That seemed to impress a few and silenced others; the challenge was set, WE NEED TO DO BETTER.

I then got students to take a mini whiteboard and marker and write down one thing they wanted me to know about them. A few of their responses are listed below


 
 
 

Best gem of all

A follow-on from my previous post about digging deep to find gems, well.......I have saved the best.
for last.

This 4 credit Statistics standard worth 4 literacy/numeracy credits shows that 85% of my students attained a MERIT grade compared to 27% nationally and 17% across Decile 1 schools. This standard is NOT commonly taught at all schools to all students as it is deemed as too academic for some.


Possible reasons for this impressive result could be a combination of:

Teacher belief in the student's ability
Goal setting
The deliberate use of Literacy strategies
Teacher-created teaching and learning strategies
Contextual Teaching and learning
Easy access to all online resources via Google Calendar/Sites
Use of Tracking sheets to "manage self" and monitor progress

Digging deep to find gems

In the table below there is a comparison of my 2017 Data with my two 2018 classes this year. A huge improvement is noted in 11MAT 4 where 69% of the class have numeracy compared to 39% the previous year and 45% in my other class.

Credits	2017	2018 MAT 4	2018 MAT 5
0 credits (Maori)	0%	0%	70%
1 std away from Numeracy (Maori)	0%	0%	0%
Numeracy (Maori)	100%	100%	30%
Numeracy (Whole class)	39%	69%	45%
Numeracy cross curricula (Whole class)	47%	69%	48%

I dug a little deeper into the data and found a few gems which I am happy to share.

In my y11 class, for Algebra worth 3 numeracy credits, 50% got a MERIT grade compared to 27% Nationally and 19% across decile 1 schools.

For Bivariate statistics worth 3 literacy/numeracy credits, 36% of my students got a MERIT grade compared to 27% Nationally and 19% across decile 1 schools. Quality of grade is definitely on the increase and is a result of goal setting prior to learning about each standard. Most students chose to work at a merit grade and they have reaped the rewards. In addition, the deliberate use of literacy strategies and teacher-created teaching and learning strategies have all helped reach this success.

Looming deadlines

Some analysis since my last blog which was the final week of term 3; we have about 3 weeks to consolidate learning and achievement in term 4 for our seniors before they sit their national external exams and 22% showed up to the double maths period today which was first thing in the morning. 11% arrived after morning tea and the remaining 67% have not shown up at all.
It is a disappointing start to the term and hopefully will increase dramatically by tomorrow so that learning and achievement can be maximised and looming deadlines can be met.

Term 3 NCEA L1 maths data

This year I had an opportunity to teach two NCEA L1 classes, 1104MAT and 1105MAT. This means that I was able to transfer good practices from one class to the other and also be aware of pitfalls/shortcomings for each standard and address them immediately as opposed to waiting the following year with a new class. If a resource worked well in one class then I was fairly confident that it would work well in the other. Both classes followed the same courses with similar teaching and learning strategies and subject-specific literacy strategies; 1105MAT generally struggled with the key competency "managing self" and this is evident in their academic progress with 70% of Maori learners still on 0 credits compared to 0% of Maori learners still on 0 credits in 1104MAT.

The table below shows achievement in my 2 classes (1104MAT and 1105MAT) and the other 3 NCEA L1 maths classes combined. This is the first year that NCEA L1 maths students were not streamed so a great deal of conferencing lessons and differentiation was done.

All Maori learners in 1104MAT arrived at the college in year 9 and were achieving consistently at curriculum L4 compared to Maori learners in 1105MAT who arrived from years 9 to y11 and whose achievement ranged from curriculum L2 - L4.

Term 3 Credits	1104MAT	1105MAT	other 3 classes
0 credits (Maori)	0%	70%	14%
1 std away from Numeracy (Maori)	0%	0%	14%
Numeracy (Maori)	100%	30%	59%
Numeracy (Whole class)	69%	43%	56%
Numeracy cross curricula (Whole class)	69%	48%	73%

Sharing best practice

My Inquiry in under 60 seconds was shared with teachers in my department today and they were encouraged to share best practice/their inquiry so that pockets of excellence can be spread throughout the department. I look forward to being inspired by their videos.

Reasons for absence/lateness

My students have been encouraged to manage their learning/action and take responsibility. These are a few of the emails/text messages that I have received:



I'm very sorry for the past absences during this week and the week before. I'm just always tired and seem to sleep through my alarm lol, you will see a change the rest of the week!. 

I’m going to be late today because I missed my bus to the train station

Ms im not coming school i have a sore throat

Morning Miss

I'm going to be late today, I'll probably come in at around 11, maybe later. If you want me 
to explain further, just pull me up in tutor tomorrow. Have a good day

I will be at stars mentoring this morning 

Hi, miss, I'm with the social worker. See you tomorrow

I’ll be late today due to transport 

hi miss, will be late to tutor and p1 due to family reasons

Good morning, I will not be at school for tutor this morning, I slept in, and getting to school will be an 

adventure, with the buses and trains that is. I'm sorry for being late

I will be absent for the day due to a loss in the family, I will be back as of tomorrow, need just today 

to get my mind clear

"Student's Name" may be away today, or half day.  He was asleep when I left for work this morining, 

but had been complaining of a headache since yesterday so I let him sleep 

He was thinking he might still go late? but I told him to stay if he wakes with headache. 

Morning Noelene,

"Student's Name" is home this morning unwell, Ill let you know when he gets up if he does 

come in to school. Thanks

Morning, I will be late today. I got in the wrong train at the train station.


I have  a shoulder injury and will not be at school.

Mid term 3 analysis

In 1105MAT, Maori on 0 credits (55%) is much higher compared to Non Maori on 0 credits (20%). 
Maori with L1 Numeracy (27%) is slightly higher than non-Maori with L1 Numeracy (20%).

We still have a way to go if we wish to meet our school goal of 80% Maori learners achieving NCEA L1 Numeracy this year. We are now into the "catch-up" phase of our programme where all assessment deadlines that were missed throughout the year, are now being revisited. We are having to review our 
-expectations for success
-literacy strategies and
-teaching and learning strategies
before we can make any headway.

This "catch-up" session is motivating a few learners to work with new deadlines.






100% Maori in 1104MAT have L1 Numeracy which is much higher compared to 33% non-Maori. These learners have surpassed the school goal of 80% achieving NCEA L1 Numeracy.

Homework for teachers (given at our staff meeting)

All this technology is making us antisocial......


I totally disagree with this provocation.
Firstly, the definition of "antisocial" is not wanting the company of others
Posting on Social media is an efficient way to interact with a wider audience and reduces anxiety for those who feel unsafe in the physical presence of others.

Snapshot of how I am raising Maori achievement in NCEA L1 maths

 This is the second year that my inquiry is focusing on raising Maori achievement in NCEAL1 mathematics.

I am continuing to:
- teach in context so that learners see the relevance of the learning
- use literacy strategies to give learners more confidence in the subject
- focus on the key competency "managing self" so that learners take ownership of their learning.

This year I have made a concerted effort to promote:
- "language in abundance" which supports NCEA achievement as all learner evidence needs to be explained in context.
- the inclusion of teacher-created teaching and learning strategies to give learners a head start in understanding mathematical content

Cheat Sheet

Chunking literacy Strategy

Student work in one place for easy access for both learner and teacher

Tracking sheet to encourage the key competency "managing self"