Today during our DFI online hangout, Dorothy shared her positive experiences with visible teaching and learning.
This is something that I have always felt strongly about, ensuring that students are always able to see what they are learning, how they are going to be learning, etc.
During Term 1, I relieved at Paparore School. I had ensured that I had my relievers plan and all activities on a site, which I share with the students at the start of the day. The students knew already how to access learning via a site, and straight away they were able to engage with their learning. At the end of the day, a student came up to me and said, "I'm going to complete my reading activity when I get home tonight". Now that would not have been possible if I didn't provide them with all the materials/resources they needed.
The country's sudden Lockdown also provided evidence of the importance of using a class site to support students and their whanau. Those teachers who already had all their learning available on their site, just continued life as normal, with a few minor changes. Others who have relied on paper activities found it a little more challenging. They either had to provide parents with a 'kit' that included all their learning or had to start using class sites.
Moving forward - I think there is still lots of work to be done to ensure online learning is successful, I do think visible learning and teaching should be the first step. For my future practise, I will ensure that my site is always up to date, students have access to all learning resources needed and that parents are well informed of what is happening within the classroom.
