Term 2 Reflections

This term was a bit messy, but I had Mrs Radich and all her skills and experience to make up for it. This term I worked part-time; four Mondays this term I was at Te Hapua, Tuesdays was my day off, and Wednesdays I was with Kerry at DFI. This meant that I was really only .5 and made life a little difficult.

What worked this term?

Student Blogging

This term I developed a better system for tracking the student blog posts. I have always struggled to keep on top of who has posted and who hasn't. Using a spreadsheet with a colour code made my life so much easier, but was also great for the students to see where they were up to. This gave them some agency on what work needs to be completed, etc.

The students are also becoming more confident in terms of posting to their blog, adding labels, back-dating posts and embedding their DLO's. Term 1 I noticed that the students didn't really know how to leave quality blog comments, so we made this our focus this term for our cyber smart learning. They are not perfect, but they are certainly an improvement.

Class Site

It's really good to see the students using our class site. I have noticed a few times that students would go back to look at previous learning that could support them with what they were currently working on. There are still a few students that will ask where to find certain material, but most students are using this confidently now. The only downside is the fact that I'm part-time this term, which means that the learning they are doing with Mrs Radich isn't rewindable.

Passion Projects

This term I thought I would introduce passion projects to my students. In the past, we have always completed an inquiry together as a class, on a topic that was selected by the school. The students were so excited about their passion projects, and every day I'm in, they ask if they can work on them. A couple of students did struggle because their passions required them to complete a lot of reading, which was a challenge for them. Next time I will be sure to provide more resources for these students, simple websites that could give them the same information, but in kids speak.

Our Class Assembly

I was very pleased with how our class assembly turned out this term. The students didn't have much time to practise but made sure they went home to learn their parts. There were lots of interruptions, which meant that planned rehearsals didn't go ahead. You can read more about our class assembly on our blog.

What didn't work this term?

Reading, Writing, Maths

With me being part-time, I felt it was really hard to get any momentum with my learning groups. We would start something, but then I would be away, and then we would have to pick it up again. I think the students struggled with this also. It felt like we were stuck on the same topic for weeks. It would be nice to be back in the class 4 days a week next term.

Home Learning

This was tricky this term because I wasn't there to check on their progress every day. Most consistency next term will be great.

Class Site

Keeping my site up to date. With being out of class so much, I just haven't been able to keep this up to date. And this is sad, because the students to ask me where our new work is. I will be more determined next term to make sure this takes precedence.

My Inquiry

My inquiry this term hasn't really had much traction this term. This will be a focus next term.