Term 3: Maths Inquiry Update

I have recently taken some time to reflect on what I have been doing differently in maths this term.  I have quickly realised that it doesn't seem like a massive change in practice, it is making a difference in the way that my students are thinking about solving their problems.  By providing my students with opportunities to image (mainly using 10 Frames and using Bonds of 10s) when problem solving, they are gaining confidence in their abilities.  I have also been providing a weekly "mystery number" each week that students use to think deeper about what they know about that number. 

Empowering Student Selected Texts

The one common question that I am asked about my Inquiry this year is "How have you gone about providing students with opportunities to select their own texts keeping to the overall topic?"   In all honesty, this was something that I have struggled with for a few months especially considering that my students are so young and new to learning on a Chromebook.  Did I really want to release my control over what they were doing online?   I have come to realise that by scaffolding across my reading levels, they are all definitely able to do some self exploration, especially at this point in the school year.

This week, I had a group of students reading a book about the solar system. After reading, students were asked to think of something they would like to know more about from the book.  I gave the a graphic organiser on a Google Slide to fill out and asked that they hyperlink each website they used to learn something new about their chosen topic.

Click Here to Link to Valessa's Blog Post

Presenting at the Manaiakalani Boards' Forum

This past Thursday night, I was one of six CoL teachers asked to present my Inquiry representing the six different Community of Learning Achievement Challenges.

It was a great night to simply be reminded of the BIG picture that we are a part of in many ways, not only as CoL teachers but as Manaiakalani classroom teachers.

As the night began, participants were given the opportunity to take a look at our poster presentations for the Manaiakalani Hui  Then, after hearing about all of the various Manaiakalani is supporting teachers, and student learning, across the nation, it was our turn to share each of the Achievement Challenges and what our individual focus has been for the 2017 school year.

Here are some pictures of the night (taken by +Fiona Grant) and the slide deck that I presented, which was comprised of a mixture of slides from presentations that I have made over the past few weeks.