Collaborative Online Planning

Collaborative Online planning

28th July, 2016

Alex shares some of his recent experiences in online shared planning

At my current placement each year level works together to collaboratively plan what they are going to teach for the term, from that they decide what to do each week. This is the usual method of schools in regards to planning and has a number of benefits; cohesion across the year level classrooms, discussion of ideas, and support for beginning teachers. However, many schools are also adopting the use of online methods to share their planning with each other. My placement school currently uses Google Drive, Google Docs and Dropbox to allow its teachers to share resources and collaborate on their planning. It works wonderfully; here are a few reasons why.

Everyone can contribute during planning. Gone are the days of one teacher hunched over a computer acting as the scribe, typing into a closed document while several other people squabble about ideas. With Google Docs everyone can be writing in the same document at the same time. It seems like a small thing but it balances out the power of group dynamics and allows people to quickly brainstorm ideas.

Resources are always shared. One of the main problems with sharing resources is finding the time to actually give them to other people; you need to scan them, send them and sometimes teachers feel they just don’t have time to do that. With Dropbox, you store your resources in one communal online location, which means that people can share resources quickly and ultimately it lightens the burden for everyone.

There’s cohesion as everyone can see what’s coming. My placement creates term planners which are available to be viewed and edited in Google Drive. This has been fantastic for me, and the other teachers, as we can all see what is coming up in the next few weeks and anyone can add in more information as we progress. It means that everyone is clear about what is happening and people have the freedom to plan ahead.

Although many schools have already taken to using some form of online planning tool, it is clear that not all of the teaching community has made the transition. I would recommend getting familiarised with the available online sharing platforms, as they provide numerous benefits when planning and will be of great help when you start teaching!

- Alex

Two's Company

Two’s Company

14th July, 2016

Alex talks about his first experience of team teaching at placement and some of its positive aspects

Coming up to this placement I had never been in a team teaching situation before and was feeling a little apprehensive about my first experience. However, I’m now two weeks in and I can say that team teaching, when done well, can be an absolute delight! I think it’s also of benefit to students too. In the school I’m at team teaching takes place in all year levels, except foundation and year 6. Grades are paired up into open plan learning pods which basically mesh two classes together. In my pod there are two main spaces; one is utilised for direct instruction and is where the projector is, the other is designed for working space and contains all the tables.

Students in the two classes do everything together, apart from specialist lessons such as PE and arts. It was a bit of a shock on my first day to watch a teacher leading a class of around 45 students, as I was accustomed to working with around 25 students. However, as my first week went on I noticed a few distinct positive aspects which work for both teachers and students.

Team teaching provides freedom. It only takes one teacher to lead the introduction or direct instruction part of a lesson – so when you team teach it provides a great opportunity for one teacher to be free to conference with students, organise other sessions and generally be available to observe what’s going on.

Two brains are better than one. This may seem like a corny cliché, but it truly helps out to have someone with you when you’re brainstorming ideas, planning, and implementing new concepts. A situation where two teachers have different ideas, but can work together, means a constant flurry of creative spark.

More support for everyone. In my view the most positive aspect of team teaching is the support network both the teachers and students have. There is always someone else there to help you through and another person the kids can turn to when they need assistance.

While I acknowledge that the basis of team teaching relies on you getting on with your partner, I must say that when it’s working well, it truly works. Team teaching is becoming more and more prevalent in our schools today and I hope it continues this way!

- Alex  

The Very First Day...

The Very First Day...

 

2nd February, 2016

Nick discusses the very first days of school for both students and teachers

The very first day of school can be an exciting yet daunting prospect for both students and teachers. Among university colleagues I often find myself in discussions about how to go about setting up your learning space for the very first day of the new school year. What displays should I put up? What expectations should I set with my students? How do I go about planning for an entire year? How do I get to know all my students? My role as an integration aide in a primary school has provided me the unique opportunity to observe teachers preparing for the school year as well as the initial days of school. I will discuss some of the interesting ideas that I have witnessed that I think would be brilliant to put into future practice.

 

• Setting up the learning space – An arduous task, however a fun one as well. Many teachers put their own unique impression on the room and when you walk in you get a different vibe in every learning space. I have observed the importance of creating a space that reflects you as a person.

• Setting expectations – Personally this was something I was interested to observe. The important idea is that the expectations need to be created in conjunction with the students, not the teacher dictating what they want the students to do. This process also involved what expectations the students have of the teachers to ensure equality between student and teacher; expectations are then displayed within the learning space for all students to see and refer back to. It was interesting to note that during the initial days of school, teachers would often refer to the expectations during classroom discussion to ensure students were being immersed in them.

• Planning for the year – A challenging concept as there is often many extra curricular activities occurring within the school community. As a result the year is planned out by topics and then when the time approaches the topics are expanded to meet the requirements of the students at the time.

• Getting to know students – The answer to this question is quite simple; talk to them and play games in which they discuss aspects about themselves. A further way of doing this is through ‘choosing time’ where students can choose and activity they would like to undertake. Teachers can then observe who they play with, what activity they choose and how they interact with others to get to know the personalities of the students.

 

This is a broad overview of some of the types of things you will encounter in your first few weeks of teaching. It is also important to think about how your learning space will cater to the diverse needs of the students and ensure inclusion of each and every student in your rom. The biggest thing to remember is there is ALWAYS someone in the school you can ask for ideas or help and you are never on your own.

 - Nick
 

Approaches to Technology in the Classroom (2)

14th January, 2016

Will looks at a welcoming approach to technology and draws on recent first-hand experiences.

To continue from my previous post, today I will be exploring a welcoming technology teacher and what it looks like in a classroom. I have been lucky enough to have experienced this first hand in my recent placement so I will discuss the aspects of technology which I saw and learnt about. To set the scene, the school was trialling 1:1 Chromebooks in Grade 5 and I was in one of the three classes. A Chromebook is essentially a laptop that runs on a Google Chrome Operating System and a connection to the internet is necessary for them to work properly. 

Before I delve into the incredible learning benefits which I witnessed, I do acknowledge that this type of program requires a lot of planning, research and above all, funding before a school can implement 1:1 devices for students. However, I believe that most schools are constantly working to improve student access to at least some type of ‘device’ (computer, Chromebook, iPad etc…). 

Obviously I was very excited to have been placed in such a classroom. However, I was intrigued to see my first 1:1 classroom and questioned if too much access is ever a distraction for the students. My teacher ensured me that they use the Chromebooks appropriately and in my 4 weeks in the classroom the students proved themselves to me. The first benefit I noticed was the amount of time we were saving each lesson. No longer is there a 5 minute scramble at tubs to get a workbook or a student standing at the bin sharpening their pencil. In seconds students can open their Chromebook and be straight into the activity. It should be cautioned however that this can lead to an overexcited and rapid switch between lessons. I found it important to still stop and have a ‘brain break’ in between lessons and not just ‘close literacy’ and ‘open religion’.

The super-fast access was due to students having all their work stored on the cloud in Google Drive. Students had been taught to organise this into subjects and terms but work could easily be located using the search bar. Working on the cloud meant work was automatically saved so it was hard to ‘lose’ and nigh impossible to blame the hungry dog. Students completed most tasks using Google Docs, Sheets, Slides or Forms. Documents can be shared between teacher-student and student-student for group work tasks. The collaboration of learning spread across all three Grade 5 classes and students were definitely learning more from interacting with each other. Moreover, they were experiencing a flipped classroom where they took control and responsibility of their own learning.

I felt like a true 21st century teacher when it came to assessment and feedback to students. As mentioned, work can be shared with each other with set privileges of ‘can edit’, ‘can view’ or ‘can comment’. The comment feature was wonderful in allowing the teacher to comment on student work, providing instantaneous feedback and clear indications of areas of improvement. For new units a Google Form was created and used for a pre/post assessment. This saved time in marking and generated data that was be analysed to help guide small group foci, whole class tasks and spot individual students who need extra support. I may do a future ‘how-to’ post for these online pre/post assessments.
 

I could go on about what I saw for many posts but I simply want to highlight this perfect example of a 21st century classroom. I saw students using skills that they will ultimately use in the workplace and performing tasks that many people in today’s workforce would be amazed by. Yes, this school were fortunate to have this 1:1 access but they did not take it lightly. They are continuing to push the boundaries, try new approaches and set challenges for staff and students as we move into a world loaded with technology. 

- Will

Approaches to Technology in the Classroom

Approaches to Technology in the Classroom

10th November, 2015

Will discusses the simplicity of incorporating technology into the classroom. 

In my experiences in classrooms I have seen many different approaches and attitudes towards technology in the classroom. They can be broadly grouped into the three categories below which will be discussed in detail over my next three blog posts. At each stage I discuss implications for students and some suggestions for moving forward into a technology rich environment. No matter what stage you might consider yourself at, there are always opportunities to incorporate technology into the classroom. 

• Cautious - “I stick to using the same technology as new technologies are unpredictable” 
• Excuses (lazy) - “I don’t want hassle of dealing with technology breaking down – I teach how I have always taught” 
• Welcoming - “I am confident with technology and want to always try new things”

This post will delve into a cautious technology teacher. These teachers might let students publish work using word processing software or know the basics of the interactive whiteboard, but they are reluctant to venture into the world of ever changing and advancing technologies.

Yes, new technologies can be unpredictable but so is anything ‘new’ – new students, new content or new strategies. If students are using the same technologies every day, in every curriculum area, are they really developing any ICT skills? What opportunities does this provide the students to become 21st Century learners? The beauty of incorporating technology is that it can take simple tasks that are familiar to students and make them incredibly powerful. 

As an example, a popular introduction to any unit of work is a brainstorm to establish prior knowledge and to question what content needs to be learnt. A conservative teacher might have students sketch this in their workbooks. A cautious technology teacher may even let students create the mind map in a program like Word or Inspiration. However, through the use of a mind mapping application, students are suddenly exposed to authentic technology use. An application such as Popplet (available on iPad and Web) allows students to easily create mind maps filled with text, colours, images and even videos; this appeals to a range of learners in Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences.

The most exciting part about using an application like Popplet is that it allows students to communicate their ideas and work collaboratively. They can invite classmates to view or collaborate on their map by entering their email address. But why stop there? Think of the benefits and possibilities or collaborating with another grade, another school, even another country? Now THAT would be ‘unpredictable’ - but imagine the learning, collaboration and motivation in your 21st century students!

In summary, if you are cautious about using a new technology, don’t over complicate it. Start small and simple and the outcome can be far greater than if you confined students to their stable, familiar, ‘always perfect’ technology.

- Will

Who are these people?

Who are these people?

29th October, 2015

 Nick uses his personal work experience to discuss the role of an integration aide within the learning space and how future teachers can incorporate them into their teaching practice.

Including and incorporating all students within the learning space is of utmost importance. Within your class group there is a great likelihood of encountering a student with a special need; this will present many interesting and exciting challenges to you as the teacher. One of the greatest challenges that may be faced is how to include these students in every aspect of learning that takes place in the learning space.  In this situation you may be able to utilise the work of an education support staff member, specifically an integration aide.

The role of an integration aide varies from classroom to classroom depending on the needs of the student. As aides work alongside students with special needs it is important for them to be flexible in their approach to accommodate and ensure inclusion for each student. Some key roles of an integration aide are as follows:

• To ensure inclusion rather than isolation within the learning space.
• Collaborate with teachers to ensure delivery of educational programs to students with special needs.
• Be conscious of the classroom teacher’s expectations for the entire class group and support the teacher with carrying out these expectations.
• To be happy, friendly, warm, encouraging and supportive.

The idea of inclusion is something that is at the heart of my teaching philosophy and I am passionate about the notion of EVERY student feeling as though they are a part of the classroom environment. As an integration aide this means that when working with students in the learning space there is more to the role than assisting students in completing their ‘work’.  The idea of inclusion incorporates assisting students with social strategies as well as effective communication strategies. It may also mean providing students with assistance for mobility or other needs specific to that student to ensure they are able to actively engage within the learning space. These inclusion strategies may extend beyond the learning space into the playground.

How do I incorporate an integration aide into my classroom?

In my role as an integration aide I have been able to gain some insight into how teacher’s can best utilise an aide through collaborative practices. It is important to note that although your learning space may have students with special needs, an integration aide may not always be present, if at all.

Collaboration is vital within the school setting; whether it is between staff or with parents, it is the key to a successful learning environment. Teacher and integration aide collaboration is best achieved through effective and consistent communication to ensure the best outcomes are achieved for students. Allowing access to unit planners or weekly planners is a great way to ensure each party is working towards a common educational goal or outcome for the student. In particular, as a future teacher it is important to ensure these planners are specific to the learning goals of the child with special needs as well as being clear to anyone who reads them.  It is also important as the teacher to liaise with the aide during the session to ensure the student is on track. Alternatively, you can have a brief discussion post session to discuss how the student worked and what areas need to be improved on for the next session.

Overall it can be a great asset to have an education support member in your learning space. However, as discussed, it is vital that they be used effectively to ensure not only inclusion of the students, but to also assist them in achieving the best educational outcomes possible.

- Nick