We need to ...

Know our students

• Value and use prior knowledge as a starting point for new learning
• Identify passions and use them to inspire learning
• Know how individuals learn best – cater for a variety of learning styles
• Know personalities and student worlds

 

How do we achieve this?

• At the start of a unit: brainstorm what you know, showing pictures for recognition, brainstorming questions, graffiti wall (big sheet of paper up for a week to write what you know or wonder about an upcoming topic)
  All of the above – accept and record all answers
• giving (student) experts a chance to share their knowledge
• multiple intelligences – ask students their preferences and using them to plan their learning, e.g. letting musical child sing in their learning or presentation; letting oral child give a speech; let kids show their knowledge in a medium that suits them
• starting with a ‘me’ topic to get to know students at the start of the year
• School camps & trips
• news (donut, buzz groups etc)
• roll – short personal question chosen by the teacher or student
• reflection/diary writing

 

Encourage and act on student voice

• Ensure students have a genuine say in their learning:
  • what they learn,  how they learn something, how they present their learning
    • multiple intelligences – asking students their preferences and using them to plan their learning, e.g. letting musical child sing in their learning or presentation; letting oral child give a speech; let kids show their knowledge in a medium that suits them                                                                              

 

Practise co-operative learning (share, design and build learning together)

• Use a range of skills and strategies to work co-operatively and in groups
• Teachers, students and parents are genuine partners in learning
• Students and teachers share and reflect on the learning process

1. think, pair, share
2. bus stop
3. group projects with clear criteria and a timeline
4. buddy reading within and across groups
5. working with and helping children from other cultures
6. peer tutoring
7. sharing and reviewing learning intentions (not always teacher-telling, but allowing students to be part of the discussion); evaluating work with smiley faces or thumbs up/sideways/down, or out of 10 on fingers…
8. peer assessment – written or oral
9. buddy editing
10. jigsaw – breaking up a topic for groups to study a ‘piece’, then report back to put the pieces together. (sharing expertise)
11. teachers include, explain and talk with parents rather than defend or justify
12. parent helpers (get them on board so they are informed about goals); reading and responding to parent comments on mid-year summaries; sending notes or newsletters home to parents; including classroom updates in homework books; giving orientation info at meet the teacher and to parents of new students throughout the year; inviting parents/grandparents to speak/share as ‘experts’ in the classroom; acknowledging and emphasizing the importance of follow-up work done at home, e.g. regular reading, practicing basic facts and spelling; letting parents know during incidental meetings of good progress in the classroom

 

Ensure Student Success

• set high expectations for every student
• provide direct instruction and modeling as a framework for learning
• focus on where to next and how to get there

1. goal-setting – personal goals could be written in writing books such as a checklist, set a target for length or content to keep chn on task, oral feedback
2. share assessment criteria and data with the students, including creating criteria
3. rubrics, exemplars, planning a task, modeling to set expectations
4. having real and meaningful contexts for learning, such as relating learning to a current event or timely topic
5. having a product to share at the end of the unit or lesson
6. including tactile rewards such as food for fractions or other maths  
7. provide feedback and feedforward
8. start a unit with a powerpoint
9. show a stage-by-stage example or demonstrate (e.g. with artwork or a game or skill)
10. modeling writing and editing, using class input
11. showing an example of a genre of writing, e.g. from a school journal
12. getting chn to explain a concept, such as a maths strategy, to help another child understand
13. record direct instruction and keep it accessible to chn
14. personal, specific feedback and feedforward for each student (conferencing or in writing, and in teacher planning)
15. ensure that students are not ‘short-changed’