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On the weekend, myself and my MIT 2018 colleagues participated in our first professional development session for this year.  The weekend was broken up into different workshops, investigating the 'Why', 'Who', 'Design Thinking' and 'Crazy 8s' associated with our inquiries.


Why?

  • Escalator Challenge
  • Role Play: King of the Mountain

In order to delve deeper into the 'Why?' for each of our inquiries, we participated in a couple of different role play scenarios.  One was the 'King of the Mountain', whereby we had different roles to enable people to reach the top of the mountain.

The other was a 'Parents Evening with the Head of the School'.  Some found it easier to question others while role playing, some were indifferent.

My initial hold up for not inquiring more into the 'why' for my peers in the month prior to this weekend, was the need to know more about the big picture of the puzzle, as well as the individual puzzle pieces that combine to make the puzzle.  So, more of the what before the why.  During the role play, as many why questions were firing in from within our group, some of the whats that were initially gaps for me were filled in, which gave me enough background to ask (what I believed to be) useful why questions.  I was indifferent about having a role (neither positively or negatively), as I would likely have answered the questions inadvertently as myself anyway.

In terms of the why questions that culminated out of the why role play relating to my inquiry, I appreciated that the questions were forthcoming.  When I'm being asked questions, either what, why or anything else, it gives me the opportunity to reflect and clarify what I'm trying to articulate and communicate.  Being questioned also reduces or minimizes assumptions of what others may perceive to be my thinking, as opposed to what my thinking actually is.  This is significant and a huge help.


Who?

  • Who does this Moonshot project involve?
  • Who am I collaborating with on this project?
  • Who are my team?
  • Who has a voice in this project?
  • Learners - exactly who
  • Colleagues: co-designers, collaborators, sounding boards etc
  • Experts: who is being invited to add expert opinion

Identified Stakeholders
When I first approached this activity, I went through it as I usually would, and if I didn't know the answer to something, I'd answer as best I could (or thought that I could).  Dorothy challenged me on this, as there were blanks in my first draft.

I was convinced that what I had was what I knew, until I could go off and investigate.  Apparently this was not the case.  Throughout this session, I spent long periods of time with very little information flowing; often 10-15mins at a time of nothing, almost like 'writers block'.  And then Boom! download download download, the info came flooding out and straight onto the page.

In a busy normal 'day in the life of', I wouldn't usually wait long enough to download in depth.  On reflection, this made me think about my approach to really delving deep into an area that I am truly  passionate about, and that is, "removing barriers to learning in order to maximize learning opportunities for our students".  How much am I skim thinking due to not downloading in depth?  What am I missing out on?  Do I have to go away on a retreat in order to download properly ... no seriously, if this is what is going to make me more effective as a practitioner, than maybe this is what needs to happen!

Anyway, I came away with a range of stakeholders; those who could be my 'Squad', my people, my next points of reference to point me in the right or next direction.



Design Thinking - Discovery and Interpretation

The first step in the design process involves learning as much as possible about the problem by understanding both the context of the situation and understanding the problem at hand from the perspective of the "user".

This was a great activity to reflect on, refine or in some cases, redefine, the problem associated with our inquiries.  My inquiry has culminated out of years of learning and development of the technical skills, pedagogical understandings and implementation of Learn, Create, Share and Visible Teaching and Learning in my teaching and learning setting, and how that might relate to others.

Adapting the Focus
The original problem that I'd identified had evolved over time.  And so, the first statement relates to the original problem, whilst the second statement relates to the new problem (as it has evolved):
  1. Reduce the disparity of the inconsistencies through the development of the VTaL framework
  2. Expand the opportunities of access to VTaL on a global level through the development of a VTaL Mobile App
 

The Crazy 8's

The Crazy 8's was an activity that enabled us to come up with eight potentially crazy ideas around either processes or outcomes that addresses our identified problem.  Due to the fact that the problem that I would like to address is directly related to learner outcomes, I developed Crazy 8's on learner outcomes.  In hindsight, and to connect more coherently and closely to the problem that I have identified, I should look at Crazy 8's that could potentially assist teachers and teaching practitioners.



Reflection Time

It was great coming away from the weekend and being able to reflect on everything that I had learnt and gained along the way.  It's amazing what comes to mind when you're connecting with your thoughts in the great outdoors.  I look to refining my inquiry in the coming weeks, in the lead up to our next gathering at KPMG.

I'd like to take the opportunity to thank Dorothy for organising the weekend for us, and for the fantastic location.  Huge thanks to Jenny and Anne for looking after us while we were away.  Heaps of aroha out to my amazing MIT colleagues (Jackie, Clarelle, Rebecca, Kariene, Heather, Zac, Danni and Jacob), whose vision, feedback, and thought provoking ideas both challenged and inspired my own thinking over these past few days.  Nga mihi nui ki a koutou!


   








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Connecting with Learners with the use of Emojis



As I've been having conversations with my Senior DigiTech students, about what task they're up to within their current project, what help they might need, the resources that could be useful to them etc, I thought that I'd incorporate the use of emojis into the conversation.

Once the discussion was over, students could add an emoji into the Data Update sheet to represent how they were feeling at the time.  Well, they loved it!  It was completely optional, but some of them wanted to start the conversation with an emoji, which was a bit of a laugh.  The main point of the conversations is to use the VTaL Tracking Sheets to determine where students are at, and what the students need to progress forward.  If the use of emojis to reflect how they are feeling at the time, is going to encourage students to engage in the conversations, then I'm all for it.  




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Deadlines in Workspace


One of the major issues that I have had with my Senior DigiTech class, was for students to meet deadlines.  In order to flip this around, I decided to start using Workspace and the Activity Status (Started, Submitted, Assessed) functions.

I had trialled the use of Workspace with my JumpStart class at the end of 2017, and could see the potential to use the Workspace to monitor task completion.

Workspace Grade Sheets - VTaL Task Lists

One of the many cool functions of Workspace is the ability for Individual Evidence to be dropped into the Workspace, that when students 'start' the task, a copy is immediately created for the student.  Students then 'submit' the task for marking.  If the task meets the required criteria, the teacher can enter a grade into the Grade Sheet, and 'return final', or, 'return for edit' if adjustments need to be made.  

The Grade Sheet is a Google Sheet, that is automatically generated from the Individual Evidence, and Students within that Workspace.  Because the Grade Sheet is essentially developed from a Google Sheet, it is easy to develop the Grade Sheet into a VTaL Task List (Class Project Task List), with regular updates of formative feedback for students, including the traffic light system, as well as duplicates of sheets to reflect weekly or regular updates.  

Click on the image below to navigate to my site, to see how the Grade Sheet has been adapted into a VTaL Task List.



The VTaL Tools and Processes Used

The following are the VTaL Tools that have been used in this process:

  • Google Sites - Workspace [published] embedded into the Subject Google Site, enables stakeholders (other than students) to view the learning information within the Workspace.  Students access the learning within the Workspace through the Student Dashboard.
  • Google Sites - Class Project Task Lists can be embedded into Google Sites to reflect progress throughout a project.  Care needs to be considered so that individual students are not identified.  I have used ID Numbers in the past.
  • SOLO Learning Activities - these can be linked into the Resources section of the Workspace, to help guide student learning.  I also have the links to the learning activities embedded in other sections of my Google Site, outside of Workspace, for those students who are either new to the school, or do not have access to a particular Workspace for a range of different reasons
  • Class Project Task Lists - once generated from students submitted work, I will link this into the Rubrics section of a Workspace.  As shown in the example above, I will also embed the Task List directly into the Google Site (outside of Workspace).
  • Student Project Checklists - these can be linked into the the Evidence section of the Workspace.  Once students have had their assessed tasks returned, they can link their evidence to their Project Checklist, which helps the students to track the big picture of where they are at in terms of satisfying all of the criteria within a project or assessment.  In addition, the Checklists with evidence linked, may also be used for moderation purposes.
  • Workspace [published] - The Workspace needs to be published and embedded into a Google Site in order to be 'Visible'
  • Subject Google+ Communities - these can be linked into the Resources section of the Workspace, to enable students to access exemplars relevant to the project


Embedding Workspaces into Google Sites

Workspaces can be embedded into traditional Google Sites, as well as the NEW Google Sites.  Click on the following two images to navigate to examples in both versions of the Google Sites.

NEW Google Site - Workspace Embedded



Traditional Google Site - Workspace Embedded



Streamlining NCEA Data Updates to reflect Formative Feedback from VTaL Task Lists

The following blog post VTaL : Aligning Assessment Deadlines with NCEA Data Updates, demonstrates how the VTaL Task Lists have been linked and integrated into NCEA Data Updates.


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Streamlining NCEA Data Updates to reflect Formative Feedback from VTaL Task Lists

NCEA Data discussions between Middle Leaders and Senior Leaders are based from data summary sheets generated in Kamar, our Student Management System (SMS).  In order to track the progress throughout projects and units of work, I developed a tracking sheet that reflects progress and achievement over the entire year, which I trialled with my Senior DigiTech class - VTaL and Student Achievement in DigiTech as at Oct 2017.  We will now be trialling these data sheets in 2018, with Senior Technology classes within the Technology Department.

I have linked the VTaL Class Task Lists (developed from the Workspace Grade Sheet) into the DGT Data Sheet, as shown in the linked example below.


The Data Update Sheet enables the following to occur:
  • Monitoring of progress within a topic, unit of work or project - Formative Feedback
  • A snapshot of student progress within units of work - Formative Feedback leading to feedback and feedback for students
  • A snapshot of student progress within units of work - Identification of effective interventions or strategies that are working, or, an opportunity to try different strategies if required
  • A snapshot of the credit value for individual standards
  • An overview of cumulative credits gained throughout the year

Some of the 'Major Benefits' of the Data Update Sheets include:
  • Formative feedback of student progress within units of work
  • Information can be shared within a department
  • Information can be shared with Middle Leaders and Senior Leaders, that shows progress and interventions for individual students
  
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Developing Student Understanding of Assessment Information

I have used Kahoot! before in my junior classes, as a tool to encourage students to unpack the assessment information and instructions.  I decided to use this approach again.  I explained to students that they had approximately 10 minutes to read through the assessment information, after which, we would complete a Kahoot!

The VTaL Tools and Processes Used

Students who I have taught in previous years eg. current Year 10s previously taught as Year 9s, or Years who I taught as intermediate students, are fully accustomed to how they locate and access learning instructions in my class.  This generally starts by navigating to my DigiTech with Ms Anderson Google Site, then to the Year Level Calendar, and by clicking on the event for today's date to see the specific instructions for that lesson [as shown in the screenshot].

Students would then locate the Year 10 DigiTech Project via the Workspace in the Student Dashboard.  Or, for students who do not have access to the workspace, they could also access the Year 10 DigiTech Project via the Year Level tab in the DigiTech with Ms Anderson Google Site.

How Effective was the Teaching and Learning Strategy

Students completed the Kahoot! shortly after accessing and reading the Year 10 DigiTech Project instructions.  The competitive and fun aspect of the Kahoot! eg. gamification, engages students and motivates students to participate in the learning activity.  However, not all students were overly thrilled with the results as they felt as though they could do better.  This provided the opportunity to use the Kahoot! as a pre-test type learning activity.  I explained to the students that I would run the same Kahoot! at the end of the lesson, to see if their results would improve, and give the students another opportunity to compete for the top spot.  

The following presentation is a series of screenshots that shows what is happening within the Kahoot!, as each of the questions is being broadcast to students.


From a teaching point of view, the most important aspect was having as many students as possible, with a sound understanding of the assessment information, which would be reflected in the Kahoot! results.  Repeating the Kahoot! enabled students to improve their level of understanding.  The comparison between the first Kahoot! results and the second Kahoot! results demonstrates the difference and improvement of understanding. The gamification aspect of the Kahoot! is what helped to motivate students to better their initial scores.

The following are the Kahoot! results from the first attempt at the Kahoot!, eg the pre-test, as well as the results from the second attempt at the Kahoot!

Kahoot Results - 2018 Year 10 Technology Project Semester 1 - Attempt 1 - Correct Answers 55.10%
Kahoot Results - 2018 Year 10 Technology Project Semester 1 - Attempt 2 - Correct Answers 88.80%










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The Scenario

This year the Senior DigiTech class, is again a multi-level Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 class; and  mostly made of students who undertook Senior DigiTech in 2017.  In addition, there are four new Level 3 students who did not take DigiTech in Level 1 or Level 2, as well as two Level 2 students who did not take DigiTech in Level 1.  Students who undertook DigiTech as either a Level 1 or Level 2 student, are familiar with how to access Learning Information, Information about Progress

The Idea!

The idea that I had for students to collectively gain an understanding of the course and assessment information for the year, was for students to collaborate within a Google doc.  This is not a new concept at all.  However, the way in which the collaborative process was implemented, in that the strategy itself was deliberate in terms of integrating principles of Mahi Tahi - Collaboration and Manaakitanga - Support for Others, is what makes the learning strategy purposeful and meaningful to the students.

The idea also aligns well with "Manaiakalani Achievement Challenge 1, and what I am doing to lift the language capabilities of my students", as discussed in a recent Middle Leaders Professional Learning Group.


  


The VTaL Tools and Processes Used

The following are some of the VTaL Tools used and applied in the Learning Process:

  • Subject Google Site - Students located the Project Instructions through my Subject Site
  • Subject Google+ Communities - Students located exemplars of work by Tamaki College students, to assist with responses to questions about the assessment information
  • Workspace - A Group Evidence Google Doc was used as the collaborative tool


Mahi Tahi me te Ako - The Collaborative Learning Process

Students accessed the assessment information and project instructions via my DigiTech with Ms Anderson Subject Site, and then develop questions about the assessment that they wanted clarity on.

Students then individually logged their questions into a Google doc, which was set up as Group evidence in a Workspace, accessible through the Student Dashboard.



In pairs, students then worked together to identify responses (information, links to Tamaki College exemplars in the DigiTech Google+ Communities, links to external exemplars on NZQA, links to websites etc) that would hopefully address many of the questions.   Any response that was logged, students could also tag their name to the response to demonstrate how they have contributed back into the collaborative learning process.

How Effective was the Teaching and Learning Strategy?

This particular teaching and learning strategy was effective in enabling all learners to collectively contribute into the collaborative learning task.  Students who did not, were soon identified, due to their lack of names tagged against responses to queries.  Students therefore had a vestured interest in the learning process.  Students knew that contributing into the process benefited all, just as they also knew that not contributing into the process demonstrated a lack of manaakitanga, or support for their peers.  There was no consequence to this from a teaching point of view; it was more that students understood and valued the collaborative process, Mahi Tahi, and due to responding in pairs, felt safe about contributing their responses because the richer the document was with responses, the more useful the document became.  Thus, promoting support and care amongst the students, Manaakitanga.

The following links are the Q & A sheets that students collaborated on at each level, and is available for future use and references by all students.

  • NCEA Level 3 Project 1 Questions and Answers - 91609 Q & A - 41301DGT12018
  • NCEA Level 2 Project 1 Questions and Answers - 25655 Q & A - 41201DGT12018
  • NCEA Level 1 Project 1 Questions and Answers - 18739 Q & A - 41101DGT12018




 





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StartUp

I started off the beginning of our first Senior DigiTech lesson with Whanaungatanga.  The students sat around the front table, and discussed their holidays as well as their interest in DigiTech, with fruit and biscuits.  This enabled the students to reconnect with each after the long break.  It also enabled students who are new to the course, to be brought into the mix.  This worked well and students appeared to enjoy the introductory whanaungatanga session.

Deconstructing the Year Ahead

From here, I decided to get the students to deconstruct what the year ahead would look like.  This entailed students locating information about the NCEA Standard Entries 2018, located in my DigiTech with Anderson subject site.  The students then identified information about the standards, and unpacked the explanatory notes that would enable the students to gain Achieved, Merit and Excellence for each standard.  In addition to this, students also located NZQA Exemplars, and explained how the various grades were achieved.  This process enabled the students to develop a resource for themselves, to better understand the standards within the DigiTech course, and the requirements of meeting the criteria for each of the standards.  Some of the students shared their DigiTech presentations into the DigiTech Year Level Google+ Community.  The following links are three of these examples.



  • Dell - Level 3 DigiTech Information
  • Gustavo - Level 3 DigiTech Information
  • Issam - Level 3 DigiTech Information


  • Applying strategies such as these enable the students to become more empowered, more informed, and better equipped in terms of their understanding of the course content and course requirements for the year.






     

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    About Me

    Kia ora! I am the Head of Technology at Tāmaki College and also teach Digital Technologies.


    My target group of learners for my Inquiry 2021 will be my Year 12 NCEA Level 2 class. This group of learners were my target group from my 2020 Inquiry. I would like to inquire into whether Academic Writing exemplars specific to Digital Technologies, in conjunction with the 'Explanation Writing' classroom display resources for Digital Technologies, based on SOLO taxonomy, could accelerate achievement in literacy in my subject.


    My target group of learners for my Inquiry 2020 were my Year 11 NCEA Level 1 class. I inquired into the process of using the LearnCoach online programs (content) and VTaL Visible Teaching and Learning (workflow) to accelerate student achievement for Tamaki College students undertaking courses in Digital Technologies NCEA Levels 1, 2 and 3.


    In 2019, my inquiry is to maximise pedagogical practices (relating to integrated education, and collaborative teaching and learning), to effectively shift student achievement, supported by digital platforms connected to visible teaching and learning.


    My Inquiry in 2018, was to develop a VTaL Purpose-Built Innovative Tool, to enable all elements of the VTaL Framework to be accessible to teachers, in order to accelerate student achievement.


    In 2017, my inquiry was based on raising student achievement and shifting teacher practice around effective pedagogical practices including Learn, Create and Share. This will be achieved through the development, implementation and monitoring of the Visible Teaching and Learning Framework.

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