Using data to plan for next teaching steps

The below examples are students that I have identified in numeracy and literacy that needed extra support in their learning. I have changed the name of the students.
The use of I.E.P's (individual educational plan) or individual pathways helps to focus teachers when planning for the next steps. The idea behind I.E.P's are about being specific and reflective on both the activities using and teaching methods.
Here are the examples and personal reflections on learning.

ALL literacy

2015 I was involved with up skill in the ALL (Advanced learner of literacy programme)

During this programme I was trained to identify students who were struggling to show success in writing. This programme is backed by research. So my first step was to look at the research and its benefits. Second step was to test my targeted students (I also included these students as one cycle of my literacy inquiry). Third step was to use the learning progression to find where these students were sitting. I identified what the students could do and their next steps. Example below.

I also changed my planning and had observations. A couple of times I was videoed which enable me to visually see my teaching methods, feedback and feed forward and how the students reacted to my teaching style and its effectiveness.
As a results all the students involved demonstrated progress in writing.

Teaching Inquiry

This is my first attempt at using teaching as inquiry as a method of teaching and as an assessment tool. These students were selected as a result of observations noted during my guided reading programme. This process took 6 weeks but could go longer. It is important to note that anecdotal notes were used throughout the process to track students progress and the effectiveness of my teaching methods.  

Teacher Inquiry Process: - 2013 Focusing Inquiry: Reading (Serenity, Mya, Utah, McKenzie, Mason, Charles, Mystery)

Wk 3 term 2- Wk 7 term 2

What is the intended learning outcome? Students will be able to use expression, voice projection and use punctuation                                                                            correctly

Why is this important? Phrasing correctly helps with understanding text

                                           Able to read confidently and competently to an audience.

Teaching Inquiry:

How do I enable the students to hear their own reading?

Using ICT to record voices.

Students to identify own errors and discuss how they can

improve.

Make a story book using ‘little bird tales’ web site.

Record a play using Audacity.

Personal reading using web cam.

Students that are not confident to read easier book in order

to focus on the expression, projection and punctuation.

What are my next learning steps?

Teach students to using ICT to record their reading of text. Self evaluate.

Focus on volume, expression, use of punctuation and

fluidness.

What resources will support this?

Web cam

Audacity

Little bird tales

Teaching and Learning:

So what did the students do / learn?

Read to small groups.

Shared reading out load with small groups.

Share a range of written language.

Learning Inquiry:

What are the students’ next learning steps?

Students have made huge progress. Serenity stills needs ongoing

support to project voice. Mya has moved down a group to

practise these skills with an easier text. Other’s doing well with

the above skills. All students have made gains in confidence.

IEP's

I've spent Thursday (first teacher release day for 2015) working on my IEP's for my at risk students. I used last years end of year data to highlight my at risk students. I ended up having around half my class on my at risk register, covering literacy and numeracy.

Sharing end of year data between teachers via e-Tap can save a lot of time. However, I found that a lot of the data was out dated or inaccurate, furthermore making it very difficult to highlight the students next learning steps. I was able to go back through their red profiles and make my own OTJs on the individual students ability.

Great resources that have helped have been the literacy learning progressions, the english language literacy progression, NZ math standards and the NZ curriculum framework document. TKI and nzmaths have been excellent web sites to help me develop teaching strategies and ideas to help me develop my students next teaching steps.

Now that I have created my IEP's I will share with my students their new short term, measurable goals and how the students and I will work together to help them meet these goals.

The last challenge is fitting this learning into my teaching programme. I am targeting some of these issues through my maths and literacy teaching inquiries.
I look forward to reflecting on the students progress at the end of the term where students data will show progress.

These IEP's are working documents. I find my self reflecting on these questions...
1. Will these activities engage my students?
2. Are my students needing more scaffolding especially in writing?
3. Am I targeting students interests and cultures?
4. Am I teaching to the very next learning steps and do I know what they are, and if not where can I find the information I need to teach their next steps?

I have found that the more I think about my student's learning needs the more questions I have about my own teaching effectiveness and knowledge of learning.
In conclusion, if I ever stop my own learning I guess then that will be the day to put down the white board markers, close the classroom door and look for a new challenge else where.

Maths PD Teaching as inquiry

Today Roz lead our Math PD staff meeting.

I am a priority learner in maths. I am below/ well below the NS.
I looked at the national standards in maths and identified students in my class the students at are below the national standards. Using the data I have and OTJ I made a plan of how I'm going to move these students from stage 4 to stage 5. What I have identified is that these students need to be able to make smart number splits to 10 instantly. From here I will target students making greater splits. For example 7+3=10 so 27+3=30. Students need to be able to make the link between grouping to ten from smaller to larger numbers.

I am meeting the national standards expectations for my age/year.
I have noticed that some students that are meeting national standards (stage5 and 6) have multiplication gaps. I have identified 3 students at stage 6 that needs support recalling 2,5 and 10 times table facts. Not being able to recall these facts will make learning new strategies in stage 6 and moving to stage 7 increasingly difficult. This term my goal is to help these students learn these facts. Students that are working at stage 5 also need to learning these facts. I've started teaching adding groups of numbers over 100. We are currently advanced counting. However subtraction and being able to use subtraction strategies need further development.

I am already above the national standards for my age/year.
Students in my class that are above the national standards in my class need to using only multiplicative strategies.
I am using ideas from NZ maths and using the NUMPA book 6 and 7 to help plan learning. I have noticed that some of these students have gaps in their Mult/Div knowledge, so my aim is to identify what the gaps are and target these as part of my maintenance programme.

Do schools kill creativity?

Do schools kill creativity
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY