CPa: Inquiry Pedagogy Through a Connected Curriculum [6]
Fleck (2019) poses the following questions that could be a starting point for developing a rich and meaningful, connected curriculum:
- What are the situations, problems, issues, trends, controversies, and events taking place within our world?
- How is the rich idea relevant to real life? What is happening, has happened, and might happen… in our community, region, country, and world?
- Is the rich idea relevant to our ākonga? What are our ākonga interested in?
- How will it better engage our ākonga?
- Have we collected ākonga voice? What does it tell us?
- What curious questions can we generate about the rich idea for our learners?
- What are the learning opportunities and how might each learning area contribute to the rich idea? (Keeping in mind the key concepts and capabilities that you want your learners to develop.)
Literacy
Read alouds: Novels, sophisticated picture books, and multi-media texts
Novel studies are an effective literacy tool for having those ‘grand conversations’ and book clubs, but most importantly for ākonga just to be able to listen, engage, and interpret from their perspective.\
#tumeke by Michael Petherick. #tumeke is categorised as an epistolary, it is a multi-media, multi-voiced narrative that had me at ‘goat’.
Learning to use Words for Reading and Writing
the Cognitive Model included in McKenna et al. (2020)….demonstrates how all ‘parts’ contribute to the ‘whole’ and the importance of mastery at each point. In recent years there has been a groundswell of support for tamariki being able to ‘crack the code’ and it is because of this that there is now a stronger focus on a ‘structured approach’ to instructional (guided) reading. I encourage you to read the report by Chapman et al. (2018) Enhancing Literacy Learning Outcomes for Beginning Readers: Research Results and Teaching Strategies to understand the research that sits behind many of our schools now using decodable texts and teachers undergoing PLD in learning to teach phonological awareness.
Learning to Spell
Key Vocabulary
- Phonics, phonological, phoneme
- Vowel, consonant, long and short vowel sounds, reading influenced vowels blend and digraph
- Syllable
- Prefix, suffix, affix, onset, rime
- Word class; noun, verb, adjective, pronoun, etc.
One of the key reference for this section is Bear et al. (2016) Words Their Way: Word study for phonics, vocabulary and spelling (6th Edition.) Boston MA: Pearson Education Inc.
In a nutshell, this programme asserts that spelling is a developmental process. That means that skills are most frequently learned in a predictable sequence. If kaiako understand the sequence, we can carry out specific assessments to identify the next steps in learning and be strategic in our instruction. This programme is based on teaching ākonga to firstly discriminate between sounds and then use the code of print to capture those sounds in writing. This programme is rule-based – even though the English language has exceptions, written English largely follows rules; if you can learn the rules you can apply them in various ways. A wealth of research on spelling confirms that children do better when taught by a pattern or rule-based approach. The programme is also based on brain research which says that our brains like patterns and respond well to learning exceptions to patterns too.
Five Stages of Spelling Development
1. Emergent
- The emergent spelling stage is typical of children from New Entrants to year 2
- The Early Emergent stage consists of scribbles and shapes which the child presents as writing
- In the Middle Emergent stage children typically use letter-like forms (including numbers and symbols) to communicate. They usually develop ideas about directionality at this stage.
- In the Late Emergent Stage mostly use letters to write and spell (typically repeated letters from their own name). There are some sound correlations used but these are narrow and unstable.
2. Letter Name Alphabetic
- This stage is typically children from New Entrant to Year 3
- Children in the Early Letter Name Alphabetic will typically use single consonants correctly (but may not know all sounds a letter can make, e.g. C can sound like ‘C’ as in ‘car’ or like a ‘s’ in ice’). They have awareness of idea that letters represent sounds.
- Children in the Middle Letter Name Alphabetic have established most beginning and ending consonants. They have clear ideas about letter sound correlations. They are beginning to use vowels when spelling but frequently mis-use vowels and mis-hear the sounds.
- In the Late Letter Name Alphabetic stage children can use regular short vowels. They can use a range of blends and digraphs and are beginning to use long vowel patterns.
3. Word within Word
- Typically children in Years 2 to 5 will be in this stage.
- In the Early Word Within Word stage children are aware of vowels and a range of long vowel patterns however, they frequently mis-use this information.
- In the Middle Word Within Word stage will demonstrate a bigger range of long vowel patterns used correctly.
- In the Late Word Within Word stage are beginning to use varied word endings but frequently mis-spell these using ‘shun’ for ‘tion’ etc.
4. Syllables and Affixes
- Typical of ākonga in Years 4 to 8
- In the early syllables and affixes stage will have all long vowel patterns in place and will likely have problems with doubling consonants when adding a suffix (e.g. the past tense of ‘hop’ should be ‘hopping’ not ‘hoping.)
- By the time ākonga reach the middle syllables and affixes stage they can correctly use the double consonant rule.
- Ākonga in late syllables and affixes are beginning to use other suffixes correctly e.g. tion, tend
5. Derivational Relations
ākonga in year 6 plus and beyond –
- By this stage ākonga can spell most words correctly. They are learning to use silent letters, they are developing the correct use of prefixes and suffixes. They are developing an understanding of root words and have the ability to use this knowledge to spell new words.
Developing an understanding of how ākonga gain skills and knowledge of how words are formed is an important element of gaining literacy.
Assessment for Learning
A recent study in Aotearoa New Zealand has offered a framework as an approach for kaiako to contextualise assessment within Mātauranga Māori. The Hauora Approach draws on te Tiriti o Waitangi, Tātaiako, Ka Hikitea, alongside the mahi of Russell Bishop and Mere Berryman (Effective Teacher Profile).
Graham et al. (2015) demonstrate in their book Sustainable Learning that assessment is an opportunity for ākonga to demonstrate their learning. Critically, assessment informs both Kaiako and ākonga whether there is a need for ‘more of the same’ or ‘something different’ or a different approach.
Models of Assessment
There are a variety of assessment models that aim to explain why ākonga can or can’t effectively access print.
Effective models support us to ‘make sense’ of what we observe, we see patterns in data, identify strengths of ākonga, and develop next steps. A model provides the ‘road map’. In this next section, we take a look other Stage Models, that provide an alternative to Bear et al. (2016).
Dougherty Stahl et al. (2020) offer further stage models that provide road maps for both reading and spelling acquisition. Jeanne Chall’s Model of Stages of Reading Development provides stages of development as well as what you would typically observe with ākonga. Another model worth considering is Ehri’s – The Development of Reading, Writing, and Spelling Across Stages. Ehri recognises that knowledge builds from the initial visual cues (you can relate this to the first stage of the Cognitive Model and print concepts).
Check-in Phonological Awareness & Phonemic Awareness
This link takes you to TKI and provides some informative material and tips on building reading skills. This aligns with the principles of ākonga gaining the skills to decode text, engage in orthographic mapping (spelling!).
Assessment Instruments for Reading and Spelling
The myriad of the assessment for reading and spelling in Aotearoa New Zealand is vast. Check out this link where you can compare assessment instruments across all levels.
I have included some slides in the literacy resources that you can check out on how to conduct a running record if you want. The same process is applied assessment instruments like
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFDBsDY86lo
which is often used with ākonga who are beyond Level 20 of the reading wheel. Considerations of the validity and trustworthiness for Probe testing can be accessed here as additional reading.
Given the shift to structured approaches to reading, and the research that supports this– at least for younger ākonga, administering running records is counter-intuitive – here’s why. Running records are associated with predictable text (whole language approach) and rely on the three cueing systems of meaning, syntax, and visual cues. So, the data that this instrument gives you does not focus on skills and knowledge ākonga have and need to effectively ‘decode’ text.
The Ready to Read Series is a free series provided to schools by the Ministry of Education. You will find a link here to the decodable series on TKI. What sits alongside are two assessment tools to guide kaiako with a starting point for ākonga. The first is an alphabet test and the second is a phonemic awareness test – this is a simple demonstration of what phonemic awareness is. Alongside these testing instruments is an ‘assessment process map’ for gathering and monitoring progress.
The Informal Inventories offered by Dougherty Stahl et al. (2020) provides assessment for phonics, sight words, and morphological analysis.
There are a number of testing instruments in the text, however, I have focused on two – the Informal Phonics Inventory and Informal Decoding Inventory. Both of these increase in difficulty and complexity and provide a starting point for teaching. For instance, identifying long-vowel digraphs or the ability to decode nonsense words.
Pāngarau: Mathematics
You have learnt throughout this course about a range of pedagogical approaches and teaching strategies which can be grouped together under the title ambitious pedagogy. Incorporated in this are approaches which support the development of a community of mathematical inquiry, such as strengths based groupings, socio mathematical norms, mathematical practices, the connect, launching a problem, big mathematical ideas, rich tasks and so on.
So how can you run a classroom programme that is centred around ambitious pedagogy with flexible grouping methods and one that supports the development of a community of inquiry?
Setting up your classroom mathematics programme:
A structure for a community of mathematical inquiry
Here are some suggestion for how you might run a mathematics programme:
Children should be either engaging in group problem solving facilitated by you or working on independent tasks which involve practicing new learning. Your job is to facilitate the group work and ensure you have set the norms for independent work. Along with this make a range of independent tasks available that children work through on their own or with a buddy.
Junior Classrooms: Flexible Social Grouping
Class split in halves – each half with the teacher on alternate days
independent activities for one half. the other half is with the teacher paired off, (as children move towards end of year 2, we can start to use groups of four)
Junior Lesson Structure:
20 Minutes: Warm up/Knowledge (whole class but could be split) E.g. Quick image, Choral Count, True/false number sentence, number strings (see below), (Not games or competitive activities, not pre teaching for the coming lesson, could include modelling using materials but not front loading for the lesson, include strand knowledge)
5-10 minutes Launch and Group norms
5 minutes Paired problem solving (Not everyone has to finish it, answer it, get it right, keep this short)
5 minutes Large group discussion
Give next level, same context different numbers.
5 minutes Pair problem solving
5 minutes Large group discussion
10 minutes Connect
Independent work: Make it purposeful, problems/practical activities, make the practice related to previous maths focus (use problems from previous day, week or last term) Use this time to cement learning.
Examples of Junior Knowledge Warm Ups:
Cardinality and subitizing:
Recognise small numbers by just looking not counting
Recognise groups of small numbers by looking not counting
Compare more and less when two sets are paired up
Explicitly discuss the patterns:
Doubles to ten, tens, hundreds
Doubles and one more or one less
Other knowledge Activities:
Number sequences matching oral with written numbers
Counting forwards and backwards but not from 1
Skip counting
Making number combinations to ten
How many objects in the box. (Have students use tally marks to encourage one to one counting)
Use the Numeracy Project knowledge material for other ideas.
Example of junior tasks for group work (same contexts different numbers):
Ihaia and Mia were collecting pipi. They had 7 pipi in the bucket. Then they got another 6 pipi. How many did they have altogether?
Ihaia and Mia were collecting pipi. They had 9 pipi in the bucket. Then they got another 8 pipi. How many did they have altogether?
Ihaia and Mia were collecting pipi. They had 15 pipi in the bucket. Then they got another 16 pipi. How many did they have altogether?
Junior Independent work:
Adapt group tasks for individuals
Developmental play (Y0-1)
Open-ended problems:
What things in your class have 4 sides?
What ways can you make 15?
There were 24 legs in the park. What animals/creatures were at the park?
Sorting shapes by attributes.
What can you find that are bigger / smaller than
a metre? Weighs more than 1 kg?
Senior Classrooms: Strengths-based social grouping
Class split into halves – each half seen on alternate days
Independent activities for one half, the other half with the teacher.
Groups of four: One Challenging task (if any student can solve on their own it is not challenging enough).
Senior Lesson Structure:
10 Minutes Warm Up: Quick image, Choral Count, True/false number sentence, number strings, (Not games or competitive activities, not pre teaching for the coming lesson, could include modelling using materials but not front loading for the lesson, include strand knowledge)
5-10 Minutes Group norms/launch
15 Minutes Small group problem solve (Don’t let small group activity go on too long – not everyone has to finish it, answer it, get it right …. Problems can go over two days.)
15 Minutes Large group share back and discuss
10 Minutes Connect
Conceptual Warm Up: Strings
Number Strings as a conceptual Warm Up
Strings (similar to choral counts and quick images) are a conceptual warm up that can be used across year levels as a quick whole class warm up at the beginning of math’s. They engage ākonga in mentally solving a string of related equations. This warm up activity highlights efficient computation strategies and helps to develop understanding of the properties of the operations.
The kaiako presents a sequence or string of equations that highlight a particular mathematical concept or that require a particular strategy to solve them. After introducing the warm up, the kaiako gives ākonga the first problem and then engages them in a conversation about how they solved it, being sure to highlight the most efficient strategies and how they work. The kaiako then records these strategies on the board, sometimes with a representation to illustrate. The kaiako then adds to the string by posing another problem and repeats the process. They would usually offer between three and five problems in one warm up session. At the end of the warm up the kaiako then supports the ākonga to connect the strategies and makes the mathematical goal of the lesson explicit.
Strings are not a rigid recipe but instead are flexible and responsive. They can be used with small groups or the whole class. They should not be used to front load or pre teach strategies for the problem solving lesson which follows, however if used regularly as a warm up this experience will inform the creative ways thats students decide to collectively solve a rich problem.
The thinking that we promote when using strings:
• Ākonga are encouraged to consider the strategies from the prior problem as well as the numbers.
• Ākonga are prompted to think about the relationship of the problems in the string as they go along.
Follow these links to videos of teachers carrying out string conceptual warm ups:
https://tedd.org/number-strings/
Check the Strings folder for resources needed to plan for a string warm up. You will see a number of suggestions for strings.
Learning Languages
Know that learning to weave the different threads of being a classroom teacher takes TIME.
- Te Reo Māori is closely linked to the language family that includes what other three named languages? (p. 8)
Te reo Māori is the ancestral language of the Māori people of Aotearoa. It derives from eastern Polynesia and is most closely linked to the language family that includes the Cook Islands Māori, Tahitian, and Hawai‘ian languages - Why might be a good reason for teachers to be aware and learn about the Te Reo dialect of the region in which their school is located? (p. 8)
By highlighting some of the language variations in class, teachers can increase their students’ language awareness. They can also support those students who are learning a dialect at school that differs from the one they use in their home. As they learn about local variations, teachers increase their own knowledge and expertise and so can engage in more meaningful ways with their Māori students’ whānau and communities - What are tohutō? (p. 9)
The macron or tohutō identifies a long vowel in printed text. - How have people’s perceptions of the importance of Te Reo changed over time? (p. 10)
- Identify some of the characteristics of effective teaching and learning that can be used when teaching Te Reo? (p. 19) Effective teachers focus on raising their students’ achievement. Effective teachers of te reo Māori actively build strong relationships with students’ whānau and communities. many of the tasks are social. effective teachers of te reo Māori provide constructive feedback clearly related to learning outcomes that have been shared with the students. the teachers reflect on their own practice, seeking evidence about the impact of their teaching and adjusting their practice accordingly.
Ellis (2003) recommends task-based language learning. He describes an effective
language learning task as one that:
• requires the students to focus primarily on meaning;
• has some kind of gap that the students can close by communicating;
• requires the students to construct their own productive language (language output) rather than only to manipulate language that the teacher provides (language input);
• has a clearly defined outcome (other than producing “correct” language).
Students are more likely to succeed in learning te reo Māori when their teachers:
• combine learning about te reo Māori with learning about tikanga Māori;
• take a communicative approach to teaching and learning;
• embed teaching and learning about language forms, including grammar and vocabulary, within that communicative approach.
Did you know that the Teaching Council of Aotearoa New Zealand has placed the expectation that ITE graduates should be operating at Level 3 (approx. Year 7-10) of the Te Reo curriculum upon graduating from their ITE programme?
Please note that Level 1 in the Te Reo curriculum does not equate to Y1/2 as in the Learning Languages curriculum document. There is poor alignment between the Learning Languages curriculum and the specific languages curriculum documents.
What does Relationships and Sexuality Education Involve?
A relationships and sexuality programme should reflect a strength-based approach, give young people agency, meet the needs and lived experiences of diverse communities, and develop critical thinking skills around relationships, gender and sexuality.
Full School Approaches to Relationships and Sexuality Education
TKI guide to inclusive education recommends that schools follow the four key steps in order to build inclusive environments:
- Build knowledge that affirms diversity,
- Design inclusive school-wide systems and processes,
- Address environmental, physical and social needs,
- Develop an inclusive classrooms and local curriculum.
(TKI Guide to supporting LGBTIQA+, 2022)
Looking Inwards
Part of teaching relationships and sexuality education effectively is looking inwards to understand ourselves, our own views, and how these might influence the learning experiences that we plan and teach. As kaiako we need to be aware of their own values, beliefs and world views and ensure that the learning experiences we create are not influenced or promoting only one cultural or political perspective.
Before teaching relationships and sexuality lessons, kaiako also need to be prepared to deal with disparate values, understandings and attitudes, and be ready to challenge attitudes and values that do not promote acceptance and tolerance of diversity. Educators need to be ready to face tensions and ambiguity, and keep in mind that there are many possible correct answers in some situations (MOE, 2021).
Pedagogy Underpinning Teaching of Sexuality Education
The Ministry of Education has released Effective Pedagogy in Relationships in Sexuality Education in 2021 to support schools in teaching relationships and sexuality education. This resource has some excellent suggestions for pedagogical approaches that could be transferred to other areas such as mental health or nutrition too.
Useful Resources
- InsideOut
- Relationships and Sexuality Education – A Guide for Teachers, Leaders and Board of Trustees
- TKI Effective Practice Showcase
- Relationships and Sexuality Learning Review and Planning Resource
- Guide to Supporting LGBTIQA+ Students