I did some data analysis on the shift of my learners this year. I measured those who had had the expected 12 months gain (i.e. maintaining their National Standard curriculum level between their 2016 and 2017 EOY results.) and those who had accelerated their learning and had 18 month or greater gain (i.e. shifting from Below Standard in 2016 to At Standard in 2017, or shifting from At to Above Standard).
Numeracy:
The majority of the learners that I taught for numeracy maintained their progress and will be moving into next year with a strong foundation for the continuation of their maths knowledge. Looking at this data, my numeracy practice is something that I want to continue to evolve as I feel that I can improve in this space. During the middle of this year, I moved away from the digital aspect of my instruction based on feedback from my principal when I went to her to ask for help to see how far I could challenge some of my groups. Learning became hands on and we did tangible examples using pen and paper during instruction, allowing learners have gain success with new strategies and having these to refer to as they moved through their follow up activities. This is something that I intend to continue moving into 2018.
Reading:
While this data looks very similar to my numeracy groups, this set shows that I have continued to push learners who are currently at 'Above Standard' for them to maintain this shift. The reading groups I worked with were all very enthusiastic readers and now all reading at Level 2 of the NZ Curriculum. I have really enjoyed my time with these learners as they have allowed me to blend other areas of the curriculum into my reading practice. Using tools like GetEpic! has allowed me not only to offer more opportunities for students to access multimodal texts, but also allowed me to teach skills like research and inquiry which is something that I am going to continue into next year.
Writing:
This has been my biggest impact and something that I am most proud of as we now have a gang of writers who are enthusiastic about writing and want to continue this journey. For some learners, this has meant that they have made considerate progress however the attitude they know have for writing is what inspires me the most! As a writer myself, I need to ensure that I am continuing to build my craft and practice to continue to develop and challenge others to write. Knowing myself as a writer will allow me to see opportunities to engage with my students and colleagues as well as continue to challenge my mindset as both writer and educator.
So what's next?
I am moving into a new year level in 2018 teaching Years 4/5/6 with three other teachers. I am excited for this challenge as it not only means that I am moving with some of my learners that I have been teaching this year, but also reconnect with learners that I taught in 2016 who will now be in Year 5. I am also excited for the opportunity to teach at some different curriculum levels as well as working alongside some other teachers whose practices I am interested to tap into and see what impact we can grow for our 2018 cohort!
