Teacher Only Day

On May 8th 2009 we had a Teacher Only Day to continue our development of the 'Opiki School Curriculum'. We rewrote our curriculum documents in line with the 'new' curriculum. The key competencies and the 'Opiki Bridge to Life' were highlighted as part of the documents.

In the afternoon, Sarah Hatch came to talk to us about using Web2.0 tools. She showed some great examples from other schools who are using Web2.0 in interesting and effective ways (KPE podcasts). There was also a 'debate' about the merits of macs and pcs and which are better!!!

Thanks Sarah...

ROOM 3 INQUIRY - TERM 2.

This is the first time we are really using our new IDEA Inquiry model throughout the whole inquiry.
The class came up with the title of this inquiry and named it "NATURE'S WONDERS". This was quite cool as they linked it to the natural world focus as well as inquiry with the word 'wonder' in there - very clever I thought!

IGNITE- During this phase we have completed some background knowledge and discussed/re-visited some prior learning, things like the water cycle, river's journey, bush layers etc. We also had a visit from the Horizons 'Green Rig' and one of our major motivators unfortunately was postponed (and may not happen due to weather:(, but we were supposed to be going for a bush walk at The Fern Walk in Pohangina Valley. This was to identify some trees etc but mainly to let the kids enjoy our native bush and hopefully gain an appreciation of just how lucky we are to live in NZ. This would then lead on to the idea of guardianship and how, through inquiry, they can devise and carry out some action component to make a difference to our natural world! We will find other ways to ignite this passion if we don't get to go!!

DISCOVER- This is where we are pretty much heading into. We are initially discovering a bit more about our new model, what happens at each phase and making the links to our old model/s.
The children are focusing in on certain areas of the natural world that 'spin their wheels' and are beginning to formulate some wonderings in these areas. They chose their areas individually first and have then sussed out if anyone else is on the same wave length, thus forming a group of 2 or 3 to work together. Some will be happy to work individually I am sure.

This is about where we are up to at this stage. The learning, discussions, questioning and class justification of why we should want to inquire into this topic have all been really positive so far. The ideas I've heard floating around are encouraging that some great learning and action will come during the EXAMINE and ACTION phases!!

Questioning in Room 4

After going to the Trevor Bond Questioning day I have tried out some of his ideas in the classroom!

By making the teaching of questioning explicit and open the children have a much clearer idea of the types of questions and the purpose of questions.

We have

1. Looked at different types of questions
2. Sorted different questions
3. Investigated the purpose of different questions
   
4. Written questions linked to a relevant contextual scenario
   
5. Assessed the questions against Trevor's 7s stages of questions (quite challenging for myself as well as the students)

Interestingly once the 7 stages had been used many of the students tried to create stage 7 questions all the time even though we had discussed that these aren't the BEST questions!!! Trevor said this would happen...

More to come! I am hoping this will lead on to better questions during our inquiry 'wonderings'...
Another of Trevor's comments- If the students ask a question turn it into an activity!

Questioning with Trevor Bond

What a fascinating and thoroughly applicable day! I learnt so much! Trevor's website link. www.ictnz.com
Trevor highlighted the importance of questioning in the thinking and learning process!
"Questions are the engine house of learning"- de Bono
"Questioning is our most important intellectual tool"- Neil Postman (Teaching as a subversive activity- recommended reading)

Below are some notes I took on the day. These are going to be discussed at a TOD in term 2 and the discussion blogged...

Three Types of Thinking

1. Caring
2. Creative
3. Critical

"When we don’t know what to do- we think"
"Learning is knowing what to do when we don’t know what to do"
"Teaching is about sharing the skills to know how to work out what to do"

Different types of Knowledge

1. episodic- recall of events
2. Factual- storage of data/ cognitively
3. Linguistic- vocabulary bank to communicate (in and out)
4. Conceptual- concepts we hold (freedom, fairness)
5. Behavioural- skills (using tools) and social norms (cultural)

Linking all of these is understanding!?



















Understanding is formed most powerfully in the spaces between people (zone of proximal learning?).

• WORK IN GROUPS OF THREE.

Engage the passive passenger- strategies/support the others in including the passenger… (wait time, supportive comments, inclusive activities…) (Top reader, middle of road and less able)

Nuthall- The hidden lives of learners (recommended reading)

• 50% kids already know
• 80% learn outside the classroom

Collaborative writing

1. Groups of 3
2. Most able, least able, middle
3. Lowest recorder
4. Others use language and ‘teach’ to succeed
5. Metacognition to share ideas.

Values and Beliefs

• Learning
• Questioning
• Social
• Attitude- A choosable state of mind- tends to be habitual!
  

• Beliefs- strongly held
• Values- Less firm ideas
• Attitudes- choosable state of mind

Learning takes place from a place of discomfort. Most learning on the edge of threat

Questioning is a tool not a skill
To be able to question you need a set of data/information.
"...the art and science of asking questions is not taught in school"- Postman

Metacognition!
As effective questioners what do we do and how can we share this with our children?

Teacher Questions
What type of questions do we ask as teachers?
1. Organisational
2. Didactic- what answer do I want….
3. Real engagement, controversial, challenging ideas, concepts and vales

Responses to questions as important as the question!

• Give positive feedback… Frustration, frown, negative, tone of voice…
• Record the number of questions the children ask and who… chart and challenge/game
• Record types of questions asked…
• We need to help them be better questioners…
• Write questions about questioning and the teaching of questioning skills.
• What are high order questions?-
• What strategies are there for teaching?
• How do we link questioning to Blooms or Solo taxonomies

Learner Questions

1. Requests- please can I… (Kids good at this!)
2. Inquiry
3. Rhetoric- Disguised imperative (Don’t need an answer really telling someone what to do!)

INQUIRY Questions


Primary Layer-

• Fertile, essential, inquiry, rich, reflective- questions
• Questions that can’t be answered without answering other questions first
• This usually results in gather and present exercises!
• Embed the questions within a real-life task! More purpose and more practical outcomes!

Secondary Layer-

• Open, closed, fat, skinny, key, search (Info seeking questions)
• Rephrase questions as a task- becomes more purposeful

How can I build a blokart for $500
Or- Build a blokart for less $500

Research Capt Cook and highlight 3 incidents that demonstrate his attributes as an explorer. Now choose another pioneer and find incidents that also demonstrate these attributes. Now present on how these attributes might be applied by you in your life.

Presenting shouldn’t be ‘what we have found out!’ but more ‘what this means to me…’ link this to the key competencies/ bridge to life.

What are the core skills of the effective questioner?

1. Identify the need or problem
2. Identify the relevant contextual vocabulary-Classroom vocabulary count! Display 300 contextual appropriate words to help children use the right vocabulary!Experiential thinking- images and sensations.Conceptual thinking- symbols, text, diagrams
3. Ask a range of appropriate questions
4. Take them to a variety of appropriate sources (thinking)
5. Persist, editing and changing as necessary, until they get the answer they need
   

Extend to a skilled questioner (see Trevor Bond’s wiki)
Teacher Directed tasks- can ensure the right info is available
Negotiated tasks- can lead to info holes
Independent tasks- needs higher order literacy and numeracy skills

What is a good question?

• Gets the answer/ info you need (closed?)
• Relevant and contextual
• Can be taken to intelligent and non-intelligent sources

Learner questions/ teacher questions

Convergent- move to where I am…
Divergent- opens up to all new ideas

Teacher questions- open (more uncomfortable, stimulates ideas/ thinking)
Student questions- closed (gets the answer)

Intelligent sources- human
Non-intelligent sources- not human

Poor Questions
• Where is it?
• It, us, they, we, I- contextual
• What skills do I need?

Modeling good questions
• Contextual- linked to audience in writing
• Answer the question in the manner it was asked! Be obstructive to encourage better questions

Questioning Skill taxonomy
RED zone (stage 1+2)

Stage 1- statements
Stage 2- question that is not relevant/ No contextual information
Stage 3- Asks yes/no/maybe questions (is, can, does, could, may, would) There are 42 question words…dice only has 6!
Stage 4- Uses the seven servants (w,w,w,w,h,w,w) and the key words to write relevant questions
Stage 5- Uses seven servants, relevant key words and phrases to write relevant questions
Stage 6- Uses relevant synonyms words of key words to edit key questions
Stage 7- Uses multiple question words to create a probing question when interviewing an expert

If a child makes a statement turn it into a question
If a child asks a question turn it into an activity

Assessment- Ask 5 questions about a scenario then mark against the rubric?
Question ANALOGY
Hammer- need
Nails- build
Build- question

What did you learn today?
- Facts?
- Small incremental changes to:

• Attitudes
• Beliefs
• Skills
• Opinions

RESEARCH
Research is going to find the answers to a specific question!
Shopping list of questions!
Underline keywords/ circle key phrases
Enter keywords and “key phrases” inside speech marks (whole phrase)

Google search • relentless- 15,000,000 • drink relentless- 1,500,000 • drink, relentless, “possible issues”- 250 • drink, relentless, “possible issues” “coca cola”-