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This year I have been researching the meaningful learning that occurs when New Entrant/Year 1 children create their own resources to support literacy learning.  By this I am referring to the learning that occurs from the planning through to the construction using ICT tools to the actual using of the completed resource.

In the making of these resources the children have used multimedia to become multimedia authors. They have used a combination of photos, their own drawings, animations and audio and written recordings. I believe the learning that occurred was very powerful and clipart had no place as they explored the visual language features of Lynley Dodd’s books and created their own images. The ownership was so important to these children. They were very proud of their work and considered themselves artists.

(Rate, 2002) discusses the use of clipart in his article and refers to the attributes of the constructivist theory as outlined by (Jonassen, Peck, & Wilson, 1999). I have used indicators of these attributes in my own research to consider if meaningful learning is occurring when children create their own resources. I am close to the end of my research now and feel under no doubt that meaningful learning can occur when children use ICTs to create resources provided the learning activity is authentic.

A resource that I have found useful is (Van Scoter & Boss, 2002). Their guide is very useful in that it focuses on how technology can support and enhance children’s literacy skills and is very practical.

 During my reading I came across opponents to using ICTs with young children. The Alliance for Childhood implies that computers are taking away children’s ability to create their own images because of the bright animated images that children are presented with on the screen. They have a point if we do not let and encourage our children to be the creators.

 I have found that the children’s audio recordings along side their illustrations or photos have also had a powerful impact. I have used children’s own illustrations to retell favourite stories for ESOL children and included audio recording both in English and another language and that has been very successful.

During the course of my research it was interesting to see the development in the children’s drawing ability on the computers. Once they were competent with using the tools of Paint and ArtRage they were on their way and the detail and use of colour increased markedly. These children had great faith in their own ability and showed delight in their achievements. I believe that young children “can do” and by allowing them to use clip art we are giving them the message that their work is not good enough and someone else’s work is superior. 

Jonassen, D., Peck, K., & Wilson, B. (1999). Learning with technology: A constructivist perspective: Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill.

Rate, N. (2002). Computers, children and clip art.Computers in NZ schools, 14 (2), 31-35

Van Scoter, J., & Boss, S. (2002) Learners, language, and technology: Making connections that support literacy. Creating communities of learning and excellence. Portland, OR: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory.

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"Nearly there" is what I have been telling myself as I have redrafted and redrafted my final report.  In fact it is hard to recognise the first draft now and it was a good feeling to finally flick it off to my supervisor.  I had got to the stage where I couldn't see the trees for the forest and was beginning to recite parts of it in my sleep!  I blame it all on my supervisor Sandra really, as it was she that challenged me after Ulearn Conference to "have a go at writing what you said in your presentation...use that more personal voice...".  Well, for me this was easier said than done.  As a drama teacher I often use stories and metaphors along with appropriate props to help the audience make connections and to clarify difficult ideas.  I feel comfortable doing this when speaking and had  done this at my presentation to illustrate the idea of electronic portfolios as being similar in form and process to objects created though the art of raranga or weaving; things such as korowai (cloaks) with their carefully woven strands and various types of kete (kits) used as storage containers for specific purposes .  So, weaving such ideas into my report via the pen was what she wanted me to do, but in order to do this I had to seriously rethink my usual academic style of writing.  I am 'safe' writing in the third person and do not normally incorporate stories or metaphors into formal reports as I personally find it diffilcult to strike the right balance between the formal and informal 'voice'.  The challenge is always in not overdoing the informal voice while at the same time maintaining the professional voice.  So, I have given it a go and now I sit and wait...

I have been thinking a lot about thinking lately. This has been sparked by three things, the first was attending a seminar by Robert Swartz on critical thinking skills. The second was reading Kieran Egan's book: 'The Educated Mind: Cognitive tools shape our understanding', especially Chapter One 'Three old ideas and a new one'. The third and probably most influential was reading an article by Yoram Harpaz 'Approaches to Teaching Thinking: Towards a conceptual mapping of the field'. If you are interested in teaching thinking in your classroom then check out the new Thinking page on my Inquiring Mind site.

I went to a workshop today on thinking skills led by Dr Robert Swartz, director of the National Centre for Teaching Thinking in the USA. There was a lot of food for thought. He talked about how we should explicitly teach thinking skills. One aspect that especially seemed applicable to inquiry was 'Assessing the Reliability of Ideas' including accuracy of observation, reliability of sources, inference and deduction. An interesting example of introducing the idea of checking the reliability of sources to younger children was using the story 'Henny Penny'.

One useful idea could be for students to have a 'Thinking Journal' where they record strategies they develop, lists of criteria eg criteria to judge the accuracy of an account, and any useful thinking tools.

Strategies for the ways thinking skills can be taught were:

• Modelling
• Collaborative thinking
• Asking sequenced prompting questions
• Use of graphic organisers to guide thinking
• Using thinking strategy maps/guides to guide the teacher who guides the students
• Infusing thinking into content learning
• Working with students at the start of the lesson to help them develop the thinking strategies they will use
• Scaffolding
• Making strategies explicit
• Reviewing strategies used at the end of the session
• Getting students to put strategies into their own words
• Naming strategies used

Well Ulearn and been and gone and the final term has started! Only a few more months now until the year is over. I heard on the radio the other day that it was only 78 more days till Christmas- a very sobering thought!!

To all of the people who came to my presentation on e-portfolios at Ulearn, the sample portfolio will be up and running next week. I have a fantastic group of students working on that for me and they assure me that they are nearly done.

My life now revolves around writing and coffee. I am developing a new appreciation for the difference between instant and filter coffee, not that I am a connoisseur quite yet.

My research project is progressing; I have so much in my head that I am finding it hard to stay focussed on one aspect to write about. I usually have 3 different word documents open, all different sections and I jump between them as my mind wanders. I wonder what I would do, as the classroom teacher, if the children in my class wanted to be doing maths, reading and writing all at the same time. Another interesting idea to explore later.

Thanks to all who came to my Ulearn session - I had thought that maybe hang-overs might have been kicking in after the great conference dinner.  I have uploaded some of the relevant slides onto the conference presenters information part of the conference site.

I know that some of you would have liked a more 'how-to' session with ideas for using in ne classrooms.
With this in mind, as soon as the website with some practical ideas for ECE and ne teachers that Liz, Carol and I are involved in creating goes live, I will email those who registered for my workshop with the link. The link will also be posted here, in our blogs.

In the meantime, feel free to add comment here, I will respond - maybe we can start a conversation around issues in transition from ECE centre to school?   I think for far to long this really important phase of a child's life has been treated as problematic by some schools and teachers (some of whom still take on a 'deficit' model of the child, I am sad to say) rather than taking a positive view of what the child's interests and strengths are.  The way that children's pre-school portfolios are or are not valued by the school is just one example of a 'lost' opportunity for getting to know our 'littlies' as they move into school.  What do you think?  How does your school or centre facilitate transition?  Do you think the portfolios are useful?

I am also interested to find out how many New Entrant teachers use Te Whaariki in their planning?   Do you think that the draft Curriculum document will make any difference to the transition experiences of the children?

Tell me what you think?

 

 

 

The Ulearn conference has come and gone - like some of the ideas in education. I am surprised by the comments and questions like "how has your year gone?" which of course implies that the year is over. I think I am in a little denial, perhaps you have noticed by my responses. "There is still a whole term left!" The reality is that this great opportunity and experience is drawing to a close. I was asked a question at the end of my presentation (breakout 6). It went something like this: "What does this mean next year, when you go back to teach physics?" - a really good question. I think this is the type of question that we must continue to ask ourselves so that we adjust to the changes around us. So after the Ulearn conference, what are you going to do different in your teaching?

Thank you to the brave souls who made it to our presentation. It was the final breakout on the final day and even though I had invited the breakout participants to get comfortable and have a snooze, nobody did.

Liz Fitzsimons and I presented our first dissemination together as we had many commonalities that weaved through our research and even in our findings. Thank you for your feedback. It was overwhelmingly positive and helps to make what we are doing seem rather worthwhile.

Rather than going through all of the ins and outs of the research I chose to give a narrative of what I did and why, what I found out and the implications for me at classroom, team and school level. Below is a copy of the notes I provided that gives a little more detail of my research for those interested.

Main research question: What are the effects for Māori students of meaningful engagement in learning using ICTs?

Subsidiary questions:

1 - What elements of best practice allow me to cater to diversity in my classroom?

2 - What is meaningful engagement?

3 - How do ICTs facilitate meaningful engagement?

Background: In 2005 there were two Māori added educational pathway options for students at our school. These were specialised Kapahaka and Te Reo Māori programmes. In our teaching team, we had noticed some Māori students who attended these classes were showing less enthusiasm for learning once they were back in their own classes. This was an area of concern to our teaching team and, as senior teacher, I felt that I needed to investigate this further. I needed to ask myself what is it that we are not doing that is causing a degree of disengagement in learning in our mainstream classes for some Māori students. I wondered if authentic learning using ICTs could be used more effectively to raise engagement levels for Māori students?

Purpose: The purpose of my research was to develop a greater understanding of what the effects for Māori students are of meaningful engagement in learning using ICTs. To do this I have focused on elements of best practice that allow me to cater to diversity in my classroom, investigated learning climates that foster meaningful engagement and explored how ICTs can be used to facilitate communication between bilingual students and their mainstream classmates. I am aware that the very nature of action research means that the data that I have collected and my interpretations are subjective and are limited in scope. However, perhaps there are other educators who have identified similar issues and may find this study of interest.

Method: My study took the form of a practical action research where I worked with the newly formed bilingual class which operates Monday to Thursday afternoons. The twenty-six students (thirteen female and thirteen male) in this class are drawn from the Year 4, 5 and 6 classes. Initially I worked alongside the bilingual teacher and class during their “Matariki knowledge bomb” activities (Matariki- The Māori new year). I then worked with groups in project-based learning where the students created a digital story. This was later complied on to a CDRom which was to help inform their mainstream classmates and teachers about the significance of Matariki.

During Term 3, students had the opportunity to present the digital resource to their mainstream classes and many also shared the resource with their family. Three surveys were carried out with the students, formal and informal interviews were done, research cycles were documents and a comprehensive reflective diary kept. These all formed the basis of my data.

Organising the data for analysis: Students were assigned pseudonyms for the printed reflective diary and were coded for the three surveys. The data collected was organised and sorted into categories. These are as follows;

1. Reflective diary

* Comprehensive diary (45 page) account of day to day events

* Reflection about learning and teaching -Elements of best practice for student learning outcomes. -Reflections about meaningful indicators -Observations of how ICTs facilitate meaningful engagement.

2. Preliminary survey. Categories - a) Current level (at time of survey) of communication by bilingual students re Māori added education pathways with mainstream class and teacher and perceived level of interest from mainstream class and teacher in work done during bilingual class. b) Preferred level of communication by bilingual students re Māori added education with mainstream class and teacher. c) Confidence level in the use of presentation technologies. d) Level of willingness to offer help to mainstream classmates with any type of ICT.

3. Digital story self-evaluation. Categories - a) Students’ thoughts about collaborative learning b) Thoughts about involvement in planning and decision making in own learning. c) Number of students that felt able to explain and expand on their own ideas while working together. d) Willingness to ask for help e) Level of willingness to offer help to mainstream classmates with creation of digital stories. f) Level of interest in peer and teacher feedback on their digital stories. g) Number of students who could/would use the programmes used at school in their own home.

4. Sharing of the Matariki Digital Resource. Categories -

a) General feelings prior to presenting to class

b) General feelings of the students as they were presenting the digital stories.

c) Mainstream classmates and teachers reaction/s to digital stories

d) Level of confidence in students to share the resource to other groups.

e) Level of willingness to offer help to mainstream classmates with any type of ICT.

5. Action research cycle reflections

a) From reflection of teaching and learning, further ideas developed and recorded to help students achieve Student Learning Outcomes in the areas of English (Oral language), Essential skills (Communication, Information skills, Self management and competitive and Social and cooperative. -Phenomena / observations of interest.

b) Meaningful engagement indicators. - Observation/s and thoughts related to the meaningful indicators. - Source of data identified for future reference. - General thoughts / Planning and development ideas for next cycle.

6) Staff interviews. Categories -

a) Teacher’s attitude towards Māori added pathways at school.

b) Own experience & knowledge of Te Reo Māori and Tikanga Māori

c) Student’s general performance (academic and social) in mainstream class. 

Analysis procedures The content of the reflective journal, video footage, still images and informal discussion with colleagues formed the basis for reflection of the action research cycles. This then provided direction for change which was documented, described, interpreted, discussed and analysed. Teaching then took place and they cycle was repeated. Responses for each survey were documented for each student. Once all were completed, patterns of responses and emerging themes were noted and percentage values were attributed to them.

General comments were then made followed by documenting my thoughts about the implications of these to my teaching practice Staff interviews were transcribed and then analysed under the themes noted above. Originally there were a number of interview questions that were to provide a wide range of information. However, because I didn’t adhere to the interview questions I had set and in some cases let the interview head in a totally different direction to my original intent, I ended up being provided with a rich labyrinth of stories.

In general terms, the themes seemed to relate to teaching, their own childhood schooling as well as general discussions about Māori education.

Findings: Cultural connectiveness elements of best practice:

To create a classroom climate for Māori students to be meaningfully engaged in their learning, I have found that connecting with the student’s culture is an important factor and can be aided by;

• Providing learning context that are meaningful to the lives of the students.

•Showing a genuine interest in the Māori added pathways that students are involved in.

• Providing opportunities for students to share with their mainstream classmates what they have been doing in Māori added pathways that students are involved in.

• Working to develop a culture of positivity towards things Māori among mainstream students.

• Facilitating discussions with students about Māori dimension of their lives.

• Adopting a set of values in my class that include pivotal Māori values such as;

Whanaungatanga – An awareness of the importance of whakapapa in the lives of Māori students and a focus on developing effective relationships. What do we, as a class group, expect of each individual student and in turn what support and nurturing can each student expect from the class group?

Manaakitanga – What characteristics do we want as a class or group to become identified with? For individuals within my class this means helping students conceptualize what type of person they aspire to be? How must we think and act to help us attain these goals?

Mana – I need to have an awareness of existing social mana of the Māori students in my class e.g Mana tipuna “People of mana draw their prestige and power from their ancestors.” (Mead 2003). My understanding is that mana is also something that can be earned. In my classroom I will encourage students to identify, acknowledge and build on situations where mana is gained by what they do within the class group e.g achievements in all areas, ability to help others succeed etc.

Tapu – As a classroom teacher I need to have a clear awareness of the tapu concerning elements related to school life. An example of this is not passing anything over the heads of Māori students. There are many other situations that I need to be aware of concerning tapu and this will take further learning, talking to cultural experts within and outside our school and sharing this awareness with all students in the class.

Noa and ea – In my class I see this value as ensuring that balance is restored after times of unrest, conflict and or unhappiness. That all members of our classroom group, including me has resolved any concerns and that we are ready to move forward together.

Engagement indicators: As the action research cycles evolved, I found that when students are meaningfully engaged in their learning I am likely to see students who actively participate in decisions about their learning and who ask questions. They are likely to want to share their ideas and take opportunities to demonstrate and expand on them. The students will also be generally interested in what others think of their work. As I explored the rationale behind the inclusion of various indicators, I began looking for evidence that helped to identify if these indicators were taking place.

Indicator 1: Student is actively involved in decision making opportunities

Rationale - Taha whānau (social well –being) is given the opportunity to develop when students are able to make decisions regarding who they work with enhancing feeling of belonging. When students respond to the opportunity to have input into their learning that is to take place it is also likely that they feel valued and listened to. Students are likely to become active stakeholders in their education.

Possible evidence - Documented evidence of involvement in planning / Examples of learning journeys that acknowledge student decisions / Classroom observation of students cooperatively and meaningfully involved in decision making conversations and experiences.

Indicator 2: Student asks questions during the learning process:

Rationale - When students ask questions to elicit information or to clarify interpretations, they are more likely to have a greater understanding of learning processes and outcomes. When this clarity exists, learning is likely to be less arduous and students more meaningfully engaged. If students are given the opportunity to “ask” in a variety of forums, it is likely that all students may become more meaningfully engaged in their learning.

Possible evidence - Observation of students confidently able to ask questions of each other, the classroom teacher or other people / Students can explain their learning journey or learning tasks with clarity and understanding / Students use a variety of methods to pose questions that may include asking directly, asking indirectly, emailing them, posting them on the wall etc

Indicator 3: Student discusses or demonstrates own ideas and expands on them:

Rationale - Students are more likely to be meaningfully engaged if they have opportunity to express thoughts and feelings which contribute to Taha hinengāro – metal and emotional well being. They are more likely to develop confidence and self-esteem when their ideas are listened to and valued. By its very nature, discussion and expansion of ideas requires the student to communicate with others in a meaningful manner thus engaging them in their learning.

Possible evidence - Students seek out and use opportunities to share and explain own ideas using a variety of methods to do this.

Indicator 4: Student demonstrates interest in self/peer/teacher assessment and feedback.

Rationale - Students who are interested in judgments made about their learning are likely to have been committed and actively involved in the learning process.

Possible evidence - Students ask for feedback / Students refer back to criteria throughout learning process / Students share feedback given with other interested parties.

Exploring how ICTs can be used to share learning journeys and cultural experiences. Originally I thought that the importance of ICTs in my action research would be to raise engagement levels. Although this did happened and had a number of positive benefits, including greater confidence to mentor others, two other important factors arose. The first was that the ICTs became a vehicle for the bilingual class students to share their learning journey with their mainstream classmates. The second was the interest shown by mainstream students in the process of creating the digital resource and the raised level of confidence by the bilingual students to offer help to their mainstream peers. Describing and displaying the findings

As my final report gets underway, my intention is to provide a rich narrative under each of the following theme headings that may be of interest to those who may have similar issues in their own school;

• Cultural connectiveness elements of best practice.

• Engagement indicators.

• Exploring how ICTs can be used to share learning journeys and cultural experiences. I will present the results of all three surveys in the form of appendices where the question is stated and the percentage of the response or types of response are graphed.

Emerging questions The following questions have emerged from my analysis. Related to my own teaching practice: What is the most effective form of professional development to help me gain a greater understanding of Tikanga Māori? Related to my role as team leader: How do we, as a team, plan to ensure that Māori students involved in Māori added education dimension programmes are given the opportunity to share learning journeys on a regular basis with mainstream classmates? Related to school-wide development: What would the effects be on home-school and community-school relationships if we made greater use of ICTs to share the learning journeys and cultural experiences of our students?

For all those who attended my workshop at Ulearn here are the urls for the websites I mentioned:

My website: www.inquiringmind.co.nz

Filamentality: www.kn.pacbell.com/wired/fil/ eg. www.kn.att.com/wired/fil/pages/listinquiryjk.html

Wikis: www.wikispaces.com/t/x/teachers100K eg. http://inquiringmind.wikispaces.com/

Exemplars: www.tki.org.nz/r/assessment/exemplars/eng/

Rubrics: http://rubistar.4teachers.org/index.php

Galileo site: www.galileo.org/inquiry-what.html

Opoutere Schools' KnowledgeNet (and the case study groups' work): www.opoutere.schoolsonline.co.nz/

Herron's 4 levels of inquiry: http://edweb.sdsu.edu/wip/four_levels.htm

Galileo's inquiry rubric www.galileo.org/research/publications/rubric.pdf#search=%2rubric%22

References for the quotes I used:

Brooks, J. & Brooks, M. (1993). In search of understanding: The case for the constructivist classroom. Virginia: Association for Curriculum Supervision and Development.

Bruner, J. (1971). The relevance of education. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. NY: Norton

Hirsch, S. (1999). Children's Relevance Criteria and Information Seeking on Electronic Resources. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 50(14), p. 1265-1283.

Wehlage, G., Newman, F. & Secada W. (1996). Standards for authentic achievement and pedagogy. In Newman F. M & Assoc. (Eds.) Authentic achievement: Restructuring schools for intellectual quality. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

What do Kete and ePortfolios have in common? This was the the question that challenged me last week as I sat at CORE preparing for my ULearn workshop. Unlike some of the others I hadn't even made a start when I arrived and luckily for me drew the last presentation ballot on Thursday. Well, ten minutes isn’t very long when you want to impress your peers with a PowerPoint presentation aimed at demonstrating all the new skills one has picked up throughout the year. The challenge – to use more pictures and fewer words was really a hard one and had many of us searching new sites in pursuit of special pictures that would “say a thousand words”. Needless to say I was most impressed with the quality of my peers’ presentations and have since asked for copies of certain pictures and video clips that inspired me to be more creative. The use of an Adidas advertisement to demonstrate the fast pace of technological change was one such clip, and although professionally done had competition from some of the homemade clips that featured real children in authentic learning situations. I personally challenged myself to step outside my comfort zone and to try incorporating some of my ‘whoness’ as a Maori into my workshop. As a people our lives are full of metaphors and so I chose to use the metaphor of Raranga - the art of weaving. In doing so I chose to use the well known symbol of the kete (kit) as an example of this fine art as a way of forming links in the minds of my workshop participants between kits as containers for all sorts of objects, and electronic portfolios as containers for storing samples of students’ learning objects and artefacts. Their similarities are many along with the process and ritual involved in their making, and I must say that in searching for appropriate kete pictures I have a newfound appreciation for this renewed craft. Just as Maori traditionally had kits for special occasions and purposes such as food gathering, so too are there electronic portfolios for specific purposes and audiences. Many New Zealand teachers are familiar with the weaving pattern on the front of most curriculum documents, and many also have personal kete on the Ministry of Educations' ‘Te Kete Ipurangi’ website. These e-kete enable them to store artefacts and objects from this site and to retrieve them anywhere, any time. It is this very idea that I want to enlarge on but with students, and how they as users of e-kete can become more involved in the process. Research findings note that there are many good reasons for doing so and I look forward to sharing these with this year's workshop participants.