Professional Growth Cycle

This year instead of our Appraisal Connector we have established a Professional Growth Cycle. This is where we establish team and personal goals. These goals are areas we want to focus on, they can be data based or challenge based.

My Team Goal is:

Planning and implementing reading comprehension strategies and resources suitable for students working at

lower curriculum levels

We have chosen this goal as a team to boost inference and evaluation skills in our lower level readers. Read my hunch

as to why this is necessary below

Students working at lower curriculum levels in Reading often struggle when the comprehension becomes less literal and more inferential. Some students struggle with making connections and inferring. My assumption is that at level 19 plus on the colour wheel, the standardised testing requires less literal comprehension and requires the students to infer, evaluate and reorganise the texts. There is often a reluctance or blockage for students who are not confident with how to answer these types of questions. My thoughts are that these are the skills that need building on.

Link to Slide

PD to date

• The RTLB led “Supported Learner Inclusion workshops” 3/2/21 - ADHD; Dyslexia handbook; Trauma informed schools. 

• Participation in the Staff PLC - MWT Project with RTLB’s involved in school.

• Staff meeting 25/3/21 - Feedback on MWT in middle/seniors, building resources for T-shaped literacy

Reading comprehension is a topic that I focused on for my MIT project. I analysed the reading data from previous years. I then created a site that focuses on building students' ability to answer the different types of comprehension questions by breaking down each one and teaching the students how to recognise what the question is looking for. This is a tool which I am still building and implementing. Students have responded well, they are able to recognise what type of question and therefore where or how to form their answers.

Accelerating reading comprehension through questioning.

We (senior team) have also implemented T-Shaped literacy in our Reading programme. We are at the fledgling stage, only having completed a poetry, Marine Reserve and currently ANZAC themed units. This seems to give the students more autonomy and deeper understanding of a topic/focus with multiple texts and text types on the same subject. The first unit wasn’t a great success so we are tailoring the next as we discover the hurdles. This is an area which we will continue to develop alongside a focus of inferential comprehension.

My Personal goal is:

To develop strategies to motivate participation and engagement in mixed ability maths lessons.

We have been trialling mixed ability grouping within our programme. Here is my hunch:

Mixed ability maths sessions generate inclusion and engagement as a whole, however there are always students that let others take the lead and don’t participate fully by sharing their knowledge. My assumption  is that they have a fear of failure in front of their more confident peers. Some students struggle with computing numbers quickly and they can’t easily explain their thinking. I want to develop strategies that take away this fear and help them to participate with confidence.

PD to date:

The 2020 end of year maths data shows the levels and gaps in the Year 4 and 5 students that move into Year 5 and 6.

This term we are using a new framework for our Maths planning. This involves collaborative learning which we will deliver in mixed ability (within 2 stages, eg: 5&6) in our crossover classes. This way the students aren’t working with peers that are too widely spaced in their abilities, which leads to non participation from the students working at the lower curriculum levels. 

Using the mathematics Framework

Learning Progression Frameworks

T2 Maths plan

I will be working at the level 3 of this plan as I have the students from stage 6-8.

We have also participated in AKO maps  maths which is a programme specifically designed for Year 5 numeracy skills.