My Teaching as Inquiry focus for 2022

As mentioned in a previous post, I wanted to focus on the HLP (High Leverage Practices) in mentoring my sample group for my TAI this year. However, I have been doing quite a bit of research and have decided that the Reading Planning Fala encompasses the HLPs as well as the digital affordances. Therefore, my hypothesise is:

Will working collaboratively with a group of teachers to plan a reading programme using the Reading Planning Fala, CHANGE the practice of these teachers and lead to acceleration in reading for their target students?

Manaiakalani Effective Reading Practices Survey (2022). Analysis of teacher responses by N. Rosedale (Literacy Facilitator) for the Reading Design Group.

"This model was developed this year bringing together elements of the Manaiakalani pedagogy, high leverage practises and digital affordances and has informed the observations, questionnaires and these recommendations" (Manaiakalani Wananga 2021).

This week, our staff are planning for learning for Term 3. It is a great time to kick start my TAI by looking at how we plan for our reading programme using the Reading Planning Fala. 

I have printed off copies of the fala for each group member to go over before we meet as a team. I believe the teachers in my sample group have not seen the Reading Planning fala before so a lot of talanoa will be done before we start to incorporate the fala in our planning.

In our team meetings, I have an allocated time to support our team with their TAI and also discuss what is happening with my own. I also do in class observations and in class support for teachers during their literacy programmes. There are many opportunities to give support but I know the planning aspect of the teaching must be done well and explicitly for the teaching to be effective. 

Therefore, my big focus for the rest of this term is to support my sample group with their planning using the Reading Planning Fala.

 I believe the key word is CHANGE. We hear time and time again that a TAI is where we look at changing an aspect of our teaching to see if it will accelerate the learning of our students. We can't expect change in the learning of our students unless we as teachers make a change. Often, we might be comfortable with what we are planning for learning for different reasons such as: we are used to this way of teaching, It has worked before, the resources are already in our drives so just re use...But the fact remains, reading is an area where our students are not accelerating. 

I am looking forward to this year's TAI. Term 3 will be the implementation term. I do hope by Term 4 we will see a shift in the reading data for the target students for my sample group of teachers.