Spark MIT16

Day 1 Spark HQ



This morning I realised how exciting it was to be amongst motivated teachers with a passion for making a difference with the tamariki that we teach. Spark provided an amazing workspace and their manaakitanga was wonderful. This morning started with all of us being challenged on our original inquiry problem. So who volunteered to start? Me!

It was a very worthwhile exercise as it really made me firstly identify and then clarify the problem that I will be working with. I had already jumped straight away to what I thought the solution would be. Unpacking the inquiry in this way resulted in creating clarity for me and as a result my initial inquiry has taken a new course. I originally thought that I needed to provide more experiences for the tamariki to write about, however on reflection I have realised that they have many experiences in their own world and part of my inquiry may involve me as a teacher creating a lens into their world as well as exposing them to new experiences.

So now I have realised that I will be focusing on providing strategies for the tamariki to enhance their vocabulary bank so that their writing will be enriched.

I am going to start with gathering student voice by using google drawing with speech bubbles and then take it from there. I also have eAsttle data from Dec 2015 and Feb 2016 which I will use as baseline data. Because of the nature of the Year 4,5,6 classroom that I am teaching in, I have worked with the majority of my tamariki in 2015 and so have a good idea of where they are regarding their writing.

To further my starting point I am also going to do some reading around research done by Dr Jannie van Hees on Dialogical Classrooms and gifting word groups.