Getting out of the Writer's Pit

What led to this learning?
Learners needed strategies to get out of the learning pit when they were stuck in their writing.
Summary of learning design:
We were studying sustainability as a concept for Term 3. Learners were tasked to create stories for younger learners (year 2 to 4). Students shared and built their knowledge around strategies that could support them to create their stories.
Reflection on Learning Design
We saw a 4.41% positive shift in UTS responses from learners who had scored Below or Well below in their Mid Year OTJs. Learners who had scored 'At', had 3.1% positive shift. Learners who had scored 'Above' or 'Well Above', had a 1.21% negative shift. Meaning this approach had the biggest impact on lower ability learners.
Curriculum Links
Literacy, Science
Agentic Capabilities
Take Action, Using Tools and Strategies

Link to Evidence

Comments

Benefits of Handwriting

What led to this learning? There was a desire by both parents and teachers alike, to balance learners time spent on digital devices and paper and pencil. As teachers we were also noticing that student s were coming back from lunch quite wound up and needed an activity to bring them back to a learning frame of mind. Summary of learning design: We discussed the importance of routines, as well as mindfulness. We set up a scaffold for the learners by having them learn the standard cursive letters, one letter per day. Once they were comfortable they then were given sentences to trace and then rewrite on their own. Currently they are being given poems in print and then rewriting them in cursive. Each day they bring the writing to the teacher to get individual feedback. Reflection on Learning Design Our hub has seen an improvement in how the learners return from lunch. They head straight to the cubbies to get the pencil and handwriting books. They settle right into their cursive challenge for...

Agency and Engagement in Writing

What led to this learning? During writing, I noticed my target learners and ELL were struggling with formation of ideas, had a very slow pace of writing and needed lots of teacher support during writing time. I gathered student voice and this led me to understand that my target group do not like planning and do not see the purpose in it. They also were concerned that they didn't write enough; that their spelling wasn't good enough and that they didn't enjoy spelling. A third noticing was that my students preferred writing about personal experiences rather that something unknown. My aim was to improve writing fluency, create more agentic learners and create a passion and love for writing. Summary of learning design: My learning design was focused around an ESOL teaching strategy - quick writing. I planned to have a set time of 10mins at the beginning of each writing session designated to Quick Writes as a writing warm up. Each day of the week I used the same structure e.g. M...

Stop, Collaborate and Listen

What led to this learning? Year 7/8 Learners were reluctant to collaborate with learners outside of their immediate friend group. We wanted to build into their learning the concept of diverse perspectives. Summary of learning design: Learners were told that the world was about to be hit by an asteroid and they had to design a future colony on Mars! Learners were assigned a group and had to research and pitch an idea for how they believed the colony should work Reflection on Learning Design This went really well for some, but not equally well for everyone! 'Below' and 'At' literacy learners demonstrated a significant shift (up to 16%) in their self perception of collaboration whereas Above and Well Above learners didn't respond as well. Boys also shifted way more positively than girls, despite girls having a higher self perception to start with. Curriculum Links Literacy, Science, Digital Curriculum, Social Sciences Agentic Capabilities Collaboration Link to Evi...

Tohatoha Ako

Search This Blog