COL interview 2024...

What achievement challenge are you considering as an area of focus in 2024 and why? Include in your WHY both evidence and your own passion/expertise

This year my inquiry focus began with me thinking it was the challenges spelling brought to the table that caused most of my learners to revert back to using simple everyday words in their independent writing. I thought I could improve with a concentrated focus on spelling conventions and rules. My thinking was by doing this my learners would start to use the words they wanted to use. I was wrong!

It turned out what I actually needed to do was swamp them with words they had never heard or seen before and make the challenge of connecting to them fun and purposeful. This journey is explained on my blog, and made this year of change practice a fun one. This made me think, I need to do more of this, but in different ways, which is why I think strengthening vocabulary is the direction I see my 2024 inquiry going. 

What learnings from the 2017 - 2023 CoL teacher inquiries have informed or inspired your thinking.

Learning with and from my fellow CoL teachers has meant I have collected many ideas from others along the way that have become firmly embedded in my practice, like this one. A number of years ago Kiri and I observed Matt Goodwin teach a guided reading lesson. What stuck with us was the collaborative doc he was using with his students. We were inspired to use and have overtime, adapted his original idea to what is now our planning format.

How would your work support Manaiakalani pedagogy and kaupapa?

I have for a very long time run a visible site. A large number of my resources have been shared across the motu. I see them in Manaiakalani programs like the DFI and RPI, and have been a part of a number of research initiatives with Wolf Fisher for a number of years. All initiatives that have helped me continue to change and adapt my practice to help my students achieve the 1.5 times shift and give them the tools they need to find success.

Which elements of the extensive Manaiakalani research findings inform or challenge you as you think about this?

Recognising our tamariki don’t have the academic literacy to access the learning is the research finding that continues to challenge me. Many of our learners simply do not have the literacy skills and confidence needed to record their ideas independently. When you add to this the fear of failure or making mistakes, it’s not hard to see the reality of the struggle many of our children face in Y7/8 with topics they are struggling to connect to.

How would you like to be supported in 2024 as you undertake this inquiry?

The support I would like in 2024 is to continue to be a part of planned opportunities to see and hear how other COL teachers drive inquiry in their schools. This would enable us to build on and strengthen the processes we already have in place.

How would you plan to support your colleagues in your school with their inquiries and/or teaching in the area you are exploring?

Aside from continuing to model my inquiry on my blog, I have found that the best support I can offer my colleagues with their inquiries is to guide them through the inquiry process term by term. To make this rewindable and manageable a few years ago I created our PBS Teacher Inquiry DLO, which is our version of a ‘how to’ process and is shared with staff in termly chunks. In term 4 we come together and have our own sharing session. Something I have driven as our PBS within school kahui ako is to ensure opportunities to focus and discuss our teacher inquiries are planned for, in order to keep the process alive throughout the year. 

I would like to add that even though I am not in a position due to my teaching, mentoring and DP responsibilities to apply for the across school role, it is not because I do not want to challenge myself in this role. It is simply because I do not have the time available to commit regularly to the time requirements of an across school kahui ako. However, I am, as I have been in the past, always happy to support anyone with their teaching inquiry or teaching program if I am able to.