Week 4 - Term 2 - 2019

Mā mua ka kite a muri, mā muri ka ora a mua 

Those who lead give sight to those who follow, those who follow give life to those who lead.

This whakatauki also speaks to the importance of working together. It acknowledges and values the importance of both the leader and the followers for both are essential and co-dependent. 

Week 4 20 Haratua - 24 Haratua 13BIO Wainui - Classes rotate through all week Maths Speaker p1 - 3 with Year 10 (10Kah, 10Kom and 10Piw) - Mon 20 School Cross Country Reserve Day - Mon 20 Open Day - Tues 21 Pasifika speech Competitions - Tues 21 Squash Canterbury Champs - Sat 25 - Sun 26	Week 5 27 Haratua - 31 Haratua World Challenge Launches - in PAC - Mon, Tues, Thurs and Friday Cross Country Canterbury Champs - Tues 28 PPTA Strike Day - Wed 29 Mufti Day - Thurs 30 (For St John Ambulance Service) Multisports NZSS
Assembly - WED Year 10 in PAC	Assembly - WED Year 11 in PAC
Meeting  No Meeting - Open Day	Meeting  Pedagogical

Information for Staff

1. Beyond PD: Teacher ProfessionalLearning in High-Performing Systems(2016). This report looks at 4 countries that have high performing PLD systems. What was integral as part of the findings in each country was that PLD was not an add on task, that teaching as inquiry is one of the key components to improving student success, and collaboration and observation are what makes a difference in teacher learning.


The report states "Adult learning should only be considered effective when it changes practices for the better. Therefore, professional learning is only effective when it improves teaching" (p.8) For learning to be effective it must include a range of activities, and be connected to classroom practice. 

In the recent staff survey, teaching staff were asked the question "I regularly reflect on my own teaching practice as part of applying the inquiry teaching model" (see graph for results) and 94% of staff either agreed or strongly agreed with this statement.

Teaching as Inquiry is integral in the 4 high performing PLD systems in the report, and sharing the results of the inquiry with others is a very important part in the learning process. The key questions that Singapore teachers base their inquiry on are:
1. What is it we expect students to learn?
2. How will we know when they have learned it?
3. How will we respond when they do not learn?
4. How will we respond when they already know it?

Which could be alternative reflective questions when you are working through your own inquiry.

The second graph, shows the staff responses from the statement "there is a collaborative and supportive working culture amongst our staff" with only 45% of staff agreeing or strongly agreeing with this statement. As far as collaboration is concerned the report recommends working in small groups to encourage each other. Making change happen in the classroom involves multiple attempts before proficiency is achieved, and being given feedback, discussing ideas and having the support of others is critical. Timperley and Street (2005) believe that teachers involved in collaborative inquiry are able to better design more effective strategies and interventions for use in their own classrooms. So it will be interesting to see how or if this response changes over the next few years.

(Temperley, J., & Street, H. (2005). Improving Schools Through Collaborative Enquiry. London: Continuum.).

Bill Gates discusses teacher feedback below: