Module 2 - Rethinking Teaching

Thoughts from Intro Webinar for Module 2.


An inspiration teacher - Qualities of an inspirational teacher ...

dispositions, traits -
Kate's - happy, shared herself with her students
Delwyn - never compared to siblings, fun - jokes,

Moving from inspirational teacher to What makes an effective teacher?

Rules? Do we have rules? Rules v Expectations? - Deeper thought required here.


Independent work - re Module 2.

Our Beliefs - notes, keywords and points from

PART ONE:  What Makes Great Teachers Great?

What makes a great teacher?

They care - people who listen, who care, who take an interest in me as a person not just as a learner in this class.

Natural, confident - self confident, care, develop relationships, empathy,

Can you tell if a teacher will be great?

You can tell when someone has a heart for teaching.  Great teachers become great.  They start with something.   Eagerness to make a difference.

You can see a teachers passion - you can see the relationship the interaction between teacher and students.

'It' factor?

When you walk into the room you truly feel special - great teachers realise that everything isn't about control, it isn't about over planning, it isn't about a delivery, it's about a truly interactive experience.  Great teachers often learn as much from their students as they give to their students back.

3 dimensional reality to learning - learning is a sensory experience - great teachers create learning experiences not just plan lessons.

Create and provide valuable learning experiences

Great teachers are remembered

Quality teaching and Quality learner come from a Great teacher

Children know who is a great teacher

Great teachers connect beyond the classroom - parents, whanau etc.

Re-wire - creative, relaxed teachers - need to reconnect - find the passion that they had - teachers need to feel confident and comfortable in what they know and do

The Courage to Teach - think globally - broadly - the big ideas - meaningful - engagement

Great teachers understand that learning evolves - chn will thrive

Compassionate, need to care about the kids - but need to be firm at the same time - expectations

Motivate children to explore, engage learners

Great teachers ensure consistency - take an interest in the child - they feel they are being nurtured, cared for, given opportunities to

Great teachers provide an oasis - a sanctuary for their learners

Great teachers see the child at the centre of the matter

Community time? - communication, openness to share, to be listened to, to have a voice

Parents know a teacher is great - if the child talks about their day it is a sign - if they come home and they want to share their achievements and  - joy and positivity

Great teachers instil in children the understanding of what they can do!

Be yourself - Give of yourself and give of your heart - Look into your heart - utilise your strengths




PART TWO: Changing our beliefs

• How does this video challenge any of the beliefs you have about teaching? 
• Why do you feel challenged? What are the things you agree/disagree with?
• Are there any actions you feel you'd like to take - areas of your teaching you want to change or try to do differently as a result of watching this?

MLP Challenge 1 - Rethinking Learning

This is my teams first Challenge presentation.  It was quite challenging to get my brain back into 'study mode' but it was well worth it.  I feel inspired by this new learning journey.  It's also great to be working collaboratively with others and is teaching me to be a good listener, thinker and collaborator.  Some of the readings have been challenging and the time commitment required is a lot but I feel this new learner will benefit my teaching and therefore have a positive impact on my learners and their learning outcomes.

Here is the link to the marking rubric and feedback we received for this challenge.

TER Teacher: Natalie Stone

This term I was lucky enough to have Natalie Stone who is a trained teacher in my class for four weeks.  She is completing the Teacher Education Refresher course which she was required to do because although she has graduated, she has not been in the classroom for five years and therefore she was not a registered teacher.

Natalie was a very capable teacher.  She readily took on board all suggestions, she listened carefully through learning conversations and readily reflected on her own practice.

Natalie began with teaching one reading, writing and maths group each for the first three weeks of her practicum.  She then had a visit and observation by one of her course facilitators.  The following week Natalie took full control of the class.

Having such an eager and enthusiastic teaching in the class with me and our tamariki was quite refreshing for me as I was able to support her in her learning.  Natalie was also able to provide another view of my class and our learners.  Our learning conversations and discussions of children and their learning needs were indepth and purposeful.  I believe this helped me to rethink some of the strategies and approaches that I was using and I also got to see and be inspire by some of the strategies, approaches and resources that Natalie used.

Overall it was a highly positive experience.  Natalie was fantastic.

Swimming 2017

At the end of last year I began organising for my team (Te Puawaitanga) to be involved in a week long swimming session at the Rotorua Aquatic Centre.  This was organised predominately via email with Megan from the Rotorua Lakes Swim School.

Our tamariki thoroughly enjoyed every lesson and the Swim School instructors were amazing with our tamariki.  We were also able to be involved in one Deep Water safety lesson of one hour.

These lessons and the bus transport to and from the pools by provided free to us as Megan was able to source funding via the Rotorua Lakes Council!

The learning outcomes for our tamariki have been immense especially water confidence and safety.

e-asTTle testing

Term 1 2017

Setting up e-asTTle reading test papers - the in's and out's of creating, assigning, marking and reporting - Woah!
Leading Te Puawaitanga
Glitches - online testing

Pre-2016 Teaching Blog - RTC

Prior to establishing this blog in 2017, I had a blog which documented my teaching and learning journey at James Street School in Whakatane.  Click here to view Whaea Kiri's Teaching Portfolio (2014-2015).  Note: 2016 I did not continue my blog as I moved to a new school and was introduced to the schools Learning Management site which was a one stop shop for Teacher recording of teaching, learning, planning, RTC and Teaching as Inquiry.  Here is the link to the site which is a google site not blog.

Practising Teacher Criteria Handbook

Here is a link to the Practising Teacher Criteria Handbook - english medium

Tataiako - Cultural Competencies

This year our Appraisal foci are based on the 5 Cultural Competencies from Tataiako.

They are ...

• Ako Practice in the classroom and beyond
• Wānanga Communication, problem solving, innovation
• Manaakitanga Values – integrity, trust, sincerity, equity
• Tangata Whenuatanga Place-based, socio-cultural awareness and knowledge
• Whanaungatanga Relationships (students, school-wide, community) with high expectations

Māori learners achieving educational success as Māori.

Each one clearly links to one or more of the twelve Practising Teacher Criteria.  As I document my teaching journey this year, I intend to link both the Cultural Competencies and PTC's to each of my posts using hash tags.