Making the Junior curriculum concept driven and student-led

LEM and I have been chatting about how we could make the junior curriculum more relevant to the students and the world they live in. We started thinking about all the ways climate change could be used to hook into the science junior curriculum. How it could be used as a context for multiple content needs in science.

We threw around some ideas at morning tea time, then while my class were doing an assessment I started to pull them into a mindmap using Coggle to link the ideas of climate change, to the Science content, and on to the type of assessments or investigations that could be done.

The goal would be for students to investigate their own interests within a larger framework. When I started to link the content that is essential to Year 9 and 10 it turned out the whole two years could be investigated within the context of Climate Change in Year 9 or Sustainability in Year 10.

The intention is to allow teachers some fluidity in what and how they teach allowing them to follow the students interests. The assessments can be chosen by the teacher to be either a research investigation, using secondary sources; or a practical investigation collating primary data.
Each class would be constrained by having to do at least 6 assessments to report back on, at least 3 research and 3 practical investigations, and for each content strand in the Science curriculum to be assessed at least once. Students who are really into biology can do 3 Living World  themed projects, as long as they still do once each for Physical World, Material World, and Planet Earth and Beyond.

The teacher can follow the students enthusiasms anywhere on the mind map, or beyond if the students are so inclined. As the assessments are Nature of Science based they are comparable.

SNC has developed some good assessment tools, assessing skills not content, so they can be used across different assessment contexts, but still be comparable. The repeated use of these assessment rubrics, coupled with their explicit teaching in class will allow students to both identify what they need to do within an assessment, and identify what their next goals will be to attain the next level in their progression.

Class differentiation in Level 2 Chemistry

For Term 3 I have split each Chemistry class into two groups. One group of the academically focussed students, and another of the students who are happy to just get their 14 credits. The academic kids are going to work on both remaining externals, and the others on one external.

Parents have been contacted to ensure that it is clear what their child is doing, and have been asked to respond to me to acknowledge that they are in agreement with the choice that they are making.



<Date>


<Parents>
<Postal Address>


Dear <Salutation>

Re : <First Name> <Last Name> <Class>

From this term in Chemistry, and for the remainder of the year the classes within the course has been split into two working groups. One group comprises the students who are planning to take Level 3 Chemistry in 2018, and may be planning a career or further study in which they may use Chemistry ("The L3/Career" group). The second group are students who have decided that Chemistry does not feature in their future plans, and are aiming to get enough credits at Level 2 to pass the course, but do not plan to take their study of Chemistry any further (dubbed the "I just want my credits" group). So far the students are self-selecting the group they want to be in.

The L3/Career group will be working at a quick pace through two Externally assessed Achievement Standards, 2.6 Chemical Reactivity, and 2.5 Organic Chemistry. It is necessary that this group is diligent about keeping up with the work, and this will require regular homework.

 The "I just want my credits" group will be spending their time learning Organic Chemistry and revising the 2.4 Atomic Structure and Bonding standard we covered last term.

All learning for externals should be completed in time for the school exams in Week 9 of Term 3. After the school exams we will tackle the final internally assessed standard 2.7 Oxidation and Reduction.

<First> has yet to choose a group. Please discuss with <First Name> which group <he> will select to be in to ensure that you and <he> are comfortable with his choice.  I also ask that you confirm that you are aware of <his> choice in a response to this email.

Yours faithfully,


<Teacher>
<TeacherEmail>

Students choosing me to talk to.

I have had a number of students come to my class when they should be elsewhere. Yesterday one came when she was meant to be at the SSC because she felt more comfortable talking to me than the people at the SSC as we have built a relationship. I let Lynda at the SSC know and she was happy with me to talk to the student in question.

I think the relationship I have is due to my trying for a mix between getting them to do their work, and learn Science, but at the same time I try not to be judgemental about what they tell me. I point out that what they are doing may not lead them to where they need to be, but I don't try and force the issue with them. It's very much an approach where I try and steer them in the direction that I think they need to go, but without being pushy.

Wanting the best for my students

I have been taking a special interest in "I" in my Whanau class. He is a very capable student, and very good-natured and willing to give back. He can, with thought and planning, be successful in both the Maori and Pakeha worlds, and I am trying to help him navigate that.

Today we had a chat in Whanau about what he wants, in the short term and the long term, and we are starting to talk about his options. He would like to go into Carpentry. I have been talking to people that I know in the business and that may not be advisable as the industry in Whangarei appears to be controlled by a cartel keeping wages and movement between firms down. We are looking at Engineering courses, that allow him to fulfill family commitments, while earning, learning, and being a stepping to a full engineering degree.

We also talked about how we need students to go out and be successes in both worlds, then to come back and show others that it can be done. I later heard that he went to his friend in the next class and told him about our conversation, and he was all chuffed that I had called him one of the students we want as a role model.

Revising assessment tasks

I was responsible for the research task component of the new Year 9 curriculum in the first term. Now that I am marking the task I am adapting it. As it was the first time that we have used it we have discovered some changes that need to be made to be streamlined.

The students have not been very good at picking out the important parts to achieve at a higher level. On reflection I plan to make it clearer in the instructions what they need to do and when it needs to be done.

The post-assessment evaluation and reflection tool does not lend itself to Google Forms in the current format. In the future I will make two documents. One that is all instructions, including a time break-down, and one that they will use as a log and complete. In addition I would put a mostly blank document onto the Google Classroom assignment in order that all the files are in the same place.

Student Wellbeing and

The Year 10's did a test last period. Through a concerted push I managed to get the test scripts marked and returned the next lesson and took the time to go through each question explaining how to approach that question and what the answer was.

Afterwards each student was asked to write on the paper their immediate thoughts on the test and the unit it assessed, focussing on how they had worked and how they approached the test. This was then extended with guided reflection set for them on Google Classroom.


Think about the topic so far and write a reflection. Include in your reflection
- How well you worked in the unit ( Did you try your best every lesson or were you goofing off, DId you persevere when it was hard, or give up?)
- How seriously you took the test? Did you persevere and try to figure stuff out
- How well did you do compared to how well you felt about the test when you did it.
- What your goal for the next unit is. Your goal should be challenging but achieveable
- What are you going to do to achieve this goal.


The majority of the class took the task seriously and there were some very good responses. At the end of the unit we will refer back to this to see how they got along and I intend to repeat it each unit to guide them through self-review and improvement cycles. Hopefully it will help them to learn skills in planning and reflection which are vital to self-management.

As a consequence of this I had an interesting conversation with a student who had received distressing news on the day of the test. On confiding to me what the upset was, I reassured her and she seemed fine. I am concerned for her longer term though, so I have let the counsellor who the student is, asking her to keep an eye out.

L2Chem start to year

I spent the first three weeks of the L2 Chemistry course reteaching ideas from L1 Science. It was brought home to me last year how unprepared some of the students are for L2, and how loose the entry criteria are to get into the class. I pretested and then re-tested the students. There was an improvement, but even so many students are still going to need a lot of extra support.

I have started the year with a letter home to all parents introducing myself and ensuring that they are aware that their student will have to work consistently all year to have a successful year in Chemistry. I also sent the letter by post to a few parents to ensure equity.

A big part of the homework this year is online revision and testing using the website BestChoice. I explained the point of this to parents and asked to be informed if this would be an issue so that I could make alternative arrangements for their child. I have at least one student for whom this will be an issue and have already discussed it with them. They are happy to come in to the tutorial time and have access to laptops then so they don't miss out on the learning opportunity.

Success on resubs

I have been working with some of the chemistry students who failed achievement standards earlier in the year. All those who stayed in the class for the full year have managed to achieve all the credits they were entered into, which means they are entering exams with 10 Chemistry credits under their belt.
They are also all intending to do Chemistry next year. I am quite pleased with that even though I still don't know who is teaching the Level 3 next year.

The last students to get their assessments needed more practice time. For the repeats I gave them lots and lots of practice questions until they felt ready. Part of it has been the maturing of the students.

 This year I have identified the weaknesses that have come through from the Level 1 classes and I am planning how to ameliorate those at the start of the year to make the classes confident in their abilities from the start. Hopefully this will also address the relatively high attrition rate. Some of the attrition was due to bad course selection, but a few I think were because they felt discouraged when they didn't pass the first Achievement Standard.

How to help students when they don't want it.

What to do about a student who doesn't want to be helped.
A student who is usually full of life came into class and kept herself apart. She took a computer and logged in. When I went to check in with her she avoided my gaze and started crying, but really wanted to not be noticed. I gave her a note to deliver to a teacher who was not teaching this period, but she just wants to be left alone. I have no idea what has upset her, but this class have a lot of stuff going on, with parents that cannot be contacted, or parents that are in jail, or long histories with CYFS. I really think she needs to talk to someone, but I feel at a loss of what to do when she doesn't want help.

Dangerous Student

Yesterday I had a recalcitrant student who arrived with an attitude. There are obviously some other issues happening in his life that are interfering in his school.
He was removed from class but was reluctant. I don't think I can make much progress with him until these other things are dealt with. I left him in the corridor with the LSA. He was swearing and thumping the walls and was eventually convinced to go to the deans. I could not have him in the classroom as he was damaging the learning environment of others and had the potential to get physical with me, his peers, or the classroom environment.

The PTC's for reference

PTC’s

1. … establish and maintain effective professional relationships focused on the learning and well-being of all akonga

2. … demonstrate commitment to promoting the well-being of all akonga

3. … demonstrate commitment to bicultural partnership in Aotearoa New Zealand

4. … demonstrate commitment to ongoing professional learning and development of personal professional practice

5. … show leadership that contributes to effective teaching and learning

6. … conceptualise, plan and implement an appropriate learning programme

7. … promote a collaborative, inclusive and supportive learning environment

8. … demonstrate in practice their knowledge and understanding of how akonga learn

9. … respond effectively to the diverse language and cultural experiences, and the varied strengths, interests and needs of individuals and groups of akonga

10. … work effectively within the bicultural context of Aotearoa New Zealand

11. … analyse and appropriately use assessment information, which has been gathered formally and informally

12. … use critical inquiry and problem solving effectively in their professional practice

The Rock Cycle with 10NR

10NR have been more engaged in this Earth Science unit than for most this year. I believe it is a combination of a growing maturity and improved literacy skills, certain students having been relocated to another class and the change of teaching plans. I have been actively seeking more demonstative and interactive learning experiences and Earth Science is a unit where this is easier to do than in others.

Two girls went to the SSC immediately at the start of the lesson as one of them had red raised knuckles and the seond went for moral support.

Today was the rock cycle which was the perfect time to do a hands on activity. The crayon rock cycle. an oldie but a goody. I have done it a few times before, but I have yet to perfect the execution.
10NR were as predicted very enthusiastic about the smashing of crayons with a hammer, the jumping on crayon bits, and the melting of crayon bits. I'm never sure how much I am getting through to them as to why we are doing the activity and getting them to link the smashing and jumping with the weathering and pressure that they represent.

The theory work that came afterwards was resisted, but after Friday the girls were insistent on music so the deal was as long as the work was being done, they could have music.