The running theme for our final day of the RPI was the impact of connection on our learners. How fostering a reading community through deliberate acts of sharing has a powerful impact on all learners.
As educators, we constantly strive to create meaningful learning experiences for our students, and today we recapped and delved deeper into the power of connection and sharing our learning in the classroom and within our wider communities.
Fiona Grant talked about the Manaiakalani kaupapa and how important the 'Share' part of 'Learn, Create Share' is. She shared how Manaiakalani has embraced this concept, using digital tools to build communities and promote learning.
Sharing Creates Connection
Fiona shared with us about the early days of Manaiakalani where the goal was to provide learners with an audience to help them develop a sense of self-worth. Sharing work on blogs goes beyond the linear process of learning; it becomes a loop where new learning is stimulated through comments and feedback. It opens doors to inspiration, growth, and opportunities for everyone involved, fostering a sense of belonging and purpose in the learning community.
The Learn, Create, Share Model
The Learn, Create, Share approach enables the sharing of reading values, texts, and learning among learners, peers, teachers, whānau, and the wider community. It's not just about reading a text; it's about connecting with others, sharing insights, and collectively growing as a community of learners.
Naomi’s Top Tips for Creating and Sharing on Blogs
- Plan for Regular Sharing Opportunities: Think of a two-week cycle that includes all subjects, ensuring every learner has the opportunity to create and share content on a blog.
- Incorporate a think/peer/share step: Add a simple think/peer/share step to the creation process. This could be as basic as comparing answers, instantly turning the learning into a collaborative experience.
- Use Multiple Assessment Methods: A range of formal and informal assessment methods should be used to make informed judgments about students' progress and achievement. Looking closely at a student’s blog can provide valuable insights.
The Role of Feedback and Feedforward
Georgie reminded us about the role of feedback. Feedback is an essential component of effective teaching and learning. It's not just about the amount of feedback but its quality. Research suggests that feedback should be specific, descriptive, and provide clear next steps for improvement (Absolum, M - Clarity in the Classroom). Effective feedback involves:
- An understanding of the desired goal
- Evidence of the student's current position in relation to that goal
- Guidance on how to close the gap between the two.
Clarke (2003) outlines three types of prompts that can be used depending on the learner’s needs. Good to keep in mind when marking students' learning.
- Reminder Prompt: Reinforcing previously discussed strategies, e.g., "Remember we talked yesterday about words with italics and what we need to do with our voice…"
- Scaffold Prompt: Guiding the learner through the process, e.g., "Try rereading that sentence again and put emphasis on the word in italics to show amazement…"
- Example Prompt: Provide a concrete example, e.g., "Try emphasising the word in italics with your voice to show amazement, like this: 'You aren’t going to eat that, are you?'"
The Importance of Collaboration
We then talked about how to encourage active participation in reading communities. It is vital to establish, maintain, and refine sharing and collaborative practices. You need to plan for these oppotunties.
Collaboration can take many forms, including:
- Paired or Buddy Reading: Listening to and responding to each other’s reading.
- Co-Creating Responses to Texts: Discussing and collaboratively writing responses.
- Blog Commenting and Peer Feedback: Engaging with peers through constructive comments.
- Sharing Enjoyable Texts: Encouraging learners to share the books they love.
- By embedding these practices in classroom activities, we create a vibrant, collaborative learning environment where every student feels valued and heard.
Engaging Whānau in the Reading Journey
This is always been the hardest part of teaching for me so was great to hear some ideas about how to engage our whānau. I have always known that for learners to fully engage in reading communities, it's essential to build connections with their families and the wider community. Here are some ideas that were shared for classroom events that invite whānau to participate:
- Book Week: A week dedicated to celebrating books and reading.
- Favourite Book Character Dress-Up Day: Encourages students to engage creatively with their favourite texts.
- Plays from Parts of a Favourite Book: Bring stories to life through drama.
- Author Visits: Invite local authors to share their writing journey.
- Sharing Family Stories: A day where families share their favourite texts, be it family histories, legends, or even Bible stories.
- Kaumātua Story-Sharing Day: Involve elders in the community to share their stories and wisdom.
- Tuakana/Teina Pānui Tahi - Shared Reading Day: Promote reading partnerships between older and younger students.
Lastly, Naomi led us through a reflection of everything we learned during the RPI. She reminded us that the "Learn, Create, Share" model is the bedrock of our shared pedagogy, and that layering these key ideas across the pillars of practice is how we cater to the needs of all our learners.
Reflecting on all of the RPI sessions, I feel that I have learned valuable insights into enhancing my current reading practice to better support my students. I have gained many useful tools to help shape my student's dispositions, skills, and independence to become lifelong readers.
We explored many practical tools for effective reading planning and assessment, which will help me design more tailored and differentiated learning experiences. I also learned how to implement and sustain some of the key points in the Manaiakalani reading practice model in a way that aligns with my school's needs.
The RPI provided me with new strategies and inspiration to help my students become confident and passionate readers. Thank you, Noami, Goegie and Anna for sharing this learning journey with me.
