Stocktake so far...

It has come to that part of our inquiry where we have been asked to stocktake what we have done so far. I have used the questions below to help structure this blog post and have kept them in here as well just so you know what I am answering and why. 

Have I used a range of sources/ tools/ evidence about the students to understand their learning in a really rich and detailed way? Do these include: standardised assessments, student voice, whānau voice?

In my previous blog posts I have outlined some of the tools and evidence that I have used about the students in detail which has allowed me to really understand their learning in a rich and detailed way. Some of the key tools and evidence that I have used are:

• PAT Reading Data 
• PAT STAR Data 
• PROBE reading test
• Observations from guided reading
• Reflections from guided reading sessions
• Reader profile survey (student voice)
• Whānau voice I will gather from parent interviews later on this term.  

Do I understand their strengths at least as much as I understand their areas for development?

From the tools and evidence that I have collected I have been able to see the areas that my students excel in which is being able to decode really well. The students are also able to easily locate key information from the text to answer literal questions. I will continue to work on strengthening these areas as well as working towards filling the gaps. 

Have I developed a strong profile of their achievement based on sound theories from a range of relevant sources?

I have looked into some academic readings which I have written about in a previous blog post. I am also part of RPI this year so we have completed a range of readings that have linked to the changes that we have been making to our practice. I have also written about these changes in my RPI reflection blog posts after each session as well as the homework tasks that we needed to complete between sessions. 

Identify THREE measures you could use pre- and post- to compare students’ learning before and after your intervention.

I am going to be using a range of different tools to measure pre and post intervention to be able to compare learning. I will outline this below with a brief description. 

• PAT data - I will use Reading Comprehension and STAR to compare students data from the beginning and end of the year.
• Running Records & Probe tests - again I will compare this data from the beginning of the year to mid year to end of the year. 
• Reader profile survey - I will compare this data at three time points throughout the year to see if there are any changes to student voice on reading. 
• Observation data - I will collate this and see what trends I am noticing from observations. 

What opportunities have presented themselves during this time to innovate and collect evidence of students’ learning?

I have been very fortunate this year to be part of RPI so I have had a range of different ways to collect evidence pop up throughout the year so far. Form talking with colleagues and looking at data in depth I have also come up with different tools such as probe to have a different set of data to see what areas need extra development. Ground rules for talk has also been an incredible way to give students the power in group discussions, this is something I want to continue to develop. 

Stocktake so far

For our CoL PLG we have been asked to have think about our inquiry so far and to stocktake what we have done and where we are going. I have gone through each of the key parts of my inquiry so far and have taken a stocktake on what I have done and what I need to do in order to progress on CoL inquiry. Check this out below.

Tools and evidence

I have used a range of different tools in the classroom and have gathered a lot of evidence about my students to be able to really understand the needs of this group of students. When we have our parent interviews later on this term I will have conversations with whānu to ensure that I have some whānau voice in my intervention. 

Some of the tools that I have used are 

• Running records data from last year. 
• Running records from start of term 2 to gauge where the students are at and what areas of their reading needed work. 
• PAT data - I have looked into the PAT data of my students fro reading and have pulled out some key information that I will be able to compare with at the end of the year. 
• I have also taken anecdotal notes of my students while they are reading to be able to understand where each of my learners are at and what their individual work ons are. 

I will also be using our mid year running record data to see if my students have made any progress with their reading as well as look at the key areas that we need to work on. I have been having conversations with my students about reading and I would really like to complete some student voice surveys to compare from now and at the end of the year. 

Strengths and development

As we have been having guided reading sessions I have been taking notes of what my students are really good at and what their strengths are in reading. Most of my students are very good at being able to use clues from the text to answer literal questions well and in detail. My students also have really great decoding skills and are able to self correct if what they are reading doesn't;'t make sense. I will be able to use these strengths to help with the areas of development that these students need to work on.

Resources 

I have had some really rich conversations with colleagues around what I think I am seeing with this students and have been given some really great advice and next steps that I can work on with these students. This has also lead to research and reading that I have been recommended and looked at which given some very sound theories.

Measures

As I have stated above I will use a range of data for pre and post to compare students learning these include:

• Running record data 
• PAT data
• Teacher notes from guided reading sessions
• Student voice surveys

There may be some other key things that I look at in time as I have been looking into using the "Key into inference" tool that I could also use as a way to measure progress.

Opportunties

I have tried a few other little bits and pieces with this in the classroom as I know inferencing is something that needs a lot of practice and guidance. So it will be interesting to see if some of these little things have had an impact as well. I will continue to collect this data in guided reading sessions as well as recoding students completing their follow up activities to see if there are continued rich and extended discussions.

I am really excited to think about the changes that I will implement and see where my students can grow from there, watch this space!