Preliminary Findings: Student Wellbeing and Student Voice Surveys

Due to what has been happening this term with lots of children in and out of school due to sickness and other reasons my biggest focus was students wellbeing. Reading is my overall inquiry focus but in order to figure out my next steps there I wanted to ensure that my students wellbeing was being looked at and addressed. Wellbeing is so important and I believe that this needs to be understood before any learning can take place. If a child has low wellbeing how do we expect them to learn in the classroom with so much going on in their own worlds.

Building relationships with my students this year has been a challenge due to the number of ins and outs there have been. So i conducted some wellbeing surveys so that I could have a clearer understanding of my students well being and what they needed from me as their teacher to help school and learning to be enjoyable and not something that they dread each day. I conducted two surveys that I adapted from other surveys I had found online to fit with my students and also the types of data that I was looking for. Below I have summarised some of the key data I found from these surveys. 

Student Wellbeing Survey Results 

The first graph shows how the students feel overall at school. As you can see from the graph 15 of my students strongly agree with this statement where I also have a number of students who somewhat disagree or strongly disagree. This has given me a great indication of how my students feel coming to school along with an area that I need to investigate why these students don't feel happy at school. My hunch is that there is a slight fear of being at school with covid in our community however this is something to investigate further. 

Another statement in this survey was teachers are there to help me. This graph shows that the majority of students strongly agree with this statement with a small portion who somewhat disagree. Most of the data indicates that students feel like teachers are at school to help them learn, I kept this broad as I wanted students to not feel like they had to base in on the current classroom teacher. Again this data has shown an area to investigate further and see what I can do more as a teacher to ensure that all of my students feel that they can come to a teacher for help. 

Another key statement in this survey was school is mostly fun. I thought that this is an important question for students to be able to answer as it would gauge how the students feel coming to school and if they are having fun at school. This is a big aim for us at Pt England to make sure that children are coming back to school and also having fun at the same time. Again from this data I can see that most of the students agree to some extent with only a small number disagreeing with this statement. We have been trying to incorporate a lot more fun days and activities so far this year so looks like this could definitely be something to continue on with. 

Student voice survey results

Another survey that I conducted with my class was to find out student voice and see how they felt in the classroom with their peer, learning and teachers. Below are some of the key results I found out along with a brief discussion. 

This question was I feel safe in the class sharing my ideas, the data shows that some to most of the time the students do feel that that can share with some feeling like they don't often or hardly ever feel safe to share ideas. This is an important area as I would like all of the students to feel safe to share thoughts and ideas with each other. This links to confidence as well which I do hope to see increase over the year. 

This question was I know what to do when I have a problem, the majority of the class at least some of the time know what to do when they have a problem with a small portion not really sure. This again is another important work on as students should know what to do when they have a problem and should know how to seek help when needed.

This next question was similar to the previous survey but I related this one to how students feel about their teacher. This one was phrased as I feel like my teacher knows me. The data shows that all of the students at least some of the time feel like the teacher knows about them and their lives. I think this is really important if we are wanting students to succeed they need to know that their teacher is also there to support them. 

Finally the last question of significance in this survey was linked to learning and if students did know what they were actually learning about. From the data I can see that this is an area that needs continued development. 

From both of these surveys I managed to gain a greater insight to my class and see some areas of strength as well as some areas that require development throughout the year. I think having wellbeing and student achievement and engagement linked will have a huge impact on not only student achievement but also about how they feel about coming to school. These are just some of the questions not all by all means but just a snapshot into the class to begin the year. 

Tools, measures and approaches

While thinking about my inquiry and the direction I am wanting to focus on I have spent a bit of time thinking about the best tools and measure that I could use to have a more detailed and accurate profile of my students learning in relation to my achievement challenge. Below are detailed outlines of all of the tools, measures and approaches I hope to look at for my inquiry. 

Running records:
I have already looked at reading ages and levels for each of my learners but I would like to have a more in-depth look into the areas that the students need to work on. I will go through and read the individual comments from the last assessor. I will also look at the questions that the students have got wrong and analyse the decoding of the text to gain a clearer picture.

Guided reading sessions:
These sessions will be the best to find out where my students are at and the gaps that they might have in their learning. I will make sure to note down all of the things that I can see from guided reading sessions. I would also like to gauge confidence in reading from my learners which can again be obtained from taking notes during guided reading and I will like to try and record students reading one on one with me and in a group to see that level of confidence that each of these students have. 

Reading survey:
Part of my inquiry is also looking at student enjoyment so I will complete a survey this term to see how the students feel about reading and what are some key areas that I can work on to make reading more enjoyable.

These are some of the key measures that I will look at using in my inquiry to gain a more accurate profile of my students learning in relation to my inquiry challenge.   

Identifying the challenge

After our last PLG I have been thinking about the challenge of my students learning and wondering how I can frame this in a way that not only looks at reading but also student wellbeing and confidence in reading. I have a few conversations with colleagues and how I can collect data to show this progress throughout the year and also what do I actually need to collect data wise to for my overall inquiry. The key things that I have come to want to get out of my inquiry is:

• Raise reading achievement of my learners who are reading just below their actual age
• Assess student wellbeing and what I can do to ensure that all learners feel engaged, happy and heard. 
• Help learners increase their confidence in reading and sharing what they have learnt from reading. 
  
  

I have selected this as my challenge of student learning because I think that reading is a key part in all curriculum areas. In order to access other subjects and excel all students need a solid reading foundation to understand and think critically. The pattern I have seen by looking at the reading age data for the last few years show that there are a large number of year 5 students who enter year 6 reading below there they need to be. In year 5 they are considered to be just below where they need to be however the gap then continues to grow the further up the school the students get. So my key question is how can we bridge that gap? What can I do to help my learners achieve a reading age of 10 or above before they enter year 6?

Looking at my class data I have a number of students who are reading at 8-8.5 years (levels 23-25 PM). This is my target group of learners for this year. You can see the data outlined below. 

Student ID	Level Achieved	Reading Age	Actual Age March
Student A	Level 22	8 Years	8y 10m
Student B	Level 23	8.5 Years	9y 3m
Student C	Level 23	8.5 Years	9y 7m
Student D	Level 23	8.5 Years	9y 8m
Student E	Level 24	8.5 Years	9y 4m
Student F	Level 24	8.5 Years	9y 3m
Student G	Level 24	8.5 Years	9y 2m
Student H	Level 24	8.5 Years	8y 10m
Student I	Level 24	8.5 Years	9y 6m
Student J	Level 24	8.5 Years	9y 6m
Student K	Level 24	8.5 Years	9y 7m
Student L	Level 24	8.5 Years	9y 3m

Why this group?

The reason I want to focus on this group is because they are currently reading just below their chronological age and seem to stay at these levels moving into year 6 which therefore places them below where they need to be reading as a year 6. From previously teaching the year 6 students I have seen that there then tends to be a large number of students arriving to year 6 either still at the same levels or one or two higher which is still below the age that they need to be. I am also keen to look at the data for my students who are reading at 9 and 9.5 years and seeing if what changes I make for this target group can also impact my this other group as well. 

CoL PLG 2

Our second PLG for the year was held online due to our alert level still being in red. During our session we were put into breakout groups to discuss what direction we would like to take with our inquiry this year and how we could incorporate wellbeing and student engagement within the inquiry. This was really beneficial as it gave me the opportunity to talk through my ideas with other CoL colleagues and leaders and gain insight and advice on the path to take and what direction to continue on in. 

My takeaways

Having these conversations was very beneficial as they allowed me to think more critically about my inquiry and how I can incorporate wellbeing, engagement and confidence into my reading inquiry this year. In pervious year I have focused mostly on the reading data itself and not necessarily looked at other aspects of reading and how to strengthen this in the classroom and for learners at home. 

Next steps 

• Create or obtain a wellbeing survey to see how students are doing overall with being back at school. 
• Gauge reading enjoyment and students perspective on their own reading and what they think they need in order to be more successful in reading. I think I will use another type of survey to assess this maybe a google form. 
• Record my students reading and take notes in regards to confidence when reading aloud one on one and then in a group setting. 
• Continue on with generic reading follow up tasks related to the learning intention - big focus on the guided reading session, this will supplement the teaching. 

Questions and wonderings

 During our last CoL PLG we were asked to think about our classes and what they are looking like this term and this year. We were asked some key questions to get us thinking about our inquiry direction while also thinking about the current climate of the world and what our new sort of normal looks like. These questions have been very thought provoking and have lead to some create conversations with my colleagues and what direction I could take my inquiry. As I have already discussed I believe reading is a fundamental element to all subject areas which is why this is a passion and focus that I want to keep inquiring into with a new lens that includes engagement, wellbeing and enjoyment. Below are some of the questions we were asked to think about during our PLG along with some of my pondering about each one:

What is is like coming back to school for you?

This year has already had many changes with students being in and out with covid and then moving to a hybrid type of learning which I have discussed in my previous blog post. I feel like we started the year (well I know I did) ready for it to be back some kind of normality. However I don't think any of us knows that this new normal is going to be like! It has been really great to be back in the classroom this year, the masks have been hard but it has a nice feel about it. The changes can be challenging at times but I feel like the last few years have taught us to just roll with it which makes it a bit easier to navigate these constant changes in the classroom. 

What is the vibe in your class?

I have found that the students are really excited to be back at school and being able to see their friends and learn face to face. The social aspect is really great and it is so nice to see all of the children being about to talk and share with their peers again. The way we have set up hybrid learning has been great for that as well as students who need to isolate are going home, jumping online and completing the same work as the students at home and when they come back to school they are all on the same page and can get back to talking about their learning. The transitioning has been working really well in my class and it is now just our new normal. Welcoming the children back has become a normal new reality for us as well and the students are just taking it in their stride and getting on with it. 

What have you noticed about whānau- what is it like for them right now?

The communication that I have had with whānau of my students has been positive and they are all wanting their children to keep learning at home while isolating and coming back to school to learn once that isolation period is over. I feel that because we have been going in and out of school for the last few years our whānau are now used to the way it works and are happy to help out in any way that they can. I have had the privilege of being able to contact all of the families in my team as I have been running the online side of learning and most whānau I have spoken to are in good spirts and understand that the isolation periods are short and are comfortable to send their children back to school. A lot of whānau I have spoken at are really happy that we are able to keep schools open and in general just roll with it themselves. 

What excites you about this year?

I think the biggest thing that excites me about this year is being able to keep face to face learning happening. The last few years it has been great with the online learning and attendance of my students but it does limit and change the way we build and develop relationships with our learners. I am excited to be able to teach the core subjects in the classroom with groups and most importantly being able to have conversations and discussions as a class where everyone is able to talk freely without having to mute and unmute a microphone on a chromebook. I think as changeable as things are going to be this year the most important thing is being able to keep the learning and wellbeing of our students as normal as possible in order for the students to get the best out of their learning and experiences this year. 

Hybrid Learning

The last few weeks have been an interesting few weeks! Our number of students at school dropped dramatically for a week or so and then have started to pick back up again. This made us as a school reflect on what was needed for our community in order to continue giving our learners access to their learning and education. We deiced as a school to have a hybrid way of learning where our students at school would continue on with learning as "normal" as possible with the option for our students at home isolating to continue learning at the same time. 

What does this look like?

For our students at home we have gone back to our online learning model that we have used for the last few years with out team. Students have access to learning each day as well as two Google Meets a day to connect with a teacher from our team. The students at school are then shared among the teachers at school to continue learning at school. I have been tasked with looking after our online learners for the last few weeks and it has been an interesting and rewarding experience. 

In our first two weeks I had a large number of students learning online due to isolating at home. This was where we had more students online than at school. It was really beneficial for the students and their families have access to this while at they were needing to be at home. 

Online learning 

The online learning model that I set up was similar to previous years where students has access to reading, writing, maths and a design task each day. We have looked at different countries around the world which has peaked interest each day to come online and join the meets and find out what we are learning. (Pictured below)

We would also run two meets a day, one at 9am and the other at 12pm for the students to check in with me online for help with the work on the site and also wellbeing checks. 

My focus for the 9am online meet was always an introduction to the topic where we would go though each task for the day in detail and read the text as a group. Students would also have the opportunity to ask for help if they needed it. Our 12pm meets were always a wellbeing meet with a bit of fun for the students as well. I wanted to have it like this so we would have engagement with our learners online which would also then transition into coming back to school. 

The students seemed to really enjoy the online learning with many ready to return straight back to school after isolation periods. By keeping the learning going online and showing that school was a safe place to be after isolating it allowed the students to feel more comfortable coming back to school. It has also made those at school who need to go into isolation more comfortable with jumping online when they are at home and making the transitions easy. 

School learning 

This week our numbers has increased considerably with my class now being at almost 70% back in class. This has been a great change to see and has also changed the way in which we are running our online learning. We will continue to run it as is for the rest of this week and then will change to focus more on the students who are at school while also providing some sort of online learning to those who are at home isolating. My thoughts at this stage are to reduce the number of online meets to one a day where it is just a check in with the learners and see how they are going while also providing daily activities for them to complete. While those students at school will have "normal" like the beginning of the year learning. 

By having this option of online learning still accessible it will be easy to change to the demands of our team for those who need online learning and those who need at school learning. This has been a great way to try and continue on with engaged learners both at home and at school.