Semester 2 Focus days

Reflection on 3 days at Kelson Primary School reading recovery unit

While I was at Kelson Primary school I was fortunate to spend time observing the reading recovery unit, helping with a year 3 reading group and helping with a new entrant class. I was quickly welcomed into the school community and was a great experience to observe and be part of a primary school setting as a kaiako pitomata (rather than a parent).

The first thing I quickly observed was for some ākonga literacy is not an easy skill for them to pick up. There was was a lot of energy and effort required to read and write. During my observation at the reading recovery unit Mrs Smith was teaching the ākonga skills that they can apply throughout their life. As life long learners we will frequently come across language that we have never seen before, having the skills and confidence to approach this is important in the ever changing world we live in. Breaking down the words they did not know into smaller words or letter combinations they knew. Reading around the unknown word to help make sense of what the words means. Pausing to think did that make sense. I saw how the ākonga would see a word they were not sure off and then feel they could not read that sentence or book. The word would throw them and their confidence would be shaken, I saw this on my practicum with the secondary ākonga with science words and especially in exam questions. Learning the skills to not be thrown by unfamiliar language helps with gaining further knowledge through literacy. I also observed to encourage the ākonga to not dwell on things for too long, not overthink the word. If you keep the flow of reading moving along the meaning will come. If you overthink you will question yourself and doubt what you know. This is another skill I can take to the secondary classroom to help the less confident ākonga. I can personally relate to this as well where if I overthink a question I loose my confidence in what I am doing. To help with getting their thoughts onto paper was another skill I observed Mrs Smith teach her ākonga. By getting them to count out the words on their fingers and repeat the thought multiple times aloud helped them to get their ideas written on the paper, then to reread what they wrote to see if that matched with they said on their fingers. This is another skill that I can apply for secondary ākonga, getting them to focus on the words they want to write down and repeat in their head several times to gain confidence before they put words on paper, then re read what you have written to clarify the thought. When you read some ākonga answers to tests or exams you can see they have lost their train of thought and panic has set in, they even can undo a correct answer.

In the relationship building I saw Mrs Smith build on their confidence levels by not overwhelming the ākonga. This was done by starting at the reading level they were very confident at and slowly push them into new learning. This meant the relationship between the ākonga and the kaiako was built on in a safe environment where the limits of each ākonga was respected and explored. In the 7 ākonga I observed they were all happy to be there and work with Mrs Smith, it was a safe space for them to learn and grow in.

In observing/helping the year 3 reading group as well as the new entrant class I saw a lot of skills that are used in the primary years as well as the secondary years at school. Setting clear expectations of behaviour, setting clear learning goals, having clear task instructions. Having behaviour management in place if needed. Being open to listening and working alongside the ākonga.

Reflection on 2 days at Raphael House Rudolph Steiner School

I spent 2 days at the upper school at Raphael House in Lower Hutt. I was able to sit in on 2 main lessons and 7 subject spells across the year groups and disciplines offered at the school. It was only a short visit but I took in that the learners are at the centre of the learning. The stages of development are supported from kindergarten through to the upper school. Head, hand and heart are the main focus points for the lessons in the upper school.

The main lessons are an hour and a half long and have theme to link the learning they have done in the subject spells. The main lessons have a practical aspect to it, normally a camp or trip. I observed a surveying main lesson, where they learnt about the tools used to survey and make maps. The history of surveying, maths involved in surveying. The class were set a project task where they were told what they were going to do over the next 3 weeks, including the marks for the work they hand in. This included a camp away where they would survey the camp site and make a map. It was great to have a significant amount of time to link the learning they had done in the subject spells into a practical real life situation. The subject spells are similar to the mainstream school classes. The ākonga start the unit with the assessment schedule and outline of what they were learning over the unit. They are taught the content using UDL and differentiation, finding hooks to engage them into the lesson. I feel as if the mainstream schools are transitioning more into the learning style similar to Steiner. To link the relatable examples into the content and to work with the strengths of the ākonga, work with them to find their path and to achieve their goals. I liked how the ākonga use the kaiako's first name, and they do not need to wear a uniform. To me it makes the learning platform equal and personal between the kaiako and the ākonga. The ākonga being able to wear their clothes allows comfort for learning, for them to express their individuality among their peers. There were no bells between the classes which I have experienced on one of my practicums and it was a nice environment not waiting for bells to ring, even though we are still on time constraints of when spells are it provides a different transition feeling without bells.