Professional Learning goals

Goal 1

To use basic language in class as greetings/farewells (kia ora, tēnā koe and ka kite anō). I will work on my pronunciation over the next couple of weeks. I will look into more words I can use in my vocabulary with the ākonga I have an aim to have at least 10 words I will regularly use while I am on practicum in class.

Reflection

In the beginning I was using mōrena and kia ora. When town names were being pronounced in class (for example Kapiti) I was pronouncing correctly. I did not hold up the te reo in the class which I became aware of the more that the practicum went on. I found I was getting too focused on the content of the class and making sure I had the background knowledge for the ākonga.

I need to make this a priority for my next practicum and to do this I have started reflecting on the words that I can easily put into my lessons. For example korero I can use this when I ask the ākonga to discuss as a group or as a class. I will look up other ways to say great work but can start off with kia pai. I will get the words up on my wall and use them with my own children over the next couple of weeks so I am more comfortable with them. Use the resources on the internet to help me have words recorded so I can listen to them.

At St Orans they have an external mentor coming in to help staff with te reo māori. If she is on site when I am on practicum next term make sure I go to the sessions.

Goal 2

Start connecting with the ākonga talking to them find out about their interests, what they enjoy in the class. When they feel more comfortable with me I will ask more about their background and culture. I can do this from day one on observations so when I start taking lessons I have a connection started. I will use the interests and backgrounds to help me plan out my lessons so it is relative to them. I will ask them for feedback on what worked for them.

Evidence

Practicum progress report p3 and p4

Reflection

From the start of practicum as I was observing the classes I started to walk around the class and help the ākonga. When I started to take lessons I introduced myself and gave a quick background this helped form more connections. I had several ākonga talk to me about the school my children go to and about where I worked.

By the end of week 3 I felt like a lot of the ākonga were comfortable talking to me and were able to ask me questions. I would sit next to the ākonga or get down to eye level with them to help them with their questions. I felt the trust of the ākonga build the more time I spent with them. For the year 9 and 10 ākonga they were more engaged with my discussions and made more eye contact. For the year 12 and year 13 the trust built as my knowledge became apparent to them. They saw me work out problems in front of them and get them to follow along with me.

Being part of the tutor group was also a nice informal way to meet some of the ākonga and watch and be part of the fun activities they were involved in. For example the coin design for the relay for life. The more the ākonga got to know me the more smiles and recognition I got around the school grounds, the more thank you for the class as they left the lesson.

I was building up the number of names of the ākonga I knew. Over the holidays I will learn the rest of the names ready for when I go back for 1B. I also want to work on getting feedback from the ākonga about what worked for them, changes I can make to the delivery of the lesson.