Indooroopilly State School:
Classroom Observations:
I observed in both year 2 and year 6 classrooms and the following are some things I observed:
Tic and X mark system:
Tic or check mark systems. During Prep physical education class, the teacher was showing students a "tic" or check mark with his hands or an "X" mark with his hands saying to remember that we are looking for "tick behaviors", not "cross behaviors". Then I saw in one classroom (I wish now I had taken a picture, but I did not think it important at the time), a tic and x mark sheet on the wall identifying expected and unexpected behaviors for students and they could get their name on the charts in the tic column for expected behaviors. Then when I went into a public "toilet" later that day, I saw this picture of a "tic" and "x" chart for expected and unexpected behavior for use of the toilet. I thought it was interesting that the school was using the same system that the public restroom in that town was using. I am not sure if it is a town thing or coincidence, but it was neat to see common systems in the school and a public place in the town. One reinforces the other.
Looks, Sounds, Feels Like Visuals:
I saw the "looks like", "sounds like" and "feels like" charts in the one classroom that they created around their school codes/expectations:
My husband, Jeff, was talking about the one high school he observed in using these terms in a health education class around the area of sun safety. He said after he saw it being used in one classroom, he saw some signs for these posted in a different classroom with a different teacher, so he stated that it must be a school wide process. So, I was observing a lesson and saw this posted on the white board during reading lesson in a Year 2 classroom. As the teacher was go through the lesson, she then showed a slide on the board with the projector that also included TIB and she went through them with students during her lesson. How cool that this was being used at the Primary and High School levels and Jeff and I both saw it in observations. WALT (We are learning to...........), WILF (What I'm looking for................) and TIB (This is because..................). This is the first experience I have had with this, but I like it and I think it would really help me to make my lessons clear and specific for students and myself. If I considered these when planning learning activities, it would help me to choose activities that truly meet the outcomes I am hoping to meet with my students. I plan to consider trying this out at my fourth grade level when doing our meal planning unit where the students create a healthy meal menu to be served to the school for school lunch. I think it can help them remember and focus better on the "healthy" part of the meal plan project, something that is difficult for fourth graders to do.
Classroom Observations:
I observed in both year 2 and year 6 classrooms and the following are some things I observed:
Tic and X mark system:
Tic or check mark systems. During Prep physical education class, the teacher was showing students a "tic" or check mark with his hands or an "X" mark with his hands saying to remember that we are looking for "tick behaviors", not "cross behaviors". Then I saw in one classroom (I wish now I had taken a picture, but I did not think it important at the time), a tic and x mark sheet on the wall identifying expected and unexpected behaviors for students and they could get their name on the charts in the tic column for expected behaviors. Then when I went into a public "toilet" later that day, I saw this picture of a "tic" and "x" chart for expected and unexpected behavior for use of the toilet. I thought it was interesting that the school was using the same system that the public restroom in that town was using. I am not sure if it is a town thing or coincidence, but it was neat to see common systems in the school and a public place in the town. One reinforces the other.
Looks, Sounds, Feels Like Visuals:
- Be Respectful
- Be Responsible
- Do Your Best.
Turn and Talk:
Each classroom used a lot of "turn and talk" with your "teaching buddy". I like the language of "teaching buddy". The Year 2 classes used popsicle sticks to choose students to answer or share information. This is used in classrooms at TBPS as well and it helps kids to focus when they know they might be called on at any moment. If someone was unable to answer or feeling shy, they were allowed to ask a friend for help - which is also used in classrooms at both TBPS and CBMS. Again, nice to see the similarities.
Speech Bubbles:
Year 2 classrooms had these speech bubbles posted all over the classroom, and they would take one down and put it on the board if it applied to how they wanted students to share information in a "whole sentence". It worked well and it did help students to focus their responses in complete sentence forms while helping them to respectfully share information even if what they shared was not in agreement with what another person shared.
Then when in the Year 6 classroom, the teacher referred to "respectful whole sentences" when doing some small group work with students. Some carry over and connection to the speech bubbles I was seeing used in Year 2.
WALT, WILF and TIB:
My husband, Jeff, was talking about the one high school he observed in using these terms in a health education class around the area of sun safety. He said after he saw it being used in one classroom, he saw some signs for these posted in a different classroom with a different teacher, so he stated that it must be a school wide process. So, I was observing a lesson and saw this posted on the white board during reading lesson in a Year 2 classroom. As the teacher was go through the lesson, she then showed a slide on the board with the projector that also included TIB and she went through them with students during her lesson. How cool that this was being used at the Primary and High School levels and Jeff and I both saw it in observations. WALT (We are learning to...........), WILF (What I'm looking for................) and TIB (This is because..................). This is the first experience I have had with this, but I like it and I think it would really help me to make my lessons clear and specific for students and myself. If I considered these when planning learning activities, it would help me to choose activities that truly meet the outcomes I am hoping to meet with my students. I plan to consider trying this out at my fourth grade level when doing our meal planning unit where the students create a healthy meal menu to be served to the school for school lunch. I think it can help them remember and focus better on the "healthy" part of the meal plan project, something that is difficult for fourth graders to do.
Assessment:
During two classroom observations at Indooroopilly and when looking through the AC with the Head of Curriculum at Chapel Hill State School, I notice a couple of task performance sheets that I would like to try in my grade 5&6 health education classes when we do our refusal skills scenario projects. I could not get a picture of any of the assessment papers, as they had student names and work on them, but I can describe their format, which is what I am looking for more than the actual form itself. It was a one paper sheet with the following sections listed:
- Task: Description of the task at hand.
- Steps: Steps to follow to complete the task.
- Check List: Criteria for the task in a check list form to be marked off as you complete the task.
These forms were labeled as the were pulled from the AC (AC - Writing - the part of writing - Week 6). That is why I believe they were pulled from the AC itself, but I do not know that for sure, they could have been created by the teacher based on AC information to be used in the classroom. Who knows. I would also include in my assessment a "reflection of learning" short answer section, as I am having student focus on how their learning is connected to their real life.
I have not created this assessment yet, but the concept is there and it is what I plan to do for this assignment that will culminate in May sometime. I will spend 6-8 classes teaching the life skills and then students will have 2-3 classes to create their project scenarios and present them to the class.
Observation Pictures of things that caught my attention:
Made me think of my schools work:
- Mindsets
- Respect
- Responsibility
- Self-Direction
This classroom behavior or expectation ladder was used by the Year 6 teacher. Students move their names up and down the ladder as they participated in class activities.
Things I learned:
- Classroom procedures and methods at this school are similar to what we use in my two schools (TBPS and CBMS).
- Speech bubbles with speaking cues can be a useful and respectful way for students to respond to others in complete and respectful sentences while participating in a variety of classroom activities.
- Task sheets with steps and checklists could help my students to complete a project in a clear and meaningful way. I plan to use this with a project at the grade 5&6 levels. I can't wait.
- We are learning to, What I am looking for and This is because (WALT, WILF and TIB) can guide my planning and instruction and give clear understanding of learning concepts to students in the classroom. It also gives meaning because they know exactly what they are doing, what is expected of them and why. I plan to use this with a project at the grade 4 level. I can't wait and we start this project when I return to school from this trip. Yeah!
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