Teaching Sprints - Increasing my understanding

I had the privilege of meeting with Louise who is busy with her Masters in teaching sprints. They have trialled teaching sprints since last year and worked through some trials and errors.  

She has given me some guidance on how we can implement it in our school.

Here are a few things I added to my kete of understanding: 

At the initial meeting, we walk away with a plan on how to teach whatever our goal is. 

WSL/Leaders have a planning meeting prior to starting the sprints. Look at data, decide on what we want to focus on, do the research, and send a reading or 2 to teachers beforehand to read. 

Groups can be varied in how they are created. 8 max in a group, but 4 is better. 

Start 1st session with Simon Sinek's why circles. 

Added into the sprints cycle is an observation. 

During the sprint, there are no PLD or Staff meetings. (4weeks) Only quick team meetings once a week. Or short 20-30min staff meetings only. This gives teachers time to make resources and plan for implementing new learning. 

Understanding Traumatised Children's Behaviour by Donne Berry - Interplay

 5 hours well worth spending to understand traumatised children

What stood out: 

It's vital not to force traumatised children to do anything, as they will do it if they feel safe. 

Often we recreate the past experience without realising it. Nobody knows more than the person going through the experience.

Behaviour is a means of communication for unmet needs.

The 1st 3 years of our lives shape and form who we become. We remember everything that happens to us even before birth, as babies and mum are interconnected. We often say e.g. he is too little to remember - that's a lie.

Due to stress (e.g. fear for safety in a violent relationship) during the brainstem and nervous system development, neurological issues develop due to not feeling safe.

The brain wires according to the environment. If a mum was constantly scared and feels like she needs to protect her baby, it will influence the brain development of the baby. 

If mum experiences a state of emergency and catastrophe, where death is a real possibility, it creates fear in the baby of it's going to die. 

This is where Intergenerational Trauma stems from. Anything that happened to mum or dad in the 1st 3 years of their lives is passed on to their children on the cell level. 

If the mum ( the only caring person) was not available after birth, children will show adapted defences such as loud crying, or other behavioural issues to show he/she don't trust. 

Since this baby's brain is neurologically differently structured than "normal" babies, the behaviour will escalate e.g. they might not be a good feeder, throw tantrums, be not very loveable, or have adaptive defences to survive his/her world e.g. biting. Therefore this child will not be ready for school at 5, he/she needs safety, not learning. 

Kids don't talk about the 1st 3years of their lives. WHAT THEY CAN'T TELL YOU, THEY MAKE YOU FEEL.

Don't ask, "Tell me how you feel".  Mirror Neuron System comes into play. We could say: "You don't have to hurt me to show me how you feel, I'm here for you." Or, "It feels awful to go through what you are going through - it must be scary." 

For someone to feel safe, they need full acceptance. Even the worst behaviour. He/she needs to stay connected. 

To regulate chaos, feel the feeling he/she created, match the intensity, and co-regulate him/her back down. 

Time-out is actually abusive. Children need us to help regulate them. 

The worst thing could be when you are scared, is to have somebody that is not authentic.  It will make him/her feel they are not accepted. 

We have 2 needs when we are born. 1. Attachment that is vital 2. Authenticity

So many relationships are covered by conditions. Unconditional love is rare. Sometimes children feel safe in their attachment if they are a "good" child because other relationships in the household are already hard. 

Symptoms of trauma to the brainstem:

Hyperactivity

Periods of dysregulated (hyper/hypo) arousal

Sensory processing problems

Impaired sleep

Impulsive

Anxiety

Clumsiness

Specific taste (Food fussiness)

Abnormal breathing and elevated heart rate

Fear and panic attacks

Unexplained medical systems

Lack of eye contact

IF SOMEBODY TURNS UP AND SHOWS YOU HOW THEY FEEL IT IS BECAUSE THEY KNOW YOU HAVE THE CAPACITY TO HELP THEM. 

ADDICTION stems from attachment pain. Due to unhealthy/lack of a secure relationship vital hormones lack in the brain and are looked for in other ways. Then they need more of the addiction to create satisfaction. When tackling addiction, addiction increases. Instead of tackling addiction, create a secure relationship. 

Children need to hear: "I see you, I hear you, I understand you". Crucial is: total acceptance, being present, not telling them what to do, and actually turning up & feeling what they feel. 

PS: If you don't accept them wholeheartedly, they won't heal. ACCEPT THE NEED BEHIND THE BEHAVIOUR.

Big Book update

Term 2: 

It is now nearly the end of term 2, and I am very happy with the progress the students are making in their writing. They are now able to write a recount of the big books independently (at least most students). 

What I am excited about is the language structures that is coming through. See the examples below. Please note, my focus at this stage is not on spelling or punctuation. It is just to develop their confidence in writing, creating a space where they can share their ideas without judgement. 

I have also noticed how their fluency in reading as improved. Students are now recognising bold print, speech marks, exclamation marks and ellipses. They change their voice tone and volume to suit the text. 

I have also noticed that some students prefer to read the big book when sharing reading on Seesaw, instead of a colour wheel book. My hunch is that it is because the students feel super successful when they are able to read it so beautifully. I will continue with the big books till the end of the year, just building on it. My students are currently learning how to sound words out and underline it, then afterwards searching up the correct spelling using their chromebooks. 

Seesaw example

Term 1:

I completed my first week of using a Big Book during writing time - even though my colleague is not here to reflect on it with me, I thought I'd share my observations this week. 

We read the book every day, each day focussing on one aspect.

Day on1 Comprehension

Day 2 Vocab

Day 3 Flow/Phrasing/Fluency

Day 4 Phonic Knowledge, Phonemic awareness and word study

Day 5 Respond to text

We built a word wall that we are referring to and brainstormed before writing. Students planned through drawing and then wrote independently. What was really interesting is that each story was so different. What stood out for me though is the jump in the vocabulary used. I even had compound and complex sentences. So proud of these students. This is obviously only the start of their journey, but I'm looking forward to seeing how they grow. 

So using the Big Book will stay in my writing sessions. 

Big Books Learning Circle

 This year I have the privilege of teaching a Year 4/5 class of 49 students in a collaborative space. We soon realised that the low academic performance that we are seeing is a direct result of COVID. Students missed out on the very important foundation part of their education. My colleague and I sat down and brainstormed how we can support our students the best way we can to try and get them up to standard, especially around independent activities. We then started talking about the value of the Big Book. Not reading to...but genuinely using the Big Book for what it is meant to be and decided that our students need this kind of focussed teaching. 

As my colleague never taught junior students, we decided that we will investigate the value of the Big Book by using it in Term 1. Our main focus is to use it to build up students' vocabulary, use of punctuation, sentence structure and language structure. This will also enable us to support students in understanding the connection between reading and writing. And finally, it will support our ELL students to gain confidence in attending to the text, illustrations, diagrams, and photographs while hearing the language used in an authentic context (TKI). 

So, we created a learning circle that will

read up on ways to use the Big Book, plan for it during our daily writing time and set out independent follow-up activities for each day. 

This is what we learned so far just by looking at some of the lesson plans in front of some BIg Books. 

Day 1 - Read with expression

Day 2 - Read again - pay attention to vocab - decoding

Day 3 - Read again - Pay attention to vocab and its meaning (build up word wall)

Day 4 - Read again - Pay attention to punctuation

Day 5 - Students read - Teachers stand back - students do a recount of the story

This is what TKI say on Shared reading: 

Shared reading is an essential component of the literacy programme in years 5 to 8. It allows for a high degree of interaction and is a great way for teachers to help students extend their understanding of themselves as effective text users. During shared reading, teachers and students can participate in collaborative reasoning to solve literacy-related problems.

Through this approach, teachers can deliberately extend their students’:

• understanding of themes and ideas;
• use of reading strategies;
• appreciation of literary devices, such as imagery;
• vocabulary;
• knowledge of the purposes and characteristic features of different text forms.

For more information on Shared Reading (TKI) follow this link. https://literacyonline.tki.org.nz/Literacy-Online/Planning-for-my-students-needs/Effective-Literacy-Practice-Years-5-8/Approaches-to-teaching-reading

If you have experience in using the Big Book in your literacy programme, please feel free to share your thoughts on its value. 

Learn with the Expert: When We Partner, Everyone Wins: Family Engagement in Education with Dr. Karen Mapp (Seesaw)

 Evidence proves that partnerships between home and school benefit families, students, teachers, districts and communities.

Interesting: Even the look of your class can show whether your school is a student or adult-centred school. e.g. what is on the walls (Students work or teachers posters), is the teachers desk the centre attraction in the class, or activties where students are engaged, the way teachers approach visistors etc. 

Good partnerships reduce high-risk behaviour, increased family involvement, and high-level participation in after-school activities, and increased high school graduation. 

Parents know more, understand more and do more than educators give them credit for.

Strong partnerships between schools and families make us more resilient against global crises such as Covid. Due to Covid, people are more ready to engage in these strong relationships. 

People feel respected if they felt listened to. 

Families want to know: what is our goal, and where we want our children to be at the end of the year. 

Conclusion: A very insightful webinar. Something I want to improve on this year as it links in strongly with our vision for Mangapikopiko.

Teaching Sprints - How overloaded Educators can keep getting better by Simon Breakspear and Bronwyn Ryrie Jones

Takeaway points: 

Starting prompt: What is something you do in class in the classroom now more effectively than you did six months ago? 

Sprint = short, sharp bursts of practice improvement work (truly manageable shifts - evidence-informed)

Collaborative process

Process: 

1. Prepare Phase (1 or 2 meetings) 60 - 90 minutes each

- Engage in new learning, informed by research evidence

- Draw out connections and challenges to practice (Boulder, Pebble, Sand protocol)

2. Sprint Phase (2 - 4 weeks)

- Intentionally practice the chosen strategy/technique in classrooms

- Make adjustments, in light of what's happening

- Check-in with colleagues to sustain momentum. (15min stand up meeting)

3, Review Phase  60 minutes

Reflect on: What was our experience of the Sprint? What can we reasonably conclude from the impact evidence we have? What are the implications for practice? What are the next steps for our professional learning?

WHAT TO REMEMBER:

1. Teaching Sprints is a flexible process for teacher learning and continues practice improvement

2. Each individual Teaching Sprint consists of three phases: Prepare, Sprint, Review

3. In most settings, teachers can comfortably complete one productive Teaching Sprint every term of school. 

4. Each phase of a Teaching Sprint involves a different mode of learning

5. The Prepare Phase enables teams to engage with research evidence, make connections to practice, and define a specific strategy/technique that they would like to trial

6.  The Sprint Phase supports teachers in bridging theory and practice; they intentionally practise a selected strategy/technique in classrooms

7. The Review Phase provides the opportunity to reflect on experiences, review impact evidence and determine implications for future practice

8. All phases are supported by simple protocols that teams can use to drive collective thinking and action. 

9. Teaching Sprints is designed to make improvement work habitual in your school.

10. The composition of teams in Teaching Sprints is flexible but the recommendation is 3 - 8 people. 

11. There are only 2 roles - Sprint Leader and Team Member

12. A review of our current meeting schedule can be used to identify potential blocks of time that can be reallocated for Teaching Sprints.

13. For each Teaching Sprint, teams need the time for a Prepare meeting, a Check-in, and a Review meeting.

14. Setting a schoolwide focus for Teaching Sprints can promote the efficient sharing of evidence and resources. 

15. What's most important is that Teaching Sprints works for you in your context - adapt it flexibly and thoughtfully for your team and school. 

So what's next?

1. Check with senior management if we are starting term 1 or 2

2. Check schedules and add them to the calendar

3. Plan for meetings

4. Decide with Snr Management if we will present the area that we want to make shifts in e.g. HITS, or whether we will open it for teams to decide where they want to improve. 

5. Contact Louise from Papakura Central, and ask if I can observe a Sprints meeting. Get the background of how they approached it.