As a Teaching Learning Project (TLP), we are well underway with our data collection and the results have proved very interesting. Overall we are seeing students progressing through the reading levels and increasing their stamina rapidly. I had some great advice recently from Leanne Woodley, a Consultant from AIS, about mapping our journey against the Quality Teaching Framework for further evidence of our changes in practice and pedagogy and I look forward to our staff having a chance to look at that in Semester 2.
What is difficult to measure are the attitudinal changes in both, us as teachers and in our students, towards Literacy learning. Should anyone ask me to express these in numerical value then I shall be a disappointment to them! I know, that I know, that I know, that the change is HUGE! To say we are better Literacy teachers as a result of our research and implementation of Daily 5 and CAFE is simply the biggest understatement ever. We have a new professional language, we have a new understanding of methods of managing the Literacy session and if that wasn't enough, we also have a greater understanding of how children learn to read and write and what teaching strategies we can use to move them along.
Our students as well have a new language for describing themselves as Literacy learners. They have a new understanding of their responsibilities in the learning process and they have a whole new world of strategies to draw on as they practice reading and writing. When I hear a student tell me their goal for improving their reading and to hear them actually articulate the strategy they will use to achieve that goal....well, I just get a wee bit excited! To hear a student during read to someone ask their reading partner if they need time or a coaching session and then have them share possible strategies with their buddy....well, I just get a BIG bit excited! To see and hear them cheer in classrooms when their teacher tells them it's Daily 5 time...well, that's ENGAGEMENT!!!!
When I see and hear our Prep students, our 4 year olds talking about Daily 3 in the Prep class, I just become amazed at what our little ones are capable of. Last week I had a visit from Finn. He showed me his Daily 3 card with a stamp on each activity. He told me that for Read to Self, he read a story using the pictures. For Word Work, he wrote his name in the sand and for Work on Writing, he traced a hopping picture. Frankly, he blew me away! What a bonus for our Kindy teachers next year when these little ones come all prepared!
As we get ready to launch into a book study of CAFE and hear from our colleagues who are already on the CAFE path, I think it timely to celebrate our achievements. A huge thanks to all those educators out there on twitter who have set a great example for us, shared resources with us and answered our seemingly simple questions along the way. You have all been an invaluable support. To the most amazing staff in JS, your commitment to research, trialling, sharing and always seeking to be better teachers is simply outstanding. It's onwards and upwards Ladies!
Would love for you to all share your thoughts to date on our TLP. Just like the language we are teaching the students at the moment in evaluating lessons they are engaging in, let's go with:
3 what I love/learnt/went well things about Daily 5 and
1 would be even better if.....
Look out for chapter 1 of CAFE coming your way by Friday!
Deb
