The Inquiry Cycle
My inquiry was based on self-differentiation of tasks. Here is the video explaining what I did and why:
What’s next?
As pointed out in the video, next steps are thinking about how I want my entry routines to look in the classroom next year. I feel like I want students to get settled down to work quickly. First, on the first day I see students I will have them sitting in alphabetical order. Some teachers already do this within the school, and other teachers create a seating plan once they know the students in the class. Part of the this equation however is also having low floor, high ceiling hei mahi tasks. I notice that some students will finish the hei mahi task(s) long before others have. They will chat to mates, or get out their phones. I want to build the idea into class that students will not get their phones out unless I have specifically asked them to. That will mean that I have hei mahi tasks that are easy for students to get started and keep them captivated for the time it takes for me to mark the roll.
Lateness also needs to be addressed. There needs to be consequences for coming late, but also a restorative chat – a chance for the tauria and myself to work on why the student might be coming late, and whether there is anything we can do to fix the issue. To this end, I want to keep a record of lateness in a notebook. There will be one class where students who are late can stay behind (at the beginning of lunch). I am to say to students during this class: “Can xx, yy and zz stay behind at the end of the period, so that I can talk to you”. Because I will also be a Dean next year, this class time will need to be a day where I am free to be able to do this.
I do not want to bite off more than I can chew, by making too many changes next year, but I want to have high expectations backed up by routines and norms that create highly motivated and agentic students.
