Keeping Up with Mrs Faalili

Bursts and Bubbles - Live stream! That was fun! I really enjoyed this way of sharing, listening to everyone's inquiry for the year in a short, sharp, digital platform.  Check out my Bursts and Bubbles Presentation 2021                                    

  Finding your voice in a digital world Core Education blog post - Kit Haynes; Head of English Kelston Boys High School The power of talanoa. This reading is another one that supports what I know and believe to be powerful and effective in teaching, when done right. After sitting through a range of video calls with students this morning, popping in and engaging with what was happening in their class, with the goal to stay connected and support, I couldn't help but think 'Dang, I wish I had my own class because I'd be doing it way differently'. This has led to me write this reflection because I know at a point last year, I came to the conclusion that I spoke too much during our class calls. Way too much. And at that point I had to make a change, allowing students to share more, talk more. The bit that got me was the 'just mute your microphone' as kids are coming in phrase. So damn true. Even sitting here, now, a year later and still saying that in calls is off pu...

M&M Catch Up - Manaiakalani & a Masters I enjoy our catchups. This catchup was set in the holidays and lockdown didn't stop us.  In our team at GTS we have Chris, myself, Christine, Elena, Tania, Manpreet, Aimee with Manaiakalani roles and Johanna working on her Masters, hence the name M&Ms.  The most recent CoL PLG, we were given time to talanoa and connect with other CoL teachers. In this talanoa, I connected with Christine Tupou-Fonua from GTS and Dorothy Apelu from Tamaki College. From this Talanoa we were inspired to create something new for our students, bridging that gap between Year 8 and high school and are looking into creating a mentoring group that will help with this.  Working with Hiss Hass Hoos boys this term - 3 times a week, Tuesday-Thursday 1:30 -2:15. I'd noticed that we'd spend almost have the time eating (leftovers from the staffroom) and so I tried changing it. The boys weren't having it. They were upset that I'd changed it so it we...

So where are we up to?  After deciding that the project was going to be 'The Taste of the Pacific' we've spent the last 4 weeks getting our menu sorted, all our numbers for the food and working on a proposal letter, asking Mr Herlihy if we could use some of the school money. Unpacking the learning was the easy part for me - aligning the learning with their needs and expectations. What was tricky was establishing group expectations, purpose and attitudes. This was highlighted in my previous post about the Boys.  This is a screenshot of their working doc which they titled 'Food Pricing'  After deciding on the menu,  our sessions were looking at recipes (reading, listening). We had lots of talanoa about how we cook certain foods at home, and were able to draw connections to our own cultures. Two of the boys are ESOL learners, so to have them speak so openly and confidently was really a special moment.  Week 1 - Two columns: Food & ingredients Week 2 - Added in...

The causal chain - What is it?  A causal chain is when a cause leads to an effect and that effect becomes the cause of another effect A leads to B. B leads to C. C leads to D. Any intervention you design will (consciously or not) be based on a causal chain you have in mind - this is your theory of action. The image below highlights the causal chain to show flow for my Year 7/8 Inquiry Group - The Hiss Hass Hoos Boys. One thing that I haven't mentioned on my causal chain is address the issue of a group of them always late. I timetabled the group so that I see them first thing in the morning. This, I hope will encourage them to be at school on time, ready for learning. Milo with Mrs Faalili is also on the menu - breakfast club 8:30am as another way to build relationships with the group. 

Identifying a target group to work with this year, more than other years was quite tricky. Because I don't have my own classroom this year, I have the lucky opportunity to work with students across our whole school and therefore am able to pick and identify students from Y0-Y8. This year, my target group identified are a group of 5 Pasifika Year 7/8 Boys who are all learning below/well below their expected year group in all Reading, Writing and Maths.  The collection of data (assessments, student voice, teacher observations, my own observations) lead me to find the following trends:  Punctuality - Ready for learning These boys were in no rush to get to school. They were often late (3-4 a week), sometimes rolling up to school after 9:30am. 'Slept in' was the most common reason for coming late.This made me wonder 'why there was no sense of urgency to get to school', 'what is happening in class/school for them that isn't motivating them to come' followed by...

Reading Time!  This was an easy read. A good read. Like, a really really good read.  Culturally Responsive Pedagogies/Overview - What is Culturally Responsive teaching?  - The Education Hub  We, as teachers need to move beyond cultural blindness to cultural responsiveness. But what does it look like, you ask? Well, let me share with you my takeaways.... • Culturally Responsive Teaching is -  validating  the diverse knowledge and practices of our students. -  comprehensive  as it incorporates preferred ways of knowing and the cultural and life experiences of students as well as the history and culture of the group. -  empowering  and transformative  as it transforms the way students see themselves in terms of their personal efficacy. It is transformative and emancipatory in that it reveals that multiple versions of 'truth' are valid and no single version is total and permanent. • Culturally responsive pedagogies can reduce the g...

Every document that is available and related to Pasifika and Maori learning is focused on Teacher Practice. This is the heart of the matter. Until teachers change their attitudes and practice student learning will stagnate. My focus is on teacher practice looking at Cultural Responsiveness.  Do teachers know their students' cultures? Where they were born? Language spoken at home? Who they live with?  What their students’ home responsibilities are? Is there evidence of each child’s culture in the classrooms? Beyond that - do teachers know their students’ stories? And what to do with that gold? Without this crucial information and a change in attitudes and practice, our tamariki will struggle to make connections, stay connected and be confident, all of which are outcomes of student learning.  Bishop et al (2014) expresses that new cultures or ethnicities require teachers to engage quickly and positively with learners from any culture and background so that their learners ca...

It's only March and we've already experienced 2 lockdowns. What a way to welcome in the year of 2021! But e ven with the 2 lockdowns, the ball is rolling here at GTS. Our Manaiakalani Cluster Data that was shared with us for 2020 painted a clear picture of our successes for the year and where the need lies for our school. In lockdown 4.0, GTS CoL teachers and Management met via google meets to bring to life our ideas and possible inquiry focus for 2021. This korero gave me much confidence in what my focus would be for this year and ideas for how I can support my teachers in our school and throughout our cluster could possibly look like.  In the past my inquiries have developed throughout the years, focusing first on student outcomes and then later, further developing a deeper look as to what I am doing in my class, what and how my planning looks like, and how it looks like in my class with my learners. This shift in my thinking to take a deeper look into my practice is what has...