17 February 2020 | Vol. 99 No. 2
Spotlight on literacy and numeracy Curriculum Progress Tools
Language-rich learning environments
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This issue:
Spotlight on literacy and numeracy Editor’s note In this issue we cast the spotlight on literacy and numeracy skills, some of the most important building blocks of learning. We visit Hawke’s Bay to see how language-rich environments in early learning settings are helping to enhance literacy outcomes for tamariki. We check out a programme in Invercargill that is aiding former refugee students’ progress with English language acquisition. In Whanganui, we see a phonics-based literacy inquiry in action. In Otago, we see the difference Curriculum Progress Tools are making in secondary maths teaching and learning. In Wellington, we encounter schools that participated in the PIRLS pilot, and we also look at what we can learn from the TIMSS reports. In Christchurch, we take a look at the new Digital Technologies & Hangarau Matihiko (DT & HM) curriculum content in full swing at West Rolleston Primary School. West Rolleston is the subject of the second video of our Gazette video series – be sure to check it out online!
On the cover
2 Working together to raise children’s language and emergent literacy
14 Phonics-based literacy inquiry lifts progress
17 February 2020 | Vol. 99 No. 2
P10: Otago Girls' High School is measuring maths progress using a new toolkit.
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6 Growing digital citizens of the future
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Curriculum Progress Tools provide big picture
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Accelerating English language acquisition for former refugees
Early learning success starts at home
Spotlight on literacy and numeracy Curriculum Progress Tools
Language-rich learning environments
Regulars 26
Notices
41
Vacancies
20 Blogging helps beat the summer slump
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24
Participating in the PIRLS pilot
International maths and science study a rich resource for Kiwi teachers
Key contacts
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The deadline for vacancies and notices to be printed in the 2 March 2020 edition of Education Gazette is 4pm on Friday 21 February 2020.
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TUKUTUKU KŌRERO 17 February 2020
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LANGUAGE AND LITERACY
Children at Mangapapa Kindergarten enjoy a language-rich environment.
Working together to raise children’s language and emergent literacy An initiative that enhances language-rich environments in Tairāwhiti early childhood centres has resulted in a 60 per cent drop in referrals to Learning Support from centres that have completed the programme.
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n 2015, Ministry of Education’s Learning Support began to discuss concerns with the Gisborne Kindergarten Association (GKA) about the high number of referrals for Early Intervention Communication in the Tairāwhiti region. “Our community was reporting some five-yearolds were arriving at school with low language levels, and that has an impact on literacy. We weren’t meeting the needs of the community and needed to do something different. The earlier we can address communication concerns, the better for our tamariki,” says Sarah Willson, Ministry of Education service manager for Learning Support in Gisborne. It was decided to take a systemic approach to offer all early childhood centres the opportunity to train in Learning Language and Loving it (LLLi), a programme designed to provide early childhood educators with
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Education Gazette 17 February 2020
practical, research-based strategies for helping all children build languages and social skills, regardless of their learning and communication styles. The programme aims to promote children’s language development using everyday activities, routines and play. It also encourages kaiako to become attuned to children’s interests, culture and identity, reflecting the evidence that a stronger focus on language and literacy enables kaiako to affirm children’s culture and identity and home language(s). Fifty-one early childhood teachers and five new entrant teachers in Tairāwhiti have taken up the opportunity to train in the LLLi programme. Sarah says strong language foundations are essential for the development of literacy skills. “The focus of the programme is to support all
aspects of language development and weave aspects of literacy throughout. For example, turning book reading into a conversation where children can use visuals and their experiences to story-tell,” she says.
Successful partnership The Gisborne Kindergarten Association uses Ministry of Education funding to support other Early Learning Services in the region. The association’s professional leader, Christine Taare and senior teacher, David Spraggs, became LLLi facilitators in 2016 and have codelivered the programme to ECE teachers in the region along with Learning Support speech language therapists (SLT). Referral rates for early intervention communication dropped 60 per cent between 2016 and 2019 in centres that completed the LLLi programme. gazette.education.govt.nz
LANGUAGE AND LITERACY
“Some key aspects from the programme are about building relationships and quality interactions that grow language by following children’s lead and extending their verbal and non-verbal communication.” Christine Taare “It’s a win-win when you are able to have two sets of expertise working well together. We run the programme with a speech language therapist. They are able to share all their expertise, and with our knowledge as kaiako and kaiawhina, we can link that learning right back into the teachers’ practice,” Christine explains.
Video coaching powerful The LLLi programme includes video coaching, which brings about the biggest change in teacher practice. “Teachers go through stages of adult learning development where they reflect on their practice and implement changes using the strategies. By the end of the programme, with support from the facilitators, teachers become confident and competent in creating a strong, language-rich environment for all tamariki,” Sarah says. The programme aims to make communication between teacher and children more balanced. “When we compare videos 10 weeks later, you notice the balance of communication has become really even. Children find ‘this adult is attuned to my interests and needs’ rather than being in a teacher-led environment. This is more empowering for tamariki,” explains Sarah. The strategies eventually become second nature and kaiako now report they feel very confident about providing language development strategies.
to provide a rich curriculum that includes opportunities for children to express themselves through gesture and words. As such, the LLLi programme provides these rich opportunities for children to develop their oral language and social skills and supports kaiako to build on this growth as described in Communication | Mana Reo strand of Te Whāriki. This strand encourages teachers to take the time to listen and respond to children so that they learn that their ideas are of interest; research shows this has a positive impact on a child’s oral language development. Through LLLi, teachers learn to observe, wait and listen – which can be challenging but helps them follow a child’s lead – and then offer a few appropriate words to encourage the child to engage in the conversation. Teachers encourage children to kōrero about what interests them at the language level they are at. “Sometimes when we are trying to create a really enriched language environment, it can be overwhelming for some children as people can actually talk too much. It’s important to create opportunities for children to communicate back – that’s a really fine balance,” explains Sarah.
Time for kōrero Christine says LLLi reminds busy early childhood teachers to be totally present and focus on the quality of their conversations with tamariki.
The LLLi programme offers a kete of strategies to support teachers to develop enriched language environments.
“Some key aspects from the programme are about building relationships and quality interactions that grow language by following children’s lead and extending their verbal and non-verbal communication.
The programme aligns with early childhood curriculum Te Whāriki (2017), which outlines the expectation for early learning services
“Teachers from our rohe say it has really improved their interactions with children. It’s all about developing emerging literacy within the
Kete of strategies
“If we can help to create more languagerich environments early for children, it sets them up for school and kura much more successfully.” Sarah Willson
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play environment and looking at conversation as a key activity to grow language by following children’s lead and learning how to extend conversations,” she says. Building a language-rich environment can be woven into every aspect of the day. Sarah suggests making opportunities to spend quality time with small groups of children, whether it’s having a conversation at kai time; or a teacher staying inside with a small group, even if it’s just in 10-minute intervals.
Language and wellbeing The kindergartens and early learning centres have seen enhanced emotional and social competencies due to LLLi, says Christine. “That is one of the key things – it’s not only focusing on language development, but also helping teachers to manage and support children with positive strategies. If they don’t have the words to communicate and become frustrated because adults are not understanding their needs, unwanted behaviours sometimes occur. “If we can help to create more language-rich environments early for children, it sets them up for school and kura much more successfully,” adds Sarah. “Communication and behaviour tend to go hand in hand. We find that older children who can’t communicate very well may need our behavioural services if we haven’t addressed communication concerns earlier,” she says. The LLLi programme also aligns with He Māpuna te Tamaiti, a new Ministry resource that supports kaiako to use proactive and positive approaches in teaching practice, including a strong focus on strengthening children’s oral language and communication capabilities.
Language enrichment ideas » Start with some non-verbal play to build relationships and trust with tamariki before you begin to kōrero. » OWL – observe, wait, listen; give children time and space to talk and be heard. » Don’t pepper children with questions: use the ‘hand rule’ with one question (the thumb) for every four (the fingers) comments. » A short amount of language-rich conversation with small groups can be very effective. » Pair children with similar or slightly advanced language levels so that tamariki gain confidence and have an achievable role model for language. » Video coaching is a powerful tool to provide real-time insights into adult interactions and learning opportunities with tamariki.
TUKUTUKU KŌRERO 17 February 2020
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LANGUAGE AND LITERACY
Cultural pride helps language development
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n recent years the Gisborne Kindergarten Association (GKA) has focused on upskilling teachers in their knowledge of te reo Māori, tikanga and whakapapa for better outcomes for tamariki and whānau. The association has provided professional learning and development (PLD) such as regular noho marae (marae stays) for all teaching teams to immerse them in te reo Māori and tikanga marae.
Teacher kōrero Meredith Stewart from Rutene Road Kindergarten in Gisborne has completed the LLLi programme, first as a teacher, and then as a facilitator.
What did you like most about the LLLi programme? The programme is interactive; by attending workshops with other teachers we share experiences, gain new knowledge and understanding. I like having support from the facilitator visiting my centre and observing my teaching practice as I am using the strategies. This valuable feedback helped strengthen my overall practice. The programme provides new thinking and reflection, from what roles teachers play, the ways children learn language and how to effectively support the growth of all children across a range of language developmental stages.
Christine Taare says the PLD is helping teachers to strengthen bicultural practice and become deeply connected with iwi, hapū and the local community. “Language is an important part of one’s cultural identity and heritage to grow pride, mana and dignity. It’s important for kaiako to go to tamariki marae to meet whānau, learn waiata and their history. When they go back to the kindergarten, it all comes alive because kaiako, whānau and tamariki can collaborate and share their experiences and stories. Whānau are now a lot more willing to share because they know it’s going to be appreciated and it’s not just tokenism. “Our teachers are passionate about what they are seeing when children are feeling strong about who they are. Tamariki and whānau feel a strong sense of pride and appreciation that teachers are taking the time to learn, respect and appreciate Te Ao Māori. It’s a key foundation for children to be strong in their language, culture and identity,” she says. Connecting with the region’s various marae helps kaiako and whānau to develop authentic and localised curricula that reflect the stories, history and values of iwi within Tairāwhiti. “Tamariki are more engaged because of the work we have been doing and I think this is also reflected in the lower referral rates to Learning Support,” she says.
Has LLLi improved the literacy of tamariki at your centre? If so, how? Yes it has, hugely. As a team, kaiako have gained the foundation knowledge of what makes an effective communicator and understanding of the roles we as teachers play in language development and conversational styles. With this knowledge, kaiako are able to observe and reflect on the language we use when engaging with tamariki.
Has LLLi enhanced the emotional and social competencies of tamariki at your centre? If so, how? Definitely. Through the programme, kaiako are more tuned to the different conversational styles of tamariki and are able to engage in language to support them. We were aware that frustration to communicate can create behavioural challenges. As a team, we are consistent with the language strategies we use and are seeing the benefits throughout the kindergarten environment. We have seen growth in tamariki who know we are listening; they are understood, valued and are learning new ways of communication. We are supporting them to develop the language skills to support them for their future learning and life journey.
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Education Gazette 17 February 2020
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DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES & HANGARAU MATIHIKO
Growing digital citizens of the future As the Education Gazette releases its second part in its video series on Digital Technologies & Hangarau Matihiko, we look at a foundation school near Christchurch that has incorporated a digital thread throughout its curriculum and is taking teachers, the Board of Trustees, parents and the wider community along on the journey.
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DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES & HANGARAU MATIHIKO
Watch: Visit Education Gazette online to watch the second of a five-part video series on the revised Digital Technologies & Hangarau Matihiko curriculum content.
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est Rolleston Primary School is one of five new schools built in the town of Rolleston, which has seen exponential population growth since the Christchurch earthquakes in 2011. The school opened in 2016 with a roll of 77 and now has about 600 pupils. Sylvia Fidow has been the principal since the school opened and says she and her team were able to ensure digital technology was naturally threaded through the new school’s local curriculum. “When we were setting our vision for the school and developing our curriculum, we knew that it would be really important that our children were digital citizens, so we have always had a thread of digital use and literacy throughout everything that we have done. Our vision for our children is that they are creators of technology, not just users,” she says.
Early adopters lead the way Starting from scratch to develop a futurefocused 21st century school begins with having a team of teachers with the right skills and attitudes and Sylvia credits her deputy principal, Ben Galletly, with projectmanaging the journey. “Ben is a really creative digital thinker himself and formed a professional learning community of early adopters who were tasked with the challenge of making sure that everybody understands the vision around our children being digitally literate
and how we will enable teachers and support staff to awhi (support) our learners and provide that platform to enable them to be computational and design thinkers,” Sylvia says.
Making a difference West Rolleston School decided to adopt an ethical problem-solving approach to its new curriculum with a focus on learner-centred discovery and making a difference in their local community.
“Our vision for our children is that they are creators of technology, not just users.” Sylvia Fidow “From there, digital tools are used to access and research information and ultimately to present their learning in a different way. For example, they might develop an app that helps people be more aware of rubbish or recycling in the area. “It makes it meaningful for learners. We try to do this from Year 1. It’s more teacher-led in the early years, and then as they get older and develop some more
learner agency, skills and independence, the intention is that they are driving that themselves,” Sylvia says.
Digital problem solvers Children love the approach where they start with a broad ethical question, which could be a local, national or worldwide problem, and develop ways they can use digital technology to try and solve a problem, says Ben. “For example, one of the topics the kids are really focused on is ‘Innovative Ōtautahi (Christchurch)’; around what Christchurch has done to rebuild after the earthquakes. So they have used technology like a green screen or an app to promote some of those innovative ideas that people have had across the city and they have come up with ideas of what could be next. “The kids have loved it and it’s a good first step into engaging with the new digital technologies curriculum content. They love to use a range of really fun tools, which is a really motivating factor in learning. They are motivated because they are driving their learning. They are using their expertise and various different technologies to see it through to a solution,” says Ben. Last year West Rolleston Primary School placed second in a section of the Canterbury region Digi Awards with their entry ‘Te Ara Whanake One Christchurch – The Best Little Place in the World!’ TUKUTUKU KŌRERO 17 February 2020
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DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES & HANGARAU MATIHIKO
Purchasing priorities When making choices about the new school’s vision, Sylvia and her team thought about what students needed as 21st century learners. The board has funded iPads, iMacs and Chromebooks on a 1:3 ratio and in the past two years, budget has been allocated to buy robotics such as Beebots and digital Lego WeDo. “Kids absolutely love robotics. They involve critically thinking and problem solving to make something work. We’ve got a code club where there’s programming on all different levels. It’s engaging and interactive and they get results,” she says.
Resourcing staff PLD In the school’s first year, with a much smaller roll and staff, Sylvia was able to resource one on one PLD time for teachers with a local digital company. “Each teacher had a goal related to where they were on their digital journey in terms of their confidence and capability, so for some teachers they might have wanted to learn how to green screen, or how to make an iMovie. Then the expert would come into the studio and do some
“They are really motivated because they are driving their learning. They are using their expertise and various different technologies to see it through to a solution.” Ben Galletly
demonstrations with learners, so they were modelling and the teachers practised with the learners as well,” she says. As the school has grown, Sylvia says it’s become a challenge to find the resources to release teachers so they can undertake some training. She now relies on the experts on her staff and says staff also find opportunities to undertake free professional learning and development (PLD) as it is expensive to release teachers during term time. “A group of teachers went to a free course in the holidays at the University of Canterbury. It was offered to people doing post-grad learning in coding and digital as a three-day workshop before they begin the post-grad work.”
Explore and play Sylvia says a key challenge is to provide PLD opportunities that give teachers time to explore and play. “We have to think about how we enable our staff time to play with tools to be creative themselves. We have definitely jumped onto the Technology Online website on TKI and used the resources that the Ministry has provided, which is awesome. We have shared those tools with my board as well and the expectation is that they will keep up with what is happening,” she says.
Balanced skills for the future West Rolleston’s students are learning a range of skills such as computational thinking which is about algorithms and coding, and then designing and developing digital outcomes, says Ben.
Top tips for a future-focused school » Get people on your team (board and staff) who are forward-thinking and bring the right skills and attitudes, such as having a growth mindset. Make ‘future focus’ a strategic priority. » Share best practice within your Kāhui Ako or school cluster; if for example you are leading communication, or wellbeing, think about how digital enhances the piece of work. » Form a professional community of early adopters and people from the technology industry who can support school staff, help to develop a digital culture, and provide a view to students of potential pathways after they leave school. » Work with parents and the wider community to develop a balanced local curriculum. » Communicate regularly with parents so they can understand why children have access to digital tools, what’s important and the benefits. Make sure they are supported to deliver cyber-safety messages. » Seek funding to resource expert support and seek opportunities for free PLD for teachers from online sources, local tertiary providers and others. » Check out digital tools on special and buy small amounts, which can be trialled at various levels in the school in support of teaching and learning programmes, before bigger purchasing decisions are made. » Find competitions and awards where learners can develop solutions to real-world problems using digital solutions – and get accolades and acknowledgment for their work. Check out 123Tech - a nationwide challenge for students and teachers to get involved in supporting the new Digital Technologies and Hangarau Matihiko curriculum content.
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Education Gazette 17 February 2020
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DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES & HANGARAU MATIHIKO
West Rolleston students Ruby (left), Arthur (above) and James (opposite page) talk about their digital learning in the Education Gazette's new video series.
“We have mapped out how the kids will develop the skills over their eight years here. There are also a whole range of other life skills such as collaboration and taking turns,” he says. While Sylvia and her team have whole-heartedly embraced the new digital technologies curriculum content, she says the community has said they also want the local curriculum to be balanced. “We have a really supportive community and I think they understand the benefits, but they also want to see a very holistic balanced local curriculum. “We still teach handwriting and learners use books to research and that has been important for us in our local curriculum. There are times when children have to work independently and times they have to work collaboratively. We try to make sure that our school day is balanced and caters for diversity,” she says.
Cyber-safety and digital literacy Digital literacy is an important literacy skill. Sylvia and Ben say today’s learners need to be critical thinkers who can understand and discern whether what they read online is true or not. “We are mindful as educators that it’s important we are teaching our children to have a balance between when and why they use technology [digital fluency], so they are only using digital tools if they are the best tool that they need at the time. If they are not, then they need to look at other tools they can use. Sylvia says it’s important that children are digitally safe citizens and that their parents keep up to date with what they are using. “I’m really conscious of cyber-safety and I don’t believe that too much digital is good for our young generation. “I think we have to be really cautious of that. It’s about making sure that we have boundaries and that kids aren’t using digital tools all of the time with their learning. That’s where that social aspect of learning is important, that it doesn’t always need to be around an iPad or Chromebook. “It’s just making sure you are teaching all of the key learning. There are issues around what kids access at weekends and this will be ongoing for our nation – it’s a real challenge,” she says. gazette.education.govt.nz
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TUKUTUKU KŌRERO 17 February 2020
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CURRICULUM PROGRESS TOOLS
Making progress: Students Kaitlyn (left) and Sam (right) with Otago Girls' High School's head of maths, Jeanette Chapman.
Curriculum Progress To A new way of recording progress should result in more informed teachers who can meet the needs of students better, says a group of maths teachers.
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tago Girls’ High School (OGHS) is one of the first secondary schools to trial the Ministry of Education’s Learning Progression Framework (LPF). The school’s maths and English departments learned about it during 2019 and will begin to use it this year.
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Education Gazette 17 February 2020
The Curriculum Progress Tools support student progress in literacy and numeracy and will provide nationwide consistency and an overview of students’ progress in these foundational learning areas. They allow teachers to make a more complete judgement of student progress, as inclass ability is included, alongside achievement in tests. The tools cover the breadth of the mathematics and statistics learning area in eight aspects such as additive thinking, multiplicative thinking, patterns and relationships and geometrical thinking and will eventually show a student’s progress from Year 1 to Year 10, says Jeanette Chapman, head of the maths department at OGHS. “As a maths department we thought it sounded very promising because it was good to see the progressions across the topic.” gazette.education.govt.nz
CURRICULUM PROGRESS TOOLS
ools provide big picture Added confidence Jeanette believes that the tools enable teachers to create a good picture of what students can do, and the fact that this picture will not rely solely on high-pressure assessments like tests or exams, will give students added confidence. “At the moment people use PAT tests or e-asTTle (online maths test) a lot, but they are like a one-off snapshot. If the student is having a bad day, they may not do so well, but with the tools assessing progress over a longer time it’s not just test results, but actually what they are doing in class,” Jeanette says. The tools cover progress in reading, writing and mathematics and will provide a range of reports showing overall class gazette.education.govt.nz
progress and individual student progress. The information will enable teachers to plan teaching and learning programmes and more accurately target their efforts to students who need extra help – or extension. One of the reports has been specifically designed to provide clear and consistent information to parents and whānau. The information from the Curriculum Progress Tools can also be used by school leadership and boards of trustees to prioritise their resources in this area to meet school strategic aims. Principal Linda Miller says it’s too early to say how the tools will impact resource priorities, but she believes there are many benefits to teachers and students. TUKUTUKU KŌRERO 17 February 2020
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CURRICULUM PROGRESS TOOLS
“The tools are easy, and teachers are able to use naturally occurring evidence from classroom practice and they give a good overview of student achievement. We often deal with girls with maths anxiety and being able to show their progress on a regular basis that’s not necessarily centred around formal assessment situations can help build confidence,” she says. “Because you are plotting progress on eight aspects of maths, it actually gives you a better picture of when the students are ready for the next digital test. Maths is a very consecutive subject. If you are trying to teach something but they have no idea about it, you’d think ‘ok I’m going to have to do a bit of work on integers before I introduce this Year 10 topic’,” explains Jeanette. The tools also give teachers the ability to project into the future, she says. “We can look at our Year 9s and be projecting where they will be in Level 1 (Year 11). “You can track a student over time and there’s a dotted line which shows their progress gradient, and from this you can predict where they will end up. Like all predictions, it’s not infallible – but it does give a good indication,” she says.
More targeted efforts Michael McGowan, maths teacher at OGHS, says the tools will allow teachers to better target their efforts to achieve the best outcomes for all students.
“I think the eight aspects break it up more. You know there are some students who are struggling, but with this you can see whether it’s in algebra or geometry skills, so it lets you tailor per aspect, per student, per topic. If you get the data coming through from previous years, you can see where the projected line is and you might see that maybe that’s too high for that student and you take it back a bit and build their confidence up as well,” he says. While there may be a perception that Curriculum Progress Tools are time-consuming, enhancements done over the past 18 months have made the tools more flexible and efficient for schools to use. Jeanette says it was a game-changer when they learnt they could efficiently make judgements for groups of students. “By the time they are at high school, you are mostly only looking at a few signposts on the LPF. The bulk of your kids might be at signpost 5, so you can actually say ‘these 10 kids are all at the same place’,” she says. Approximately 40 per cent of schools have set up an account in Curriculum Progress Tools with many primary schools having tried the tools and considerable interest from secondary schools, partly due to the coming changes to the literacy and numeracy requirements for NCEA.
“If the student is having a bad day, they may not do so well, but with the tools assessing progress over a longer time, it’s not just test results, but actually what they are doing in class.” Jeanette Chapman
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CURRICULUM PROGRESS TOOLS
Curriculum Progress Tools explained International OECD studies have consistently found that around one million New Zealand adults don’t have the literacy and numeracy skills they need to live in an increasingly information and technology-rich society. The Curriculum Progress Tools will help change this picture as they have been developed to help teachers understand student progress in foundational learning across the curriculum. There are two online Curriculum Progress Tools, which work together to support student progress in reading, writing, and mathematics. The Learning Progressions
Framework (LPF) strengthens a teacher’s knowledge of how a student’s learning develops in these subjects. It sits alongside the Progress and Consistency Tool (PaCT), which tracks students’ progress and achievement in relation to The New Zealand Curriculum. PaCT allows a student’s progress to be tracked within, and between, schools from school entry to Year 10. It automatically imports student data from ENROL so when students move schools, their data in PaCT moves with them and is available to their new school. This means it has the potential to be a powerful means of tracking progress across our system, says Jenny Ward from Education Technology, which was contracted by the Ministry of Education to develop the LPF. “It’s not just about tracking for the sake of data either – PaCT allows schools to identify students who are not making
progress, so they can get in and do something about it. We’re suggesting schools use PaCT at the same time as they report to parents and whānau,” says Jenny. The tools have been the focus of significant development work over the last 18 months to ensure they are fit-forpurpose in a post-National Standards environment. There have been major enhancements to make PaCT more flexible and efficient and improve the way it shows progress for individual students and for cohorts. The project was a six-phase technical development process with several rounds of refinement, which took around 18 months and involved over 700 teachers. The company worked closely with both NZCER, which did the psychometric work for the development, and open source experts Catalyst, which developed the PaCT software.
The tools will help teachers assess the progress of former refugee and TESL students at OGHS as teachers can better assess if a concept is understood.
gazette.education.govt.nz
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LITERACY LEARNING
Phonics-based literacy learning in progress at Whanganui East School.
Phonics-based literacy inquiry lifts progress At Whanganui East School, a dramatic lift in literacy progress and positive behaviour has come about as a result of explicit teaching of phonic awareness as part of a rich literacy programme.
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eachers at Whanganui East School were concerned about a number of students who were behind in their reading and were not progressing as expected with literacy, noticing they couldn’t decode words or translate words into their writing. Ray Stormont, the literacy lead teacher, recalls: “I knew we needed to do something different. There was an evident need – something was missing.” The school, which has 187 students, took an iterative inquiry approach and explored a phonics-based method – starting small. Ray researched including a phonics approach and worked with two seven-year-old boys who were new to the school and had new entrant level reading skills. Both boys progressed quickly – one from level five to level 21, and the other from level five to level 17. Their behavioural issues also improved as they became confident learners. Their learning dispositions changed from “I’m dumb, I can’t do it” to those of confidence. The results of explicitly teaching critical literacy knowledge and skills including phonic awareness had proved successful, and along with the evidence-based research in support, there was a valid and persuasive case for taking it to a larger scale across the junior school. The school’s teachers were also attracted to the close alignment of reading and writing, which could be taught together and in a complementary way.
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Support and training from the school’s Resource Teacher in Literacy (RTLit) and their PLD provider, Massey University, then focused on unpacking the pedagogy behind the approach and developing informed practice with ongoing regular coaching and mentoring. The school was then supported to scale the project up by participating in a project run by Massey University: Teaching to Ensure Progress in Literacy.
Leadership in support Leadership has been key to the success of this literacy inquiry. From the outset, Principal Eleanor Barry required robust thinking about improved learning outcomes for students and conditions for success. These included: » allowing the time needed for this to work – it is not a short-term solution » reducing other pressure on teachers: eg reporting and running records » creating systemic change – incorporating new ways of working into ongoing structures as they were proved successful » limiting school key foci to two so not to overload themselves – literacy and restorative justice » changing their PLD applications to reflect this priority. gazette.education.govt.nz
What’s changed as a result for teachers? The regular mentoring and coaching opportunities from the Massey mentor and the RTLit has focused on learning new teaching concepts and methods for analysing their students’ learning, and how to plan next steps based on that precise need. The teachers are now ensuring they link the learning in reading with the learning in writing more explicitly.
What’s changed for learners and whānau? Ray explained that the children enjoy the decodable texts because they can read and make sense of the text. They bring in extra vocabulary with better context. They can write a sentence from the very early days from when they know just three sounds: ‘My cat is fat’. The focus learners are making significant progress – seen at home and school. Whānau are encouraged to read with their children, especially Dr Seuss and selected poetry that is sent home that complements the approach. “High expectations of students are critical,” says Ray.
Creating systemic change » This approach is now being used for all new entrant and Year 2/3 classes. » Teacher aides have also been trained to provide consistency. » Resource kits are available for all classrooms. » Reading and writing are being taught sequentially as this helps with memory. » Students at older levels that are struggling with learning are assessed for foundational gaps in their knowledge, skills and capabilities. » Ongoing professional learning development and achievement goals are being directed at supporting this approach. » An improved strategy for all incoming students regardless of their level is being developed.
Literacy learning support available from Resource Teachers in Literacy (RTLit)
About Teaching to Ensure Progress in Literacy (TEPiL)
If you are interested in support and training in expanding your literacy learning practice by working with a Resource Teacher in Literacy (RTLit) – please check with your school’s regional Ministry of Education Advisor.
» post workshop activities including on-line modules, videos of practice and discussion opportunities for peer learning teachers share their assessment, successes and practice ideas
For more information about the RTLit service visit the Literacy Online TKI site. To contact the Ministry national office team supporting the RTLit service, email: RT.Literacy@education.govt.nz.
gazette.education.govt.nz
TEPiL is a practical teacher training trial that is funded by the Ministry and is run by Massey University’s Tātai Angitu. TEPiL supports positive progress in children’s reading and writing, particularly for those who have been struggling to meet expectation in their literacy outcomes. Training involves: » an initial workshop and guidance on selecting learners to take part
» observing modelled lessons and receiving feedback on their own lessons » regular monthly contact. Project facilitator Christine Braid says, “Teachers identified that taking time to set the foundations for literacy success has had enormous benefits for children in reading and even more so in writing. These foundations include a focus on phonological awareness and knowledge of the alphabetic code. Teachers report feeling empowered to make a difference for students and having an increased enjoyment of teaching reading.” The project is part of a trial the Ministry of Education has been doing in innovative foundational learning – testing different approaches to enrich and improve literacy learning.
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ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
Nathalia Grajales and teacher Johanna Hamilton work together in Invercargill's Accelerated Literacy programme. Photo credit: Nikki Dermody.
Accelerating English language acquisition for former refugees An accelerated English language programme for a group of driven young former refugees in Invercargill has seen them achieve well beyond expectations.
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group of former refugee students aged between 17 and 21, from Argentina and Colombia, have excelled using an accelerated English learning programme. While some were in school, others were learning English in adult English classes alongside their parents in Invercargill. The students, who are fluent in their home languages, were becoming frustrated and wanted to accelerate their English language learning. “For this age group it was really difficult – we needed something age-appropriate,” explains Trish Boyle, an Education Adviser for the Ministry of Education.
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“We had to try to think outside the square because they don’t have the luxury of time to learn English before they move into the workforce.” “Working with a local school and the Southern Institute of Technology (SIT), we developed a programme where students could learn English and do some training – for example, as a barista – until their English got to a level where they could move into an appropriate course,” she says. The Ministry of Education provided funding for a one-year pilot scheme that included a specialist English tutor and began last July.
Invercargill’s Aurora College enrolled the students and provided a classroom for the full immersion programme. By the end of the year, all the students had reached ESOL Level 1/ Level 2 – progress that can usually take up to 18 months.
Two-pronged approach The Accelerated Literacy programme combines two approaches. For three days a week, one ESOL teacher, Justine Haenni, focuses mainly on listening, reading and writing the programme. The programme uses role playing, music, pictures and routines, with lots of repetition to embed the learning. gazette.education.govt.nz
ENGLISH LANGUAGE ACQUISITION
Invercargill programme success factors » Age-appropriate, student-led programme.
» Practice, repetition and reinforcement.
» Flexible, supportive school as a base.
» Clear goals and high expectations from students and teachers.
» Listening to the students, being flexible and actively responding to meet their needs.
» Small numbers of students. » No translation programme.
On the other two days of the week, ESOL teacher Johanna Hamilton runs a student-led inquiry programme where, for example, the students might plan a shared lunch, shop for it and prepare it together. This ensures students are applying their learning in a practical context. Johanna also focuses on listening and speaking as well as reading comprehension and writing. “These students – mainly young women – have generally been in a camp for three to four years before coming to New Zealand. Some have faced unspeakable traumas. “They appreciate how the course is specifically tailored for their needs. They feel secure in the small group – security is very important for them. They like how each teacher has a specific focus. They like having time during the week when they can interact with students at the school. They really enjoy learning English but also problem-solving other issues that arise from living in a new and different culture,” explains Trish.
Teachers wowed by students A review of the pilot scheme shows that all the students experienced an acceleration in their language acquisition, and all gained confidence in speaking English. So much so, in fact, that last November, they wowed a group of 55 Invercargill teachers who attended a hui held to foster understanding of the resettlement process and cultural competence for educators working with former refugees. “[The students] were the hosts at Hui Tautoko. They greeted people when they arrived, served them lunch, worked with people in the kitchen and then told their stories to the group. Each student then
went into groups of about six teachers and answered questions. Their language was easily understood without an interpreter being required,” says Trish. The teachers said the Colombian food and the students themselves were highlights of the hui. “The students loved the fact that they could work in a New Zealand environment and feel confident. They were able to tell their stories and they felt heard. “We hope that they can be role models for the other younger former refugees in the school. They will visit the students, maybe do PE with them and take part as active leaders using English,” she says.
Transition to work Trish says that the Colombian students will return to Aurora College for 16 weeks this year. “We expect there to be some summer fallback, particularly as they may not have used conversational English during the holidays. We will get them back to where we want them to be and then we will work to transition them into the SIT Pathways to Success programme. “The idea of having the students enrolled in school and using flexible funding to offer the programme has made a difference. We’re not saying this is the answer in all situations or for the majority of refugee resettlement students; however, it seems to be working for this age group, who have got limited access to people that they can mix with and limited time to get that language acquisition,” she says.
“… it seems to be working for this age group, who have got limited access to people that they can mix with and limited time to get that language acquisition.” Trish Boyle
Invercargill teachers who attended Hui Tautoko were impressed with the students’ progress. gazette.education.govt.nz
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EARLY LITERACY
Early learning success starts at home New research has found that parents reading with young children has a positive impact on their early literacy and language learning.
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nformation collected from longitudinal child development study Growing Up in New Zealand found that shared book reading and parents encouraging children’s early literacy and numeracy skills were important contributors to early learning outcomes.
Dr Meissel says parents across all ethnic groups demonstrated a similar commitment to their children’s early literacy and numeracy skills, which suggests widespread acceptance of the importance of shared activities such as reading together.
The evidence shows that shared reading can help children develop their vocabulary and comprehension skills and benefits the transition to school-based literacy learning. This research confirms that reading with children from an early age has long-lasting benefits for children, particularly in the development of foundational oral language skills.
Key findings
The research by the University of Auckland, University of Otago and Ministry of Education is the first in New Zealand to look at a range of factors that can impact early learning success. University of Auckland senior lecturer in education and lead researcher Dr Kane Meissel says it’s also the first New Zealand study to explore whether there are ethnic differences in the determinants of early learning success. “This is important research because discovering what contributes to successful early learning across ethnic and socio-demographic groups helps us provide equitable and optimal early learning environments for all children in Aotearoa New Zealand. “This demonstrates the importance of ‘parents as first teachers’ and we need to look at how we can support parents to ensure they have the skills and resources necessary to help extend their child’s early learning,” he says.
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Key findings from the Factors of the Early Learning Environment that promote Early Learning Outcomes in Aotearoa New Zealand report: » Parents engaged with children around reading, writing and counting is a contributor to early learning success. » Most factors explored in the models remained important predictors across ethnicities. However, there was considerable variation within groups. » Mothers from all ethnic groups reported engaging in teaching behaviours to similar extents, indicating that a broadly similar value is placed on teaching activities across all groups. » Children whose mothers reported some concerns about their child’s behaviour at 24 months tended to have poorer early learning outcomes at 4.5 years. Further, the mothers of these children tended to report them engaging in fewer teaching behaviours at 4.5 years. » Mothers of children living in homes with more children’s books reported fewer concerns about emotional and hyperactivity difficulties at 24 months. gazette.education.govt.nz
EARLY LITERACY
Rich language opportunities The Communication strand/ Mana Reo of Te Whāriki sets out the curriculum to be used in early learning settings and includes a number of learning outcomes such as: children developing oral language for a range of purposes, recognising print symbols and concepts and using them for enjoyment, meaning and purpose.
Resources Education Counts report: He Whakaaro: What affects how often
mothers read books to their pre-schoolers? Literacy integrated in a rich language environment in early learning is supported by research discussed in a Ministry of Education resource, More Than Words. Education Counts report: He Whakaaro: How can teachers and
whānau effectively teach and support reading?
Te Whāriki states that early literacy learning emerges through opportunities that arise when teachers provide a print and language-rich environment, and when teachers actively support children to talk to each other, model new words and phrases, play word games and share a widening range of books, songs and poems. Early learning settings are only one of many influences on children’s development. Some family practices are known to promote children’s learning and development related to progress and achievement at school. Adults play a critical role of engaging infants and young children in ‘back and forth conversations’ encompassing babbling, facial expressions, gestures and words, which wire the brain for development, communication and learning. Families promote children’s learning and development through creating opportunities in everyday experiences for shared reading, singing, playing together, counting together, recognising patterns, and interactions with a wide range of people, places, things and experiences.
Learn to Read & Read to Learn Literacy Books with a Numeracy Focus Books available for emergent to fluent readers
giltedgepublishing.co.nz info@giltedgepublishing.co.nz
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DIGITAL LITERACY Year 7 student Millah Boniface enjoyed keeping a blog as part of the Summer Learning Journey programme.
Find this article online at gazette. education.govt.nz to read a student’s blog.
Blogging helps beat the summer slump Blogging at least twice a week as part of a free digital literacy programme has eliminated the summer literacy slump for participants in the initiative.
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he Summer Learning Journey is supported by the University of Auckland in 70 low-decile schools in Northland, Auckland, Gisborne, Ōtaki, Christchurch, Greymouth and Hokitika, with more than 850 tamariki having taken part during the past summer holidays. Now in its seventh cycle, the free programme was initially set up in collaboration with the Manaiakalani cluster of schools in Tāmaki, Auckland, to ensure Year 3–8 students return to school ‘match fit’. The main objective is to address the issue of the ‘summer slump’, where students can experience a regression in literacy achievement over the long holidays. The Summer Learning Journey was developed at the Woolf Fisher Research Centre at the University of Auckland with philanthropic support funding website development and staff including the blog commenters who interact with participants.
classmates, families and teachers. A team of educators and selected student volunteer commenters read their blogs and give them encouragement and feedback. The blogs are lively, with children posting stories, poems, book reviews and information, as well as engaging with each other and the assessment team. Sixty different activities from creative writing to expressing opinions are offered with an additional 15 in ‘Teaser-Week’. Students are also encouraged to think laterally, take pictures and create videos, making it both fun and educational.
Evaluation shows results
Digital engagement
Each year, the University of Auckland research team evaluates the impact that participation in the programme has on the e-asTTle writing and PAT reading achievement of participants. Results suggest that blogging twice a week or more, can virtually eliminate the summer slump in reading and writing achievement.
The programme gives students opportunities to read, write and share their knowledge on a public digital platform with their
“While the programme is designed to address the summer learning effect, in reality not all students’ scores drop over summer,”
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says Dr Rebecca Jesson, primary investigator for the research project. “But previous research suggests that students who maintain learning over summer tend to participate in literacy-rich leisure activities, with three underlying conditions: access to appropriate texts, engagement and support and guidance,” she says.
Relationships are key The studies show that motivation for ongoing literacy-rich activities over summer depends on students engaging in self-chosen activities. For this reason, the programme is designed to be voluntary and enjoyable, with a range of activities which relate to students’ lives and experiences and allow choice and personalisation. “Guidance and support from blog commenters is also a key feature. Our evidence suggests that there is also a strong element of personal relationship-building underlying the programme, and regular supportive and personal comments by our staff are a key motivator,” explains Rebecca. gazette.education.govt.nz
DIGITAL LITERACY
Here is an example:
Kia ora Ronan! Olive here from the Summer Learning Journey! How are you doing today? Thank you for your post! I’ve come back to this one because I’ve really enjoyed reading about what you’ve been up to! I think you’re doing some fantastic art and putting in a lot of effort here! I especially like your bird feeder drawing, and how you use a bird feeder in real life! What sort of birds come by your house? I notice you haven’t been as active recently – maybe you’re on holiday? Bad wifi connection? The dog ate your computer? Whatever the reason, my team and I would love to see more of your work! Don’t give up, there are still two weeks of the programme to go! Remember the end of the Summer Learning Journey is next Friday 24 January! Keep up the blogging, commenting and enthusiasm! Ngā mihi, Olive
Significant impact The University of Auckland research shows that while the most positive impact is on children’s writing, the main effects come through frequency of engagement. Students who maintain their learning in reading and writing, are those who complete at least two activities a week – and blog about them. These results have been peer reviewed and published in an international journal, Computers in Education. “The effect seems to be educationally significant. In both reading and writing, those with more than two posts a week made additional progress over summer,” says Rebecca. Richard Johnson, principal of Panmure Bridge School, says the Summer Learning Journey has had a very positive impact on his school offering a good holiday activity. “When they return to school, they return ready to learn,” he says. Participating students within the clusters of schools receive ongoing support and feedback, as well as the opportunity to win prizes for their blogging.
ENROL! NOW
Year 6 student Noah Pritchard wrote a blog about his summer reading.
“The effect seems to be educationally significant. In both reading and writing, those with more than two posts a week made additional progress over summer.” Dr Rebecca Jesson
CREATING CONFIDENCE IN MATHS AND ENGLISH Kumon Maths and English develop • • • •
calculation ability and reading ability concentration a daily study and reading habit the confidence to learn independently.
Contact your local Kumon Education Centre to hear how we can help children learn with confidence in 2020.
0800 458 666 gazette.education.govt.nz
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PIRLS
Participating in the PIRLS pilot What’s it like for schools to take part in international research studies? And why are certain schools chosen? Education Gazette hears from teachers, students and Ministry of Education analysts about their involvement in a recent pilot study for the next PIRLS (Progress in International Reading Literacy Study).
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wo Wellington primary schools, Maraeroa and Johnsonville, have recently taken part in a pilot study as part of the Ministry of Education’s preparation for the roll out of PIRLS 2021, a large-scale international study of reading literacy. Teachers and students share their experience of the pilot, a key step in the five-yearly study. Deputy principal at Maraeroa School Leka Farquhar says her students were excited to get involved in the PIRLS pilot. “They felt very special to have been chosen; they said, ‘Oh it must be because they know we’re good at reading!’ “Our children don’t have many wider world experiences, so for them much of the content contained information that they found absolutely fascinating; references to Antarctica, for example.”
Student feedback The students shared the following: “I enjoyed getting a new pen and how you were very helpful, even though I wasn’t sure how things will turn out. I had a lot of fun speaking with you. I liked it because we got to take breaks and not just keep on going.”
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“I learnt new words like ‘negative’ and ‘sensitive’. The stories were hard and challenging, and I had a go because I learn from my mistakes. I also enjoyed doing the smile faces at the end of the book. I would like to do the tests again when you come back.” “I tried my best. I looked at the pictures, but I skipped most of the words.” “Something I really liked in the test was that it challenged my brain! It was funny because one of the stories was about pollution and my reflection on my writing last week was about pollution and how it is making our planet smell yuck, and how it is hurting our sea creatures.” “I had to look at the pictures to help me understand what the stories were about because the words were too hard, and I have never seen lots of new words before.”
Field work invaluable For Megan Chamberlain, Jessica Forkert and Rachel Borthwick, who administered the pilot on behalf of the Ministry’s Educational Measurement and Assessment team, getting out into the field is invaluable to their work.
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“We get to hear the children’s feedback directly which is so valuable as it helps us know what actually makes sense and is enjoyable from their perspective, and the kinds of questions they ask also let us know when they find something less clear,” says Megan, who is the National Research Coordinator for PIRLS in New Zealand. Schools with Year 5 students in classrooms (i.e. not correspondence students) are eligible for the pilot and the EMA team approached schools with whom they’d previously had contact. The pilot involved students reading texts and answering questions, then providing feedback on whether they’d enjoyed the stories. Their answers go into the pool of international examples of student responses, which are then used for the planning and development of scoring guidelines. It’s a good opportunity to add some New Zealand student responses to the collection. Long Bay Primary students spark up the Human Energy Generator
What is PIRLS? The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) documents worldwide trends in the reading comprehension of middle primary school students. Students complete a reading assessment and questionnaire that addresses student attitudes towards reading and reading habits, and questionnaires are also completed by teachers and principals, and the students’ parents or caregivers. Information from this helps build a picture of students’ school experiences in developing reading literacy. New Zealand has been involved with PIRLS since the first study in 2001 which included 35 countries. Development work for PIRLS 2021 is underway with two New Zealand schools already having completed pilots. he field trial involving 30 schools will be conducted in mid-March and early April, with the main study, involving 275 schools, to be administered during term 4 this year. In the last PIRLS 2015 and 2016, New Zealand children scored an average of 523. There was wide range of country averages with the Russian Federation at 581, and South Africa at 320. Data reveals that a “reasonable” number of New Zealand children reached the high benchmark (41 per cent), meaning they demonstrated an ability to engage with increasingly complex texts and questions. However, slightly fewer children overall reached three of the benchmarks (low, high and advanced) in PIRLS 2016 than in 2011. Other key findings include: » New Zealand children’s performance was, in general, relatively stronger when reading literary texts than informational texts.
The kids have been mesmerised - and it’s led to some really robust discussions about how energy works.
Titirangi Primary
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» Reading comprehension was relatively stronger when using reasoning strategies (interpreting, integrating and evaluating) than using text-based skills (retrieving and straightforward inferencing).
Using the Human Energy Generator, they will experience how much energy it takes to power an LED versus an incandescent light bulb.
» Children who always or almost always spoke the same language at home as they used in the test (English or te reo Māori), generally had higher reading achievement than those who generally spoke a different language at home from that used in the test. Since PIRLS 2011, the size of this difference has decreased.
The learning experience can be enhanced using the Human Energy Generator education resource (Science / Maths Level 3-4).
» New Zealand children were much less confident about reading than their international peers. This is important because children who lacked confidence scored about 120 score points lower, on average, than those who were very confident.
gazette.education.govt.nz
To book the Human Energy Generator and download the resource go to www.schoolgen.co.nz
TIMSS
International maths and science study a rich resource for Kiwi teachers A four-yearly study that benchmarks the achievement of students in Years 5 and 9 in maths and science against their international counterparts has been completed, with a report due at the end of the year. The Ministry of Education is keen to explore ways of sharing the resulting data with teachers.
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together in Wellington. Peer marking meant the assessors were able to express their views, with further clarification occasionally sought from the international TIMSS coordinators in the United States.
One of the study’s assessors wants the insights gained to be shared more widely with New Zealand teachers.
After teaching maths in Wellington, John now has a role with the Networks of Expertise and is keen to facilitate teacher-to-teacher training in areas TIMSS has shown need attention.
rends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) is designed to measure and interpret differences in national educational systems to help improve the teaching and learning of these subjects. In New Zealand, 11,000 Year 5 and Year 9 students were randomly selected to take part in the 2018/19 study, with 14 people scoring their assessment books.
John Mitchell was a maths and science scorer of the recent New Zealand study. John taught maths in the United Kingdom for 10 years before moving to New Zealand. In the UK he moderated O-Level papers and continues to mark A-Level exam papers. “Marking in the UK helped inform my teaching and was probably the best PLD I received,” he says. “It gives you a greater insight into how you can teach and allows you to prepare your students better because you learn what the examiners’ thinking is behind questions. It also helped give me an understanding of how students perceive questions.”
Robust assessment John says the Ministry’s TIMSS assessment was well coordinated and one of the most robust he has seen, with the 14 scorers working
“The results that are coming through are very standardised,” he says.
“Reports in the media on the TIMSS, PISA, and PIRLS data often look at where we are in the world and provide generic data. Specific information which can be fed back to teachers to help them with their teaching is often given less prominence. “I would like to see us analysing each individual question at curriculum level and seeing how our students are doing with it. If we can identify certain areas where there is a problem, the Networks of Expertise can facilitate good teachers to help their colleagues.”
Sharing results with teachers TIMSS project manager and senior research analyst Debra Taylor says the Ministry of Education is keen to work with the maths associations and expert networks to find better ways to share the data from the study with teachers.
“The assessment is given to students in participating countries all around the world; it gives us a consistent basis for comparing achievement across education systems.” Debra Taylor
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TIMSS
The TIMSS scoring team working together.
“The assessment is given to students in participating countries all around the world and gives us a consistent basis for comparing achievement across education systems,” she says. “Because it’s a study which has been run for a number of years, we can look at trends within New Zealand and how the data as a consistent measure has changed over time. “It’s independent from our curriculum, but we do an exercise where we compare questions with our curriculum and what we would expect our students to have learned, so we can link it back to our curriculum.” TIMSS is led by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), an independent international cooperative of national research institutions and government agencies. The Ministry of Education’s Educational Measurement and Assessment Team manages the implementation of the TIMSS studies in New Zealand.
TIMSS for teachers The first TIMSS study was undertaken in 1994 and is repeated at four-year intervals. TIMSS assesses achievement in mathematics and science at middle primary and lower secondary levels, and collects background information on student, classroom and school contexts through questionnaires.
Reports Results from TIMSS 2018/19 will be published in early December 2020. The reports produced from TIMSS 2015 include chapters on strengths and weaknesses of New Zealand Year 5 and Year 9 students within the subject area and the relationship between TIMSS and The New Zealand Curriculum for that subject area. The trends reports can be found on Education Counts.
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