Here is what I wrote for for this feedback, with names removed.
Design and Visual Communication
I always do the work that I want the students to do in a combination of an example just before they do it so they can see what i want them to do and i also tend to do another example along with them so they can see it being produced. This also gives them confidence in me, as they can see that I can put my money where my mouth is.
I sit at the table with them and do the work with them. When they need help with anything, I will do an example just for them individually so they can see how to apply a skill to their own work. I never do this directly on their work, but do it on another sheet so they can follow along with me.
I also do examples of any online / digital work that i expect them to do. This is especially important as Tamaki College tend to be doing this kind of stuff first, so we have to make our own exemplars.
I have the project instructions on the class Google site.
We do collaborative work in the class Google Plus Community. I put up to date links and examples here too. I also experimented this year by putting the day to day instructions, links and learning intentions and outcomes.
All my NCEA Level 1, 2 and 3 students make a site at the start of the year. They use this site as a digital design portfolio. They embed their digital work, scan their drawings and photograph their 3D modelling work. Everything can then onto the one google site for each student.
Level 1
When staff were told to offer a 10 credit course to the at risk group of students, I decided not to do that with Student 1 and Student 2. I discussed this plan with SLT and kept these students on the same course plan as the rest of the class. They had made a really good positive start to their work and I did not want to make them feel like i didn’t think that they could do it. I chatted to the students about this after these decisions had been made and they were quite happy.
The rest of the group were who had a normal to high work frame of mind and they were good at plodding through. I found that my new site set up helped them as they were able to refer to this a lot more when they were needing direction. I have been setting up the level 1 projects in a “MOOC’ style so it encourages more self paced learning. This was done in the form of step by steps using Google presentations and screencasts of skills.
As a class, we do a lot of work together in the class Google Plus community and this seems to give them confidence in what they are doing and it has improved their analysis and note writing.
With Students 1 and 2, I had to have a mind set change myself and allow them to work in the manner and pace that suited them. Student 1 works well by himself, late at night, so I was getting a lot of his work shared with me outside of class time. He is obsessed with playing internet games so I did deals with him in class time. I allowed him his gaming time if he gave me work time when it was needed in the lesson, for activities such as drawing and modelling which had to be done in the class. I also got him to agree to come in in the October holidays with 3 of the other Level 1 boys to complete the second external standard.
This student achieved a merit with one of his internal standards and passed both of the external standards he was entered into. He passed all of his credits in DVC.
With Student 2, he worked well in the class most of the time as long as he also got his “perks” like playing games and playing his guitar. He got to the point by the end of term 3 where he was posting his work into the class community in his own time without me nagging him. I made sure that i sat with him and gave him enough one to one time to get his google site up to date so he felt that he was at the same point as the others in the class.
When he was late to the class, I never mentioned this but just welcomed him as soon as he came in the door and explained what the rest of the class was getting on with. His lateness got less and less as the year went on.
This student passed all of his internal standards and the external that he was entered into.
This PB4L approach, especially to these 2 boys, has been a huge change for me this year and, to be honest, it has at times driven me crazy. It has been such a mindset change for me not to do my usual “nagging” but it has proved worthwhile.
Level 3
Ever since the standards alignment changed all of the Level 3 standards, I have had trouble with external AS91627. I have not had any students pass this standard.
At the beginning of March last year, I organised a meeting with the Technology contact from Team Solutions to talk about this problem external standard at Level 3. They put me in touch with the DVC teacher at another College. I contacted this teacher and they let me go and visit their department. They showed me what they did at Level 3 and gave me lots of good ideas and a really good plan of what to do in regards to that external standard.
When I got back to school after that meeting, my class were told that the work we had done up to then ( about a month’s worth ) was being scrapped and we were starting again.
This proved to be worthwhile, if somewhat painful, as most of the class passed with the added bonus of 2 merit results.
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