Timetables- how to fit it all in!

This week I've felt really bogged down by the things that need to be done/ taught and the realisation of the fact that there's only three weeks of school left for the year. I then began reflecting on the past six years and how I have timetabled and prioritised things in past. I also thought about how my own teaching practices have evolved over the years… and how I've been influenced by amazing mentors and colleagues. I've also been introduced to many new programs/ pedagogies and these have helped to shape my programming.

So I thought that today I would share with you some of my past timetables and how they have evolved over the years... as well as some thoughts on where I'd like to go next (because let's face it... I'm still not getting through everything!)

OK so lets start at the foundation... how much time should we allocate to each subject (KLA)?

Now I teach in NSW so I will begin with looking at what BOSTES states, however, I will then share the National Curriculum expectations for those teaching in other parts of Australia. If you're not currently teaching in an Australian school, please feel free to check out our standards and then compare them with your own- they may be similar?

BOSTES (NSW)

Taken from: k6.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au

I really like this pie graph as it clearly states how much of your teaching should be dedicated to each KLA (Key Learning Area).

If the school week is made up of 25 teaching hours you would need to spend the following amount of hours of each subject:

English: 7.5 hours (at 30%) or 8 hours rounded up
Mathematics: 5 hours (at 20%)
Science and Technology: 2.5 hours (at 10%)
HSIE (History & Geo): 2.5 hours (at 10%)
PD/H/PE: 2.5 hours (at 10%)
CAPA: 2.5 hours (at 10%)

And that would leave 2.5 hours (maximum) for Assemblies, Library, Languages, Scripture, and extra sport opportunities. 

I like to leave the morning block for English and then teach an hour of Mathematics after recess each day. However, this isn't always possible due to RFF and other school-wide commitments.

Australian Curriculum (ACARA)

Taken from: qcaa.qld.edu.au

This table was taken from the Queensland Curriculum & Assessment Authority website. It explains how much time should be spent on each subject over the whole year.

I like how they have set time aside for languages. I also like how they have broken HSIE down as well as Technologies. However, I would like to know how this would look over a typical week!

Here are a some of my timetables, starting with my first year of teaching right through to the year I left to go on Maternity Leave. Please note that I haven't included this current year as I am Job Sharing and only work two days.

2011 - Year 6 Timetable

2012 - Year 6 Timetable

2013 - Year 6 Timetable

2014 - Year 5 Timetable

2015 - Year 6 Timetable

As the years went on I began including the Quality Teaching Framework at the bottom of my timetable. I also included little iPad icons to indicate when my class had access to the devices. Finally, I tried to ensure that I kept my KLA time allocations as close to the guidelines as possible.

I feel this is a nice representation of how my teaching has evolved over the years. I'm particularly happy with how I structured my time table in 2014. It was a little more comprehensive than the rest. You can clearly see where I would conduct my pre-tests and post-tests for the week. I even stated whether my lessons were modelled, guided or independent. The different KLA's were colour-coded, which added to the comprehensiveness. 

Where to next?

I would like my timetable for 2017 to include time for goal setting. I'd also like it to include the different programs/ pedagogies that shape the lessons, so that it can be clearly seen where it all fits in. For example, where and when I will teach TOWN… is it attached to a Maths lesson or is it separate? 

I would love for it to be digital with a hyperlink to the current teaching program. I will make sure that I continue to use the iPad icon, like I used previously. And finally, I want to ensure that I am sticking to the KLA time allocations set out by BOSTES. If possible, I would like to spend a little more time on English and Mathematics.

Glenmore Park Learning Alliance

Every now and then you come across a gem of a website and you just have to share. Today I would like to write about the 'Glenmore Park Learning Alliance' web page. I fortunately work at a school that is a part of this Learning Alliance and have been apart of the process for a couple of years now.

The short story is that the NSW Syllabus' were introduced and a few schools in the Glenmore Park area (Penrith) decided to join up and create programs together to be shared. What started as a group of four schools has now burst into ELEVEN (and counting) schools.

The Alliance has created programs for Kindergarten right through to Year 6 and cover English, Mathematics, Science and History (at this point in time).

I have been teaching from these programs for the last three years and it has definitely eased the load of programming.

I highly recommend that you check out the website and share with your teacher friends!

You can access the website HERE.

New Buzzwords: Visible Learning, Learning Intentions and Success Criteria

I don't know about you… but when I returned back from ONE YEAR OFF on Maternity Leave, it felt like the whole "teaching game" changed. All of a sudden I was hearing new acronyms, seeing new faces and learning whole new approaches to teaching. May I remind you all that I only had one year off!

So today I thought I'd share some of the things I've learned and how I apply them to my always-evolving teaching style.

Image taken from cognitioneducation.com

It all starts with this guy… John Hattie.

Hattie has challenged the way in which we teach. He has also challenged our ideas around what actually impacts learning and surprise, surprise… it's not class sizes!

He wrote a book about Visible Learning which explains fifteen years worth of research around what actually works in schools to improve learning.

He also coined the phrase "Know Thy Impact"… amongst many other things.

I recommend you watching his TEDx talk [below] which looks at: why are so many of our teachers and schools so successful. 

Ok so now that we all know a little more about him… What next?

So my school has started to really push Learning Intentions and Success Criteria. The idea is that you explain to students at the beginning WHAT they will be learning and HOW they'll know they're successful. It's actually a great way to think about the purpose of the lesson. I know in the past I've just taught things and never really thought about WHY. And I know I'm guilty of explaining to students what I want them to do without really giving it purpose. It's like that classic situation where a student asks 'how does this apply to the real world' and the teacher explains that the student needs to learn it "because it's in the syllabus". I don't think that's a good enough reason. Also... If that were true... Everything a child can learn is at their finger tips on the Internet... So lessons need purpose otherwise our role as a teacher is made redundant.

I thought I'd now share how I've been incorporating Learning Intentions and Success Criteria into my teaching. Now I cannot take credit for any of these ideas, as they are an initiative of my school and/or my supervisor.

1. Notebook files (or PowerPoint slides):

We show these at the beginning and conclusion of a lesson.

2. Programming:

We have Learning Intentions and Success Criteria built into our programs.

3. Around the room:

We often display our goals around the room or in easy-to-find locations for students to access.

4. Displayed during rotational activities:

These stands are placed in the area where that specific activity will be run.

We bought this template off teacherspayteachers.com

Now other ways to ensure that learning is visible, is by giving students an opportunity to show what they've been learning and get feedback. We (the teacher I job share with and I) try to meet with students twice in a Teacher-Student-Conference. Once during independent reading and the second during our daily writing time slot. Conferences only go for a couple of minutes but it's long enough for the student to show what they've been working on, for the teacher to give some constructive feedback and for the two to plan the students individual goal (short term) for the week.

We also try and keep a communication line open with parents, to share what we've been doing/learning during class time. This term we've chosen to use ClassDojo and utilise the Class Story tool as well as the direct Messages to parents. You can check out what ClassDojo has to offer HERE.

Where to next?

My aim is to establish a Bump It Up Wall for my class. I'm deliberating on how to best make one as I want it to be flexible and general. That way it can be used it all subjects and topics. However I'll go into this further in future posts.

I also want to create a way for me to assess my IMPACT on the class. Maybe a way for students to offer feedback to me about how I'm going so that I can further improve? I still need to put a bit more thought into this... And I'm definitely open to suggestions! So feel free to share any of your ideas below or email me at rach.sellen@gmail.com

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Perspectives in the Classroom

Before I get started writing today's post… 

Happy NAIDOC week! 
And can I just say how excited I am for Linda Burney, being the FIRST Aboriginal woman to be elected into the House of Reps. :)

Now with saying that, I've been doing a fair bit of research lately about the ATSI Perspective in my teaching. As I was searching the net I found this amazing article which really got me thinking. I'll attach it HERE for you to read. It's entitled 'Bringing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in the classroom: Why and how?' and it's written by Cara Shipp from Wanniassa School, ACT. It's not for the faint hearted. Shipp is pretty ruthless actually. She encourages teachers to get rid of the term tokenism and to stop making excuses for why they aren't teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives… ‘Oh, I’d like to incorporate Indigenous perspectives but I’m scared of doing it in a tokenistic way [so I just don’t do it].’

I felt so inspired after reading this article that it got me thinking about our curriculum. The new NSW syllabus' have now included  'Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures' in their cross-curriculum priorities. That means that they've already outlined HOW to incorporate the ATSI perspective in all Key Learning Areas.

When you read through any NSW syllabus, you may see a little hand print () pictured next to a content descriptor within an outcome. This symbol means that the content listed includes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and or cultures. 

I decided that I'd check out the English and Mathematics syllabus' in particular, and see exactly what is covered within the content. I then created the following documents which I've attached for you to download (see below).

In these documents, I have recorded every outcome that has Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content for ES1 through to Stage 3. You can download the English document HERE and the Mathematics document HERE. I thought it was a great way to see what exactly is covered. I must admit… I'm a little shocked. I'm impressed at how much is in Early Stage 1 but slightly disappointed at how much it drops off by Stage 3.

Regardless, there is content and we (as teachers) need to cover it.

While I was at it, I checked out the 'Australian Professional Standard for Teachers'. There were two main standards that addressed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and histories-  Standard 1 (Know students and how they learn) and Standard 2 (Know content and how to teach it). I thought it was interesting how it makes it clear that we teach the ATSI perspective not only to the benefit of the Indigenous students present in our classes, but for all of our students.

So now what?

I thought it would be cool to share some of the amazing lessons we've all been doing in our classes! Feel free to comment below about what you've been doing… or email me at rach.sellen@gmail.com

I'd love to feature some of your amazing ideas/ lessons and celebrate what you've been doing with you classes. No need to be shy people… SHARING IS CARING!