Learning with NZSL users @ OrmPS

As part of our professional development for New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) we had Krista from KDEC come in and speak to us about NZSL and what it's like for children in the classroom.

There is the use of interpreters that allows deaf people to converse within the hearing world. Interpreters provide full access for children in the classroom, everything said by the learning coach (teacher) is interpreted to the learners. Interpreters help and support in the classroom is vital in the classroom and makes so much difference.

Something new I've learned is every country has their own sign language. I also learned how to say hello, how are you, I"m good thank you, I'm (my name) and what is your name in sign language. I've also picked up the sign language for friend, dog, play, learn, coach, help and lunch.

This image is an idea of how a learner who is deaf to access the full picture for that child. If you're a child and can't make sense of it at all, it is very hard.
Learners may need to look away from their interpreters as their eyes are tired and it can be hard work.

We also had another activity to do, with ear plugs. All coaches had to wear ear plugs, walk around and ask others questions and find answers. All the while, there was an annoying background noise playing loudly. I relied heavily on lip reading and the use of gestures to understand some people's answers. I also felt frustrated when having to ask some questions too. Some of the things we did to try and understand each other was read lips, use actions and hand gestures and make eye contact. We found that it was harder to ask longer questions and where some words are tricky to say. This enabled us as a staff to put ourselves in the learners shoes and to better understand how learners are feeling.

It's important to gain the students attention before you start to communicate with them.
Examples are: flashing lights, waving, gently tapping their leg or stomping foot. We can also ask other learners who are listening to get their attention. Eye contact is really important in communicating with others.

Learning to sign helps to make a connections with NZSL learners. Connection is valuable. In order to gauge whether a learner has understood is by asking open ended questions. As often some children can use the deaf nod or the nod of bluffing which

Other points we discussed was how to create a deaf friendly school and that was to ensure that the school environment is inclusive of all learners. Use and teach other children signage during assembly and learning the days of the week. As well, as making sure that the notices were visual and accessible to all learners.

What does Ormiston primary do to be deaf friendly? Having visuals, turn off lights, shake the tambourine, learn more sign language and the learning coach to raise their hands to show that they are speaking.

I'm really excited about learning New Zealand Sign Language to help all children understand better and to communicate effectively in the classroom.

Induction Day at OrmPS

Today, as a staff we covered a lot of ground for the year ahead. We looked at the Vision Principles of the school, Collaboration and what it means, Assessment and Appraisals and a brief look at Maths and the resources we needed in our habitats.

The session that stood out today was around Collaboration. We were asked to get into nine groups and the task was to choose one person to lift up. Our group discussed and shared ideas about what we as a team were going to do. One person decided that we could put our own spin on it and lift a person up by giving saying positive things about them. What had to make decisions together as a team and come to an agreement about how we were going to do this.

As a collective, we discussed: Why is collaboration important? How is it implemented? What did we do show that we are a collaborative team?

Together, we talked about the values of the school and the learner's strengths, how the school is bi-culturally responsible and the strengths and how the community is involved and the strengths around this also.

Collaboration and working collaboratively is a reminder to working together and helping others.

For me personally, I was pointed out as sitting back and not saying much. But, it wasn't that I didn't have anything to say, what I wanted to say had already been shared and so I agreed with them. Nine is a big number to collaborate in as there are too many cooks in the kitchen. This is something for me to think about during my time as a learning coach at Ormiston.

End of an Era

This is my final post as a teacher at Point England School. I have been at Point England school since 2006 and have learned a great deal. Thank you to Russell and Dorothy Burt and all the staff for their support and leadership. Thank you to the office/ admin staff who are the backbone of the school. Thanks to all the support staff for their help throughout the years. Thank you to parents for allowing me to teach your children. Thank you most of all to the children, who as much as I have taught I've also learned from you. I will take a bit of Point England with me. I'll still be posting to my inquiry blog. Thanks Point England, I love you all.

End of an Era from Priscilla Lavakula on Vimeo.

End of Year Reading Data

Here is a deeper look into the end of year data collected over the year. Looking closer at the data helps to determine why shifts were made or not and where to next.

Inquiry Update: Change in Pedagogy

I've been reflecting on how much my teaching has changed this year. When it came to reading, I was in the mindset of the children reading a text and then having a followup for it. This also meant the children had to get through at least two texts a week.

My focus around what the children are reading in class has changed. Yes, I still need to have a followup for each group but because of what we're doing in our team in reading, has changed so has the focus, slightly.

Team 4 teachers and I decided to have mini topics under the school inquiry. The topic for this term is the Olympics and we looked at it from a point of view as the: Olympics Exposed. This meant that we were teaching children what goes on behind the scenes of the Olympics. I hadn't really thought about that point of view before but not only did the children learn about these mini topics, but so did I.

I'll be honest and say that it wasn't easy at first. This meant that there weren't many books or journals for children to read under these mini topics. So, as a team we had to delve into online readings. The children have one main text that they have to read but we also have also included other readings that support the main text. It's still a work in progress for myself. But as a team we are working collaboratively. I check out what others have been doing on our site and might use some readings or followup activities and make them my own.

 

Term 3 Inquiry Update

This term our team focus was around issues that went on behind the scenes of the Olympics, called "Olympics Uncovered". We had to teach issues that covered two to three weeks at a time. The following texts were found on Journal Surf. The focus of my mini topics were: Doping in Sport, the Zika Virus, Muscles and the Human Body and some sports. These are the books I found that specifically related to these topics.

Boost is a story about some children that had enhancements from a clinic and how they behaved in class. When children read this, they could tell that this was cheating and that it wasn't fair on others. For extended reading texts, I found articles online based on doping in sport.

Mighty Muscles is a short article that gives students a brief idea of why it is important to have healthy muscles. From observations, few children knew only one or two muscles in their body. For extended readings, I've had to search online to find articles and readings that related to the muscular system.

The texts around viruses and bacteria that I found were The good, the bad and the ugly and Double, double, toilet trouble. My top reading group are able to explain the difference between bacteria and a virus. I found articles on the Zika virus online and used these as extended texts. One teaching "a-ha!" moment is when one of my students said "oh, I didn't know that'.

The follow up activities were based on agree/ disagree, compare and contrast and short fact presentations. Some children made advertisements about Boost and whether people should be using it or not. Check out an example here. Here's are movies made by students about the Zika Virus here and here. Here's an activity for Mighty Muscles here. 

Term 2: Inquiry Update

This term I have been focussing on getting the children to think from the 'author's point of view'. The tasks I got the children to use were agreeing or disagreeing with statements. However, the children had to think from the 'author's point of view' not from their view. This was quite difficult for some children because they had to switch their thinking. It generated good discussion and healthy argument amongst the children and they had to use their books as evidence.