I resonated with 'changing the script' more than any of the others - even though they were all beneficial reads. Last year I had a number of learners who were below their expected level in writing. Our school-wide focus was to shift 80% of our below writers to either at or above their expected level. I worked towards achieving this goal by challenging the student agency in my classroom. I was so nervous! I was about to embark on a new journey of implementing digital technology into my literacy program, in the hopes my students would fall in love with writing, and not just for the sake of using technology, but with the process. We received a number of chrome books and computers in our class this year and I knew we were going to put them to good use. As well as being nervous about the actual teaching part, I was also nervous about the response I would have from parents as their children began to use more and more technology in their learning.
The reaction from my students has been incredible! I struggled so much with getting my students engaged last year, and now, I have children coming into class in the morning saying "Yuss, we're doing writing first!". I even had a girl say that last year (yes I had her last year too) writing was her worst subject and this year it's her favourite! The joy that gives me in indescribable. I have boys who are asking to finish their writing at lunch time, or asking to finish it if they finish their maths work early - this particular student was one of my ALL boys last year.
Reading 'changing the script' really made me think about my teaching practice from here on out. What am I going to do next? Bolstad, Gilbert, McDowall, Bull, Boyd & Hipkins, 2012, says that the challenge is moving passed seeing the learning terms as student centered or teacher driven, and starting to think about teachers and learners working together in a 'knowledge-building" learning environment. This made me realise that although I am building the student agency in my young writers, I now need to be thinking about the roles that myself and my learners play. I can see that while the student agency has grown, it is still very much teacher driven and the agency comes from engagement. Bolstad, Gilbert, McDowall, Bull, Boyd & Hipkins, 2012, suggest that I look at the structures and the relationships within my classroom so that I can draw on the strengths and knowledge of each person as it will better support our (mine and my students) learning.
This has really made me think about my action plan. I have considered giving students the opportunity to choose their topics for writing, however I have a hunch that majority of my writers will refer back to recounts. I've found that by directing the writing (at the stage) I have been able to see a higher quality of writing than I did at the beginning of the year. Perhaps I need to use individuals as experts, I'm thinking of my academic writers - Joshua is great with the depth of his ideas, Frances can use her words to paint a descriptive picture for her readers, Liam can be a spelling expert. Perhaps I move the responsibility from myself, to others in the classroom. Bolstad, Gilbert, McDowall, Bull, Boyd & Hipkins, 2012, also say that it's not about students and teachers having 'equal' roles, but it's about using individuals strengths. I like the idea of individuals having an expert role and holding workshops - we currently have a buddy editing system however I'm aware there is little agency in this area (purely the writing part of the process). I will try implement this in our literacy program over the next week and a half.
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