Session #1 for our KAU TAKI mentor group (Intervention)

Preparing for our first mentor session today. Each pair will have a clear file that has a few activities inside. Each activity supports the reading skill of 'Critical Thinking' in fun and engaging ways. To start off, our activity pack this week features:

1. Reebus Puzzles

2. Quick Fire - Would you Rather Questions

3. Sudoku Puzzles

Seeing it is our first mentor session. Why not include activities that are fun and engaging and requires some deep thinking. I was thinking for the next session, mentees will have the opportunity to write up some questions they'd like to ask their mentor about High School.

One of the objectives I'd like to achieve from this intervention is being able to find ways where we (teachers and schools) can support our learners with transitioning from Y8 to Y9. Even through talanoa, bringing awareness, informing our students of what to expect is huge. Why wait for Term 4 to prepare them? When it is something that can be done from the beginning of their Y8 year.

I think also having Y9 students as mentors bring some reality into the equation. Students that are close to them in age and are experiencing what they will soon be going through is a good start.

Our 'Get to know' you session - Mentor and Mentee

We had our first meet & greet session a couple weeks ago and it was a success. With the students, we decided on holding 6 sessions to run our 'mentoring programme'. 

Session #1 would be a 'Get to know you' session, Session 2-5 will be mentoring session where they would be working on Critical Thinking Reading Tasks, PEP talk for High School and building relationships. Session 6 will be an 'Evaluation/Reflection' session.

In our first session, I provided a Kai (this is traction for our tamariki), and when they finished, they sat as mentor/mentee and shared a talanoa. At the end of their talanoa, they introduced each other to the group and shared some things about one another.

We can't wait to see what our next couple of sessions turn out to be like.

Intervention Check-in...

 Share: Share data that you have collected/ recorded about the implementation of your changed practices or intervention (what evidence do you have about what you did differently?

Describe: Describe the evidence you have so far about the effects of your changed practice/intervention on desired learner outcomes and how you summarised and recorded these

• e-asTTle - assigning termly tests for learners to sit to monitor progress.
• Teacher Observations - photographs of learning moments
• Student Confidence and Engagement
• Reading Task-boards - including student text selection and voice in what they're learning

Explain: Explain the reflections and tweaks you have made along the way and the reasons why you made these changes. Share your evidence for these decisions.

• Everything is still in action so it is quite hard to reflect explicitly. However, something thats proven to be a slight issue in this inquiry is TIME. For a number of weeks now I have had to step into class due to shortage of relievers, meaning I don't get my release, so I don't get to work on my Inquiry.
• Y8 and Y9 learning timetable. It has been difficult to organise the sessions for both cohorts of students to meet because learning times are different in Primary than High School. I had to schedule our first mentoring session to have straight after we had Tech down at Tamaki College.

Intervention insights...

Sooooo,

Let me give you an insight to what my intervention is.

Because my CoL is around the transition of Y8 to Y9 - I decided to create a target group in both Year 8 and Year 9. I thought 6 students would be ideal because it's not too big or too small. Fortunately with Tamaki College being our local High School and I know some of the teachers there, I contacted Ms Amber George, Ms Dorothy Apelu, Mr Mansell and Mr Albert Stevenson for some help.

Eventually, I was able to form my target groups and from Term 2 of this year, I have met with my group 3x. Another bonus is, my Y9 target group are my ex-students from last year. 

The plan is to meet with them 3x this term and 3x next term. For my sessions this term and term 4, they will be working with my 6 Year 8 students, in the role of a mentor. 

For their first session, it will be a 'get to know you' session and for the remaining 5 sessions - they will be working on some 'Critical Thinking' tasks. These will include Reebus Puzzles, Riddles, Brainteasers, Debate Provocations etc

Last year we had the WayFYnders mentor group from Tamaki College come and work with some of our Y8 students. We found it very effective. The students who were selected as mentees were students who had attendance, self-esteem and motivation issues. After a term of mentoring, our Principal checked the attendance rate of the learners and we saw some really positive changes. This was the inspiration for my intervention this year.

I am hoping that through this mentoring programme between Y9 and Y8 students, the anxiety and stress for the Y8 learners transitioning into High School will be less tense and less pressure for the learners.

Meeting with fellow CoL teachers

This term I have had the opportunity to meet with Sandhya from GI primary and Scott from Tamaki College.

We met because we wanted to talanoa about our inquiries and gain ideas from each other. Sandhya said she needed anothers perspective on what her intervention ideas were. We spent a good hour sharing our inquiries to one another and even the barriers we came across this year.

Scott and I met because our inquiries were quite similar. I am looking at the transition of Y8 to Y9 and Scott is inquiring into the importance of learners being one with their culture, language and identity (something along these lines). Scott had a lightbulb moment when he came to our farewell assembly for our previous Tumuaki and saw how engaged the learners were (In Primary level) with their cultural background. He noticed that in High School, their main focus is on NCEA and teaching Reading, Writing and Maths. It's missing the sense of belonging and identity aspect. It was a very effective talanoa because we left agreeing that Scott will make a visit to GTS - to observe how it is in the classroom, the culture and group teaching we do and I left making plans of meeting with my Y9 students who will mentor my Y8 learners.

A great TALANOA indeed.