Nga Iwi School 50th Jubliee

 On Friday November 18, Nga Iwi School celebrated its 50th Jubilee.  We had a day of celebrations starting with a very moving powhiri, supported by our local iwi and proudly carried out by our students who were in fine voice.  There were a number of past students, teachers and principals who attended the event, as well as the Honorable Aupito William Su'a, Minister of Pacific People and associate Minister of Foreign Affairs.   

Speakers for the celebration were many and varied.  We started with my Principals welcome...welcoming the community and special guest to such an important occasion.  Followed by our Iwi representative, Matua Ngaati-Tahinga Wilson who gave our community the history and whakapapa of our school and the whenua we stand on.  The honorable  Minister Aupito William Su'a spoke of how well our school is going, the initiatives that are running and the aspirations he and the government have for our community.  Deanna Johnson spoke as the past Principal who introduced Kaiwhare as our new school logo.  Mrs Jocelyn Trembath is a teacher who has served the school for more than 40 years.  She spoke of the 'old days' and how much the school has changed over the years.  Mrs Lily Taplin was the final speaker.  Lily was a foundation student 50 years ago and is a current teacher at our school, she spoke of her love for the school and the community. 

In between all of the speeches were performances.  We had performances from our Samoan Group, Tongan Group, Niuean Group, Hiphop group and our KapaHaka Group.  And intermittently between speeches and performances, Mrs Taplin led singing...the whole school were in fine voice all morning.  At the conclusion of the assembly, guests were welcome to stay for shared kai, browse the photos which lined the hall walls and take a stroll around the school to see how it looks now.   

At 6pm, guests started to arrive for the evening programme of dinner and a DJ.  There were approximately 100 people in attendance including past students and teachers, present whanau, local iwi and staff.  Staff meals were fully subsidised by the board for the amazing work they did in the lead up to and on the day of the Jubilee.  Throughout the night people shared stories and reminisced about the time and their connection to Nga Iwi School.  There was an amazing atmosphere of whanau - once a Nga Iwi kid always a Nga Iwi kid!  Lots of laughter and photo taking, cheers to memories and a bit of dancing at the end of the night.  We had people as far afield as the Far North, the South Island and Australia come to the event.     In summary, the 50th Jubilee celebrations were a huge success. 

We learnt a lot about our schools past and gained a new appreciation for our uniqueness.  We have planned a 50th Jubilee whole school photo in the near future that will be mounted with the foundation school photo.  This will be a symbol of how far we've come and the shoulders on which we stand.

Assessment for Learning - Professional Development Teacher Only Day

 Working with Lizzie Bayliss - Education Group

What is Assessment for Learning:

Latin verb - 'assidere' meaning 'to sit with'.  Implies assessment is done with and for students, not done 'to' them.  Below is an assignment I wrote giving an explanation for what Assessmet

ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING

Assessment for Learning (AfL) is not an entirely new concept, in fact formative assessment is the precursor to the ideology that is now referred to as AfL (Wiliam, D. 2011). AfL is student driven and involves a collaborative approach to learning, allowing for a more fluid differentiated teaching and learning approach. Assessment for learning has been defined as a process where teachers and students work beside each other to ‘seek, reflect and respond to information gathered through dialogue, demonstration and observation’ to strengthen the learning process (Klenowski. p.264. 2009). AfL tends to learning as it is happening, in teachable moments not only between teacher and student but student to student. It allows teachers and learners to identify misconceptions and adjust and modify learning as it happens, melding learning, teaching and assessment as an ‘integrated entity’. It transforms classroom learning from traditional (teacher directed), to an open learning space that is student centered.

The purpose behind AfL is to develop autonomous, self regulated learners through enhanced student engagement, resulting in increased student achievement. Autonomy in learning develops ‘expertise’ for students to synthesise, adapt and use across the curriculum (Willis. p.2. 2011). AfL promotes a social, collaborative learning platform, where participants (students and teachers) learn ‘beside’ each other, developing communication and metacognitive skills while gaining a collective knowledge as a community of learners. It is reciprocal, student focused and facilitative in construct. Cowie & Bell (1999) termed assessment in an AfL classroom as ‘interactive’, it often doesn’t involve an assessment task, but real time learning situations.

In assessment for learning, students and teachers ‘seek’ aspects of learning requiring further exploration during learning. Teacher and student (or student and peer) ‘reflect’ on the significance of the requisite learning and together share feedback/feedforward regarding next steps. Students then ‘respond’ to the feedback, making adjustments and actioning new learning into the task. The focus is on the learning as opposed to performance (James et.al. 2011) - the process is task oriented and focuses on task proficiency and understanding.

The ‘seek’ element is neither formal, nor necessarily recorded. Information can be gained through discourse, observation or practical endeavour. It is not necessarily restricted to a single student, but can range across a group in how they are working together, whether discussion is on point and understanding of the concept or task is shared across the group. Upon noticing misconceptions, teachers and students set about ‘reflecting’ on what and how they can address it. Teachers rely on their pedagogical content knowledge to facilitate the learning, to guide students through new learning that can be embedded and synthesised as the learning progresses. Noticing and recognising misconceptions requires teachers to use their prior knowledge of students and their knowledge of the context they are teaching in, to ensure clarity in delivery and understanding. Explicit work expectations and feedback are most important in assisting students to set and evaluate goals during learning. The most effective feedback is cognitive, as opposed to outcome based, as it ‘provides students with information that links cues and achievement’ (Butler & Winne. p.251. 1995). It is an ongoing process which promotes motivation and purpose in the learning.

Students ‘respond’ to the information and feedback received, modifying their application, actioning advice and guidance given by the teacher or peer. Klenowski (2009) notes what works best in advice and guidance is not to provide complete solutions, but to give an indication of how to improve - thus encouraging students in mindful problem solving.

The process of AfL requires scaffolding by teachers and is best carried out through modelling ‘seeking, reflecting and responding’ in everyday practice, embedding it into the classroom culture.

Butler, D. L., & Winne, P. H. (1995). Feedback and self-regulated learning: A theoretical synthesis. Review of educational research, 65(3), 245-281.

Cowie, B., & Bell, B. (1999). A model of formative assessment in science education. Assessment in Education: Principles, Policy & Practice, 6(1), 101-116.

James, M., McCormick, R., Black, P., Carmichael, P., Drummond, M. J., Fox, A., ... & Swaffield, S. (2007). Improving learning how to learn: Classrooms, schools and networks. Routledge.

Klenowski, V. (2009). Assessment for learning revisited: An Asia-Pacific perspective.

Wiliam, D. (2011). What is assessment for learning?. Studies in Educational Evaluation, 37(1), 3-14. University of London. England

Willis, J. (2010). Assessment for learning as a participative pedagogy.

Assessment Matters 2, 65-84.