B BURST AND BUBBLES

 AND FINALLY.......

Burst and Bubbles came along:

Time for a recipe:

I would like to thank all the staff at Sommerville school as together you created a

vocabulary around collaboration and that is what i am using today.

My Granny said great baking can't be rushed.

I would like to share with you a recipe for collaborative teaching. 

This can lead to a tasty learning environment to support thriving learners.

Just watch the results: It’ll look and taste sensational!

Ingredients:

4 heaped tablespoons of Open mindedness

4 heaped tablespoons of Communication

1 tablespoon of  Respect 

1 tablespoon of trust

A big handful of Support

Instructions:

1. Mix the spoonfuls of open mindedness and communication in a bowl, stir for a while.

2. Next add the tablespoons of respect and trust. Give it time and watch it grow. Just like yeast.

Listen to the thoughts and ideas that are shared.

3. For the final ingredients, throw in a big handful of support: like laughter, happiness,

celebrations, feedforward , honesty, warmth towards each other and aha moments.

4. Mix together thoroughly and let it stand.

5. Together there is a joint effort, and a partnership will grow. All the learning can be

shared.

6. It can not be rushed, invest time into it. Time allows you to create more opportunities

to learn from one another.

7. Finally you will see COLLABORATION. You will share common goals: look at the result:

collaborative teachers, collaborative environments support thriving learners.

ENJOY!!

For a little extra:

 As the Wonder pets: What’s gonna to work… team work!!!

This is not as tasty as a chocolate cake but it can be just as sweet: go on give it a try!

AND as one of my colleagues puts it

Simply put: Mahi tahi tatou: Let’s work together

Thank you to everyone who supported me when writing the recipe.

Collaborative Language brainstormed with Sommerville staff

 As part of the end of year survey we asked the staff of Sommerville to think of 3 words to describe collaboration in their area of the school as we are fully aware that this may look different depending on the needs of the learners.

Here is a table of the results:

working	1
mahi tahi tatou (let’s work together)	1
together	1111111
Common goal should go in as is the definition of collaboration	111
communicate	11111
teamwork	1111111111111
more	1
share	111111111111
opportunities	11
Fun: Doesn’t have to be fun!!	1111
connecting	11111
experiences	1
involvement	1
Best practice	1
trust	111
Well being	1
responsibility	1
partnership	11
cooperation	11
participation	1
Joint effort	11
strengths	1
unity	11
support	1111
compromise	11
reflection/thoughts	11
Matauranga	1
whanaungatanga	1
Integrate	1
skills/	1
innovative	1
planning	1
energy	1
courage	1
open minded	11
perspectives	1
listening	1
respect	1
plan/ideas	11
Interdependent	1
learn	1
empower	1
purposeful	1
creativity	1
honest	1
reliable	1

The ones that are highlighted are the words that were suggested the most.

I used these words during my Burst and Bubbles. 

Using these words, the collaborative team have come up with a few suggestions for the Sommerville statement of what collaboration means and looks like at our school:

1. Let’s learn together to help us and our learners grow: ONE common goal!!!

2. Working together to achieve better learner outcomes-

3. Working together where teachers and students can thrive.

4. Working together to improve learner outcomes 

5. Planning, teaching learning and reflecting together to improve learner outcomes

6. Working and learning together….we can make the difference

A short phase that was shared with us and resonated with me especially is:

Mahi tahi tatou

Collaboration team update.

Catch up and next steps

 Reminder of my goal: 

Goal- Grow great staff who collaborate to enrich learner outcomes

If we have collaborative staff then this will enhance the children's learning, academic and social.

How is the journey going?

After carrying out activities at a staff meeting, sharing examples of cooperation and collaborations, the aim is that staff have a clearer understanding as to whether they are cooperating or collaborating.

Both are important, but with such a large amount of staff, collaboration takes on different forms and help everyone do their job and acts as a role model for the students with their social skills.

The collaborative team meet twice a term to discuss feedback and next steps.

Term 3 has seen teachers visiting and observing other classes. It was encouraged for teachers to go and visit classes in different areas of school, e.g a Base teacher goes to visit a satellite teacher. This initiative was met with mixed views. This is easily understood considering different issues that everyone has had to deal with this year. But members of the collaborative team are in different pathways and so were able to explain the reasoning behind this.

What are the reasons, as we asked teachers to use up some of their CRT time to go and observe others.

1. There is so much awesome teaching and learning going on around the school this would be a great way to start sharing it.

It doesn't matter what area of the school you are in, learning new things can be done just be seeing something new, a quick chat or discussion or even watching learners doing what you are teaching your learners to do

2. In order to grow a better understanding of collaboration people need to go and see it in action.

Actually watching collaboration live give people a huge insight into the benefit for the teachers, learner and team

3. Collaborating between different areas of the school opens up everyones eyes that some things are done the same and some are done differently but we all looking at learning new things for our kete of teaching.

4. Collaborating between each other to organise these observations is a small step on the collaboration journey for the school. Be courageous, get out of your comfort zone

How has this gone?

Feedback around the visits was scheduled to happen in week 9 of last term, however due to unforeseen circumstances this did not happen.

The collaborative team are looking at asking teachers to organise another observation with another teacher in term 4 and then hopefully feedback will be obtained through face to face discussions or online.

Our school is unique in the fact that our classes span such a wide range of academic and behavioural abilities and also is spread over different sites, that in order for us to appreciate collaboration we need to experience at least some time in areas other than where we teach.  After all we are all here to support our learners in the best possible way.

UPDATE TIME!!!

 

School strategic goal around collaboration relates to

By the end of term 4 2022 we aim to have a draft copy of:

"what the characteristics of Teacher Collaboration at Sommerville look like. "

• How is this visible in classes? With examples
• Team Leaders have been asked to provide examples, written, photos and videos of how they collaborate. These will be shared within pathways and be provocations for discussions around collaboration. They are the role models.
• Collaborative discussions and examples will become part of Pathway meetings.

Which will lead us towards a "Shared definition of Collaboration at Sommerville"

At Sommerville this is what collaboration looks like.........

• As part of CRT in term 3 every teacher has been asked togo and observe collaboration in another class. The class needs to be in a different part of the school. E.g a base teacher goes out to a satellite.
• At the moment a lot of teachers are not seeing what's already going on in the school. There is so much awesome collaboration and learning already happening. We need to share and celebrate this.
  
  
  
• Teachers will gain a better understanding as to what collaboration looks like throughout the school.
• Children move between different parts of the school, going and observing helps to make informed decisions with regards to best fit for the children when moving.

These are the 2 small goals that help us to work towards our school strategic goal of:

Grow great staff who collaborate to enrich learner outcomes.

WHAT AN EXCITING JOURNEY TO BE ON!!

Question: What is the difference between COOPERATION and COLLABORATION??

Being a COL teacher, alongside Silivia, my school asked me if I could present to the staff about our journey so far this year. 

We both always find this type of thing a little bit intimidating, but... if we do it together we know we have each other's back!

Term 2 has been a tough term for everyone at school. Silivia and myself know its hard to focus and take information in in a staff meeting in week 7 of a particularly hard term.

What to do to make it count! Get them moving, get them involved!

Initially, I asked who knew who were in the collaborative team. This was information that not many people knew, so introductions were made and the reasoning why we had these people.

I shared the school's aim: "to use common language around collaboration throughout the school". We have a representative from every area of the school!! Everyone has a voice. 

The next step was shared: how examples of collaboration can be shared and sourced throughout the school. This is going to be done through videos, written suggestions, photos, observations and continual discussions in pathway meetings.

  EVERYONE STAND UP PLEASE AND MOVE OT THE MIDDLE!!

First of all a big thank you to the collaborative team for helping me out. They did not know they were going to be lending a hand.

Is it collaboration or cooperations: 

The answers were not given, so I will do that now. But it did generate discussion and people listening closely to the wording of the scenarios:

COLLABORATION SCENARIOS: 

• 2 teachers, different satellite classes. We both feel that play is important for the children's social development, can  we set up a time where the my class can come to yours as you have a great set up for play.
• 2 teachers: we both think fine motor skills are important, let's put a mixture of activities out and then we can do 1:1 short bursts of teaching. We let the children from both classes mix
• Can we reflect, how do you think the session went, do you feel they understood the activity or do they need. to revisit?
• 
  
• Everyone has a common goal
• We have our meetings with the parents together, we share the TAs, we all support each other.
• We have a behaviour issue with a certain child. Can we brainstorm the issue and possible support that we can put in place.
• Mix the 2 classes for numicon so that the children at the similar levels can be together, reflect with the adults fo each group at the end of each session, discuss if the children need to more or can move on with their learning.

COOPERATION SCEANRIOS:

• One person has a goal and we help to achieve it.
• Telling the TAs about a literacy activity and how to carry it out.
• I would like to set up more table top activities for sorting can you help me please.
• This is what the day will look like. Can you oversee MT and if you are able to take this activity.
• I need help with my music can you please do it for me.
• I can take your class.
• 2 teachers: 1 mainstream the other satellite. Can we get the classes together, I think it would be good for my children to develop a relationship with yours

HERE'S A COUPLE MORE TO THINK ABOUT:

• I need help with teaching music. Can you please give me a hand as I know your strength is music, can we work together to develop the LOs and activities???
• Can we look at doing the long term planning together as you are my release teacher. If we initially discuss the timetable, we can look at what area you would like to focus on. Let's make the learning outcomes together and then how about you think of the activities since you are doing it.

Our next steps as the collaborative team.

So good to catchup face to face. It feels a bit strange but definitely good!

Upon reflection,  making sure that all areas of the school were represented, we realised that the specialists did not have representation. 

I know of a great specialist colleague who has great ideas and loves to collaborative with the class teacher in order to best support the children's growing. Watch this space...

We have a goal. We are very focused on deepening the staff's understanding and ability to collaborate for the benefit of all learners in school. 

Our goal: when children move to different classes through the school, the aim is for all teachers they meet to speak the same language around collaboration and provide the children with a rich environment to learn through collaboration if possible.

Wonderings: if collaboration became an integral part of Pathway discussions, not just a one off discussion, then it will be forefront in everyones minds and therefore may be used more with in school.

How can we get a better understanding of collaboration:

• Examples of collaboration need to be shared and discussed: This can be started with the collaborative team sharing photos of videos of collaboration taking place in their classes. This can be the starting point of discussion in the Pathways.
• A bank of these videos and photos can be a resource for everyone so that they have examples of how to incorporate collaboration. It is a growing bank and can be added to.
• Devs has discussed with us her idea of giving staff time to visit ad observe collaboration taking place. The aim is for staff to visit a certain person during CRT time. The can choose who and what to observe. The aim is for this to be put into place by the end of the year.
• During the next staff meeting the COL teachers are going to be sharing their journeys so far.For me this will informing everyone of where we are at as The collaborative team. It is also a time for me to also share examples of collaboration and cooperation, opening up a discussion where the difference could be identified.

 

Being Connected!! The second of the school's new values

If we are being both connected and courageous  ( te hono me te maia) :

We realistically need to look at our situation through a different lens. What are learners really needing right now? They need to fill happy and settled and some sort of normal routines being put back in their lives. 

They have been and still are being courageous by coping with what they have been through. They have now spent almost 10 weeks back at school where they are still be courageous and also connected: resilient, being part of a community, visible and included, sociable and flexible.

The past couple of years have been a challenge for our learners. And it continues to be. 

Through working with Devs and the new team to continue to develop the school wide concept and statement of collaboration I feel this will be a supportive tool for the learners so they can continue  to  build on their ability to be courageous and connected.  No one knows what lies ahead so in helping them to develop the skills of collaboration we are also helping to set them up with the resilience to be a life long learner and have the skills in their kete to cope with life after school.

To support my learning on the strategic goal around collaboration, I am also wondering how the use of Lego play and therapy,  role modelling and use of ENGAGE games, may enhance the children's knowledge and understanding of collaboration. Through these supports they may gain an insight into  what collaboration looks, sounds and feels like. The staff  are modelling the school valuesof courageous and connected

Soooooooo..

To align with my overarching goal, my other hunch is with the use of certain supports, children can learn the tools for collaboration with peers and familiar adults. 

These activities are chosen carefully so that they are happy and motivated to learn. 

For example we have played:

Musical chairs. Why? 

The children go to parties, but how do they react when they lose?

In a safe environment we support them around loosing, repeat, practice and don't judge.  
One child went from being very upset at not wining, to now saying it is ok to lose!! (It took a term of playing musical chairs about 3x a week)

However when we played:

Pass the parcel

The rules were shared and discussed. The discussion focused around is it ok to win, is it ok to lose?

The game was played and the end results were fantastic. The specific child did not win, did say it was ok to lose and also said well done to the winner! He was able to transfer his learning.

He also went on to transfer his learning to a race over an obstacle course. He lost 2 times, but his behaviour was great.

His and our next step is for him to transfer his learning to situations outside of school.