Design for learning

How do my ākonga learn best?

How do I help ākonga to share the knowledge they bring to their learning and effectively build on or challenge this knowledge?

How does my teaching reflect that I understand the main influences on how my ākonga learn?

How am I planning my learning programmes and selecting appropriate teaching strategies to best meet the needs of my ākonga?

How do I demonstrate knowledge of ākonga, their backgrounds, interests and identity? 

Do I provide ākonga the opportunity to reflect on their learning experiences?

How can I best support my ākonga to set themselves achievable goals?

How can I support ākonga to implement their personal goals?

How confident am I in my abilities to effectively teach different topics, and skills?

How can I improve my pedagogical content knowledge in areas where my ākonga struggle to master new skills or knowledge?

How can my knowledge of human development, especially cognitive and social development, inform my planning and teaching?

Do I effectively analyse and use assessment data to inform my teaching and planning?

Do I evaluate lessons and units by seeking ākonga feedback and engaging in critical reflection of my own effectiveness?

Do I understand the concepts of validity and reliability?

Do I apply this knowledge when assessing ākonga and interpreting assessment data?

Do I recognise the limitations of the different assessment tools/tasks I use?

Do my own and the school’s systems generate the formal and informal assessment information that I need to plan for and effectively support my ākonga? 

How can I use the schoolwide assessment data effectively to inform my practice?

What other formal and informal sources of data could I be using?

How do I know that my ākonga are progressing?

Have I used formal and informal data from a range of different sources to enhance the reliability of my judgments? How do I gather, analyse and use assessment information in ways that advances the learning of my ākonga?

Do I have colleagues who can help me to better analyse and interpret assessment data?

How can I effectively and meaningfully share assessment information with my ākonga and whānau?

Observations of colleagues’ teaching from within and beyond the school. 

Ascertaining and evaluating prior knowledge.

Engaging appropriately with ākonga so they know their perspectives are listened to and considered.

Planning with ākonga input.

Structuring learning tasks so that all ākonga experience a degree of success, but also ensuring that they are required to stretch themselves to fully succeed.

Developing ākonga metacognitive awareness by examining why particular strategies are effective or less effective in different learning contexts.

Adapting lessons to ensure they address ākonga needs and interests as they arise.

Helping ākonga appreciate the value or importance of what they are learning.

Holding high, but attainable academic expectations and sharing those expectations with ākonga and their whānau.

Providing opportunities for co-operative learning, peer tutoring, reciprocal teaching and inquiry learning to occur.

Personalising learning and making it meaningful for individual ākonga.

Providing constructive feedback and useful feedforward information.

Helping ākonga to effectively set goals and self-assess.

Finding opportunities to develop and use a wide variety of different teaching strategies to effectively engage ākonga and enhance their learning.

 Using effective questioning techniques

Employing scaffolding strategies to support ākonga master new skills and knowledge and thus achieve independence.

Gathering ākonga feedback during and at the end of term/unit and reflecting on this.

Effectively using a range of digital technologies to engage ākonga and enhance their learning.  Creating an environment where open, productive dialogue is valued. 

Fostering a growth mindset amongst ākonga

Using assessment data to build my understanding of the relationship between my practice and outcomes of learning, achievement and wellbeing of ākonga.

Engaging in PLD to better understand assessment practices and effectively interpret formal and informal assessment data. 

Participation in all department/syndicate/faculty/team meetings that focus on assessment data and ākonga progress.

Regular engagment in internal moderation.

Being familiar with departmental/school-wide assessment and reporting procedures.

Gathering ongoing ākonga feedback on what aspects of their learning ākonga are finding challenging and using this information to adapt programmes and teaching to better meet individual needs.

Providing ākonga with opportunities and time to apply feedback and feedforward information to improve their mastery of knowledge and skills.

Evaluating how the achievement data for my class(es) fits with the department/syndicate/school-wide data.

Reflecting and acting on what ākonga surveys tell me about their own attitudes and views of learning, achievement/progress in my class.

Engaging with ākonga, whānau, and the wider community in open dialogue about assessment practices and how assessment data is analysed, interpreted and used.

Acknowledging and accessing the expertise that Māori parents, whānau, hapū and iwi offer.

Sharing achievement information with ākonga and whānau in ways that enable them to understand the degree to which learning is occurring.

Using assessment data to co-construct goals and next steps with ākonga and whānau.