Aha moment!!

I had an awesome day today.  I literally let out a big scream of joy at the end of my Maths lesson this morning. I had one of my maths’ group working with me on the mat, this is one of my group whom I have been trying to participate in a  discussion. Finally today they were sharing, contributing and having fun solving a fractions problem. Before I launched the problem we were talking about how we as a group need to work, participate and we were focussing on “two talk moves”. It was so great hearing them say “Can you please repeat that again?” and “How did you come up with that number?”

They were also able to notice the misconception and tried to identify where they get it wrong.

 

Earlier they said that they were not good at this and that they can’t do it. We started with as simple number 10. As we practiced, they gained confidence because they felt comfortable with the number and they started given me all the answers. It was so good that I have recorded everything they have said which helped them notice their mistake. I am happy to see my students achieve.

It was one of those “aha moment” that you just let out the joy and celebrate their success.

Class observation

In the first week of this term, I was observed teaching a Writing lesson. My WALT was aiming for the students to be able to use connectives to sequence their ideas. Prior to that, we had read a story and the students were highlighting all the connectives in the story. We discussed and listed all the connectives that they have used in their writing, getting them to talk through Think, Pair, Share then complete some sentences with the connectives and had time to reflected on what they have learnt and whether they have achieved their goal.

I thought that I have done a pretty good lesson until I sat in the feedback session and listened to the “students’ voice” or “students’ agency”. I  noticed that only one person out of the three students was able to answer the questions.

It made me realise that I need to have time to reflect by questioning the students to make sure they understand the WALT and co-constructed the success criteria, discussed the task and why we are focusing on that topic or genre.

Now every time I start  teaching a topic I made sure that everyone in the group understands what to do and why we do it. I do believe my students’ needed that repetition. Repetition is good because it provides them a chance to master that knowledge that is being taught and it increases confidence.