Module+1

=CHANGE= ==﻿//Your understanding of diverse learners becomes contextualised through the integration of Drama, Physical Education and Visual Arts in module one. Your journey with integrative thinking and learning starts with the big idea of Change.//==
 * //Change is everywhere//
 * //Change is linked to time//
 * //Change can be random or ordered//
 * //Change can be positive or negative//

=﻿Assignment 1=

A teacher of diverse students is a Transformer
I chose my metaphor by using Google's Wonder Wheel to guide the process after I had the original concept of adaptor.This tool was useful because it sorted the related strands of the concept into a graphic chart that was easy for me to compare and contrast ideas, ultimately leading to my final metaphor. Wonder Wheel is an example of a visual tool which effectively searches for and organises related information, and it can be used by diverse learners in the classroom to scaffold independent research in inquiry based learning.

My metaphor characterises a teacher of diverse learners across several different levels. Firstly, I see the most important function of a teacher as connecting with his/her students to get to know their personalities, learning styles, cultures, ethnicities, strengths and weaknesses, goals, prior knowledge and experiences. Once we know these key things about our students, the teacher can make informed decisions about curriculum content and delivery that best suit the diverse needs of each learner. The transformer metaphor illustrates this as a noun which is defined as "a device for changing the voltage of an electrical current" (Compact Oxford Dictionary, 2006, p.973), so this means that as teachers we are the device that changes the mains current (NZ curriculum) into a voltage (learning activities) that our students can receive and use to learn. In order to do that, we must be "plugged in" to both of the input and output electrical currents (the NZ curriculum and our students), so it is vital as a teacher of diverse students that we actively study and come to understand both the NZ curriculum and our students, in context. In addition, although the "mains current" is received at a standard voltage, the job of a transformer is to modify and change that "current" to whatever is needed by the students that are plugged in. I see each student as having a different "socket" (prior experience and knowledge, learning style, culture etc) so the teacher's role is to identify each particular "socket" and generate a specific "plug" to connect with it, and then transform the "mains current" into a voltage that the student can receive most effectively to "operate".

Transformer also characterises a teacher of diverse learners when considered as a verb -to transform. One emphasis is on the students transforming from one level of achievement to another because of the teacher's input. However, it can also apply in the reverse with the teacher growing and developing in curriculum knowledge and pedagogy because of the learning and teaching interaction with diverse learners. This highlights the importance of a solid connection enabling "electrical" information (assessment) to flow between the transformer and the student. Similarly, this reciprocal idea drives the teaching as inquiry pedagogy identified within the NZ Curriculum as effective teaching practice.Teaching as inquiry acknowledges that "any teaching strategy works differently in different contexts for different students" (NZ Curriculum, 2007, p.35), and the emphasis in this cyclical process is on the teacher inquiring into the impact of their teaching on students. Then, the teacher uses the information to decide what their students need to know given where they are currently at, what strategies are most likely to help the students learn, and what the results mean for their future teaching practice.

While reflective practice informs teacher pedagogy and student achievement over time, there is another aspect to the metaphor, Transformer, and this is the requirement of a teacher of diverse students to be intuitive in differentiating their approach and management. I have likened this to the cartoon characters called Transformers because teachers must also have the ability to change what they look like, sound like, act like and the tools we use to anticipate the needs of diverse learners. I also like the association of teachers as superheroes because differentiating the curriculum and our pedagogy can seem like a huge undertaking for which we may need superhuman ability and resilience, but sitting behind that is the knowledge that it is ethically the right thing to do. This is further acknowledged in the Code of Ethics for Registered Teachers, which states that teachers must "base their professional practice on continuous professional learning, the best knowledge avilable about curriculum content and pedagogy, together with their knowledge about those they teach" (NZTC, 2007).

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This metaphor has been informed by my experiences teaching in schools, and although some aspects are still evolving, fundamental beliefs are in place. I believe that all learners are distinctive in the way they assimilate and construct knowledge, therefore teaching diverse learners effectively requires a differentiated approach to teaching and learning. Differentiation is when "educators vary the learning activities, content demands, modes of assessment and the classroom environment to meet the needs and support the growth of each child" (Thousand, Villa,& Nevin, 2007, p. 7). I believe it is understanding my student's individual cognitive, social and emotional characteristics that enables me to actively transform the curriculum, my teaching approaches and assessment techniques to make the content more accessible for them, by working to their strengths and specifically identified needs. This guides my teaching practice throughout each aspect of the assess, plan, teach cycle. In terms of assessment, teachers and students need meaningful valid data which the students can use to set specific learning goals, and lets both the students and teachers know what impact the teaching and learning has had, and adjust their planning and teaching strategies accordingly (Alton-Lee, 2003, p.4). I believe the onus is on the teacher to have an organic assessment framework in place that makes visible to the teacher and learner what they know, what their next steps are, which ultimately leads to increasing student involvement in their own learning journey and responsibilty for that (Davies & Hill, 2009, p.94). It is the transferring of responsibilty for learning over to the students in specific scaffolded increments that sits at the heart of my transform metaphor, and while the teacher maintains responsibilty for an effective framework and transmission of information appropriately, the goal is to transform my students into "confident, connected, actively involved lifetime learners" (NZ Curriculum, 2007, p. 8) that take responsibity for their own learning.

These are a sequence of two Physical Education lesson plans designed for a multi-level class of Year 4-8 students. I have annotated the lesson plans to illustrate how I differentiated the learning for my diverse students. The plans reflect my Transformer metaphor in the way that I have unpacked the Movement Concepts and Motor Skills strand of the PE learning area into Achievement Objectives based on year levels. From there, I need to know what each student's current ability level is, so I have planned pre-assessment activities in the lesson. From that point, students are placed into ability groups, that have clearly defined transitions built into them, so that any student achieving the learning intention at their current level is able to transition up or down to the next level through explicitly scaffolded steps. Self and peer assessment at the end of the lesson feeds important information back for the teacher to use to inform the student's next steps and also informs the teacher on the impact of their teaching (Davies & Hill, 2009, p.95). Planning for transitions means that individual students can continue to learn and progress at their own pace, within the same lesson, and enables the teacher to manage the different learning speeds within a diverse class (Heacox, 2002, p.9). I have allowed for different learning styles by including visual imagery with written instructions, cooperative learning groups as well as individual learning, peer tutoring, demonstration and discussion which all reflect my transform metaphor in respect of allowing for multiple ways of connecting with the learning.





In the second learning area, drama, I have submitted an annotated lesson plan that includes a role play within a Health and PE lesson, that I have also animated as a visual reprentation here. The drama conventions that feature in this integrated health and drama lesson were speaking thoughts aloud, whole group role play, flash forward and freeze frame (Drama in the classroom, 2001, p. 8-10). The transformer metaphor applies to drama in a practical sense as well as a theoretical sense, as the students have to literally transform their movements, feelings, expressions and gestures to act out the role play. The collaborative group arrangement with teacher support initially gives the drama direct scaffolding and the range of dramatic conventions employed gives the students with strengths in a range of areas an opportunity to shine. For example, there may be some students with prior experience with drama who can break down what to do in child-speak, or there may be some students who are more emotionally perceptive than others so they have a chance to share that relational knowing within this context. Students who cannot act in the role play can still contribute during the freeze frame section of the skit. The children can speak the thoughts of the character and this is an effective teaching approach when there is a wide range of experience and confidence in drama (Cody, 2009, p.7) and is an example of transforming the task to suit the current ability of the students. A further example of differentiated learning in this lesson are the reflection opportunities that occur in multiple contexts. Students have the opportunity to orally discuss their reflections of the learning during the session and then again at the end of the session, since "differing opinions are useful because they can help students to think more deeply about their own view of the drama" (Drama in the classroom, 2001, p.11), and there are opportunities for a written expression of the learning as well.



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Alton-Lee, A. (2003). //Quality teaching for diverse students in schooling: Best evidence synthesis iteration (BES). Executive summary.// Retrieved April 11, 2011 from [] Cody, T. (2009). //Module One Drama 136.362 Course Notes//. Palmerston North, NZ: Massey University. //Compact Oxford Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Wordpower Guide//. (2006) (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. Davies, A.and Hill, M. (2009). //Making classroom assessment work.// Wellington: NZCER Press. //Drama in the classroom.// (2001). Wellington: Learning Media. Heacox, D. (2002). //Differentiating instruction in the regular classroom: how to reach and teach all learners, grades 3-12.// Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit Publishing. NZTC. (2007). //Code of ethics for registerd teachers//. Wellington. Retrieved April 11, 2011 from [] Osro1113 (Producer), 2010. //Jolt Transform-Short Flash Transformers.// Retrieved 10 April, 2011, from [] //The New Zealand curriculum//, (2007). Wellington: Learning Media. Thousand, J,S., Villa, R.A. and Nevin, A. (2007). //Differentiating Instruction: Collaborative planning and teaching for universally designed learning.// Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press (1-13).
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