HuaMin+Pr+SIG+12+Oct+2012

There are SIGs and there are SIGs. No agenda set. I was told I was going to meet the P1 teachers to help them create a writing programme,in light of PERI/HA briefing/workshop they had attended. I was told the teachers were in the middle of doing standardisation marking for P1 mastery test. I was asked to look through their rubric and give some comments. Initial response (to myself initially and to the group as a whole later) - the rubric should not be given to teachers 'fresh' for the standardisation ex. - should trial or beta-test the rubric and use live script from a class of scripts as professional learning opportunity - problems, issues and concern with rubric and the text type it is being asked to assess - Problem of articulation of criteria and standards - inter-rater reliability - what do they understand of the criteria in relation to the texts? Working with teachers from a department or levels who have not been through ELIS courses is an entirely different kettle of fish. How should we approach their professional learning, especially if there is only an acting EL SH at hand. Its like working with a class of pupils. Some are attentive, some are laidback, some wish they were somewhere else! A senior looking teacher looked exasperated and agitated as I went through a rubric that a teacher from the AL team had designed for them to use for their P1 mastery test. After an hour or so she was more attentive and focussed on my feedback. Difficult balancing act - to give feedback - (Correcting what is wrong - explaining why it is wrong - seeking understanding and clarification from teachers- going on to affirm practice and seek new understandings) P1 and P2 level teachers seemed to be in different camps- P1 teachers reluctant to share practice and concern - 2 teachers seemed to be doing most of the sharing

Reflections on Professional Learning: Extracted and elaborated from CRPP PRESENTATION TO MOE STAFF TRAINING DIVISION Wednesday, June 21, 2006

- How do we 'safely' and effectively challenge teachers' (tacit and /or underlying) beliefs and practices - variations on a theme - depends on variables such as relationship established between MT and teacher, practice/belief being questioned, temporal and contextual (within a group- its composition, one -to-one etc) factors

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