Practising Teacher Criteria #8

Demonstrate in practice their knowledge and understanding of how ākonga learn 

Key Indicators:
The teacher:

1. enables ākonga to make connections between their prior experiences and learning and their
   current learning activities
   
2. provides opportunities and support for ākonga to engage with, practise and apply new learning to
   different contexts
   
3. encourages ākonga to take responsibility for their own learning and behaviour
   
4. assists ākonga to think critically about information and ideas and to reflect on their learning 
   

Reflective Question:

Using ability groups enables me to plan a variety of activities for students that cater for different needs and abilities. In my current class I have a number of students with hieghtened behavioural and learning needs.  I have developed personalised learning and behavioural plans to cater to the needs of these students. Students in my class are encouraged to self manage their own learning and opportunities are regularly ceased to make links with prior learning. This is something I always strive to do in my writing programme by using student examples of what the skill looks like so that others can see what the expectation is.

Where to Next?
Next year I want to promote more opportunities for tuakana/teina. Students have strengths in different areas and I aim to harness this expertise by providing opportunities for students to teach and help others.