Connecting Curriculum, Linking Learning

The above statement is a quote from Deborah Fraser from her book Connecting Curriculum, Linking Learning.

At Puketaha School our goal to to design curriculum that shows children the natural connections within and between subjects. Curriculum that has issues that our children care about will be at the centre and be based around their questions. Ultimately children will be in the drivers seat with their learning negotiating how and what they learn in their pursuit of knowing. Teachers will direct this learning using their knowledge of curriculum and of their learners. Our Puketaha 6 C's, Values and Learning Model are all an integral part of this. 

Peer Teaching in Action

I look forward to the days that I am in the classroom. It reminds me how much I love my job, working alongside teachers and students with learning at the heart of all we do. Today was no different. I captured the above moment between two five year boys where one was teaching the other how to make a helicopter rotor from K'NEX. The language of learning was so constructive and a successful helicopter rotor was made. 

Learning from our peers makes sense as often we are at a similar stage in our development. The learning is fresh in our minds and that gives us an insight into how to frame it in a way that is relevant. Children are no different, they learn successfully from each other all the time, they speak the same language and feel comfortable to ask questions of each other if they don't understand. 

Peer teaching is a model we value here at Puketaha School and deliberately develop in our children. Often this is scaffolded by the teacher but often, because of the way we have designed our environments and curriculum, this happens naturally between learners. 

  

Big Picture Planning

Here we are again! 'Big picture' planning day today in Ropu Puawai. We collaborate on our planning so we get a shared understanding of what our students need to learn. First we start with a big brainstorm of all our ideas. After this we use some key questions to help focus our direction. We get the benefit of five professional's ideas and experiences to design our curriculum for the term. 

It was a big day but we are now ready to go away and plan more personalised learning experiences for groups based on their varying needs. 

From Tiny Acorns The Mighty Oak Grow

A carpet of oak mahuri.

Wandering around our Puketaha Paradise today I spotted tiny oak saplings carpeting the bark outside Ropu Puawai 5 & 6. I didn't think too much of it when I took the photo but as I have reflected more about why this scene took my eye I feel that this photo celebrates everything that we aspire to achieve at Puketaha School. Everything we do on a daily basis as leaders of learning is about growing and refining our practice in order to design learning that will take our tiny acorns in Ropu Kakano and grow them to be mighty Puawai.