The CoL Hypothesis/Agreement; Getting in behind the problem

In this post, I want to discuss the CoL Hypothesis/Agreement and how this fits with Tamaki and Manaiakalani Data and in forming a related Inquiry.

CoL Hypothesis/Agreement

Getting in behind the problem

Language acquisition, development, sustaining & transfer

Learning Design including

• Formative practice
• Progressional understanding
• Effective planning for learning

Focusing on Language acquisition, development, sustaining and transfer will hopefully give us the biggest bang of our buck not only in raising student achievement in writing in the Junior years but across the curriculum. Not only this but it creates wonderings of the effects this will have on students achievement as they progress through their schooling, building on the foundations that have been acquired early on.

Welcome To School: A Study of Conditions of Disadvantage on Entry to School in the Manaiakalani Kahui Ako (2017) shows

"Most children in Tamaki start school at a developmental level of 3-4 years: i.e. without the developmental and communication skills needed to achieve at expected levels. This is reflected in the achievement data for this community from school entry and beyond. The gap between expected and actual achievement expands as children progress throughout school" (Burt & Leversha, 2017)

This is evident in our Junior classrooms as students struggle to communicate their ideas. Students use silence, one, two word utterances, gestures, lack understanding of plurals and prepositions and understanding of syntax and semantics. Sentences are often short and tangled and consist of simple vocabulary.

When trying to verbalise your ideas is difficult, writing can then be even harder.

For me, addressing Achievement Challenge 2: Lifting the achievement for boys' writing Years 1-10, and getting in behind the problem at a Junior Level means focusing my teaching practice intensively on oral language acquisition. If we can raise achievement in this area, transference into writing will not only be seen but also transference across the curriculum where communication is equally important. 

Manaiakalani Achievement Challenge #2

Manaiakalani Achievement Challenge #2 

Lifting the achievement for boys' writing Years 1-10.

At the end of 2018 after 2 years at school, 80% of our Male students were working within beginning level 1 in Writing. This is lower than the "At Level 1' expected after 2 Years at school.

Furthermore, when you look at the data collected by Manaiakalani you can see the disparity between girls achievement and boys. 

Graph 1 and Graph 2

There is a large disparity between Year 2 Female Students who are progressing at a comparable rate to the norm and at a higher level than the norm, and Year 2 Male Students progressing at a slower rate and at a level well below the norm. Why is there such disparity? What has been working for girls within their first two years of schooling and not working for boys?

The second graph breaks down this data further into ethnic groupings.

This shows a large disparity between Year 2 Maori and Asian Students progressing at a comparable rate to the norm and at a slightly higher level and Year 2 Pasifika Students who are progressing at a slower rate at a level well below the norm.

Manaiakalani across school data also shows that Male Students are achieving at a lower level than expected. However, our school data is significantly lower than the across school data.

This is why I have chosen to focus on Lifting The Achievement For Boys' Writing In Years 1-10. With the specific focus on lifting the achievement of boys' writing in Years 1-3.