Kia Orana!
It's been a busy and incredibly rewarding few months here at Pt England School with ERO, Samoan Language week and Camp, I'm excited to share an update on my teaching inquiry:
How might podcasting support the development of my learners' ability to engage in extended, meaningful discussions about a text?
Before I dive into our podcasting adventures, a quick shout-out to our fantastic KPE (Korero Pt England) blog! It's been absolutely buzzing with comments from our Manaiakalani staff and Pt England students. Your engagement and thoughtful feedback have been great. We sit down and read these comments together, and it's a joy to see our learning community so actively involved. We're doing our best to post as regularly as possible, sharing insights and reflections from our classrooms.
Our next big step? We are signing up for 'Tuhi Mai Tuhi Atu' – ready to connect students all over New Zealand and share our learning with them.
Unpacking Our Mid-Year Progress: Where We Shine, and Where We Grow
Recently, we completed our mid-year probe testing, and I was so impressed with my students' progress! They demonstrated a strong grasp of the texts, excelling in answering literal, reorganising, and vocabulary questions. It's clear that our dedicated work with the word wall is really paying off – a huge win for building foundational comprehension!
However, the data also highlighted some key areas where our learners can grow even further, particularly when it comes to moving beyond surface-level understanding. The questions where students need more practice are those requiring evaluation, reaction, and relating to the wider world. These are the questions that ask them to bring their own perspective, make connections, and think critically, rather than simply finding the answer directly in the text.
This is precisely where our inquiry into podcasting comes into play!
Podcasting as a Catalyst for Deeper Thinking
My hypothesis is that by giving students a platform to voice their interpretations and engage in authentic dialogue, podcasting can be a powerful tool to develop these higher-order thinking skills. Instead of just "finding the answer," students will be prompted to:
Evaluate: Form their own judgments about characters, themes, or events.
React: Share their personal feelings and responses to the text.
Relate to the Wider World: Connect the text's ideas, characters, or messages to their own lives, current events, or broader societal issues, drawing on their prior knowledge and experiences.
The beauty of podcasting for this purpose is that it encourages extended verbalization. It's not just a quick answer; it's about articulating a viewpoint, supporting it, and potentially responding to others' ideas. This process naturally fosters more meaningful and sustained discussions.
In our upcoming podcasting sessions, I'll be explicitly providing students with questions designed to target these areas. The focus will be less on rote recall and more on encouraging them to use their prior knowledge and personal perspectives to build a richer understanding of the text.
I'm incredibly excited to see how this podcasting journey continues to unfold and the impact it has on our students' ability to engage in truly extended and meaningful discussions. Stay tuned for more updates as our KPE podcasting studio gets into full swing!
Please leave a comment with feedback or advice.
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