Conclusion
I believe students should be given the opportunity to understand what they are interested in and follow their interests in their own cross-curricular learning programme. Certainly not all students are capable of doing this - for a number of reasons.
They might not have particular interests - due to factors such as home life or a life time spent being baby-sat by devices. They may lack the resilience or self discipline to persist with challenging tasks. They certainly need to be 'coached' by a teacher or mentor. Some students just prefer to be told what to do because that is what they've experienced or because it's easier and they have to think less. Some students just don't have the basic literacy skills. Others lack collaborative skills.
So many reasons that make such a programme difficult to run. However I believe that those students who have the ability and the desire to follow their passions / interests can be catered for amongst those who need a more structured programme.
Smaller class sizes / having a student teacher (or perhaps teacher aide) would better enable this type of programme.
Will I persist?
Absolutely.
They might not have particular interests - due to factors such as home life or a life time spent being baby-sat by devices. They may lack the resilience or self discipline to persist with challenging tasks. They certainly need to be 'coached' by a teacher or mentor. Some students just prefer to be told what to do because that is what they've experienced or because it's easier and they have to think less. Some students just don't have the basic literacy skills. Others lack collaborative skills.
So many reasons that make such a programme difficult to run. However I believe that those students who have the ability and the desire to follow their passions / interests can be catered for amongst those who need a more structured programme.
Smaller class sizes / having a student teacher (or perhaps teacher aide) would better enable this type of programme.
Will I persist?
Absolutely.
Outcomes
There have been several benefits and disappointments resulting from the Kaupapa Werawera programme.
What didn't go so well:
Many priority learners are at a stage where they have a strong desire to play. Learning and comparing their learning status can be very threatening. Many of these students chose to learn about sport - an area that is very important to them and where they can find success and enjoyment. A lot of the time, these students just didn't come up with a valid completed piece of work - but they generally had a nice time playing...
The Kaupapa Werawera undertaken by VG and his work partner just petered out - the problem often being the lack of social skills required to work together or having varied commitment to their task.
Two weeks was not sufficient time for most students KW time had to fit into the rest of the class programme.
What did I change as a result?
Students had to design a varied task sheet and have it okayed by me, rather than one end goal. Success criteria were mutually agreed upon and by the end of the year, we set deadlines and expected a presentation to the class.
Students got to opt into doing a Kaupapa Werawera - many had just developed the confidence to push themselves with the regular SDL programme. For this reason, non-priority learners probably gained the most benefit from this opportunity.
Conferences were needed to assess progress, focus, any change of direction needed etc.
What went well?
There were many highly motivated students who loved having the opportunity to follow their passions. Here are some links to successful Kaupapa Werawera programme designs:
Working Dogs
Scratch
Japan / Japanese Language
Cats and Dogs
Kaupapa Werawera
I plan to give students choice about what they learn. Here is how it will work:
When kids gain their 'achieveds' in SDL, they can design their own 'Kaupapa Werawera', based on their interests. They will then have two weeks to work on them during SDL time (ie when they are not involved in group work, etc).
When kids gain their 'achieveds' in SDL, they can design their own 'Kaupapa Werawera', based on their interests. They will then have two weeks to work on them during SDL time (ie when they are not involved in group work, etc).
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