It has been such a pleasure to become a part of this group of teachers/leaders to pilot this initiative. Growing good readers is something I am passionate about, and aim to do every day in my classroom, and having the opportunity to be a part of a group of like minded people is inspiring and gives me confidence that we can make and influence positive change for our incoming teachers through introducing them to the pedagogy of the Manaiakalani Reading Programme.
For me, today was about refreshing my memory around some of the key terms and vocabulary used within Manaiakalani when relating this to our reading/literacy programmes as well as identifying the areas that I want to delve in to further for my own professional development.
As someone who grew up reading from a very early age, I want to support my students to do the same, and this programme is something I believe can help teachers develop their pedagogical practice and understanding to support students in this.
Today was a good reminder for me about the importance of exposing students to a wide variety of texts, and to again highlight how important it is to encourage a love of reading for pleasure. Our school libraries are such a valuable resource for this - helping build a relationship with books! One thought - encourage teachers to take their students to the library for a free choice reading session/s. While there, observe what their students choose to read - it can be quite insightful and also gives a good snapshot of what students first 'go to' is. It also provides the chance for 1:1 discussions with students about they have picked, offer suggestions of other texts in same genre or different to extend, or give them ideas of next choices.
I think one thing to consider for future cohorts is the speed at which material is covered. For many of us, this is not new material, but for a PCT it could be quite a vocabulary and mental overload with so much to take in. I definitely think encouraging more extended discussions within smaller bubble groups could be beneficial - or like with DFI, do a breakout session with splitting in to : I am unsure and need more support, please provide a bit more information, or I get this, please push me further.