Gaylene Young Professional Blog

Amplifying Maths Learning Through Quiz Design In our classroom, we believe students learn best when they become creators of knowledge rather than simply consumers of it. This term, our maths focus on measurement provided the perfect opportunity to put this belief into practice. Instead of completing a traditional test, students were challenged to design and share their very own maths quiz. The task was simple but powerful: create 5–10 accurate and well-thought-out questions on topics we had explored in measurement. But the real excitement came from how they brought their quizzes to life. Using Canva, students designed visually engaging layouts that captured attention and made maths feel fun and dynamic. To amplify their work even further, they incorporated multimedia elements such as images, video, and even audio. Suddenly, their quizzes weren’t just worksheets—they became interactive experiences. Through this process, students demonstrated much more than their knowledge of measurement...

 Kia Ora Koutou, I was tasked with digitising a tracking system to gauge the progress of our students within Level 2 Te Reo Māori.  We wanted a way of knowing whether the students were: Manawa Taki - Needs a modified programme Manawa Āki - Working towards National Expectations Manawa Ora - Achieving National Expectations. Manawa Toa - Exceeding National Expectations. The trickiest part to this process was knowing that our students were arriving within our senior syndicate classrooms at different stages. For example, a new student to Tautoro School in Room 6 would start at 0.0 - 0.6 (less than 6 months) regardless of whether they started at the start of the year or halfway between.  However, students who have been at our school since Year 5, in the same room would be learning at 1.0-1.5 (between one and one and a half years). As a result, we needed a way of easily identifying individual goals and expectations for Pānui, Kōrero, and Tuhituhi. Below you will find a google ...

As part of Room 8's Pānui Programme, I realised that students needed multiple opportunities to engage with the texts they read, as well as increase their reading mileage.  I found the perfect resource - available online through TKI, 'Te Huinga Raukura' .  The only issue I discovered, however, was the lack of access to digital resources that allowed my students to practice and consolidate the skills they'd learned during our reading lessons. For every text the students read, I created supporting resources to consolidate their learning.  The plan is to create a resource bank for many years to come.  Below are examples of resources we'd expect the students to complete weekly.   * He Pānui Whakaharatau - Reading Practice (reading groups, audio tape support) * He Mahi Takitahi - Independent Practice (without audio support), can request a conference with the teacher. * Hei Mahi Tiriwā - Cloze activity * Hei Mahi Whakaraupapa - Sequencing activity * Hei Papa Tāk...

It is awe inspiring the digital technologies that are available to transform learning - opening up a whole new world of learning opportunities.  Students now have the opportunity to participate, create and thrive in this ever evolving digital world. It was a lot of fun to experience 360 virtual learning.  There is also Paint 3D, TinkerCad, SculptGL, Google Sketchup, Clapmotion, Clapmotion....I started thinking about how I can use these tools to support their computational thinking and to ensure that they are able to design and develop digital outcomes that will solve authentic problems or issues that are important to them. Below you will see my 3D image using Paint 3D.

Digital Fluency Session 3 Today's session had me thinking about the different ways in which we can utilise the tools in google slides to develop and enhance student creativity.  Many examples were shown, such as A nimations, Pick a path stories, Visual Narratives, Presentations, Teaching concepts, quizzes…. I decided to have a go at creating an animation based on the inquiry project my class is currently focusing on - 'Drowning in Plastic'. Here is what I was able to create. "Creativity Empowers Learning Digital Technologies Empower Creativity". Manaiakalani When children are given the opportunity to create, they are engaged, exploring, communicating.  They're inventing new possibilities, imagining, coming up with innovative ideas.  Student autonomy is evident in the work that they produce, as it's their voice, a window into their thinking that we see. This session has really made me mindful of ensuring that my students are giv...