RPI Day 9 - Time to Share and Celebrate!

 Today’s focus was on SHARE: making learning visible and giving feedback.

Sharing only happens if it’s planned, and it needs both visibility and reflection. Kids learn so much from each other and with blogging we can create really meaningful opportunities for them to post their responses to texts, reflections, and thoughts, and also connect to their peers’ learning by reading and commenting on their blogs.

We also dug into the power of feedback when it’s specific, timely and focused on the task. Research shows that descriptive plus generative feedback is much more effective than evaluative. Naomi shared some great practical ways to embed this into daily practice. AI tools like Brisk can also help with targeted feedback. Kiri reminded us that it’s important to always review and simplify AI comments, keep only a couple of multiple AI comments, so they stay clear and encouraging to our learners.

A positive learning environment is huge for both learning and collaboration. J. Hattie measured the impact at 0.72, which is really effective! One thing I’d love to build into class sites is a kete of reusable resources: graphic organisers, rewindable resources and other tools that give learners choice and independence in how they respond to text. I'm actually thinking about what should be included in such a KETE for a maths class site...

Final thoughts on the programme. I’m probably cheating, but I copied and pasted my responses from the last evaluation survey:)

1. How did the opportunity to attend the Reading Practice Intensive impact you positively?

I wish I had attended RPI back when I was teaching and leading a team. It would have been so helpful and practical. Such a great programme with amazing resources - from the WHY to WHAT and HOW. Thank you!

2. Which aspects of the RPI have particularly impacted your classroom practice, planning and workflow?
I really appreciated everything across all 9 days. Some ideas I’ve already used in practice, but others would definitely enhance it, especially digging deeper into vocab and connecting with Te Mātaiaho, which is still new to me.

3. What aspects of the in-school mentoring and coaching have impacted you positively?
N/A for me, but Naomi, Georgie, Dorothy and Kiri are always such great role models in their facilitation! I feel very fortunate to learn from the best in this space!

4. How do you think we could improve the RPI or better support the next cohort?
Honestly, I think the programme is fantastic just as it is.

5. Is there anything else you would like to say or let us know?

A HUGE thank you to the RPI team - you’re amazing!

RPI Day 8 - CREATE

Today was a great day filled with CREATE opportunities and rich pedagogy.

We explored a range of AI tools to support creativity in today’s world and had some great discussions about how we can help our students be more creative using both digital and hands-on approaches. Next on my reading list: Mayer’s 12 Principles of Multimedia Learning: https://www.digitallearninginstitute.com/blog/mayers-principles-multimedia-learning

We also talked about how creativity isn’t just about tools. It includes important ‘soft’ skills like empathy, curiosity, resilience and problem-solving. These skills are just as important as being able to use digital apps, platforms or design something new.

Throughout the day, we looked at what helps creativity grow in the classroom and what sometimes gets in the way. A key reminder was that when we make space for creating, we are not just delivering content. We are helping our students become confident, curious learners who always think about and reflect on their learning. We talked about the importance of having regular short ‘create’ activities alongside longer, planned projects. These short creative tasks should be part of our everyday reading lessons. They help students stay engaged and support deeper understanding.

Teachers can decide how much freedom to give in these tasks:

• Tighter tasks can use templates, stencils, or graphic organisers to give structure
• Looser tasks are more open-ended and student-led. Adding a short reflection or prompt can help students make connections and explain their thinking.

Then we looked at how longer Create projects give students time to explore ideas in more depth, especially when they are based on rich, meaningful texts. These projects often connect across different learning areas and give teachers the chance to focus on teaching important skills like analysis, interpretation and design, so students are not just taking in information, but thinking about it, working with it, and making it their own.

We got to try this ourselves by making a one-shot film:) I really enjoyed the challenge. My biggest barrier was time. I had lots of ideas, but it took a while to film and process the video. When I finally watched it, I thought I was really expressive in promoting the book:)

I used to do various short and long CREATE in Reading activities with students, and today reminded me how effective they always are! They spark creativity, boost engagement, and help bring reading to life in a fun and meaningful way.

Reflecting on today, I’m reminded that creativity doesn’t just happen on its own. It needs planning, space, support and purpose! Whether it’s a short create task or a longer project, what matters is that students are making something to apply their learning and show their understanding. The key is consistency! When we regularly offer these create opportunities, students grow their skills and confidence over time.