Megan+Urban

= **My Profile:** =

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I'm in my second year of teaching Japanese to primary school students from Prep to Six. I graduated from uni in 2009 after completing a double degree in Arts (Japanese/Psychology) and Primary Education. Last year, I worked at two schools, Heathmont East and Frankston, for three and two days respectively. This year I'm full-time at Heathmont East teaching 18 grades for an hour each.=====

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In January 2010 I was lucky enough to be a receipent of the Endeavour Language Teachers Fellowship, which involved living and studying in Japan for three and a half weeks with 50 fellow Japanese teachers from all around Australia. It was an amazing opportunity to build networks and to improve my language and cultural knowledge in an authentic context.=====

Love my job - it's challenging but lots of fun! :)
= **Action Research Project Planner:** = Which area/s of your practice would you like to improve? What will be your focus for this project in 2011? || Timeline for 2011 Term 2: Plan for implementation of Early Years Framework. Discuss experience with classroom teachers. Take Prep class for literacy rotations once a week. Put together possible groups for each class - discuss with classroom teachers. Group names. Brainstorm activities and outcomes. Term 3 planner. Organise room for rotations - U shape with tables, open space in middle of room, activities for early-finishers, book/toy corner. Meeting with Frank Noda from 'Language Discovery'.
 * = ** Stage 1 ANALYSE ** – =
 * __Is the Early Years Framework an effective strategy for increasing engagment and performance in Japanese?__
 * I find it quite challenging engaging the older students - particularly Grade 6 - in whole class activities. Students seem to find it hard to concentrate and might not be completing the task to the best of their capabilities or having a deep understanding of what they've learnt.
 * I'm interested in implementing the 'Early Years Framework', which would see students working in small groups and rotating through activities.
 * In practice, this means that students would first meet together as a whole group to hear about the concept being introduced in the lesson through a big book story, a picture chat, a song or video. (10 mins)
 * Students would then work in small activity groups completing visual, oral and hands-on tasks, where the teaching is able to be matched more closely to their needs and learning styles. (4 groups, 2x 20 min activities)
 * Learning centres could include a teacher focus group, vocab games, reading and writing practice, listening post, computer activities, role plays, cultural activities, webconferencing and writing to Japanese pen pals.
 * Students would be encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning and asked, "Why did you think you are going to do this activity?" "What do you think you can learn/achieve?" At the end of the lesson, the class gathers again (10 mins) to share and discuss what they have learnt, sharing their feelings about the activity and exploring their learning strategies. ||
 * = ** Stage 2 - PLAN ** =

Term 3: Week 1 - give students 'tour' of room, explain rotations. Week 2 - Begin rotations.

Budget for Resource Grant What did you do? || Students are split into four groups (Kobuta, Tanuki, Kitsune and Neko) and there are four rotations with students completing two one week and two the next. The activities generally are: Sensei (a group working with me using the interactive whiteboard to focus on a grammar concept - speaking and listening); a group with the Japanese intern who teaches a cultural aspect such as dance, song, festivals, origami; a group on the computers focusing on vocab and a group completing a reading/writing activity
 * 2 x iPad @ $426 each = $852
 * 2 x Smart Cover @ $45 each = $90
 * $58 for apps ||
 * == ** Stage 3 – ACT ** ==
 * == ** Stage 3 – ACT ** ==
 * At the end of Term 2, my school's new BER building was complete, meaning that I now have a Japanese room. (Prior to this I had been a 'travelling salesman', going from room to room with my trolley.) Until now I hadn't felt it was practical to implement the 'Early Years Framework' as it would be too difficult to set up and pack up when moving from room to room. Having my own space allows me to have activities set up and the timetable on display. Initial problems with one 3/4 class - four boys had to be split up. Sick in Week 3 - affecting rotations.

2012: Move rooms, still in new BER building. Change set up of room to work better for small groups. U-shape tables not as effective as I had previously thought. Hiragana puzzle mat on floor under IWB as 'Sensei' (teacher) group. 3 computers at back of room, away from 'Sensei' group as I found this group often became distracted by the computer activities. Two groups of three tables - one for the cultural/hands-on activity and one for the reading/writing based activity. A set of four tables towards the back of the room along with a beanbag and cushions, bookshelf, Japanese costumes and resources - this is the early finishing area and is good for two reasons - it allows me to see which students are finished and how many and decide if it's time to rotate and it separates those who are finished and may be a little noisier from those who are still working. Students have to complete all the work in their folder before they go to the early finishing area. || What did you notice? || A survey of Level 3 students at the end of Term 3 shows 100% of them prefer small groups. Some of the reasons they gave were: "It's easier to ask for help when you're in a small group." "It's not as noisy." "You can work with your friends." "We get to do lots of different activities." The purchase of two iPad 2s (with the grant) has greatly enhanced student motivation and achievement. The response when I introduced them to students was one of enthusiasm and excitement. Whether it's an app for tracing the 'hiragana' letters, one that tests vocabulary in a fun and interactive one or a game that focuses on aspects of Japanese culture, t he possibilities for this type of technology in the LOTE classroom are endless.
 * == ** Stage 4 - OBSERVE ** ==
 * The benefits to using this framework were evident immediately. Working with students in a small group of 4-7 (depending on the class size) allows me to gauge a better understanding of students achievement and confidence. Students are engaged in activities and are familiar with the concept of working independently of the teacher due to having literacy and numeracy groups throughout their schooling.

The iPads are utilised as part of the 'Sensei' group. By connecting them to the Interactive Whiteboard I can demonstrate the app to my small group and then students work together (two or three students per iPad) to complete the activity. The only issue is the perhaps three iPads would be more effective as top students per iPad is the ideal amount, but having two iPads is fantastic and certainly workable. || What would you do the same/differently in the future? ||
 * == ** Stage 5 - REFLECT ** ==