Successes / New ideas and learning
What have we been doing differently to support collaborative knowledge building in our classroom?
This term we altered the knowledge building cycle. We dove deeper into our provocation and used a ladder of inference to show our level of understanding and trust as a class. We first identified the big idea which was;
This was relevant because of our whole school Culture Inquiry in Term 4. From here, students worked in collaborative groups of three and developed hunches. When grouping students we based this on mixed ability grouping instead of friendship groups. We believe it allows students to share their opinions openly instead of being swayed by friendships. The hunches they came up with were: food and restaurants, modes of transport we see, architecture, landmarks and environmental features, types of clothes, sports and sporting apparel and the types of animals and paw prints we observe.
We then turned these hunches into testable statements. In the same group of three (investigative teams), the students explored these testable statements using a Google Slide. On the slide they had opportunities to prove or disprove the statement they had made.
Students worked on proving and disproving their testable statement over three 30 - 45 minute sessions. Once students felt they had gathered enough evidence they ran a knowledge building conference. We continued using the online claims board. As a class, we found that the online claims board is more engaging and is a better visual for students. Students critiqued the claims made and gave justifications to support their comments. New knowledge was documented and new hunches were made. We referred to the ladder of inference and decided whether we can move any hunches closer to our data pool. We used the line of trust to help us decide.
Below are some images from a Google Slide created by one of the classes:
"You have travelled to an unknown country what things are you going to need to know/observe in order to understand their cultural practices (non-material and material)".
We then turned these hunches into testable statements. In the same group of three (investigative teams), the students explored these testable statements using a Google Slide. On the slide they had opportunities to prove or disprove the statement they had made.
Students worked on proving and disproving their testable statement over three 30 - 45 minute sessions. Once students felt they had gathered enough evidence they ran a knowledge building conference. We continued using the online claims board. As a class, we found that the online claims board is more engaging and is a better visual for students. Students critiqued the claims made and gave justifications to support their comments. New knowledge was documented and new hunches were made. We referred to the ladder of inference and decided whether we can move any hunches closer to our data pool. We used the line of trust to help us decide.
Below are some images from a Google Slide created by one of the classes:
What have we created to support collaborative knowledge building?
A visual ladder of inference so that children can decide on whether their claim is closer to being in the data pool.
We continued to use our Google Document that tracked our mandatory and non mandatory learners. After each collaborative knowledge session, we recorded any anecdotal notes about these learners. For example if they contributed, whether their claim was chosen or how they interacted with their peers.
We continued to use our Google Document that tracked our mandatory and non mandatory learners. After each collaborative knowledge session, we recorded any anecdotal notes about these learners. For example if they contributed, whether their claim was chosen or how they interacted with their peers.
How are you using questioning to help students become more aware of their own reasoning / the thinking behind their ideas?
Each term we have used TALK Moves. We find these are incredibly successful as they encourage children to think critically about their own ideas and the ideas of others.
- Re voicing - so are you saying
- Repeating - can you repeat what was just said
- Reasoning - do you agree or disagree
- Adding on - would you like to add something more
- Wait time - take your time, we will wait
- Examples - can anyone support this with an example or counter example
How are students becoming more aware of their own thinking?
We have continued using the student voice survey. The students are reflecting on their contributions to the knowledge building session and are giving ideas on ways they can improve their collaborative knowledge building as an individual and as a class. At the end of each session we also discuss a class summary of what we agreed / disagreed on and listen to ways we could further explore this.
How are students becoming more aware of their own thinking?
The competitive element has suppressed in general in all classroom environments. Students are less focussed on winning and are more interested in solving problems as a collective. They are more aware of who they are working with across different areas of the curriculum. From working in these collaborative knowledge groups students are more open to working with a wider variety of students in other areas of learning.
Next steps / Questions for Reflection
- How will they articulate the learning? Is the learning objectives clear? Do students really understand why they are going through this process?
- Still unsure if students are building a deep level of knowledge or just skimming the surface with their responses.
- When the sessions run too long the children disengage. Shorter blocks of time seem to work better.
