ARB newsletter - Welcome to February 2016

Talofa lava, Kia orana, Fakaalofa lahi atu, Talofa ni, Mālō e lelei, Ni sa bula.
Welcome.  Nau mai, Haere mai.

Welcome to term one 2016
Kia ora everybody!
A very warm welcome back to the new school year.  We hope you had a good break and are ready for 2016.
Here are the topics we’re highlighting in this newsletter:
  • Our resource developers have been busy and have recently added 27 new online-interactive assessment resources to the banks.
  • Seaweek begins on 27 February with the theme: Toiora te Moana – Toiora te Tangata – Healthy Seas, Healthy People.  Check out the links to related ARB resources below.
  • Some of your favourite ARB resources share a common theme.  This month we are highlighting resources that use progressive disclosure.
  • We are always looking to work with schools for the piloting and trialling of new assessment resources.  If you are interested in becoming involved, click on the link at the bottom of this newsletter.
ARB-newsletter-feb-2016-beach-waves.jpg
Image: copyright, PhotoKete.co.nz

New resources

The ARB team has recently completed and published 27 new online-interactive resources across the 3 banks.
We have also developed a number of ARB resources for Level 1 of the NZC.

English (5 resources)

Levels 4/5
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Science (9 resources)

Level 4
 
Level 5
 
 
 
 

Maths (13 resources)

Level 3

Level 4
We continue to signficantly re-develop a number of resources that can also be completed online. Click here to link to online-interactive ARB resources
A new conceptual map in Geometric thinking has been created which has links to a selection of assessment resources.  
 

Sea week

Seaweek 2016 takes place from Saturday 27 February to Sunday 6 March.
The theme is “Toiora te Moana – Toiora te Tangata – Healthy Seas, Healthy People “.
 
ARB-newsletter-feb-2016-humpback-whales.jpg
Image: copyright, PhotoKete.co.nz
The science resources below can make good starting points for discussions about what makes a healthy ocean and how we can manage that.  
 
Resources about the health of the ocean or beach
Resources about interdependence in the ocean
The following resources are more loosely connected to Seaweek’s theme, and could be used to explore questions about what lives in oceans.
Resources about things that live in the ocean
You can also find more information about Seaweek at Seaweek.org.nz.
 

Some favourite ARBs

From time to time we review some the most popular selections of ARB resources. Recently we’ve noticed something in common between some of your favourite ARB resource selections. They’re ones that use the strategy of progressive disclosure, in maths as well as English. This strategy is great for assessing comprehension and critical thinking. When we use progressive disclosure, we reveal a text in stages – whether it is presented in written, visual, oral, or aural form. As each part of the text is revealed, learners integrate it with previous information to systematically build an understanding of the text as a whole.

 

A maths resource that draws on this strategy is What Shape am I?
 

Get involved in the March-April ARB resource trials

As part of developing assessment resources, we pilot and trial our items with groups of students.
Pilots tend to be conducted with a smaller group of students and involve a visit from a resource developer.
Trials are independently conducted online, with students working in small groups or classes or in a computer lab.

 

We are always looking for teachers and classes that are interested in helping us with this process.  We will be trialling from 29 March to end of Term One.
Both pilots and trials involve students using whatever online devices they use in class or at home (desktop, laptop, tablet).
If you are interested in participating in the March-April resource trials (and have a NZ-based classroom), please follow the link to ARB March-April 2016 trials.
 
Of course we're always happy to get feedback and would love to hear from you about our website or our assessment resources.
 
Warmest regards
The ARB team
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