SDN Nataia is one of the schools included in phase 2 of 2022’s project. Its child friendly library has been running since September 2022 after its inauguration. Most of the teachers hadn’t grasped how to conduct reading aloud, shared reading, paired reading, and independent reading even after obtaining virtual training.

Thus, Rainbow Reading Gardens’ team worked closely with the principal and teacher coordinator and discussed the importance of teachers holding reading activities in the library. The discussion also acknowledged and highlighted the good practices taking place in other schools.

Following this, Rainbow Reading Gardens team held an onsite training for the teachers in which each teacher needed to perform the reading activities. Simultaneously, the team also explained thoroughly about the observation indicators, and the teachers needed to prepare themselves for it in the following week.

So what initiative did the school prepare before the observation?

After the team left and finished with the training, Nataia’s principal proceeded to gather all teachers and to conduct an internal meeting. For a week, the principal observed the teachers one by one before the upcoming observation by Rainbow Reading Gardens’ team. When the teachers couldn’t perform well with expressions, intonations, and gestures, the principal demonstrated it for the teachers to follow. This action was initiated by the principal’s determination to improve her school. As a result, the teachers managed to perform reading activities with good expressions, intonations, and gestures. Even though the principal identified that the teachers needed to work on making prediction questions, the Rainbow Reading Gardens found the intervention from the principal had been really beneficial and effective.

The team saw some improvement in the teachers’ confidence when performing reading activities and being observed by the team. Compared to other schools without this kind of intervention, the teachers usually came up with various excuses before the observation. This was not the case in Nataia’s teachers since they looked ready and excited. Indeed, the collaboration inside the school and the principal’s determination had resulted in positive progress.

Furthermore, the data showed that there were 14 reading activities conducted in October with each teacher performing 2-3 activities on average. In November, 12 reading activities were held with each teacher performing 2 activities on average. The quantity hadn’t showed a gradual increase, but the atmosphere in the reading activities was improving. As for a starter, the school’s library was considered ‘Improving’ out of the three standards after the observation by the team.

Thank you to all of SDN Nataia’s school community, especially Mrs. Skolastika, the school’s principal, Mrs. Petronella, the teacher coordinator, and all teachers there.