NEED TO REVITALISE YOUR TEACHING? VOLUNTEER………….. Q:What do you get when you cross a box of post-it notes, a class of 48 Ecuadorian children and a zany teacher whose Spanish is not as slick as it once was!? A: An experience that is challenging, enriching and extremely rewarding! I always loved the bit in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory when Charlie finds the final golden ticket, so it was rather apt that I was watching the film when the phone rang and I was told that I had won the Association for Language Learning International Challenge Award and would be going to Ecuador, all expenses paid, to work as an English teacher in a Primary School. I felt like all my Christmases had come at once. A year and an eighteen hour flight later and I was landing in Quito, the capital of Ecuador, wondering what to expect and if I really was as insane as some people thought to be teaching during the summer holidays. Insane? Definitely not. Extremely privileged to be afforded such an enriching experience, both professionally and personally, yes absolutely. Thanks to ALL and Mondo Challenge, my (all expenses paid) trip to Ecuador the perfect opportunity to develop professionally, linguistically, culturally and individually. After arriving in Quito, nestled amongst the mountains at 3000 metres, I took the bus across country to the coast. Ten hours, and a lot of bumps and hair pin bends later, I arrived in the tiny village of Salango, made famous by its archaeological findings and whale watching. There are many striking
differences between Salango and any English village. The vegetation is equatorial, there are no roads, just dirt tracks that become mudslides in the rain, the architecture is basic, there is no hot water and about once a week there is a power cut – and for all these things and more I loved it! More distinctive however, is the sense of community and hospitality that emanates from the people here. Despite being the only ‘gringo’ in the village I was welcomed and integrated with such gusto into the community from day one. I was even invited to take part in street carnivals and parades as a representative of the school. The warmth and generosity of these people knows no bounds, and neither does their party spirit. Village fiestas were an almost weekly occurrence and young and old danced until the early hours, I even managed a few steps of salsa and meringue myself. Snorkelling, swimming, fishing, beach volleyball, beach football, horse riding and sailing were just a few of the many activities on offer outside of teaching. Hearing whale song whilst snorkelling and watching these mighty animals breach so close to the shore and boat, well, ‘breath-taking’ doesn’t really suffice. As a Secondary School teacher I was slightly apprehensive at working at Felicismo Lopez Primary school. I also felt somewhat uneasy at the prospect of providing optimal teaching in a school where it was impossible to hide behind the lavish resources to which I am used – could I rise to the challenge? In fact, the teaching, at times demanding (one class had forty eight pupils in it!!), required a reassessment and, consequently, an adaptation of my didactic methods. Given the incredible enthusiasm of the pupils, and not bound by curriculum constraints, I felt inspired to get really creative. Songs,
mime, flashcards, quizzes, drama, postit note wall relays, competitions, all the techniques that I had used so much in England before I had become rather too reliant on an Interactive Whiteboard. Lessons were not always confined to the classroom environment; I have fond and funny memories of thirty five children and myself dancing and singing the hokeykokey on the school field, to the delight of both staff and pupils. We even painted an enormous mural together. Back home now I’m never without a pack of post-it notes in my classroom! Of course the interactive whiteboard still plays it’s part, as does the digital media, and I’m very grateful to be working in such a well equipped school. However, my experience in Ecuador has really deepened my understanding of the fundamental principles of pedagogy and learning in MFL, and this awareness has made me approach my teaching in a different and, I believe, more effective way. Sometimes it is hard to leave our comfort zone and put ourselves ‘out there’, both professionally and
personally, however, Ecuador has reinforced something I have felt for a long time: It’s all too easy to become a complacent and self-satisfied teacher. Yet only by continuing to seek inspiration and insight ourselves can we continue to inspire and motivate our pupils. From excited pupils to intrigued locals to whale watching, the whole experience was one that I will never forget and from which I have learnt a tremendous amount. The International Challenge provides an opportunity for teachers to expand their horizons, and volunteering can be just what you need to get your creative juices and inspiration flowing again.
Fiona Hilton
Promoting Positive Behaviour In order to Promote Positive Behaviour it is fundamental that we consider two often taken for granted concepts: □ □
What does Positive Behaviour look like? and In what environments is it most likely shown?
In a recent workshop, I posed this question to colleagues asking “What makes a ‘good’ pupil?” In addition to asking them to consider what they believed made a ‘good’ teacher!! As expected the feedback to the former was the utopian - respectful, attentive and eager to learn individual that we all wish we could teach whole classes of!! The responses to the latter were quite interesting providing a range of responses with the most popular being the notion of building a ‘positive rapport/relationship’ with the individuals and groups that you teach! Establishing and Maintaining a Positive Rapport: □ Know the Students Characteristics and Interests A way that you gain knowledge about students is through open conversation with students. When carrying on an open conversation, it is appropriate to: Talk about their day and family. Talk about what they enjoy during free time. Talk about their interests and activities. Tell them about yourself. □ Know Student's Ability Level It is important to be aware of the student's skill level in the subject in which you are teaching. Use IEP’s, Pupil Profiles, SIMs, Discuss with other teachers to gather this information □ Acknowledge Students Strengths and Weaknesses
Note areas in which students are strong as well as areas in which they need more work. Build on successes!! □ A Flexible Teaching Styles The interaction between you and the pupil is especially important. Establish what teaching styles work well with individuals and particular groups. How can you make lessons interesting and engaging? Do this and half the battle is won!! □ Be Approachable The more trust the pupil has with you, the easier it is to encourage the student. By being approachable students develop confidence in you and their learning. Meet the student in a relaxed, friendly manner. Understand the pupil's world, and relate to events of interest to them. Set an example by being courteous and respectful. Be supportive and provide encouragement. Communicate the message that learning is an important and worthwhile task. Maintain a sense of humour. □ Persevere Relationship building/changes won’t happen over night – it is important that as the adult you continue to persevere – after all you are the one with more social experience/skills (we are dealing with young people who have not yet mastered the art of social interaction).
In the Firing Line We are all faced with challenging behaviour in lessons and being able to deal with this behaviour calmly and assertively enhances your role as ‘classroom leader’ Here are 10 strategies that may be used in a variety of lesson to help PROMOTE POSITIVE BEHAVIOUR:
1. Catch pupils being good! Emphasize on the positives in a classroom. Whenever possible, publicly praise those pupils who are being compliant being specific in what you are actually praising.
2. Be proactive not reactive using positive cues! Linked to Tip One, give recognition to those pupils being good. Praise pupils in a close vicinity to the pupil ‘off-task’ aiming to redirect pupils to behave appropriately. 3. Use ‘Wise Positioning’ in class Think about your positioning – Place yourself close to pupils behaving inappropriately while once again praising compliant behaviour elsewhere in the classroom. 4. Reiterate to refocus Ask questions to refocus off-task pupils - for example a group of pupils are ‘off-task’, you approach them but pay no attention to their ‘off-task’ behaviour instead ask redirecting questions such as ‘How’s it going? Do you need any help? Do you need me to check the work that you have done so far?’ 5. Discretely redirect Most ‘disruptive’ pupils are either striving to ‘create a scene’ seeking attention or in contrast respond badly to public reprimanding, therefore a more discreet approach will be more successful. For example a pupil has stopped focussing on their work so you quietly move to their side and ask them to go back to the task they have been set. Don’t look for an immediate response, in fact move away from them to give them time to comply – if successful don’t forget to praise improved behaviour!! 6. Overtly Redirect Rather than confront pupils displaying inappropriate behaviour
getting drawn into an argument, acknowledge the inappropriate behaviour while at the same time redirect the pupil to the actual task in hand. For example A couple of pupils are having a chat rather than working and naturally you ask them to stop and get back on task only to be met by the ‘standard ‘cock-sure’ response’ of “I’m only asking them what we’ve got to do?” Follow this up with a statement along the lines of “I appreciate that you might be unsure but you can always ask me and now that you are aware can you get on with the task thanks. Adding the ‘thanks’ subconsciously you are expecting compliance from the pupil. 7. Rule Reminders Regular assertive reminders of YOUR classroom rules are a very effective and non-confrontational way tackling ‘off-task’ behaviour. For example “Kieran, remember that our rule for answering questions is to put your hands up and not shout out, let’s try that thanks” Using ‘Our’ depersonalises the enforcement of the sanction and takes away the ‘because I said so’ element that can cause confrontation. Again Thanks is used to encourage compliance. 8. Let pupils make the choice Establish with the pupil that they are ‘choosing’ to behave in an inappropriate manner but provide them with the alternative (more suitable) choices they have. Reinforce the consequences that will come should they not choose to behave appropriately – “Liam I need you to stop shouting out (desired result), if you choose not to then you know I’ll have no option other than to write in your planner which then puts you only one step away from an On-Call (removal from lesson -
consequence pending) which I don’t want to do so lets be quiet now thanks” 9. Consistent Consequences If despite your best efforts, a pupil continues to make ‘poor choices’ it is essential that you do follow through with the desired consequence outlined once again leaving scope for compliance and corrected behaviour. Continuing with the example from before “Liam you have chosen not to take my advice, bring me your planner (write comment) I hope that you will now make the right choice so that I don’t have to have you removed, back to your seat now thanks.” 10. Restorative Removal Unfortunately, there will be occasions where pupils continue to significantly prevent you from teaching and affect other pupils learning and despite all your best efforts you are left with no option other than to have them removed from the lesson. Following any formal withdrawal from lessons for example On-Call it is essential that the issue is followed up with the pupil and restorative work undertake where the pupil is given the opportunity to reflect and understand ‘where they went wrong’ so that they can make better choices next time!!!
In any scenario I think it is worth taking a step back, depersonalising the situation and asking - What result do you want to achieve? And what is the best way of achieving YOUR result?? Remembering - Every Child Matters!
Phil Storey
Kingstone School PE Department were given an award for ‘Contributions to School Sport’ by the English Institute of Sport
Holgate Houses’ History Paul Howarth In 2008 Holgate introduced Vertical Tutoring in which students from Years 7-11 spend twenty minutes each day in groups of around 20, with a main and a link tutor. Tutors include both teachers and support staff and the opportunity was given for staff and students to choose who they would be grouped with, which was a major factor in ensuring a smooth transition. The consultation for Vertical Tutoring also included discussion around the re-introduction of a House System. This would allow us to develop more leadership roles for students, as well as develop a sense of community between year groups, encourage healthy competition and offer the opportunity to celebrate success in all its forms. Like many schools Holgate used to have houses, in this case named after famous men from Barnsley, including Joseph Locker and Samuel Cooper. When staff and students were asked for their ideas for new names it was apparent that they still valued Barnsley’s heritage, but also had an interest in the wider world, with many suggestions of famous places, countries and continents. It was decided that ‘exploration’ would be a suitable theme but it needed to bring the old and the new together so the following names were decided upon:
Apollo - for the American moon programme Discovery - for Captain Scott’s final voyage and the space shuttle Endeavour - for Captain Cook’s first voyage to Australia and the space shuttle Endurance- for Ernest Shackleton’s ship and the naval icebreakers and research ships Voyager- for the American spaceprobes currently leaving the Solar System Having appointed Heads of House and assigned colours we started the process of arranging competitions. Although Holgate is a Sports College and PE & sport are important, the Heads of House felt very strongly that these needed to be of a very broad nature and so it has been ever since. After each activity the five houses are ranked, scoring 5 points for first place, to 1 point for last. In this way everyone’s contribution is recognised and participation encouraged. Rock, Paper, Scissors was the first competition (won by a student in Year 7) and since then around 60 different activities have taken place with many of them becoming annual events. Netball, Unihoc, Limbo, Paper Plane flying, Singstar, Fantasy Formula 1, Sunflower Growing and an Indoor World Cup are regular fixtures. House points are awarded for collecting credits, attendance and punctuality. Collapsed timetable days before Christmas saw students competing in Jenga, Battle Drives, game shows such as the Cube and technology challenges.
Sports Day is designed to provide something for everyone, with team sports to start the day, space hopper races and welly-throwing before lunch, with traditional athletics in the afternoon to unite on looking houses as they cheer home their representatives. This year every student in school will be involved in earning points for their house, a massive increase on several years ago. The House system and the student teams leading it also play a key role on the school council, with all year groups represented. House Captains lead their teams and help communication across the school. In addition to consultation on topics such as adopting house ties from 2010, tutor time has also been used to discuss proposed names for the ALC and most recently to vote for house charities, which will be a priority this year. The next stage of developing the Holgate houses is linking the work to the curriculum more thoroughly. Currently the MFL department have been very proactive in promoting extended learning activities through houses and we look forward to this practice spreading further. Although the House System is just over two years old it has definitely made a difference at Holgate and we look forward to seeing if anyone can prevent Apollo raising the House Shield in July for the third year running!
Congratulations to the History Department at Holgate School on their recent ‘Outstanding’ Ofsted Following a subject inspection in History at Holgate, the department were overjoyed to be graded ‘Outstanding’ in all four categories: achievement in history, the quality of teaching in history, the quality of the history curriculum and the effectiveness of leadership and management in history.
Horticulture Ruth Holling Over the last 12 months I have been working with a select group of Year 11 students in the garden area behind the Wellbeing Centre. We have restocked the flower beds and have been growing fruit and vegetables on a small scale. The students have been learning new practical skills whilst working towards completing their City and Guilds qualification in Practical Horticulture. In most lessons the students can chose which task to work on, which group to work with and often which adult will help them. This means that they are usually more engaged with what they are doing and it has been brilliant to see the end results; the students have grown some fantastic curly carrots and we have harvested pounds of strawberries and tomatoes. One of the biggest challenges we still have is to try to get the students to work more independently of adult input and longer term, we are trying to help the students develop their concentration levels – it would be brilliant if they finished one task before moving on to the next! Assessment is another interesting aspect to the lessons – the students have to complete both written and practical exams and sometimes their enthusiasm for the written tasks wanes. We have done what we can to make the written tasks less onerous, taken photographs to present as story boards, used the flip cameras to make short videos and used the computers to illustrate some key pieces of work. If all else fails we barter, this works particularly well on rainy days or if it’s cold outside – suddenly the written task becomes the lesser of two evils!
The work in the garden is constantly evolving and it’s gradually becoming a whole school effort. We have Matron suggesting which plants to put outside the Wellbeing Centre, Steve and the Site Team are busy saving packing crates for us so that we can make raised beds, Brett and Chris have uploaded numerous photographs onto the network for us, Mel one of our SMSA’s is busy saving pumpkin seeds so that we can have our own pumpkin patch next year and Jane and the Technology team are helping us plan our next culinary treat following the success of the rhubarb crumble we made earlier in the term! So, thanks to everyone who helps out in anyway with the Horticulture lessons, not least to the small army of CSA’s that supervise, instruct, support, dig and tidy as required – thanks a million! Oh … and by the way – we are still saving Morrison’s vouchers if anyone still has any knocking about in the dashboard of their car!
The use of QR codes in the classroom. Tired of setting homework and having pupils claim they “forgot what to do”? Or are you looking for new ways to engage pupils in their learning? Maybe you could give QR codes a try, and let pupils use their phones as educational tools. QR codes are barcode like images that contain hidden text messages or an Internet address, which can be accessed by scanning them with a device such as a smart phone. The real beauty of QR codes is that they do what they say on the tin – give a “Quick Response”. In my own practice I have begun to use QR codes quite heavily. As a History teacher I am continuously searching for new ways to teach a subject rooted in the past in modern and innovative ways. There are so many different potential uses for QR codes, but I’ll list the few ways that I have begun to use them in my own practice. 1. Department’s Blog: I first of all began using them to provide pupils a link to the department’s blog. I usually write the URL on the board and they copy this into their folders (and on occasion onto their hand). More than once the web address has been copied down
incorrectly, resulting in much
online searching to find the correct blog. By now giving my classes a QR code of the blog address they have a permanent link to the site on their phones. In a similar regard, on the department’s revision wiki, I have generated QR codes for all the Teacher Talks videos. This allows pupils to have a permanent link to these revision videos, and therefore can revise on the go from their phones. 2. During Lessons: A second way I use QR codes is perhaps the most obvious, in the classroom during lessons. When having pupils carry out research tasks, I now also add a few QR codes around the classroom and allow them to use their phones to scan the codes for extra information. Some may read this and wonder about the pupils who do not have access to a device that will read the codes, and I at first had the same misgivings. Most older phones with cameras can download i-nigma reader, and even if pupils are not able to do so, the quest to scan QR codes in lessons fosters collaboration between pupils with the ability to scan and those without. 3. Homework: Another way I use QR codes is in the setting of homework. As well as having the homework task displayed on the IWB I now also add a QR code. This allows pupils the choice of either copying the task down from the board or simply scanning the code and having the task, in full, on their phone. In many cases it has removed the “Sir, I forgot what to do,” because my reply is now
simply, “didn’t you check your phone?” Some may wonder why the pupils cannot simply write various details into their planners or exercise books/folders. Well, the best thing about QR Codes is that pupils are generally carrying their phones on them at all times and any content is always available in an instant in the “history” of the QR Code Reader. This leads me onto my next point, how do you generate QR Codes and what do you use to read them? In the former case, I use qrcode.kaywa.com. It’s quick and simple to use, and I then just save the image to my computer. Reading the QR code is a different matter, as it will depend on what device you have. Through trial and error I have found the best readers are Neo Reader (iPhone and iPods), QuickMark (Android) and i-nigma (All other devices). All are free and easy to download. I think I should end by saying that the experience of using QR codes with pupils has been extremely positive. The look on their faces when I first asked them to get their phones out was priceless. I only wait until the time when they realise they are actually using their phones for educational purposes, and hope they aren’t going home and asking their parents for a smart phone in order to access their work.
Simon Benson
A Handful of Cards and Buckets of Dice! Games and Learning J.Lancett & Paul Howarth In 2006 I was asked by Jo Lancett to introduce a historical games club for G&T boys who had expressed an interest in the subject. I was happy to do so as this is an interest of mine and we’ve re-fought Normandy and The Bulge with Air fix tanks ever since, along with Roman civil wars, Waterloo and some not-so-historical Lord of the Rings and War hammer battles on occasion. Following on from the successful launch of the club I decided to work with a local company, interested in promoting games within schools and was able to use students from the club to teach Year 6 students on transition days. Unlike the games we played on Fridays after school, these were not military games, but simple board and card games, featuring strategy, literacy and numeracy skills. In many cases they involved co-operation and the need to predict how others might act. The games were very popular and so I asked Nigel from www.imaginationgaming.co.uk to come back into school for one day per week, supported by
Disadvantaged Subsidy and sports college funding. In addition to running lunchtime and after-school clubs Nigel works with targeted groups during curriculum time, usually with the teacher present so that more people become familiar with the activities. Maths springs to mind immediately as a subject to involve because of the development of numeracy links but others lend themselves – the ’10 Days in…Europe/Asia/America series focus on Geography and for history buffs, games such as Britannia cover events from the arrival of the Emperor Claudius to William the Conqueror, with every invader in between appearing. Nigel is also amending certain games to support writing skills and I look forward to reading the tales resulting from the ‘Zombies’ game… The primary focus for some of the interventions has been to develop social skills. Students learning to work together, take their turn and follow rules has been invaluable and the leadership skills developed are becoming evident. Students enjoy teaching one another and teaching staff even more so. The games work because they have simple rules (although the strategy can get complex) and play quickly. ‘For Sale’, a property-dealing card game might not sound thrilling, but is one of the most requested. ‘Straw’ and ‘Zeus on the Loose’ (both involving fast-counting and probability) are favourites and ‘Gem Dealer’ has KS4 boys booking it out for use in the library at lunchtimes.
Creating games is an area I want to encourage too and the first steps have already been taken. Nigel is introducing the classic game ‘Dungeons & Dragons’ as an afterschool activity and having seen the rapt faces of Year 7 students as their approach to a dank cave was described, I’m sure it’s just a matter of time before they really start to exercise their imaginations and create their own worlds.
Bloom’s Taxonomy for the 21st Century
Stuck between a rock and a hard place? I know I’m not alone when I say I am at my wits end with a certain class of year 10’s! I literally think I’ve tried everything to engage them, or so I thought. It can be easy to fall into a negative spiral, thinking you are the only one with such an issue or maybe that you are doing something wrong. However, through co-coaching I realised a few things; firstly that I am not alone in the matter, secondly there are other options, and lastly there is support out there.
We have currently launched a successful coaching programme within school which is both inspiring and empowering. It was amazing to discover the worries and concerns that people have about coaching which are mainly based on a misunderstanding of what coaching is. Some concerns raised were: “Will it take up a lot of my time?” “I don’t feel I have the advanced knowledge and understanding a coach has” “Worried I will not being an adequate coach for my colleague” “I’m not sure if my questioning is good enough” “Concerned about not identifying what I need to say to improve my coaching partner” “What if I have differing opinions and different teaching approaches compared with my coaching partner?”
In order to address these concerns we first need to understand the different roles in coaching. The three methods of coaching are outlined below: Mentoring: This is a more structured process in terms of a colleague guides another closely towards achieving specific goals in order to meet certain standards through different career transitions, such as ITT and NQT standards and threshold. Specialist Coaching This is a sustained process that focuses on developing a specific area of a professional learner. A colleague would work with someone who was a specialist in that area such as monitoring and tracking of pupils for example. Co-coaching This is a process between two or more professional learners to enable them to embed new knowledge and skills and work collaboratively to improve day to day practice. When coaching it is important to set a clear focus for what you wish to achieve and a time to do it in. Through co-coaching professional learners guide each other to find solutions for themselves and trial these in every day practice. However, this is not to say that your coaching partner cannot make suggestions to you about your focus. It involves developing a mutual understanding of goals through active listening, shared experiences, shared planning and observation (an observation of your
chosen strategy for addressing your focus in a lesson; NOT a judgement on your teaching.) It is important to realise that this is a great tool for further professional development and is in no way a chore or a way of senior management checking up on you! Coaching meetings can be made to suit both participants and do not need to be lengthy. Plenty of support and guidance can be offered by coaches in school on things like effective coaching conversations. Some of our participants shared what their coaching wishes would be: “ to share expertise and gain new ideas through collaboration with colleagues” “confidence to use new ideas within existing projects” “that I come to decisions on how to improve and move forward” “improve my teaching and gain a wider range of activities for behaviour management” “new ideas and suggestions for teaching in a non-pressure situation” “Practical and achievable goals to work towards” “Improve behaviour for learning by getting advice from more experienced colleagues” “to create more engaging lessons (from better planning) that the pupils will enjoy and therefore
want to behave more positively” “to discover if my teaching is effective/useful by using another point of view” “help me re-evaluate my work and give support” “to be creative in lesson planning and delivery”
Forming new professional relationships with colleagues broadens your horizons, by working with other professional learners from different subject areas and specialism you stand to gain a lot from shared experiences and skills. Your age, years in teaching or other roles in school should not be a barrier to working with other colleagues on a coaching project; whether you are an NQT or SMT the title is irrelevant in a coaching relationship, it is the skills and learning that both parties bring and gain that is of the importance.
Finally the key to good coaching is communication and to be open to new ideas and change. Do not underestimate the power of a professional conversation for relieving some of the common stresses of the classroom and being reassured in what can be a demanding and fast paced career. I would strongly urge anyone to get involved as there is a mountain of support, ideas and creativity around you from AST’s, teaching and learning groups, INSET activities, year teams, support staff and departments other than your own and many more. Your teaching career can be a long one, even more so when facing battles and concerns alone. Work together with other professionals and you will find that your walk along this teaching path is a bit more colourful, enjoyable and interesting with people to share it with along the way.
By Vicky Conway Try www.voki.com
Headlines from the 18 National Conference of the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust – Excellence for All
th
Back in late November I was fortunate to attend the SSAT’s 18th National Conference in order to learn about the ideas that are being generated at the forefront of educational research and to share some of the work that I have been collaborating on over the past eighteen months. The Conference spanned three days, and during that time a number of truly inspirational and influential actors in the field of education shared their responses to three questions that the event was framed around What should young people learn? How should young people learn? What are the barriers preventing young people from learning? Below are short summaries of four of the key note speeches that stood out for me, together with some links that may be of interest. David Hemery, CBE, 1968 Olympic Gold Medallist and former Olympic record holder for the 400 metre hurdles, spoke about an initiative that he is leading to help young people benefit personally from the London 2012 Games called ‘21st Century Legacy – Be the Best you can Be’. The programme offers schools the chance to host successful British athletes who visit schools to work with students,
sporty and non-sporty, to “raise aspirations, build confidence and help them take greater personal responsibility” in order to help them maximise their potential. The athletes involved include the likes of Paralympian Ade Adepitan, MBE. http://www.21stcenturylegacy.com/abo utus/index.htm Professor Sugata Mitra, whose work inspired Vikas Swarup to write the novel Slumdog Millionaire, shared the findings of his Hole in the Wall experiment; demonstrating that with time and gentle assurance, any child is capable of teaching themselves more using computers than they can be taught by teachers. His methodology centred on the placing of PCs behind glass screens, ATM-style, in the slums of India and providing no explanation of how to use them or what to do with them. The children of the slums who found the computers and began to use them taught themselves, amongst other things, English using language translation tools on the internet in order to play and understand the games they had access to. The results of the experiment are startling and can be found either in text or video on the website below. Of particular interest to me personally are his ideas about ‘flexible group rules’ which can also be found on the site. http://www.hole-in-thewall.com/findings.html Professor Tanya Byron, child psychologist, BBC presenter and author of the 2008 Byron Review and 2009 Byron Progress Review, gave a speech entitled ‘How can schools successfully integrate technology to promote learning?’ The key note focused on the notion that many teachers are frightened by the
proliferation of electronic gadgetry such as smart-phones that if embraced could actually be used to support and enhance learning instead of limit it. She used the term ‘prod-users’ to describe the current generation of children who are not just familiar with the consumption of information from the internet, but are regularly prepared to actively contribute to it through blogs, wikis, etc. Professor Byron stated that schools had successfully used PASS data and attendance figures to prove that increased use of ICT in schools had lead to greater student engagement and attitudes towards learning. Daniel H. Pink, a former speechwriter of Al Gore’s and author of ‘A Whole New Mind’, summarised his latest publication, ‘Drive: The Surprising Truth about What Motivates Us’. He suggested that people at work (be they teachers or otherwise) innovate at a higher level when their work is noncommissioned than when they are given a task or role with constraints and controls. He made the case for ‘autonomy, mastery and purpose’ being the most influential factors in motivating workers to innovate effectively. He also stated that the notion of ‘management’ has become outdated in schools as it is a ‘tool of compliance’, suggesting that what is needed instead is engagement. He argued that active engagement of both teachers and students should be sought through ‘radical amounts of autonomous thought’ and he sited examples of how companies have given significant amounts of unstructured thinking time to their employees in order to foster innovation. The article below gives a lengthier taste of his controversial views about management and innovation.
https://www.ssatrust.org.uk/sites/Natio nalConference2010/speakers/Documen ts/Daniel%20Pink%20Article.pdf
There were many other noteworthy speakers, but in the interests of brevity I’ll leave you to look at the SSAT’s website if you wish to find out more about the Conference. On 4th March the SSAT will be holding a Regional Conference at Bradford Academy where a number of workshops will further explore innovation in education. If you are interested in attending the event, please email me at a.chambers1@barnsley.org.
Alastair Chambers
My Classroom Experiment: Handing Over the Wooden Spoon In the top drawer of my desk I have a wooden spoon. Perhaps it's not the most usual teaching tool to be found in an English teacher's classroom but I have found that it's one of my most powerful. In an environment where accountability is key, I have developed from a teacher into an assessor: I assess the work in my students' books, I assess their progress on a lesson by lesson basis, I assess my classroom and whether it encourages a suitable learning environment and I assess the type of characters coming into my classroom. I look for personalities, motivations and learning styles to target my teaching appropriately. However, I realised that I was guilty of spoon feeding my students. Although I had developed a classroom where students work hard to become poets, authors and critics - I was also developing students who rely on me to praise, reflect and set their targets. With this realisation, I have removed the spoon from my drawer. It sits on my desk as a reminder that it is my responsibility to prepare students for the 21st century world by teaching them to be learners as well as linguists. Here are some of the ways I have used to hand the spoon to my students: * The Accelerated Learning Cycle: I have used the cycle to teach students about the learning process - they are becoming aware about the different stages of the learning cycle and how each
stage contributes to effective learning. * Learning Partners: By pairing pupils with other students of a similar ability or another student with very different strengths - I have found that they are able to discuss their learning reflect on their work purposefully and effectively. * Learning Passport: To help students to discuss their learning accurately I have developed the APP criteria into an English Passport. Students receive a stamp from their Learning Partner when they can find evidence for each target this allows them to track their own progress and it enables effective discussions about their next steps. * Traffic Light Cups: Following The Classroom Experiment I have been trialling the use of paper cups as a means of monitoring pupils constantly throughout the lesson. I have found that this has put the onus on the pupil to let me know if they need support rather than waiting for me to realise and is prompting them to think about their own progress on a more regular basis. I am aware that none of these techniques are new and are used by many on a regular basis but they have re-inspired my classroom and I am now seeing pupils engage with their learning process as well as their progress. So, what did I learn last term? How important it is to hand over my wooden spoon!
Sam Mitchell
Life as an ITT I think back to around this time last year, sitting in lecture theatre E.015 in Cardiff School of Mathematics, in the same seat I had pretty much sat in for my first 2 years, I look up from my phone and realise this isn’t one of my usual maths lectures. The lecturer is talking slowly, using words I understand, and not writing masses of notes up on the board. It is then the realisation that I was in yet another careers lecture dawns. The maths department loved to put these on, we had already heard from representatives of Lloyds TSB, RBS, KMPG and PwC all trying to recruit us, however upon realising this I put my head back down towards my phone, this wasn’t for me. I already knew I didn’t want a job in the big city, it wasn’t for me, I’d done two weeks work experience in an office before and promised myself I will never go back to that environment. While friends around me talked about applying for Masters, PHD’s and graduate schemes on Canary Wharf I knew what I wanted to do. This nagging impulse in the back of my mind had been resurfacing more often as I had to think about the future, something I had tried to ignore for three years, using the memories of how I was in secondary school to try and push it to the back of mind, yet I couldn’t. Remembering the promise made to myself about not working in an office, wanting a career with challenges, sharing a passion for mathematics, it was more of a question of when and not if, to fill in my form on the GTTR website. Fast forward 12 months, and my head is filled of acronyms, learning theories, safeguarding policies and several different methods to teach trigonometry. I have established that I am currently an ITT doing a PGCE,
being overseen by the TDA, hoping to reach QTS to then go and complete my NQT year. Staring at the endless list of jobs jotted down on my notepad, it hits me I am now looking from the other side of the veil of education. It was only in 2005 that I was being told to stop talking and concentrate on my work, my GCSEs were only weeks away. Now back into 2010, my notepad reads
9 lessons to plan, Resources to prepare, Assignments to look at for university work, Lesson evaluations to do from the past two weeks, ITT sessions to attend, Fill in Q‐Standards file, Sleep… …
As one job is ticked off, another seems to appear; my brain is trying to think of creative new ideas to teach algebra, different ways to encourage learning, and not me spoon feeding the pupils because it’s easier and safer. Trying to be brave and not resorting to the easy option for fear of being dealt the backlash of “Sir, I don’t get it!” After discussion with the class teacher, I will pluck up the courage and try one of these ideas, an idea which is balanced on the knife edge with good learning atmosphere on one side and chaos on the other, praying the night before that the wind will blow the right way for that lesson. However just like life, the wind blows and the idea falls into chaos. Trying to spend half an hour calming the pupils, attempting to stick to my lesson plan, looking at my watch and realising I have 30 seconds left to do my plenary, my brain freezes, the bell goes, the classroom empties. What have I let myself in for? All the surrounding teachers seem to handle
everything so calm and relaxed to them, while I have to rush off to the classroom down the hall to teach another lesson. The bell goes for the end of the day and I trudge off to my mentor, furious with myself, how come yesterday went so well and today have been a disaster. As the classroom door goes behind me, he just turns and asks how I felt it went. “Horrid, rubbish, disaster” and he smiles. I think to myself, how can he be smiling? My perfect career is going up in tatters here and he is smiling at my disaster day. Half an hour later, I am smiling and heading to the computer, preparing resources for the next lesson determined to make sure the next lesson is getting better. In that brief half an hour, my frustration and anger seemed to vanish, one simple conversation brought everything into context. My mentor knew straight away my problem, my pride had taken a hit, he knew I wasn’t at the stage of my progress I wanted to be, but reminded me that was unrealistic. Teaching was about ups and downs, the most experienced teachers have these days and it is something you have to take as a positive. Look at the downs, what went wrong? Could I have prevented it? What was I going to do next lesson to show I had learnt from it? All these questions brought me back to my final lesson at sixth form; I was just having a casual chat with the teacher. It was further maths, the other pupil hadn’t shown so was one on one teaching, and we had stopped 5 minutes to the end, we had covered the final bit of work and I mentioned how excited I was to be finishing learning. He simply turned to me and said “Jason, you never stop learning” That simple sentence has stuck with me for the past three years and will continue to do so. Just because I am pretty confident I understand all the
Maths I will come across in school, it doesn’t me I won’t be learning in school. Remembering to learn from everything I come across in this placement, to the way a certain teacher teaches loci, to the special mannerisms another teacher has with a pupil, I need to remember to put them in the bank of resources of my mind, whilst still trying to bring my own originality to me teaching style. Three weeks left of my placement, my heart tightens, and I don’t want to leave this place. I’m just settling in, routine is beginning to kick in, from arriving at 7:45 in the morning to see the usual suspects in the computer room, to going down to the PSC for dinner to talk about the previous night’s telly. I even got asked to play football the other night (but after my performance I don’t think I will be asked again). Being supported excellently from my mentor and every staff member I have come in contact with, I realise I dropped on very well with this placement, however life as an ITT isn’t about routine or comfort, and I’ve just got to prepare myself for training placement 2 and the challenges that brings. Whether I end up, I think I will always remember the lessons I taught (both the good and the bad), but more importantly the lessons I have learnt.
A CHANGE IS AS GOOD AS A REST!!
2. LOLLIPOP STICK QUESTIONING………………….
In the hectic life of a teacher it is quite easy to become a little pedestrian in our classroom practice and forget that variety is the spice of life. Have a look at the 3 SIMPLE ideas below which you could implement as a means to giving your lessons a bit of a boost.
1. FOCUS LEARNING THROUGH MUSIC…….
. As students enter the classroom have a calming piece of music playing as a way to introduce a more focussed beginning to the lesson. We do this in languages, with French music as a means to establish a calm and engaged routine at the beginning of a lesson – it doesn’t have to be every lesson but the students know that it is a signal for really focussed work. You could use a piece of music whose theme is linked to your lesson, or use a composer who has associations with your subject. For example, Wagner’s (not the X-factor guy!!?) influence spread beyond music into philosophy, literature, the visual arts, theatre and politics. I often use modern music but classical music is equally as effective.
Avoiding the hogs and logs syndrome when questioning can be quite a challenge – there are always those students who want to answer everything, whilst there are many who just try to shrink into their collars and go unnoticed! Buy some coloured lollipop sticks (check out AMAZON) and on each stick write the names of 2 people who sit next to each other until you have gone through the whole class. Then, when asking a question draw a lollipop stick from the pot and ask the 2 students on the stick to confer in order to give the answer. This not only means that all pupils will have to be engaged as their name could be drawn out of the pot at any time, but it also allows the less confident students to have peer support to help them answer the question, hence building confidence little by little and ensuring that all learners maintain focus.
3.TROIS AVANT MOI…………..THREE BEFORE ME
Our students often lack confidence in their own ability and resourcefulness and their immediate reaction is to seek reassurance from the teacher. We are trying to employ the ‘Trois Avant Moi’ rule, asking students to seek help from three other resources before the teacher, for example the dictionary, wall displays, their peers or the CSA. For the sake of a cross curricular theme, why not practise your French and use ‘Trois Avant Moi’ (twa avon mwa) rather than saying ‘Three before Me’.!! Fiona Hilton