October 2014
Issue 10
Supporting the Educational Community
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Learning Lessons from The Past
To Move Forward In The Future
REVIEW: Don’t Change
The Light Bulbs
Lessons From The Farm Yard & How To Start Your Own
How To Use
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Issue 10: October 2014
Subscribe by email for free at bit.ly/ukedmagsub Subscribe to the print edition at ukedchat.com/magazine 4 Turning the School Yard Into a Farm Yard
Read about the strides Hartshill School has made by maintaining a farm on their school site.
6 So, what have the Greeks ever done for us?
Chris Eyre explores lessons from the ancient world which can teach us about education today.
8 Tweeting with Students
Andy Lewis discusses the benefits and challenges of using social media with students to aid teaching and learning.
10 A Classroom of My Own
Lubjana Matin-Scammell discusses the unique challenges teachers without a regular classroom face and ideas to help.
11 Why Teachers are Flocking to Twitter
An exploration of the many benefits and of the things to be wary about when using Twitter for professional development.
14 Camels, Causation and the French Revolution
Lesley Munro discusses innovative ways to teach tricky concepts in history which impact of students’ essay writing.
15 Becoming a Storyteller
Nancy Walbank shares her inspiration for storytelling and how you can make it a more powerful tool in your classroom.
16 Immersive Learning Experiences
Alexandra Fairlamb shares her research findings into immersive learning and how it can impact your lessons.
18 Networking in the 21st century
Natasha E. Feghali explores how students use digital networking and what lessons they can teach the teachers.
19 Book Shelf Don’t Change the Light Bulbs 20 Organising a TeachMeet
TeachMeet veteran Andy Knill shares his experience of discovering, presenting and organising an event.
24 What the new SEN code of Practice means for you Daniel Sobel writes a superb summary of changes to how SEN measures and assistance is given.
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From the Editor Change is in the air. With the fallout of the Scottish referendum and Party conference season upon us, everyone is talking about change and improvement. Now is a rare time when hope, expectation and great need have culminated into a widespread agreement and desire to change the status quo. Education also seems to be in a state of flux with external factors driving forward change in classrooms across the United Kingdom at an ever increasing rate – some welcomed, but many other less so. But as teachers know, you can’t move forward without an understanding of what has gone before. Knowing the background to something allows you to form a considered opinion about the current situation, enabling you to make intelligent plans and decisions going forward. This issue of UKED Magazine has a historical theme, with articles examining the teaching of history and looking to the past to move forward and improve in the future. We also have an array of articles from front-line educators on a range of topics to improve your classroom practice and keep you informed. Martin Burrett - Editor @ICTmagic @UKEdMag editor@ukedchat.com
Contributors
Hayley Simpkin @pipkinzoo Chris Eyre @chris_eyre Kimberley Constable @hecticteacher Jules Daulby @julesdaulby Andy Lewis @iTeachRE Lubjana Matin-Scammell @ObieMatin Lesley Munro @LesleyMunro4 Nancy Walbank @nan282 Holly Fairbrother @MrsHollyEnglish Claire Cartledge @Claire6782 Alexandra Fairlamb @lamb_heart_tea Natasha E. Feghali @NEFeghali Andy Knill @aknill @globalsolo @gasigict Annie Black @annieblack01 Eileen Kugler @embracediversiT Maryse Dare @AllThingsMaths Daniel Sobel @InclusionExpert The publishers accepts no responsibility for any claims made in any advertisement appearing in this publication. Whilst every effort is made to ensure accuracy, the publishers accept no responsibility for errors, inaccuracies or omissions. Many images have been source under a Commercial Creative Commons License. See http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0 Cover Photo Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pranavian/5124182736 by Pranavian used under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License.
Turning the School Yard Into a Farm Yard By Hayley Simpkin
Four years ago Hartshill School took the first steps towards creating a school farm as we had been offered the opportunity to run the Environmental and Land-based Studies Diploma for North Warwickshire. That qualification is now defunct, but the foundations that it provided are still being developed today. We now offer the OCR GCSE in Environmental and Landbased Science to a total of 65 KS4 students. Our enrichment activities and clubs are always heavily oversubscribed and every child in the school will experience Land Studies lessons in year 9. As well as the farm, we have a wide range of small animals including mammals, reptiles, fish and birds, including a very vocal Amazon parrot! “Never work with children and animals,� is often quoted and equally often proven to be wrong. Since we bought our first pigs and chickens in 2011, we have not had a single serious incident of poor behaviour from either the animals or the students! Last year we expanded to include a pair of sheep, which have since been joined by two more. We are soon to take delivery of a small flock of rare North Ronaldsay sheep, with the aim of breeding our own lambs in future years. But why go to all the effort and expense of keeping farm animals, when a veg patch and a few chickens is more than enough for most purposes? Well, quite apart from the Livestock Husbandry unit in the GCSE course, having animals around allows us to have the difficult conversations with students around the origins of our food, animal welfare, and ethical farming. Our pigs are always raised for meat, which is sold to staff and parents to cover the costs of feeding the pigs during their seven months with us. Students do not find this easy, but by being honest and realistic about this throughout, we usually find students are happy to get involved in sausage making and tasting once the meat has come back from the butchers. Recently, we have been persuaded to get involved in agricultural shows, exhibiting pigs and sheep, and taking part in national Young Handler competitions. Indeed, our two current pigs were given to us by the Junior Pig Club for
04 UKED Magazine
a competition in November. This has given several of our students a chance to try something they never would have had the opportunity to otherwise. Many of our students have aspirations to work in the land-based industries, and a very healthy percentage go on to FE at our local agricultural college. Some of them even come back to school to carry out their work experience. We also welcome our feeder schools for visits, and support community events in the village where possible. We have carried out a lot of cross-curricular work, but there is so much scope that even in three years we have barely The students and animals have won many awards for they farmyard activities.
Students at Hartshill school care for the animals, both in lesson time and during extra-curricular clubs. scratched the surface. The engagement and improvement that can be brought about by working with animals, with even the most challenging of students, cannot be overstated. To anyone thinking of starting a school farm, however small, I would say make sure you have a knowledgeable mentor available to you, as you will worry incessantly to begin with! There is paperwork and legislation that comes with keeping livestock, but it isn’t prohibitive and neither is the health and safety side of things with plenty of research and common sense. The Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens (FCFCG) and School Farms Network are a mine of information and support.
Hayley Simpkin @pipkinzoo is Leader of Land Studies at Hartshill School in Warwickshire. The school is an 11-16 academy with around 1000 students on roll, as well as two pigs, four sheep, 20 chickens and about 50 small animals! Contact simpkin.h@welearn365.com or call 02476 392237.
We always welcome visitors to our school farm and will happily provide advice based on our experiences. Please do get in touch if you would like to know more, or if you would like to visit us.
What’s your car park security like? - Sheep watch over the staff car park in a school which embraces farming.
Image credit: All images by Martin Burrett
UKED Magazine 05
So, what have the Greeks ever done for us? By Chris Eyre
As a wise person once said, ‘those that fail to learn the lessons of history are doomed to repeat it’. Those of us who have been in teaching a while may feel a sense of this as we see various initiatives and ideas that we thought were long gone reappearing. As a Philosophy teacher and someone who is passionate about teacher well-being, here are three short lessons from the Greeks that the modern teacher can learn. Socrates – Your questions will be the death of you or the making of you The philosopher Socrates challenged assumptions, raised issues and asked questions of the accepted wisdom of the day. Hailed as wise by the common people, he was a bit of an inconvenience to the authorities with his maverick ways. Eventually he was arrested on highly dubious charges and was put to death by being forced to drink hemlock. Fast forward to the modern classroom; a range of accepted wisdom shifts alarmingly with the changing mood of the school inspectorate. However before we sip the aforementioned hemlock, it is worth reflecting that we are also in a period of tremendous innovation and creativity. Resource sharing, TeachMeets, and UKEdChat discussion allow for bright ideas to be shared rapidly and widely. Our ability to question and reflect as professionals can equally be the making of us. Diogenes – Get out of my light Diogenes was regarded as one of the greatest thinkers in ancient Greece. He was wise, but a little eccentric. He even spent part of his life living in a barrel. According to legend, this wise man was visited by a King who asked what he could do to help Diogenes. Whilst most people may have asked for riches, food, or even a larger barrel, Diogenes made one very simple request: ‘Get out of my light.’ Most of us do a good job most days bringing light to others, yet there are many things that would get in the way and prevent our light from shining. The current education system creaks under the weight of bureaucracy and we spend an inordinate amount of time demonstrating what we have done to those who want to weigh and measure it. Equally this is a massive challenge to any of us who are in a position of leadership. Our role should be to enable staff to shine and bring light to those they teach. If anything we do hinders that, we need to ask ourselves how we can get out of the light. Sisyphus – The heroism of teaching Poor Sisyphus was punished by the gods and condemned to an eternal fate of pushing a boulder up a hill and when it had rolled back down repeating the process over and over again. In his essay ‘The Myth of Sisyphus’, philosopher Albert Camus compares this to the human condition and admires the heroism of Sisyphus as he grits his teeth, lifts up his head and walks back down the hill to start again. There is something inspirational in that kind of human determination.
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There is much in the cyclical nature of teaching that resembles Sisyphus. Every year we roll the boulder up the hill, every week, every day. There is much to admire in witnessing colleagues heroically face the challenges of their day. The boulder may get bigger and the hill steeper at times, yet still people keep going, often through illness and personal adversity. We all work with extraordinarily committed people. However, there is a note of caution. Unlike Sisyphus we are not chained to an eternal fate; (despite the raising of the retirement age) we can put the boulder down and there is evidence that an increasing number of people are doing this – and not always those colleagues we would wish to lose! No matter how busy we are, it is important we keep an eye out for each other and encourage those who are about to put the boulder down. Small acts of kindness can be far more significant than we realise and may make the difference in ensuring that someone else gets through the day. Of course as another Greek thinker, Heraclitus, says ‘everything changes’ and we have more power to change things than we realise. Let’s continue to champion and encourage those around us. The vast majority of them are doing a fantastic job.
Chris Eyre @chris_eyre is curriculum manager for Religious Studies and Philosophy at Stoke-on-Trent Sixth Form College. He has also worked as an examiner for a leading exam board. He is passionate about teacher well-being and regularly blogs on this and other issues. Read his blog at chriseyreteaching.wordpress.com Image Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/psyberartist/9934195104 by psyberartist used under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License. “Jean-Léon Gérôme - Diogenes - Walters 37131” by Jean-Léon Gérôme Walters Art Museum: Home page Info about artwork. Licensed under Public domain via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/ File:Jean-L%C3%A9on_G%C3%A9r%C3%B4me_-_Diogenes_-_Walters_37131. jpg#mediaviewer/File:Jean-L%C3%A9on_G%C3%A9r%C3%B4me_-_Diogenes_-_Walters_37131.jpg
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In Brief
Bringing Film and TV Into The Classroom
I have always really enjoyed TV and films, but not just any TV or Film, I am really into Sci Fi and Crime based Shows such as Criminal Minds, Haven, Sleepy Hollow and Person of Interest. Film wise anything goes really from the really bad to the big blockbusters. As a teacher I have tried to bring this passion for ‘random’ TV and film into school, both in lessons and as an extracurricular club. The use of film and TV in lesson is a great way to demonstrate some of the more abstract concepts we are teaching. For example, I used an episode of a TV show called Blood Ties in order to show the difference between the Id, the Ego and the Super Ego to Year 13 psychology students who were struggling with it. They are also great as discussion starters - I have used films such as Never Let Me Go and The Island to discuss cloning with my PSHE class and the show CyberBully as a way of showing the impact of online bullying. TV is easier for lessons as programmes are usually only 40 minutes long, but either way the students really engage with this stimulus material. @hecticteacher - Teacher of Various Subjects, Norfolk
Removing Barriers I am really interested in using technology for students who cannot access the curriculum or record their work to a standard commensurate with their verbal ability. I’ve shown students how to use speech-to-text and text-to-speech. A tablet can also be transformative, as can concept mapping software. These Assistive Technologies are liberating for students, although sufficient training is vital. Often software is issued, but it remains unused. I sometimes hear “we’ve tried that, it doesn’t work”, but no-one had the skills to help the student. I want to build capacity in schools so there are members of staff who are confident in using the technology and can therefore encourage the students to stick with it. Once learners see its potential they are far more likely to use it consistently. I would also like to see technology integration become ubiquitous. Currently students who are less confident can feel embarrassed. Thankfully, as laptops and other digital devices become more commonplace, this is less of an issue. Giving appropriate technology to those who need it removes barriers. It can help attainment, make a student happier and may even improve attendance. @julesdaulby - SEN Teacher, Dorset 08 UKED Magazine
I began using Twitter to communicate with students in January 2012. It was initially an experiment to see if there was any value or worth in using social media to promote learning with students. I discussed it with my Head of Department, who mentioned it to our departmental line manager. There were a few brief discussions, but as it became clear I knew what I was talking about and had considered the implications, potential risks and consequences, and I was left to get on with it. Having watched The Social Network and working out I was probably in the first 100,000 Facebook users in 2004, and having used Twitter personally for several years, I was fully aware of the power (and the dangers) of such social networking tools; I had, in many respects, grown up as an adult with this networking. It has changed our lives socially and professionally; how can it be best utilised for our students too? I liked the idea that on Twitter students would ‘follow’ and not be ‘friends’, that everything was transparent and could be checked by any member of my SLT. They could see my interactions, everything was public and could be read by anyone. There was also the great power of the retweet! However, without a set of guidelines or policy, advice or even really having an ‘in school’ sounding board, I needed some kind of personal framework. I spent a lot of time considering how I would utilise Twitter. It is also important that you never forget the risks, and that you are always aware of what you are tweeting and to who. I devised a little reminder to myself and to share with others (it’s RE themed, naturally...); The 10 Commandments of Tweets with Students 1 - Don’t use your personal account for school; don’t use your school account for personal. 2 - Don’t follow students back [News about Justin Bieber is widely available elsewhere!]. 3 - Don’t just endlessly RT [It’s boring and misses your chance to be personal]. 4 - Don’t just RT without checking [you need to read it and make sure it is suitable in content]. 5 - Don’t be available 24/7 [It’s okay to take some time off as a teacher]. 6 - Don’t DM students [The good thing about Twitter is that it is very transparent]. 7 - Don’t use long, boring hashtags - it’s not cool [Do add inconspicuous subject tags though – i.e. #REteacher #REchatUK] 8 - Don’t just post links [Why should I click on it? Who is it of interest to?] 9 - Don’t assume that just because you tweeted it, and students follow you, that they’ll read it. 10 - Don’t be a boring tweeter - sometimes it okay to say something a little fun!
The 10 Commandments of Tweets By Andy Lewis
with Students
I did some research with colleagues via Twitter and got some interesting feedback about what some schools are saying...
I think that this is a great starting point. It has been circulated to staff, students and parents, so everyone is clear on its purpose, use and potential.
One staff handbook said, “On no account should staff involve themselves on social networking sites with children” only via school email. However, the school had a number of Twitter accounts including a whole school one which were clearly not adhering to this policy. This seems typical of the lack of guidance given to many teachers. Other schools insisted on ‘locked’ accounts and vetting each potential follower.
The key problem to overcome is often ‘the fear’ of social networking. Sadly, some staff see it as an evil. I agree, it can get ugly, and many staff have had to deal with social networking causing a variety of problems in the school. It is hard when other staff do not have an interest in social networking. In the worst cases, you will receive a flat no. At the other extreme, you are left with no policy to fall back on for protection.
Another school had put together a policy, which is not overly complex, but covers most areas:
There is lots to consider. It needs constant review. There may be something you haven’t thought of, and issues that may arises. It needs to treated sensibility, in a considered way. A member of staff may make a mistake... just like in the classroom. Will the school then ban Twitter for everyone? There are also new forms of social media and networking which may or may not be appropriate; I had a request for an RE Department SnapChat account just this week.
The Purpose To allow departments to disseminate key information relating to KS4 will ensure pupils have access to important online resources that can be used in preparation for the exams. The Benefits • It allows us to model using social media responsibly • It is a great way to communicate using the technology that many of our pupils use already • It is instant access when new information is released by exam boards, key authors, well known speakers and relevant news agencies • To share resources for revision etc (all information will also be available on paper for those who don’t have access to the internet) Safety considerations • Nothing is private. Teachers will not be following any pupils • Everything written is available for everybody to see • It won’t be accessed in school • We have contacted numerous schools that already use it to discuss safeguarding concerns • All accounts will be monitored by the teacher responsible for the twitter account and by Senior Management Reminders [to staff] • Never follow a pupil, make this clear to pupils • Never retweet a post you haven’t checked first • Bear in mind that not all pupils will have access to the internet • Always remind pupils about safety for example: nothing you write on the internet is ever private. Only write things you wouldn’t mind your parents, teachers or future employers seeing. What you put on the internet will be used to judge what sort of person you are. Never write anything negative or unkind about anyone else.
One of the most important things I have read about social networking and schools was that “Every school has a social media and social network presence - are you going to ignore it or engage in it?”. Your school and your staff will be discussed on Twitter, Facebook and numerous other places. If you have a school Facebook page, comments and questions can be put there and answered accurately. I was told by students that I wasn’t discussed on Twitter because I use it and that I’d probably see it. There is so much potential. SO much. I love using Twitter with students and it has been incredibly useful. I answer questions, help with everyday questions, homework help, last minute exam prep. I link it to my blog at TalkingDonkeyRE. co.uk and it’s amazing how much students pick up, from the news and links I tweet too. Sometimes a 6th form lesson will begin with something they’ve seen on my Twitter. I am not an expert and I’m still learning. I still make mistakes, but this is the same as in the classroom, right? Don’t just set up a Twitter account and start tweeting. Engage your school and follow any policy or guidelines in place. Talk to students about what do they want? Take your time, consider your purpose, and what will your Twitter identity be? Try it, evaluate it, persevere with it, re-evaluate it, keep using it, don’t give up, have a little fun...
Head of Y10 & Assistant Subject Leader in RE at Sacred Heart of Mary Girls’ School, Upminster. See his blog at MrLewisRE.co.uk and find him on Twitter at @iTeachRE and @TalkingDonkeyRE Photo Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/crajeeshelly/5224254288 by Shivali Chopra used under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License. UKED Magazine 09
A Classroom of One’s Own By Lubjana Matin-Scammell
Story of a Nomadic Teacher
I dreamt of inspirational quotes of the day on the classroom door, a gallery of my students’ best work on the wall, a hanging globe to show my young scholars places around the world amidst the various interchangeable desk layouts; a horse shoe so that each student faced me or individual desks during assessment time. Inspiring my students with the feng shui of my classroom. Instead, I soon got the reputation as the teacher with no room or also known as in the profession as a 'floater' or nomadic teacher. If you have lessons in different classrooms across the whole school, speak to your designated health and safety officer. I was always carrying several bags at once and too often this consisted of whole class sets of exercise and text books. I could feel the early signs of strain on my shoulders. It’s a matter which all employers take seriously. The officer gave me the heads up to buy a suitable bag on wheels. Think of Mary Poppins’ bag. Your teaching bag becomes your classroom. I keep all the essential teaching items I need with me, including a few spare exercise books, loose leaf paper, board pens, a board wiper, stapler, etc. Use those exam friendly pencil cases to store scissors and glue so that you can easily see the items. So that your bag doesn't get too heavy, empty your bag between lessons and replenish essential items. Use large canvas bags to store dictionaries and thesauruses. I also keep spare canvas bags with me for collecting exercise books and send a few students to take them to my office. A lot of valuable lesson time can be wasted moving and setting up between classrooms. When students are lining up outside the classroom and waiting for the previous class to vacate make sure they have their exercise books and equipment ready. I try and prepare a small paper activity
ready as a pre-starter which I hand to each student as they walk into the classroom. This gives them something to do whilst I write the date on the board and login to the computer. If you have to manage with several different rooms with one class, ditch the seating plan. I spent the first few years cross referring between my seating plan and the class. With a class of 28 students and in a different teaching room, it is not worth the time and investment. Instead plan around the days when you know students need a seating plan. I select two lessons which are usually in the afternoon when students have a low attention span and they know that is when they must sit in their designated seat. It is less complicated to move individual students when they are being defiant than to waste time checking your plan. Find small spaces to keep things temporarily. The main school reception is where I keep items like a bag of novels which can be easily collected and returned by some students. I bring them down at the start of the day as I might not get the chance to return to the department office. If you can, try and find a place or a classroom where you can have a small cupboard; this is the perfect base to keep items. Paper is the bane of every teacher’s life and can be incredibly frustrating if you don't have a base. You might only teach one subject, but there are various pupils’ books, pastoral and departmental information you may have to lug around with you. In a fast paced environment like a school you need things at your fingertips. Organise your desk area so that it is easy to find documents. Use magazine files and in and out trays so that everything has a home. Sharing the room with another teacher can bring difficulties. Teachers can be possessive over classrooms and attach belief that it is 'their' room. It is important to maintain a professional relationship and good manner with all colleagues. They can empathise with the barrier that you have. It is a good idea to have a quick word with them to keep you informed with any changes with the room. If they decide to change the layout of the classroom for group work, you too can make use of the change in layout without even having to move anything. I look back to when I first started teaching and scrutinised myself for poor classroom management. On reflection I didn’t too badly with what I didn’t have. Lubjana Matin-Scammell is an English teacher in South London. This is her 8th year in teaching and continues to be a nomadic teacher. Find her of Twitter at @ObieMatin
Got Storage problems? Nomadic teachers face all sorts of challenges that ‘settled’ teacher don’t even think about - like where to put things. 10 UKED Magazine
Image Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/seier/1038315564/sizes/o/ by Seier+Seier used under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License. https://www.flickr.com/photos/by_photo/9673328579 by Bill Young used under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License.
Why teachers are flocking to Twitter Rightly or wrongly, social media took a hammering during its early conception into the minds of the mainstream cognisance. Mainly due to ignorance and hyperbolic news reporting, many blamed the start and co-ordination of the London (and UK) riots in 2011, following the police shooting of an unarmed man. People were imprisoned for Facebook, Twitter or Blackberry Messenger (BBM) messages which threatened rioting, looting or any hint of social disorder - and so, the foundations were established in the minds of the population that Social Media sites were evil. That may still be true to various groups of people, who buy into the stories which distract from the overall and potential good that social networking has to offer. One group of individuals, across the globe, that have taken this networking to a new and sustained level are educators who, according to the Twitter Account Executive Brett Baker, account for 4.2 million tweets from half a billion tweets posted each day. Hashtag conversations, such as #UKEdChat, have sustained continued popularity among the education community, with many other country, subject or regional specific chats continually popping up on timelines. However, not all teachers who engage on Twitter participate in hashtag conversations. Indeed, many admit to quietly lurk - watching their Twitter feed come up with educational resources, ideas and conversations, which provoke individuals to change an element of their practice within their own classroom. We are very aware of an engaged, generous and innovative group of educators on Twitter who are desperately keen to share and develop resources and classroom ideas. Whilst many teachers had chance to reflect and relax during the summer, we conceived a research project to explore some of the behaviours of teachers primarily using Twitter as a means of professional development. As many schools across the globe are seeing their funding and training provisions being cut for their staff, it is becoming clear that individual teachers are personalising their own professional development needs, with their Twitter network central to that requirement. Five key questions were asked, with over 450 responses received within a two week period. We were not focused on the demographics of one particular group of teachers, so the responses represent teachers across the globe.
Question - What are the main benefits of using Twitter for Professional Development? Ideas, ideas, ideas! What is clear to see, from the findings, is that the teachers who responded are always wanting to evolve and develop their practice, not wanting to teach the same way year on year. Being stuck within the confines of a classroom and working with the same colleagues each day can be stifling, so gaining perspectives from those outside can be liberating. One secondary school teacher declared that she could keep, "updated with up-to-the minute developments, wider ideas, and an exploration of pedagogy" for her own practice. This networking featured regularly in responses, with many enjoying the global element of their networks (lovingly referred to as "Personal Learning Networks" or "PLNs"). Indeed, a Primary School teacher from England asserted, "It's like having a personalised, very specific and accurate Google search permanently on hand - when there is no budget for going on a course and so all CPD is in house, Twitter provides the crucial missing networking". Question - How does Professional Development gained via Twitter compare to traditional means of training that you have received? The flexibility, lack of cost or time implications, and the high standard of Professional Development gained through Twitter were regular themes with this question. One teacher commented, "My Twitter colleagues seem much more switched on and inspiring than my staffroom colleagues", although the potentially superficial nature of this was also recognised by a few. Beyond this, the accessibility and relevance are valued, "It's more to the point - you don't have to sit through the waffle or parts that are irrelevant to you", claimed a primary school teacher. Another teacher responded, "I went on a training course the other day, and I knew everything that they were telling me, due to following the relevant people on Twitter. I'm up-to-date and ahead of the game". Following relevant people is key, with many people quickly coming and going on Twitter as they don't know who to follow, so therefore give up. As a starting point, you may wish to advocate the list of UK based educators in the September 2014 issue of UKED Magazine (bit.ly/uked14oct01), and get colleagues to build from there. UKED Magazine 11
Responses from educators on why they use Twitter
12 UKED Magazine
Image Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ duchamp/266560083 by Stefan Powell used under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License. Other images by UKEdChat and Martin Burrett
Disadvantages of Twitter for Professional Development Don't get us wrong - everything is not all a bed of roses on Twitter, with plenty of thorns which the survey revealed. One teacher in the USA was concerned about the quantity of information which Twitter can throw out, "There can be too much information (even with hashtags). I feel like I'm always missing something good". Other declarations of feeling intimidated or overwhelmed were shared, as well as fear of public comments, which can be taken out of context by paranoid school leaders. This was an issue to a few people who declared that this means of professional development was not acknowledged by their school leaders, who dismiss this learning as nonauthentic. "Establishing a PLN is vital," a USA elementary teacher told us, "Teachers need to know which hashtags are best for them to follow". There are tweeters who are prominent self-promoters, and this annoys as their comments can go unchecked and loaded with prejudices or stand-points which rally for an argument. Even though it is 2014, a few declared their frustrations with school network firewalls, which deny access to Twitter whilst on site (although with greater 3G or 4G availability on internet enabled mobile devices, one does have to question the relevance of such firewalls). Surveillance Fed by paranoia, or due to issues of power and control, we asked teachers if they were aware that their interactions of Twitter are monitored by leaders at their school, or by administrators. Those who declared that their comments are being monitored by 'leaders' commented, "Things can easily be misinterpreted online". Being aware of this Big Brother behaviour can stop some people truly engaging in conversations. One teacher told us, “I have a personal account with no reference to school and don't follow school. However, retweeted a comical clip from an account with a rude word and the Head teacher came to speak to me about it. I agree that handle [Twitter username] isn't great but clip was of footballer slipping. Fair? Right?” Worryingly, another respondent revealed, “I have been told (in a cryptic way) by SLT that they monitor all my social media accounts”! Is there a claim here of online stalking? Debates in this regard need to be openly developed at all levels.
few of the list received. One teacher told us, “Whole class guided reading - stemmed from a brief chat online and has completely revolutionised my practice (and impacted hugely on the pupils' end of year levels).” All these idea and strategies all inspired from teachers on Twitter. And this is where the conflict lies. Used sensibly and responsibly, Twitter can be a valuable source of inspiration supporting teachers to develop and improve their own classroom practice. But the surveillance and negative view points of online social networking remain a concern. Some leadership teams are completely trusting and respect the private lives of their staff, whereas others are living in a strange world where they feel so concerned about the behaviour of their staff – perhaps this says more about the management than the staff. If you are concerned about the leadership team cynically watching over your online activity, there are steps you can take to minimise any come-back: 1. Do not reveal your true name/school within your Twitter profile or tweets. 2. Protect your account, only allowing for those you give permission to access to your tweets. 3. If you do reveal your identity, have a conversation with your leadership team encouraging them to contribute in conversations. 4. Maintain your integrity, professionalism and respect (Refraining from mixing tweets with alcohol!). 5. Common sense is fundamental, but this cuts both ways. Just be aware if your school leadership team lacks any common sense. There are many positive aspects for teachers to use Twitter as a means of professional development and these can outweigh the negatives pointed out in this survey. The survey continues, with advanced analysis of responses and discussions continuing. If you would like to contribute to this study, please contact admin@ ukedchat.com, with full publication of the findings due to be released in 2015.
Specific examples of how Twitter has helped develop classroom practice Collaboration and connecting with classes in other countries which were once inaccessible were some of the specific examples shared, but ideas, strategies and inspiration from other teachers have been implemented in classrooms across the land. Examples include: Developing practice in fixed and growth mindsets; quadblogging; wider range of independent tasks, exit tickets and peer/self-assessment; displays; behaviour management techniques; SOLO taxonomy ideas, all just a UKED Magazine 13
Camels, Causation and the French Revolution
Using Arthur Chapman’s camel, Alphonse, to teach A Level students By Lesley Munro
If you don’t know the story of Alphonse the camel, whose chronic back problems and other factors meant he couldn’t take the strain of an additional piece of straw to his load, you can find the full version on your search engine of choice. I have been using Arthur Chapman’s model for teaching causation to year 13 and this has really improved their historical thinking. Students have been introduced to Alphonse lower down the school and are reintroduced to him at AS as they study the causes of the Russian revolution. However, it is still useful to revisit him at A2. Before they are given their first essay title students are read a story about poor Alphonse the camel, who has a wicked owner called Frank. Frank mistreats Alphonse (who is already suffering from a bad back due to an accident at birth). Finally, Alphonse dies when Frank places a straw on his already overburdened back. The students have to find all of the causes contributing to Alphonse’s death. They then categorise these into long, medium, short-term and trigger causes. Finally, they have to decide which cause may have been the most important by applying counterfactual thinking. They remove each cause and assess how much difference this would have made to the outcome. By this point, much hilarity and argument has ensued as students debate whether Frank is the bigger cause or Alphonse who is a bit of a show off and could have contributed to his own demise. As they know the story quite well by A2, having heard it several times before, they sometimes like to embellish the story with additional causes of their own! However, they are now able to discuss long, medium and short-term causes and argue counterfactuals with confidence. We then apply this to the long, medium and short-term causes of the French Revolution. Students have already studied these in previous lessons. They are given a table of causes and they must complete the consequences in relation to the question on how far they agree with the view that it was Louis XVI’s failings as a monarch that primarily accounted for the strength of the challenge to absolutism in France. Once their table was complete they transferred their causes to a diamond nine grid, cut them out and sorted them into order of importance. They were able to debate the importance of each cause with one another by applying counterfactual thinking and removing causes to see the impact this would have on the challenge that had arisen to absolutism in 1789. Students are then ready to start planning their essay. They are encouraged to link causes and to begin to think about creating a coherent structure.
14 UKED Magazine
They are reminded that to meet AO1a they need to “communicate knowledge and understanding of history in a clear and effective manner”. They work hard at this point to create appropriate links between sections of their essays. Finally, they are sent off to write their essays for homework. These cannot be submitted for teacher marking until they have used the generic mark scheme and marked them themselves. Once they have been marked by me, the students get their essays back minus the grade and must act on the feedback given before resubmitting. Students don’t encounter Alphonse again during Year 13, but the methodology of analysing causes continues with scaffolding before eventually students are given timed essays weekly. Becoming familiar with the mark scheme by marking their own essays before submission and then having time to act on feedback helps them to gain confidence in their historical skills. Using Alphonse to model analysis of causation really helps students get to grips with this concept. It needs to be revisited periodically throughout their time in school to really help them progress so that by the end of Year 13 the can achieve AO1b “demonstrate understanding of the past through explanation, analysis and arrive at a substantiated judgement”. Further reading: Chapman A (2003) Camels, diamonds and counterfactuals; a model for teaching causal reasoning Teaching History 112 Lesley Munro is Head of History at Homewood School & Sixth Form Centre in Tenterden, Kent. Find her on Twitter at @LesleyMunro4 Image Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/samiksha/429302387 [Edited] by Samiksha used under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License.
Becoming a Storyteller By Nancy Walbank
Sitting in Mrs. Edmonson’s class, at the age of eight, I was on tenterhooks, was Bilbo Baggins actually going to trick Gollum and escape from under the mountain? She stopped reading, wanting us to guess each riddle before she would continue, maintaining the suspense. I loved listening to stories and Mrs. E. was a brilliant storyteller. She had the ability to hold the class in the palm of her hand whilst reading and, though I did not realise this at the time, used the treat of story time as a behaviour management tool. To be excluded to the corridor during story time brought the most hardened miscreant to tears. Fourteen years later, I was rapidly turning into the ‘Wicked Witch of the West’ as I struggled to manage the behaviour of a really tricky class of mixed Year 3 and 4s. Boys were in the majority, they were noisy and had the attention span of gnats. Rewards stickers, praise, shrieking had little or no effect, then I remembered Mrs. E. After lunch, the class bubbled in and I sat them on the carpet. I said I was going to read them a book that had been my favourite when I was their age. I gave two simple ground rules, listen and put your hand up when you need to speak. The book I read had limited literary merit, but as a quick paced cliffhanger, it worked a treat! It was “Five on Treasure Island” by Enid Blyton. I was able to use this as a major motivator, “When you finish your work on time, we can fit in a chapter.”
In Brief
Reading aloud became a regular part of each day, and we all enjoyed listening to stories, discussing them and
Reading Rocks
actually getting to know each other. Though we started with Enid Blyton, by the end of the year we had read “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” and “The Hobbit”, many of the students reading the book at home with parents, who began reporting their children were asking to read. The class became enthused about books and about writing. We started a lunchtime newspaper club, interviewing local ‘celebrities’, writing columns based on their own interests. Reading was cool. Reading aloud is important. It models the skill you want students to emulate and, when you enjoy what you are reading, it shows that reading is pleasurable. A story read aloud can be pitched at comprehension ability, not reading ability and facilitates high quality discussion about stories and poems that the new curriculum requires. It enables students to imagine worlds and times beyond their experience, whether a Victorian girl’s school in Jane Eyre or what it would be like to grow up in a graveyard (The Graveyard Book: Neil Gaiman). It helps students to understand grammar and how to embed metaphors or rhetorical devices in their own writing because they want to imitate what they have heard. Most importantly, it gives reading a purpose beyond decoding or answering questions - it makes reading a pleasure. Dr. Nancy Walbank is an educational consultant. She has worked across primary, secondary and tertiary education. She has held leadership roles in the primary sector. Her PhD focused on inclusion in faith schools. She is the author of "Six Top Tips for a Trainee Teachers." Follow her on Twitter @nan282. Image Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/playingwithpsp/3031647963 by playingwithpsp used under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License.
I recently read a post on Donalyn Miller's The Book Whisperer blog (bookwhisperer.com) entitled, 'What the Kardashians taught me about reading'. In it, the author suggests that we should learn from this family's technique of marketing themselves and, as educators, "brand ourselves as readers just as carefully so our students have that vision to aspire to". As a passionate reader and teacher of English, this rang true. I read to share and to create a personal minilibrary in my classroom comprised of books that my learners may borrow during our silent reading time - which we start every lesson with. They also keep a reading journal and talk and write about their reading regularly. My goal this year is to read 100 books and I decided to set my readers a challenge to read and review at least one book per month. Many will exceed this, but I know many jump around and never actually complete a book. After each of the books my learners read, they are required to blog or vlog a review. For each, I will generate a QR code, which will be stuck into the book for the community to scan and enjoy. Peer reviews are so much more meaningful to teenagers, and I hope that sharing and reading them will help encourage a culture of reading that extends beyond my classroom walls. @MrsHollyEnglish - Project Manager, Global Youth Debates, Qatar
Practical Production Promotes Participation! I like to learn by doing. Not just reading or watching, but actually getting stuck in. So why would 25 Year 10s feel any differently? I had tried and failed to teach the theory of large business production methods to a bored Year 10 class, I marked 25 E and F grade practice exam answers and became a bit desperate as mocks loomed. So, I took to Twitter for ideas and, of course, found something I could mould for the very next lesson. I made each table a factory and gave them a client brief. I provided each factory with a pack of icing pens and 12 chocolate biscuits. They decorated in job, flow and batch production methods. They even stock controlled and quality assured without even realising it. Amazing! The next set of practice questions were mostly C or much better. The staffroom was a happy place too, someone had to eat all those chocolate biscuits... @Claire6782 - Middle Leader and Business Teacher, Sheffield UKED UKEDMagazine Magazine15 15
Immersive Learning Experiences
The key to unlocking History for all? BY Alexandra Fairlamb
The study of History as a subject in school has encountered a renaissance in recent years with ministers redefining the place of this hitherto diminishing subject. Often criticised as a subject for its exclusive nature and inability to equip students with the skills and concepts to survive in the modern workplace in comparison to vocational subjects, the government have been keen to combat findings that the ‘average 13-year-old learns history for just one hour a week’ (bit.ly/uked14oct02). The All-Party Parliamentary Group on History and Archives attributes this decline in the study of History to “many schools regarding history as too tough for their weaker students and [so they] allow them to drop it after two years”. If we are to accept that History is too hard for many to engage with at Key Stage Three and Four, this could present schools with a challenge given the recent curriculum proposals in England set to be adopted 2014-2015 onwards. Is the past too much of a foreign place for some? Given this greater emphasis on its importance, how might schools be able to contend with supporting their learners in engaging with this academically rigorous subject? A simplistic solution would be to increase the amount of hours this subject is studied. However, studies (Rosenzweig, R. (2000)) offer hints of an alternative, innovative solution to this. They found that learners felt disconnected to the past when they encountered it in books and in the classroom compared to a high connection in museums. Perhaps the answer to this potential problem lies outside the traditional classroom setting, in spaces such as museums, allowing for different practices deep rooted in often neglected realms of pedagogy. Research already indicates that museum visits can enhance student attainment by 60% in comparative assessments including lower attaining students improving by a noticeable 71% (bit.ly/uked14oct03). A question I was keen to find out was, especially with lower attaining students, what more could we do if we considered the impact of immersive or experiential learning within these amazing spaces. I focused on researching the impact of experiential learning and immersive learning experiences in differing contexts in order to support student progression in schools. I had taken a year’s break from teaching History to work at a living history museum in the Education Team and I wanted to work with a school in an area of high deprivation to
16 UKED Magazine
explore the impact of immersive learning and to tie this in with the First World War in order to encourage interest in the commemoration programme. David Kolb suggests that students must ‘involving themselves fully in new experiences (concrete experience), reflect on their experiences (reflective observation), create concepts to integrate into theories (abstract conceptualisation) and use these theories to make decisions (active experimentation)’. Active learning engages students, and teachers should create situations where there are authentic tasks of the historian where students are required to work with documents or artefacts to gain further understanding. The notion of immersion as a pedagogic tool when blended with the role of an ‘expert’ in a decision making role could heighten learning by students actively taking on a firstperson position in a different context. Museums such as Gressenhall Farm and Workhouse have already experienced positive outcomes of such innovative practice through first person pauper experiences, whereby students observe staff in role and can ask general questions about their life and daily actions. I wanted to take this further; what if the students were also in role as fully immersed characters? How might this impact upon their engagement and learning? The benefits of immersion can be seen when observing existing living museum activities, which range from costumed first person full immersive role play as part of a Suffragette rally (KS3/KS4); partial immersive role play such as Mrs Scroggins Pit Cottage sessions (KS2) where students are charged with the task of carrying out Victorian pit cottage chores to emphasise on miner’s lives, although aware that they are modern school children; to an ‘expert’ role workshop where the students remain modern student, but are charged with the task of resolving an historical problem. At that point, I noticed there was an opportunity to blend similar experiences, but instead connect this to a story of the Great War. After researching local stories, the design of the outreach and workshops began. At the non-living museum, the curatorial expert role was developed in order to enhance the core strengths of their existing exhibits. Four local soldiers’ stories (all of whom lived near to the students and within four streets of each other) were researched and relating ephemera, photographs, maps and objects were sourced. The experiential/immersive learning would commence with army drills. This would allow students to empathise with Western Front soldiers before being immersed into their expert curatorial roles. This workshop saw the pre-existing museum offer of an object handling session transform into a more immersive experience with students acting as a curator in residence, charged with piecing together the lives of the soldier from their area. Students could utilise ephemera and objects, with help from the staff, about what certain objects might mean or tell them before recreating maps of journey’s made and feeding back to the others about the fate of their fallen man. Image Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/gadl/284995199 [Edited] by Alexandre DuretLutz used under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License. All other images were provided by Alex Fairlamb.
The living museum used their living history experience to immerse the students into the roles of the Home Guard or V.A.D. They were asked to identify why a fifteen year old, Ferguson, who was from their local area, had enlisted as a solder. After a drill immersion and exploration of clues, students collaboratively devised questions to ask villagers, including during a scorning by a white feather girl. A debate as to their final decision would allow for in-depth conversation and a conclusion as to would they have made the same decision as Ferguson. Students, set in the time and the role of 1914 families, then baked plum puddings and cross stitched postcards with villagers to send to the soldiers on the front line. It was hoped that the tangibility of cross stitching and plum pudding making would help students to connect with life in 1914. All of these workshops and immersion would proceed outreach to support David Kolb’s notion that learning is experiential and ‘formed and reformed tested out in the experiences of the learner’.
• Debates, plays and role play. Discover a story or students research a story. Create the arguments, the script, the props and the costumes. Re-enact and teach others. Learn the stories by being the stories. I hold Suffragette debates and have a costume box. • Research as experts. Be the curator and handle the objects in the classroom, asking questions and selecting what should be displayed in your classroom museum. Be the ‘Who do you think you are?’ researcher and trawl the internet for clues in IT. Be the archaeologist and piece together the pieces of pot from the sand. • Cross-curricular. Become the families on the Home Front creating a Princess Mary tin for their loved ones by baking goods or stitching postcards in DT. Become soldiers on the Western Front by carrying out army drills in PE or walking distances with heavy items. Be Elizabeth I’s royal portrait artist with feather quills and paints. • Outreach - Museums readily carry out workshops in schools, bringing objects and props with them. Universities also help organise archaeological digs in schools with students in role as real life ‘Tony Robinsons’. • Link up with your local museum. I am currently co-creating a Workhouse workshop with a living museum whereby the students experience life as a pauper. At the museum they complete the chores in costume and eat gruel! At school, we use costume to carry out pre and post visit activities and dramas based on the experiences and write about them.
What was the impact? The outcome of the immersive workshops showed that students had developed their historical understanding in tandem with their literacy and academic progression. • They had learned more. As part of the activities the students wrote in role as either a soldier on the front line or families waiting at home to their local newspaper. The newspapers showed improvement in academic achievement supported by teacher feedback that the experiences ‘deepened their knowledge with a remarkable average sublevel improvement per student’ with 99% of pupils stating it helped them to make progress. One comment stated ‘it helped me by a mile in my assessment’. • The learning was long term; it had ‘stuck’ with them. Questionnaires completed four months later indicated that 87% of students could recall why Ferguson had enlisted alongside 96% being able to explain the significance of the plum puddings and cross stitch, ‘to stop themselves feeling helpless’. This supported student feedback which suggested the students felt that they had ‘found out lots of new information and facts I didn’t know’ • Behaviour and learning was heightened when studying the topic. The teacher noted that ‘student feedback was very Immersive learning is powerful. It allows us to feel, to see positive throughout... engagement in lessons was enhanced at the time of the project’ and ‘their engagement was clear and to touch stories beyond our own and within differing contexts. It is liberating; we are free to imagine, to suppose to see, they responded to the hands on work.’ • They had enjoyed learning this way. Evaluation forms and to question whilst safe in the mind-set that this is not showed students had enjoyed this experience; Students us asking the questions or sewing socks for our soldier son, stated that it was “challenging, but good”, while another but instead the person we are enacting or imagining at that said it was “good as it made you work how people in the war time. We can think without restriction and therefore explore would have, showed I could do well on my own, I learned more, deepening our learning of and our connections with loads. I really enjoyed every minute of it, a once in a lifetime the topic. opportunity, we learned outside the classroom and it was Alex Fairlamb has been teaching history for five years (three better” and that it was “interesting, but educational at the same time” with 95% of respondents being able to recall years at a state secondary in the North East, then a year facts about the soldier they had studied four months earlier. out to work at a living history museum in the education team working on a WW1 Local history project and a project What can be learned and what next? commemorating the centenary of Emily Davison’s death After returning to teaching, I began to consider how with the community of Morpeth/Longhorsley. She then immersive learning can be constructed into a school’s returned to secondary teaching). curriculum. Museum visits are obviously linked to this mode of learning, but financial limitations and timetable She is on the teaching and learning team at school as a constraints limit this. If immersive learning can create teaching and learning mentor. She is currently working on powerful experiences, how might we be able to exploit and further research projects and would welcome opportunities to work with other peers nationally. Find her on Twitter at utilise this in the classrooms? @lamb_heart_tea.
Who did you TWEET?
Well…it’s networking in the 21st century By: Natasha E. Feghali
One skill that teachers can learn from their students is the art of networking in the 21st century. Since the creation of social media, you can send a Tweet to anyone and anywhere. No matter the person’s title or professional position, you can have access to their resources and them to yours. This sharing of information seems to have led to a dissemination of what may have once been known as the organisational hierarchy. The structure of information sharing is changing significantly within organisations both in the public and private sector. Some of our students, also known as generation Y or the millennial babies, have learned the freedom to reach out and network beyond their organisational familiarity. Moreover, networking is a great way to collaborate, learn and mentor with others. In the past, this would have never been possible. Today our environment no longer enables the acquisition of knowledge. “It is important to engage with all levels of the organization,” said John Howitt, Superintendent of education and information technology with the Greater Essex County District School Board in Windsor, Canada. “There is a significant change in the structure of information. The chain of command and information sharing is flattening to a linear model as opposed to a traditional model.” This form of networking can be coined as LINEAR. In other words, there is a network however no real hierarchy is observed in that network and people of all backgrounds are sharing their knowledge amongst each other. Students can Instagram their teacher, who can send a Tweet to a parent, who can email the senior leadership - and the web grows from there. No one has asked to contact. They just can. Social media brings the freedom to do so. The usual rules of protocol are not observed. Generation Y has been setting a precedence as a generation that wants to network linearly as collaborators of a community that transfer knowledge from one to another. The idea that they need permission to contact a superior before contacting another and another… is quickly becoming obsolete, because they can reach out to anyone through social media. Therefore, why bother asking! It can be said that Generation Y were raised with the notion that
they have access to everyone, from teachers after school hours, to celebrities, to the CEO of companies. “In a traditional model of networking you would go through your immediate supervisor to obtain information,” said Howitt. “However, we are seeing many examples of skipping those traditional steps in the chain of command and creating a linear network of information sharing.” In their article, Contradictory or compatible? Reconsidering the “trade-off” between brokerage and closure on knowledge sharing (bit.ly/uked14oct04), Bill Mc Evily and Ray Reagans, both professors of Management, write that knowledge sharing is a fundamental source of competitive advantage. They continue to explain that social networks are thought to play an important role in knowledge sharing, but are presumed to create a trade-off, such that a network can be optimised to promote either knowledge seeking or a knowledge transfer. Generation Y is setting a precedence that could change the way we reach out to superiors in a position of power and the transfer of knowledge that a person - whether student, employee or superior bring to any organisation. Perhaps society at large will become aware that they no longer need to reach through multiple layers to attain information - they can go directly to the source. These new circumstances may forever alter the way future generations view hierarchy and how they acquire information - taking control of the way they communicate, their success, and knowledge acquisition. Simply networking linearly - sans protocol. There was a time when all of these advantages did not exist. Now students can teach something to the teacher. Natasha E. Feghali @NEFeghali is an artistic French/English Second Language Specialist teacher, DELF/DALF formatrice and AIM educator in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Feghali has been teaching for 7 years at the primary and junior level. Feghali has been creating alternative ways of learning a second language by the use of art, culture and more. She is also an award winning free-lance journalist for the last 12 years with experience in arts, lifestyle and fashion journalism and most recently educational pedagogy.
Image Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/86530412@N02/7975205041 by StockMonkeys.com used under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License. Other images provided by Natasha E. Feghali
Have you got a story for UKED Magazine? Write about what works in your classroom and about the fun and innovative things you do at your school 18 UKED Magazine
Contact UKED Magazine at
editor@ukedchat for further details.
Book Shelf
Don’t Change The Light Bulbs
Teaching, at its simplest, is about passing on knowledge and honing skills in a way that excites students and contributes to their present and future successes. Yet there are a myriad of different approaches to teaching. No two teachers approach educating in exactly the same way. The new book Don’t Change The Light Bulbs emphasises this point perfectly. This wonderful book is a collection of inspiring tips and ideas written by seventy-one members of the online community of educators (and others). You may recognise many of the authors’ names if you an avid user of Twitter. Twitter, the birthplace of many great educational ideas, inspired this teaching anthology. UKED Magazine contributor and the book’s curator, Rachel Jones’ ‘light bulb moment’ came when she decided to collect and collate the best ideas from digital educators in one convenient place. The result is this amazing snapshot of creativity and innovation from educators across the country. The book contributors range from teachers of foundation stage to university lecturers. There are chapters from frontline classroom teachers, school leaders and educational consultants. There really is something for every teacher. This book will make you think in new ways and could help improve your teaching.
Daniel Harvey @DanielHavery9 speaks passionately at the book launch about his experience of teaching science.
Order your copy on Amazon at
bit.ly/ukedbulbs
There are far too many great chapters, but here are just a handful: A delightful and helpful chapter for me came from Pete Jones @pekabelo on celebrating the art skills of students and ideas on how to help pupils stretch themselves to be to be what they can be. Martin Illingworth @MartinIllingwor shares his ideas for developing pre-teaching thinking and raises many thought provoking points. If you are planning an educational event, David Fawcett @davidfawcett27 and Jenn Ludgate @missjlud offer a wonderful summary of ideas and tips to make sure it goes with a bang. Chris Waugh @Edutronic_net writes a superb beginners guide to using research in your school to improve the teaching and learning of your students.
UKED Magazine Editor, Martin Burrett, showing off his book chapter atthe book launch, which was appropriately set in a children’s library. UKED Magazine 19
a g n i s i n a g r O
Dear Reader, Have you: a) Heard of teachmeets? b) Attended a teachmeet? c) Presented at a teachmeet? d) Considered doing it for yourself? In February 2012 I attended my second Teachmeet and made my first presentation. It was my second meet after a gap of 2 or 3 years. I was definitely not considering option D at that point. There followed a flurry of events and in the summer I was privileged to be contacted by Tom Sherrington (@headguruteacher) along with Martin Burrett (@ICTmagic), which led to organising TMEssex in November 2012. My role was mainly one of contacting possible speakers. In 10 days we had a full complement and the task had been very enjoyable. We repeated the experience in March 2013 when much less work was needed, as we had a number of interested speakers. Each time the format of the event was considered and whether it should be varied to maintain audience interest.
The third instalment of TMHavering goes ahead on Wednesday 19th November. I have brought a new vehicle for staff professional development to my new school, and I thank them for their investment in the idea. The latest venue offers a different possibility, so I am developing a new strategy for our Teachmeets.
Andy Lewis (@iTeachRE) and I had discussed taking the idea to organise TMHavering and we met up in autumn 2013 to explore the possibilities. I have been very fortunate that Andy was able to hold everything together, as at that time circumstances meant that I had personal issues to deal with in the run up to our first two events in February and July 2014. However, he is now developing a London REHub and it is my turn to stand up and be counted.
b) if you have attended one previously, support more events or other education conferences like TLT, Pedagoo events, Northern Rocks.
There will be no volunteering to speak, presentations will not be made in front of the whole audience at one time. Instead, the event will offer a choice of 4 themes and a variety of 20 minute workshop presentations. I also hope to include a live diary room to collect attendees’ views. Anyone can set up a TeachMeet or any other CPD event for that matter. It is hard work, but if you develop a good PLN (personal learning network) through networks like Twitter, then it is easier to invite and promote events to others. I ask that you, the reader, consider that if... a) you had not heard of Teachmeets previously that you try to attend at least one in the 2014/15 academic year.
c) keep on developing techniques, skills, pedagogies in your lessons – please share them at an event – you will be amongst like-minded professionals if they attend such events in their own time. d) go on, consider it… find someone to work with you on it ….organise event – it may be a small internal for your school, it could be a local area based, or really go for it and invite people from far and wide. As this magazine is now available in printed form, let’s take the news of such events outside the Twitter arena, so to improve everyone’s practice, and ultimately, help teachers improve the learning of our young people. Andy Knill is Head of Geography at The Albany School, Hornchurch, Havering. Find him online at mishmashlearning.wordpress.com and globalsolo. wordpress.com and on Twitter at @aknill, @globalsolo and, of course @TMHavering. Image Credit: Background image by Martin Burrett Other images provided by Andy Knill
20 UKED Magazine
The best websites from ictmagic.wikispaces.com
http://hyperlapse.instagram.com
A superb time lapse video creator app from Instagram. It uses your device’s positioning system to produce a stunningly smooth image and you can change the speed of your videos in post-production.
http://www.eraseallkittens.com This is a superb, funny coding game for kids. The game requires players to learn coding skills to complete the levels to rescue internet kittens (which, as we all know, make up 97% of the web).
http://me.brickapic.com
Lego seems to never wane in popularity and my class love it. This site allows you to convert a photo into a blockish lego image - great for profile pictures and class displays.
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Book Review: Opening Doors to Famous Poetry and Prose bit.ly/uked14oct08
TeachTweet 8 bit.ly/uked14oct09
News: Experts Voice Reading Crises among UK’s Under 11s bit.ly/uked14oct10 UKED Magazine 21
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22 UKED Magazine
UKED Magazine 23
In Brief
No-notice...? No Worry
We all know the panic of an impending Ofsted visit. Even those among us who are uber-prepared and ultra-calm can’t help but feel the pressure placed upon them to perform. And we want to. We want to feel proud, like our hard work is acknowledged. We want our schools to get the positive accolade they deserve. This week we were visited by Ofsted. It was one of the new no-notice trials. Within half an hour of being told that Ofsted were in the car park, I had an inspector in my lesson. My Year Tens were impeccable. The lesson went smoothly. There was no time for me to over-plan in panic, to hastily re-mark work, or for the kids to pick up on any anxiety. It was smooth. It was natural. It was an honest snapshot of my teaching. I was pleased. I hope the no-notice inspections become the norm. @annieblack01 - English Teacher , Leeds
Supporting diverse students - it’s not just about them Mr. Warren was trying to help the new student adjust, yet Aliyah would not even show him basic respect. The teacher stared at her, stating firmly, “You look at me while I’m talking to you!” What Mr. Warren didn’t realise is that Aliyah was being respectful. While he had been taught to look people in the eye during a conversation, Aliyah had been taught to be deferential to an authority figure by looking down. This wasn’t about who was right or wrong at that moment, this was about the assumption of what is right by each person. Respect is not only important to the teacher, it is a vital part of a student’s self-concept -- and the success that flows from feeling valued. Teachers need to take the time to think deeply about their own background and experiences and how these impact their interactions with students, especially those of races, ethnicities and backgrounds different from their own. With the intense attention to curriculum and testing, educators rarely focus on this critical introspection. Yet this self-awareness is at the heart of building authentic relationships with students and their families, an essential factor in student success. @embracediversiT - Global speaker, trainer, consultant, Washington, DC
Interests: What Works for Me I love flying, hiking, diving and sport. So we plan out routes using maps and compasses and I’m currently using the functional skills tests from the RAF for assessment for engagement. I equate my running (it’s a struggle) with their maths (it’s a struggle) and link our physical training with our learning. We use the marathon to time how long we have to keep pushing (we’ve run 20 miles – only 6 miles to go). Engagement, real life and hopefully inspiring. @AllThingsMaths - Lead Practitioner , Surrey 24 UKED Magazine
By now you should have heard about the new SEN code of Practice being introduced in England. There may have been an Inset about it on the first week back and your school should already be implementing its first stages. It represents the biggest shakeup in inclusive education since the 1970s. In 2009 the Lamb inquiry found that students with special needs do better when parents and schools work together, and when there is transparency in the allocation of resources and provision. This inquiry served as the building blocks of the new Children and families bill which ascended in May, and from September 1st is a body of law that has to be implemented. But what does it mean for schools exactly? Here are the essentials: Local Offer All Local Authority websites must have clear information about the types of SEN provision offered by each of its schools, for example, what specialist provisions you buy in or SEN classes you run. This enables parents to make a fair and equal choice about where to send their child. SEN Information Report Every school website needs to highlight its arrangements for SEN. Some schools are using this as a tick box exercise, but the spirit of it is really opportunity for you to be proud of everything your school does. Differentiation in Classrooms The key aspect for classroom teachers is that all SEN students must be provided for in the mainstream classroom through the use of effective differentiation. This approach is in line with the new Ofsted framework which states that all groups of students must make rapid and sustained progress within the classroom. The onus of responsibility is on the teacher to engage the learner by adapting their approaches and strategies wherever necessary, without falling back on the SENCO to deal with any issues that arise. The EHC plan The most revolutionary feature of this new Code of Practice is the Educational Health and Care plan, which will replace the traditional statements. Instead of focusing on elements solely related to a student’s educational path, the EHC takes into account medical planning or home life issues so to makes them an integral part of the planning for the student’s particular needs.
The new SEN code of Practice: What it means By Daniel Sobel
Change to School Action and School Action Plus Out go School Action and SA+ which were based on increasing levels of need and concern, and in comes the new system which will target and provide for a student’s specific needs. Levels of interventions will be referred to by the commonly used phrases Wave 1 and 2 and an additional level called ‘SEN support’ will precede the EHCP level. From IEP to IPM Individual Education Plans are likely to be replaced with Individual Provision Maps which will display the interventions and general provision accessed by the learner. To help decide on the most appropriate ways to support the learner, IPMs should be reviewed throughout the year with regular input from the learner and their family. There will also be a concise one page version which provides a snapshot of how your school has adopted the graduated approach to SEN support for this individual student. They should also clearly show the interventions in place for learners and benchmark them to help evidence progress and impact. The Role of the SENCO The SENCO is the main point of contact with parents and the key to ensuring that there is effective communication between the various services that are simultaneously caring for the child. The Code of Practice does allow for a sensible transition period between the outgoing and new approaches, so you might want to speak with your SENCO every so often to find out where they are up to with the schedule of change. Some Further Practical Advice Whilst researching ‘Inclusion Expert’s CoP guide for schools’, I found that many teachers still do not feel adequately trained in applying differentiation to a classroom setting. There is a temptation to muddle through without ever really cracking the problem. Now would be a good time to speak to your Head of Department or SENCO to see if they can assist you in improving this vital area of practice. Daniel Sobel established Inclusion Expert (inclusionexpert.com) and with his team they have supported over 200 schools through both personal consultancy as well as training courses which are available online such as the Pupil Premium Handbook (pupilpremiumhandbook. inclusionexpert.com) and the SEN CoP Pack (sen.inclusionexpert. com). He is a nationally respected consultant in the field of inclusion. Find Daniel on Twitter at @InclusionExpert. Image Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/scott-s_photos/7904846012 by Scott Cresswell used under Commercial Creative Commons 2.0 License.
Be prepared - Ensure that your school has the right impact and your efforts ripple out
UKED Magazine 25
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Adverbs are a really useful addition to your writing. They offer extra detail to verbs or adjectives helping create a picture in your mind when reading the sentence. Most adverbs end with ‘–ly’.
Activity: Look at the list of adverbs provided, and think up some of your own. Add an adverb into the sentences provided to see how it improves it. Consider how the adverb helps you draw a picture in your mind.
badly
beautifully
slowly
softly
rudely
awkwardly
eventually
lazily
smartly
sweetly
loudly
cheerfully
wearily
calmly
accidentally
seriously
cautiously
gently
fortunately
happily
angrily
truthfully
hourly
harshly
bravely
foolishly
gently
mysteriously brightly
carefully
courageously
deliberately
elegantly
frantically
innocently
neatly
painfully
powerfully
politely
quickly
quietly
softly
reluctantly
anxiously
defiantly
elegantly
hastily
obnoxiously
always
often
sometimes
seldom
never
soon
well
fast
Add an adverb to each of these sentences… 1) The angry teacher stormed __________________ into the classroom. 2) The horse ran _____________________ around the field. 3) The excited child skipped _____________________ to a party. 4) The huge giant stomped ____________________ around the town. 5) The fairy flew __________________________ around the fairy wing. 6) The frog jumped _____________________ into the pond. 7) The squirrel scrambled __________________________ up a tree. 8) The burglar sneaked _________________ up the stairs. 9) The wizard appeared ________________ into the cave. 10) The excited boy ran ______________________ after his friend.
Extension Activities: •
Add ‘but’ to the end of each sentence to extend your writing further.
•
Try different adverbs with each sentence. What happens to the sentence?
•
Adverbs help the reader create a picture in their mind about what is happening. Draw a picture of one of your completed sentences, demonstrating the adverb you included.
•
Can you add adjectives before the nouns in each sentence? Re-write a few sentences to share.
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