tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39083316443716025282024-03-13T22:01:57.916-07:00Learning, Teaching and other education related bitsA collection of resources I've come across that may be useful. Take these ideas and thoughts and use them to develop your practice - but don't use them as 'the solution'!
Please leave a comment if you've found anything useful.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09786933795422063678noreply@blogger.comBlogger263125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908331644371602528.post-87114545034674163262017-03-16T06:49:00.001-07:002017-03-16T06:49:16.599-07:00IMMOOC Short blog challenge - Catching 'em allCreating a culture of permissible innovation is challenging so how do you capture the innovation that is going on? <div>
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I regularly have a number of conversations with teachers who are buzzing after a great lesson where they've tried something new, or reflecting on what to do differently next time when it didn't quite turn out as planned, that aren't captured or shared. It would be a real bonus for our community of teachers if these could be spread further than the corridor space or their own rooms.<div>
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Here's my thoughts (nothing innovative) but I'd welcome yours. Please comment and share:</div>
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<li>A staff group or personal blog</li>
<li>'Wow' wall in the staffroom</li>
<li>'Pineapple' lessons (staff offer a lesson for others to visit)</li>
<li>Weekly briefing meeting item - staff share something that went well (or didn't!)</li>
<li>A shared Google doc or Google form</li>
<li>Video 'Big Brother diary room' setup</li>
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It would be great to create a list of innovative ideas to capture that we can all use so please comment below.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09786933795422063678noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908331644371602528.post-74013259639629477142017-03-16T06:08:00.000-07:002017-03-16T06:13:15.035-07:00IMMOOC Short blog challenge - Dreaming out loud<div dir="ltr">
Driving to school this morning and One Republic's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dreaming_Out_Loud">Dreaming Out Loud</a> came on. The title struck chords with me (excuse the pun), particularly given the recent swebinar of the IMMOOC I'd just watched.</div>
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I love working with teachers and children who dream out loud.</div>
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Those who challenge the norm; those who consider that there might be another way of doing something to make it even better; those who know that ticking boxes isn't enough; those who ask 'what if?'; those who try (and succeed) to make every learning experience perfect for each individual; those who dream big on behalf of their learners; those who make dreams come true because teaching is their dream job.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09786933795422063678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908331644371602528.post-56406666651136525052017-03-16T06:04:00.001-07:002017-03-16T06:08:12.338-07:00IMMOOC Short blog challenge - I'm a championI'm not really, well, technically.<br />
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I am however a little addicted to the gym and that's where I had my champion moment. A fellow regular gym user, who is a ripped and muscular personal trainer, helped me squeeze out the last few reps of the lat pulldown and as he let go said "You're a Champ".<br />
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Then something odd happened. I heard my automatic inner response immediately counter with "not with my back, my knees". That's the odd thing. I <i>heard </i>my automated response. And I didn't like it.<br />
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What's wrong with considering myself a champ? Do you know what, I'm going to train as if I am. I know I'm not technically a champ and I know it's extremely unlikely I'll ever be a champion bodybuilder, but why should I automatically generate barriers or excuses? I go on about Growth Mindset at school and expect children to use 'yet' on the end of almost every sentence and yet my seemingly innate response is one of reasons why I can't do it. My unconscious inner self is a hypocrite. Well, my hypocritical, excuse generating inner friend, you're not welcome any more. Pass those dumbells.<br />
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I wonder how many children already have an inner voice that limits them. How do we, as teachers, ensure that the <i>genuine </i>positive feedback we give them is heard over their inner voice? How do we develop their ability to monitor and control the volume of their inner selves? At what point do children genuinely, internally believe the growth mindset message, rather than just putting a crowd pleasing 'yet' on the end of every sentence?<br />
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I don't know the answers (I'm not a champion at this either) but my increased awareness will make sure I consider the internal barriers that both I and others may put up and how we create a <i>genuine </i>Growth Mindset culture within our children.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09786933795422063678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908331644371602528.post-41184501990715616322017-03-08T05:37:00.000-08:002017-03-11T23:51:28.483-08:00MOOCing - Blog 2: So this is my second blog post as part of the Innovators Mindset MOOC #IMMOOC.<br>
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Before I get into this, I'm pleased to say that I've already learnt two things:<br>
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1. I have to take notes of all the content from the videos that I want to talk about - I've learnt that I can't rely on my memory. I'm sure this reflects the quality and quantity of nuggets from George and guests rather than my slowing mental capacity.<br>
2. In a house where both adults are teachers there are no working pens or pencils in order to take said notes. How is this?<br>
<br>Having watched the second video in the #IMMOOC series I thought I'd focus on one element of an Innovator's Mindset: <b>Resilience</b>.<br>
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Here's a couple of definitions and I think they link nicely to a thought I had during the video about the range in innovation amongst teachers within the same school. My mind conjured up a continuum (originally I used the word 'spectrum' but felt that continuum was a more expectant choice) of staff from those who have no intention or interest to innovate through to the almost 'head firsters' - innovators taking risks without considering the outcomes. </div>
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Then I began to focus in on one group on this spectrum: those who begin to innovate but then return to the safety of the known and the norm. As a leader I am still surprised by this. I feel time had been spent investing in moving these people to a point of willingness to innovate, in fact in some instances innovation had started but then they stop.</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">But why? What's going on?</div>
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Maybe it's baggage.</div>
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<img alt="From: https://patrickbridgeman.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/mental-baggage/" height="320" src="https://patrickbridgeman.files.wordpress.com/2013/07/wpid-screenshot_2013-07-14-02-37-01-1.png" title="" width="232"></div>
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What is the teacher bringing to this scenario that they are already carrying? Have they been keen previously to 'innovate' only to have something change - the system, the expectations, the leader themselves - that has meant the innovation was squashed? Are they afraid of leaving colleagues who are friends who are maybe settled further to the left of the continuum? Do they feel they can't match the perceived 'better' innovation elsewhere? So many potential factors, some more easily recognisable than others. What is stopping the desire to innovate being an intrinsic part of them as teacher?</div>
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The concept of support and space was discussed as a strength of leaders, at least for those staff who responded to this style. Some staff would prefer more support and less space. Moving all staff along the innovator continuum above perhaps requires leaders to know their staff as well as they expect teachers to know their children. Easy to say. What about those who refuse to engage in innovation or even disrupt the efforts or enthusiasm of others? 'Culture' is often identified as a key component of leading an organisation and I am not going to disagree with this however sometimes even the panacea that is 'cultre' struggles with this small percentage. The key is to remember that this is a continuum and there will always be variance within a staff popoulation. </div>
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In a paper entitled '<a href="https://www.pearson.com/hattie/solutions.html" target="_blank">What works best in education: The politics of collaborative expertise' </a>John Hattie uses the phrase 'earned autonomy' to describe the space given to those staff who can be trusted to achieve the outcomes. He describes 'in-school variance', and the tolerance of it, as a key barrier to better pupil outcomes. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br></div><div style="text-align: left;">Can this be applied to innovation? Should it only be staff who have already proven that they can get the outcomes, that children and schools 'need', that are only given the space to innovate? I think there is a delicate (and difficult) balance here. It's wrong to assume that teachers who aren't achieving required pupil outcomes aren't keen to innovate, nor for the opposite to be true. In fact it could be the case that the 'head firsters' are innovating at the cost of pupil outcomes. It comes back to knowing individual teachers. </div><div style="text-align: left;"><br></div><div style="text-align: left;">Also, if only allowing innovation <i>after </i>outcomes are achieved, innovation, or innovating, risks becoming seen as an extension activity - something to do after you've completed the 'basic work', when in reality it's possible that the basic work could be completed more effectively if innovation was employed.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;">So what has all of this got to do with resilience?</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;">For staff to feel confident enough to innovate, to step out of their safe zone, resilience has to be an integral part of both them and the school culture. It is something that many teachers expect of their children so should be modeling themselves; the same applies to leaders' expectations of their teachers. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><font face="sans-serif">BUT....taking the definitions of 'resilience' above do we want teachers to 'spring back into shape'? Surely this reflects those staff who stop innovating. Perhaps this is because they don't embody the 'resilience' in the second definition. </font><span style="font-family: sans-serif;">The ability of a teacher to bounce back from adversity, when things don't go to plan, whether it be an innovative trial or even a lesson, reflects their ability to be, and remain, further to the right of the continuum - they are less likely to return to the safety of non-innovation. Leaders need to reflect this definition in their expectations of teachers - not all innovation is going to be successful and leaders have to understand this. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;"><br></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: sans-serif;">I have no doubt that 'resilience' is a key component of an innovating teacher but let's be precise about what that means, what our definition is, so that we all share the same language and expectation. Which means no springing back into shape!</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09786933795422063678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908331644371602528.post-84755691693395771962017-03-01T05:49:00.000-08:002017-03-01T05:49:47.755-08:00MOOCing So, I've signed up for (and started) my first MOOC! Having read <a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/Innovators-Mindset-Empower-Learning-Creativity-ebook/dp/B016YTBZKO" target="_blank">The Innovator's Mindset</a> by <a href="http://georgecouros.ca/blog/" target="_blank">George Couros</a> and signed up for his regular thought provoking emails, when I saw the opportunity to join in some deeper thinking about using innovation in education I decided to push myself and sign up.<br />
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This is the first blog as part of my MOOCing and based on week 1 of the IMMOOC. I haven't blogged for ages and it's a bit rambling but here goes...<br />
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The fact that George was joined by <a href="http://www.spencerauthor.com/" target="_blank">John Spencer</a> and <a href="http://ajjuliani.com/" target="_blank">AJ Juliani </a>was an added bonus as I'm a big fan of their work also. Sorry <a href="https://katielmartin.com/" target="_blank">Katie Martin</a>, it's nothing personal but I haven't come across you yet!<br />
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Listening to the conversation between these four was easy. I agreed with almost everything but maybe this isn't a good thing. Given I've read books by George and AJ and John I need to make sure I'm challenging myself and not sat in some self-righteous echo chamber. The other problem I found was that the points were discussed so thoroughly that anything I thought of to add in a blog post was covered!<br />
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During the discussion the quote below was mentioned:<br />
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This resonates strongly with me. The playing of 'the game of school' was also discussed and watching children conform, stop asking questions and display dependency on the adult spouting at the front is depressing. (This is the reason that I am a big fan of Ian Gilbert's '<a href="https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Books/Little-Book-Thunks-Questions-Independent/1845900626" target="_blank">Thunks</a>' and the <a href="http://www.sapere.org.uk/default.aspx?tabid=162" target="_blank">Philosophy 4 Children</a> program, which research shows positively impacts on academic performance as well as encouraging children to identify, ask and answer deep questions.)</div>
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But does simply ensuring children continue to be curious mean we haven't failed them?</div>
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Surely children need more than this. There's the obvious academic 'stuff' that's needed (if only to achieve grades which, whether we agree with them or not, unlock future possibilities) and then beyond that...what? Just curiosity? Is being curious enough if you don't know what to do about it? An example mentioned in the discussion of astrophysicists never stop being curious even as their own understanding increases indicates the importance of remaining curious but it surely can't just be curiosity that improved their understanding. The ability to frame appropriate questions, to follow a logical and structured path of 'research' to begin to answer the questions as well as the ability to synthesize, analyse, compare and contrast and relate to, and recall, previous understanding etc. are key skills that support and in term fuel curiosity. </div>
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So what are the implications of this?</div>
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It strikes me that if we allow children to be spat out at the end of an education system just being able to recite facts then we have indeed failed them. There's a lot of talk about future jobs and employers wanting skills over knowledge so, if this is accurate, education needs to ensure we aren't failing our learners by using them to meet performance targets and tick boxes. Allowing children to remain curious, and providing them with skills to use alongside their curiosity, seems essential to me but in this day and age of increasing scrutiny, accountability and public shaming of 'underperforming' schools it takes a brave leader to resist playing the game of school results.</div>
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So where does 'innovation' sit in this over scrutinised world?</div>
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As the guys said in the session, our educators have to make education work for 2017 - take Netflix and Blockbuster Video as an example. It's not about doing 'new' stuff, it's about doing what works well better and more relevantly for our modern learners. This is innovation - adapting our techniques, structures, policies and curriculum content to best suit the learners we have in front of us day after day. If we get this right then I've always believed that the outcomes, held so precious by outsiders but only a small measure of the complete child, look after themselves. Curiosity, innovation and it's only week 1!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09786933795422063678noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908331644371602528.post-56421927470896084422015-10-23T08:06:00.001-07:002015-10-23T08:06:06.544-07:00Review - The Art of Being A Brilliant Primary Teacher by Andy Cope and Stuart Spendlow<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><br /><a href="http://www.artofbrilliance.co.uk/static/uploads/50d1f32fca7326814e357b27f8ce88af.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.artofbrilliance.co.uk/static/uploads/50d1f32fca7326814e357b27f8ce88af.jpg" width="210" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Image courtesy of www.artofbrilliance.co.uk</i></td></tr>
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<span id="E24" is="qowt-word-run" qowt-eid="E24" style="display: inline; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;">The Art of Being a Brilliant Primary Teacher </span><span id="E25" is="qowt-word-run" qowt-eid="E25" style="display: inline; white-space: pre-wrap;">is, well, brilliant. It is a rare shining star in the galaxy of ‘improving teaching handbooks’ - it’s written from experience and celebrates the brilliant job that is Primary Teaching whilst recognising that it is one of the most physically and emotionally demanding roles. And, perhaps most importantly, there is no tick box, formulaic approach to becoming ‘outstanding’. Hence the title I guess</span><span id="E26" is="qowt-word-run" qowt-eid="E26" style="display: inline; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;"> ‘The Art…’</span></div>
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<span id="E30" is="qowt-word-run" qowt-eid="E30" style="display: inline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There are boxes though, and in a twist that reflects the authors’ style, they are ‘thinking inside the box’ boxes (you’ll have to read the book to find out why). There’s also amusing pictures, jokes, quips, anecdotes…</span></div>
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<span id="E34" is="qowt-word-run" qowt-eid="E34" style="display: inline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Therein lies the brilliance of this book. There are some meaty concepts covered in 9 easy and fun to read chapters, reflecting the understanding of the value of a busy primary teacher’s time. And on that note, you won’t be doing more. In fact you may end up doing less but brilliant-er; the key here is that </span><span id="E35" is="qowt-word-run" qowt-eid="E35" style="display: inline; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;">you </span><span id="E36" is="qowt-word-run" qowt-eid="E36" style="display: inline; white-space: pre-wrap;">will be making the changes, fundamental changes, based on internal reflection facilitated by Stu and Andy’s humorously thought provoking content and not just attempting to apply some irrelevant one-size-fits-all solution.</span></div>
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<span id="E40" is="qowt-word-run" qowt-eid="E40" style="display: inline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Deliberately written to provide to the point advice and provocation, this is a must read. Not only is it a real passion stoker (professional and otherwise!) it doesn't take much of your precious holiday time to read through. If you or other teachers you know are in need of rediscovering the art, the passion or the core reason that teaching was the chosen vocation, then this book is a must-read.</span></div>
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<span id="E44" is="qowt-word-run" qowt-eid="E44" style="display: inline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There’s little else to say really when Stu and Andy’s paragraph sums it up so much better than I can do:</span></div>
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<span id="E48" is="qowt-word-run" qowt-eid="E48" style="display: inline; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;">It’s grounded in pure realism; it’s self-challenging in that, when combined with a little bravery and risk taking, it will refresh your teaching until retirement day.</span></div>
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<span id="E52" is="qowt-word-run" qowt-eid="E52" style="display: inline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Oh, and in the words of Stu and Andy,</span><span id="E53" is="qowt-word-run" qowt-eid="E53" style="display: inline; font-style: italic; white-space: pre-wrap;"> ‘if you ‘get it’ then you will sense a whirring of something somewhere within...If you don’t ‘get it’ there will be no whirring and you will feel slightly irritated by squandering yet another tenner on a book that doesn't work.’</span></div>
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<span id="E57" is="qowt-word-run" qowt-eid="E57" style="display: inline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What have you got to lose? Apart from another tenner maybe.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09786933795422063678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908331644371602528.post-69841022607672068882015-10-23T07:54:00.000-07:002015-10-23T08:39:14.369-07:00A Year in Brunei<br />
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<i>It's official. I'm rubbish. I wrote this in August 2015 and never got around to posting it, which is becoming a common theme. Please be warned that there are gratuitous references to dry boxer shorts and chicken ass (not necessarily related).</i><br />
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Almost a year to the day my family and I arrived in Brunei to start a new adventure based around my choice to work in an International School a long way from home. I thought it timely to share some reflections on our year.<br />
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Here goes, and in no particular order:<br />
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1. <b>Goodbyes don't get easier</b><br />
We've had the opportunity to share our new life with both sets of parents. There is a huge sense of excitement when our mums and dads are due to visit, not just because we don't see them for big chunks of time but also because we get to re-live the excitement of our new life, with them. Giving them the opportunity to experience, first-hand, the culture and lifestyle we have refreshes our enjoyment of it and (fortunately) both sets of parents' support for our venture was cemented, lots of worries put to bed. We are, after all, only a plane flight away - and once you're on the plane you're on your (long) way; it's easy, if not a little boring! Sending parents back home, and leaving them after returning to the UK during this summer holiday is, at best, highly unpleasant. Strangely, leaving the UK to return to Brunei this summer seems to have affected us more than last year. I guess there's less excitement about the unknown, less 'new adventure' excitement to temper the separation emotions. We know the reality of the months without seeing family. On reflection, next year we'll fill our holiday time better so there is less downtime to get emotional.<br />
Please don't think we're sitting here crying ourselves to sleep every night (far from it), it's just that the initial separations are still hard, create doubt and make us question what we're doing - and experienced colleagues tell us it never gets easy. I guess that makes us human so it's probably a good thing.<br />
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<b>2. 'Look Dad, a Pangolin'</b><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.ecologyasia.com/images-stu/sunda-pangolin_0345.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://www.ecologyasia.com/images-stu/sunda-pangolin_0345.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="_r3" style="background-color: #f1f1f1; text-align: start;"><span class="irc_ho" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.2); cursor: pointer; margin-right: -2px; overflow: hidden; padding-right: 2px; text-decoration: none; text-overflow: ellipsis; unicode-bidi: -webkit-isolate;">Image from <a class="irc_hl irc_hol i3724" data-noload="" data-ved="0CAYQjB1qFQoTCNnlhJT22MgCFcZxjgodcAMJVw" href="http://www.ecologyasia.com/verts/mammals/sunda-pangolin.htm" jsaction="mousedown:irc.rl;keydown:irc.rlk" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.2); color: #7d7d7d; cursor: pointer; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px; text-decoration: none;">www.ecologyasia.com</a></span></span></td></tr>
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Looking back on the places we've been and experiences we've had it's difficult to believe it's only been a year. We've visited places we could only dream of before, from Bali, Bangkok and Brisbane to Singapore and Manila; some with work, some for holidays and others for school residential visits and even just a shopping trip in Singapore. We've all seen amazing creatures, eaten unusual things (chicken ass anyone? It was an error and not one I intend to repeat!) and been to incredible places and when my son pointed out a Pangolin, an animal we hadn't even heard of before living in Brunei, it struck me just how much we've broadened our own and our children's experiences.<br />
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<b>3. Multicultural living</b><br />
Brunei is a Muslim country. I hadn't had much experience of the Muslim culture or in fact many others (I'd never even worked in a 'multicultural' school) before moving to Brunei and thankfully I'm not naive enough to pay attention to the almost racist, stereotypical images portrayed in the UK media. There are large numbers of Chinese, Philippine, Indonesian and European 'immigrants' living happily alongside the Brunei people, who I have found to be the friendliest, politest and respectful people - they could teach the rest of the world some valuable lessons (not though when it comes to using seat belts to keep children safe in cars). I've never felt threatened or even unwelcome - I wish I could say the same about walking around at home. My eyes have been opened to being a minority; it's odd to be stared at. Maybe being a 6' 2" lump of white man doesn't help but my 7 year old blonde daughter also gets a lot of attention.<br />
If you want to see what living in Brunei is absolutely not like, watch an atrocious 'documentary' made by an Australian journalist clearly trying to create a name for herself. On second thoughts don't bother.<br />
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<b>4. Brunei Life</b><br />
Whilst we didn't have any real idea about what we were getting ourselves into, living in Brunei has exceeded our expectations. The weather is a consistently warm (and humid!) 32ish. It's amazing how easy life is when you don't have to spend time debating whether or not to take a jumper! Shorts and flip flops are generally the daily requirement when not dressed for work. Sweating is more of an issue - apparently you never get used to the heat and humidity, you just get used to sweating! Any slight exertion can leave your shirt sopping wet. Never before have I appreciated the benefits of air con and a dry pair of boxer shorts.<br />
Brunei as a country is stunning. The jungle is amazing, the range of different noises, the blanket of warmth and having monkeys, snakes and spiders in your living space brings it's own excitement! Mosquitoes and sand flies in particular are a downside but it seems that the body reacts less over time.<br />
Cost of living is low, meaning we can do the things we couldn't in the UK. Simple things like eat out once (or more) a week and a trip to the cinema for all of us costs the same as one ticket back home. Fuel costs about £12.00 for a full tank <i>and </i>an attendant puts the petrol in for you! It wasn't quite the same experience filling the hire car in the UK this summer.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yafUyHWfWYo/VR42baUQmfI/AAAAAAAApLk/y6cD29l4s30/s1600/IMG_20150402_120448839_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-yafUyHWfWYo/VR42baUQmfI/AAAAAAAApLk/y6cD29l4s30/s320/IMG_20150402_120448839_HDR.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>5. Planes like buses</b><br />
Given the importance and frequency of air travel in this region, the impact of a plane tragedy is something that hadn't struck me before. I guess it's that old frame of reference thing but being in Brunei when the Air Asia and Malaysian Airlines tragedies occurred gave them meaning I'd never considered before. Suddenly those numbers and names of passengers gone in an instant move from being a passing sadness and sympathy feeling to real people with real families who may well be at my school.<br />
This also extends to natural disasters and, in particular this year, the Nepal earthquake. We have a strong contingent of Nepalese families in school and we actively sought information to make sure everyone was OK. It was a very worrying and difficult time and gave me some idea of how horrendous it must be for families in these situations.<br />
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<b>6. All work and no play?</b><br />
Very quickly the realisation that work is work no matter where you are in the world dawned. My new job, like all the others I've ever had, is busy. There's always lots going on in such a large school and plenty that I want to do. But, and here's the big one, the absence of an unknown inspection instantly reduces stress. There have been stressful times, and it's not all plain sailing, but there's a definite easing in anxiety in doing the right things for the children, rather than external visitors.<br />
I never thought I'd say it but in some ways I missed OfSTED. I had come, 5 weeks previously, from a frantic UK state school actively under the impending cloud of an OfSTED visit (which ironically never came!) where accountability was high on the agenda. Due to the nature of my new school, this is a totally different situation and one I'm slowly adjusting to. That adrenalin shot of dotting i's and crossing t's sharpens everyone's focus to make sure the little things (and some big things) are the best they can be and, whilst I felt we'd all burnt out from over adrenalin production in the UK, I suffered withdrawal symptoms. In many ways though I think a little accountability is healthy and so I intend to hold on to a reasonable level but less than schools have to cope with 'back home'.<br />
My career history has almost totally been in the 'harder' end of the scale of schools. I love the difference that schools make in some children's lives and in low social economic areas this can be huge, so expected to miss this feeling. What I've come to realise is that the children who need you most are the ones you're currently working with. If you 'get it', if you have botheredness as Hywel Roberts would say, you go the extra mile for whichever children you've got in your school regardless of economic position. Children are children and I love working with them.<br />
In terms of work/life balance I'm not sure there's much difference. The weeks are full on busy and most nights there's some work that I choose to do, either staying later at school to get it done or working at home. Either way, I'm <i>choosing </i>to do it - not feeling like I have to, just in case there's a phone call tomorrow lunch time, and, at the end of every day, it's warm and sunny (mostly) and the shades go on for the drive home. I love that feeling and can feel my soul lift.<br />
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There's lots more I could bore you with but, in essence, this has been one of the best years of my life. Seeing my children growing up with friends of all nationalities and not seeing someone for their culture or religious beliefs, away from the narrow minded bigotry of some aspects of UK society, is heart warming. Being able to take them diving, to tropical islands, shopping in Singapore, up to the rainforest canopy, cycling down a volcano, surfing in Bali to name but a few is just incredible. And to do the job I love, for the genuine reason of improving children's lives, without vote-desperate politicians and egocentric inspectors, means I'm a better professional and a better father.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>My children and friends in the sea, in Bali at sunset.</i></td></tr>
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09786933795422063678noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908331644371602528.post-56461183103050413472015-01-29T03:40:00.000-08:002015-01-29T03:40:07.804-08:00How to Teach Primary Maths (Anyone can feed sweets to sharks) - A Review<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How to Teach Primary Maths - Nick Tiley-Nunn</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Reading the foreword to this book by the renowned Phil Beadle makes it clear that Nick Tiley-Nunn is no ordinary teacher. Being described by someone who made teaching cool by doing it on TV as possibly the best teacher in the world, and certainly the best seen by Mr Beadle himself, is a pretty big thing - at least in my humble opinion. It also means there’s a lot of expectation about the contents of this book. Can this world beating teacher deliver and tell me things, after 20 years of working in primary schools, that will make me rush to school on Monday morning desperate to teach maths? Let’s see.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The introduction is, well, interesting - I know, I said ‘interesting’ about a maths book! There’s some reference to maths but a large amount of this section covers areas of problem solving (without mentioning sweets), resilience and creativity. It is clear how Nick’s approach to maths is applicable to learning in general and I’m interested but then, right at the end, he drops in ‘SHINE’ (you’ll have to read the book to see what it stands for!) and I’m hooked. I might even be slightly excited. I know! ‘Excited’ about a maths book!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So, I’m 8 pages in and already I’ve got a number of activities I can take directly and use with learners. I’ve also met a narcissistic race of Evens and a greedy crocodile...and more and more great ideas and approaches for learning keep coming. In fact, the remainder of the book is a throbbing, gooey mass of maths joyousness. Every section of the primary maths curriculum is covered; each in a consistent style of inspiring activities and Nick’s jovial, humourous approach. Don’t be fooled. Nick never takes his eye off challenging our learners to get the best outcomes possible; it’s just that he finds the most inspiring and interesting ways to do it.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is only one regret I have from reading this book. I wish my own maths teachers had been like this. In fact, I wish the 1000s of maths lessons I’ve taught over my 20 years had been like this. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I have no doubt that many more children would leave primary school with a love and fascination for maths if every passionate primary teacher had this book. This book is an essential addition to any staffroom or teacher’s library; it could even change a generation’s perception of maths. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Read this book and you won’t need the foreword to realise that Nick Tiley-Nunn is clearly no ordinary teacher. Fortunately for teachers and children alike he has chosen to share some of what makes him the teacher he is and I for one will be a better professional for it.</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09786933795422063678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908331644371602528.post-21583906240403856162015-01-29T03:27:00.000-08:002015-01-29T03:27:27.117-08:00Get your Freak on - A review of Freaked Out by Simon Pridham<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Freaked Out - Simon Pridham</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-23de8218-353b-c837-41ba-7e84339e571a" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ipads seem to have hit schools at a tremendous rate, which may on the surface seem like a good thing. But what about those staff who are not as technologically confident? What about those who might be freaked out by this new tool for learning? Don’t worry...there’s a book for that!</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">It might seem a slightly odd arrangement that, having been given an Ipad, a teacher needs a book to find out how to use it. Isn’t this a bit counter-intuitive? How can a book even come close to reflecting the multimedia digital nature of the Ipad? Is there any point in a book like ‘Freaked Out’?</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">First things first. Reading the back of the book instantly raises my confidence. The comprehensive list of topics covered, including ‘what a 21st Century classroom looks like’ and ‘home-school links using digital learning’ along with the reassuring blurb discussing the cross-phase and cross-curricular nature of the guide, mean expectations are high.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The book begins with a simply written guide to the physical features of the Ipad. The freaked out will take confidence from the small step guide to switching on and explanation of the buttons and icons that face the user when the Ipad starts up; nothing is taken for granted which is a good place to start. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Next, apps. The friendly ‘arm around the shoulder’ text (I had an image of Simon sitting on my grandparents sofa with a cup of tea in their best china…) gently coaxes the reader through registering for an Apple account and on to searching for and downloading their very first app! Interesting that the choice of app is Aurasma.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Hang on...the next section is about Aurasma. Surely someone freaked out shouldn’t leap straight into Aurasma? If you haven’t guessed already, this is where the book comes alive, almost literally. We are talked through our first use of Aurasma and lo and behold there’s an ‘Aura’ ready for us to scan and there’s Simon talking to us! Brilliant, and really hammers home the possibilities of this new technology. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">From Aurasma we move to QR codes and these are used in the remainder of the book to enhance the content and provide direct links to items discussed in the text. Simon has included a series of icons to represent the content that will be accessed when a QR code is scanned. This enables the reader/user to decide if they need to, or want to, follow the link. Maybe they understood the text well enough to not need to watch the video.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There’s a range of further chapters that provide information and stimulate creative and pedagogical juices. Each chapter deals with key areas of implementing digital learning in schools to empower the freaked out (who I’m sure are more likely to be ‘freaked in’ than ‘freaked out’ by now) with more QR codes and a continuation of the easy-going chatty type text. It’s all very well knowing your way around an Ipad and using a number of exciting apps but once the initial honeymoon period is over there are always questions...Fear not, Simon has included a FAQ section which is made up of genuine questions asked by real human beings. They cover an interesting range of issues from printing from an ipad to implementing with a small budget. Finally, an essential glossary and the book is done. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Although really it isn’t. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Not only has Simon provided a brilliantly useful guide to enable the freaked out amongst us to start their Ipad journey, there is such a wealth of content that this book deserves to be revisited a number of times - and I’m certain it will be popularly shared amongst colleagues for years to come.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So, is there any point to this book? Does it work in this digital age? Absolutely! The use of Aurasma and QR codes provides digital content to enhance (or should it be ‘augment’) the traditional analogue book. Simon’s friendly, non-patronising tone combined with his excellent knowledge of digital learning will empower any colleague, no matter their level of ‘freakedness’, to confidently begin their digital journey. This is an essential book for the staffroom. Download it to your bookshelf today!</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09786933795422063678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908331644371602528.post-21274849098469912072015-01-28T06:00:00.001-08:002015-01-28T06:00:27.276-08:00Oops a Daisy - A review of Teaching with Flowers by Julie Warburton<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Teaching With Flowers - Julie Warburton</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-23de8218-30d5-938e-1814-999340fc696b" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /></b>
<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ok, to be completely honest, I’m a bloke. Teaching with flowers is not something I have ever really given serious consideration to. Like most teachers, I’ve stuffed some daffodils in a milk bottle and got the kids to draw them but that’s about the extent of my floral expertise. Therefore I expected that reading ‘Teaching with Flowers’ would be a challenge. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I needn’t have worried. Mick Waters, as always, writes a compelling introduction and then we’re into Julie’s introduction, the first line of which made me feel guilty of my stereotypical blokeness as the word ‘learning’ is in the first sentence. I’m a passionate teacher so I should have seen flowers, as Julie says, as ‘another way to help children learn’. Combining her significant teaching experience and her abilities as a florist, Julie shares her experiences of working with children and flowers, with some amazing results. The underlying themes of hands-on, care, pride and quality apply to many other curriculum areas so why not teach with flowers? In case you need any more convincing there are lists of vocab you can cover as well as pages of curriculum areas - yes, ‘pages’.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Ok, so you’re convinced but you don’t know your buttercups from your eryngiums? Me neither. Don’t worry petal, Julie is here to help. There’s a full chapter on flowers, how to care for them, elements of design and all sorts of technical vocab; another chapter on seasonal flowers and what’s generally available when, cleverly organised by colour, flower name and season and much more background information.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The rest of the majority of the book is split into two main sections; one is step-by-step instructions, clearly written and supported by great photos, to create specific flower arrangements. These aren’t the ones you’ll see in the local church but practical activities for children to tackle in school. The other section is called ‘Let’s learn about...’ and provides a number of lessons that tackle a variety of concepts and knowledge from a range of subjects and shows how using flowers can enhance this learning.</span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The book ends with more useful tips on extending the use of flowers, or the ‘blooming curriculum’, across the school, with a special mention for Julie’s previous passion of transition. Finally there’s ‘techniques’ so you can look like an expert in front of your learners and links to useful resources. Even the index is colour coded to make the busy teacher’s life easier.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">There is no doubt that this book will provide you with everything you will ever need to enhance children’s learning through the use of flowers. Imagine the smell, the colours and the excitement of a classroom with children enhancing learning through flowers. What a great experience that would be - and then you could display the results in the staffroom and cheer the teachers up too! Well done Julie for creating a book that adds an unexpected level of rich educational experience in an easily accessible form that the busy teacher, whether a trained florist or not, can readily use to bring learning alive.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I will definitely blooming go out and buy this book. No stigma attached!</span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09786933795422063678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908331644371602528.post-768920192464632112015-01-28T05:48:00.000-08:002015-01-28T05:50:15.788-08:00Don't Change the Light Bulbs.<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Don’t Change the Light Bulbs - Rachel Jones</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m not sure how to describe this book. </span></div>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I’m torn between ‘it’s my Twitter feed written down’ and comparing it to one of those shiny metal boxes in films that, when opened, a cloud of gas escapes...which dissipates to reveal rows of test tubes of coloured liquid, each one affecting the human who consumes it in different ways. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Maybe these two possible descriptions aren’t so far apart. This book takes nuggets of pedagogical gold, many from legends of the educational Twitterverse, and presents them to you on a plate. When consumed (not literally of course, unless ‘internalising’ means something different to you) they stimulate, provoke, challenge and excite. Unfortunately I haven’t found one that will re-grow my missing hair but I’ll keep re-reading just in case.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">What I really enjoy about this collection is that dipping in and out is as effective and enjoyable as reading from the front to the back. The format of numbered lists, with each ‘tip’ having it’s own design, makes them really accessible and bite-sized. Just reading one tip is not as easy as it sounds though, as the ‘just one more...’ mentality kicks in and you’ll find hours pass by unnoticed, but you’ll be buzzing to get into school.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">And really, that’s the fundamental point of this book. It’s aim is to inspire and help us all to be better at what we do. And it does. What it doesn’t claim to be is a magic bullet or a panacea; the contributors have most likely never met the learners you work with. Instead, the tips, tricks, thoughts and opinions will challenge us all to adapt and improve by applying them to our own situations.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">If you’re looking for an easy to read source of inspiration that you can gain something from, in the time it takes to drink a teacher’s coffee, then this is the book for you. </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09786933795422063678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908331644371602528.post-10437368850854875062014-10-07T06:26:00.001-07:002014-10-07T06:26:31.054-07:00Lessons From Leaving<i>Just seen that I didn't publish this before I left the UK!</i><br />
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As you no doubt know by now, I'm leaving the UK and have already left my job as a primary Headteacher of an inner city school. (If you didn't know this you can read some thoughts behind this decision <a href="http://learningandteachingstuff.blogspot.com/2014/04/why-brunei.html" target="_blank">here</a>.)<br />
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I'm not going to bang on for long but through the slightly extrapolated process of saying goodbyes and actually leaving (I'm still in the UK as I write and still have another week to go...) something has dawned on me - I care much more than I realised about the people around me.<br />
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This might sound obvious and ridiculous but it wasn't until I was forced to face this fact that I actually realised it! Previously I'd been fairly blasé about moving on; I care deeply about the children in my school and am concerned about their futures but I rationalised this by leaving them in the hands of the new head and moving on to care about my upcoming children. But what of the adults? Here's a couple of thoughts:<br />
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In the day to day running of the school I thought they felt I valued them but... During a conversation about me leaving, a colleague told someone else that I didn't normally say nice things to them but what I'd written in the card I'd sent had really touched them! This hit me hard - I thought I did say 'nice things'! It's not that I go around grumping at people (I believe that no matter what the situation, a leader has to keep up the game face; how can you expect your staff to feel positive if they see you stomping around?) and I enjoy a laugh as much as the next man but maybe I'd assumed too much and missed the obvious. On reflection I think my colleague was probably right, I don't think I did say enough 'nice things'. <i>For the sake of clarification I'm defining 'nice things' as professional qualities or performance, not new hair styles, successful fake tans or new car.</i><br />
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But why? One possible explanation is one of the main reasons I'm leaving - the constant 'drive and strive' to be better. Nothing is ever good enough. I expect lots from my staff and I don't apologise for that and yes all schools can always do better before we get into some melodramatic debate about dumbing down schools. Given our friends at the DfE were knocking on the door on my first day, muttering something about my school being on 'the list', it was clear things were going to be tough. But maybe in all that franticness and to some extent hoop jumping, the simple act of saying 'nice things' was lost. And maybe, ironically, recognising the 'nice things' would have brought about even greater improvement.<br />
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So what? I've learnt a couple of things, I think. Firstly, recognise and credit the 'nice things' outside of the formal performance management or pupil progress type meetings. Secondly, and this makes me nervous, I'm going to front up and include a 360 review type activity about my leadership. Previously I've shied away from activities like this but I <i>will</i> do it. (Somebody please email or tweet me in a year's time...!).<br />
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The other realisation is the impact that you can have as a leader. One card I received from a member of staff said '<i>I have completely changed as a teacher and you have really pushed me to think how and why I teach. I've really tried hard to be as good as you think I am</i>' which I'm taking positively! The irony is that this card is from someone who easily ranks close to the top of my list of 'best teachers' I've worked with in the last 20 years. I don't do this job for the glory, and I don't like to be in the limelight as I just see it as my job, but it does go to show the power of being a leader and moments like this make it all worthwhile.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09786933795422063678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908331644371602528.post-91410135073126221412014-10-07T06:12:00.001-07:002014-10-09T01:44:43.254-07:00Brunei highI had one of those moments on Friday night that I'm sure we've all had. That moment when you realise that all your celestial objects are lined up, that euphoric rush of overwhelming positivity and happiness. You're on a high, at least cloud 9 and everything is right with the world. Maybe it's a shakra thing, the position of the moon or some other universal force I'm unaware of. Or maybe it is <i>the </i>force! Oddly, no alcohol was involved.<br />
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Let me explain...<br />
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I was driving back from the <a href="http://www.theempirehotel.com/" target="_blank">Empire Club</a> gym after another week at work (so possibly excess caffeine and post-exercise endorphins may be involved), the weather was comfortably warm (shocker!) and I'd had a remarkable afternoon. I'd been invited to attend the certificate presentation for the students 'graduating' from the <a href="http://www.jis.edu.bn/index.php/ugama" target="_blank">Ugama</a> school on the school site and, despite almost every single word of the ceremony being in Malay, the cultural experience was tremendous. I won't go into the detail but it was humbling to be so deeply involved in such an indigenous experience, although I did feel like an imposter; I couldn't have been made to feel more welcome but as a large white guy who merely works in the main school, I was slightly embarrassed by the VIP type attention I received. I guess I'm still not used to having 'status'! My congratulations go to all the students and teachers involved. Here's the original article from the <a href="http://www.bt.com.bn/" target="_blank">Brunei Times</a>.<br />
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The Empire Club gym facilities are, like the rest of the Empire Club, ridiculously luxurious. After a decent back and bi session I used the marble jacuzzi, sauna and even the plunge pool (although not for long, it was freezing!) and 'hit the (marble) showers'. Perfect for the end of week workout. </div>
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I never fail to marvel at the Empire Club and its opulence and thoroughly enjoy spending time there; whether it's by the pools or lagoon, at the bowling alley, cinema, gym or impressive golf facilities. It is like being on holiday (and in <i>some </i>aspects even like being on honeymoon) but it's part of our everyday lives. Incredible.<br />
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But is a luxury gym all it takes for me to be happy? Despite what my wife thinks, there were more factors at play. I've tried to unpick them and have listed them below (they're in no particular order):</div>
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1. I suspect one of them is the acknowledgement that I actually had time to enjoy the Empire. My new job is frantically busy, as you would expect when leading a large part of a highly successful international school, but the sense of impending doom and pressure of a visit from OfSTED isn't there. Yes there are challenges, and every school can provide better education, but knowing that the phone isn't going to ring and someone who has already come to a data-based judgement isn't going to strut in and hammer us, makes resolving those challenges properly a distinct possibility! Given that I commit myself 100% to wherever I work, that means I don't have that acidic pit of the stomach feeling every day and therefore I have a much healthier work/life balance. I still work most evenings but at the moment I'm actually on top of things - long may it last.<br />
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2. My Ugama afternoon experience was, as detailed above, awesome for the total immersion into the Brunei culture which was part of the decision for making the move out here. I am well aware that I am a guest in this wonderful country and am keen to understand and absorb as much of the culture as possible.<br />
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3. The constant warmth. Stepping outside at night, when the temperature is comfortable, instantly revives those foreign holiday memories and the associated feelings - and this happens every single day! I'm still not used to it so still get that rush of happiness and soul uplift. Long may this last too!<br />
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4. Wonderful children. I have to admit to being a little nervous about how I'd cope with the extreme cultural difference of moving from a mostly white British working class estate school to a school that truly lives up to the label 'international', but there are plenty of characters, sparky and otherwise and, as hoped, the 'international' label is irrelevant! There's the same banter, the usual abbreviation to 'Mr B' and all the other ups and downs of life with school children. And I love it.<br />
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5. Seeing how my family have settled. Yes, it's early days but both children are loving the school and the opportunities it brings. They've started music lessons, have specialist Science, D.T., Music, Art, Drama... and to see their love of learning reignited is inspiring. It was hard at first but that Friday had seen both of them have delightful children back to our house for a Friday afternoon play date. And my wife is working regularly in school and has applied for a full time post but she too has been enjoying the Empire, for once being a 'lady who coffees', shopping etc. This is in part down to our 'amah' starting; the kids love her and her cooking and baking (and I'm thoroughly enjoying not having to iron shirts!).<br />
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The biggest downside of this whole thing for me is the time difference between here and the UK. Communication is easy but sometimes you can't just grab the phone and contact family; or you could, but they wouldn't be that pleased to talk to you as it would be some ungodly hour.<br />
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But at that precise moment, driving home on that Friday night, nothing was wrong with the world.<br />
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<i>Edit: Since starting this post, my son suffered a displaced fracture of his thumb which required surgical intervention and I've had a migraine. But the medical facilities (below) are excellent and I can buy tablets so life is still amazing!</i><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09786933795422063678noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908331644371602528.post-73710027766440598132014-07-05T06:14:00.000-07:002014-07-05T06:14:23.970-07:00The Perfect Maths Lesson - A review<img alt="9781781351376_PerfectMaths" src="http://www.independentthinkingpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/9781781351376_PerfectMaths1.jpg" /><br />
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This is my first experience of the 'Perfect Lesson' series from Jackie Beere and friends and to me the title has a lot to live up to! I needn't have worried. Straight from the start Ian gives compelling and motivating reasons for learning, not just learning maths, but <i>any </i>learning and, particularly importantly, how to deal with the ultimate question 'why are we learning this?'. He frames the learning and remaining content of the book within the context of the modern, 'flat' world, which every conscientious teacher is desperately trying to give their learners an advantage in. Now I'm hooked.<br />
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I have to admit that I read the rest of the book with enthusiasm even though it is about maths! Ian delivers an excellent balance of theory and context with hundreds (well, it seemed like hundreds. I haven't actually counted them) of practical examples that any teacher can take into a classroom tomorrow. From engaging and challenging learners, including some great ideas for using apparatus, through to chilli heat rated activities to increase independence, the wealth of thought provoking activities makes this book a must have in any staff room. There is a hugely important chapter on emotional connections with learners and the end of chapter checklists act as quick reminders and useful pointers.<br />
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So will this book mean you deliver the perfect maths lesson? Personally I don't think any book, no matter how good, but this one will provide you with a whole toolbox of strategies and ideas that cannot fail to improve the learning in your lessons. And here's the important bit; <i>any</i> learning could be improved by using this book. The underlying principles, with a bit of un-maths tweaking, will have a direct on your teaching and, although the book has a secondary 'flavour', these can be as equally applied to the primary phase.<br />
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In sum-mary (I tried really hard to resist a number of maths puns!), if you're looking for easily accessible ideas and strategies to refresh your teaching, whether in maths or other curriculum areas, this book will be an excellent addition to your collection. It's a quick and easy read that you can dive into any point and pull out a gem...and who knows, maybe that will be the one that secures the 'outstanding' judgement - or better still, gives your learners the advantage in the real world!<br />
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Now I'm off to look at the rest of the perfect lesson series...!<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09786933795422063678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908331644371602528.post-69309130108718832752014-06-09T08:10:00.000-07:002014-06-09T08:10:28.454-07:00Dealing with the wreckage left by Northern RocksSaturday. Heavy rain. Leeds. At least 2 out of 3 of these are reasons to stay in bed. I'm glad I didn't.<br />
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Like around 300 others, I attended the inaugural Northern Rocks event. (The title of this post is from an <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/dealing-with-the-wreckage-left-by-northern-rock-9480731.html" target="_blank">Independent article</a> about the collapsed bank of a similar name but adequately reflects my brain after Saturday's event). Below are some thoughts, not in any particular order.<br />
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There's been a large number of great blogs appearing after Saturday so I won't try and detail everything that was said and I'd ask that you don't judge me against them as I'm just splurging (that's my excuse)!<br />
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<b>1. Debra and Emma.</b> Wow. It takes some cahoonas to organise an event like this and they nailed it. Most impressive though was the genuine warmth, passion and respect towards everyone; there was always time for a quick chat to complete strangers and nothing was too much trouble. No doubt there was some frantic leg paddling going on under the surface but the smiles never left their faces and they both deserve knighthoods (or is it damehoods?), for pulling this together, although this is unlikely as they are both probably on some secret service watch list for being enemies of promise. It is saddening to hear that Debra is all but leaving direct teaching - I would have loved her to teach my own children. (My post on why I'm leaving the UK system is <a href="http://learningandteachingstuff.blogspot.co.uk/2014/04/why-brunei.html" target="_blank">here</a>). Bravo ladies, I'm tempted to fly back from Brunei for next year!<br />
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<b>2. Lunch.</b> Roast beef and Yorkshire pudding the size of a plate. Enough said.<br />
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<b>3. The People. </b>It was like my Twitterverse came to life, so many names that I've connected with previously! I suppose it could be taken for granted that there would be a large number of like-minded people there, what with it being a Saturday (and raining and in Leeds) but the passion and positivity was palpable. There was a subtle air of pride about being part of something exciting and different and, whilst there was justified criticism and exasperation expressed, becoming 'militant' and outright 'anti' everything was avoided and positive alternatives explored - in particular, Debra handled the panel meeting expertly, there must surely be a career opportunity there?! As always, Hywel Roberts and Mick Waters got right to the heart of matters and motivated the thronged masses (although I think the rally song may need a bit of work!). These guys are awesome and, like everyone else on the day, have no pretentious air about them, happy to chat with anyone. Not an easy thing given the celebrity status bestowed upon them by us mere mortals! I haven't met many DfE staff but I suspect that would be a different experience.<br />
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<b>4. So what?</b> Yes, it was a nice day out (have I mentioned lunch?) but it has to make a difference. On a personal level I got loads out of the SOLO and Flipped Learning workshops and I can see how they could link brilliantly together. So, given the time of year, my role and the fact that I'm leaving my current school in 6 weeks, I'm limited. I'm going to get some children to create some 'how to...' videos for key concepts that the staff have noticed too many children struggling with. This will tick the flipped learning box and could be used to discuss various stages in SOLO - "are you pre or unistructural? Watch the video." type thing. I'm then intending to introduce SOLO and Flipped learning in my new school once I get settled. <br />
What about a difference on a wider systematic scale?<br />
I believe and hope that events like these, combined with Twitter and TeachMeets are the best way to empower teachers to make a difference. I feel the challenge is to get headteachers to buy in. I am often surprised and disappointed by fellow heads who haven't been to/heard of TeachMeets. In my experience it isn't that heads don't want to do relevant, different learning, I think it's a combination of having time and overcoming the fear of doing something alternative to what they perceive will keep outsiders happy. This isn't a criticism, I fully understand the pressures. I was fortunate to get into Twitter years ago and so have accessed years worth of exciting resources and thinking whereas some heads are just coming to this way of thinking; ironically the new curriculum has stimulated some to truly consider what their school offers. Perhaps there's a need for a headteacher only event where they can see the types of learning their teachers could/want to offer and be helped to implement it.<br />
One final outcome for me is the hope that, with an increasing critical mass of educators like those at Northern Rocks, maybe, just maybe, our wonderful profession will be given the respect it deserves and those in charge will consider the children rather than the voters.<br />
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Later this week I'm off to Birmingham for the Inspiring Leadership conference. I suspect I won't get as much out of it!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09786933795422063678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908331644371602528.post-18049785800348865012014-06-09T03:01:00.000-07:002014-07-09T09:41:35.825-07:00Hmm...A Review of 365 Things to Make you Go Hmmm<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">
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Whatever you do don't buy this book! At least, not if you want to be remotely productive, focussed or are required to feed a small child regularly. 365 Things entertains, inspires, frustrates, befuddles, baffles and amuses in equal measure and, although the concept is to use one 'Thing' per day, it is impossible to not read on, wrestle with a 'thing', read on, wrestle with another 'thing'...You know this book has you completely hooked when you can hear your own brain arguing with itself!</div>
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From the challenging, and in some points uncomfortable, introduction 365 Things sparks your thinking into life by making you reflect on the values and messages that you give learners. For example, how many times have we said (even though we hate the thought of it) "only 105 days until SATs"? Most of us have done it, not through some sadistic pleasure of piling stress onto young learners but as a reflection of the externally induced pressures we're put under. Maybe this book will go some way to alleviating this. By embedding the messages, values and prompts contained in 365 Things we'd get deeper thinking, self-valuing confident learners ready to take on the world, secure in the knowledge that they're all good at what really counts and see SATs (and other tests) as an opportunity to show those in power just how great they are.</div>
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The 365 Things themselves cover a wide range of topics and concepts and are in some ways similar to the 'Thunks' from Ian Gilbert but the Sparky Teaching flavour is unmistakable; lots of value based content, with practical tips and tricks to extend and augment the learning all done in a positive, light-hearted way. A particular strength of this book is how 'real life' has been used to develop some of the Things e.g. news stories, web content, increasing relevance for your learners and many Things are cleverly illustrated, with the presentation adding an extra 'must-read' dimension.</div>
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365 Things, despite seemingly limiting itself to only one year's use, will undoubtedly impact on you and your learners for years to come. Aside from the value instilling content, the 'Things' will stimulate enough additional questions and thinking that you could end up writing your own book! (This probably isn't the result the publishers wanted though, so don't tell them I told you!).</div>
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With this book in your collection you'll have a ready-made source of stimulating content that can be used from whole-school assemblies through to class debates and corridor displays. And if you do work out if street dancing is a sport, let me know!</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09786933795422063678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908331644371602528.post-46327021224924997282014-06-04T09:51:00.001-07:002014-10-20T02:39:09.246-07:00Learning through a lens - a review<div class="MsoNormal">
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Learning through a Lens by Jane Hewitt</div>
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A Review<o:p></o:p></div>
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As an amateur photography enthusiast I’ve fallen into the
trap many times of thinking that by buying yet another book about photography
it will instantly transform to the level of a professional. As someone who has been in education for 20
years I regularly read books in the hope that they will continually challenge
me professionally and improve my competence in education. So, what could possibly be better, a book combining
two of the great passions in my life? I
have to admit though to being slightly cynical that this would be yet another
functional instruction book “use f5.6 at 70mm…” that would leave me
frustrated. And what could I <i>really</i> learn about using photography in
education after 20 years of teaching?<o:p></o:p></div>
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First impressions raised my hopes. An introduction by Mick Waters, someone who I
have a lot of time for, immediately sets the tone that this isn’t just
‘another’ photography book and Jane’s own introduction highlights the
simplicity of using photography – no need for full-frame highly expensive SLRs
and her passion and enthusiasm shines out, showing that this isn’t just some
geek trying to earn a few easy bob.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Once you get in to the book, the organisation and useful
features included mean that, for a busy teacher, it is highly accessible. The first section deals with the technical
functions of the camera but, and most importantly, Jane speaks human! No patronising, geeky, superior rhetoric;
just down to earth, easy to understand advice to get the most out of your
camera.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Chapter 2 is where the fun begins to build. There are a number of activity ideas that are
all easily attainable either at home or in school and that produce results that
both children and adults would be instantly pleased with. What’s more, once again, Jane has considered
the needs of busy teachers by using a ‘recipe’ format and clearly accessible
information boxes meaning this activity could be up and running in a classroom
within minutes. Pin hole cameras are
covered, as are phones and apps with some great examples of low cost apps and
their usage.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Now that Jane has got you hooked, there’s an important
chapter on the use of ethics in photography (perhaps some ‘pros’ should read
this!). And the rest of the first
section carries on exciting and informing and slowly but surely hooking you in…<o:p></o:p></div>
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Boom! Like an old
style flash gun going off, section 2 arrives with a feast of inspiring projects,
activities, links and some all-round exciting things to do for yourself and/or
your learners. From ‘little people’ to
street art via a highly informative and practical section on visual literacy I
was left chomping at the bit to get my camera out, borrow some children (as a
Headteacher I don’t see children very often!) and crack on.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Okay, so by now you’ve probably figured out that I really
like this book. It’s informative not
patronising and easily and quickly accessible by anyone, but ultimately schools
aren’t measured on the quality of their photographs, so what’s the point? Is it just another distraction from the core purpose
of schools as measured by outside agencies i.e. English and Maths results?<o:p></o:p></div>
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I guess that depends.
Do you want learners who can infer, reason, explain, justify,
collaborate, create, solve problems, research, empathise and communicate? What about widening the world to our pupils,
challenging them to view and think about things differently? In my school we’re constantly trying to
motivate learners, to improve their ability to talk at length and depth with
deep thinking to support their arguments and opinions, to collaborate and
empathise and broaden their minds and ultimately to enjoy learning and succeed
at it. This book will go a long way to helping
us deliver this. Through projects and
activities in this book, learning becomes relevant, stimulating and can be
driven by the learners themselves whilst providing practical opportunities to
apply English and Maths concepts. And
they have fun doing it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Or you could give them a worksheet.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I can guarantee you won't be disappointed with this book and it might just be the book that unlocks a whole new world and way of working that gets your sparky learners fired up, committing that learning to memory like...well...have a guess!<o:p></o:p></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09786933795422063678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908331644371602528.post-47513818739322726452014-04-27T12:34:00.000-07:002014-04-27T12:34:10.057-07:00Why Brunei?I promised a few people I'd write this post quite a few months ago and now, spurred on by @NuttyA10's post about her new adventure, here it is. Apologies if it isn't worth waiting for.<br />
<br />
I want to clarify one thing first, I love my job. And neither is my move linked to where I am currently working. Let me explain...<br />
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Last summer my wife and I sat on a ferry talking to another British couple who had slightly rained on our parade. We'd proudly just returned to Calais after 4 weeks in the South of France to find that they'd spent 3 and a half months travelling around the whole of France. He was a retired member of the British Army and his wife a retired teacher. They were both 55. 55 and retired? They'd clearly got out before Gove and pals got hold of our profession. We spent the journey discussing education and one thing they said lodged in the minds of both my wife and I, "have a look at teaching in the Middle East, earn some money, have a better lifestyle and retire earlier."<br />
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We left the ferry and went our separate ways and, apart from the traffic issues and the rain, the conversation in the front of our car didn't cover much else other than the possibility of leaving the UK. In fact the traffic and rain helped fuel the discussion!<br />
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In the coming weeks we kept an eye on the International jobs section of the TES and looked into one or two in the UAE area. Web research showed some concerns about this area including the rights of women, high staff turnover and some schools with dodgy reputations so we didn't rush in. Then the job at JIS in Brunei came up. I was immediately drawn to the advert as the ethos was one of developing the whole child, as well as academic excellence, with a strong focus on the arts and sport. The facilities looked amazing as well as the curriculum opportunities for our own children. To be honest, like lots of people we've discussed it with since, we had no idea where Brunei was. It turns out it's not another country around the Dubai area but another 8 hours further east.<br />
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Long story short, a number of interviews later, including the final one at the school in October half term and I was successful. This was my first and only international and private sector application and I was amazed I got it. Little old me with a Nottingham Poly degree (although it did become a university whilst I was there) working in a highly challenging school on a large council estate in Nottingham City was selected from a world wide bunch! I couldn't be further from their reality.<br />
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So why move? Why uproot my wife and two children? Why leave the children's grandparents, friends and other family?<br />
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I'll try and give you a small glimpse into some of the thinking behind this decision:<br />
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<ol>
<li><b>I don't want to leave my current school. </b>I know, This sounds like a massive contradiction but it's true. Actually I owe a lot to my school in getting me this new job. My school has issues and had many more when I joined it only 18 months ago but it has been the intense effort to resolve as many as possible that has made me a better head than I was in my previous 5 years. Being able to sit in an interview situation and not be desperate to get it because I have to get out, whilst being able to just talk from the heart and from extensive experience, can't have failed to help me be successful.</li>
<li><b>Meddling outside forces in our education system.</b> I promise not to rant. Or at least I promise to try. As a head I've never been interested in ticking boxes and keeping outsiders happy; my passion is for the children we have in our school and their individual contexts, talents and needs. I firmly believe that if provision is right for each individual child then everything that is valued by those from the outside looks after itself. Sadly, this relatively simplistic view has become increasingly more difficult to sustain with the increasing hoop jumping that is demanded by the egotistical loose canons that believe themselves to be in charge. Gove is Gove and I won't get into my feelings about him now but then Sir M Wilshaw seems to be battling for the higher ego ground and introducing policies through the backdoor of ever changing inspection frameworks. The injustice of the frameworks for those of us in the 'challenging' schools...Then there's the lack of opposition policy, the constant manipulation of a flawed assessment system... I'll stop now as I'm sure you get the picture.</li>
<li><b>Opportunities.</b> Now that I know where Brunei is, the travel, cultural and lifestyle opportunities for my own family are significantly greater than I could provide here in the UK. For example, my son's year 6 residential trip will be to Australia rather than Grantham; I'm sure Grantham is great but... Also, the year-round warmth (apparently it rains. A lot. All at once.) means we can do more outdoors including jungle trips, kayaking and sailing in the sea. The location of Brunei itself makes travelling to exotic and interesting places much easier (and cheaper) than from the UK. I'm going to cheat here and refer you to Ian Gilbert's latest book 'Independent Thinking' where there is a list of benefits beginning on page 83. On a more serious note, the chance to take my children to a society where youngsters don't hang around in gangs carrying knives and drugs is clearly a positive. Levels of crime in Brunei are relatively low; the school's principle took me out for a pizza on the first night and didn't lock his car as there isn't a need to.</li>
<li><b>Avoiding stress induced death.</b> Alright, this sounds a bit dramatic, but it has a place in my thinking. There are many anecdotes of teachers, particularly headteachers, who struggle to reach retirement age then collapse and die or, if they survive, have life changing issues. I can well believe this, as the stress I experienced last year definitely impacted on my health, so this new job is a chance to earn a bit more money and possibly retire earlier, rather than work to 70 for a pension that is worth less (how does a 70 year old teacher relate to 11 year council estate boys?!). Hopefully the stress will be less with no OfSTED or SATs, although I still expect, and want to be, busy and working hard.</li>
<li><b>Society.</b> Just a short word on this. Until something is done about arresting the spiralling decline on estates like the one on which I work (and the widening gap between rich and poor), schools like mine will find themselves with ever-increasing difficulty in getting these children to 'national' averages. This brings a whole host of other multiplying difficulties such as recruitment, staff health, morale. Don't get me wrong, the kids are great but they are increasingly starting from lower and lower points through no fault of their own and the gaps are widening with their more affluent peers.</li>
<li><b>Why not?</b> I've learnt from personal experience that life is too short. Oddly, we don't smoke or drink particularly or even do the lottery and yet we're gambling on moving to the other side of the world but sometimes these opportunities just come along at the right time and you have to take them. What's the worse that can happen? Well, apart from being eaten by a salt water crocodile or bitten by a cobra or attacked by a sun bear... </li>
</ol>
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<br />
So there's just a short summary of some of the thinking. This is my own opinion and I hope it doesn't depress anyone too much. I guess I will be one of the statistics of teachers leaving the profession which seems to be rapidly increasing. I can't blame them despite it being the best job.<br />
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At the time of writing there are 106 days before we leave. We're busy throwing out, selling off and boxing up our stuff (it's frightening how much is accumulated - anybody need a cross trainer and an oil filled radiator?) and painting all the rooms in the house. We intend to rent the house out and knowing there is an option to return helps the transition. Being honest, I hope we settle and do a decent number of years but we'll see how it goes.<br />
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It's natural to miss friends and family and I intend to keep in regular contact with my Twitter friends and hopefully some people I know from the UK will want to keep in touch with me! I've met some brilliant and inspiring people working in and with schools in the UK so maybe, come the revolution, when your day comes, I'll return with enthusiasm to work in an education system that values it's pupils for the individuals they are, where they've come from and the teachers going above and beyond for them. Until then I'll be playing in the back garden with the monkeys. And my children.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09786933795422063678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908331644371602528.post-34021882039205981452014-01-12T14:17:00.000-08:002014-01-12T14:29:28.229-08:00Is a good curriculum innovative?With the incoming new Primary curriculum there is a lot of discussion in and out of schools about innovating curriculums and it being time to redesign provision in schools. As a headteacher I am passionate about 'what' and 'how' we teach and have driven curriculum reform in both schools that I have been in charge of. Unfortunately I now feel I got it wrong. Or at least went about it in the wrong way so I'd like to share some pointers that I wish I'd considered more thoroughly <i>before</i> embarking on curriculum change.<br />
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<b>What's the point?</b><br />
'Start with the end in mind' is often, particularly in education, easier said than done but I wish now that I'd taken longer to thoroughly nail what we wanted our learners to be like at the end of their time in my school. Most schools have a vision (normally with words like 'potential' and 'values' polished to high degrees of fluffiness) but what does this actually mean? What will it <i>really </i>look like? Do the vision and the end product bear any resemblance? And, more importantly, who is driving the definition of 'end product' in your school? Is it OfSTED? The DfE (or whatever agency is now currently in charge)? <br />
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Recently I saw a couple of great questions on a blog by @htbruce <a href="http://www.htbruce.com/six-challenging-questions/" target="_blank">here</a> that he developed after interviewing teacher trainees and I've 'borrowed' them below:<br />
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<strong style="background-color: black; border: 0px; color: #aaaaaa; font-family: 'Century Gothic', 'Avant Garde', sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Question 5 – What if all children had was primary school?</strong><br />
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<strong style="background-color: black; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Question 6 And finally, a question to chew over for a lifetime. </strong></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;">Imagine that we have no National Curriculum, no OFSTED, no strategies, nor</span><br />
<span style="background-color: black;">government breathing down our necks – just a mandate that childrenmust leave us at 11 having had a wonderful primary education. If youhad a completely empty room and a large budget, what exactly would youdo with a class of 30 children if you could do anything at all thatyou wanted?</span><br />
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I'm sure you've considered these types of questions as part of your starting point for curriculum design. I've always resisted falling into the data trap and have maintained a mantra of 'forget doing it to achieve x number of levels or to keep a certain group happy'. If you get this right the data will look after itself, and external people love good data...<br />
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So, whilst I started with some thought of the end product, I wish I'd spent more time developing a clearer, more absolute, image of what the children will look like and from that some kind of pathway to success. This isn't a subject specific outcome (although the same thinking could be applied to individual subjects) but one of the whole child, including the word 'values', but also skills, concepts, knowledge, attitudes. When these are clearly defined then 'subjects' can be crafted to contribute to this outcome.<br />
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Just a thought about the term 'secondary ready'. When I first heard this being banded about I assumed that as usual primary education was being dumbed down and the only education that counted was secondary. But the more I think about it, maybe it isn't such a bad thing. Maybe we should be sending children to secondary school able to learn independently; able to manage themselves effectively as individuals and as members of a team; able to find and solve problems, communicate effectively and treat others with respect and value. I'm sure this is what Mr Gove meant and not just to do with academic outcomes. I mean, no-one would focus on such a small part of being a learner and certainly not rank them against each other. Would they?!<br />
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<b>Who is it for?</b><br />
This has always been one of my major beefs with the current system. The one-size-fits-all system of assessment, policy diktat, curriculum, inspection etc. takes little account of the huge differences in the challenges that schools face. Mick Waters in Thinking Allowed uses a brilliant analogy of children's starting points in education as a race track but without the staggered start. Children like those in my school are already at a disadvantage (in the outer lanes) compared to those in more affluent areas (inner lanes) before they even start and yet are expected to perform the same. <br />
With this in mind I wish I'd have got to know the groups within my school better before changing the curriculum. I don't mean the statistically identified ones from RAISE online but the hidden groups within the school community; those on certain roads on the estate, those with similar home issues, those of multiple generations as examples. Why? Because our curriculum should reflect <i>their</i> needs. Not the needs imagined by a sycophantic trusted advisor in an office in Whitehall nor the needs of the next group of faceless visitors in grey suits with clipboards or those of the latest company funding the education office. If we are truly going to improve the life chances of these children and their community then we have to fully understand them and shape a curriculum to fit.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09786933795422063678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908331644371602528.post-86520167180106036932013-03-05T12:51:00.001-08:002013-03-05T12:51:02.599-08:00Going SOLO: An introduction <p dir=ltr><a href="http://www.innovatemyschool.com/industry-expert-articles/item/492-going-solo-an-introduction-to-the-taxonomy-everyone%E2%80%99s-talking-about.html">Going SOLO: An introduction to the taxonomy everyone’s talking about - Innovate My School</a><br>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09786933795422063678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908331644371602528.post-9896018249333015382013-02-17T01:31:00.001-08:002013-02-17T01:31:00.132-08:00Involving parents in your class blog<p dir=ltr><a href="http://primarytech.global2.vic.edu.au/2013/02/09/a_guide_to_involving_parents_in_your_class_blog/">A Guide to Involving Parents in Your Class Blog | Primary Tech</a><br>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09786933795422063678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908331644371602528.post-53199595360034297222013-02-16T06:56:00.001-08:002013-02-16T06:56:29.891-08:00Animated comic maker<p dir=ltr><a href="http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2013/02/create-animated-comics-with-sketch-star.html?m=1">Free Technology for Teachers: Create Animated Comics with Sketch Star</a><br>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09786933795422063678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908331644371602528.post-83714636521982126612013-02-10T02:12:00.001-08:002013-02-10T02:12:56.151-08:00Great creative technology links and advice<p dir=ltr><a href="http://21centuryedtech.wordpress.com/">21 st Century Educational Technology and Learning | K12 educational transformation through technology</a><br>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09786933795422063678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908331644371602528.post-85809882242854887582013-01-26T13:01:00.001-08:002013-01-26T13:01:22.574-08:00Marginal gains-lots of links to other projects<p dir=ltr><a href="http://marginallearninggains.com/cadence/">Cadence | Marginal Learning Gains</a><br>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09786933795422063678noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3908331644371602528.post-35209303652754087002013-01-21T10:14:00.001-08:002013-01-21T10:14:44.873-08:00Three free tools for animation<p dir=ltr><a href="http://www.freetech4teachers.com/2013/01/three-free-tools-for-creating.html?m=1">Free Technology for Teachers: Three Free Tools for Creating Stopmotion and Timelapse Videos</a><br>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09786933795422063678noreply@blogger.com0