Freebies and Fun

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This time just one year ago I had bagfuls of pens, pencils, leaflets, aprons, stickersrulers, free trials, catalogues and other miscellaneous stationary.  It had been my first visit to the Scottish Learning Festival and I had had a great 2 days.   I didn't go to TMSLF09 though.  I was aware that there was something happening in the evening but didn't really know much about it.  I was also very, very new to twitter so didn't have the background feed to fill me in.

This year couldn't have any more different!  This year I have returned with one little bag with one pencil a couple of pens and not a lot more.  The difference?  This year I didn't go for freebies.  I went to hear Ollie Bray speaking, attend the opening keynote with Mike Russell, meet tweeps and to attend TMSLF2010.

This year was FANTASTIC!

11:05am: I sprinted from the car park, after being caught in a traffic jam for half an eternity, and made it to the opening keynote just in time...

Mike Russell was received better than Fiona Hyslop was at SLF09; with no boos yet there was also a lack of applause.  The first applause that I was really aware of came following a question from Paul Campbell regarding the job situation for teachers.  The response baffled me to say the least.  Perhaps I misheard in my excitement about knowing the questioner, or perhaps I have misinterpreted exactly what Mike Russell was trying to say?  Was the response that jobs should be given to NQT's and other newer teachers in order for them to gain more experience?  If this is the case, what about the very experienced teachers desperate to return to the classroom?  Is it right to rate the need to get experience over the value of tapping into existing experience?  The response from Mike Russell did not for me answer anything other than prove the point that politicians can be very good at moving things around then trying to make it look like large scale change.  I don't know the solution to the job situation but I do know that ignoring experience is not it.

In the same address Mike Russell also highlighted the fact that we have schools that are fantastic, inspiring and motivating:

we have some of the best teachers in the world - most of our schools are wonderful places to learn and great places to be... Teachers must talk, argue, and support each other; inspire other teachers not just in your school but in other schools.

For anyone who uses twitter for education , you are already doing this.

After the opening keynote I met with AnneMarie and we went to see a demonstration of BrainPOP at the Promethean stand.  It was great to see BrainPOP being used by the BrainPOPpers themselves and interesting to see how it works so well with the Promethean tools.  When Eylan finished the demo I was able to introduce myself and wow!  I had always known that the BrainPOPpers were friendly but I have to tell you they are all so incredibly lovely (and they had cakes with orange frosting and glitter, yes glitter and they were tasty).

Next it was time to meet with GTCS at the TES cafe.  Have to confess that at this time I didn't know who I would be meeting as I hadn't thought to ask the GTCS twitterer what they were called.  Thankfully AnneMarie was more prepared than I was and she even knew what Kelly would be wearing.  We met up, grabbed lunch and headed to the LTS stand to watch the Consolarium crew, Derek Robertson, Charlie Love, Ollie Bray and Brian Clark, in action (dancing to Let's Dance on the Wii).  You know the times when you are grateful to be holding a cheese and ham toastie?  Well this was a perfect example ;0) AnneMarie and Kelly were rounded up to compete in the next dance off in the hope that someone would steal the crown from the talented Derek Robertson and I was free to eat my lunch (and video the fun).

What could possibly top this dance off I hear you say.  How does the sound of meeting national treasure Alan Hamilton sound?  Well that was our next stop!  We caught up on Glow stories and heard tales of LTS burning the midnight oil, 4am!

Practising Inclusive Practice

'Could be language' is a term referred to by Helen Langer following research into how information is presented and the effect that this has on attitudes.

"If you present information in a tentative, provisional kind of way, students are much better able to use that information thoughtfully and creatively."

An example of this may be showing a class a ruler and saying 'this could be a frisbee'.  The purpose of this approach would be to encourage learners to question what they are presented with.  This is something I have a tendency to do over pretty much everything.  I like enquiry and I'm not being argumentative.  There are times when I challenge an opinion only to reach the same conclusion.  I don't think this is a bad thing; challenging can help to clarify things and provide better understanding.

During our first Inclusive Education in the Primary Classroom input we were presented with statements from the Centre for Studies on Inclusive Education.  Here are two examples:

"Inclusion in education involves:
Valuing all students and staff equally.
Acknowledge the right of students to an education in their locality"

For me these statements provide more questions than answers.

1. What is equality?
2. Where does celebrating diversity fit in?
3. Valuing people equally does not necessarily mean you are recognising them as individuals, each with unique talents and ability.
4. An education should be about more than geography and demographics.

The frustrating truth is that statements on/ about inclusion are necessary for developing understand in the field.  Yet can statements then become barriers to inclusion themselves?

I think that stereotypical prejudice can impose irrational restrictions without taking into account actual ability.  Rather than valuing all equally,  wouldn't it be better to respect everyone individually?  

This extract from the educational philosophy section of my e-portfolio that was written in first year will be interesting to keep in mind this year.  At the end of the year I will look back and reflect on how my attitudes have developed.

'Without refering to the offical policy, I do believe that every child matters and every child is entitled to a stimulating and engaging environment.  I believe in inclusion but recognise that this is not always achievable.  It can be difficult to be truly inclusive depending upon the needs of individual children and the balance must be met in order that the inclusion of an individual pupil is not to the detriment of the class.'

A testing question

The testing of pupils from a young age is something that I have strong opinions on.  Following a conversation on twitter I have left the following comment on Julia Skinner's post Why Do We Do It?

I would love to hear others views on the subject.


It's funny Julia, as today we had another conversation in university about the connection between the child, the teacher and the curriculum.  It was suggested that the curriculum leads the teacher.  I argued against this idea as I don't believe a good teacher is led by a curriculum.  I believe that a good teacher has the confidence and conviction to lead learning in the direction dictated by the needs of the child and the curriculum is there for guidance rather than to be used as a bible.  I do agree that it takes more than confidence and conviction to be able to do this; it also take experience.

Yes we need to assess learning and keeping a record of this is also very important yet the form of assessment is often what infuriates me.  The stories that the media focus upon give the impression that testing is a government tool that is batted about to suit the latest initiative whether that be in a supportive role or to highlight failings.  My main arguement is that teachers are the best placed to assess their pupils and they are also the best placed to judge which form this assessment should take.  Are government set assessments inclusive? Do they take a holistic view of pupils and the individual progress they have made?  The child who performs well may not be being challenged and yet they will be rewarded for their hard work.  The child who has overcome many hurdles in their learning and achieved a great deal can have their self esteem dented by a poor score.  Carol Dweck speaks of the harmful nature of misguided praise and I think testing can be a perfect example of when this can occur.

A video of Carol Dweck speaking at the Scottish Learning Festival 2009 can be found here.

The Ball is Rolling

  

Today marked the official start of my third year on the BEd (Hons) Primary course. This means the little snowball that started my journey to becoming a teacher is no longer little or needing a push to move. I am gearing myself up for a year of hard work and lots of fun, who says the two can't go together?
Now that I've sorted out my facebook worries it seems easier to see the line between my private life and my uni life which is something that, at times, became muddled last year.

This year is going to be a great year. We have two placement blocks and, while I can't wait for the first to begin, I am really looking forward to learning more about the early years stage before starting placement.

When I decided that I wanted to be a teacher I had thought that the early years would be the stage that I would really like to teach in but as I have gained more experience across the school I find it harder to choose a favourite class!

The other great news today came from BrainPOP UK. I've been working with a group of p6/7 pupils making short videos, I heard about the BrainPOP call for FYI's (For Your Information) and when the pupils heard about it they decided that would be the focus for two of their movies. So in between inputs today I received an email telling me their entry had been accepted and I could have a sneak preview of how the FYI's will work. The worst part was that I had to wait until after uni to be able to but I can tell you it is going to be a great addition to the site.

Even better is that the school will get a six month subscription to BrainPOP as a result. After uni I rushed down to let the pupils know and they are very proud of themselves and very excited. I am also extremely proud of the work that they put into making their movies.

I'll also be remembering this post from Julia Skinner this year, 'Great expectations and Blank Pages'.  If something does go wrong I am not going to panic - I am going to assess what happened, reflect on this and if I have another similar experience I will have learning to help me through.

Images Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons & Google images

My Glogster

Why I've Shut Down Facebook

Ok so that is a lie.  I haven't shut down Facebook.  I have, however, pulled the shutters down.  Let me explain some more.

Over the past few weeks I've been thinking about my personal use of facebook and how it impacts on my life.  I use my facebook for different reasons; to keep in touch with family who live in Ireland and share family photos, to keep contact with old school friends, to share the usual updates with friends that I see often and to have contact with other people on my course.  My friends list was never completely out of control with lots of people I don't really know or strangers but there where plenty of people on there that don't need to have such a big window into my life.

I am quite an open person but with that comes naivety and I am very guilty of believing the best of everyone.  This is something I don't want to lose yet I know that I need to be more aware of what I share within each circle of trust.

I've removed nearly all of my uni peers from my facebook page with the exception of a small handful of friends.  I do have an alternative facebook account that I have set up to use professionally and if other students want to have me on their page they can follow me on that account although I'm not entirely convinced that this is the right decision.  Facebook is a wonderful tool and it could be incorporated very successfully in education but in my opinion the fatal flaw in this idea is that facebook is already corrupt.  I'm not saying this in a bad way.  We are creatures of habit and the use of social media is no different, we use it in a certain way and while new ways to use these tools can be introduced the old habits will still be there.  Every time that you log into facebook you are presented with updates on your newsfeed and the temptation to click that link is too easy.  This leads you into the cycle of exploration that leaves you wondering where the past hour has disappeared to.

Personally I have not so much had my fingers burned with facebook use but I have experienced incidents that have left me uncomfortable.  There have been many occasions where coursework has been discussed or issues have been raised that have impacted on me.  I have had times where facebook has led to me doing extra work and stress.  Everyone goes on facebook and has a moan, which everyone is entitled to and I moan just as much as anyone else, but the problem comes when people start giving advice and offering solutions when they are not completely clear of the bigger picture or when people give the wrong advice or information that is not entirely appropriate.  I always end up getting into a tizzy about this as I get worked up and to be honest at the start of third year I am going to have enough work to get on with without the distraction and confusion that surfaces on facebook.

The voice of enthusiasm is very easy to confuse with the voice of experience.  I am going to focus on listening to the experience because I have the enthusiasm and without the guidance that experience can offer enthusiasm won't get me very far.

Learning is for life not just for a purpose

Why do I go to uni?  Is it just a means to an end?  The route that must be taken in order to reach the destination I have chosen?  Or is it more than that?

Quite often people will say never mind only two more years to go or half way through and sometimes it does feel exactly like that.  The BEd can be like a pregnancy that people have known about from the beginning.  You will meet someone you haven't seen for a while and they exclaim "have you still not had that baby!".  When you are on the BEd course you meet people and they exclaim "are you still at uni!"  I have a friend who decided to become a teacher, has completed the PGDE and is now a probationer teacher all in the time I completed one quarter of my course.  Am I jealous? Not in the slightest (well maybe sometimes) because I believe that the BEd is the best route for me.  As for why I go to uni, of course I go because I want to be a teacher but I also go because I want to learn.

I like to think, investigate, explore, discuss, research and everything else that comes with a programme of study.  I don't want to simply form ideas and hold them as concrete beliefs for the rest of my life.  I want to take the ideas and beliefs of others and throw them on the scales, not to get a better balance but to tip the scales in favour of the learners that I will help to develop.

So yes there are times when I complain about the course and moan about things that in the grand scale of things are quite insignificant but the journey is worth it.  I am not a teacher in training, I am a learner in training and I think learners make the best teachers.