Friday 27 April 2012

100 words week 39


This week’s prompt was to include

I have been pretty busy with one thing and another and wasn’t too sure how (or if) to do this one. However, an idea came to me and this is what I have come up with. Suffice to say that current affairs influenced me somewhat but this  version is what I would have liked to happen rather than what is...
I’m not quite sure if I have achieved what I set out to; but here goes anyway...

Heads will roll.

The tension was palpable. Heads would  roll, no doubt about that. Integrity and transparency- that was what had been promised. This error could signal the end.
  A waft of cologne arrived seconds before he strode in. Silence hung heavily as his narrow eyes flicked impatiently around the room until fixing on the perpetrator, “You’re fired! Shut the door behind you. I'm exhausted by your ineptitude.”
“But I’ve done nothing wrong. My behaviour was totally appropriate; any errors in judgement were beyond my control.”
“Enough! Your desk has been cleared.” 
Angrily pulling on his jacket he headed for the door,  “Those who live in glass houses...”  and entered the courtroom.

Thursday 26 April 2012

Reflections on AST/ET science conference held at the National Science Learning Centre


Last week I went to the National Science Learning Centre at the University of York 

 Not having attended a subject specific course for 3 years (!) I had high expectations. I was not disappointed. Having had some time to reflect on the two days I have decided to use my blog as a way to consolidate my thoughts and act as an aide memoir to support my action planning.

Many of the courses offered by the SLC have bursaries available to course attendees . (Full details can be found here :    https://www.sciencelearningcentres.org.uk/centres/national/awards-and-bursaries/enthuse-award )
 This was the only way that I was able to attend as my entire subject budget for the academic year is less than the course fees!

Delegate numbers were lower this year than in previous years (due to the uncertain future of ASTs) However, what may have been lacking in numbers was more than made up for in the quality of the discussions that took place. Should the conference run again next year (some doubt over this at present which is another reason for blogging- by spreading the word hopefully the partners                    (see https://www.sciencelearningcentres.org.uk/centres/national/awards-and-bursaries/enthuse-award )  will continue to offer funding and teachers might feel inspired to attend in the future.)

The conference began with a keynote speech from the newly appointed national adviser for science, Brian Cartwright (http://www.ase.org.uk/news/ase-news/ofsteds-brian-cartwright-hmi-confirmed-for-ase-conference/) He spoke of the findings of recent HMI visits specific to science- plenty of useful advice shared... One of the main things that I have taken away from this is the importance of putting science into context and ensuring that children see how science is relevant to their everyday lives. We don’t use APP although I could see how using it does focus on that. I haven’t changed my mind about using it per se, but there are useful aspects of it (particularly AF2- understanding the applications and implications of science.)

One of my actions is going to be to look again at our scheme of work and find ways to make better use of the locality- we are fortunate to have a growing area in our school along with a conservation area set in the countryside ...as a school we do make good use of the outside environment but we certainly don’t spend enough time relating science to everyday life. (I collect in planning from staff each term which is an excellent way to build up a resource bank of planning as well as to have a good overview of what is being taught across the school. ) I know that I don’t put science into context enough so am going to work hard on that this term and disseminate across the school.


The next session I attended was “Top Marks: Making Assessment Real.”
This was all about resources put together by a team of teachers working with Sheffield Hallam University.
(supported by Astra Zeneca Science teaching trust )
It reminded me that I have a smart science pack and the activities we looked at followed the CAR model:
Context rich
Active rich
Response rich.
Already I was making links to Brian’s presentation and thinking about how we could further improve the science in our school.
I particularly liked the model of giving children a selection of answers to discuss as a group. I have used PMI (positive , minus, interesting – here are some useful links to that http://www.teachingexpertise.com/articles/thinking-skills-thinkathon-2655 and
and  “odd one out” activities effectively in class to stimulate discussions and thinking. I am keen to develop further to provide children with an improved range of approaches to stimulate their questioning skills and group work.  Concept cartoons were discussed and it was apparent that many of the delegates were using them. We don’t have a set in school and I think that this is something I can action this term- to get to know how to use them effectively so that I can share with staff. (To be honest I have known about them for ages just haven’t got round to getting the book- this is where going on a conference is so powerful- it is great talking in the staffroom, or on twitter, but a focussed two day course doesn’t half give you an opportunity to really think about things! Having the funding for the course (thanks to the Enthuse award https://www.sciencelearningcentres.org.uk/centres/national/awards-and-bursaries  - this enabled me to attend the course in the first place and there will be some money left after supply and travel to enable me to action some of these points- how fantastic is that J ) We looked at examples where the children were given a scenario with a variety of possible “answers” the challenge being to decide as a group which the “right” answer was. The joy of this approach is that the teacher can give answers tailored to their class/group and it would act as an excellent method of assessing their understanding. My initial response was to try to find a book with lots of examples in. Having had some time to reflect I can see that it is all down to  the approach taken. I need to have a go at coming up with some of my own and share that with the staff rather than just give them a pile of activities (which will just end up in a cupboard gathering dust!)

I hope to be able to work with some other teachers to share ideas and see how we can improve opportunities for children to experience the CAR model. (In our cluster ideally, if not there as an online collaboration... it is on my action plan!) 

The session which followed was “getting the FACTS (formative assessment classroom techniques)

Having attended a brilliant Shirley Clarke conference last year (Active Learning through Formative Assessment)

and having read some of the wonderful Carol Dweck publications http://www.mindsetworks.com/default.aspx I was looking forward to this session to see how I could further embed AFL into my teaching.
The focus was on using AFL as a diagnostic tool and there were some great ideas shared such as the human scatter graph (loved this one) . Links to the previous session included giving children a range of answers to a question. Later this term we will be having a sports week and I will be using the brilliant “In the zone” kit.
I have had a go at thinking of how to use the PEO probe (Predict, Explain, Observe)

You are  going to take your pulse for 20 seconds. Then you will run on the spot for 2 minutes and take your pulse again for 20 seconds when you stop running. You will continue to take your pulse every two minutes after that for the next 20 minutes. What do you think will happen?
a)     Your pulse will go up when you run and stay fast after because you used your muscles
b)    Your pulse will stay the same because you’re really fit
c)     Your pulse will slow down when you exercise because all the blood goes to your muscles and it will go up again afterwards.
d)    Your pulse will go up when you exercise and gradually go back down again afterwards
e)     Your pulse will go up when you exercise and go back to what it was to start with when you stop
I could also/alternatively present the children with a graph of a variety of results and challenge them to explain which they think are correct and why.

I have done a similar activity to this many times but never started off in this way- I can’t wait to try it!

There were so many ideas in this session and I enjoyed the fact that both primary and secondary teachers were working together ( I have NEVER been on anything before that has been cross phase – it was extremely powerful working with colleagues teaching KS3 and 4)
Other ideas that I particularly liked and will be trying out in my class were the card sorts (again this is something that I would like to work with staff on as I could see this being especially useful in our KS1 classes- action point!) This is where children are given a selection of cards relating to a topic and they sort them as they see appropriate, giving reasons. (references given to Marzano’s work into thinking skills http://download.intel.com/education/Common/ro/Resources/DEP/skills/Marzano.pdf )

Using technology effectively is something I am always trying to improve, we were shown how to use a digital camera to photograph the children when they are working and to give them the pictures (that session ideally) to use them to explain what they were doing at that time. Another idea that I hadn’t used and will be trying out in class.

The final session of the day was an opportunity to discuss posters which we had all made as our pre course assignment to talk about some of the work we are doing in our schools and local authorities. This reinforced the strength of working cross phase and highlighted what fantastic work is happening across the country. If only the ASTs could get together on a more regular basis what a powerful and positive force we could be across the teaching community as a whole.  

Phew and that was just the first day!!

Day two
The day began with a choice of workshops (each session was a choice of two so I only saw half of what was on offer- an excellent reason to go again!)
I opted for the problem solving session (got a bit of a theme going on here!)
We talked about the revised Bloom’s taxonomy (link here http://www.kurwongbss.eq.edu.au/thinking/Bloom/blooms.htm
Again we discussed the power of giving children answers to choose from- I really don’t know why I haven’t been doing this- that is the joy of having attended the 2 days; I have come away with some activities to use in class that I feel confident will have IMPACT on teaching and learning J
We carried out a series of activities as though we were the children.  This was a great way to see the potential pit falls. There was plenty of time to discuss experiences with colleagues. I attended an activating personal capabilities in science course a while ago and it was good to see how the ideas dovetailed.

The final session was on questinioning to deepen learning. I have devoted a lot of time to honing my own skills in asking questions so was interested to see how to use this to enrich the children’s skills in asking questions.  I particularly liked the model IRE (Interrogate , response, evaluate) and how to move this on to IRPRPRP ( Interrogate, response, prompt, response,prompt etc)
This is (another) area that I am keen to develop further with a view to the children coming up with these rich questions which can be used to base out planning on. With the uncertainty in the curriculum I don’t think now is a good time to start rewriting schemes of work, however, I think the time is perfect to teach children to become successful inquirers and to use those skills to direct their learning more effectively.
Again I don’t think coming up with  a list is necessarily the best way to achieve this, prompts and question starts more valuable if used well. We were show=n a fun APP which generated questions using virtual dice- all tools which can be used easily. Just using “what if?” as a start would promote higher order thinking skills.
I am very keen to foster a culture of “if you know all the answers you’re not learning” in my classroom.  Using questions which can multiple responses  (and osme that can’t be answered even!) can help to underpin this.  I came across this useful document http://www.nicurriculum.org.uk/docs/key_stages_1_and_2/ALTM-KS12.pdf  I haven’t seen an equivalent English one (the amount of paperwork that was coming into schools at one point means it is very likely there was one but I didn’t read it) It makes very interesting reading and again has heaps of suggestions for ways to improve the quality of experiences we provide for our learners.
The day ended with reflections and putting action plans together. I did mine but it has disappeared when I tried to locate it (technology and me don’t always work out!) That was no bad thing though as I put together a far better thought out plan having had time to reflect.
So, what have I gained from the conference?
ü Some great colleagues to network with
ü Some new ideas to try in class
ü A great opportunity to share good practice across key stages
ü Finding out about the elibrary at the stem centre and all the resources that are available http://www.nationalstemcentre.org.uk/
ü Had time to focus on my subject and see how the skills can be used in any area of the curriculum
ü A renewed vision of how I want to lead the subject in my school.
ü Highlighted the importance of having opportunities to attend quality CPD in your subject
In my teaching career to date (21 years) I have been on very few courses whic have been as positive as this. This was in part due to the audience of ASTs and ETs  - the discussions which took place both during workshops and in “free time” were stimulating and enjoyable.
I would recommend attending again without reservation and hope that it continues to run. When I first arrived it was evident that some delegates had been on previous occasions; it soon became clear why that was.
I have written this to help me reflect on the two days and to support my next steps in school as well as to share with a wider audience how useful the conference was and what a fabulous opportunity it was. On reading through I think my enthusiasm comes across clearly J
Please feel free to add comments .


Tuesday 17 April 2012

100 words week 38

Well, I am always up for a challenge and my goodness me Julia has pulled out all the stops this week. 
 (  http://jfb57.wordpress.com/2012/04/16/100-word-challenge-for-grown-ups-week38/ )
A sonnet!? After some reading up on the internet and dusting off the Shakespeare I really thought I wouldn’t be able to manage this. But, I haven’t got too tied up with trying to be fancy with the language, just tried to get the right number of lines and rhyme. I am not sure that the rhythm is  right, but it’s my first go at a sonnet so I’m  pleased that I gave it a go.
I am now going to have a look at the others- find them at http://www.linkytools.com/wordpress_list.aspx?id=139784&type=basic

I hope next week’s isn’t a poem!!

St George and the dragon- an attempt at a sonnet.

With you I’d like to share this tale of old:
When Fair England was in deepest despair.
A fearful dragon- water did withold
From the people whom he ate with out care.
(He soon had grown tired of feasting on sheep.)
Lots were drawn deciding who’d be the bait
Chosen ones tore out their hair and did weep
For the gruesome end that would be their fate.
When the King’s daughter was next for the chop,
Returned from the crusades a valiant knight .
George drew his sword , prayed to God, and cried “STOP!”
 The dragon could not overcome his might.

At last the fearful dragon had been slayed
And   that’s how our patron Saint George was made.


Tuesday 10 April 2012

100 words for grown ups- another for the holidays


I enjoyed this week’s challenge so much that I thought I would try another one. There were so many that I enjoyed reading, but firefly Phil’s stood out . Maybe it was all those rabbits! 

Anyway, I have carried it on. As always, love to know what you think.
 I have been doing some writing this Easter for the 1000 flash fiction site http://1000words.org.uk/ I thought I would see if anything I submitted would be chosen for the blog... I thought it would be a useful exercise to see if anyone outside the 100WCGU group would be at all interested in my writing. If not, then I know I still have a VERY long way to go, and if so then I know I have even further to go if I want to stretch my writing beyond these 100word challenges!

In the meantime, here is my continuation of I Wonder What…


Alice has a surprise!
She headed towards the hole, stopping to think if it would be bad manners to arrive at a wedding, if of course it was a wedding, with neither invitation NOR gift. As she thought, the edge of the hole gave way and she fell, landing with a bump at the paws of a VERY cross looking white rabbit. "We're late!"
 Hand in paw she was taken to the quaintest church imaginable, with  a colony of rabbits filling the pews. “How splendid!”
To her dismay, the rabbit kept pulling her towards the altar.
 "All rise!"
 Alice’s legs turned to jelly as she realised this was HER wedding...
But, to whom?

Saturday 7 April 2012

100 words for grown ups week 37

This week’s prompt was to use one of last week’s pieces !
I had been wondering how to choose which to do (in a moment of madness thought I might try them all, but life takes over!) but Julia took that dilemma away by asking each person to do the one after theirs. So that meant I was to finish off Lisa’s  (find it at http://lisawieldswords.wordpress.com/2012/03/27/the-continuing-adventures-of-alice-100wcgu/)
To be honest I felt pretty nervous about continuing hers- if you haven’t visited her blog do so as it is great.
But nothing ventured, nothing gained. Here is this week’s piece. Lisa, hope you like where I took it.

 Alice and the King

“Now, there just must be a way.” thought Alice.
 Alice crossed her fingers before taking a tentative hold of the purple moss. “How doth the shining crocodile...” she murmured, not looking down.
She scrambled up to find herself face to face with both the King of Hearts and the white rabbit!
“Oh my dear, dear girl, how marvellous to see you. You’re just in time.”
“In time for what, your majesty?” Alice curtseyed politely.
“Let’s begin from the end shall we?” replied the King, patting a plump patch of moss into shape. “The Queen has indeed lost her head this time...”