Hello again

 Goodness it has been a LONG time since the last post - and several jobs have been and gone. 

I may, or may not write about those at some point.

In the meantime, along with my teaching I love to read and with a daily commute of 90 minutes have embraced audio books. So , this blog space will now be used to review some of the books that I have read. 

I'd love to write one of my own one day ( well I have one  in my google drive that I'm really not happy with so I will rephrase that as I would love to write a decent book of my own one day). 

The esteemed author, Stephen King, in his autobiographical book 'On Writing' repeatedly referred to his love of reading, and the copious amount that he has and still does as one of his biggest influences that I dream that my love of reading may perhaps help me to become a better writer.

In the meantime thus begins my reviews. Thanks for reading!

Teaching evolution to Year 6

This half term I have been teaching one of the new curriculum areas to my year 6 class.

Evolution.

Goodness, that is an area that challenges! Determined to make it accessible to the children I have used ideas from a brilliant session I attended with Stuart Naylor to give them an idea of the huge timescales.

( here's a link to the book written in collaboration with Jo Moules http://www.nsta.org/recommends/ViewProduct.aspx?ProductID=22411 )

Last week the children , for home learning, took a moth outline home and coloured it with the remit of colouring so they could hide it in school. When we had a dry day, they hid them and we then pretended to be birds hunting moths.  This really helped to understand the process of natural selection. 

This afternoon we were thinking about variation within species and inheritance. I had drawn a simple pattern ( first of the photos) the children came to a screened off part of the room or at a time to copy the picture the previous child had copied.

The results are here:

They were astonished to see how the pictures changed...tiny changes, over time, leading to something altered.

They have been buzzing with questions ( favourite today, "So, could humans evolve horns at some point?"

We rounded the afternoon with coming up with the offspring of Little Misses and Mr Men and had a lot of chuckles discussing characteristics that could be inherited.

I was quite apprehensive about tackling such a challenging scientific area, but it's been huge fun and the children have been so eager to ask questions. 

Good grief, having fun!? Yes, it IS possible. 

And relax...

I was going to have a rant about negativity in the way our profession is all too often portrayed by the media but deleted partway through as that in itself was negative.

So, as the summer holiday reaches its halfway point and the list of things I need to complete to be ready for the start of term grows by  the day, here's to positivity.

As a teacher, being positive is essential , regardless of how I may be feeling that morning, the children deserve to have a teacher who is full of enthusiasm about the day ahead. (We can all recall INSET sessions/ staff meetings where the presenter has been lacking in enthusiasm and how it makes us feel!)  Conversely, being like a Duracell bunny (other brands of battery are available as are other types of small furry mammal ;P) would be somewhat wearing as well. Somewhere in between is where I'd like to be (erring towards the bunny!)

Where is this post going? To act as a reminder that teaching really is a fabulous profession. I am looking forward to the challenges of the year ahead. (There will be many as I will be with Y6 - first time with the new SATs !)  Sure, there will be ups and downs and times when I will want to bang my head on the wall or table, but being positive, modelling that to my class when things are hard so that they see a challenge as something to overcome, not to be afraid of. Life is full of challenges; it is how we deal with them that ultimately shapes us into the people we become.

And I will continue to beat my positivity drum loud and long; perhaps if more of this was portrayed there would be fewer teachers leaving, more joining?  Teaching is not easy, but where would the challenge be in that!

PSTT- what's it all about?

PSTT

Nope, I am not trying to get your attention ; PSTT is the Primary Science Teacher Trust (formerly known as the Astra Zeneca Teaching Trust)

Read all about the trust, their work and history here

I was thrilled to become a part of this fabulous college in 2012. This year I was lucky enough to be awarded one of the Primary Science Teacher of the Year awards alongside many other teachers . All sharing the same passion and enthusiasm for developing science teaching in their schools. What a fabulous group of people to be associated with.

The recent conference, held this year at the rather splendid University of Manchester, was truly inspirational. You can read about the conference on the above website, but I thought I would share some of the more memorable parts here. The conference was so packed that it has taken me a couple of weeks to reflect on the wealth of information shared.

The conference kicked off on Monday morning (after a very enjoyable dinner at a local Italian restaurant on the Sunday where the new college fellows had a chance to meet) with an introduction from Kathy Schofield, college director and a virtual appearance from Professor Dudley Shallcross whose vision to grow the trust to reach across every school in the country is gathering momentum.

We heard about successful projects from existing fellows such as Growing music at Shaw Primary ( see here ) funded by the PSTT.

New members then had a chance to share what they are doing in schools- so many fantastic ideas going on in schools across the country; a side of teaching that is all too often overlooked by a negativity driven media  (IMO) andnot enough time given to share and celebrate the fabulous work that is happening in our primary schools.


Following lunch, we were treated to a key note speech by Tony Hughes from Huthwaite International  (here ) "Logic is not persuasive. Neither is being right!"  where he talked about how to recognise verbal and non verbal signals. To be honest the hour he was given wasn't really enough  - a whole day, several days in fact could have been taken up with this. However, there was certainly lots of food for thought. Only two pm and already so many ideas to take away and build on!

There were various workshops going on and I had to choose which to go to; I plumped for the Making it Practical option. This was led by Tara Mawby (website ) and was full of great ideas.
My favourites were odd one out starter questions to get the children thinking . For example I am going to try one with my class following our earth in space topic :

Really like the idea that there are so many possible answers; great way to encourage children to be confident about having a go.

We also looked at how to use easily available pocket money toys to stimulate scientific enquiry.
 This was a great way to make me think outside the box when it comes to our resources. The new, slimmed down , curriculum gives so much more time to devote to working scientifically. Pocket money toys such as the above can lend themselves to so many activities. Children choose an object adn come up with a question that they could then test out.

I then went to a workshop which focused on KS1 (but everything could go across both KS1 and 2)
This was run by Pam Waite and was FAB. One of my favourites from the session was this ingenious way to make a Cartesian diver:



and this way to make branching databases with children more accessible: I often use objects to make these but had not thought of doing it on quite such a grand scale; fabulous way to do it!

 

Goodness me- and this was just on day one!
Day two to follow

Teaching, still a great career?

Teacher: a person who teaches, especially in a school.

"a history teacher"

This post was prompted by a recent blog , 'Would you recommend teaching?' ( find it here ) courtesy of @secretteacher6.

With 23 years of teaching , I feel reasonably qualified to express my views.

Yes, I would heartily recommend teaching as a career if you are:-

1) Passionate about your subject/specialism
2) Genuinely like young people/children and have patience and humour by the bucket load
3) Self motivated and very well organised
4) Thick skinned enough to cope with difficult patents/managers/colleagues/students but human enough to care
5) A risk taker and prepared to learn alongside the children
6) Adaptable and flexible

I could go on with this list almost indefinitely-I love those T shirts that you can buy which "sum up" what being a teacher entails e.g...

. 
 Perhaps being a teacher is most like being a parent in so far as it is a highly complex, multi faceted, not a  one-fits-all but an ever changing role.

But, to address the question, is teaching still a great career?

Yes, in my opinion.

Hear me out- OK, there is a lot going on at the moment that isn't great and there have been blog posts a-plenty about those.

BUT, I honestly think that it is a privilege to work with children, the job IS ever changing but that is part of the appeal. No getting bored on the job allowed! (or possible)  I was on a course the other day and when asked how long I had been in my present post was asked, "Isn't it time to move on now?"  Um, well no. Not for the time being at least. It is the fact that the job does change so often that makes it fresh and exciting. (Yes, really) I couldn't imagine how dull it would be to drag the same old lessons out year after year. It's great if some themes/topics stay the same as I rally get to know all about them, but when things change it gives an opportunity to learn alongside the children and to model how to find things out.

To me that is one of the great aspects of the job. Seeing children progress, being there when they grasp a new concept, hearing them at play time, hearing about them when they have moved on to secondary school and beyond. Making a difference, no matter how small that might be, makes teaching what it is.

Recently someone spent a few weeks in our school , uncertain of what career path to take. Being in school, talking to the children and teachers, made that decision easy. He has just been accepted for teacher training. Fab :)

I am not deluded, not wearing rose tinted spectacles, not bonkers. But I AM passionate about being a teacher. Helping shape the children of today into the next generation. It is tragic that so many teachers leave in the early stages of their careers (see here )

Does the job get easier with experience? Not easier, you have a larger bank of resources, are less fazed by change, have a bit more patience, but no, it doesn't get easier. And I can't see myself being effective at 67 to be honest, or that the children will feel they can relate to teachers of that age (ha, I feel that now sometimes!)
I have had enough of the constant negative media . Social media all too often degenerates into negativity. I can moan as well as the next person and if I could wave a magic wand there are plenty of things that I would change (see previous post here ) but life is too short .

Warts and all, teaching is my career of choice, I am still excited, challenged, daunted,thrilled, scared,optimistic... by it. I look forward to the next ITT student that I work with and hope that I will be able to prepare them for a career that is incredibly rewarding. Hard work. Oh yes, more than words can ever get close to saying, but worth it.  Yes.

Advanced Skills Teachers. RIP ?

Back in 2003 I went through the (rather gruelling) process to become an Advanced Skills Teacher. The idea was to give teachers the opportunity to stay in the classroom doing what they love plus work across a range of schools. Also for their salary to be enhanced and their school to have extra funding to allow this to happen. RESULT!

(HERE is some information about the AST role also here .)

I had decided  that I was not looking for a management position so I was very excited about the prospect of outreach and working on collaborative projects. The idea of making a difference beyond my school was an extremely attractive one.

So began a series of requests and work in schools across the county. Somewhat hit and miss with some ASTs being used extensively whilst others were used less widely and a strategic long term plan did not materialise.

Fast track to 2014, a new curriculum starting in September.  Funding cuts across local authorities have led to the cessation of the AST scheme. (read more here ) and there are fewer and fewer  subject advisors across the country. I'm one of the fortunate ones in so far as my LA agreed to safeguard my salary until the end of this year. And I have NEVER been busier with outreach work than at present. Funny that!

Few courses being offered by the county, no subject specialist at county level. Just me. Since becoming a member of the pstt (www.psst.org.uk) I have been lucky enough to receive some valuable CPD which I have been able to cascade to my school and others. But what about all the schools who don't have access to this?

How short sighted is the present system? Teacher training in schools, teachers teaching teachers- this is what the DFE are telling us should be done. (lots of details here ) but WHO is going to train the teachers ? The government have said how important it is to have good CPD , the opposition have muted their ideas (here) but nobody is saying who will provide the CPD (or who will pay for it!?)

Or is this part of the plan to kick teachers out after a few years (see here and here ) I'm all for getting new teachers into the profession- I love working with trainees and NQTs and they have heaps to offer a school, and can certainly provide up to the moment advice , but what about the teachers who have been in the profession for a long time (+20 years = me. Still loving it)

How are we meant to be trained? It's all very well expecting us to train each other- but exactly how and when?

Oh yes, silly me- in our own time of course. Well, that's what a lot of teachers already do- twitter has certainly helped with that- teachmeets growing in popularity.

BUT why oh why end the AST scheme? Other than to save money.

BOOM , without wanting to sound cynical, why else?

And, how short sighted is that?

There is a new scheme to "replace" ASTs- see  here

but there is a problem with that...MONEY!!

ASTs could have (should have) been an incredible support across the country which should have been better managed, better publicised and continued. Excellent teachers supporting others, learning form each other, working together

I'm not bitter about it, I always suspected that it would be a finite thing (there's that cynicism again) and it was good while it lasted. I can't help but think that in the future, someone somewhere will come up with a fantastic idea. "Let's give great teachers the chance to share good practice with others and work together, and let's help to facilitate that by giving schools funding to allow that to happen."

It IS possible to make these schemes work, just need to be well managed and have a purpose. What a pity that this did not happen. But, the future is not set and I shall certainly continue fight for such roles to be values and continued.  How about a secondment basis? One per cluster? See, not that difficult at all, just that little problem with the funding. Ah well, back to the drawing board.




"Opportunity, sooner or later, comes to all who work and wish."
Lord Stanley

Guided reading. An approach that works for me (for now at least!)

Always a topic that promotes animated discussion . Guided reading. How many groups? How often? What do the other groups do? How do you ensure progress? How do you manage it?

We have guided reading sessions daily, 20 minutes. That's a lot of the week when you look at it in its total. So it has to be meaningful to justify that amount of time .

I read an interesting piece this week which you can find  here courtesy of @prawnseye

 There are so many strategies being used out there for guided reading.  I was observed in our recent Ofsted for an entire guided reading session which had good feedback so I hope that you can use some of the ideas.

(My class are a muxed year 4, 5 class. All classes follow a similar format in KS2 )

There are five groups which rotate throughout the week. Children are grouped according to their ability and moved into different groups if appropriate during the year.

Group activities:

1)     Guided reading- with an adult (teacher or TA) using a range of fiction and non fiction texts concentrating on AFs . We have various resources which suggest questions to use for the different AFs. We use some commercial guided reading scheme books alongside sets of books both fiction and non fiction. For example this term I using Michael Morpurgo’s Butterfly Lion with one group and The Hodgeheg (Dick Kng Smith ) with another. Records are kept each session to record responses (AF linked) which is used to assist tracking.

2)     Reading Journals- each child has a reading journal in which they keep activity sheets. These were produced by a previous LA advisor and tie in to AFs. We also have various “take your pick” activities for non fiction and fiction which the children complete independently. Sometimes this might be an activity linked to a class read. (For example during Ofsted this group were writing a first person account linked to the class story “The Indian in the Cupboard- Lynne Reid Banks. The inspector had asked me later why I had not scaffolded the work as it was fairly challenging and I explained its purpose was to establish their understanding and had been specifically designed to be an independent task. Positive feedback given.) We devote two of the sessions to reading journal time.

3)     Spellings/Handwriting The children use this time to practice their weekly spellings and to complete handwriting exercises. Each child has a folder for this.

4)     Independent reading. This time is for the children to read ANYTHING of their choice or to listen to an audio book (I am slowly building a collection) They don’t have to write anything at all J

Some children who have difficulties with their reading have more time on guided reading , but all children have time to read books of their choosing. It takes a bit of setting up at the start of the year- even though we do it all the way through the school the start of the new academic year is always like starting again from scratch! However, the initial effort is well worth it. Children make very good progress with their reading and the vast majority enjoy reading.

The new curriculum wont necessitate a huge change in the way we carry out our guided reading sessions. 

One of the most useful tips I can pass on is that I always write down the questions/AFs I am going to focus on a week in advance. This makes for far more structured and focused sessions. I also trained up my TAs by working with them to begin with so that they could take groups as well; this frees me up to hear readers or talk to the children during some sessions. Throughout the year groups change so that I will have worked with them all at some point.

Thanks for taking the time to read; I’d love to hear your views/opinions on this.

Some resources and ideas on pinterest here
A "how to " guide for the children here
More views and ideas here

Job sharing in Primary- Making it work.

I have been working as part of a job share now for two and a half years. I’m still finding my feet with it but am writing this in the hope to help others who are thinking about it or starting. At the end of my first full year job sharing I blogged about how it had gone http://mrshalford.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/challenges-of-job.html

I have really enjoyed this year- no irony in that statement at all. Even with a large class (35 at times) with the huge pile of marking, extra parent sessions, reports… There is so much in the press about teachers leaving the profession http://www.theguardian.com/teacher-network/2013/aug/01/why-are-teachers-leaving-education  Working part time for me has been the most positive step I have taken in my teaching career for some time. 

So, what works well in our class? Key has to be the communication. I have read about some teachers who are lucky to have some time each week when they are both in the class. Budgetary constraints don’t allow that at my school, but we do talk.

And talk.

And some more!

 We keep a book (filled two this year) in which we leave copious notes for each other. We talk on the phone at least twice a week. Oh yes, emails too! And the odd text.  Without that level of communication I can’t see how it could work effectively.  All the children and their parents know how regularly we talk about the class and this has helped us to build strong and positive relationships.  In an ideal world we would have one TA in the class who could be a consistent presence, but there are two of them as well! One works Monday and Friday, the other the middle part of the week.

We are very different in our personalities, in our teaching styles, in our interests. But what we share is our passion for teaching, for helping children to achieve their potential, to build their confidence and self esteem, to enable them to believe in themselves and to be proud of themselves, our class, our school.  We work in a school with a really well put together behaviour policy, that helps too.

When it comes to how we plan and deliver the curriculum that has been a constantly evolving process. Some subjects are split between us which works well. Maths and English (I know the terms are Literacy and Numeracy but I have a pet hate for those and insist on calling them maths and English !) Anyway, for the English this year I taught the majority of the genre work while my partner concentrated on the SPaG. This was commented on favourably by the subject leader during the course of the year through lesson observations and book moderation. We made good use of AFL so that areas that came up in my teaching needing reinforcement could be covered discretely and I would have a “zero tolerance” approach for the focus area each week. With the increased emphasis on SPaG we will definitely be carrying on with this next year. Of course there are also lots of opportunities for writing across the curriculum and we follow the Pie Corbett approach to non fiction writing and include all 6 areas each year so these are split between us.  http://www.talk4writing.com/index.html

Maths has been much more of a challenge. In the first year of job sharing we started by splitting the curriculum so that I did all the number work and my partner did all the shape,space, measure, data. This worked fairly well but my partner felt that she didn’t have enough knowledge of their ability in number.  We then tried to work as one teacher with one of us leaving plans for the other. It was a nice idea but planning for each other was very time consuming. This year we used the unit plans from the strategy and split the five units between us each term so that over the course of the yer we had both taught everything. This worked fairly well but is not the most consistent way for the children who would be doing one area Mon/Tues and another on Weds-Fri.

How are we going to organise it for this year? Not totally sure at the moment. Progress in maths was less than it was for reading and writing which would indicate that we need to look at how we are planning and teaching the subject. There have been some interesting ideas on twitter about planning the maths (http://www.broadbentmaths.com/)   Having asked the twittersphere’s opinions it seems that the number/everything else split is the most popular…

Why am I blogging about this? Partly to share what has worked well, partly to find out how others are making their job shares work well. It’s a constantly evolving process. Being able to communicate well, trust each other, share similar values are all key points. Most classes have at least one teacher with PPA cover so job sharing is more common than one might initially think. Having someone who knows the children as well as you is a real bonus.  

Challenge for next year is to get on top of the maths and be as effective as we possibly  can. Anyone who has any tips to share please do so. 

Grouping children in class.

 Last year I wrote about my experience of my first full year job sharing  http://mrshalford.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/challenges-of-job.html

Here we are a year on.  So, how did it go?

Teaching children for two consecutive years certainly has its advantages. I knew those children very well- knew exactly what they needed to work on to make good progress and make good progress they certainly did.

Whilst analysing the data it soon became clear that the year five children had made excellent progress, but the year four children slightly less so. Interestingly some of the more able children had made less than expected progress. Why should this be?

One reason could be that I focussed a lot of my guided teaching time on my most able children (as laid out in our SDP). Sure, they got good results but this has made me think carefully about how much time I devote with each group. With another large class next year (33 year 4/5 ) it will be a challenge! Ideally I would spend the same amount of time with each group but as any teacher knows that is easier said than done. Yes of course my weekly overview would structure who I would work with and when, but when using AFL and changing plans to best meet the needs of the children the groups themselves are changing .

Could the fact that the younger children in a mixed age class can feel eclipsed by the older ones and does this inhibit their progress? Certainly the majority of year five children  I taught this year made a lot more progress than they had the previous year when I had taught them as year fours.  Was this all down to the fact that I knew their skills so well? That they were so confident in the class set up that they were able to flourish? That being the older ones in the class gave them a heightened sense of responsibility which in turn improved their capacity for learning? 

This September I will again have a y4/5 class  and be carrying on with 14 children from the 12/13 academic year.  It will be a challenging year with a large class, a lot of children on school action and school action plus (just like any other class) along with the fact that my job share partner has moved on and a new appointment will be made.

So, what are my priorities? 

First of all consistency is key so should my temporary job share partner not continue, it will be all about making a new partnership work effectively. Although new to job sharing I feel that it has been a very successful partnership ; I will blog about it over the summer.

Secondly grouping the children in mixed ability groups most of the time. I use working partners (thanks to all the brilliant AFL resources by the wonderful Shirley Clarke  http://shirleyclarke-education.org/) and have groups of children needing interventions as appropriate. I am thinking of having discrete groups of more able in maths/english (still focus on the SDP) but the rest of the groups to be mixed.  I have always used a variety of grouping methods but gone back to traditional ability groups for the majority of maths and english lessons.  Will it work? That’s the challenge.

So I would really like to research a bit more about grouping the children. All my colleagues favour ability grouping. I’ve always played it safe with grouping in abilities for the majority of maths and english lessons.

I make good use of scaffolds, TAs, top tips, success criteria and various other methods to enable children to access their learning. But when the children do work in mixed ability groups (always for science and practical subjects) there is so much more of a buzz going on.

Have you moved away from ability groups? How did you find it? What worked well and what didn’t?

I will blog about how it goes once the term is underway.

Be a sticker not a quitter.

The angle was very acute.

This is the prompt for the 100wc this week. However, I have decided to write something else completely!

Be a sticker not a quitter

I have this written in my classroom above the board and it is something I find myself saying over and over again. As a primary school teacher not a day goes past that a child doesn’t find something difficult until that magical light bulb moment when you and they know that they have grasped the concept. It doesn’t matter whether it is being able to spell a word, make a prediction, work out a calculation, interpret a chart, spot the mistake , tie a lace… each and every step along the path to learning is important.

I feel it is vital to give children the confidence to have a go, even if they are not sure if they will be right or not, so that they can experience the pleasure that comes from success. And to learn to cope when things don’t go their way.  It seems that more and more this “stickability” doesn’t come naturally.

So, have I got a solution? I try to have an ethos in my class where every child feels safe and secure to have a go. We make good use of working partners and I have been totally sold on the use of lolly sticks (or similar) to choose children rather than hands up. Even the least confident children in my class will have a go and take part. Now that , in my opinion, is what teaching is all about. Empowering children to have the confidence to ask questions, want to find out more, not be afraid to have their own opinions.

I have been busy trying to organise a project involving all the local schools and have had to write a lot of letters, make a lot of calls and write a lot of emails . But, it is all starting to come together now.  

So, whatever comes with new curriculum proposals, I will keep true to my class mantra. If only the “powers that be” could remember that it’s all about the children, that it’s our job as educators to enthuse, engage, inspire a love of learning. Give them the tools to be able to find out more.

“The mind is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be kindled.” Plutarch.

Amen to that. 

Challenges of the job...

As the end of the summer approaches and the final words are added to the end of year reports it is time to look back at the year and start to think ahead to the next.

This has been the first year since qualifying (back in '91- last century !) that I have shared a class as a part time teacher. I teach 3 days each week (Wed-Fri) and I can honestly say that making the decision to go part time was definitely one of the best decisions I have ever made. It has renewed my enthusiasm for the job no end as well as giving me time to pursue my own interests and passions, some of which have enhanced my teaching , others have just made me a happier person! (and as a result a happier teacher!)

This year I have taught a mixed year 4 /5 class and will be doing the same next year. All the year 4's will stay with us to be joined by the rest of the year 4s along with some year 3's taking us to 35 in total (ratio 2:1 year 5:4)

Inevitably there have been questions raised by parents about this; it will be a challenging year. But every single class is challenging!
I read a blog the other day about class sizes http://www.manchestersalon.org.uk/does-class-size-matter.html and also http://drwilda.wordpress.com/2012/01/30/battle-of-the-studies-does-class-size-matter/
There seems to be little evidence one way or the other.
I have taught a class of 18 year 3's and found it frustrating to have that number of children because discussions and group work lacked the spark you have with a larger class. That said, the idea of marking all those books , writing all the reports and seeing all the parents will have its challenges! Peer marking and teaching the children how to work with high levels of independence will feature strongly I have no doubt!

Those children who will be remaining in our class for the next academic year start off at an advantage I feel as they already know the routines of the class and will be able to help the others settle in and find their feet. Children who will be moving onto a new class having spent their Y4 and 5 in our class have all made significant progress this year (3 sub levels for 6 out of the seven in reading  all bar one with SpLD two sub levels in maths and writing ) with the greatest progress being in their confidence and willingness to have a go.

I think that it is a privilege to be able to "keep" some children for more than one year- I once followed a whole class through from year 4 to 5 and it was definitely one of the most successful experiences I have had so far.

I'd be very interested in any responses re. children staying in classes.

I'm a scientist!

This term , along with many other schools across the country, we have been learning lots about the Olympic games. It has been of particular relevance to schools in Dorset as the sailing events are to be held at Weymouth and the torch is going to be spending several days along the world heritage site Jurassic coast.
http://www.spiritofbridport.org/category/news/
http://www.visit-dorset.com/whats-on/london-2012-sailing/the-olympic-torch-relay

We have been having fun planning our own sports day which will be happening (weather permitting) later this week.

Something a little different that I have done with my class this term is "I'm a scientist!"

  ‘I’m a Scientist, Get me out of Here!’ is a free online event where school students get to meet and interact with scientists. It’s a free X Factor-style competition between scientists, where the students are the judges.

Pitting students against scientists in a live round of intense, fast-paced, quick fire online live CHATs. Students get the chance to ASK scientists all the questions they want to, then VOTE for their favourite scientist to win prize of £500 to communicate their work with the public.' http://imascientist.org.uk/

We had a fabulous live science chat last week where the children could ask science related questions. What a fast paced session it was- here are some of the questions and answers we had:

gordon : What inspired you to become a scientist?

classash : @Stuart who do you think your information will be useful to?

classash : stuart are you always so cheerful or is being asientist hard work?

classash : @stuart when you were little was your dream to be a scientists

trumpetdude : @ stuart how many skin sellls can you fit in a bath

classash : @stuart are you friends with any of the other scientists

jadey2412 : hi @stuart what does it feel like being a scientist

classash : have you always wanted to be a sientist?

classash : @stuart how many skin cells on one body

classash : @stuart what are muscles made of.

youforgotthebluebe : @stuart were you the smartist in your class?

abigail6995 : @Stuart did you study alot of science at high school or were you not as interested in science then you are now?

jadey2412 : hi @ stuart whats the most toxic thing you have used before and explain why?

abigail6995 : what type of experiments do you do? Are they on humans or something else?

classash : @stuart thank you for coming and answering all our questions we have learnt a lot

hetty123 : @stuart it's great that you answered all those questions I didn't know that theres so many different sciences to do?

mrshalford : @stuart thanks so much- the class are quite literally buzzing with excitement and are very impressed with your speed of answering

classash : @Stuart thak you for all the chat it was fun

THIS CHAT WAS AMAZING AND FUN

Here are some of stuart's answers. You can read his profile at http://7-11.imascientist.org.uk/profile/stuartgray

• stuartgray : @jacobr i use many pieces of equipment. Bikes, treadmills, analysers for oxygen, strenght testing equipment, centrifuges. The list can go on and on and on......

stuartgray : @youforgettheblu ebe I was one of the smartest in my class but there is always someone cleverer than you!!

stuartgray : @abigail yes i studies maths, physics, chemistry and biology at high school. I have always liked science

stuartgray : @jadey2412 formaldehyde as it can send you to sleep, very toxic in large amounts

stuartgray : @jadey2412 i enjoyed in class experiments when you got to see explosions or anythign cool like that!

stuartgray : @gordon @trumpetdude I do enjoy being a scientist and it is because of the variety of things and the discoveries you can make. Also things like this are very fun!!

stuartgray : L@ the best chemicals I have used are the radioisotopes. they are radioactive so I have to very careful with them, but they give great results

stuartgray : @classash it is quite hard being a scientist but if you enjoy it it seems more like fun than hard work

stuartgray : @abigail6995 I most definitely work as part of a team. I have many doctoral students and staff working with me in the lab. The old saying that 2 heads are better than one is very true!

stuartgray : @trumpetdude. there are many tubes, the main ones would be the blood vessels and the airways. They are very important for helping keep you all moving about!

stuartgray : @trumpetdude I probably run about 1000 miles a year. I just trianed for and ran the London Marathon this year and was beaten across the line by a women in a wedding dress

stuartgray : @hetty123 lots of scientists study biology but many also study things like the environment, engineering and chemistry for example!

stuartgray : @trumpetdude I most experiment on humans so dont do much work in plants. I did do some stuff in my early University years and found it very fascinating!

stuartgray : @1tich1 we all just have one overall immune system in the body but it is made of many many different parts. We have millions of immune cells in our blood to help protect against bacteria and viruses and also proteins in tissues and saliva to help to.

stuartgray : @abigail6995 a very good question. Some people have weak hearts because of their genes (i.e. they get it from their parents) and there is not that much that can be done. Others it is because they do not carry out enough exercise or have a bad diet. These people can change their lifestyle to help this

stuartgray : @gordon If the sun explodes then that would pretty much be the end of the galaxy as we would have not heat to support human life. The gravitational pull of the sun would also be lost. All in all it will be bad news but a long time away, hopefully!

stuartgray : @hetty123 probably not as many people as I would like become scientists. The more we can get the more help we can be!

stuartgray : @trumpetdude there are about 5000000000 red blood cells in a ml of blood so 330 times that. A very BIG number!

stuartgray : @classash I think my research will be useful to medical practitioners who need to know the exact amount of exercise or proper nutrition to advise people to take to help with their health

stuartgray : @hetty123 Being a scientist involves a lot of planning experiments, trying to convince somebody to fund them and then actually carrying out the experiments!

stuartgray : @jadey2412 it feels good to be a scientist. There is a great feeling when you realise you are the first person in the world to discover something!

stuartgray : @classash that is a lot of good questions. Not sure about the skin cells in the bath, but a very large number! Muscles are made of protein, the main ones being actin and myosin.

stuartgray : @jacobr I qualified with my PhD (doctorate) in 2007 so I would say i have been a proper scientist for 5 years!

stuartgray : @akni I think i always have wanted to be a scientist. It was always my favourite subject at school and I think you should get more of it!

stuartgray : @youforgottheblu ebe I never actually remember deciding to become a scientist it just all seemed to fall into place!

stuartgray : @hetty123 I wouldnt say it was easy. it does involve a lot of hard work and study. but it is fun!

I was incredibly impressed by the range of questions the children (y5) asked and how sensibly they took part in the session. It really highlighted to me the importance of  making science relevant and of showing children how science is used in jobs and everyday life. I will wait to see which scientist wins the £500 award...

As I look through the new curriculum in detail I plan to work with colleagues across our cluster schools to shape a curriculum for science that will motivate and enthuse our pupils, that will show them ways that science is used by real people in the local area in the here and now, not just what happened in the past.

I want to make better use of the internet to show how science makes a difference in our lives. 

That is my plan , I'm hoping that my colleagues will want to come along for the journey.

New 100 word challenge

It has been one of those weeks this week; not really quite sure where the time has gone.
My trainee teacher has heard that she has two interviews so I am keeping my fingers tightly crossed that one of them goes her way.
Funny that I am feeling so tired really because I haven't done a huge amount of whole class teaching. Somehow watching, feeding back and doing intensive support work with individual children has been more exhausting!
Great though- it isn't very often that you can get to step back from the class and really watch them ; I feel that I have learnt so much more about them by being able to focus on them. Something we should all have more time for in our classes. You also learn so much from watching another teacher; regardless of how much or how little experience they have.
My job share partner and I have watched each other teach, are doing so again straight after half term. I am looking forward to seeing how this helps us achieve consistency with the class. We are very different; something I see as one of the real strengths of working in a job share is the children benefit from two teachers who can bring different strengths and interests. However, I am aware that for some children (particularly those who have tendencies towards ASD) find any change challenging so it is with these children in mind that ways to make the classroom consistent across the week is important.

Anyway, this week's challenge was to use 5 prompt words within a piece of writing. (LIBERTY    EMPIRE    APPLE    YELLOW    ENORMOUS) http://jfb57.wordpress.com/2012/05/14/100-word-challenge-for-grown-ups-week-42/

 I had no idea to begin with and thought I would give this week's a miss. (I had been hoping that a piece I had submitted for NFFD might have been selected ; it wasn't! Back to the drawing board!)
But, I am determined to keep working on my writing and get something published somewhere (some day...some time...)

So, here it is:

“It’s Monday, it’s 6.30! G-o-o-d morning listeners!”

Endless yellow sands, her toes dipped in the gently lapping sea, the man of her dreams beside her…

♫ Wake up it’s a beautiful morning♫

Music blared out as Liberty’s dream was brought abruptly to an end.

She showered, grabbed car keys and an apple and set off.

No matter how hard she worked, how many enormous contracts she secured for the impossible-to-please Richard, did he notice?

No.

Too busy building his “empire.”

Well, he’d notice her when she’d gone.

She checked her inbox. Everything was set. Just one call to make and her dream would become reality.


 Check out the others at http://www.linkytools.com/wordpress_list.aspx?id=143813&type=basic

Teacher training...some thoughts

Yesterday I spent the day with a group of GTP trainees. ( http://www.dorsetforyou.com/15791 )
The purpose of the day- to raise confidence in planning/assessing/teaching Science at primary level, increase understanding of pitch and expectation, continuity and progression.

In a day!

I have run a similar day as part of the Dorset GTP programme for the past four years. Evaluations at the end of the day are always welcomed and enable me to make alterations/improvements for the following year.
The day went well ( even though it was the Friday before half term !)

I will embed the powerpoints I used at the end of this post- I made a concerted effort to minimise the amount used to enable as much time for reflection and discussion between the participants- too often this is overlooked (by myself on previous GTP days also) and I was particularly pleased with this aspect of the day.
I left feeling energised (even on a Friday afternoon) following energetic, stimulating and challenging discussions.

I have been interested in ITT since qualifying back in 1991 and have been lucky to be involved with B.Ed and PGCE students from Plymouth University when I worked in Cornwall. Now I am a school based tutor with the Dorset SCITT ( http://www.dttpscitt.co.uk/ ) where I also have the opportunity to tutor a DT at KS2 session (coming up in March this year!)

I have blogged previously about the positive impact working with trainee teachers can have
( http://mrshalford.blogspot.com/2011/06/mentoring-trainees.html )

At the end of the day, I read through the evaluations  and noted how many had commented on the positive impact of having input from a currently employed teacher. I thought back to my own training and remembered how few of the lecturers had any recent teaching experience. It seems as though this is still the case. The Dorset SCITT has a part time teacher in the Deputy Director role ( a colleague and friend of mine :) ) and I know that she is hugely respected for many reasons; not least for the fact that she teaches ,so is able to talk about up to date classroom practice.

So, what it the point of this blog post? To ask if there are opportunities for teachers to be involved in ITT through secondment . Once you are out of the classroom you can't possibly have the same impact as someone who is doing the job or has had recent experience. (In my opinion) Of course you can keep up to date with changes and have a clear idea of what makes an effective lesson.
(Of course this can also be applied to Ofsted inspectors, but that's a whole new can of worms)

I LOVE being a teacher- but I would like to combine this role with ITT . I could , of course, leave teaching and get a job doing this- but that goes against what I have been saying about teachers with current experience having greater impact on trainees.

With the move to more "training schools" and teacher training "on the job " surely there is a need to give teachers greater opportunity to work with trainees as part of their own CPD?

Trainees need to be given support from a range of teachers during their training and early years. They need quality training for subject knowledge, child development, safeguarding, planning, assessment et al
They need to observe a range of teachers in different schools at different stages in their careers.
They need input from experts in education; head teachers, consultants, teachers, other trainees

I would be most interested to hear from anyone who has been involved in ITT on a basis which has enabled them to maintain their teaching role too. I would also be pleased  to hear from trainees and teachers as to what aspects of their training they found had particular impact on their teaching.

Maybe there are wider opportunities for teachers in larger schools or who are in close proximity to ITT providers. Maybe I am not looking in the right places. What I know is that I enjoy working with trainees. Feedback received indicates that I can do it effectively; so what next steps can I take?

Here are my presentation slides.
Thanks for taking the time to read; if you have any comments at all please share.


Introduction to Primary Science Session 1


Experimental and Investigative Science Session 2

Planning, Differentiation and Cross Curricular Links Session 3

Assessment and Record Keeping Session 4

Reflections on working part time.

So, four weeks into the new year and my new part time role.

What have I learnt so far ? Well, I know that I am far too much of a control nut and need to work on that! Last week some resources of mine had gone walkabout and I felt panic levels rise as I searched like a woman possessed. For goodness sake, it was only a box of pins, not the crown jewels! The classroom  is not MY classroom anymore and I must strive to remember that and keep persepective when things aren't where I left them.

It has been fantastic to have time to myself during the week, and I have been able to catch up on things which I wouldn't normally have been able to do. Going to the gym in the morning, having extended lunches with friends, having time to decorate, do the gardening, sit and read, play the guitar, chat on the phone when I would have been at work in the past. Great! Have I managed to switch off from work when I am not there... not yet; I suppose I am still at the stage where I want to prove to myself that I am still a key member of the team. The days I am in seem to whizz at an almost alarming rate as I try to pack everything planned in.  That is something I need to work on to ensure that I leave time within the days I am in for the children to reflect on their learning and not have overly high expectations; I am not trying to do 5 days in 3 after all!

The good things are having a way better work life balance than I have had since I can remember. Of course I am still tired at the end of the week, but feeling that I can keep on top of things has been hugely empowering. Having a job share partner who is a fabulous communicator has made the start to the year a lot less stressful than previous year starts have been.

I can't think of anything that I would want to change at the moment. Being part time doesn't make me any less dedicated  enthusiastic or committed. Ultimately I hope it will make me a better teacher as I have  time to reflect upon my practice and have professional dialogue with a partner who knows the class as well as I do.

New term ahead...

 Holidays are fab- certainly one of the perks of the profession. (I don't believe any teacher who doesn't agree with that sentiment). However, as the new year looms, panic sets it...how on earth am I going to fit the teaching in with everything else that needs to be done? Of course it will all get done (mostly anyway) once term starts the pace of life cranks up a gear or three and before you know it, multitasking your way through a never ending to do list.
I am lucky to be going back on  a part time basis. Labelling books and trays is so much easier when there are two of you to do it. Next week am in all week as INSET which I don't want to miss; after next week though, three days a week.
I have great plans to get the work balance thing sorted. Decorations planned for house, more regular catch ups with friends and family; and a more energised me in the classroom. Will it make me a better teacher? I hope so...I know the days I am in will be manic but will the fact that I am there less than not make a difference? Time will tell. I know that I will miss out on some things that happen on the days that I am not there; but my aim is to give my all on the days that I AM there. Something all teachers try to do, and something I was finding increasingly difficult to do everyday along with all the paperwork/redtape etc that the job has been so engulfed by. I am very lucky to have a job share partner who I have known for years and worked alongside. We are both really excited about the forthcoming term; we have very different interests and strengths which is fab as we have been able to split the teaching in a way we are both really happy about. The maths is a bit of a worry at the mo as we don't have a scheme or even agreed approach at school having spent ages and ages working on improving the writing and reading. INSET on tues is all about maths so I am hoping that some answers will come from that.
So, back for two INSET days then children on Wednesday. I am looking forward to this next phase in teaching tremendously and am committed to making it a success. Will reflect in due course.

Reflections on the year

Now that the summer holiday is here, have managed to relax and enjoy much needed time with friends and family. It's only when holidays kick in that you really notice how hectic term time life is. Constantly on a schedule, thinking about the next thing on the to do list...and that's before the school day starts which whizzes past at breakneck speed! Switching off the alarm clock and...not wearing a watch...signs that the holiday is here.

Teaching is one of those jobs that extends far beyond the classroom. It is often recurred to as a vocation rather than a career. http://randallbutisingh.wordpress.com/2007/11/20/teaching-is-a-vocation/ However, I have been astounded at the amount of teachers for whom teaching becomes all encompassing. Since joining twitter, I have been in the company of many hundreds of incredibly dedicated teachers sharing their expertise, helping and supporting each other. Fabulous. Teaching in a small, rural school, the internet is a convenient way to feel part of the bigger picture, to share with colleagues from around the country.

But, since the beginning of the holiday I have made a concerted effort to put school to the back of my mind and concentrate on family time. Of course I can't help thinking about next term and the year to come...Photos are snapped with a stimulus in mind, plans whirl in my head. But to recharge and relax is top of my to do list!

Last year was a good one. A mixed age class, massive spread of ability. When July came it was met with a mixture of pride and sadness . Pride in the achievements the children have made; those who were initially quiet and shy but now speak confidently in front of others. Their academic achievements don't thrill me in the same way as the progress in confidence, in skills, in a child retelling something they really enjoyed doing. Of course the academic progress is how we are measured as teachers, but seeing children mature, grow in confidence, learn to overcome difficulties. Those are the really important things to me. Sadness in seeing a child leaving the school.

Last year saw a change in leadership at our school and this has re energised the school tremendously. I am lucky to work alongside a team of incredibly committed and dedicated people.

So, what is going to be the same or different next year? For a start I go back in September as a job share teacher. Although the first week I am in  all week as we have two INSET days! Working alongside a jobshare partner will be the biggest change and challenge having been full time for the last 20 years give or take maternity leave and two terms on 4 days a week.

Changing the way I teach maths is one of the main areas I want to develop this year. I think the strategy did a lot to damage the teaching of maths; I know that I have been guilty of trying to do too much. Teaching so many different ways to approach calculations seems to cause more problems than it solves. We are producing a maths calculation policy on one of our INSET days so I will be interested to see how this impacts. Although I am a firm believer in bringing the best out of children, enabling them to meet their potential. Attainment has to be considered (through gritted teeth albeit). My class results showed less progress in maths than reading and writing which indicates that I need to look at how I teach the subject and how to improve that.
Step 1- get to grips with policy
Step 2- put the guided writing approach into my maths lessons more effectively and use the time in lessons to work more effectively with children who have weaknesses...
That is where I will begin; let's see how that goes.

Other than the maths, I was really pleased with how the year went. I can't wait to get going with a new class. Tudor day with King Henry himself coming in. ( http://www.goodkinghal.co.uk/ ) . Lunar samples in January  ( http://www.stfc.ac.uk/Public+and+Schools/2497.aspx )

Well, that's the first time this holiday I have sat down and really focussed on school. I shall revisit this later to add any further thoughts.