Creative Teaching & Learning

Tried and Tested

Continuing our Trie and Tested series we look at a new series of interactive readers from Longman

tried-and-tested_2.pdf

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      string(299) "Genocide is merely social exclusion taken to an extreme. It is vital that children have the skills to empathise with the victims of social exclusion as real  people if they are to understand how terrible it is when discrimination spirals out of control. Stephen Smith discusses the teaching of a ..."
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      string(373) "... all completedin their own time. Children seemed to grow in confidence,persistence and enthusiasm for learning.Start Thinking collects more than 100 thinking-skills starters, triedand tested by teachers at Westbury Park School. The starters arearranged into chapters on Words, Numbers, Science, Creativity andPhilosophy so you can easily choose the ..."
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      string(314) "Genocide is merely social exclusion taken to an extreme. It is vital that children have the skills to empathise with the victims of social exclusion as real  people if they are to understand how terrible it is when discrimination spirals out of control. Stephen Smith discusses the teaching of a difficult subject."
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      string(5621) "have any idea what was happening to other people?Did they know what was happening but do nothing because they were scared?Or did they only think about making their own lives more comfortable?Ask students to give reasons for their answers.  Go through the comments on squares used to reach the top or selectsquares and comments you feel best suit the age, ability and interests of your class.  Read out the parallel statementsand find out what the class thinks about each situation.  Ask other questions to help them e.g. ‘If the swimming poolwas almost empty wouldn’t you ask where all the people had gone?’  ‘If a lot of children left our school how wouldwe notice?’Do somethingWe know today that some people did notice and stood up to the hatred of the Nazis.  Some tried to help those whowere being hurt.  Others said that what was happening wasn’t right. We know that they had difficult choices to makeand sometimes standing up to hatred wasn’t easy.  It isn’t easy to stand up when we notice bad things today either,but it is the right thing to do.  What should we stand up to today?Individual and/or group tasksChoose two situations from the board and think of two questions you believe people could have asked when thisevent took place.Take one of the situations and draw two pictures to tell a story.  In one show what was happening and in the othershow what people could have done to Stand up to Hatred.  Write a caption for your pictures.What things happen today which are not right?  Are people still being treated in unfair ways because they arethought to be ‘different?’  Design a postcard or an e-card which asks people to Stand up to Hatred in 2009.  To whomshould we send it?Extension work – Standing up to HatredThe coloured squares are linked to the HMD09 case studies. These illustrate that some people did not want to bebystanders so they challenged Nazi hate crime.  They chose to Stand up to Hatred.Select a case study and in another lesson work though some of the linked activities as a whole class or in groups.  Youare advised to read the case studies and select the ones most suitable for the age and ability of your own students.Try some of the creative and cross-curricular ideas from our website www.hmd.org.uk●●●Inspiring education often grows from simple routines. Whenteachers at Westbury Park School in Bristol wanted to challengetheir pupils to think, enquire and reach beyond standardexpectations, they introduced daily thinking-skills starters. Thesemini-challenges had built-in requirements for pupils to exercisetheir minds through essential thinking processes such asquestioning, comparing, prioritizing, recognising patterns andthinking methodically. The teachers were amazed at how muchchildren enjoyed the starters and benefited from them. Somechildren turned starters into projects lasting months – all completedin their own time. Children seemed to grow in confidence,persistence and enthusiasm for learning.Start Thinking collects more than 100 thinking-skills starters, triedand tested by teachers at Westbury Park School. The starters arearranged into chapters on Words, Numbers, Science, Creativity andPhilosophy so you can easily choose the most appropriatechallenges for your pupils. Detailed guidance notes are provided.Marcelo Staricoff and Alan ReesSuitable for KS1-2  £18.00 or £12.00 each if you buy 10 or more copiesISBN: 1-904806-02-3Make an immediate difference to teaching andlearning in your school. Start Thinking will bringenjoyment, creativity and challenge to your classroomand improve the thinking skills of your pupils.‘The ideas in Start Thinking are exactly the kinds of activities thatsuit gifted and talented children. They can be done with all the classand create a magical mix of challenge and fun’Professor Deborah Eyre, Director,National Academy for Gifted and Talented Youth‘Our school has found using thinking-skills starters a highlyenjoyable way to challenge our pupils to think, both at thebeginning of the day and in any given lesson. I leapt in to usingthinking-skills starters and have never looked back.’Rosie Chitty, Key Stage 2 Teacher at Hutton Primary School, North Somerset‘A host of creative ideas that could be used by any teacher’Robert Fisher, Professor of Education, Brunel UniversityOrder Start Thinking from ourorder hotline Tel: 01904 431 213‘They make me feelrelaxed for the restof the day and theyswitch my brain on.They never stop!’James (Age 10),Westbury Park SchoolWestbury Park pupils work on their startersstart thinking A4 ad 4 14/6/05, 2:29 pm174Understanding the Holocaust   www.teachingtimes.co.ukTeaching Thinking&Creativity  Vol 9:3SECONDARY LESSON PLANOutline Lesson Plan based on the activity board (Secondary)Aim: To explore parallel worlds in Nazi dominated Europe.Starter: Getting To The Top, a board activity.Students work in groups of four to six.  Give each group an activity board (you can photocopy the original or download themfrom www.hmd.org.uk) dice and a sealed envelope which should contain the ‘Congratulations?’ list provided with the boardactivity. Each student should also have a blank sheet of paper, a pencil and a counter to move around the board.Students take it in turns to shake the dice and move around the board. When an individual lands on a square they read thecomment aloud and follow any movement instructions given on the square.  Not all squares have instructions.  Students shouldnote the squares they land on and the situations described. The first person to reach the final square should open"
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Creative Teaching & Learning

Understanding the Holocaust

18 Jun 2009

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In considering the contribution of higher education to professional development for Every Child Matters David Cracknell helps to navigate a new and complex landscape for all those involved in school workforce development.
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      string(345) "... made up of nodal centres of organicgrowth and change. These nodes or key contexts(e.g. Early Years, Extended Services) in which ECMprinciples are being tried, tested and embeddedare of practical interest in themselves but evenmore exciting in their inter-connectivity.The following grid has been used to support areview ..."
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      string(4607) "�����16……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………a recent DfES policy initiative on ParentingGuidance and Support: “The ecological perspectiveforces us to recognise the complicated and oftenreciprocal relationships between all the influenceson parenting. For example, is it better to focus onthe specifics of parenting or to deal with mentalhealth problems that may be causing the parentingdifficulties… The benefits of inter-agency workingare now usually part of discussions on the deliveryof services, but inter-agency working needs to bepart of an effort to understand the whole of theparenting ecology, not just a desire to see agencieswork together better.” (Quinton, 2004). The wellbeingof children, young people and families is a delicatelybalanced system – and so is the development of thestaff committed to working to improve thatwellbeing. Systems awareness and ecologicalsensitivity are essential skills for coordinators ofprofessional development.��� Tools for the jobOne practical way of exploring the geology andecology of workforce development for Children’sServices which we have used is to map out priorities(e.g. for thinking, activity or resources) using asimple grid or matrix (see Fig 1). Life is morecomplicated of course than such a two-dimensionalframework would imply but the grid is helpful indrawing out some key relationships withincomplex systems. Running vertically down thelayers you might set out some commondevelopment themes that could energise change,re-form professional cultures and challengeworking practices, building on previous experienceof the staff concerned. These ref lect localprioritisation and interpretation of competenceframeworks (e.g. Common Core, ChampioningChildren). Running horizontally and through thehuman networks is a mega-synthesis (Teilhard deChardin, 1955) made up of nodal centres of organicgrowth and change. These nodes or key contexts(e.g. Early Years, Extended Services) in which ECMprinciples are being tried, tested and embeddedare of practical interest in themselves but evenmore exciting in their inter-connectivity.The following grid has been used to support areview of a planned programme for a particularcohort of multi-disciplinary locality team leaders inChildren’s Services Departments in the MerseysideLTP. The notional contribution this programmecould make to development themes is ‘scored’ on a1 (low) – 5 (high) basis and this helps to provide aECM awareness focus on outcomesMulti-disciplinary trans-professionalworkingWorking with whole child, young peopleparticipatingWorking with parents carers and familiesPromoting inclusion, valuing diversityRisk management, LAC, child protectionCommunity, safety, coherence, respect,agendasCommunity wellbeing & regenerationLeadership & managementCollaboration, partnering, networkingHome23221323Early Years42312111Extendedschools andservices2112Transitions“middleschooling’31114-191111Children’sservicesdepartments& agencies2523132355DEVELOPMENT THEMESKEY CONTEXTSFigure 1: Development themes and keycontexts for the Children’s WorkforcePractice and policy17……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………comparative profile and focus for setting moredetailed learning objectives.��� The need for coherence in workforceprofessional developmentThe reactions of Children’s Services and of highereducation to the ECM agenda are not justpredicated on sober and detached analysis. In thedeveloping market for ECM, it is already obviousthat funding is skewing supply and demand forworkforce development and training. Externalfunding at the margin has focussed attention andeffort on, for example, private, voluntary andindependent sector staff in Early Years(Transformation Fund). The DfES drive toencourage local authorities to adopt a morestrategic role in, for example, supporting parentsis expected to draw more targeted funding to thisarea of"
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Professional Development

Layered and linked learning

17 Jan 2007

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      string(341) "... are off the beatentrack that can lead to the most inspirational practice of the future. We’d like to explorein PLT some of your ideas – tried, tested or untouched – that might give us all someinspiration. Please contact us at pltquestions@hotmail.co.uktoo. The DfES must demonstrate through their policiesthat ..."
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      string(5617) "Issue 3     ••••• primaryleadershipTODAY 61OUT OF THE BOXHorse orcommonsense?t’s common sense that there is lots we can learn fromanimal behaviour. But just how much can it help informour work with challenging children? Monty Roberts whispersthe message in his books – perhaps we should listen.IHorse orcommonsense?Every so often I come across something Iconsider to be truly inspirational. Something that makesme want to tell everyone about it and discuss it withcomplete strangers. Such is my reaction to MontyRoberts’ book ‘Horse Sense for People’. I first cameacross the reference to Monty Roberts in the TES(February 25 2005, ‘Horse Sense for UntamedChildren’). A rider myself and farmer’s daughter, I haveoften felt how useful the skills given to me on the farmhave been in relation to my own role as headteacher.So, it was with interest that I searched for, found andpurchased Monty’s book.At the risk of seeming even more eccentric than Ireally am, I whole-heartedly agree with so much thathe has to say. And most of all, I believe that so much ofit is common sense. He draws the parallels betweenthe best ways of working with horses – what is effectiveand what is counter-productive, and the way we workwith children.To unpick his principles, perhaps we could start withhis method for saddling. Monty suggests that in orderto take the mind of the horse from the saddling process,primaryleadershipTODAY •••••     Issue 362OUT OF THE BOXplacing the bit in its mouth acts as a diversionary tactic.And so true for some of the children in our school withEBD. We have found that rather than continue to pursueone line when it is evidently causing conflict, a swiftchange to another subject can cause sufficientdiversion to intervene before unwanted behaviourescalates.Sharing of food is another areain which Monty compares the horseand the child. We run a nurturegroup in our school. This is a highlysuccessful method of interventionthat enables children to developsome of the social skills that theymay not have had chance to acquirein the early years. The sharing offood is an important part of nurture group principles.Sitting down and discussing issues around a table witha biscuit (or healthy option!) in your hand can be a verytherapeutic experience. As Monty points out:“There is a subconscious understanding that sharingfood suggests a closer association. Horses understandtheir own vulnerability while eating, and so that activityis reserved for a time when they are in the presence ofthose they trust.” p.19And now on to Monty’s main theme – trust. Heconsiders that this is absolutely essential to thedevelopment of the horse/rider relationship. And, ofcourse, nothing could be more true of humans too. Howessential is trust and respect within any organisationor family? It is essential that the children in a class havetrust and respect for their teacher. It is essential thatteachers in a school trust in and respect their seniormanagement team. And it follows that the teachingprofession should feel able to have faith in and trustthe department of education.But trust and respect need to come from top downDo you have any ‘out of the box’ ideas?In today’s educational climate we may feel the need to take the safe routes in ourlessons and management style. And yet, it is often those ideas that are off the beatentrack that can lead to the most inspirational practice of the future. We’d like to explorein PLT some of your ideas – tried, tested or untouched – that might give us all someinspiration. Please contact us at pltquestions@hotmail.co.uktoo. The DfES must demonstrate through their policiesthat they have trust and respect in teachers. Seniormanagement must trust colleagues and provide theenvironment for them to learn and develop. Andcrucially, teachers must allow trust to develop betweenthemselves and their class.Another area of similarity, particularly whenworking with challenging children, is not to take theiractions and attacks personally. My own experiencesuggests that where trust has been established, if achild hits out, it is their anger fuelling the action nota personal conflict with the individual. Maybe this isbeing overly positive, but I rarely have found anoutburst from a child to be maliciously fuelled or heldvindictively over days.Monty condemns violence and raves at the socialstructures and habits we have developed that condoneand encourage a violent and aggressive response. Hesimilarly asks us to consider our own attitudes whenwe place the blame on a horse or child for theirbehaviour. He suggests that we perhaps shouldexamine our own beliefs a little more to see if we arenot at the route cause of their behaviour:“There is significant educational value in lookinginward, asking ourselves what we have done tocontribute to a problem, whether dealing with peopleor horses…My answer is there are no problem horses,only horses that have problems with the actions ofpeople.” p.127 It is heartening to read as Monty emphasises theimportance of motivation. We cannot always controlthe effect of our teaching or predict how learning willevolve. Sometimes we have to concentrate on providingthe right conditions and allow the child or the horse tomove forward for themselves. I believe the following iscommon sense for us all:“Horses have taught me to understand that if I set atarget for a student but become obsessed only withthe ultimate goal, I will fall short. On the other hand, if Iwork in the fashion that the horses have taught me, thegoals will be met without force or"
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Leadership

Horse or common sense?

1 Jan 2005

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      string(399) "... the school development plan, as well as provide a rich resource fordiscussion with parents and the child.Stage 1 – ObservingchildrenFor this, we are using a tried andtested observation approachdeveloped by American educator,Patricia Carini3. In her approach,teachers gather detailed anddescriptive observations ofindividual children and usethose accounts to engage inself ..."
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      string(5611) "– Practitioners reflect on the data to determine whether or not the provisionbeing made for each child prepares them for literacy learning.Stage 4 – Practitioners evaluate the balance of time allocated to different aspects ofchildren’s lives both indoors and outdoors over an extended period of time in the EYFSclassroom.The model is based on Action Research approaches to professional developmentwhere the results of the observations and evaluations will provide a betterunderstanding of each child and an agenda for improvement of provision. The baselinedata collected can be used as a benchmark to judge whether provision has beenimproved as a result of the observations.As staff carry out the observations and together reflect on and evaluate theirprovision, they will create a professional learning community that will inform self-evaluation and the school development plan, as well as provide a rich resource fordiscussion with parents and the child.Stage 1 – ObservingchildrenFor this, we are using a tried andtested observation approachdeveloped by American educator,Patricia Carini3. In her approach,teachers gather detailed anddescriptive observations ofindividual children and usethose accounts to engage inself-questioning and reflectionon their own practice and theirperceptions of the children intheir classrooms.Over a period of up to half aterm, each member of the EYFSteam should observe individualchildren in order to provide awritten, descriptive account ofone child to share with othermembers of the team. Effortshould be made to capture thesocial interactions of the child and to write down their actual words in their spokenexchanges. The commentary should be descriptive only and should not include anyjudgment of the child’s activity or evaluation of the task.The observations should be planned so that over a period of time every child in thesetting is observed in depth. It is important that every member of the EYFS team has anopportunity to carry out at least one observation.An observation guide sheet detailing the questions to consider when observinga young child at play, can be found in this issue’s Manager’s Briefcase, in briefcase 1.Briefcase 2 provides a template for recording these observation notes.Stage 2 – Reflection and analysis of the observation dataIn deciding how to reflect upon and analyse the descriptive data gathered, we draw onthe work of the famous educator, Susan Isaacs4. Born in 1885, Isaacs was a psychologistand educationalist who was passionate about linking theory and practice in educationto make it accessible to teachers. Her approach was child-centred and she expandedthe work of other educationalists such as John Dewey and his emphasis on socialinteraction, and Freidreich Froebel and his interest in active learning.Her work still has great relevance today. She was passionate about nurseryeducation and its capacity to provide social experiences and opportunities for play thatshe believed were vital to children’s development.Issacs believed in the curiosity of the child and their will to enquire, and that thisneeded to be supported by the learning environment and the way adults worked withthe children. She prioritised the creation of a safe, secure and loving environment. Like68Vol 5.4School Leadership Todaywww.teachingtimes.comPrimaryFileLeadershipResourcesCarini, she advocated a detailed knowledge of each child so that practitioners couldrespond appropriately to every individual. This knowledge would be gained fromobservation. She encouraged the teacher to enter the magical world of childhood,without interfering in it: ‘By patient listening to the talk of even little children, andwatching what they do… we can wish their wishes, see their pictures and think theirthoughts.’For Issacs, play was the vehicle for learning, it provided the chance for children toplay cooperatively with their peers and to discover and experiment with the worldaround them. Children should have lots of opportunity for free play and she advocatedcreative use of the outdoors.Isaacs outlined three categories of activity that all children spontaneously engagein. If we are to support children’s holistic development and work sympatheticallywith the interests of the young child, then our provision should ensure we provide forchildren’s spontaneous interests which Issacs describes as:the love of movement and perfecting bodily skillsthe interest in actual things, events and the discovery of the outside worldthe delight in make-believe and the expression of the world within.Taking the observation notesmade on individual children,a group of delegated adultsshould examine them to findout to what extent thereis evidence that provisionprovides time and space foreach of these spontaneouskinds of expression andexploration.To assist staff in achievingthis, we have preparedanother proforma for youruse – ‘Interrogating ourdata’, which can be found inbriefcase 3.The combinationof observation and thesubsequent evaluation of theobservation data using thethree recommended questionsprovide an informative andrevealing insight into children’s experiences. The team undertaking the evaluationshould report to the rest of the staff to provide an overview of practice as seen throughthe observation of individual children.Stage 3 – Strategies for literacy learningPractitioners in the EYFS classroom are under increasing pressure to prepare childrenfor literacy. Many of them are adopting phonic approaches at earlier and earlier ages.Phonics is not recommended here, but we do need to understand"
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Leadership

Evaluating EYFS provision

20 Nov 2013

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Special Needs

EHC Plans - Are they enough?

9 May 2013