Learning and Teaching Bulletin
An update from the Learning and Teaching group
Learning and Teaching
It is hoped that this bulletin will provide an up-to-date picture of what is happening with regard to L&T at Craigmount. While the L&T Website will continue to provide resources and chart progress with identified priorities, the L&T Bulletin will present ideas and examples of what is happening on a more regular basis in relation to our priorities of:
· AifL
· Active Learning
Email: david.sansom@craigmount.edin.sch.uk
Website: http://www.hostedlearning.co.uk/blog/wp-login.php
Twitter: @CraigmountTandL
Sharing Good Practice
We would like to ensure that we are all sharing the excellent work that goes on in our classrooms with each other. A few ways you can do this are:
Learning and teaching bulletin
Share your successes around learning and teaching by sending a story and a couple of images to Dave Sansom (through the L and T SIG). Thanks to Laura and Jacquie for this months stories.
@Craigmout TandL
For those of you who use twitter you can follow the group on twitter. You can share your success stories there and we will retweet to help raise the profile of the school
Teacher Learning Communities
In partnership with Tapestry, staff across the school are engaged in TLCs. The purpose of our TLCs is to provide peer support for staff as we develop various Learning and Teaching approaches. More details about our TLCs and how to get involved will be circulated shortly by Stephen Rafferty.
Interesting bit of Outdoor learning from Laura Savage
We went outside to draw the biochemistry of photosynthesis to:-
Learn outside in fresh air!
It was the plenary where students could show what they had learned, a way to “chunk” the lesson.
It was engaging – all but one enjoyed and participated with enthusiasm, they had to collaborate as a randomly assembled group and then walk round and look for gaps/errors in the diagram completed by each group.
Making feedback count - Closing the gap
We've all heard it before. If you can get the students to act on the feedback they will improve as learners.
Formative assessment helps pupils understand how to improve but requires teachers to focus on what works best and change their habits of practice
Read the following for some practical examples
http://headguruteacher.com/2012/11/10/mak-feedback-count-close-the-gap/
#PedagooFriday in the classroom
You should have seen the board in the staffroom. The idea is quite simple - Share your most enjoyable experience of the week. What was the class? What was the lesson? why did it work? Post it on the #pedagooFriday board in the staffroom so we can all start to be more creative in our teaching.
Some #pedagooFriday (in the staff room) examples
Model cell in S1 Science (Jacquie Groccot)
(see images below)
Homework was set to build a model cell. I decided to this as:
1) I have not tried it before but others have and was interested to see what I would get 2) to see what level of effort students are putting into their homework
3) I wanted to see if they could demonstrate their knowledge from class and add something.
The Brief – You have to make a labelled model of a cell. You can choose from the generalised animal cell, the generalised plant cell or one of the specialised cells we have researched. The more creative the better. Extra information is welcome.
The hope – The students would use a variety of materials to show the parts of plant or animal cells and be able to explain why they used the materials and name each part of their model accurately.
The results – a complete mixed bag. An extraordinary effort put in by some students and very little by others. Some used their jotter notes (which included research in class) and created a simple model. For some students this was easy and others this was an achievement. A couple of students however went away and researched and made models of higher or advanced higher level!
Lessons for me - The biggest lesson for me – make sure all have a written description of task, not just a verbal one.
What I did with the task - took photos of each model and will be giving them a small print out and feedback to stick into their jotter. Short bullet point feedback on what was done well and how they can improve/maintain level for next similar homework task.