INSPIRE
Learning and Teaching at Ousedale School
New format for INSPIRE!
Welcome to the all-new format for INSPIRE magazine! You still get the same great content to support your developments in learning and teaching but with a great new look and a more regular distribution. INSPIRE will be coming to your in-box every fortnight!
Remember this is YOUR INSPIRE and it is your contributions that make it work. Doing something great in the classroom or beyond? Share it with us and help INSPIRE others.
Email Jay with all your articles and we'll collate and publish them for you!
We'd also love your feedback on the new format - let us know what you think and help shape learning and teaching at Ousedale.
iLearn : Jay Davenport reiterates the principles of iScore
Hopefully everyone is now fully aware of the iLearn document and the four key focus areas that we are working on: Get Ahead, iScore, iLearn environment and Learning Outside the Classroom.
We are working hard on all of these areas to enhance the independent learning opportunities for all students. Try and remember the following principles as you apply iScore to your lesson plans and reinforce the Get Ahead characteristics:
iScore was created to:
- raise our awareness of how many independent learning opportunities we are providing in our lessons
- encourage us to be reflective and use it for our own understanding and development
- enable us to take risks - currently no overall monitoring of the iScore of the tasks we deliver so have a go at something different
- provide consistency - an approach across the school so students recognise the opportunities and develop a language for learning
- provide flexibility - departments and individuals can develop personal / department foci which link to varying iScores
Experiment with the full range of iScore - have fun and make sure you feedback!
Discussion point...........Technological Advances.
The inauguration of 2 Popes, 8 years apart.
Can you use this image as a 'no pens' starter to discuss the advances in technology in the World? Should be able to link to all subjects - it's good to talk. Follow this link to get the image so you can use it.
Action Research: Independent Learning Focus in Science by Cassie Wiles
In science we have been completing a long term trial across 2 key stages and across the whole ability range. The trials were run by 2 different teachers using very different strategies and regular meetings were held to compare progress, concerns and successes. Surprisingly even though both trials had little in common our conclusions, and thoughts about how we felt this could be developed were the same. Follow this link to learn about the successes, the shortcomings and how the science department are thinking about developing the idea further.
Training Day
Details about the training day will follow very soon.
Wednesday, Jul 3, 2013, 08:30 AM
Ousedale School, Newport Pagnell, United Kingdom
INspire in 25 words
Inspire in 25 words (or less) will be a regular feature in the new INSPIRE. Each issue will have a different theme or question and we will be asking for staff to share their best practice, ideas or activities under that heading. The only limitation... you need to summarise it in 25 words or less!
That means that each time you read INSPIRE you will have immediate, quickfire suggestions to use in the classroom that week!
To give you the idea, we asked a couple of people to share their answers to the question:
How do you get students to reflect on what they have learnt in a lesson?
Reflective Pyramids: 3 things you have learnt, 2 skills you have practised, 1 question you would like to take further. (Steph Chadwick)
Each student tells their partner/neighbour what they know that they didn't know before, who then tells the rest of the class what they learnt. (Amanda Kempster)
Students use their smart phone to create a short video explaining their own example of the topic they have learnt, then share with each other. (Rachael Smith)
Do exactly this: Summarise your learning in 25 words! (Sarah Peachey)
Try them out this week! In the next issue...
How do you motivate a student who doesn't want to learn?
Email your inspiring ideas to Steph Chadwick - in 25 words or less!