Day 336 - Mr Nichols 1, Year 9 1

Thursday March 18th

And so it came to pass that I tamed the mighty Year 9. I took them out of the class room and down on to the rugby pitches. We were learning about time distance graphs so I got them to record their very own journey of walking, running, standing still etc. and then back to record it all on a graph.

The naughtiest boy of all decided he wanted to partner me and he was good as gold the whole lesson. Everyone else followed his lead and the time flew by. They actually learnt something. It felt a little chaotic and out of control at times but as all the theory states - we are all more likely to remember things if we are learning by doing as opposed to reading or listening. We are definitely more likely to remember if we are enjoying ourselves. I know I was.

Did I mention this was one of my formal observations? Thought so.

Day 293 - Dragons Den, Kings' Style

Wednesday February 3rd

Not feeling 100% so fighting through to the weekend with runny nose and ample doses of Lemsip. Three lessons today as well as a lunchtime with the Kings Enterprise team.

There are a number of pupil run businesses at the school selling everything from Christmas stuff to cards, picture frames, key rings etc. They are there to turn a profit and learn about business. Who better to help out than me with my experience. First up was a company printing and mounting photos onto canvass. They have a limited market and some issues with quality control to deal with.

I gave 8.1.3 a nice rich task for their lesson. The trouble is I only figured out the learning points right at the end as they were packing up. They enjoyed it anyway!

Day 278 - Failed In Mainstream Schools

Tuesday January 19th

I was up very early today and on the train to visit my second placement school, More House. As previously blogged it is a specialist school for boys with learning difficulties or, as one of the boys actually there said, for thick kids. Need to work on the self-esteem there as well.

I really enjoyed it and it reminded me of my schooling - big old house with annexes, boys having breakfast in a cafeteria, boarding houses etc. Frances has own classroom so it will be great not to have to move around all the time. The class sizes were a real shock as well with 8-10 kids per class and with one of them , only 5! However, they fill the space available so it is a very daunting prospect to prepare for it. I won't have the same resources either, as they don't have IWB.

I learnt a little about the learning issues the boys have. The key fact is that they all have average ability but have failed in mainstream education, so it's this school's job to help them access the learning they are perfectly capable of. They often come with some behavioural issues, either as part of their condition or as a result of their experience in mainstream schools.

The journey on the train was a non-starter, about 3 hours travel so I will need to get a car or stay over in the school or B&B

Day 236 - 101 Things To Do With An Interactive Whiteboard

Tuesday December 8th

Interesting day at university today - everyone was very tired and the energy levels were pretty depleted. I went to four sessions. The first was about different learning styles - really good session and a big theme for me as I try to understand how to spot and then cater for different learning styles. The second was about teaching able, gifted and talented kids. Another thought provoking hour or so, only slightly distracted by the fact that Ted and Ellen are both considered able....proud Dad but are they being stretched enough?

The afternoon was very very long. The first session was ICT and was very good as we worked with the interactive whiteboard and multimedia. There is so much I can do with the interactive white board and haven't got round to yet. The last hour on data was less useful and I was happy to depart for home.

It's funny that everyone was grumbling about a day of meetings that lasted from 9.30 to 4.15pm. Then I remember the average 8am to 6pm Diageo meeting with a working lunch.....

Day 229 - Kinasthetic Learners

Tuesday December 1st

24 days til Christmas and our first icy cold snap. I spent the day at a Maths course in a theme park. It was all about helping children with different learning styles to access Maths. This is a big one for me as I am very good at learning stuff by listening, reading, writing down and figuring it out through logic and practice. Therefore, that is how I teach.

This is OK for the kids who learn like I do but there are plenty who learn differently - they are much more visual or kinasthetic - they need to access through seeing and/or doing. The lecturer was very geeky but I thought very good and gave us some very good ways to teach a little differently. We used interlocking cubes, straws, pipe cleaners, an abacus, loads of different stuff that we can use in the classroom. I really enjoyed it and it gave me some ideas BUT it's still going to be hard for me because I'm still at the stage when, if I explain something clearly, simply and logically, and the child still doesn't get it, I think there's something wrong with THEM.