Informed Scotland – Issue 9 March 2013 is the first issue of this digest to be circulated within Falkirk Council Education Services. We have taken a subscription for a year and will review towards the end of year 1. The digest is designed for professionals who need to keep abreast of what is happening in the world of learning and skills.
Carol Paton, Curriculum Support Officer Secondary, Falkirk Council Education Services Curriculum Support Team will review this from responses.
Sharon Wallace, Effective Teaching and Learning Teacher, Curriculum Support Team has been busy sharing the active literacy message with initial teacher education students at Stirling University. Third year students were provided with a brief overview of the Active Literacy strategies and methodologies before embarking on a practical workshop of activities. The third year students participated in a traditional spelling test followed by an active learning spelling test. They commented on the difference between the two and how much more effective the learning was using the Active approach. They also attempted to split words into Elkonin boxes learned about single phonemes, joined phonemes and split phonemes. They examined a range of ‘texts’ including recipes, stories, picture books and film looking at how the six key comprehension reading strategies can be applied at early level. Students were enthused by this creative approach to active literacy and ‘on a mission’ to try out some of the methodologies on their next teaching placement. It was a really enjoyable morning and Dr. Lynsey Burke commented on how important it is to have had a valuable input and insight into current active literacy approaches within Falkirk Council.
The teachers were selected from across the authority with every cluster being represented. As well as being expected to take a lead in outdoor learning in their own schools, the Lead Teachers will be instrumental in establishing OL networks within their clusters.
Each session had a curricular focus and included sharing ideas for how literacy, numeracy and science could be delivered in the outdoors. The main purpose of the course however was to stimulate discussion and thinking about how we could move close to achieving the aim of outdoor learning being embedded within the curriculum.
Some comments from participants include:
“Before undertaking the course I had virtually no understanding of how to use the outdoors as a stimulus for learning. I hate being cold and wet and dirty, but I have loved every minute of the course so far. For me building fires and dens was a small part. The big part was how the outdoors could be used to teach almost anything and how learning outdoors fits into everyday literacy and numeracy tasks quite naturally.”
“Throughout the course I was continually reflecting on how the activities would have made the learning accessible to pupils who I had taught in the past who to whom literacy and numeracy was daunting. It would allow them, at the very least, to start learning at the same level as their peers.”
“I am taking outdoor learning forward in the school next year and cannot wait to develop all that I have learned on the lead teacher programme.”
Stuart Lennie, ICT Curriculum Development Officer in Falkirk Council Education Services Curriculum Support team, has just launched the official Falkirk Council Education Services YouTube Channel.
The channel, available HERE, will be used to provide CPD opportunities, support, and guidance for education establishments across Falkirk Council. Within the page are links to the other official YouTube channels for Falkirk schools.
The channel also works on the YouTube app for Smartphones and Tablets, giving you access to content whenever you need it.
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Make sure you subscribe to the channel to get all of our latest updates!
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Carol Paton, Curriculum Support Officer Secondary, Falkirk Council Education Services Curriculum Support Team recently led a session on the Glasgow University Research Paper ‘Assessment at Transition’. Sixteen Headteachers and Deputes from across Falkirk explored together some of the key challenges from this research paper around the purposes and potential of assessement at transition. Together they examined their current transition programmes in respect of planning, pedagogy, progress and standards. They challenged each others’ thinking and took inspiration from some of the transformational practice described.
Participants said:
Kate Hotchkiss – Receptionist/Clerical Assistant in the Curriculum Support Team of Falkirk Council Education Services, provides the support for booking rooms within Camelon Education Centre.
Kate’s role is to ensure the facilities provide the best learning environment for staff attending either short meetings or all day seminars. Staff can then return to the classroom with as positive an experience as possible.
Comments from presenters and Participants include “Thank you so much for your help on the day of our training” and “you helped everything go smoothly on the day”
Jamielee Dickson, Clerical Assistant within the Falkirk Council Education Services Curriculum Support Team deals with staff booking onto courses. Jamielee is the person at the end of the phone or sending e-mails for staff booking onto professional development.
Ann Peoples, Administration Assistant, Falkirk Council Education Services, Curriculum Support Team has undertaken the administraion for the running of the assessment centres.
The administration is essential to the smooth running of each assessment centre. Staff within the Curriculum Support Team and QIO Team are being trained.
All our schools are moving forward on implementing the new Employee Review and Development (Glow login required) process( ERD). Some have already begun while others are getting ready. Anne Hutchison (CPD Co-ordinator in the Curriculum Support team of Falkirk Council Education Services) co-leads the implementation strategy at service level along with Anne Pearson (Service Manager: Curriculum Support team) and today they were out and about in schools across Falkirk working with staff from Grangemouth High, Graeme High, Laurieston, Hallglen, Victoria and Westquarter primary schools. Preparation is key to getting this effective way of working off on the right foot. So what were we doing?
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