All posts by S. Bullock

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Festival of Dangerous Ideas is back!

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What’s your dangerous idea for education?

Dangerous Ed is back!!! Colleges Development Network is delighted to announce that the Festival of Dangerous Ideas will run again this year from 13-21 June 2013.

This year’s festival will be launched in Glasgow by world leading social entrepreneur Mel Young.  Mel is President and CEO of the Homeless World Cup and Co-founder of The Big Issue in Scotland.  Through his experience of working with the homeless, Mel has developed his own dangerous ideas for education.

There will be events happening throughout the week all over Scotland – co-created by people who are passionate about education. Events so far include:

  • A walk on the wild side – an adventure through the wilderness – exploring and creating over the weekend
  • Dangerous assessment – revolutionizing marking and assessment
  • Creative and dangerous – conversations across the nation
  • Game on – creating learning environments virtually
  • Un-conference – you decide the agenda
  • Online forums with dangerous dares and job swaps
  • Wicked problems, creative solutions
  • Resource-free – learn to engage learners for nothing
  • Waste-free world – why recycling isn’t the answer
  • Emporium of dangerous Ideas – trade your dangerous ideas.

Get involved and create your own dangerous event – register by completing the event submission form no later than 31 March 2013.

You can also join the Festival LinkedIn group, find us on Facebook and follow @Dangerous_Ed on Twitter.

Sciences

Edinburgh International Science Festival at University of Edinburgh

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University of Edinburgh family programme at the Museum, 2013

Discover science with real scientists from University of Edinburgh. Visit the Learning Centre for free, family-friendly drop-in activities, workshops and shows from 23 March – 6 April. Drop-in activities run 10am – 4.30pm daily and most are suitable for age 5 to adult. Click here for the full programme: Uni activities at Museum prog details 2013.

Drop-in activities

The Energy Challenge

Discover Our Earth

Pop-up Engineering

Exciting times for the Higgs Boson

The SCI-FUN Road-show

Bio-Discoveries

Secrets of Symmetry

Human and Animal Medicine

Workshops

Powerful Patterns

Intelligent Robots

Shows

The Chemistry Show

Dr Bunhead’s Poo and Goo Show

Developing the Young Workforce

National Painting Competition for senior phase pupils

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The Jolomo Schools Painting Award sponsored by Bank of Scotland will be run for the first time in school year 2012/13.  Students from the senior phase at all Scottish secondary schools are invited to take part in the inaugural schools painting award.  Students are asked to paint and submit their interpretation of the Scottish landscape.  The winner will receive £500, with an additional £500 going to the winning schools Art Department.  The winner will also have the opportunity to be mentored by the artist John Lowrie Morrison  (Jolomo).  More information can be found by clicking on ‘HOW TO ENTER’ on the home page of The Jolomo Foundation website.  www.jolomofoundation.org.

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Forth Valley Creative Conversations – Falkirk, Stirling and Clackmannanshire

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exploring | inspiring | challenging

You are invited to

(further information below, please share with colleagues and friends)

  • Thursday 7th March | 4.30pm – 6.30pm | Stirling University: What is Creative Learning? Keir Bloomer
  • Wednesday 17th April | 4.30pm – 6.30pm | Tolbooth, Stirling: How do we Capture and Measure Creativity? Paul Collard, Chief Executive, Creativity, Culture, Education

What is Creative Learning?

Paul Collard Leaflet

Keir Bloomer Poster

Keir Bloomer

Logie Lecture Theatre, Stirling Universtiy

Thursday 7th March 2013

4.30pm – 6.30pm (registration and refreshments from 4pm)

ALL WELCOME

Keir Bloomer will explore two distinct but linked ways of answering the question what is creative learning? Is it about approaches to learning that are creative?  In other words, is it the creativity of the teacher that is most important?  Alternatively, is the aim to develop the creativity of the learner?  He will consider the connections between these ideas and the principles of constructivist pedagogy – the idea that making meaning is the central intellectual task in learning.

Keir Bloomer is an independent education consultant.  He is also Chair of the Court of Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh; Chair of the Tapestry Partnership (a professional development organisation for teachers); Chair of the School Reform Commission, and Vice-convenor of Children in Scotland.  He was Director of Education and later Chief Executive of Clackmannanshire Council, a post from which he retired in May 2007.  As a member of the review group that wrote “A Curriculum for Excellence” he has been closely involved with curriculum reform and recently chaired the Higher Order Skills Excellence Group.

If you would like to join us please book free tickets via:

www.brownpapertickets.com/event/332997

Also see the website: www.forthvalleycreativelearning.wordpress.com

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How do we capture and measure creativity?

Paul Collard

Chief Executive, Creativity, Culture and Education

4.30pm – 6.30pm (registration and refreshments from 4pm)

Tolbooth Arts Venue, Stirling

ALL WELCOME

Increasing attention is being given to developing the creativity of children and young people. From Japan to Chile, within Europe and across the US this has become a major preoccupation of educators. But how do you know what creativity looks like, and can you tell if it is being developed?  To support their work CCE commissioned extensive research into the definition and measurement of creativity and trialled numerous approaches in schools. In this presentation Paul Collard will provide a constructive and practical guide to identifying creativity in the classroom to enable teachers and creative practitioners to inspire children and young people.

If you would like to join us please book free tickets via:

www.brownpapertickets.com/event/333056

Also see the website: www.forthvalleycreativelearning.wordpress.com

For further information contact: creativelearning@stirling.gov.uk

Further conversations with Suzanne Zeedyk (1st May in Falkirk – www.brownpapertickets.com/event/333091) and Professor Brian Boyd (9th May in Clackmannanshire – www.brownpapertickets.com/event/333079) to be announced soon.

Please see the website for further information www.forthvalleycreativelearning.wordpress.com

Dance

100 pupil flashmob in Central Station mark Youth Olympics hopes

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The International Olympic Committee (IOC) today shortlisted Glasgow in the race to host the 2018 Youth Olympic Games (YOG), praising the city’s record of hosting international sporting events including the 2014 Commonwealth Games. The 2018 YOG Working Group report stated that Glasgow’s Bid would also build on the success of the London 2012 Olympic Games creating a powerful and impactful YOG, appealing to athletes and young people across the globe, while representing minimal risk to the IOC.

Glasgow will join two other cities on the shortlist for the next stage of the process which will see IOC members vote for the winning Candidate City in July.

More than 100 young people from Denny High School gathered in Central Station, the city’s main rail terminal, for a contemporary dance flashmob to celebrate the news, calling on the UK public to back the Bid to bring the 2018 YOG toGlasgow. The celebration event reflected the passion for sport the Olympic family can expect if the Games come to Glasgow.

http://www.glasgow2018.com/media-centre/latest-press-release/

Sciences

First Minister blog – Scots space mission ready for launch

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The First Minister says, ‘Last week I was delighted to meet Scottish scientists and research teams who have been doing important work to help us understand the world and the universe.  First, I met Professor Peter Higgs, one of the most famous figures in Scottish science. Prof Higgs famously developed a theory into the basic building blocks of the universe and a particle that was named the ‘Higgs boson’, while working at the University of Edinburgh in the 1960s.  Last year researchers at the CERN laboratory in Switzerland confirmed the discovery of a previously-unknown boson whose behaviour so far has been consistent with the ‘Higgs boson’.


http://engageforeducation.org/2013/02/scots-space-mission-ready-for-launch/

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/News/Releases/2013/02/science03022013

To recognise Prof Higgs’ achievements and help inspire a new generation of scientists among today’s school pupils around Scotland, we have launched an annual Higgs Prize. This will give outstanding young school physicists the chance to win a trip to the CERN facility, where work continues on researching the Higgs particle.’

Drama, Music, Religious and Moral Education

Divided City – musical theatre event and Glow Meets

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Divided City Event at Citizen’s Theatre – Primary Event, 18 February 2013, 11.00 am http://bit.ly/XY9iZ8

Funded by the Scottish Government, the Citizens Theatre and South Lanarkshire Culture and Leisure are re-mounting the hit musical stage version of Theresa Breslin’s award winning novel, Divided City, with a 40 strong cast of 3rd year pupils from across South Lanarkshire. To help teachers and pupils get inside the world of the book and the production there will be two Glow meets (one Primary and the other Secondary) with the author and the creative team behind the hit musical version of Divided City. This is the Primary event and will include a special opportunity to ask author Theresa Breslin questions about Divided City and find out how the creative team from the new production in Hamilton took the book from page to stage.

Divided City Event at Citizen’s Theatre – Secondary Event, 18 February 2013, 2.00 pm http://bit.ly/WD4NGp

This is the Secondary event which will feature a lively discussion asking whether young people today have experienced sectarianism or prejudice similar to those experienced by the characters in Divided City.

For full details of these and other events, please log in to Glow and view the current schedule:

https://portal.glowscotland.org.uk/establishments/nationalsite/GlowTV/tvpages/Schedule.aspx.

(Glow login and password required)

Drama, Languages and Literacy

Register now to take part in the 2013 Shakespeare Schools Festival

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The Shakespeare Schools Festival (SSF) is the largest youth drama festival in the UK and offers a non-competitive, supportive and celebratory opportunity for young people to perform Shakespeare in a local professional theatre. On one night, four schools come together to perform four different half-hour plays and, by doing so, widen their horizons and discover for themselves what they are capable of achieving.

It allows teachers to develop drama skills and new ways of teaching through doing, and gives primary, secondary and special schools a novel way to raise their profile within the community.

“They (the students) have seen all staff and pupils become part of one whole happy team, sharing goals, up keeping expectations and working really hard.” Lizzy Rose, Teacher, Robert Gordon’s College Junior School

Registration includes:

-A Teacher CPD day

-A workshop at your local professional venue for the cast in September

-Access to 21 abridged scripts and resources on staging Shakespeare

-A day in a professional theatre with all the technical and directorial support needed to run a technical and dress rehearsal, and to perform in October/November

-Continuous support from your Regional coordinator

SSF is for all teachers in Scotland regardless of their level of experience in directing and for all young people – whether they think Shakespeare is boring or find it difficult to engage in the classroom, or are high achievers and love acting.

“The whole experience was immensely rewarding for everyone: it built confidence with Shakespeare’s text; it made our pupils feel ten feet tall when they performed alongside much, much larger schools.  We enjoyed the workshops and the experience of performing.  Our marketing team loved the chance to plan and sell a product. We would do it again in a heartbeat.” Mandy Tevendale, Teacher, Mallaig High School, Inverness-shire

Registration costs £750 + VAT. As a charity we raise an additional £900 towards the cost of participation for every school.

SSF is supported by OCR, AQA, Edexcel and Arts Award.

To register or find out how your students can grow through performing Shakespeare on stage alongside three other schools, please call us on 0207 601 1814 or go to our website www.ssf.uk.com

Community Learning and Development

“Be on a T” or “Design a Front Cover” Competitions – Aberdeen/Aberdeenshire

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The “Be on a T” competition is aimed at children of secondary school age (12-17) and is looking for an amazing design to feature on this summers t-shirt. These t-shirts will be worn by over 1000 volunteers and 80 staff, throughout the festival, and seen by many more. Not only will the winner have their name and design seen all over, they will also receive £100 of vouchers to use during the festival AND £100 cash, which is so generously being donated by one of our sponsors.

The “Design a Front Cover” competition was hugely successful last year and in it’s second year it is being extended out to community centres, Scout groups and local youth clubs. This one is for those of Primary school age and requires them to design the front cover for our 2013 brochure. 50,000 of these brochures will be printed with the winners cover on every one. On top of that the winner will receive £100 of vouchers to use at the festival, a trip to Edinburgh to visit with a top design company AND £400 for their school or group, to purchase art supplies.

Full guidelines can be sent on request.