STEM Central raising issues for debate and discussion

Perhaps your use of STEM Central contexts has raised debate around ethical issues – access to clean water, housing sustainability, energy through renewables? If so, the Speak Up Scotland! initiative might be of interest to you. Free workshops for teachers introduce different forms of debating, so you can encourage learners to explore the ethical and moral considerations around scientific developments. The programme also offers to arrange visits from or online discussions with university and industry STEM Ambassadors.

More details available on the SSERC website or by e-mailing science@esus.scotland.org.uk

Wise Up Wednesday!

Did you know that you can use Glow in your playroom or classroom? Here are some ideas:

  1. Add a video of them exploring an interest
  2. Add colourful pictures from the Early Years illustrations page
  3. Keep parents and carers up to date by creating a blog, they can access it without a Glow password and you can add videos and sound!

Interests this month might include: 

Children In Need

National Tree Week

St Andrew’s Day

Or, why not create a Christmas page? You will have more time to create it and you could have a Glow meet with Santa!

For more inspiration visit ‘Places to Go’ and see some excellent examples from Glow Cookbooks.

If you are unsure or want to discuss what you have created, share your thoughts on our Glow forum and other early years practitioners can give you ideas and use your ideas too!

Happy Glowing!

Activities for French Reading for Enjoyment 4th level

I recently met with a group of practitioners from Aberdeen who are currently undertaking a “mini NAR” project for their local authority.  Many of them asked me to share the resources that I used to exemplify  4th level Reading for Enjoyment .  I have just posted these resources in the Modern Langauges National Glow Group, in the Sharing Resources section.  The folder for the S2 Ghost story contains all the materials, including teachers’ notes as does the S3 Poetry Unit folder.  There is an Activeboard  flipchart in the Ghost Story folder.  If you would like to use it you will need to first of all to save it to your documents, open your activeboard software, click on file and open it from your documents or wherever you saved it.  The sound files are also in the folder and you will need to save them and then reinstate the hyperlinks on the flipchart pages.

 If you would like to access the materials, then please visit the Glow group or  click here to follow the link.  (You will need your Glow password)

Global Citizenship Drop-in session (Glow Meet)

Theme:  Developing Global Citizens – A whole school approach

Day:  Tuesday, 6th December

Time:  3.45pm – 4.45pm

Following the success of our first Glow drop-in event, the Developing Global Citizenship Team are once again making themselves available on our new Glow TV channel to share inspirational practice and ideas and also to answer any questions you may have about global citizenship.  This is an informal session open to any practitioner or school leader in Scotland – just drop into the Glow meet to pick our brains, find out what’s coming up or tell us what you’re up to. If you missed the first one then click here to see how it works.

Our next session will focus on the potential of global citizenship education to inspire learning across the curriculum.  Ann Kay, Head Teacher of award-winning Whitelees Primary School (the first to gain five excellent grades in their school inspection) will share how embedding global citizenship across the curriculum transformed the learning experiences and ethos in the school. 

The session will open with a presentation from 3.45pm to 4.15pm on How to develop a whole school approach to global citizenship.  An open floor Q & A/discussion session will follow from 4.20pm – 4.45pm.   

Remember: It’s not a requirement, but if you join us with headphones or a webcam then it means we can have a good blether.

How to join:

Click on the following link to pre-register and also to join us on the day:  http://bit.ly/DGCdropin

 

If you can’t make this one then the following drop in session will be on Thursday 26th January 2011 from 3:45pm – 4.45pm. As 2012 is The Year of Sustainable Energy for All, the focus for this session will be on developing global citizens through sustainable development education.

Imprint Book Festival & Glovember

The East Ayrshire Imprint Book Festival schools programme was watched by just under 3500 pupils from around Scotland on GlowTV. Pupils from schools in Dumfries and Galloway to Orkney logged on to Glow to see and hear the authors. There were also many East Ayrshire schools joining these events on Glow as well as pupils from local schools attending the Burns Monument Centre in Kilmarnock in person. Glow teamed up with east Ayrshire’s Imprint Book Festival to make the 5 author sessions with Lynne Rickards, Scott McIntyre, Simon Puttock, Barry Hutchison and Tony Bonning part of Glovember, Glow’s national writing competition taking place throughout the month of November.

 This was an excellent example of partnership working between Education and Library Services in East Ayrshire, and the national Glow team, to provide events to schools that promote and encourage literacy and reading. At the Imprint Festival finale on Saturday, Councillor Douglas Reid highlighted the input of Glow as one of the successes of the festival.

To find out about more up and coming author events during November, visit the Glovember Glow Group.

Technologies at Glasgow Uni

Yesterday (14/11/11), I visited Glasgow University to present to BEd years 3 and 4. We began by discussing the misconceptions surrounding Technologies within Curriculum for Excellence, and spent the rest of the time looking at draft level 2 learning journeys for STEM Central. The students commented on how easy it was to use the website and learning journeys in order to make lessons.

You can find the presentation here. (Glow log in required)

We ended by looking at some of the other resources available from Education Scotland to help with teaching Technologies:

Technologies Staffroom (Glow log in required)

Glow Science (Glow log in required)

Technologies area of the website

Exploring Climate Change

Weather and Climate Change

Working in the Energy Sector

Only 7 days to go……

On Tuesday 22nd November the Early Years team here at Education Scotland are hosting a topical debate on Glow TV. We ask an expert panel:

  • Thinking about your own work and experience, what do you think is the best way to develop children’s literacy skills?
  • What do you believe that parents of young children can do to support their literacy development?

We will also discuss the latest findings from PISA:

 “the performance advantage among students whose parents read to them in their early school years is evident regardless of the family’s socio-economic background”

Visit the Early Years National Glow site today to find out more!

SATH Autumn Conference 2011

Spaces are still available for the SATH Autumn Conference this Saturday (19/11/2011).  There is a strong line up of speakers. Attendees will also have the opportunity to go on a guided tour of the National Museum of Scotland with Learning Manager Emma Webb. Visit www.sath.org.uk for further information.

Talking STEM Cells

Scottish Stem Cell Network (SSCN) have been running a series of interactive workshops on the topic of Stem Cell aimed at S5 Higher Human Biology/ Higher Biology classes since the summer and two new ones have now been scheduled.

The workshops are delivered live by scientists enhancing the class room experience and providing a unique opportunity to explore science as a career.

Resources address key objectives by setting up scenarios to encourage interdisciplinary learning specifically addressing areas of Science, RMPS together with issues from Health and Wellbeing. The resources are designed to develop skills in group work within and across schools and critical analysis skills where the students will be assessing the moral and ethical issues associated with scientific advancements based on factual information validated and delivered by experts in the field.

The workshops are lead by a stem cell scientist, making use of a mix of presentations, interactive quizzes, video and web based activities and cover:

• A basic introduction into stem cells, the science.
• How can we use Stem Cells
• What does the future hold
• The Ethical questions
• Careers in the Stem Cell Industry

The two new sessions are identical in content but are on different days and times to hopefully suit the S5 timetable in your school.

Sign up and join us on either Wednesday 16th November live from 1.15 – 3.30pm or on Friday 25th November from 9.55-11.55am. Talking STEM Cells – 16/11 OR Talking STEM Cells 25/11

Choices for Life Online

Have you signed up yet for the new and exciting Choices for Life event? Maybe you have been involved in one of the live events with your class and want to see what this new online version looks like or maybe you are a secondary teacher who previously has not been involved with the event – well this for you!

It’s not too late to view the schedule for the 14th and 15th November – Choices for Life Online Full Programme.

The new two-day web event is set to deliver a packed programme of entertainment and information to pupils in Primary 7 through to S6 on substance misuse issues and making positive lifestyle decisions.

The programme, which is funded by the Scottish Government has been developed by the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency in collaboration with a number of partners, and will help schools deliver second, third and fourth level substance misuse experiences and outcomes within health and wellbeing.

Appearances will include music from The Wanted, Carrie Mac, Finding Albert, Little Eye, Pearl and The Puppets, boy band GMD 3, Emeli Sande and real life stories aimed at the specific age groups. Drama from PACE media productions group and positive role models.

Find out more in the Choices for Life Glow Group and sign up in Glow TV.

Glowing Thursdays – National School Sports Week

This week Scottish athlete Lee McConnell, 400 metres runner will be on Glowing Thursday to tell us about what it takes to be an Olympian and to encourage schools to get involved in National School Sports Week 2012.

Nearly half a million primary and secondary pupils from over 1,400 schools in Scotland participated in National School Sport Week last June, making it the biggest school sporting event in the country. So, the numbers for 2012 are set to rise!

The week will be from 11th – 15th June 2012 and the theme for this year is Stage your Games! The possibilities for capturing the Olympic and Paralympic spirit in your National School Sports Week events and for supporting interdisciplinary learning in Curriculum for Excellence are endless.

Join us live from Muirhouse Primary School in North Lanarkshire on Thursday 17th November at 11am and find out more about how you and your school can get involved! Sign up in Glow TV.

Very interesting research about parental involvement in the early years

“Children whose parents frequently read with them in their first year of school are still showing the benefit when they are 15, says an international OECD study.”

(BBC News 8 November 2011)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-15639642

Bookbug – What the Ladybird Heard

During their first year at primary school, all children in Scotland will receive a free book with a message from Bookbug.

This year’s chosen book, ‘What the Ladybird Heard’ by Julia Donaldson, won in the 0-7 age category of the 2011 Royal Mail Awards for Scottish Children’s Books. Thousands of children voted in this age group, so we are pleased to be gifting a book that really was their choice.

This Glow Meet will explore the book ‘What the Ladybird Heard’ including gifting ideas and fun activities that students and teachers can plan at school or in their classroom. The official gifting week is the week beginning November 21.

The session will be presented by Tracy Lowe from the Scottish Book Trust who is a regular Glow Meet presenter, her enthusiasm and love for books is clearly demonstrated in her presentations!

Sign up and join us on Friday 11th November at 10.45am.

Success Criteria for reading, writing and listening and talking at 2nd and 3rd levels

I was at a moderation meeting in East Dunbartonshire last week.  Practitioners there have been doing lots of work on looking at the Es and Os at 2nd and 3rd level and have been considering success criteria that demonstrate learners’ progression through each level.  I thought that what they have produced  might be interesting  to help other teachers develop their shared understanding of the Es and Os.  I’ve posted them in the Emerging CfE Practice section in the assessment and moderation documents store.  Let me know if you find them helpful.  Many thanks to C Edwardson of Kirkintilloch High School for sharing her materials.  To access please click here (you will need your Glow password)

Edinburgh Interfaith Week

Edinburgh Interfaith Week Programme has been launched and offers an ideal opportuntiy for those in and around the Edinburgh Area to find out more about faith and belief and its relevance to the world today.

 EIFA Inter faith week

CPD Session with practitioners in Aberdeen

I was lucky enough to be invited to Harlaw Academy in Aberdeen City this week to discuss a coherent and collegiate approach to planning assessment, curriculum and learning and teaching.  Every Modern Languages Department in the city is currently planing their own “mini NAR” assessment project and it was my priviledge to be able to share my experience of undertaking a NAR project and discuss how we used the NAR in my own department as a valuable tool for CPD.  It was wonderful to see how many practitioners from City and Shire, state and private sectors, were willing to give up their own time to attend this twilight session and take part in very fertile professional dialogue.  I’ve posted the presentation slides and the evidence folders on the National Modern Languages Glow Group in the CfE Emerging Practice Section.  To access the presentation please click here

Wise Up Wednesday!

Early Years Glow: Did you know?

There is a whole wealth of Early Years whiteboard activities in the Aardvarks storecupboard!

  1. Visit the National Early Years Glow site
  2. Click ‘places to go’
  3. Click on the Aardvarks storecupboard
  4. Click on a subject area and have fun!

Scottish Ballet launches Glow Group

Today we are excited to be launching our Scottish Ballet Glow Group. The Education Team here at Scottish Ballet have been busily preparing and creating new schools resources and we can’t wait for our Sleeping Beauty ones to be uploaded onto Glow for you all to use in the coming months.

Here are just a few of the ways we’ll be using Glow to get you thinking about ballet soon.

• Brand New Sleeping Beauty Primary School Resources
• A specially devised Sleeping Beauty Workshop for teachers to use in the classroom
• 2 short films – one CPD film for teachers about teaching dance in the classroom and another for pupils about what to expect when you go to the theatre
• Live Sleeping Beauty Webcast from backstage at the Edinburgh Festival Theatre on Thursday 12th January 2012 time??

Why not send us a message using the forum to tell us what you think of our page and what you’d like to see on it. Or you could ask us that ballet question you’ve been dying to know the answer to. Don’t forget to follow the links to our Connect page for lots more exciting games and resources…look out for our Dancer of the Month Interviews coming soon.

https://portal.glowscotland.org.uk/establishments/nationalsite/Creative%20Learning%20Scotland/Arts%20Organisations/Scottish%20Ballet/default.aspx

Scottish Parliament Live Event

Are you or your class studying Advanced Higher Modern Studies Law & Order Event? Well this is an event that you will not want to miss.

The Scottish Parliament Education Service is pleased to invite schools to take part in an event for pupils studying the Law & Order study theme in Advanced Higher Modern Studies. This has become a popular annual event and we are usually unable to accommodate all pupils wishing to attend. This year we plan to include Glow Meets to ensure that all schools are able to take part.

This event will be broadcast live on Tuesday 8th November from 10am and will include the following in the programme:

10.30- 10.50 Watch Justice Committee meeting and Kenny MacAskill giving evidence through live Webstream from the Parliament.

11.00 -12.00 Q&A Glow Meet session with Cabinet Secretary for Justice, Kenny MacAskill

13.00 Q&A Glow Meet session with Members of Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee

Please note that the programme is subject to Parliamentary and Government business and may change. Any changes will be posted on the Glow TV schedule listing where you sign up and join the event.

Sign up and join us in Glow TV for this exciting event.

What’s it really like to work in financial services?

                                                      

                                                                       

 

What’s it really like to work in financial services?

The re:think website provides school leavers and college and university graduates with information on the financial services sector in Scotland.

Find out what it’s really like to work in financial services. The site contains a number of case studies, from real people, who work for some of Scotland’s key employers.  They provide more information on their jobs, their typical day and how they got into their current role.

Find out more at www.sds.co.uk/rethink

Glovember Competition & Glow TV

Why not enter our Glovember writing competition – we are looking for stories, poems and drawings from young people across Scotland.

All of next week GlowTV will be hosting different authors as part of Glovember. Please join us with:

Lynne Rickards – Monday 7th November @ 1:30pm

Scott McIntyre – Tuesday 8th November @ 1.30pm

Simon Puttock – Wednesday 9th November @ 1.30pm

Barry Hutchison – Thursday 10th November @ 1.30pm

Tony Bonning – Friday 11th November @ 1.30pm

You can sign up here on GlowTV.

Click here to visit the Glovember Glow Group.

(You will require a Glow login to take part in these events.)

Now available – Curriculum for Excellence Q&A

A series of question and answers have been developed to help you understand Curriculum for Excellence and how it’s being embedded within educational establishments across Scotland.

The information is intended to support leaders, managers, practitioners and others within the education community in their own understanding of many of the key issues surrounding areas such as certification, assessment, making subject choices, parent or carer engagement and support for implementation. 

The full list of questions and answers are available on the Education Scotland website now.  Click here to go direct to the Q&A.

SQA Update for New National Qualifications

http://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/47667.html

The Scottish Qualifications Authority has a number of resources to support teachers and practitioners to help them understand the changes to Scotland’s national qualifications. Read more in this update.

Wise Up Wednesday!

 Early Years Glow: Did you know?

The Early Years team at Education Scotland have updated and ‘revamped’ the National Early Years Glow site!

It provides a wonderful wealth of Early Years information, including direct links to our blog, Early Years resources and other places to visit within Glow to help your learning and teaching.

There are also opportunities to take part in up to the minute discussions.

Please come and join us and tell us what you think. Will it enhance your learning and teaching? Is there anything else you would like us to add?

We are also creating an exciting programme of events for Glow TV so watch this space!

Purple Mash

Purple Mash brings you a selection of online creativity tools to support and inspire young children.

The following resources from Purple Mash are available through Glow.

2Publish

2Publish is a program which allows pupils to create simple layouts using text and drawings. A selection of templates, word banks and images are available to use.

2Design & Make

Design and make 3D models. Select from a range of templates or create your own design. As you work watch the changes take effect on a 3D preview of your model. Customise your model with the painting tools then print it out to fold and stick it together to complete your model.

2AnimateLite

Get started with simple frame animation to develop an understanding of sequences and processes. Use the ‘onion skinning’ facility to ensure smooth transition from one frame to another when you play your film.

You can access Purple Mash by clicking here. (Glow login required)

You can also add a Purple Mash webpart to your Glow Group by:

– clicking on Modify Shared Page

Add Webpart

Search, type Purple Mash

Click Virtual Server Gallery

– Drag and drop the webpart or select the relevant area on Add to

Global citizenship and sustainability – visit award-winning schools

Following the tremendous success of earlier open day events, the Developing Global Citizens Team at Education Scotland are providing opportunities for school leaders and practitioners to visit three more schools to see first-hand how they have developed inspiring whole school approaches to global citizenship and sustainable development education. These include:

 Hamilton Grammar School, South Lanarkshire

Theme:  An integrated approach to global citizenship

  • Four Eco-Schools green flag awards; pupil voice; making the most of international links; promoting active and outdoor learning.

 Garrowhill Primary School, Glasgow

Theme: Sustainable development education

  • Winner, Scottish Education Awards (2011) – Sustainable School Category; pupil voice; outdoor learning and school grounds; embedding sustainability within the curriculum; Eco-Schools green flag.

 Whitelees Primary School, North Lanarkshire

Theme: Sustainable development education

  • Recently achieved five ‘excellent’ grades in their school inspection; Finalist, Scottish Education Awards (2011) – Sustainable School Category; Winner, Best Green School (2009); Four Eco-Schools green flag awards.

 How to book

To book, please email: globalcitizens@educationscotland.gov.uk or Tel. 0141 282 5172. Places are limited so please book early to avoid disappointment. These are free CPD events.

 View the full programme of school open day events at http://ltsblogs.org.uk/globalcitizenship/2011/09/28/new-open-day-programme-201112/

 What others have said about the study visits:

‘The best CPD I have ever had.’

‘This was an inspirational CPD event and I found it all very useful and enjoyable – fantastic.’

‘My mind is going into overdrive – I plan to take everything you have given and use it!

The Early Years team would love to hear from you!

Now that all Early Years establishments have the new issue of Education Scotland’s Early Years Matters we would love to hear your views on the literacy questions which were discussed at the Saturday conference in May. These are:

* Thinking about your own work and experience, what do you think is the best way to develop children’s literacy skills?
* What do you believe that parents of young children can do to support their literacy development?

Please visit our discussion forum on our Early Years Glow site and share your thoughts and ideas. We look forward to hearing from you.

Link to discussion forum:

https://forums.glowscotland.org.uk//forums/viewforum.php?f=3490&sid=542c87bd12ded5eb8d56b128e56a2dc8

Click the link on our Glow site to see Early Years Matters online:

https://portal.glowscotland.org.uk/establishments/nationalsite/Early%20Years/default.aspx

Asset based approaches for health improvement: redressing the balance

Asset based approaches for health improvement: redressing the balance
Glasgow Centre for Population Health (GCPH) have produced a useful briefing on asset-based approaches to health improvement – an approach which emphasises and builds on the strengths of communities rather than focusing on the negative aspects.   It concludes that asset based approaches offer “exciting potential and could help professionals think differently about how they approach the goal of improving the health of individuals, communities and populations.”

Download the briefing by clicking here

PGDip in Community Learning and Development at Aberdeen

PGDip in Community Learning and Development at Aberdeen
The University of Aberdeen is currently recruiting for its Postgradaute Diploma in Community Learning and Development, which will start in January 2012.  The programme available through blended learning attracts students from all over Scotland.  It is a part time workplace based route to the professional qualifiaction and is approved by the CLD Standards Council.  It has a reputation for its strong practice focus and is offered in partnership with local CLD managers.  Participants will be working or volunteering and will have a relevant degree or equivalent.  For further information contat Aileen Ackland, Programme Director on 0122 274875 or at a.ackland@abdn.ac.uk.  For application forms 01224 274629 pgcld@abdn.ac.uk

Health, Work and Wellbeing Management Support Project – Evaluation

 
CHEX in partnership with the Craighead Institute (lead agency) and the Church of Scotland Parish Development Fund provided mentoring support to 21 small to medium size community and voluntary organisations, several of which were community-led health organisations. The Project was funded by the Department of Work and Pensions Challenge Fund for Health, Work and Wellbeing. Mentoring sessions offered high quality support to managers over a period of 9 months. The Project also provided two action learning sessions to bring the participating mangers together to share experiences and lessons. Analysis and impact of the Project can found in the final evaluation

Flexible Learning: supporting transitions for young people with additional support needs

 

Every year the project supports 50 young people from S4 and S5 and in mainstream schools by identifying their needs and providing each with an individual package of support. More HERE

Coalyard transition project: providing stepping stones to employment for young people with learning disabilities

 

The project offers support and skills development to young people who are making the transition into employment, training or further education. More HERE

Skills Scotland Young People’s events

  • Edinburgh Tuesday 8th November 2011, Corn Exchange
  • Glasgow Wednesday 16th and Thursday 17th November 2011, SECC
  • Aberdeen on Tuesday 22nd November 2011, AECC

Skills Scotland is hosting events to help young people with career decisions. Students will be able to learn about future career and job choices through expert information and advice. The events are open to anyone aged 14-19, whatever their ambitions or abilities. More HERE

Youth Scotland’s Girls on the Move project will be featured today (Monday 31st October) in a special news report on BBC Reporting Scotland.

The BBC news report will focus on the Jogging Buddies’ Mums on the Run project in Paisley, a project that was established with the help of Girls on the Move funding in 2006. 

This project was set up to allow new young mums to take up jogging in a safe and supportive environment. Crucially, it was also an opportunity for young mums to socialise with others in similar situations, without having to pay for childcare.

The Mums on the Run project was so successful that it is now being rolled out as a national programme by jogScotland, along with a comprehensive resource pack for volunteer leaders.

 The BBC Reporting Scotland news report, which was filmed in Barshaw Park, Paisley will feature some of the young women from the original group, many of whom have continued to participate in jogging and have even taken on leadership roles in their community.

 Susan McDonald, group leader of the Mums on the Run project said:

 “The Mums on the Run project was set up to provide a much-needed activity for young mums in our area. It was amazing to see the young women’s confidence and physical activity levels soar as the project went on. Now it’s on the news, hopefully more and more women from across Scotland will get involved!”

 Youth Scotland Chief Executive Carol Downie said:

 “We are delighted that BBC Reporting Scotland has chosen to focus on this particular project, which received Girls on the Move funding. The Mums on the Run project was established in Ferguslie Park in Paisley, considered to be an area of Scotland particularly in need of support. It is a perfect example of our aim to encourage more young women from harder to reach groups to engage with physical activity. The project’s success demonstrates just how far a small amount of targeted funding can go.”

Children in Scotland – Parents as partners: a good practice seminar

In light of the development of a National Parenting Strategy in
Scotland, this one-day seminar will allow policy makers,
practitioners and experts from across the workforce to come
together, share ideas and knowledge and discuss new
strategies for tackling the issues encountered when supporting
all parents, carers and families in Scotland.

http://www.childreninscotland.org.uk/html/tra_tshow.php?ref=1584

Presentation to practitioners and SMT from West Lothian Council

DO MCMC 16+ LC did a presentation to practitioners and SMT from West Lothian Council on Friday 28th October at Inveralmond Community School. DO participated in round table discussions re need for flexibility in the Senior Phase if we are to get 16+ Learning Choices right. It was heart-warming to see so many vocational programmes operating in many of the schools (mainstream and SEN) to develop skills for learning, life and work in our young people. I thoroughly enjoyed the session and I look forward to a follow up on December 9th at Deans Community School. Great to see such fantastic and innovative work being done – well done West Lothian!!