Education Authority Assessment Coordinators gathered yesterday for the EA Assessment Forum in the Grand Central Hotel, Glasgow. A range of presentations and workshops generated discussion, as the experience and insight of Assessment Coordinators from across the country was shared. Presentations from the event can be found on the National Assessment Glow Group.
Daily Archives: June 20, 2012
Invitation to the Fibonacci Project
The Europe-wide Fibonacci Project promotes and supports Inquiry-based Learning in Science Education (IBSE). It aims to help pupils develop concepts that enable them to understand the scientific and technological aspects of the world around them through their own thinking, using critical and logical reasoning about evidence that they have gathered. This involves group work, making arguments, dialogue and debate, as well as direct exploration and hands-on experiments. Meaningful contexts are provided by making links with the local community (companies, museums, science centres, associations, etc), where parents, scientists and industrialists can be involved.
During 2011 a number of primary teachers developed Engineering Challenges, in collaboration with members of the University of Glasgow Fibonacci Project team.
Inquiry-based approaches are at the heart of the Curriculum for Excellence Sciences and Technologies curricula and contribute very strongly to developing the four “capacities” which Curriculum for Excellence aims to promote.
The Project Team would like to invite primary school practitioners to participate, in collaboration with the team, in implementing Inquiry-based Learning in Science and/or in developing further activities/materials.
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You are invited and encouraged to take up the opportunity to continue (or begin) to put inquiry-based approaches into practice from August 2012 and/or to develop new activities, with support from the Fibonacci team.
For more information or to discuss the project, please contact Ernie Spencer Ernest.Spencer@glasgow.ac.uk
BeXcellent
How you learn and what you learn play a big part in shaping who you are. Learning should be fun no matter where it happens: at school, at home or with friends. Introducing the BeXcellent website, created by Children in Scotland and the Scottish Youth Parliament for children and young people to make learning more exciting. The website is made up of 4 categories packed with simple information that’s simply fun, more in-depth ideas including Curriculum for Excellence explained.
Log on to the BeXcellent website today and take part in the competition for a chance to win some fantastic prizes including 6 prizes of family membership to the National Trust for Scotland and 6 group prizes of a live Super Spy Camp game with Polybius Games.
One school’s path to sustainability
Lawthorn Primary has applied for its fifth green flag from Eco-Schools Scotland and has also received a gold award from the Woodland Trust, the United Kingdom’s leading woodland conservation charity. Over the last ten years, Lawthorn School has worked hard to earn these accolades, with support from UNESCO, WWF Scotland and other organisations such as Education Scotland and the Carbon Trust. Now the school’s success is being featured on UNESCO’s website ahead of the United Nations canference on Sustainable Devcelopment being held in Rio de Janeiro, 20-22 June 2012.
A major part of the school’s work has been to reduce its global footprint. Schools across Scotland now have access to the School’s Global Footprint resource – a handbook for teachers – and an interactive footprint calculator, which, through a series of questions relating to buildings, energy, food, transport, water and waste, gives an indication of carbon footprint and ecological footprint.
Action has come in many forms but most importantly the children are enthusiastic and passionate, with principal teacher Amanda Milne talking of having to rein the children in. “They wanted to ban all cars from coming into the playground” she says. “And they were convinced we weren’t planting enough trees.”
Visit the UNESCO site to read more, see the video and get the full case study>>
Wise up Wednesday: Our latest Glow Meet
Thank you to Alastair Seaman and Julie Buchanan from Grounds for Learning for taking time out of their busy schedule to join us for our Glow Meet, Play on the Longest Day on Monday. Also a big thank you to those of you who tuned in on the day. If you missed the live event the good news is that you can ‘watch again’!
Our new video featuring Julie and her excellent work at Shotts Nursery Centre as well as the PowerPoint from the day and some useful links are now on the ‘share’ section of the Early Years CPDCentral site.
If you are not a member of our Early Years CPDCentral site, visit the site and ‘add’ your details it is really easy and quick.
Thank you
The Early Years Team
Click here to see details about the Glow Meet.
