Monthly Archives: February 2018

Classroom Organisation and Management

Seating
I would have group tables of 4 to 6 children of mixed abilities and skills, so the pupils have a chance to work together with each other and they can help each other. I would ensure that the children I sat together got along but would regularly mix up the seating plan to let children interact with other children in the class, and if it becomes to chatty I would alter my seating arrangements so that the children are focussed and can help and support each other.
I would also have one or two single tables around my room, in case a child or a pair want to work independently without distraction or require some quiet time to concentrate on their work.
Room Organisation
I would have a whiteboard exclusively for writing up the daily plan so that I and all the children can see it clearly in the classroom, so that every child knows what we are doing each day. I will discuss the daily plan with the children at registration and update the children of any alterations or changes to the daily plan. This should create a sense of security and routines for the children.
I will also display the Learning Intention and Success Criteria on whiteboards/ the interactive whiteboard and ensure it is in a good position, so the children can refer back to it when working. I will additionally write up any key instructions after I explain the task that I want the children to do, so they can refer back to my expectations when self and peer assessing their work.
Resources
I will place resources such as paper, pencils, rubbers, scissors etc in an accessible place for the children, so they can access it easily and when they need it. Having these resources accessible and in easy reach will mean the children won’t have to constantly ask the teacher for resources as they can help themselves.
Jotters and finished work will be kept in the same place to avoid confusion over where things are kept and any child in the class will be able to hand out/collect in work.
Allocating Roles in the Class
By giving pupils allocated roles in the classroom, not only will this take the strain off the teacher, but this will enforce a sense of responsibility and importance to the children as they will have to carry out their allocated role to work as part of a team and represent themselves. I will reshuffle the roles each week so that every child has a chance to take on the responsibility of each classroom job.
Class Rules
At the start of the year, I will have a discussion with the children to establish a set of class rules and expectations, so that everyone in the class has the responsibility of setting and keeping to the rules, which is more likely that they will follow them as they would have felt part of the process by including them. I will tell the children what I expect of them as the teacher, but also ask the children what they expect of me as their teacher, which I feel is very important. I will also discuss and negotiate with the children what they feel would be acceptable sanctions for unacceptable behaviour and what they feel would be a worth reward for good behaviour, so that the children feel they have some say in what goes on in their classroom.
I will display the class rules and the school’s behaviour management policy around the classroom so that everyone in the class can see them at all times.
Pupils will be expected to walk around the classroom and school in a sensible manner and with respect for everyone in the school.

Routines
Again, at the start of the year, I will enforce routines for my classroom which will give the children positive structure and sense of security. Pupils will know what the acceptable way is to enter and leave the classroom, how the classroom should be left in the same state as it was when the children entered the classroom, and the routine for tidying up.
There will be the routine of asking before they leave the classroom so that the teacher knows where everyone is at all times and no time wasting is going on.
I will create a routine for grabbing their attention, such as developing sayings such as ‘1, 2, 3….eyes on me’ where everyone in the class will know to stop and listen. I will ensure the children know what noise level I expect when starting the lesson/task and ensure that they know that everyone has to listen when someone is talking and respect what they are saying.
By having these routines, this will give children consistency in their lives and make my classroom run a lot smoother.

Classroom Displays
I will effectively use the wall space around my classroom to display topics and artwork. I will display topics that that my class are currently doing or just recently finished, so that they can display all the knowledge they have gained and so that they can reflect back. It is also nice for parents/guardians to come in to school and see what their child has been learning.
I will also dedicate a wall to celebrate and display the children’s achievements, outside and inside of school. This would mean that children can feel a sense of achievement and recognition and promote a good classroom ethos.

Classroom organisation and management is crucial for day to day classroom use and overall ethos of the classroom and school. By making effective and efficient use of classroom routines, rules and resources, this means that the teacher will have a lot less stress and the classroom will have a good foundation of structure, which is very important to ensure that children feel safe and secure coming to school.

Science TDT

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Scientific Literacy and Education

Joint Project: Lara Simpson, Amy Stephen, Sarah Wilson and Cara Melton

According to Blake (2017), Scientific literacy is the understanding of key scientific concepts and the knowledge of processes needed to make individual and personal decisions. The National Science Education Standards (1996) explains that the concept of scientific literacy highlights that an individual can ask and discover answers to questions resulting from general curiosity about everyday life experiences. Scientific literacy involves the ability to read and understand scientific articles in to engage in social conversation about the strength and validity of the conclusions. Therefore, Scientific literacy suggests that individuals are able to recognise scientific issues which lie beneath local and national decisions and express opinions that are scientifically informed. Thus, individuals can express their scientific literacy in many ways, for example by using technical terms or applying scientific concepts and processes.

Scientific illiteracy can result in inaccurate media reporting which can be believed and interpreted within our society. For example, for many years there has been a conspiracy that the flu vaccination gave people the cold or flu after they received the vaccination. The NHS (2016) have stated that the flu vaccine is the best protection we have against a virus that can cause unpleasant illness. Studies have shown that the flu jab will help prevent you getting the flu. It is not 100% guaranteed that you will be flu free, but if you do get the flu it will be milder and for a shorter period of time. It was reported by the Express Newspaper (2017) that people were hesitant to get the flu jab or didn’t get it at all due to fears of falling ill with the flu after being vaccinated, due to media headlines suggesting there was a link between the jab and the flu. However, the flu jab cannot give you the flu as it contains an ‘inactive’ form of flu which cannot give you the illness. It takes 10-14 days for the immune system to build up fully after the jab and the flu is much more than a heavy cold and patients need the vaccine every year in order to be protected. This is a recent but also ongoing example where lack of scientific literacy has led to inaccurate media reports.

Fair testing in primary school science links to scientific literacy because it means they are able to assess false or ‘adapted’ scientific facts from true scientific facts in the media and online. As said in (Introducing the National Science Education Standards, 1997) you need to have an awareness of science in the wider society. Therefore, teaching children the need for fair testing is so vital as it shows that you cannot just try something once and give up. You must try multiple times and reflect on the different outcomes. However according to (Maintaining curiosity A survey into science education in schools, 2013) it can be quite difficult to execute a very good science lesson in primary schools, so while some pupils might grasp the understanding of fair testing and how it relates to real life, not all pupils will. Although in conclusion fair testing in primary schools is a good way of getting children as young as four thinking about scientific concepts and finding ways of answering their own questions about the world using science.

References

Blake, C. (2017) Understanding Scientific Literacy. Available at: http://www.literacynet.org/science/scientificliteracy.html (Accessed: 08.02.18).

National Research Council. (1996) National Science Education Standards. Washington, DC. National Academy Press. https://study.com/academy/lesson/scientific-literacy-definition-examples.html

NHS. (2016) The flu jab. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/vaccinations/fluinfluenza-vaccine/ (Accessed: 7th February 2018).

Express Newspaper. (2017) Flu jab 2017: Can the vaccine give you cold or flu like symptoms? Available at: https://www.express.co.uk/life-style/health/892284/flu-jab-2017-vaccine-sideeffects-symptoms-cold (Accessed: 7th February 2018

Introducing the National Science Education Standards (1997). Washington, DC: Center for Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Education, National Research Council, p. 22.

Maintaining curiosity A survey into science education in schools (2013). Manchester: Ofsted, pp. 12-16. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/maintaining-curiosity-a-survey-into-science-education-in-schools (Accessed: 11 February 2018).

RME Reflection – What is Special to Me?

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Ever since I was little, I LOVED birthdays. Not just my birthday, but all of my friends and families birthdays too. All the presents, balloons and cake was the most exciting thing ever, and I started to get excited for birthdays weeks before the actual day.

However, ever since last year when I moved to university, I grew to dislike birthdays. Not the fact that we are all getting older, or the cake, or the presents, it was the fact that the people I loved were celebrating without me. Now that may sound selfish, but I came to realise that it wasn’t all of the materialistic stuff that birthdays brought with them that I missed, it was the person who’s birthday it was I was missing. Seeing tradition being with those I loved not happening as I was apart from them was heart breaking.

To me , it is much more important to be with that person on their birthday, and the whole purpose of a birthday became much more prominent to me. Although I still find it upsetting, I realised that I can still celebrate their birthday without being there physically and I appreciate those at home much more.

After our RME inputs, I considered what other days are special to me and other people and why. Although birthdays are special to me, so is Christmas and Easter. Everyone in the world celebrate, or don’t celebrate, different events and days for personal reasons, which I feel it is my duty as a teacher to find out what is special to the pupils in my class and why. I think its important to respect, appreciate and celebrate every child’s beliefs and special days.

Even though birthdays aren’t the same, I have realised that I can still have special days and celebrate in my own way. I will explain to children that they can celebrate what they want to and discuss and explore their special days.