Category Archives: 3. Prof. Skills & Abilities

Emotive and Controversial History

In the Social Studies elective, we were asked to read the T.E.A.C.H report (Historical Association, 2007). I found this report extremely interesting to read because it focused on how teachers fail to focus on emotive and controversial history. I had never really thought of this as an area in history that would be so important as I felt teachers were covering this without realising it. The report also gives examples of topics that integrate emotive and controversial history which will be extremely helpful when teaching.

The report states that many teachers avoid teaching history topics that are too controversial and emotive because they do not know how to address the issues with the children (Historical Association, 2007). Looking back on my experience in the primary school I could see this. Many teachers would do a topic with the children but did not fully go into detail of the controversial and emotive issues within the topic they were teaching. I taught World War 2 to primary 7 in first year and I feel I did not fully cover the controversial and emotive issues. I feel this was because I did not know how to approach them and feared what questions the children would ask just in case I could not answer them or did not know what to say. After reading more into this and attending lectures on it I feel a lot more confident to teach the controversial and emotive parts of a history topic.

Going forward as a professional I will ensure when teaching a topic, the controversial and emotive issues are covered as I feel children benefit from talking and learning about the issues, as it gives them a better understanding of historical interpretations. It also builds on their knowledge and questioning skills as they will ask questions based on what is being discussed and learn more about the history topic they are covering. However, it is important emotive and controversial history is taught at the correct level suitable for the children. If it is taught the children will become disengaged and may upset them emotionally.

References

Historical Association (2007) The T.E.A.C.H Report. Available at: https://www.history.org.uk/secondary/resource/780/the-teach-report (Accessed: 16 Sep 2017).

Four Friends in the Garden: Sue Heap (2005)

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This book could be used to explore the mathematical concept of capacity through the size of the jugs and cups used at the picnic. To introduce and develop this concept with the children different jugs and cups could be put on the table with water. The children would then explore how each jug or cup holds different or the same volume of water. Water does not have to be used, sand could be used instead. To develop the children’s mathematical vocabulary through this activity the words more than, less than, the same, more or less will be used. The questions that could be asked during this activity are:

– Which jug/cup holds more water?

– How can you measure which cup/jug holds more water?

– Which jug/cup holds less water?

You could also get the children to describe the jugs/cups using the mathematical language.

The jugs and cups could be left in the water tray for the children to continue to experiment with.

The story can be used to explore mathematical language with the children. For example, shape, pattern and time. There are many different activities that the children can participate in that will develop the different mathematical language. All the activities must be active and hands on for the children to be engaged and understand the different mathematical language.

My Experience in Sweden

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After having a lecture on Swedish education I thought it would be beneficial to share my experience of working in a pre-school in Sweden.

In 2014 I was given the opportunity to go on a two week work placement in a pre-school, in Sweden as part of my college course. This experience was incredible; giving me the opportunity to become immersed in the culture, meet new people, learn about their education system and compare it to ours.

Children in Sweden start pre-school when they are 1 years old and then go to school when they are 7 years old. You would think that the children would not be as advanced academically as Scottish children. However, this is not the case, the older children were able to write words, write their name, sing songs in Swedish and other languages too. Some children were able to speak some English along with their own language.

The difference in education systems was huge and it enlightened me of how our education system should be more like Sweden’s. The children have more freedom in their learning and take control in their play. The play is not structured like what it is in Scotland and I feel this works better as the children are choosing what they would like to play with either indoors or outdoors. If the children do not want to take part in an activity they do not have to. The children were able to go outside and play whenever they wanted even if it was raining or snowing, they would just put on more layers of clothing. I was so shocked that the children were allowed out in weather like that as in Scotland if it is raining the children are kept inside. The weather did not affect the children in Sweden at all, they wanted to go out and play in the rain and snow. So why in Scotland do we not allow children to have fun playing in the rain and snow?

It was exciting to see how the fun learning environment created through outdoor learning enhanced the children’s experiences. The children were outdoors for half the day regardless of the weather. The resources the setting had was amazing and provided the children with many play opportunities. Some of the resources were swings, climbing frames, bikes, scooters, sports equipment and sand pits built into the ground. The tarmac on the ground was a road so the children could use it when playing on the bikes, trikes and scooters. The health and safety was much less strict like what it is in Scotland. One day we went a walk in the woods where hot food was taken and we had our meal in the woods. Children were allowed to climb up trees and explore the woods. The children were having a lot of fun and I felt this is something Scottish education is missing. The staff were very relaxed and calm when the children were climbing on things and exploring. I feel when children in Scotland are taken on a trip some members of staff can get a bit stressed and worried about if a child is going to hurt themselves.

0-3 year old room

The setting in Sweden is much homelier and had more space for children to play. They had different rooms for the different ages of children. The 0-3 year olds were in one room and the 4-6 year olds were in another room. There were two 0-3 year

part of 3-6 year old room

old rooms and two 4-6year old rooms. These rooms were kept

open so the children could float between the rooms. The room doors were only closed when the little ones were having a nap. However, the room doors were never locked. The children napping were in a

napping rooms

different room altogether which was located just off of the 0-3 year old room. Other children could still use the main room but they just had to be quieter. All the doors had huge windows on them from top to bottom which made the setting a lot brighter. The widows were big and started

Large open space

from the floor which made it easier for the children to see out of and it made the setting a lot brighter. There was a huge open space in the middle of the setting that was used for games that took up a lot of space. For example, when playing with big blocks. There were also activities that were held every day in this space for the children. For

Wet room

example, just dance was put on for the children. The setting had a wet room where an adult would take children in and they could play with water, paint and shaving foam. The children were allowed to paint on the walls, paint each other and wet each other.

In every room there is an unfinished work tray for every child and this is where the children would put their unfinished work. The children were not put under pressure to finish their work as they knew they could come back to it. This is a great idea as it means children will not rush their work and will take greater pride in their work as they know they have spent a lot of time on it. They also know that they can come back to it and it will always be there for them to finish.

During meal times the children and staff eat together which I thought was an amazing idea and could see all the benefits. The children were learning table manners, social skills and the different types of allergies. The children would go up and get their own food from the age of 2 years old. The children were developing an awareness of some of the allergies the children had. For example, one child aged 4 told me that another child had to use a different milk, butter and cheese because it gave them a sore tummy. There were set meal times for each group of children. However, if a child did not want to eat at that particular time they were not forced to, they were allowed to eat later with another group of children.

0-3 year old room

The communication between staff and parents was excellent. When the children came in the parents would speak to the staff about anything that may have happened or information that they should know. If there was any important information this was put up on the board. When the parents came to pick up their child a member of staff would mention any information they should be aware of. For example, if children nap during the day the parent would tell the member of staff when they usually go for a nap and for how long. The member of staff writes this on the board and the child’s nap time is recorded each day and communicated to the parent(s).

0-3 year old room

All the staff are super with the children and get involved in their play. If a child asks to do something they will try their best to implement it. Meetings are carried out all the time to ensure the children are getting the best opportunities possible. All the staff know exactly what is going on in the setting and know where they are meant to be in order to provide supervision. There was no one time where there were children not supervised while playing outside or inside. If any child has difficulties at home the staff are aware of that

The children in the setting were extremely independent compared to children in Scotland. For example, children from 3 years old were able to put on their outdoor clothing without very much assistance. The children wanted to try and do it for themselves and if they couldn’t do it they wanted shown how to instead of someone doing it for them.

Something I was not aware of while working in Sweden was that they do not receive any inspections as the government trust they are doing a good job. I feel that in Scottish education we are not trusted so it is why inspections need to be carried out.

Overall, I feel that Scotland should be taken some of Sweden’s ideas of education if not all of it. I feel in Sweden children have more choice in what they do, have more freedom in their play and have better experiences of outdoor learning. Over the years Scotland have tried to implemented more outdoor learning, however I feel that this has not yet met its full potential. Children are still kept indoors when there is the smallest bit of rain or snow.

Reflection on 1PP1

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Going into my first placement, I was quite nervous as I was given a primary 7 class. I had never experienced a primary 7 class before. I was always with an infant or middle class so this was slightly out of my comfort zone. However, once in the class, getting to know the children and teaching them I really enjoyed it and I started to develop confidence. I had the pleasure of working with two teachers and I took this as a positive as I was able to see two different teaching styles.

The first few lessons I delivered it quickly became clear to me that for my lessons to be more effective the children need to know what they are going to be learning at the start of the lesson. Education Scotland (no date) state that in order for children to learn better they must understand the intended learning so the learning intention must be shared with them.Through observing the teachers, they both shared the learning intention with the children. This worked well as the children were engaged from the start as they knew what they were going to be learning. After taking this feedback on board and through self reflection I started sharing the learning intention with the children. Since I did this I could see the children were more engaged than other lessons I had delivered.

During the first week of placement I realised that classroom presence is vital and I need to develop this as a teacher. Cremin and Arthur (2010) state that being able to manage a class is down to you. You need to ensure the children understand what is being said and are listening to you. The children need to know you are there and you are in charge. During the first week I felt the children were not listening to me and their was low level disruptive behaviour occurring which I was not dealing with. After carefully analysing the situation I realised that my classroom presence was not being seen by the children as important. I spoke with one of the class teachers and she explained by varying my position in the classroom will force the children to look at you and they will listen better as you move. She also explained that I need to project my voice more so the children understand what you are saying and know its you in charge. After taking the feedback on board, the next lesson I delivered I tried projecting my voice more and moving around the class while talking. I felt the low level disruptive behaviour had reduced, the children were listening to me and looking at me when I was talking. With regards to the low level disruptive behaviour I stopped this from happening by telling children to stop speaking when I was speaking. This allowed the children to see that it was not acceptable and I was in charge. These little things helped improve my classroom presence and I am able to manage the class a lot better now. As said in me lesson plans I need to keep working on this.

By the end of the first week going on to the second I had adopted a hand clap with the children in order to get their attention. I felt that this helped my classroom presence and allowed me to get the children’s attention without having to raise my voice. In order for this to be effective I had to practice it with the children first so they understood the purpose of it.

By the third week of my placement my classroom presence was well established. Both teachers explained my classroom presence has developed hugely and my voice is well projected. With regards to projecting my voice, in the third week I found it hard to project my voice when doing athletics outside with the children. In order to overcome this I used a whistle. This helped a lot as it got the children’s attention so I was able to explain to them what they were to do next. This also meant I was not having to strain my voice. These various resources help classroom presence and gain the children’s attention. However, it is important that you explain to the children what it is for and you practice using it with the children, as if this is not done it will not be effective.

During my placement it was clear to me that planning lessons to suit every child’s needs was essential. There were a couple of children in the class with dyslexia so it was important to take their needs into consideration. Since there was a child with an additional need in the class I made it a priority to research the additional need and find out more about how to support the children. I believe that if there are additional needs in the class it is important to research the need in order to fully support the child/children. To support the children with dyslexia in writing lessons I would ensure I sat with these children and gave them support. However I was also aware that one child did not like to be treated differently and liked independence. To ensure I met this need I ensure that I provided the appropriate support for the child and then allowed them to work independently. I was also aware that other children in the class may need help and support so it was important to give them attention too and not just focus my attention on the children with an additional need.

Groupings were extremely important when planning to meet all children’s needs. I could see the benefit of using ability groups and also mixed ability groups. Ability groups worked well in maths when doing activity stations as support was able to be provide to a group of children that needed that extra support. However, it was important that the stations had differentiation, for example there was more challenge for those children that need it but they also had to be designed so the less able children were able to do the activity. It also allowed more time to be spent with children that found things slightly more challenging. Having children seated in mix ability groups for maths worked well as the children were able to explain to others how to do things. Mix ability groups worked well in topic activities as it gave children the opportunity to work with others they may not have worked with before. It also means that children are not constantly seen as being in a specific group for everything and are not constantly seen as being in the high or low group. This then gives the children more confidence in themselves.

Overall this placement has taught me so much about teaching and I have taken many things away from it that I will continue to use in my teaching career.

References

Arthur, J. and Cremin, T. (2014) Learning to Teach in the Primary School. New York : Routledge.

Education Scotland (no date) Sharing Learning Intentions and Success Criteria With the Learners. Available at: http://www.educationscotland.gov.uk/video/m/video_tcm4658766.asp (Accessed: 21^st April 2016).

Pollard, A. (2008) Reflective Teaching (3^rd ed.) London: Continuum.

Music Fear

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I love music in the classroom and I strongly believe children should be taught it. However, I have always dreaded the time that I will have to teach music to the children. I have no confidence in teaching music and I would not know where to start. I never have learnt to play a musical instrument because I was never be interested in it. I had always thought that to teach music you had to either have a good voice or play an instrument (how little did I know). The thought of teaching music gave me butterflies so going to my first workshop made me extremely nervous.

As soon as we sat down our lecture said we do not need to play a musical instrument to teach music. I was so shocked but the more she went into it I could see that it was very true. She also said that everyone can play an instrument anyway, for example we all have voices, we all know how to play the tambourine and triangle. We also have our hands and feet to make a beat. This made me realise that this was all true. My confidence started to grow in music and the fear of teaching it began to drop.

As part of the workshop we were split into groups and had to produce music from an event in Harry Potter. At first I did not know where to start but once we got our event and instruments picked. We started to put it all together and ideas kept popping into my head. Each instrument could be used in the event. I was able to help with how many beats each instrument would play and when each instrument would come it. Working as a team really helped as ideas were mentioned that I had not thought of.

Our lecture covered sound pictures which is when pictures are used to stimulate music. It involves the children deciding on characters they wish to include as a sound picture. The children then get into groups and prepare their sounds to go with the character. The children then perform there piece. This idea stimulated a lot if ideas in my head and how I could make this into a lesson.

It just goes to show that I was making an assumption about what music would be like and how I would not be able to teach it. I just got into the mind set that I was terrible at music and was not going to be good at teaching it. I am so glad that this workshop as proved me wrong and has changed my view on teaching music completely. I am now excited to get out into the primary school and deliver a music lesson.

Drama

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Drama is something I was terrified to teach out in schools. However since having the workshops it has raised my confidence and now I feel I can teach it to primary pupils. There is so much to drama and so much you can do with the children. One of her TDT’s was to research various conventions. By doing this it has made me more aware of the skills the children can learn. It has also given me ideas of lessons I could plan for dram. The three I chose to focus on are: thought tracking, hot-seating and sculpting.

Thought tracking in drama helps inform the audience of a character. For example a character will step forward from a still image and say what there feeling. This convention can be used in class by getting the children to form a still image of a particular event. The teacher would then tap a child on the shoulder or ask them to step forward and ask how they are feeling or what they are thinking.

Hot-seating is another drama convention. Hot-seating is when you develop a character. If you are the hot-seat then you answer the questions from the people in your group while reaming in character. This could include the background, behaviour or feelings of the character. This works best if you really know the character you are playing. The hot-seat could be given to an individual or groups of children. This convention can be used by using characters out of a novel that is being read in class. A child/children will be asked to sit on the hot-seat(s) and the other children will ask them questions. The child/children on the hot-seat(s) will reply to the questions while remaining in character. Questions might be prepared early. All the children will get a chance to be on the hot-seat. This activity would be more suitable for primary 5 upwards.

Sculpting is a bit like creating a still image, however a sculpture is made by either individuals or groups of people to convey meaning of something. This convention can be used in class by creating human statues. The children will be put into pairs and they will decide who is going to be the statue and who will be the sculptor. The statue will start as a curled up ball. The sculptor will gradually build up the ball into an interesting statue. The sculptor does not have to physically touch the statue. Once all the statues are made the sculptors will walk round and see everyone’s work. Then the children will swap over and repeat.

Reflection

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By looking at many other people’s posts and blogs it has made me reflect on my own. At the start I was very wary of posting and people seeing my work. I felt embarrassed to post and did not feel confident. Having the various inputs with Derek on developing the blogs really enhanced my confidence to post and make my post public. He really highlighted the fact that by us blogging will develop us professionally which I can really see has. I feel that I have developed my knowledge as I have researched various topics and reflected on them. Also by giving feedback to others as developed me as a professional. By being given feedback as really helped me improve my posts and make changes. However it has also highlighted the strengths I have within my posts.

When looking back on my very first post and the most recent one I have posted I can see a huge difference. I am a lot more reflective in my posts which has meant that they have increased in length. I have started to include literature to influence my opinion and ideas. By reading and expanding my knowledge it has developed me as a professional. I feel that incorporating this reading in my posts has helped me understand it better. I have started to do more than just TDT’s as I feel that by writing about various things that are going on in education and the world really helps you stay engaged with what is happening today. By blogging and reading other’s posts it has developed my use of language and the way I write things.

There are still areas that I would like to improve. By looking at other people’s blogs it has influenced what I would like to eventually achieve in my posts. I would like to be a bit more reflective as I feel I am just starting to get the hang of writing in a reflective way. I would also like to start developing the length of my blogs. In order to do this I will incorporate more reflection, include my experiences and more include more literature. Overall I fell that I have come far from when I first started blogging and it is only going to improve.

Daunting Behaviour Management

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Behaviour management is something that is always on my mind when I think about going out on placement. I have watched many teachers handle behaviour and they seem to deal with it as if it were second nature. Even with teachers given me tips on how to deal with behaviour it has only gave me a bit more confidence. My main worry is that I am not going to be able to control the class or they are not going to listen to me.

To try and improve my confidence before I go out on placement I have read various books and websites. Watkins (2000) stated that there are various strategies to deal with behaviour. When out on placement I have to remember that if a strategy I use doesn’t work there will always been another one, which the teacher will be able to help me with. One thing that Pollard (2014) pointed out was that you need to understand why children may behave in that way. Some children may have learning difficulties so it is important to know that and acknowledge the way their behaviour is dealt with. When out on placement if a behaviour does occur regularly I would speak to me teacher as it may be the case there is a reason for this, and a way of dealing with it. There is a behaviour policy in every school and all schools may be different depending on the type of behaviour that occurs and the area. When going into placement I will get a copy of this and familiarise myself with the procedures and make sure I go by that.

I noticed that all the literature focused on the importance of promoting positive behaviour in the classroom. This was one thing I never really associated with behaviour management. It was also something that I feel is second nature to me, as I feel that every child should be acknowledge for doing something well, trying their best and having good behaviour. There are numerous ways this could be done, for example through verbally saying to the child, handing out stickers or putting points on their chart. Porter (2000) stated that it is important to give pupils positive recognition. She stated that by giving children positive recognition it is highlighting their behaviour to the other children, so they will learn what behaviour is acceptable. She also stated that by giving the children recognition for their behaviour they are more likely to learn the behaviour. Giving children positive recognition is something I will be more aware of out on placement. I will also be more aware of not giving out to little or too much positive recognition.

Behaviour management is something that I will make a goal when going out on placement. I feel by reading it has made be a little more confident. I feel that by observing the teacher, reading the policy and actually teaching the class I will develop and find my feet in terms of behaviour management.

References

Pollard, A (2014) Reflective Teaching in Schools. (4^th ed.) London: Bloomsburry Publishing plc

Porter, L. (2000) Behaviour in Schools: Theory and Practice for Teachers. Australia: Open University Press

Watkins, C. (2000) Managing Classroom Behaviour. London: Scottish Consultative Council on the Curriculum.

Drama TDT

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As part of our drama workshop we had to watch a video about structuring a drama lesson. The lesson was very interesting to watch and would be a lesson that I would deliver in the primary school. The lesson started of with an agreement. This included the children and the teacher agreeing rules which guides their behaviour. Then a warm-up activity followed which gets the children’s bodies and mind ready. The warm up could included vocal, concentration, team work or getting physically warmed up. After the warm up was complete a stimulus was put on the floor for example photos. This developed the children’s ideas of what they were going to be focussing on. It also allowed them to start thinking creatively. The main lesson would be delivered. It is important to get the children to perform their work as it allows them to feel they have achieved something out of the lesson. It is important that at the end of the lesson you evaluate it. You ask the children what they have done/learned. This allows you to see what the children have understood, learned and plan their next steps.

The benefits of structuring drama this was is that children are able to be creative and use their imagination. It also allows children to warm up at the start which gets them ready for the lesson ahead. Also having the evaluation at the end allows you to identify what the children’s next steps are and if they have met the learning intention. Since no props are used it allows children to use their bodies and voice creatively by experimenting. By introducing a stimulus is allows the children to visualise what the lesson is based on. By structuring drama this way it allows the subject to be used as a cross curricular.

The experiences and outcomes that are being used in this lesson are:

I enjoy creating, choosing and accepting roles, using movement, expression and voice. EXA 1-12a

Inspired by a range of stimuli, I can express and communicate my ideas, thoughts and feelings through drama. EXA 1-13a

Scary ICT

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As a child I loved ICT! Going on the computers was always my favourite thing to be asked to do! Now coming to teach ICT in the classroom I get butterflies in my stomach.

After my workshop today I was brought to many of the dangers involved with ICT if you do not teach children the appropriate way to use it. It was highlighted that internet safety needs to be taught to children in order to make sure they know how to use the internet safely and so they know the dangers involved. There are so many resources out there to teach children the correct way to use the internet and social media sites. Before showing the children the various resources out there that they can use I feel that its important to have a lesson on internet safety first.

As much as ICT needs to be used carefully there are so many opportunities to show children what you can all do using the computer and different software. The resources we were showing today over half of them I had never heard of. It really scared me as I thought I was up to date with what is new on the internet. Going forward I am going to have to pay more attention to what new technology schools are introducing and read more about the new technology that is being used today.

Prezi was one of the things I had never heard of before. It is something that I could see being a great resource in the classroom. Prezi is a way of creating eye-catching presentations. It can be used for all age groups within the school. Teachers could use it for the younger children to introduce there letters or animals of the rainforest. For older children it may be used to introduce facts about world war 1. Children can also have access to prezi. This would be for the the older children p3-7. The children could create a presentation to present to the class. This could be as part of a topic they are doing.

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