Modern Languages – Isolated or integrated approach?

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If I am honest, I have always felt more comfortable with the thought of a specialist language teacher delivering the modern language curriculum to my class. My justification for this was that these teachers have specialist knowledge and understanding of the language which would allow them to teach the language more effectively than I could. The children would then get an informed and specialist educated professional delivering the lessons and their learning experiences would be greater than what I could offer. I think this train of thought is encouraged by my lack of confidence in modern languages and the fear that I would teach something incorrectly.

After leaving my first Modern Languages tutorial, I was surprised at how much French I could actually remember from school and I was happy that I could follow most of the discussions. This tutorial gave us some brilliant teaching strategies for a beginners language class and the emphasis on ‘why these strategies were effective’ was really valuable. Some of these strategies were: repetition, voice modulation, clear and precise dictation (providing a good speech model), mime, gestures, facial expressions, eye contact and games. It’s all good and well choosing a teaching strategy, but if you don’t know ‘why’ and ‘how’ it is going to help pupils learn and develop, then you will not be able to deliver your lesson effectively.

After some reading and research into the strategies used to develop a modern language (ML), I have been able to identify some criticisms of my initial ‘Isolated-approach’ method delivered by a specialist. As a result of a ML being taught by a language specialist, there is very little room for embedding modern languages into the curriculum as teachers wouldn’t have the knowledge or skills to provide cross-curricular learning experiences. There is also limited opportunity for children to learn the target language in meaningful contexts as all language learning would be restricted to small slot in the timetable.

“Pupils need to encounter, process and use new language in different, meaningful contexts in order for it to be embedded in their minds.” (McLachlan and Jones 2009)

As my understanding in this field has grown, I now consider a whole-school approach as being vital to the success and effective delivery of ML.  By this, I mean that class teachers have the support of their management team and other members of staff in promoting Modern Languages around the school and embedding it within daily routines. For example, this could be ML display boards in the school reception promoting welcoming phrases and increasing the status of languages for parents and visitors. Simple classroom routines such as the register, instructions, behaviour management and timetabling could be introduced in the target language. Welcome and introductions in assemblies could be done in the target language which would create a positive whole-school attitude towards ML.

“A clear and shared vision for the whole school’s present and future language provision will considerably enhance the initial classroom teaching.” (Hood and Tobutt, 2009)

This approach could be hindered by teacher’s lack of confidence in Modern Languages. Being able to provide cross-curricular learning experiences in the target language can be challenging and a daunting experience for members of staff and this could work against the integrated approach which schools are aiming for. A way in which schools could tackle this issue would be promoting professional development opportunities in Modern Languages. Schools need to give teachers the opportunity to develop their own knowledge and understanding of the languages being taught which would increase their confidence and would take a step in the right direction for embedding language in the whole curriculum. Another option would be to work with a Language Specialist, or another teacher who is particular competent in languages, to plan cross-curicular learning experiences and work through some lesson plans to ensure the class teacher felt secure in delivering them. Collaborating with other professionals is a valuable experience and one that allows you to share good practice, come up with new ideas and benefit from each other’s strengths.

An important point to consider when teaching a new language is, should my lessons be delivered only in the target language? Or, should I be using the english language to teach the new language? Teachers have differing views on this issue. Some say that the english helps to establish meaning in the target language and will prevent students from getting lost and de-motivated during lessons. Others say it doesn’t make sense to learn a new language by speaking your native tongue language. I fall in-between these two statements with a slight tendency to lean towards the latter. I do believe that children should be immersed in the target language and be able to develop the four language skills through this immersion. However, I agree that in the early stages of learning language, it is appropriate and often necessary to return to english to establish meaning, to cover tricky grammar rules and instructions and to check for your pupils’ understanding.

The video below is an interview with an experienced language teachers and she discusses her views on using the target language when teaching ML.

 

For my 2CM6 assignment, I am going to do further research into the use of singing, rhymes, games and story-telling to develop the target language. I want to develop my understanding of why and how teachers are slowing moving away from rote learning in ML acquisition to strategies which introduce Knowledge about language, language exploration and language comparisons.

References

Hood,P. and Tobutt, K. (2009) Modern languages in the primary school. London: SAGE Publications

McLachlan, A. and Jones, J. (2009) Primary languages in practice: a guide to teaching and learning. Maidenhead: Open University Press

Code cracker for the NSA to code cracker of the financial industry!

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What an incredible man, devoting his life to maths research and using his knowledge to identify and prove patterns, trends and connections in different fields.

This video on TED talks caught my attention when I saw ‘Mathematician who cracked wall street.’ I am fascinated by the work the NSA does in cracking codes to diffuse security threats. To be honest, I had never thought about the mathematics behind something like this. The identification of patterns, trends and anomalies are all involved in the process of cracking security codes. For Simons to  go on and be able to apply these strategies to the financial industry really supports the notion of Mathematics being linked to multiple disciplines. Maybe I will enjoy developing a profound understanding of mathematics after all!

I was interested when the interview went on to talk about Simon’s involvement in supporting and encouraging maths research and development within education. The ‘Simons Foundation’ discussed in the TED video was cofounded in New York by Jim and Marilyn Simons in 1994.

 “The Simons Foundation at its core exists to support basic — or discovery-driven — scientific research, undertaken in pursuit of understanding the phenomena of our world without specific application in mind.”

The foundation has a great focus on collaborating with scientists in the progression of fundamental scientific questions within major topics such as mathematics, computer science and physics. The Education Outreach sector of the foundation drives to encourage a deeper understanding of science and mathematics amongst pupils, teachers and members of the public.

In the video above, Simons states that the charity has a vision to invest in maths teachers around America.

“Instead of beating up the bad teachers, which has caused morale problems within the educational community, we focus on the good ones, giving them status and extra funding for their own professional research.”

This approach and support has had a positive effect on teacher’s morale, confidence and their desire to remain in the teaching profession. Take a look at the following link to the Simons Foundation website to see the positive work being done in Education, Life Sciences, Autism Research and Data Analysis. They also have great links with and support the development of MoMath (National Mathematics Museum, NY) in demonstrating the capacity Mathematics has to impact the world in unique and unexpected ways.

Simons Foundation – Education and Outreach

Websites:

https://www.simonsfoundation.org/about-us/

https://www.ted.com

 

 

Inspections – purposeful or painful?

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Personal opinion – Painful!

Whilst I was working abroad as a Learning Support Assistant, our school received the dreaded phone call that we were to undergo an inspection within the next two weeks. I was familiar with inspections after seeing them take place when I was a student but I wasn’t nearly aware of the impact that the “It’s inspection time” phone call had on teachers, support staff, and most of all the school management team.

I think we received over 50 emails from management in the two weeks prior to the inspection.

“Make sure every display board is fully complete and displays the best work from the class.”

“Make sure your resources are fully stocked and that each table has the correct amount of stationary per child.”

 “Teachers, please make sure that you are using your LSA effectively during inspection time and not for classroom administrative tasks.”

 “Teachers, please make sure you are not found sitting at you desk on your computers during class lessons and are moving around, interacting with all the children during activities.” (Ironically, due to the constant pings from my teacher’s email inbox, she was on her computer reading the barking orders during lessons more than she was at her computer normally.)

We all felt the pressure from management for the inspection to go perfectly. However, the response from teachers was very negative to say the least.

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 ‘After years of training, why do I need to be reminded to move around my classroom? I’m in a classroom more often than the management team are so I think I know how to do my job!!’

 ‘Do you think that I would let my classroom resources and stationary decrease enough that it would start to impact on the learning experiences that my students are getting?’ An few examples of the conversations you would overhear in the staffroom over lunch!

You could see the divide widening between teachers and the management team. A divide that you feared would be recognised by the inspectorate team as soon as they set foot in reception.

What effect did the management’s emails have on the relationships between members of staff? A negative one! What effect did they have on teachers’ self-esteem? A negative one! Did this have a knock on effect on stress levels of staff prior and during the inspection? Definitely! Was this a pleasant environment to be working in during those two weeks? Absolutely not!!

My underlying thought is as follows; if it was an extremely unpleasant environment to be working in during that time, filled with stress, tension and overall chaos, what effect did this process have on the learning experiences of our students during this time? I can only imagine it was a negative one. AND surely the learning experience of the child is what is being inspected.

I leave you with this last thought. I remember being asked by my deputy-head to take down one of the student’s work from a display board because it “looked unfinished”. I knew that the piece of work was complete. In fact, it was the only piece of work that child had completed in 2 months. This child had been having difficulties at home and this had affected his work in school. My class teacher had finally found a book that he was engrossed in and he had asked if he could write his own blurb for the book to try encourage his peers to read it. He had a great sense of pride and feeling of achievement when we put it on display. I don’t want to even imagine how he felt when he walked into the classroom the next day to see it had been stripped from the wall.

Is it worth stripping a child of their pride and achievement in order to get a glowing review from an inspectorate?

Absolutely not.

Incidentally, our school received ‘outstanding’ in every sector of the inspectorate. All members of staff were given a certificate in their cubby holes, congratulating us on our achievement.

It didn’t feel like an achievement nor did it feel like something to be celebrated. It was a horrible two weeks and I don’t feel that the division between ‘us’ and ‘them’ (staff and management) ever healed.

 

 

I’m moving to Sweden! Part 1

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I left one of my recent lectures on comparative education ready to pack me and my son up and book the next flight to Sweden! Why? They have absolutely nailed early years education and after doing further reading and research, there is no doubt that I would love my son to experience pre-school life out there.

The pedagogy within pre-schools is built on the concept of experiential learning and developing the whole child. Social interaction plays a vital role in children’s development and the learning is based on interactions with each other as well as the adults and teachers involved in education. The pre-school environment is very welcoming for the children and very much resembles the home environment. There are sofas, game rooms, kitchens and the children even take their shoes off at the front door (that is one of my favourite bits – don’t you always feel more comfortable in a place where you can take off your shoes!). When children develop this sense of security, they are able to flourish and their development soars. The children also have the freedom to go and get a snack and drink when they need to without the permission of an adult (I’m not sure this aspect would work for my son as he would probably never be out of the kitchen! )

OUTDOOR LEARNING!!! And I don’t mean Scotland’s version of outdoor learning where we are outdoors until the first speck of rain falls and then it’s a rush back into the classroom because we can’t let the children get wet and drag their muddy boots back into the school!! Heaven forbid!! Pre-school education in Sweden is outdoors! The majority of the day is spent outside running through forests, climbing trees, playing by lakes, playing in parks, climbing hills and experiencing learning in a meaningful, hands-on context. The benefits of learning like this are HUGE! Children develop independence, awareness, self-esteem and resilience. The benefits really are endless. What do you think the answer would be if you asked a 4 year old what they were most proud of: learning how to decode and read the word cat, or finally managing to climb that big tree in the park? I bet it would be the big tree! They develop a massive sense of achievement when they finally have accomplished something which they have been attempting to do for ages! They develop intrinsic motivation and they learn about challenges in a real life context. They are doing exactly what 4-year olds should be doing! I hate it when I pick my son up from nursery and I see his clothes in the clean, pristine state they were in when I dropped him off 8 hours earlier. I’m one of those parents who would be overjoyed to see him with a muddy trouser leg and little rip in his jumper from playing in the bushes, or having to buy him a new pair of welly boots because he’d worn down the soles of his ones from playing outside all the time!

One of the notable differences between our education system and that of Sweden’s is the compulsory school starting age. In Sweden, children do not start school until they are 7. There is an emphasis on the freedom to play and for children to acquire their knowledge in a playful way without the pressure of formal education. By no way does this mean that children are not involved in meaningful learning experiences. The teachers have a very important role in observing, questioning and developing the children’s understanding of the activity they have chosen to do. Teachers work with the interests of the children to develop knowledge and extend their learning. By waiting until the age of 7 to start formal education, children have been involved and immersed in quality experiences and they have developed knowledge in real life contexts. This really supports the notion of waiting until the child is ready. When a child is not ready to learn, they will not learn. When a child is ready to learn, they will learn more, and then some.

I will be doing another post on Swedish Education which will discuss The National Curriculum, the goals of Swedish Edcuation and the implications for teachers. I just wanted to share with you my views on the Swedish system from a parent’s perspective! I just love it!

Can you imagine life without counting and number names?

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In our society and culture, we use counting everyday. If we woke up one morning and had lost the ability to count or there were no longer any number names then we would struggle to function with daily activities. The number symbols on our clock would no longer have any meaning. Processing amounts of stock in shops would become a mammoth task and splitting the cocktail bill on a night out would be impossible!

Recent studies into Amazon Indian Tribes have shown that counting for them is really as simple as one, two, thee and maybe four. They do not have the counting vocabulary to specifically identify amounts larger than 4. Their counting language is the equivalent to one, two, few and many. I can’t imagine going into my local pub and asking for ‘many drinks’ when buying a round for 7 people. Our daily lives rely on our ability to use number names and our use of  the Arabic numeral system. (This numeral system was introduced to Europe in the 10th century by Arabic speakers of North Africa.)

Although for us, the process of counting is so fundamental to our perception of quantity. For these tribe members in the Amazon, counting is needed very little in their daily lives. They have very little to do with transactions, trade and calculations (to be honest, I would probably love it there!).

For one of our activities during our counting and numerals workshop, we were tasked with creating our own numeral system and deciding if it would stick to similar rules as our own numeral system or if we would like to explore something entirely different. We came up with a 12 number based system which is different to our arabic numeral system which goes up to 9. We built on the foundation of a dice number system and continued from there. We decided to call our numeral system ‘Decinals’.

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Unbeknown to me, there is actually a society which promotes the use of a base twelve system and they suggest that our current base 10 system is not the best system to use for humans! As the bast 10 system is so firmly embedded within our brains, it is almost impossible for me to think of counting in any other way! I find it confusing! In our recent lecture on place value, we were introduced to the dozenal system in the form of a number square and a times-tabele square! If i didn’t feel baffled before, I was certainly baffled now!

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I can understand what is going on in this table up until 2×7 = 12??

I have to continually remind myself that 10 in this table doesn’t represent what we consider to be 10 in our system. Ten in the dozenal system is represented by an upside down 2 and 10 represents what we would consider to be twelve!

An interesting point to make is that young children would be able to pick up the dozenal system much quicker that we could because they do not have the base 10 system embedded in their minds. This is something they learn when they go to school.

After doing some further reading and research into this area, I am beginning to wonder myself if intact a base 12 system would be easier for us to us. I found an article which discusses the main advantages of a dozenal system and after reading it and then reflecting on the points discussed, I have to say they have very good reasonings for their initiative. I especially liked the ‘It’s All About the Factors’ section. It notes that ten only has two factors, being 2 and 5. Whereas 12 has 2,3,4 and 6. Consequently we are able to use the three most common fractions without having to employ fractional notations. Fractions was one of my weakest subjects at school and I now pose myself the question, “Do I think I would have understood fractions better if we used a base-12 system?” Of course I’ll never know the actually answer, but part of me likes to think I might have!

Take a look at the following links to support this post! I particularly like the ‘Why we should change to a bas-12 system’. It really helped explain the idea of a dozenal system and made the thought using it very appealing.

Links:

Why we should change to a base-12 system

Dozenal Society UK 

Guardian article

Maths Anxiety!

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I was diagnosed with ‘math anxiety’ when I was 13. Albeit, it was a self-diagnosis, the symptoms were severe and have left me fearing the topic. I struggled with maths in primary school and beyond; always being in the bottom set and not having the confidence to ask for help. I would absolutely hate being put on the spot by teachers when they would ask a question. I would panic, my chest would get tight and I would end up not even trying to work through the processes we had been taught to find the answer. I chose this elective in order to change this. I want this to be a fresh start and the beginning of my math’s journey. I want to find confidence and competence in the subject and be able to say that I truly enjoy maths by the end of this module. I believe that from having this negative maths experience in school, I will be able to be a better teacher of the subject. I know how it feels to be one who struggles to remember the correct formula to work out the circumference of a circle, or the one who forgets how to deal with inverted fractions. I will use this to ensure that I am a better practitioner, a better facilitator and a better supporter in the classroom for my pupils.

Maths AnxietyHow my anxiety works

In order to reduce my anxiety in maths, I need to revise fundamental maths topics. This revision approach will include online activities, academic reading, engaging with the online numeracy assessment and discussions with my peers about different learning/teaching approaches. I will repeat the maths anxiety mind-map at the end of this module and I hope to see a dramatic difference in my confidence and competence levels.

Can we teach ‘Reading for pleasure’?

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Reflecting upon today’s lecture, it has become clear that ‘Reading for pleasure’ cannot be taught. It is my role as a teacher to create a culture in my classroom that introduces, encourages and supports learners in embarking upon their reading journey. Personal preference plays a big role in this and it is vital that I take this into consideration when trying to encourage reading for pleasure. I can model my love of reading and make sure that I immerse myself in children’s literature to ensure that I have sound knowledge of the books my pupils might be interested in. I need to have an open attitude to the types of literature and reading that my pupils might want to read. I can support them in their choices and try and advise appropriate reading options but it is ultimately their decision and it is important to not take away their right to choose.

‘The Rights of the Reader’ poster by Daniel Pennac clearly outlines the important factors of reading for pleasure. Looking at the factors from a critical point of view, I am slightly concerned about the implications some of these may cause for the classroom. For example: the right to read anything. There are some genres of books that I feel would be totally inappropriate for primary school aged children. Although these couldn’t be accessed in the school environment, teachers do not have supervision of the types of books children have access to at home. The right to not finish a book is an interesting factor. I believe that this is correct and that children should not be forced to finish a book of their choice if they are no longer enjoying it. However, I would be concerned that this attitude could begin to penetrate other areas of their learning and children may start to decide not to finish classwork because it is ‘their right to choose not to finish.’

When I am a teacher, I need to ensure that I create a reading culture within my classroom that encourages children to have free choice over books. I would like to have a section of time during the week where children could share what they are reading with the class and make recommendations to each other about books that they like. I feel that this would encourage reading for pleasure as children would be given the time to voice their opinions and be listened to. It would also be nice for children in class to know what each other are reading and it could create good discussion opportunities.

The Guardian Article

Who I am and why I’m here!

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I am Sara Chalmers in the University of Dundee studying for a MA in Education.

I left school in 2010 having secured the conditions required to start my BA in Sport and Active Lifestyles Promotion at Glasgow Caledonian University. Shortly after starting my course, I realised that I wasn’t yet ready for the ‘university experience’ and felt that I was struggling to settle in. Luckily, I was able to transfer to my local college back home, and there I completed my HNC in Fitness, Health and Exercise.

Teaching had always been in the back of my mind as a career choice but it was extremely important to me that I gained some practical experience within a school setting before embarking on a degree at university. I thought this would be a good opportunity to combine working with traveling and gain further life experience. I managed to secure a job as a Teaching Assistant (TA) at the British School of Bahrain. It was my two years working there that confirmed that teaching the only career I wanted to pursue. As a TA, I was able to observe and support extremely talented individuals within the profession, and experience different teaching styles and the effects these had on learners.I was able to get involved in coaching extra-curricular activities and really get to know the students and how best they learned as individuals. During my second year, I decided it was the right time to apply to the University of Dundee to study education. I remember being so motivated and inspired by the course lecturers on the day of my interview and I was absolutely thrilled when I received an unconditional offer for the following academic year.

My primary goal is to become a successful student teacher at the University of Dundee. Over the next four years I want to take full advantage of the breadth of knowledge and experience that my tutors, lecturers and fellow students have to offer. I am excited to work alongside those doing Social Work and Community Learning and Development, and building a good inter-agency partnership with them as this will be vital in the future. I have identified that to become a ‘successful student’, I need to maintain my good organisational skills and a high level of self-discipline with regard to time management and punctuality. An area of my learning that I need to develop is my ability to be perceptive and not be afraid to challenge and explore in-depth the reasoning behind teaching techniques, theories and what evidence there is to support them. In order to achieve this, I will need to familiarise myself with the university library and do extensive reading and research. This in turn, will increase my subject knowledge and may even highlight an area within education that I may like to specialise in further down the line.

Looking ahead to my career after my time at Dundee University, my goal is to become a teacher who regularly sets targets. I want to constantly reflect on my teaching and identify areas that require further development so that I am continually striving to support my learners in the best possible way. I believe that I will be able to do this by attending regular professional development training courses, increasing my subject knowledge through research and reading and maintaining good professional relationships with all those involved in a child’s learning journey. I support the progressions currently happening within education and welcome the changes still to come. Children and young people are being encouraged to take ownership of their own learning. They are no longer consumers of education, they are co-producers, and it wouldn’t surprise me if children are the directors of their own education by the time I retire.

For me, there is no end goal for my teaching as it is a life-long learning experience. There will always be an area that I can develop, another book I can read or the latest tablet device to get to grips with. Most importantly, every year there will be a fresh set of faces bustling through my classroom door, all desperate to teach me something new, and I cannot wait.

My Educational Philosophy

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I value education as it has the opportunity to support and guide children through their learning and development with the aim of producing confident, independent individuals who are able to contribute effectively to society and the economy.

Many people have differing views on the purpose of education. My belief is that its primary role is to provide an equal and active learning experience for all children and young people regardless of gender, race, religion or social classification. It is important that schools adopt an ethos which encourages pupils to have a sense of belonging to a community; with children feeling united and part of something great. Through achieving this, schools and education will be able to combine academic learning experiences and the transmission of morals and values with the intention of creating a fair and more egalitarian society.

It is absolutely critical that children are at the heart of the education process. They deserve to have a voice and play an active role in their learning. This differs from the idea that education is consumed and that it involves the creation of accepting minds rather than creative individuals. Having looked at practices such as Montessori schooling, I can see the benefits of children having the freedom to engage in activities which interest them and how this can support their development. I also like how the focus is on the process of learning and not the end result. Children are rewarded on effort and not by test results or grades. I believe that this approach is a crucial aspect of intrinsic motivation and one that will result in confident, independent thinkers who are not afraid of facing challenges.

In summary, education plays a vital role in creating  ethical, independent  and  successful individuals. It is a teachers role to provide an engaging and stimulating learning environment which allows children to grow and explore through social and environmental interactions. It is absolutely critical that this opportunity is provided to all children and young people.