Category Archives: 2.3 Pedagogical Theories & Practice

Developing Effectiveness in Learning and Teaching – TDT Ocearch!

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Me and fellow student Kirsty Gallacher decided to focus on one resource from Derek Robertson’s input – that resource being ocearch.org .

This is a shark tracker which shows the real time location of sharks movements. All the sharks have been tagged on their dorsal fin and have been given names by the organisation. You can find out the length, weight and type of shark as well as its recent locations. Above this you can focus on certain geographic locations, such as countries or even continents and track the sharks who live in their surrounding waters.

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An example of Oscar the sharks recent movements off the coast of New York.

Here is a link to Oscars profile – http://www.ocearch.org/profile/oscar/

We think that this is a great ICT resource for ensuring the enrichment of learning across subject boundaries. Not only does it tap into science, for example, a topic on sharks in itself, but it also looks at geography. This resource can also link to maths and literacy.

By looking at the weight, size and types of sharks that exist in specific area, the children could look into why certain types of sharks inhabit specific areas of the world. For example, hot and cold climates.

This resource can also help children practice their map skills, and help them become familiar with continents, countries and oceans.

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We can also launch an investigation into why these sharks travel so far and so erratically, possibly discussing what they eat, how they mate and how fast they travel. By looking at distance, speed and time, this could be incorporated into their maths. Looking at their diet and how they mate is again tapping into science as they explore further into the sharks habitat.

This could be done in groups or as independent study depending on age and ability of children. This could then turn into a literacy project where they can either write up their findings in the form of a power point, a booklet, a poster or a report.

This is a brief look into how this resource can be incorporated into interdisciplinary learning. We plan on looking into this further while researching for our assignment.

By Kirsty and Samantha

Create A Drama Bag (Drama 1H)

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As part of my Expressive Arts project I am going to create a Drama bag in which i will choose a variety of objects to represent particular characters. This bag can be used as a stimuli for role-play or improvisation.

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Object – Glasses

Character– Old Lady/Grandmother

 

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Object – Tiara

Character – Princess/Fairy/Queen

ctzc72axeaehfrrObject-Guitar Pick

Character– Rockstar

ctbujx4wyam49-tObject-Pen

Character– Business man

 

Object– Keyctbujx8wiaaxqcn

Character– Janitor/Grounds Keeper/ Security Guard

 

ctzc72gwcai1rhfObject– Thread

Character– Seamstress/Maid

 

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Object– Plaster

Character– Nurse/Doctor

 

ctbujx4w8aaqa-gObject-Pound Coin

Character– Rich Man/Woman

 

ctbujx7waaeu376Object– Lip Stick

Character– Posh Lady/ Make-up Artist/ Diva

 

ctzc72hweaah_nrObject- Teddy Bear

Character- Small Child

 

Ephemeral Art!

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Who knew something so simple as making pictures out of leaves, twigs and other natural resources can make you think so much?!?

In our most recent expressive arts module we learned about the artist Andy Goldsworthy and his passion for art in nature otherwise known as Ephemeral art. Goldsworthy’s work was always transient so would not last very long, this is because he uses only natural resources. This, however, meant that his work could only be documented through his use of photographs.imgres-1Picture Taken From Google Images – prezi.com

Goldsworthy had an obsession with shape, line, texture, form and colour and would express this through his work.

Trying to decide the meaning for some of his pieces turned out to be the most difficult part…

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This piece of Goldsworthy’s was one which we took forward as a group to try to recreate. This piece really captures just how impermanent his work really was.

This piece was created by Goldsworthy, himself, laying on the dry surface in the rain only to move himself when the rain had passed to leave his silhouette printed on the surface.

When  trying to decipher the meaning of this piece, we struggled but  came to the conclusion that it represents the short nature of life itself.

Picture Taken from Google Images – www.pinterest.com

Our Turn!

In this tutorial, we formed a group of 3 and tried out some of our own ephemeral art pieces. First we stared by gathering leaves and grouping leaves together by colour. Then we tried finding some sticks to use before deciding on what our project would be.

Next we had a discussion about what we could try and make. Me, I am nothing close to being an artist and you would struggle to find an artistic bone in my body. However, this task was easier (and more enjoyable) than first thought.

We then decided on our first project… the human outline made entirely from leaves… which wasn’t entirely our idea (although we’d love to take credit) but a take on one of Goldsworthy’s pieces pictured previously. We had Kirsty lie on the ground while the two of us laid leaves all around her.

The meaning of this was, like our interpretation of Goldsworthy’s piece, was to show that life does not last long.The fact that the wind could blow away at anytime represents this.

As well as this, we also were careful to use colours which fade downwards. This was to show the developments we make in our lives and the changes and choices we have to make and go through every single day. The way in which we grow as people are also represented in the leaves.

Finally our last original piece we created was a large tree.img_9810

This piece was one we made to reflect the changing of the seasons we felt like the colour of leaves were correct to show the time of year. As well as this we also thought this represents the passing of time, through the seasons and our time through this university course also.

This task would be simple and effective to recreate in a class of pupils. I also feel like the children would benefit from this artistic activity with being given extra time outside to explore their own surroundings… putting safety first of course!

Differences Between Sweden and UK

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Photo taken from Google Images – www.ucl.ac.uk

A few weeks ago we had an input where we discussed comparative education. We mainly focused on the differences between Sweden and the UK and the different perspectives they had on learning in the early years.

The Swedish School system contrasts with the UK school system in so many ways. The first one being their school starting age. In Sweden, children do not start school until they are 7 years old, which is a whole 2-3 years after we do in the UK. When this was first mentioned I assumed that they would be so far behind in their learning compared to children in our country who start so much earlier. However, I was shocked to discover that this is not the case. According to The Guardian in 2010, Sweden has over taken the UK in reading and  Maths! They also are not to far behind the Uk in the science rankings either. (Shepherd, 2014)

Sweedish Children attend Pre-school from the age of 6 where they place a strong emphasis on the importance of play. However, In most other countries play is looked at as more of a chance for children to relax and relieve stress. As in the Uk children are in school at this time trying to build on their reading, writing and numeracy. Sweden’s pre school prioritises play and social skills as well as sharing, being considerate and tolerant towards others. (Swedish Institute, 2014) These are qualities and values which I feel are extremely important to learn at this age. Tolerance for reasons which seem obvious to me, Children learning how to be tolerant of others makes them realise that people are different (whether by skin colour, disabilities or things as simple as the clothes they wear)  and understand how to deal with those differences effectively so they will not be causing anyone to be left out because of this. Consideration is also important as it allows children to consider other peoples feelings and show a level of compassion and kindness for others and situations they may be in. In my opinion, so many more children (in our country, specifically) should be taught these important values and social skills before starting school as I am sure this would lower rates of bullying in and around schools, and even just to help ease everyday stress on the teachers in the teaching practice. Swedish pre-schooling is now viewed as the foundation stages of life long learning as it is well known for the high impact it has on the children’s dialogue, interaction and communication.

Picture Taken from Google Images – globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com

Outdoor Education is another HUGE focus in Swedish schooling as children play outdoors any opportunity that they have. No matter what the weather may be. (Swedish Institute, 2014)  In  my opinion, this is what children should be doing at that age rather than being stuck in a classroom, children need to explore the environment and the weather first hand instead of being shown flashcards of rain and different types of weather… go out and feel it!

The homely environment in Swedish pre schools is something else which is to be desired in British schools. The staff are called by their first names instead of their last which makes everything more casual and gives the children a sense of security and comfortability. Just more of a friendly atmosphere I would say although it can be argued that first name terms does not show children how to be respectful.  The room itself is also very homely. There is huge amounts of space for the children to  play  and a kitchen where they can snack in when they would like.   They eat all meals and snacks around a table as if it was a sit down family dinner with pupils and staff.  As well as this, children and staff members both remove shoes on entrance to the building as if it was their own homes. Comparing this to British schools, everything seems to happen at a certain time and things are a lot less relaxed. Children are allowed outside to play at 2 distinct times of the day and only weather permitting as they are made to stay inside if the weather is “too bad”.  Now comparing the 2 school systems, it seems to me, that UK schools need to allow children  a little more freedom in this regard.

Money is also an issue in the UK as childcare is becoming more and more expensive.Over the last Parliament the cost of a part-time nursery place for a child under two has increased by 32.8 per cent. A family paying for this type of care now spends £1,533 more this year than they did in 2010, while wages have remained largely static. (Rutter, 2015)

This quote from the Family and Care Trust article shows us just how expensive child care in the UK is and how much a family would have to pay to have their child to be in a nursery so they can go work to make money to provide for their family. When in actual fact the money they make from work will most likely be spent on the actual child care facilities. In Sweden there is a maximum fee policy which makes childcare affordable for everyone. The price is capped for the highest amount  families  can pay for childcare  SEK 1260  per month (which works as just about £100 per month) where as low income families will pay nothing. (Swedish Institute, 2014)

From my research on the subject, I feel that Swedish children have more opportunity to learn first hand and  in a more enjoyable way. Even starting school a few years  later than what we are used  has shown not to make a huge impact on the learning of the child. Maybe the UK should begin to follow in the footsteps of the Swedish Schooling System?

References

Rutter, J. (2015) Family and Child Care Trust. Available at: http://www.familyandchildcaretrust.org/sites/default/files/files/Childcare%20cost%20survey%202015%20Final.pdf (Accessed: 23 October 2015).

Shepherd, J. (2014) World education rankings: which country does best at reading, maths and science?. Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2010/dec/07/world-education-rankings-maths-science-reading (Accessed: 22 October 2015).

Swedish Institute (2014) Play is key in preschool. Available at: https://sweden.se/society/play-is-key-in-preschool/ (Accessed: 22 October 2015).