January 10, 2017
by
Comments Off on Science: How does it work?
Today’s Science input showed me that as an adult we don’t tend to question why things are the way they are. This is something which has been explored within the International Baccalaureate module which encourages teachers to engage children’s natural curiosity and facilitate inquiries. Yet, this isn’t often something adults do for themselves! Liz asked […] Continue reading
December 29, 2016
by
Comments Off on Common Purpose Study Abroad Opportunity – Malaysia!
Recently I’ve just returned home from a fantastic opportunity offered by the university to visit Kuala Lumpur on a leadership programme offered by Common Purpose. I’m still a little stunned, as I didn’t even think I’d be selected to go, however, I did and I had such an amazing time. The programme involved exploring what […] Continue reading
December 23, 2016
by
Comments Off on Reflection on the #UoDTransitionEY
Phew! After a busy term, I have finally managed to find the time to reflect upon my Nursery Transition experience. I would like to thank all those at my nursery who helped me develop my learning throughout this opportunity. Three areas which I wanted to develop in particular were communication skills with the children, behaviour management […] Continue reading
November 11, 2016
by
Comments Off on Comment on the draft Technologies Es & Os (ICT)
Unfortunately, due to work commitments I can’t make it to any of the Technologies Es & Os days that our colleagues from Education Scotland are holding. In an attempt to contribute to this ongoing work I offer my observations/comments about the draft CfE Technologies Es & Os -with a focus on the ICT aspect of […] Continue reading
November 9, 2016
by
Comments Off on Personal and Professional Values and Commitment- online unit 3
This task asked me to look at my own personal values and how they motivated me to choose this career path. Questions like this are never easy for me……having to look beneath my first response I give when people ask me ‘why do you want to be a teacher?’. However, I see the importance in […] Continue reading
November 9, 2016
by
Comments Off on Let’s Reflect….on Reflection!
Reflection overall can help us look at experiences we have had and evaluate exactly what happened and we can learn a lot from them through evaluation. We can also consider why events happened, what caused it to happen and how we can make changes to stop it from happening again. Overall it can help us […] Continue reading
November 2, 2016
by
Comments Off on Take a Wonder into the Woods
As the old favourite goes – if you go down to the woods today you’re sure of a big surprise. After missing my placement lifestyle of being so relaxed and enjoying nature, that and after reading ‘Nearby Nature: A Buffer of Life Stress Among Rural Children’ (Wells and Evans, 2003) – I decided to drag …
October 27, 2016
by
Comments Off on Identifying my Skills and Abilities- Online unit 1
After completing Activity 1 and 2 I feel I have a better understanding of my strengths and the areas I need to work on. The completed activities can be found in my Personal audit and transferable skills page located along the top of the blog. The discussion task ‘What would you say are the most important skills/attributes/qualities […] Continue reading
October 19, 2016
by
Comments Off on My Experience in Sweden
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 […] Continue reading
October 17, 2016
by
Comments Off on My Dad is on Facebook!
Strange educational blog post title – yes. However, after 6 years of protesting how much he dislikes facebook, around a month ago my dad officially joined the digital space and made a facebook account. This shows me just how much we are moving towards a digital age and how much our lives revolve around the …
October 10, 2016
by
Comments Off on The complex matter of Gender
Gender. Not too long ago, all over the world, the answer to “What is gender?” would without a doubt be ‘Male and Female’. To this day, for many people, the terms ‘gender’ and ‘sex’ are used interchangeably, and thus incorrectly. As we have come to learn, the issue goes way beyond these two boxes. So […] Continue reading
October 9, 2016
by
Comments Off on First day of #UoDTransitionEY
Last Wednesday marked my first day going into a nursery placement. During this year at the University of Dundee I and a 7 other training teachers have been given the opportunity to go out into a nursery setting in Dundee prior to our formal placement this coming March. This is for a research project proposed by 3 of […] Continue reading
October 7, 2016
by
Comments Off on ‘Kind and Caring’
Yesterday on This Morning was broadcast an interview with Lucy Alexander – the mother of 17-year-old Felix who, in April of this year, was driven to suicide by continual bullying. She decided to take action and wrote an open letter to not only the bullies, but also teachers and other parents who might find themselves in […] Continue reading
October 5, 2016
by
Comments Off on Hi Ho Hi Ho it’s off to Nursery We Go
Before I get started, Happy World Teacher Day! Facebook reminded me today that it was 5 years ago that I lasted stepped foot in a nursery. That was for a grand total of one afternoon and I was a 15 year old who was keeping an open mind to my career path. I must have …
September 29, 2016
by
Comments Off on “Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
When I was younger, primary 5 age to be exact, I had a really influential teacher who taught me my first understandings of segregation and racism, particularly at the time of Martin Luther King Jr’s existence. It was a time, the first time, that I saw the harrowing, poignant image of the Ku Klux Klan. I […] Continue reading
September 24, 2016
by
Comments Off on Values Workshop
Today our class had its first Values workshop. We were split into groups numbered 1 to 4 and duly followed Carrie’s instructions to make something to welcome a new student to the University of Dundee. At first I was oblivious to the purpose of this activity, however it soon became apparent that the groups had been given different […] Continue reading
September 23, 2016
by
Comments Off on Teacher Competence and Autonomous Language-Lovin’ Learners
This year, as my elective module, I have chosen to study Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) pedagogy. As I have already mentioned in a previous blog post, I am passionate about learning languages and therefore the push of MFL in Scottish Primary Education fills me with joy and excitement. But I know this is not the […] Continue reading
September 21, 2016
by
Comments Off on Reality Check
I received an Unconditional offer to study at the University of Dundee at the beginning of March 2016. So I had a long wait between receiving my offer of acceptance and finally packing my car and uprooting my life. I hope you understand, therefore, that the reality check of actually being at university has been […] Continue reading
September 19, 2016
by
Comments Off on Play it!
Like many musicians before me I began my musical journey on the piano. Growing up in rural Aberdeenshire, it was the most popular and widely available instrument; you could find one in every school, village hall and community centre. Like many musicians before me, the piano fell by the wayside when I picked up my […] Continue reading
September 19, 2016
by
Comments Off on Words are our master.
The importance of language to our world is undoubtedly massive. In a lecture I attended on language the lecturer brought up the idea that society would struggle without words, it was quickly pondered but then we moved on. However in my head I could not move on, this thought stuck with me. How different would […] Continue reading
