September 21, 2017
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Comments Off on What is maths?
On Monday in our third Discovering Maths input we were asked the questions what is maths and why do we teach it? This got me into thinking so what actually is maths, other than the basic formulas and calculations we always think of? We use maths on a daily basis without even knowing and when we do use […] Continue reading
September 21, 2017
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Comments Off on Science or… Magic?
Third year… how did that happen?!? This year I have chosen to take Science as my elective and you will all be lucky enough to see me vlog my encounters as I rediscover knowledge and inquire further into the world of lab coats and STEM subjects. This will help me to enthuse the children I […] Continue reading
September 20, 2017
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Comments Off on Science , is it all that hard.
A new year, a new subject and lots of new ideas to explore. And this time it’s exploring Science ! My biggest fear was that it really as complicated as it has always seen to been to me. Does the concepts need to be something beyond my understanding, Strangely enough, and after a good thought the answer […] Continue reading
May 1, 2017
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Comments Off on Week 4 – Reflection
Most people moan about Monday mornings and having to get up at quarter to 7 to get to school on time, but I am having such a fantastic time that when my alarm goes off I seem to get straight up! Monday of my week 4 was great with me attending an English lesson with […] Continue reading
March 13, 2017
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Comments Off on Day 1 at Somerset
Okay. So. Somerset is AMAZING! Arriving at the school this morning was incredible. The campus is so big there are separate gates for pre-prep, junior and high school. I am still overwhelmed at the size of this school and the amount of staff they have for everything. They even have a snake catcher! The beginning […] Continue reading
March 12, 2017
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Comments Off on Music for Learning
As I prepare for the beginning of my Learning from Life placement (tomorrow!) I’ve been doing some reading about music education and the value and impact it can have on children. There have been many studies which have investigated the benefits of music education. Standley (2008) and Hallam (2010) report that well planned music activities … Continue reading Music for Learning → Continue reading
March 12, 2017
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Comments Off on Placement Jitters
Current mode: panic! No, not really. However, I am feeling very nervous about placement which begins TOMORROW. I say placement but is, in fact, a “prac”. I arrived in Australia Friday just passed and about to undertake a placement in Somerset College, an International Baccalaureate world school in Queensland! As well as all of the […] Continue reading
March 7, 2017
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Comments Off on Pedagoo Perth
My aim throughout my time as a student is to continue developing my professional practice so that when I graduate then I will already be in the habit. From day one, the University of Dundee have encouraged our use of twitter, twitter chats and blogs to effectively share our experience with others. I can safely […] Continue reading
February 24, 2017
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Comments Off on Finding the motivation to write this was tough…
Today, I had a lecture on Motivation in the Primary Classroom. We were given the question….How do we motivate learners? Identify and discuss the key features of motivation and strategies to develop motivated children. There are two types of motivation: Intrinsic motivation comes from inside yourself while on the other hand, extrinsic motivation comes from external […] Continue reading
February 8, 2017
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Comments Off on Teaching Science
Prior to our input with Richard on science, we were all to prepare a 2-minute science demonstration to show to our group. There were great ideas which can stem great lesson plans for the children in the classroom. This picture shows the “lava-lamp” experiment, the oil and water demonstrates to the children that materials don’t always mix due […] Continue reading
January 24, 2017
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Comments Off on Health & Wellbeing – Relationships
Our first Health and Wellbeing input focused on the importance of relationships particularly for children. In the early stages of our lives we are constantly adapting to our environment and as part of our TDT for Health & Wellbeing we were instructed to watch two videos related to relationships in early years and the connection […] Continue reading
January 23, 2017
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Comments Off on The Importance of Early Year Relationships
During our health and wellbeing lecture, we were learning about relationships and how important these relationships are to children. I have been asked to write about the importance of children’s early years and what this means for us as practitioners. Dr Suzanna Zeedyk discusses how human babies are born much earlier than other mammals this […] Continue reading
January 21, 2017
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Comments Off on Health and Wellbeing: Relationships
During our Health and Wellbeing lecture, we were learning about relationships and how important relationships are for children. As our TDT after the lecture, we were asked to watch two videos. One on children’s brain development by Doctor Suzanne Zeedyk and another on the importance of the child’s early years by John Carochan. In Suzanne […] Continue reading
January 20, 2017
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Comments Off on Reflecting on Semester 1
After receiving my grades and feedback for my first two modules at university, I am able to reflect on my work for last semester and pick out areas for improvement. Overall, I enjoyed the Values and Working Together modules and found that they both made me question the way in which I conduct myself as […] Continue reading
January 17, 2017
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Comments Off on Health and Wellbeing – Relationships
Yesterday, we had a health and wellbeing lecture about relationships. It was very interesting to learn about the kind of relationships children form at each age group and how they change as they grow older. To help further our understanding of the importance of relationships in the early years of a child’s life, we were asked […] Continue reading
January 16, 2017
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Comments Off on Intelligence
Theories of intelligence can be linked all the way back to Plato. He believed that intelligence was like a ball of wax: size, hardness, moistness and purity. For 1500 years the Greeks and Romans thought that to be intelligent you have to have a tempered body this meant; four humours, blood, phlegm and black and […] Continue reading
January 15, 2017
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Comments Off on One fish, two fish, red fish, blue fish
Before our recent Mathematics input, I had never considered using stories as a way of exploring mathematical language and concepts. I’m sure most people would agree that stories are first and foremost thought of as something linked to literacy and language. However, after reading the well-known Dr Seuss book, “One fish, two fish, red fish, […] Continue reading
January 10, 2017
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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
January 5, 2017
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Comments Off on Keeping the Dream Alive
I was asked to write a response to Tom Bennett’s comment piece in the TES about how he thought that the use of computer games such as Minecraft in Education was ‘gimmicky‘. My response was written in early December 2016 however it was published in the TESS today. Here is the unedited version: My Christmas playlist will […] Continue reading
November 28, 2016
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Comments Off on Profound Understanding of Fundamental Mathematics
“Teachers must have a profound understanding of fundamental mathematics.” – Liping Ma, 2010 To teach maths, you must first understand maths. To understand maths you have to be fully engaged and willing to put yourself in your pupils’ shoes and learn. Liping Ma states that this is one of the most important factors in terms […] Continue reading
