September 25, 2018
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Comments Off on Standing up for justice; standing up for our children.
I sit and write this blog after one of the most thought provoking discussions so far in my university journey. One in which we were discussing theories such as the Montessori, Owen and Frobel perspectives on education. Each being primarily child-centre focused and broadening on aspects of children thriving on their own initiative and creativity. […] Continue reading
September 25, 2018
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Comments Off on Why Discovering Maths?
Throughout my school life, I’ve had a very mixed experience with mathematics. My earliest memories of maths are from primary school. They consist of the class teacher sitting us down on the carpet, teaching us a concept, and being told to complete the coinciding pages in our TeeJay Maths textbooks. Although this was a repetitive […] Continue reading
September 24, 2018
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Comments Off on Structural Inequalities Workshop Reflection
During the first workshop of our values module, a large mixed group of future teachers, social workers and CLD workers were split into 5 equal sized groups before beginning our task. Each group was given a large brown envelope containing supplies such as paper, pens, paper clips and post-it notes etc. Our task was to […] Continue reading
September 24, 2018
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Comments Off on Memorable Classes in School – The Creative Arts
Throughout my time at school (both in primary and secondary), the most memorable classes for me were ones that emphasised on skills primarily used in the creative arts. Be this cutting cardboard with Stanley knives to make human sized dinosaurs or presenting wall posters describing Orkney’s role in World War 2. My favourite experience at […] Continue reading
September 24, 2018
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Comments Off on Positive, Fair and Consistent
The values task proved that a teacher who uses negative words and treats individuals different can cause an individual to feel upset, become disengaged and can begin to doubt their ability leading them to lack self-confidence. I experienced these feelings myself during this group task. The task involved 4 different groups within the room, 2 … Continue reading “Positive, Fair and Consistent” Continue reading
September 24, 2018
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Comments Off on Reflection of Values Workshop
From participating in the values workshop surrounding inequalities, it became evident how we are so unaware of the impact. We can become so involved in our own personal situations we are unaware of those around us. This was highlighted throughout this workshop. We started by being seated at 4 different tables with 8 peers. The […] Continue reading
September 24, 2018
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Comments Off on Values Reflection
The values workshop taught me how your mood and behaviour can negatively or positively impact children, their behaviour and learning. The activity we done consisted of us being split into four groups and being given a pack of resources. We each received a different amount of resources and were all treated differently. Group one received …
September 24, 2018
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Comments Off on Should children be treated differently from each other? The answer is ‘no’.
During the Values: Self, Society and The Professions module, we took part in an eye opening workshop where the class was split into 4 groups and were given an envelope full of materials. When the envelope was placed onto our tables, we were told not to touch or have a look to see what was […] Continue reading
September 23, 2018
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Comments Off on Values; a workshop I will never forget
Last Tuesday I walked to class like every other student around me, I arrived at the classroom and sat down at a table. This was my first class with this lecturer and I was excited to understand more about the topic; values. Once everyone arrived we were instructed to make something from our resource pack […] Continue reading
September 22, 2018
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Comments Off on Historical Storytelling📖
In my latest history input we spoke a bit about storytelling in a historical context. A video clip of this being done in a primary class was shown to us, it was quite inspiring. In the clip the teacher would put on a ‘special’ jacket when we was about to tell this history story. This […] Continue reading
September 22, 2018
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Comments Off on Reflection on IDL
The past few inputs we have had within this module have been about interdisciplinary learning, what it involves and how it is used in the classroom. “The curriculum should include space for learning beyond subject boundaries, so that children and young people can make connections between different areas of learning. Interdisciplinary studies, based upon groupings […] Continue reading
September 21, 2018
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Comments Off on An Envelope, a Group Task, and a Deeper Meaning
During Tuesday’s group work task, classes were split into four groups and each group received an envelope, which inside contained a few stationery supplies, some groups with more than others. We were all given the same task – to come up with something useful to a new student at university, and to make whatever we […] Continue reading
September 21, 2018
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Comments Off on King of the World – Are Adults Paying Attention to the Fundamental Needs of Children?
Recently, I have been working closely and regularly with Early Years level children in a non-classroom based setting. The age range of these children is three to seven. All of these children attend a private, fee-paying school in Edinburgh with excellent staff, beautiful grounds, and an abundance of fantastic resources at their disposal. The school is […] Continue reading
September 21, 2018
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Comments Off on Teaching Controversial Issues in the Classroom.
Yesterday in my Social Studies Elective we were discussing teaching controversial issues within the classroom and it became clear that it was quite common for such issues to be shied away from, one of the reasons being the potential backlash from parents. It got me thinking about my experiencing with controversial issues during my time […] Continue reading
September 21, 2018
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Being a teacher comes with a stigma. The majority of everyone’s childhood is spent confined between the four walls of a classroom; this paints an image in our heads of what a teacher should be like. Whether you have been out of education for over 40 years or have just finished Primary Four, people seem … Continue reading Stereotypes that are associated with teaching → Continue reading
September 20, 2018
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Comments Off on Lesson Planning
Today in our Social Subjects input we spoke about lesson planning around current/recent news events which relate to social subjects. This way the children are learning about current issues. Jennifer and I paired up to create a lesson plan, for a primary 7 class, based on a new article we found online about the effect […] Continue reading
September 20, 2018
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Comments Off on Why I Chose Discovering Maths
When it came to choosing an elective for my second year, Discovering Mathematics was one of the options that I automatically avoided. All I could think about was my previous experiences of Maths and ‘why would I want to put myself through that again?’. However, after discussing the elective with someone from third year, […] Continue reading
September 19, 2018
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Comments Off on A Lesson in Structural Inequalities
Yesterday I realised a some-what hard hitting truth that I thought I already knew. Personal bias is everywhere. It is as instinctual in humans as our sense of survival. Whether we like to admit it or not, favouritism is more present in our lives than we would like to admit. Be it a favourite friend […] Continue reading
September 19, 2018
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Comments Off on Do you know what an angle really is?
Most recently I have began the studies of my elective module Discovering Maths at University. Although we are only breaking into the second week of this module, I have immediately found it abundantly clear that this module will serve more than just knowledge of the Primary School mathematics curriculum; it will indefinitely open my eyes …
September 19, 2018
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Comments Off on Time + Commitment + Understanding = Success
Let me start off my saying the word ‘yes’. Yes, I am aware that we use maths everyday, whether that be in telling the time so you are not to miss your train, or working out the change you are due when paying for your bus early on a Monday morning. Whilst I am not […] Continue reading
