November 15, 2015
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Comments Off on Calling out for peace
The terrible news of the terrorist attack in Paris on Friday 13th November will not be new to many people. It is a story that has really struck a chord with me and makes me question; what kind of world are we living in? When innocent lives are being taken, and for what? One of […] Continue reading
November 12, 2015
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Comments Off on The Maths Behind Hurricane Abigail
After all this hype about a potentially menacing storm that has hit the shores of Scotland, I thought to myself that it couldn’t actually be that bad. I was, however, mistaken to this notion. After walking along Dundee City high street a few moments ago, I was soaked within an inch of my life. It […] Continue reading
November 11, 2015
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Comments Off on How has education changed?
The process on which education has evolved is something which I have always had questions about. It is now, with out a doubt very different to what it was previously with the introduction of new technology, new material and more recently a brand new curriculum. However, in many classrooms the process of sitting and listening […] Continue reading
November 11, 2015
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Comments Off on Fat Letters
I was shocked to stumble across this article on the TES website. It applies to English Primary Schools but I feel that it is typical of the blame and shame attitude of today’s society. The article describes how some teachers have been sending home ‘fat letters’ to inform the parents that their child is overweight. […] Continue reading
November 11, 2015
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Comments Off on What standards we should be attaining as student teachers?
The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) has their own standards for registration. These are split into two parts, The Standards for Provisional Registration (SPR), and The Standard for Full Registration (SFR). These are a series of standards put in place to make clear how teachers should act, and the values they should possess as a […] Continue reading
November 10, 2015
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Comments Off on My Tired
Language acquisition fascinates me. It’s The theory of Noam Chomsky and the Nativist Theoretical approach that intrigues me the most. I agree that no child is born Tabula Rasa, we must have some sort of base to build upon, the inclination and thirst to learn. The skills needed to acquire language therefore would be, according to […] Continue reading
November 5, 2015
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Comments Off on Stress, stress, stress!
I recently read the article on BBC News, “Stressed teachers being ‘reduced to tears’” by Hannah Richardson, BBC News Education Reporter, 22 October 2015 (see link below) and it really hit me. It made me think – teachers are crying out, literally, and what for? They are stressed. This article is stating the lead up […] Continue reading
November 5, 2015
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Comments Off on The Meaning of Mathematics – Maths defined
Numbers, sums, equations, patterns, sequences, problem-solving, formulas, confusion… What comes into your head when you think about ‘maths’? Should we think more about ‘mathematical concepts’ and look deeper into what maths is all about, rather than accepting maths as being solely about numbers and work books? ‘Mathematics’ is defined as, “The abstract science of number, quantity, […] Continue reading
November 5, 2015
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Comments Off on 5 Attributes..
These 5 attributes are some which I believe are very important in terms of being teacher. Integrity Official definition; 1- The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. 2- The state of being whole and undivided. My view of this is: To be professional you must have integrity as it important to be open […] Continue reading
November 4, 2015
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Comments Off on It’s maths, Jim, but not as we know it…
When a string is plucked, it vibrates at a particular rate creating a note. A familiar concept to violinists, guitarists, cellists and…well anybody who plays a stringed instrument, and I’m sure anyone who has ever fired an elastic band across a room. The rate at which this string vibrates is known as the frequency (determined […] Continue reading
November 4, 2015
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Comments Off on Born but not wanted…
From various inputs I’ve realised that the topic of the ‘Romanian Orphans’ was brought to our attention several times. I decided to have a look into the topic as I’d never heard of before and reflect on what I found out. The term ‘Romanian Orphans’ raised due to Nicolae Ceaușescu forbidding both abortion and contraception all […] Continue reading
November 4, 2015
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Comments Off on Little Minds
We know that everything we learn contributes to our memory. However what many are unaware of is the different types of memory. For example, there are many types of long term memory including; Episodic – specific things – personal experience- where/when it happened Semantic – all world knowledge Procedural – knowing how to do something […] Continue reading
November 4, 2015
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Comments Off on What are they thinking?
Everything that we do comes down to our brain and the way we think. It has been at the heart of psychologist’s fascinations for years. Ivan Pavlov was the first psychologist to focus upon behaviourism through his ‘Classic Conditioning Test’ His conclusions were that we can change the natural reflex of human and animals. Furthering […] Continue reading
November 4, 2015
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Comments Off on I’m telling on you….
We have been learning about stage theory as part of the Thinking Child inputs with Carrie. Automatically as a mum your mind races to your own child. Ruby is three and has spent nearly all of her life with myself and significant adults; only recently starting at a nursery for 3-5s. I was lucky enough to […] Continue reading
November 4, 2015
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Comments Off on Sharing across the world
The other day, I was feeling rather grumpy. Little did I know that this black cloud over my head would eventually lead to me feeling so encouraged and happy to be a part of a wonderfully passionate workforce! The cause of my mood was this. On my twitter feed (among many wonderful ideas and tweets) I […] Continue reading
November 3, 2015
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Comments Off on Professionalism in regards to social media
Social media and the hype around it have been a major topic of conversation within the backdrop of professionals lives. Will this comment I post be frowned upon? Is it okay to add this picture to Facebook? Would my manager be alright with the content of this tweet? As professionals we are constantly having to […] Continue reading
November 3, 2015
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Comments Off on My experience with feedback
Feedback for me is a positive experience usually, however hasn’t always been. Once in High School I received feedback from a teacher who had nothing good to say about my work and even went to the extent of saying in no uncertain terms that it was “a dog’s dinner” and used very inappropriate language. This […] Continue reading
November 3, 2015
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Comments Off on Professionalism: My Views…
After watching these videos and taking my own notes on the different opinions/views on professionalism I have gathered some of my own thoughts on them… Video 1 I completely agreed with everything that was brought up in this video. I think it’s making a very strong, powerful point when looking at professionalism. How the doctor […] Continue reading
November 2, 2015
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Comments Off on Happy Birthday George Boole!
Picture Taken through a screen grab of www.Google.com I am not sure if this is entirely relevant but after searching Google for information to add into my languages assignment I came across the fancy “Google” logo. The logo was a type of maths related design, which when clicked on took me to a search of […] Continue reading
October 29, 2015
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Comments Off on Participating in Practitioner Enquiry…
So what is a Practitioner Enquiry? A practitioner enquiry is an individual who actively engages with their own practice based research. They will reflect on their research to help them improve/deepen their own knowledge. Practitioner enquiry is key in when being professional as it will allow you to gain a better understanding of your practice […] Continue reading
