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The use of story in social studies

As part of our TDT for social studies we had to look at the book ‘The Desperate Journey’ by Kathleen Fidler. This is a book I had never heard of before and I was intrigued to see how this could relate to my social studies input and teaching.

The Desperate Journey is about the Highland Clearances in Scotland. It follows a family whom were affected by the clearances and were forced to leave their homes and travel to the large city of Glasgow. The family go to work in the mills which is a hard and dangerous job when the opportunity arises for them to move to Canada and again the book follows them on this journey.

Our TDT asked us how we would use this book to introduce the highland clearances. A way in which I thought it could be introduced was picking out a quote or page which hut home the message of the clearances. The quote I picked was

“Katy and Kirsty packed up the household goods… at last all the goods were lashed securely on to the cart. ‘Farewell Culmailie! We may never see you again.’
Kirsty began to weep, David put out a hand to comfort her. Do not look back, Kirsty he whispered. “It is better to look-forward.”

This one quote immediately can open up a whole range of discussion, for example why are they sad? Why are they moving if they don’t want to move? Where are they going? An alternative option for discussion could also be to direct it to the children, how would they feel if they had to move homes? What emotions do you think you would feel? What would you take with you? This will encourage the children to develop empathy with the characters and imagine what it would be like for them if they were in the situation thereby providing a relevant context for the children. Through engagement with one quote this can stimulate discussion and provide a way of introducing a topic such as the highland clearances.

This book also inspired to look for other contexts which this could relate to. I felt that this book could also be a good way to introduce the topic of refugee migration which is an extremely current topic. By promoting the same type of questioning as the highland clearances this provides children with the ability to connect with something that seems so far away for them.

Through just one single page in one book there are a variety of teaching and learning opportunities such as through history by looking at evacuation of children in the war. Through geography by looking at refugees and immigration or in literacy as a stimulus for creative writing.

By examining just one text I feel inspired by the use that stories can have as an introduction to learning and I can see myself implementing this in to my practice.

References

Fidler, K (1984) The desperate journey. Edinburgh: Kelpies

Be smart, stay safe!

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For one of our ICT inputs we were looking into internet searching and safety. This is a topic I feel is so important to incorporate into schools, the internet plays such a huge part in our day to day life. The internet is such a great tool and provides so many opportunities and learning experiences, however, there also many dangers and hazards which our children must be aware of searching online and also communicating online. Children are beginning to use the internet younger and younger now and providing children with information on what to do and what not to do on the internet can help keep them safe.

Sharon introduced us to some websites for internet safety such as ChildNet and Doople Me. I looked further into these and found them very useful. Child Net provides information to teachers about teaching children how to use the internet safely. It also provides information for teachers how to remain professional online and within the workplace. ChildNet also gives helpful advice to parents with on how to encourage their children to use the internet safely. I feel its so important for parents to be aware of what their children are doing online and if parents have more knowledge about internet safety they can really help keep children safe. Child Net provides a area in which children can access games and tips about internet safety. There was an acronym of SMART I found on Child Net which I thought would be great for children to use as a way of remembering how to be smart and stay safe online:

SAFE: Do not give out person information such as phone number, house address or passwords when chatting or posting online.
MEET: Do not meet someone you have only been in touch with online as this can be very dangerous. Only do so with parents’ or carers’ permission and even then only do so if they are present. Online friends are still stranger Untitled s even if you have spoke to them for a long time.
ACCEPTING: Do not accept friend requests, messages or emails from people you do not know, They may contain viruses or nasty, inappropriate messages.
RELIABLE: Some people or websites may lie about who they are or the information may be false. Always check information by looking at other websites or books. If you like to chat online it is best to chat to people you know.
TELL: Tell a parent, carer or adult if there is something or someone online which makes you or someone you know feel uncomfortable or asks you to do something you are not happy about.

I also thought Doople Me was a very useful tool. This is a website in which the children can create an avatar which represents the way the look. This allows the child to use this as a picture online rather than an actual photograph of themselves. This protects the children identity. I feel that this website is also a good tool to witness how the children view themselves. I made my own one and it was very simple and straight forward!

Throughout this input I also learned a few valuable skills when it comes to searching online. I am the number one culprit for using google for any questions or help I need. I was aware that some websites you have to careful of as they can portray false information. However I was not aware to how to condense your search so you are not getting so many results and also the other search engines available to use. After the input I felt that it was my job to educate children how to search correctly and also the other search engines such as AOL Kids. AOL Kids is a search engine which caters for kids. On the homepage it provides popular and suitable websites that kids can use such as Disney and Fun Brain. I feel this would be a good search engine to use in school as search engine such as Google can sometimes have content which is not suitable for children. Sharon also introduced to us some presentation tool such as Prezi and Animoto. These are different ways and ideas of putting together to make presentations more fun and interactive. These would be both beneficial for teachers and children to use.

Overall, I feel this input was very useful as it give me an insight to different resources available to keep children safe on the internet without scaring them completely of using the internet. It also provided me of different resources to use in class with the children not just for internet safety but across the curriculum areas. The internet is a wonderful resource which we are so lucky to have and having the knowledge to use it appropriately will help to keep children safe online. Be smart, stay safe!

What is an Enquiring Practitioner ?

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An enquiring practitioner is some who grows as professional “by challenging or ‘disrupting thinking’ and ‘ingrained habits of mind.” For me this means someone who is open to change, someone who seeks to gain more knowledge and someone who reflects on their teaching styles and aims to better these in order to provide their pupils with the best learning experience.The best way to better yourself as person is to reflect and learn from particular situations.

Some benefits of being an enquiring practitioner which is stated on the GTCS is that it “enables teachers to bring about fundamental changes in pedagogy and curriculum and thereby significantly improves the quality of students’ learning experiences in educational institutions.” Seeking further knowledge regarding the curriculum and incorporating different teaching styles allows teachers to grow as professionals but also improves the learning environment for children. Another benefit I thought was of importance was that it “enable teachers to collaboratively develop the curriculum.” The saying “two heads are better than one” comes to mind for this, working with someone allows you to see a situation from a whole different perspective. By reflecting together it allows people to share different experiences and ideas which can develop whole new opportunities for learning. Also to be a enquiring practitioner you have to ask why and having the ability to challenge certain ways of thinking. There are however some challenges which may be faced when being an enquiring practitioner such as some people may feel uncomfortable. As an enquiring practitioner the aim is to continue to better yourself as a professional through research and reflecting; this means there may be new skills and challenges being faced which can be daunting especially if you have been in the practice for a long-time. Another would be that It can be difficult to question your own assumptions therefore many can start looking for problems in products, strategies and pupils. To be an enquiring practitioner you have to be critical of yourself to learn how to adapt to different ways of teaching.

I feel that learning now, how to be an affective enquiring practitioner will really benefit me as a student teacher . Within the University set up for example, in lectures not just believing everything you are told. Having the ability to go away and research theories and challenge them will allow me to grow as professional. Another example would be whilst observing your classroom teacher on placement having the confidence to ask why they done that particular lesson plan or why they dealt with that behaviour in that way. Not just accepting that, that’s the way it is done. Then having the ability to reflect on this and either use it in your own lessons or deciding you may do something differently. I feel this will all set me in good stead for becoming an enquiring practitioner.

Teachers on professionalism

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What makes a teacher who makes a difference?

In video 1 “Being a Professional Teacher” it highlights certain similarities between teachers and doctors. Some of the similarities were that both teachers and doctors see their profession as a calling. They have to be caring, passionate and also up to date on their profession e.g new laws and regulations. However I have to disagree with the severeness of when life and death is stated. I would not say that having an unprofessional teacher is a matter of life and death. There have been many people who have had an unprofessional teacher or bad schooling experience but still succeed in their lives. However to be at the hands of an unprofessional doctor can result in death. The first teacher in the video shows how enthusiastic and committed she is to her pupils. Not only does the teacher have the backing of her pupils but also their families and community. The teacher has to adapt to her surroundings and little resources available and fulfill the needs of the pupils; by doing this provides her pupils with the best learning opportunities. The teacher in the video goes above and beyond the expected by taken on lots of extra activities such as abuse awareness and literacy classes in order to make the lives of the people around her better. I feel that what makes a teacher makes a difference is them making the first move to make a change.

What teachers call professionalism

In video 2 Miss Long highlights how teachers are becoming more noticed in society and there is a higher knowledge of professionalism of teachers. Many could see this as a disadvantage as it can add excess stress. However the higher standard set makes sure that teachers are providing an education to the greatest of their ability allowing the children to seize the most out of their education. Mrs Nursen states that professionalism of a teacher can affect the children when the they grow into adults. Your pupils spend a lot of time around you and therefore will pick up on your traits. Therefore if you behave in an unprofessional manner such as the language you use in your class or the values you portray the children will think that behavior is the norm. Mrs Walsh had a similar idea of Mrs Nursen that we have to professional as teachers have to be good role models to the children. She also highlights a very important point that as professionals you should not judge the pupils on their home life or appearance. Every child deserve fair and equal opportunities. Mrs Smith believes that professionalism allows you to be an effective communicator. You are able to communicate with children, family and teachers. Professionalism is about teachings being aware of the influence they have on children, they way you act in the classroom they take that outwith the school walls.