All posts by Mr Varty

Thought Piece: Is Group Work Being Overused?

November 2, 2014 Mr Varty Leave a comment

Ann McLean – Biology/Science Teacher and Professional Learning Development Officer

Standard for Career-Long Professional Learning: Professional Actions Educational contexts and current debates in policy, education and practice

I discovered this short article recently on twitter and found it really compelling. It made me stop and reflect on how I actually use group work activities in my classroom. We’re all familiar with the benefits of group work and appreciate how our students can effectively build knowledge using their own language and experiences to express their ideas.

What about the disadvantages however? Is it all about talking or is there a place for quiet thought ? Is group work overused?

Click on the image below to access this article.

Quality Improvement, Teaching Pedagogy

Marking for Progress

October 14, 2014 Mr Varty Leave a comment

Jennifer McKenna – Biology/Science Teacher

2.1 Learners’ experiences: The extent to which learners are motivated and actively involved in their own learning and development

To ensure that pupils are actively engaging with their work, this method of marking is easy to do and monitor. It also encourages pupils to demonstrate self-awareness as to where there strengths are and what they need to improve on for a particular piece of work or assessment.

The simple code that the pupils need to be familiar with is:

WWW– What Went Well

EBI– Even Better If

IOW– Improve our work (Improvements highlighted in yellow)

I use it towards the end of a topic to highlight the areas for improvement before sitting an end of unit test. However it is also a nice easy plenary where the pupils peer- assess their work from the lesson. I encourage pupils to be aware of Blooms Taxonomy key words such as describe, explain, suggest, so that their improvement is always linked to progress.

Literacy, Responsibility of All, Staff Book Club

Staff Book Club – The Color Purple

October 13, 2014 Mr Varty Leave a comment

The aim of the staff book club is to allow members of staff to get together and discuss texts that interest us all. It will also be a platform to develop critical thinking skills as well as to open up discussion about literacy across the curriculum. Reading for enjoyment is an effective way to relax and can have a positive impact on health and wellbeing of those who wish to take part.

Author: Alice Walker Published: 1982

Interdisciplinary learning, Literacy, Responsibility of All, Self-Reflection, Skills, Teaching Pedagogy

Vocabulary Working Group

October 7, 2014 Mr Varty Leave a comment

Brooke Gordon – English Teacher and Literacy Development Officer

2.1 Learners’ Experiences

5.1 The Curriculum, 5.3 Meeting Learning Needs and 5.9 Improvements Through Self-Evaluation

I’ve recently taken on the post of Literacy Development Officer. As part of my post I decided to focus on improving and supporting the learning and teaching of vocabulary across the curriculum. My aim is to encourage different approaches to the teaching of, and rich learning of, new vocabulary (see my Prezzi which can be accessed by clicking the above picture). With support from Laura Compton, I have created a learning group on GLOW which acts as a discussion board for myself and some colleagues to share and try new ideas, as well as reflect upon the effectiveness of different strategies.

Using this platform has been a huge learning curve for all of us, but I feel it is an effective way to support one another as we move through our own enhanced pedagogy. We are able to share resources as well as ask questions and advice as we devise and develop our ideas throughout the year.

The research I carried out regarding the learning of vocabulary was very interesting and and I have found that working with colleagues from Murrayfield Language Centre has also helped me to channel my ideas. I then linked these ideas to the Literacy Framework and Pathways and presented this project to a handful of colleagues from across the authority. Moving forward, we hope to continue supporting one another and offering advice as the year progresses.

Skills, Teaching Pedagogy, Uncategorized, Vision and Leadership

Ukulele in the Classroom

October 6, 2014 Mr Varty Leave a comment

Siobhan Cardow – Music Teacher

2.1 Learners’ Experiences

5.1 The Curriculum and 5.9 Improvement Through Self-Evaluation

With changes in SQA, the ukulele is now an approved instrument at National level. This is a new and exciting instrument which pupils enjoy playing and was introduced into schools across Scotland in August 2013. In the last year, I have attended a ukulele workshop at the Fringe Festival and expanded on my knowledge of SQA requirements whilst building upon my skills on this instrument at Scottish Association for Mucis Education (SAME) conferences and other CPD events, in order to effectively teach this instrument. The music department ordered a class set as part of the S1 and S2 Music courses and this has led to pupils performing on the ukulele at National 4/5 levels. It has become so popular in the department that the ukulele club is also running for the second year in a row. It provides pupils with the challenge and enjoyment of learning an instrument as well as the opportunity to become a further part of the school, meet young people from various year groups and work with others.

Numeracy, Responsibility of All, Vision and Leadership

Masters of Education in Professional Practice

August 28, 2014 Mr Varty Leave a comment

Siobhan McKenna – Maths Teacher

I am currently studying for a Masters of Education in Professional Practice with PGDE at University of Glasgow. This is an online course lasting a year and a half with only a few tutorial days in the year at the university. The course is mainly conducted online and tutorials can either be carried out on Skype, by telephone, or face-to-face; this facilitates full-time work as well as independent study.

I completed the first module of the course, Decision Making and Enquiry Skills, during my probation year and am now in the midst of writing my dissertation. My proposal for my dissertation during the first module of the course involved competitiveness within the classroom. However, upon beginning my dissertation in October, I realised that this was no longer relevant to my practice and I am now focussing on Numeracy Across the Curriculum. Having now read a lot of literature on Maths and Numeracy, it turns out that our curriculum is very similar, with regard to numeracy, to that of Australia. I have also been in touch with university lecturers in Australia to find out more about their curriculum and how they support staff who are non-Maths specialists. Continue reading Masters of Education in Professional Practice →

GIRFEC, Skills

Autistic Spectrum Disorders Training

August 26, 2014 Mr Varty Leave a comment

Colette Brennan – PTC Pupil Support

Society and Education in particular is constantly evolving within Curriculum for Excellence. Teachers are now more than ever required to be not only subject specialists but also attuned to the individual needs of the class members through GIRFEC. Ensuring that pupils experience a curriculum within the class setting which is accessible and relevant to their needs whilst setting appropriate attainment targets to ensure that potential is reached in the subject.

In order to enhance the provision that St Margaret’s Academy provides Laura Watson, Lorraine Shaw and I were asked to attend Autistic Spectrum Disorders Training with West Lothian Council. The Local Authority aim is for individual schools to have trained staff to assist and support classroom teachers in their work with individuals in this category. Continue reading Autistic Spectrum Disorders Training →

Uncategorized

Bloom´s Revised Taxonomy verbs for critical thinking and posters.

August 26, 2014 Mr Varty Leave a comment

Mr Varty – Biology/Science

Another article that I have found useful, which I again discovered through Edmodo’s Professional Learning Community is: 249 Bloom’s Taxonomy Verbs For Critical Thinking. Obviously these verbs are extremely useful when designing assessments and differentiating learning but I find them to be most helpful in planning the learning in my classroom and creating learning intentions and success criteria.

Continue reading Bloom´s Revised Taxonomy verbs for critical thinking and posters. →

Responsibility of All, Skills, Teaching Pedagogy

Smartphones in Education

August 26, 2014 Mr Varty Leave a comment

Mr Varty – Biology/Science Teacher

Recently I was having a look through the Professional Development Edmodo Community and I stumbled across “Smartphones in Education”, a free emagazine. This provide a detailed look at why and how smartphones and other technologies should be integrated in education.

The resource contains loads of lesson ideas and strategies that I know will help me make better use of our Anytime Anywhere Learning network that we are lucky to have available to us.

Continue reading Smartphones in Education →

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