Tag Archives: Themes

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

Vocabulary Working Group

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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.

Interdisciplinary learning, Responsibility of All, Self-Reflection, This is our Faith, Uncategorized, Vision and Leadership

R.E. Inset Day

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Frank Quinn – Principal Teacher R.E. Department

As part of the school’s plan in implementing “Shining the Light” and “This is Our Faith” (T.I.O.F.), it was decided that some time should be spent looking at part of the document “T.I.O.F.” by the whole staff during an Inset day.  The school believes the way forward with “T.I.O.F.” and the school’s Religious Education programme is to approach it as a whole-school responsibility, like Literacy, Numeracy and H&WB.  Each department should be aware where there are opportunities for them to contribute to the R.E. in the school.

Continue reading R.E. Inset Day →

Responsibility of All, Skills

S3 Profiling and the Profile – Progress Update

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Example profile

During the INSET day that took place on the 18th of September the Profile team and representatives from most curricular areas engaged in discussions where the next steps towards the creation of the S3 profile were agreed.  The next steps included:

  • Plans for completion of S3 profile using an amended version of the NAR pilot with a deadline of early December in time for the S3 Consultation meeting
  • More information would be shared with parents through the newsletter
  • S3 focus week on skills to gather information for pupils to understand their learning in terms of skill development Continue reading S3 Profiling and the Profile – Progress Update →
Responsibility of All, Uncategorized

S3 Profiling and the Profile – Presentation

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Frances Laing (Senior Head of House)

The  S3 Profiling and the Profile Presentation aimed to engage staff in the profiling process.  It aspired to share the key messages contained in building the curriculum 5 a framework for assessment about the profile and the process involved in producing it.  There is a requirement for pupils at key transition times to create a profile and our present S3 cohort will be our first year group to experience Broad General Education and move into the Senior Phase of the new curriculum.

We in our classes should be aware that for our young people to create this profile they have to experience opportunities in their day to day learning that allows them to reflect and  realise their achievements.  This is part of learning and teaching and should be ongoing through S1 to S3.  Below is an example of what this profile may look like.  Further information from Education Scotland can be located here.

Example profile

Responsibility of All, Self-Reflection, Vision and Leadership

Health and wellbeing – Themes Workshop

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David Downham and Nick Torsney, P.E. Department

This workshop aspired to raise the issue of a whole school responsibility for health and wellbeing and looked at identifying a hot topic, theme or issue that affects the school.  As a group we selected one of the building blocks of health and well being that would help us focus on and try to raise awareness of or tackle the issue.   We then broke up into smaller groups to discuss strategies that individuals, departments and the whole school could adopt to help with this.

The building block identified was Respect which falls under the title of Relationships and Friendships.  This would cover a range of issues including inappropriate uniform, litter, eating habits, correct use of equipment/areas and punctuality.

After the workshop we will work towards bring together all the information and report it back to the staff before putting some of the strategies in place as well as identifying all experiences and outcomes covered.  The feedback from the staff was very positive and suggested that more time would have been useful in the workshop.  The accompanying PowerPoint for this workshop can be located here.