Issuu 1 of the Horizon Communtiy College teaching and learning newsletter - 'Teach Horizon'.
10
Etiam sit amet est THE PLANNING CYCLE - ideas for the ‘Connect the Learning part of the cycle. Page 5 iTUNES - how podcasting can be used to enhance learning. Page 8 CITRIX IS HERE - are you making full use of this outstanding remote access facility? Page 4 TEACH HORIZON APRIL 2013 ISSUE 1 RAISING ASPIRATIONS FOR ALL THROUGH QUALITY, EXCELLENCE AND INNOVATION Powerful group work - there’s no doubt about that classroom design in most areas of Horizon encourages - demands - group-based activities. If we accept that co-operative learning can be the most effective, then it is clear that we as teachers need to plan for effective group work. Issue 1 considers some practical strategies for this potentially tricky approach... Big Picture...
Transcript
Etiam sit amet est
THE PLANNING CYCLE -
ideas for the ‘Connect the
Learning part of the cycle.
Page 5
iTUNES - how podcasting
can be used to enhance
learning. Page 8
CITRIX IS HERE - are you making
full use of this outstanding remote
access facility? Page 4
TEACH HORIZON APRIL 2013 ISSUE 1
RAISING ASPIRATIONS FOR ALL THROUGH QUALITY, EXCELLENCE AND INNOVATION
Powerful group work - there’s no doubt about that classroom design in most areas of Horizon encourages - demands - group-based activities. If we accept that co-operative learning can be the most effective, then it is clear that we as teachers need to plan for effective group work. Issue 1 considers some practical strategies for this potentially tricky approach...
Big Picture...
TEACH HORIZON
CONTENTS ISSUE 1
PAGE 3
PAGE 4-5
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PAGE 7
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PAGE 9
Page 10
Welcome‘Teach Horizon’ is a venture to help share the outstanding practice that exists at Horizon and to
help encourage an ongoing dialogue about teaching and learning between teachers. The idea for the
magazine has arisen from discussions with staff who are keen that ideas are shared routinely and
that we all have opportunities to learn from each other. The ‘school-within-a-school‘ model
requires that we have new approaches to CPD, and this newsletter is one response to this
structure. There are clearly many topic areas and ideas that can figure in a magazine like this. Space
- and time - dictate what can be included in any one issue. The intention is that ‘Teach Horizon‘ is
published each half term. If you have anything to contribute then do let us know. Similarly, any
comments on the structure and design of the magazine are welcome. We all agree that our
students deserve the very best; quality needs to underpin everything we do. By having high
expectations of all we do will help to build aspirations. By sharing ideas and working
collaboratively, we will ensure that Horizon is successful in giving our students the best experience
and education that is possible.
RAISING ASPIRATIONS FOR ALL THROUGH QUALITY,
EXCELLENCE AND INNOVATION
Training Opportunities - Staff Learning Co-ordinator
Nargis Ola details this term’s training programmes.
Citrix - are you accessing school networks from home?
Co-operative Learning techniques and strategies
e-Learning Update - Helen Stokes
Connecting the Learning - first of a series of articles on
the different stages of the Horizon Planning Cycle
Read all about it... Useful resource.
Podcasting: extending learning beyond the classroom.
Growth Mindsets - Sarah Rhodes
Horizon training
Nargis Ola Staff Learning Co-ordinator Training, coaching and NQT induction
• • •
The key to success at Horizon lies in staff development. We are really keen to provide rich CPD opportunities for all staff. Whilst the nature of the school day does not make life easy for the delivery of staff training, programmes are now established and well-attended.
Our vision is to provide training opportunities for all staff to access. Whether this is aspiring middle leadership, moving from good to outstanding or supporting our NQTs.
Professional development opportunities are well under way. The Spring term offered some interesting and practical sessions, starting with SISRA training led by Claire Huddart. With brilliant timing, the session on ‘Understanding the Ofsted criteria’ came literally a week before the call!
In March, Staff Learning Co-ordinator Sarah Rhodes led a session which explored different questioning techniques. A range of questioning strategies that were shared:, including Ian Gilbert’s ‘Thunks’ to engage and motivate a class. Simple questions that
encourages deeper thinking. The final session of the term was led by Hywel Roberts, whose charismatic presentation left staff considering what does a classroom where there is outstanding teaching look like and feel like when you walk in? Next half term’s training will again be based around our priorities both those set out as a College and those identified
by Ofsted. Details are in the table below.
Staff are encouraged to attend these sessions for their professional development. However it is not always possible to make each one. A willing representative from each department would allow information to be shared across the team.
ABSOLUTELY FOB-ULOUS
You can access Citrix by this address. You will need your key fob. If you need any help in initially setting this up, speak with Brett Webster or Helen Stokes.
The unassuming key fob actually unlocks a world of opportunity when it comes to accessing IT.
Citrix is the Horizon ‘home-working’ solution that allows staff to access school work and shared areas from home. Doesn’t sound that exciting? But there’s so much more to the system. Did you know, for example, that you can access programs you might not have on your computer at home, as well as all SIMS applications.?
There’s no doubt about that it Citrix gives staff the ability to work seamlessly from home.Citrix...
DATE FOCUS OF THE SESSION PRESENTER AUDIENCE NOTES
Thursday 11th April
NQT - review and planning ahead Nargis OlaStaff Learning Co-ordinator
NQT NQT observations and evidence for the final assessment form.
Wednesday 24th April
NQT TeachMeet - Worsborough Common Primary School
NQT NQTs - please bring along strategies that have worked for you.
Thursday 25th April
Developing literacy in the classroom
Sarah Cross Literacy Co-ordinator
All staff 2 sessions - am and pm. Strategies to encourage literacy development in the classroom
Thursday 9th May
P4C: developing thinking and reasoning skills
Sarah Rhodes -Staff Learning Co-ordinator
All staff Next stage in the development of P4C in the classroom.
Thursday 16th May
IWB training Helen Stokes -e-Learning Co-ordinator
All staff
Making best use of active inspire and the interactive whiteboards.
Thursday 23rd May
Strategies to support SEN students (School Action and School Action Plus)
Debbie Crawford
SENCO
All staff Do we cater effectively for those students who are school action and school action plus?
What is co-‐opera.ve learning and how could it support the development of teaching and learning at Horizon Community College?
Andrew Catterall Staff Learning Co-ordinator Science, Co-operative l learning, Kagan
• • •
The essentials of co-operative learning involve developing a series of structures that are universally and constantly applied across all areas that enhance ‘Brain Friendly’ Teaching and Learning. What has always impressed me about co-operative learning and the structures used is that they do not need masses of additional resources, loads of extra planning but a little thought as to which will be the best to enable your pupils to progress.
In May 2012 I was fortunate enough to attend a training day run by Dr Spencer Kagan, the original author of Kagan Co-operative learning which focused on the key principles required to enable ‘Brain Friendly’ teaching and learning. These principles and the structures used to develop them have been used
across the world with all age ranges of pupils. The massive body of evidence independently collected about how it enhances pupils progress cannot be ignored. Kagan Structures are simple processes that encourage co-operative learning. There are over 200 structures which have been created to encourage team-building, participation, deeper
thinking and sharing of ideas. A key principle of the Kagan approach is to develop positive interdependence, individual accountability, equal participation and simultaneous interaction. You probably already use many of these structures in your teaching without even knowing it! Below are a number of examples.
ROUND IN FULL CIRCLES
Classroom design may well have been a shift from the more traditional format, but there is real innovation in the use of these creative spaces.
Classrooms at Horizon are designed with the intention of fostering co-operative learning.
Each team receives a set of question cards:• Student 1 holds cards in a fan and says: ‘Pick a card, any card’• Student 2 picks a card, reads the question aloud and
allows 5 seconds of ‘think time’.• Student 3 answers the question.• Student 4 paraphrases (say in own words) and
praises or coaches.• Students rotates roles.
Fan-N-Pick
• Partners take turns, one solving a problem while the other coaches.
• Partner A - solves or answers the first problem.
• Partner B watches, listens, coaches and praises.
• Partner B solves next problem.• Partner A watches, listens, coaches and
praises.• Repeat starting at Step 1.
RallyCoach
• Teacher poses a problem to which there are different possible responses or solutions. Thinking time is provided.
• Students take turns stating their ideas and/or solutions.
Rally Robin
Setup - prepare a set of question cards for the class. (Have the answers for your information). Alternatively, get students to come up with their own questions as a review exercise.• In pairs - Partner A quizzes B and either praises or
coaches, depending on answer.• Switch roles after trading cards. Repeat, or...• Students move around class, quizzing and trading.
Quiz-Quiz-Trade
More details...
See Staff Shared
(T) area for the
folder ‘Kagan Co-
operative
Learning
resources’ for
more resources
and information.
Designed by Simon Benson - History• • •
GET YOURSELF GEARED UP FOR
EFFECTIVE GROUP WORKAs the year has progressed so staff and departments have experimented with different strategies to encourage effective group work. As is the case with any experimentation, some strategies work - and some don’t. It is certainly the case that some good examples of group work
have been identified. One approach was introduced with the Teaching and Learning Team by Rachel Watkins. This was based around the idea of ‘learning gears’, and came from a TeachingChannel video (here).
The approach is straightforward. Different parts of the lesson are framed by students being in different ‘learning gears’. First gear is active listening and speaks for itself. Second gear is independent work - students work by themselves. The teacher wants students to ‘struggle by yourself’. This gear involves students working quietly and studiously. Third gear is study group. Each student has their
own work, but is now allowed to collaborate. In the video we see the teacher remind students that helping one another does not involve giving the answers. Fourth gear is team work; the group has a task to together.
The approach benefits from students clearly understanding what their own responsibility is when in the different gears. Simon Benson in History has designed a resource (pictured top left) that helps reinforce this. Once students understand the different gears (time needs to be spent making sure they understand this), more effective group work and co-operation happens.
Popplet is an online tool that allows users to visualise ideas. It is a brilliant tool for encouraging co-operation and collaboration between students. Using Popplet students can create concept maps, timelines, and visual presentations in one place. They can bring together resources - videos, pictures, text, etc. - they have created on their own computers, into one place. More than one person can work on a Popplet at one time, so this can be used to offer interesting homework opportunities.The usefulness does not stop there, however. Popplet is also a super presentation tool for teachers. A good starting point might be for you to create a presentation for use in class first, before you let loose your students creating their own.www.popplet.com
Co-operative learning strategies: learning gears
COLLABORATION
TOOLS
Contact Simon Benson for details of the resource he has created.Your subject representative on the Learning Team for more details about ‘learning gears’.
e-Tools...Thinglink - good for creating rich, interactive images. Add hotspots to your images that contain pop up text, images, video and sound. Why not make an interactive learning journey with all your resources linked and email the link to your image to pupils or even put it on the VLE. http://www.thinglink.com/
Frog - a great leap forward
The summer term will see the launch of our new Virtual Learning Environment, Frog. This is a brand new system that is reliable and most importantly easy to use for staff and students. During the summer term Brett Webster and me will be working with departments to develop their departmental areas and provide training to ensure that Frog becomes an essential resource in all areas of teaching and learning. More information to follow soon.
Pics4Learning – a free, copyright-‐friendly image library specifically for use in educa9on. Why not discuss with learners the difference between copyrighted and copyright-‐free images and how they can stay within the law when using images from the Internet. h?p://pics.tech4learning.com/
My role as an eLearning Co-ordinator is to develop e-Learning across the curriculum. I am continually investigating new technologies, finding out about how they can be used within a teaching and learning environment. I then test new technologies myself, develop and deliver training and provide support to members of staff to help them embed technologies within the curriculum.
The e-Learning blog can be accessed via the school website under Learning> eLearning. This is a place that is updated with online resources and links to articles that will be of interest to staff when looking at eLearning. If any members of staff wish to contribute to the eLearning blog with posts about how they are using ICT within teaching and learning then please contact me.
Last term saw the first engagement of our Digital Leaders. Digital Leaders are a group of pupils from Y7 – 10 who have an interest in ICT and eLearning. They are currently producing support materials to support pupils with basic ICT tools in lessons across a variety of software. A number of them have also attended training using the ActivExpression voting handsets and are available to support staff in lessons.
If you require any training, collaborative planning/teaching or support with any aspect of eLearning then please feel free to email me at [email protected] or follow me on Twitter @SYSKidStokes (#horizon_cc)
e-Learning update There is no doubt that ICT and new technologies can support teachers and
students in teaching and learning. In this piece, e-Learning Co-ordinator, Helen Stokes, outlines developments and plans for new technologies at Horizon, and offers some suggestions for learning resources you will find
useful.
Soometa is a digital storytelling tool that lets you create your own short movies using text, images and videos from a variety of sources. Use SooMeta to create engaging support materials for learners or why not get learners to make their own short movies to consolidate and demonstrate their learning. A word of cau9on; f you link to youTube pupils will not be able to watch your movies in school, so consider using other sources of video . See me if you need support with this. h?p://www.soometa.com/
Explain Everything is an easy-to-use design, screen-casting, and interactive whiteboard tool that lets you annotate, animate, narrate, import, and export almost anything to and from almost anywhere.
The Horizon Planning Cycle: Connecting the Learning
THIS SERIES OF ARTICLES IS DESIGNED TO OFFER SOME RATIONALE BEHIND THE PLANNING CYCLE, PLUS STRATEGIES THAT TEACHERS MIGHT CONSIDER FOR EACH. WE BEGIN WITH OUR OLD FRIEND, ‘CONNECT THE LEARNING’...Put simply, effective learning occurs when we tap into what the student already knows and understands. The accelerated learning cycle relies fundamentally on this principle. If it’s good enough for Alistair Smith then it’s good enough for us. At Horizon we have lots of teachers who plan effectively to ‘hook’ students into new topics and to create a sense of inquisitiveness and excitement. This is effective when students are encouraged to think about what they already know. At this phase of the lesson it is important to involve all students. Care needs to be taken in planning to ensure all students can feel involved. A sense of exclusion or failure at this stage might lead to disaffection and poor engagement for this lesson and beyond. Participative
review activities are non-threatening and, as the term suggests, enable all students to participate. Students are allowed individual thinking time before discussing in pairs and small groups, before whole class interaction. An introduction that involves all students and can then lead to consideration of the content of the lesson. Where possible, avoid displaying or explaining the lesson content/objectives. Encourage speculative thinking. The newspaper resource on the next page can help develop a sense of curiosity. Whatever you use, try to generate thinking and anticipation at this stage of the lesson.
The five key
principles for
connecting the
learningAccelerated
Learning in PracticeAlistair Smith, 2001
1 Always give the ‘ b i g p i c t u r e ’ o v e r v i e w b e f o re chunking down the content.
2 A l w a y s u s e participative review strategies to connect to what has already been covered and p r i m e t h e n e w learning
3 Build out from e x a m p l e s w h a t learners can readily recognise.
4 E n c o u r a g e i n d e p e n d e n t , p r e d i c t i v e a n d speculative thinking.
5 Develop meta-cognitive awareness by describing and using ‘connecting’ learner tools.
Horizon Lesson Planning Cycle
PARTICIPATIVE REVIEW
STRATEGIES
‘Three Things’ - begin by asking students to
identify three things they remember as significant from the last lesson or a
particular topic.
‘One, two, four, eight’ - think of one
significant piece of information from last time.
Now take your piece of information and swap with someone so you both have two pieces of information. Now swap your two with someone else so you have four. Finally, go for eight...
‘Three Things’ - students are asked to interview three others about previous work to find out what they found most important. In pairs,
students review their findings.
Next time...
Big Picture
strategies.
Useful resources
There are plenty of resources out there which give the opportunity to personalise a lesson and add a little something ‘out of the ordinary’. Most of these will not necessarily revolutionise a lesson, but they can help create a sense of fun or excitement and thus help to engage students. We would like to hear from staff about their personal favourites. Here’s one. The Fodey newspaper clipping tool allows you to create a short newspaper headline which looks authentic. This could be used in a research task or a mystery perhaps? It can also be used as a resource to develop literacy skills - an article might be created which contains some spelling or grammatical errors. Just copy in your text and the work is done for you. The final image can be used in presentations or printed.
Read all about it... newspaper headlines generator...
The site also has other images that can be generated, from clapper boards to talking squirrels!http://www.fodey.com/generators/newspaper/snippet.asp
The end of season transfer market continues to show no sign of cooling off, as evidenced
by our new addition to the teaching and learning team. At Easter our new
Staff Learning Co-ordinator, Kevin Harris, joined us from Kings Lynn Academy, and promises to offer the squad the strength in depth that manager Bowen is keen to build. Kevin is an AST in Maths with expertise in creative teaching and learning techniques. He will join existing squad members Andrew Catterall, Nargis Ola and Sarah Rhodes. Lindy Marsden, a Rotherham-based English teacher, will join us in June.
Compare these two scenario: Scenario 1 - a teacher provides students with a homework task to read a 3 page chapter on the causes of the Second World War and to highlight key phrases and facts in readiness for a test in the following lesson.
Scenario 2 - a teacher instructs students to download and listen to a 6 minute podcast on the causes of the Second World War as part of this week’s homework. In this recording, the teacher discusses the causes, highlighting key facts and posing questions for the listener. Students are then asked to produce a revision concept map based on the podcast, in
preparation for a topic test in the next lesson.
Now, I would contend that for a typical 15 year old student, the second approach would be more likely to appeal. This might worry us in the way it suggests a demise in reading and more traditional skills, but it is certainly a fact. We need to adapt. Thankfully, at Horizon we have the expertise and facilities to support staff in these areas.
Podcasts allow teachers to produce content that is specifically focussed on topics which are being studied. The skills required to produce high quality audio and video resources are not advanced. Anyone can do this after a short familiarization and training session. Steve Quayle at the HEIC has
Podcasting: extending learning beyond the classroomIt is certainly the case that young people today are ‘tech-savvy’ and that the use of programs, devices and social media is second nature. Rather than seeing this as a cause for concern, this must be embraced as an opportunity for teachers to create exciting learning resources that will ‘fit in‘ with this brave new world. Podcasting is one example and is being embraced by some departments.
What is a podcast?
This is an audio or video file
that can be downloaded and
viewed on a computer or
portable device. Podcasts
can be hosted on iTunes on
the Horizon page so that
students - indeed, anyone -
can download them to their
own devices.
In iTunes, search for Horizon Community
College to see examples of podcasts produced
by Horizon teachers.
Horizon staff, and further opportunities are available.
Programs such as Audacity can be used on a PC to produce podcasts. Alternatively, and for even better results, Mac packages such as GarageBand, iMove and Keynote can be used to produce professional-standard resources. Give it a go!
Podcasts are an increasingly common
way in which we all catch up with radio
programmes and news feeds. The
potential to utilise this type of resource
in education is enormous. How might
you use podcasts...?
Podcasting - to do list...
Search iTunes and download a podcast for a topic/programme you’re interested in.
Look for the Horizon page in iTunes.
Think about topics that you feel could be supported by one or more podcasts.
Get yourself skilled up! speak with Steve Quayle ([email protected]) to arrange a short training session.
A reminder... Growth Mindset ‘does what is says on the tin’! We are working towards enabling our students to solve problems in learning without necessarily involving staff. Students face ‘learning junctions’ every day (see right). Our work on Growth Mindsets is in place to provide opportunities for students to move their learning on using peers, prior knowledge, books, feedback and most importantly – failure! What I hear you gasp... failure?? I do not mean every pupil must go out of their way to fail, but should they through whatever circumstances, then they must be encouraged to learn from failure! Here are some suggestions for how you might help students build their own growth mindset, rather than rely on a fixed mindset.
Staff Learning Co-ordinator Sarah Rhodes is responsible for some key aspects of teaching and learning at Horizon. Here she details the ‘Growth Mindsets’ project and some strategies for teachers to help build this in students.
Reminder...Fixed Mindset – being caught in one way of thinking; we all do this and we need to set our pupils free!
Growth Mindset – giving them different ways to change their mindset and allowing this to happen in the classroom.
GeMng Stuck – build into your teaching strategies which encourage independent learning -‐ SNOT, 3B4ME, etc. Try not to automa9cally be the ‘sage on the stage’ but ‘the guide from the side’.
Receiving a win – allow 9me for pupils to look at their level / grade but then look at the EBI. Encourage students to always push themselves and not se?le for what they have achieved.
Receiving a Knock-‐ This is the failure I was talking about. Encourage pupils to reflect on an unsuccessful grade/ level. What can we do to improve? This could be in the form of verbal feedback.
Receiving Feedback – EBI is the most important element – make sure comments and targets are purposeful and allow for pupils to improve. Build in 9me for student ‘ac9on response’.
Working with others -‐ look at strategies such as ‘learning gears’ or pupils students in a group/collabora9vely. Trial quick strategies which will allow for differen9a9on to take place.
Choosing Challenge -‐ encourage students to choose a challenge. This works when using Bloom’s Taxonomy and they can opt for the task they feel will push their thinking.
More informationThere is lots of literature available on growth mindsets. ‘Mindset’ by Carol Dweck is an excellent read. ‘Bounce’, by Matthew Syed, is a super read. The website ‘Mindsetworks’ is a great source and can be found here.
