Animation for Amateurs November 10, 2009

One of my personal development aims this session is to learn more about visual literacies. I am sure that texts in traditional print form will always be used to good effect, but I know that many learners – especially but not exclusively those with literacy difficulties – can also be engaged by [...]

A good teacher is like a bolt of electricity (Ed Balls) October 30, 2009

  How wonderful to read that the award for the outstanding new teacher has gone to a young man who was told he’d never become a teacher because of his dyslexia. In fact his parents were informed by his primary head that there was ‘a debate as to whether dyslexia really exists’.
 The Guardian reports [...]

I am learning all the time. The tombstone will be my diploma. Eartha Kitt October 5, 2009

I first went to the Scottish Learning Festival in 2003 when it was SETT and have thoroughly enjoyed every visit. I even presented a seminar once. Nowadays I only get to attend on one of the days and it’s a hard choice sometimes which key note speeches I go for.
One major pleasure is to be [...]

Writing and spelling were always terribly difficult for me. My letters were without originality. Agatha Christie September 15, 2009

I have only just discovered this lovely wee gadget. 
 This intuitive and robust digital voice recorder enables pupils to capture good quality voice/sound/music recordings on the move, enabling them to become roving reporters. The device includes a built-in microphone and speaker, with intuitive controls for recording, playing back, and skipping files. Recordings can be captured directly [...]

Key words September 1, 2009

Like many teachers I suspect, I find it really hard to help young people understand the notion of key words and concepts. An understanding of the hierarchy of categorisation is an essential skill if we want to distil an idea, to discern the thrust of an argument, to synthesise thoughts.

 Mind Mapping is a tool I [...]

Visual Literacy, Learning and the Graphic Novel and Manga August 20, 2009

I’ve just been to an interesting talk at the Book Festival with Dr Mel Gibson (no, not that one) talking about using Graphic Novels and Manga when teaching children and young people literacy skills.
She gave us a whirlwind tour of such books, few of which I had heard of.
I am aware of Colin McNaughton and [...]

Scottish Book Trust August 18, 2009

Autumn Term event programme
Scottish Book Trust’s 2009-10 programme is quickly taking shape and they have information about FREE events for pupils. Upcoming events include authors Darren Shan (pictured), Betty Birney, the return of the brilliant Oisin McGann and of course, The Royal Mail Awards Ceremony in November.
Online Teachers in Residence Programme Scottish Book Trust [...]

Assessment Paradigms June 23, 2009

Which one do you subscribe to?:
All students are basically the same and learn in the same way. Therefore instruction and testing can be standardised.
There are no standard students. Each is unique. Therefore teaching and testing must be individualised and varied.
Norm- or criterion-referenced standardised test scores are the main and most accurate indicators of students’ [...]

Anthony Browne for Children’s Laureate June 10, 2009

What good news! I actually don’t like ‘Gorilla’ very much but love some of Brown’s other books, notably ‘The Tunnel’ and ‘Changes’. Browne’s near-photographic realism is always sprinkled with touches of the surreal, and a plethora of visual puns. And I, along with millions of others, find them very touching too.
The Guardian reports: Browne said [...]

Down behind the dustbins May 21, 2009

Ascension Day was traditionally used by many landowners to impress boundaries on children before maps were common. They used such memory aids as dunkings in cold ponds and streams, tree climbing and hazardous rooftop scrambles. Another method of making the children remember the delimitations was to beat them with thin rods: [...]