A few weeks ago there were old tape decks were about to be thrown out. So I left them on a bench and in my classroom. Sure enough the students spotted them. They started pushing buttons. Pulling ariels. Making sounds. Turning knobs. This was old technology to them. Curiosity is the most important ingredient in learning... Continue Reading →
Weekly Reflection: Giving voice
Speeches. Just the word is enough to send shivers down the backs of some students and their teachers too. The primary school speech format has changed so little from the time I went to school. Most schools have each child get up in front of their class for 3-4 minutes. The best speakers then are... Continue Reading →
Weekly Reflection: Getting Graded by the Students
Twice a year my school requires that I send a survey out to my students. On one level it's fantastic to get feedback from your learners about what is going well in class and what needs tweaking but on the other there's the ZOMG my students are grading me feeling. Was I too grumpy yesterday... Continue Reading →
Weekly Reflection – Gone Quiet
It's been almost a month between posts. Over the last few weeks of term school production gradually took over my life. By the end of term I could barely think much less write something resembling a coherent blog post. This is not to say that production was all bad. I enjoyed teaching dance, finally got... Continue Reading →
Weekly Reflection: Minecraft, MLEs and Quadblogging! Oh my!
I've become a huge quadblogging fan. For those not in the know quadblogging is when a group of four classes take turns to read and comment on individual blogs. The quad can be international or national. After a few false starts, the quad I've been involved in this year has been nothing short of awesome. I... Continue Reading →
When students start modifying assessment…
I'll freely admit that when using google docs for the formal writing assessment my primary purpose was actually to make my job a teacher a whole lot easier. I loathe marking paper tests with the fire of a thousand suns. No matter how hard I try, I end up swimming in a sea of paper and... Continue Reading →
Weekly Reflection: Take a walk with me
Over the last three weeks my class has been participating in learn to swim lessons put on by our local swimming pool. As with many things like this. It is easy to gripe about disruptions to the classroom programmes in the middle of a busy term. However after the first session realised these three weeks... Continue Reading →
Weekly Reflection: Creating classroom calm – meditation in classroom
During the summer holidays I had the pleasure of visiting the amazing learning space of @sherratsam and his colleague Chad. If you ever get the chance to visit either of these educators, please do. However for those whose PD budget doesn't quite stretch to a visit to international classroom visits, you can visit their blog Time Space... Continue Reading →
Weekly Reflection: Creating space
For someone who loathes interior design with the fire of 1,000 suns I spend way too much time thinking about classroom layout. After my initial move away from student desks, I had another classroom re-configuration at the start of the year when I was the lucky recipient of new classroom furniture. Yet here I am back... Continue Reading →
What are your 11 before 11 #11before11
@matt_odowda recently put out the idea on twitter - What are 11 experiences kids should have in school before they reach the age of 11 that will never forget. While my students have turned 11, I still have 11 magic experiences that I hope the kids won't forget during their time with me at intermediate.... Continue Reading →
Teaching the Teacher 