Learning to be a teacher, one day at a time…
Over the years, student-led conferences have become increasingly popular in schools. Instead of the parents and teachers talking about the child while the child sits at home, the child is there not only to hear the conversation but, in theory, lead it. https://twitter.com/traintheteacher/status/950898620743663616 Yet how often do the children get a choice in: The artifacts... Continue Reading →
Over the last few years, I've committed myself to the same resolution when the calendar changes to January 1. I will go to bed before 11.This is a simple goal and has a noticeable impact on my well-being. Yet here I am mid-January wide awake and typing away on the computer at 11.30 pm. Holidays lull every... Continue Reading →
Using chalk talk and headlines to get to what really matters in cultures of thinking. Gearing up for a deconstructed day. Putting together a broken computer. Painting feelings. The power of video for reflection. The primary/secondary divide. So near... yet so far...
When I started personal blogging back in the early 2000s, I used to bookmark the blogs I enjoyed reading and visited the sites daily to see if they had been updated. It was the digital equivalent of walking down to the store to buy a magazine. Then I found out about RSS feeds - a system which enables you... Continue Reading →
One of the things about teaching in a recently established school is that you have to be flexible. This past year I've been teaching the bulk of my time in one class and then releasing my team leader's Year 3 class while another teacher teaches the first class. I've had a lot of raised eyebrows and... Continue Reading →
This article really resonated with me. At present my class is looking into how forces shape the planet. As I watched excepts from the film Private Universe, I found myself being overly optimistic about the effectiveness of my own teaching. I immediately wondered if the misconceptions highlighted would be so widespread in the southern hemisphere where seasons are seen... Continue Reading →
One of the joys for me as a primary teacher working in an international school is that I have access to the specialist knowledge and resources from having a secondary school on site. When preparing for the current unit of inquiry into forces shaping the planet, I sent an email asking one of the physics... Continue Reading →
Early in my career I had a team leader who had a reputation for being highly critical. Other teachers thought this teacher was hard to work with. My team leader could harpoon an idea at any meeting big or small with a simple question: "Have you thought about..." It was a highly effective strategy. I still... Continue Reading →
One of the things I love about being online is that you can mix and match ideas from people all over the world with your own to develop learning programmes. I have always been enamoured with @sherrattsam bubble catcher I first saw when I visited him Bangkok. When I met up with him again in Ho Chi... Continue Reading →
Language is a powerful tool in education. It can be used to open new ideas and concepts but it can also be used to shut people out of conversations. One of the words that I often find myself hearing in conversation is consistency. We want the children in our schools to exercise consistent behaviour and receive consistent standard of education. “Students... Continue Reading →
Teaching the Teacher 