Professionally 2016 has been a very exciting and interesting year. This year includes attending and organising various CPD events, setting up my own educational blog to share/reflect and most importantly moving abroad to live and teach.
TMHistoryIcons 2016
Following conversations with colleagues and teachers online about LinkedIn I thought I would run a quick poll on Twitter to see how the site is used within education. The poll asked teachers if they have a LinkedIn account. 311 people voted. The results were 42 % yes with 58 % saying no, they do not have an account. The poll didn’t go in-depth about usage or interaction but several people commented and responded.
Green screen is often associated with big blockbuster Hollywood films including many of my favourites such as Marvel Avengers and Harry Potter. However, many teachers have been using this engaging and innovative technology in their classrooms, adding a new and exciting dimension to their lessons.
I was first introduced to Squaducation via Twitter, after a suggestion by a fellow History teacher to follow their account and check out their website. When I and three other History teachers came together to organise the first national Teach Meet for History Teachers, #TMHistoryIcons March 2016, we felt
I regularly use apps for teaching and learning. Apps that are quick, simple and easy to use but have an impact in the classroom. WordFoto does that. The app does cost £1.49 but in my opinion it’s a good investment!
I recently presented at the Jumeriah English Speaking School in Dubai, JESS Digital Innovation Summit, where I discussed and shared various WordFoto examples. I wanted to share on my blog different ideas and examples how this app can be used in the classroom across the curriculum. The app allows you to combine a photo with words, using different styles, fonts and features. The image will need to be on your camera roll or there is the option to use the camera in the app. There is a section “Add new word set” and then you add any words of your choice. There is a word limit of ten words. However, the fewer words used the more they will be repeated and visible in the image. I think that too many words can be lost in the image so for more impact input fewer keywords. Words are also limited to twelve characters, as the app states ‘shorter words often look better’. Despite those factors this is a very clever app that can create visually impressive and beautiful typographics.
I recently read an interesting article on the TES online by Alex Quigley, English teacher and Director of Learning and Research, entitled ‘How to plan for and teach tricky vocabulary’. Introducing pupils to new vocabulary takes place in all subjects and as Alex explained it is essential to the success of pupil progression. Grasping subject specific terminology naturally increases vocabulary and provides pupils with a deeper level of subject knowledge and understanding. In the Humanities subjects I teach pupils are regularly introduced to new vocabulary, it is a key feature and skill within the subject. Subject specific vocabulary can often be very challenging for pupils. Difficulties can occur with reading and pronouncing the keywords, which is why modelling is an excellent starting point such as repeating the words for pupils. Also, understanding the terminology in a contextual setting can be a struggle. Alex offers a lot of great advice and strategies. I wanted to share some resources that I have created and used with pupils, across the curriculum and with different key stages, to help expand their vocabulary whilst linking to their subject knowledge and further developing their Literacy skills. All of the resources in this post can be used and adapted for different subjects, as shown with my examples. Keywords within our subject area can also be particularly challenging for both SEN and EAL pupils. A useful strategy with EAL pupils is to encourage them to translate the word, using a dictionary to check if they are already familiar with the term in their first language. I am also working with the EAL department at my College, they offer so much support and have a wealth of experience working with pupils understanding of keywords. I have differentiated the resources to suit the needs of my pupils or seen differentiation by outcome in regards to level of depth, detail and understanding.
In addition to my teaching role I am also a House tutor. I thoroughly enjoy this pastoral role as it provides a great opportunity to build positive relationships with my pupils, not just focusing on the academic elements. Being a tutor allows me to take part in tutor and whole school activities that differ to my teaching role. The start of year is a very important time for teachers to get to know their pupils and as mentioned build those crucial positive relationships. It is also very important for pupils to get to know each other, as well as feeling comfortable and confident in school.
I have recently relocated; teaching History in the United Arab Emirates. However, before my move overseas I taught at Elfed High School in Flintshire North Wales. I also went to school in Flintshire, Castell Alun. I don’t have a Welsh speaking background, as sadly my family and close friends are not Welsh speakers. However, I thoroughly enjoyed learning Welsh second language studying GCSE and A-Level. I then went onto study History at the University of Wales, Aberyswyth a place well known for its strong Welsh speaking community. The ability to speak Welsh was a skill that proved to be a great advantage during my job interview for the position at Elfed High School. Once I secured the job I was able to share my love of the Welsh language with both staff and students. I have also been the UK Ed Ambassador for Wales, hosting #UKEDchat and networking with teachers across Wales online. In 2014 I began the SSAT Lead Practitioner Programme, which I achieved in 2015. I had to focus on an area of whole school development that I could improve and show clear progress and impact. Bilingualism was the obvious choice. An obvious choice as it was one of my strengths but also an area that I recognised needed improvement. Bilingualism can be a very difficult area for schools as a whole to approach. Estyn defines bilingualism as:
There are lots of different versions of Bingo that can be played. Walkabout Bingo is a favourite with my classes and this game encourages students to interact with each other and use/consolidate their subject knowledge.
Walkabout Bingo is a simple yet effective idea for the classroom. To play this game there needs to be a series of boxes, the amount of boxes can vary depending on class size or time dedicated to the activity. In each box there will be a question, focusing on the topic or lesson. In the same box a space to write the answer and underneath, still in the same box, it will say ‘name’. The aim of the game is to have all the boxes filled with correct answers but students must get their answers from other members of the class. They cannot answer the question on their sheet themselves; they can only answer for other people. Also, they can only ask someone a question once – hence the name in the box. So a student will go up to someone in their class, ask them the question, write down their answer and write down the name of the person who told them the answer then find someone else to answer their next question.
On a Friday afternoon I often share teaching resources on Twitter, like many other teachers do, using the hashtag #PedagooFriday. The Zone of Relevance resource generated a lot of interest. I was contacted by teachers asking for further explanation and asking questions, which is understandable as 140 characters can be very limited!
The Zone of Relevance works best with GCSE and A-Level students because it is very useful to complete when preparing and planning an exam answer. However, it can be used with other year groups and across the curriculum. The idea behind this is that students recognise what information is relevant for a specific exam answer and essential to achieve exam marks. It also helps students prioritise information. This task supports students to understand what they should and should not include in their answer. This will highlight what information is irrelevant to that specific question to prevent common mistakes being made.
