Inovative Teachers Forum 2009

A return to the classroom today after a mega event: the Partners in Learning UK Innovative Teachers Forum.

The event brought together like minded teachers and other professionals who have a love of learning. I was also impressed to see some students in one of the workshops. I was there to talk about my Pirates and Social Networking. There was a lot of interest in the project. I wish to clarify though, that the project is not about invading the social network that learners inhabit. Instead, the project uses a teachers Personal Learning Network as a model and data collection tool.

The conference also had plenty of time to network. This is what a lot of similar events lack, instead relying on an almost relentless procession of keynotes and workshops. I really enjoyed having the time to reflect upon the workshops and conversations with others. This time to ponder means that it is more likely that ideas will be integrated into our Geography curriculum.

There is a real buzz back at school today, with some members of staff asking me how they can get involved next year. I hope that my school can replicate Saltash.net in the future who had 4 winners at the conference. This has really made eLearning and innovation take the spotlight.

John Davitt provided the conference keynote. It's the first time I have come across John, and I thought his style of presentation was excellent. His point that 'stress stops learning' is very true - how many times do we create stress in our classrooms? John made a very good point when he said that both shopping and entrainment are streets ahead of education in providing formative feedback and innovative assessment.

I was also lucky enough to meet a wide range of people. What they all have in common is that they are dedicated to improving learning. However, they are all happy to share; are not precious about their resources and don't take themselves too seriously. This attitude lends itself well to successful collaboration. One of the barriers of greater collaboration, in my view, is that some experts are often seen as being in an elite band of educators. There was little evidence of this during the Forum, something that was very refreshing.

The final part of the day saw the 14 winning teachers receive a rather nifty trophy. I got up to the sounds of 'American Woman'. Finally, I was stunned and very happy to be one of the four projects to be selected to attend the European Forum in March 2010. The other three projects were:

•Simon Horleston (Howe Dell Primary School) EcoVids
•Amy Lewis (saltash.net community school) Heroes
•Jan Webb (Weston Village Primary School) A classroom without walls

All of the projects on display were excellent, and I have a number of ideas and new technologies to try out over the next few months. I'm particularly looking forward to having another opportunity to network, this time with teachers from across Europe.

I really am surprised, as I still don't consider the project to be that innovative. Having said that, many people yesterday were starting to change my mind.

And for the record, there was no talk of fancy dress at all. Apart from the Saltash.net crowd that promised something special.

One nagging thought did stay with me through the day: aren't these conferences and events just preaching to the converted? How do we reach those teachers, schools and classes that chose not to engage? I think that celebrating the achievements of teachers and pupils on the national stage is one way to do this. Do you have any ideas?

High Impact, Low effort

This month is the start of the #29daysofwriting challenge. I enjoyed this last year and will be using my Staffrm account to post. I'll also be reporting here, both to give a little more detail and to keep a log of what I have written. The challenge developed a great sense of community last year, which is why I'm choosing to write on Staffrm. What I would say to those who are new to writing or don't want to run out of ideas is: Write for yourself. Clarify an idea, write something out loud. The process of distilling thoughts into writing is immensely beneficial to your practice. If other read, comment and respond, that's a bonus. Ignore the muppets who know nothing of your context, style or students. Mix it up - I like to read about real stuff from real classrooms and schools and also about other stuff. If we always write about school, how does that work for workload? If you've nothing nice to say, don't say it. So, the following has been ...

What makes a learning experience profound? Personal reflections and possible implications for classroom practice.

I have recently begun a Leadership Pathways journey. As part of the first core day, we were asked to reflect on a profound learning experience. This got me thinking about how many profound learning experiences I have both been involved in, and how many I have been able to give to others. Our group came up with a huge long list, but these are my five. Emotional Connected Demanding Reflective Collaborative As always, these are personal thoughts and quite mixed up. I put them here so that I can look back on them (plus they’d get lost inside my world-cup-free brain) 1. Emotional I can’t think of a time where deep learning hasn’t engaged my emotions. From being awe inspired to that tingle feeling when a student gets a light bulb moment. From this-is-the-happiest-day-ever, to I-think-I’m-about-to die. How often do we engage the emotions of those we teach? Here, I would argue that having a safe learning environment i...

Banned Word Board

Today I want to share some simple ideas that I have found to be very effective in the classroom. I can't say that they are my own original ideas, although I have played around with them. The first is the Banned word Board. This is a simple display in the classroom that lists a number of words that are not allowed to be used by pupils in their written or oral answers. The effect has been an increase in the quality of written work, and I have almost made comments such as 'Sir it's simple, the stuff just affects the thing and causes people problems'. Pupils are now more able to use specific language, something that is vital especially at GCSE. I have had to make a few modifications, such as the introduction of 'Heavenly Words' This is an additional display placed on the ceiling. I found this necessary as pupils needed some stimulus in finding replacement words. After advice received after posting the idea on the SLN forum , I have also introduced semi-banned words...

David Rogers

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