GA Magazine Editorial Collective

The Spring Issue of GA Magazine is out and available to GA members. In this issue the new Editorial Collective are introduced to readers. I'm really excited that I will be one of the Collective, and I'm very much looking forward to working on the publication.

Below is am extract and my call for great ideas. The GA Magazine should be a hot bed of sharing practice - so if you have something to share it would be great to hear from you! Just ignore the shameful hair do in the picture ;-)

A big hello!
I’m a dad, family member, learner,
geographer, outdoor adventurer, Welshman and
teacher. My enthusiasm for geography was ignited
by growing up in the coal mining valleys of South
Wales. The subject explained the painful process
of industrial decline that my family and friends
lived through. This passion was nurtured by an
excellent teacher during my secondary school
years in Carmarthen. I was hooked, and not only
because of the field trips.
When not cuddling my son, hanging from a
cliff or dodging trees on a mountain bike, I am
Head of Geography at Priory School in
Portsmouth. It’s safe to say that I love my job! The
next most enjoyable thing I do is delivering
professional development through my work either
through the GA’s Secondary Phase Committee or
as a Regional Subject Advisor.
I am active in the wider geographical
community, mainly through the Geography
Collective. I was awarded a 21st Century Learning
Alliance Fellowship to support opportunities for
pupils to explore and influence their own school
spaces. I employ eLearning where appropriate and
some of this work has been filmed for the BBC
and Teachers TV.
Although I don’t like to be behind a desk
much, I have managed to author projects for
Folens and Philip Allan, and am very excited
about being part of the new GA Magazine
editorial team. My aim will be to present the
latest developments in a practical way. If you’ve
got any great ideas, I’d love to hear from you.

Comments

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...

Year 10 need your help! Can we get Twitter and Facebook in to a GCSE project?

I’ve been told that social media has no place in the classroom. Now, this post is not to battle that argument head on. Let’s smash it. This week, Year 10 are visiting Hengistbury Head . They are investigating whether this piece of coastline should be protected. They are wondering what you think? You may know the location well, you may not know it at all. But we’d like to hear from you all the same. This will either result in some usable data and comments, or not. Either way, we'll know and I’m sure that your comments will help spark discussion in class! What would Year 10 like me to do? Just simply comment on this post or tweet me, with an answer to this question: ‘Should Hengistubury Head be protected from the Sea? Just answer Yes or No and give a brief reason. It would also be useful if you could tell us whether you know the area or not. Many thanks in anticipation…… Image – my own.

David Rogers

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