Tuesday, April 2, 2013
DELTA blues...
So here I am with my DELTA blues...
only 6 or so weeks to go and I have a block that I can't seem to shake off. I need to write around 22,500 words in 12 days and I can't find the motivation I need to get on with it. Timing is very important in module 2 due to the fact that we have to teach two observed lessons before we can write the second part of our R & A assignment (Reflection & Action) so even though that feels like an easier job to be getting on with, I can't as I haven't been observed for the second time :(
Despite promising myself that I will get work done, I get home and feel shattered. A slightly comforting thought however, is that I know I am not the only one. I talk to friends from the same group and they are suffering from the blues, too. It must be a mid-DELTA life crisis!
Module two keeps you on your toes and makes you question each move you make and every word that you write. I looked at my feedback for my previous background assignment and decided to pinpoint all my weaknesses so I wouldn't make the same mistakes in this assignment. So, I do have an action plan. I know what I need to change which is a positive thing although not having the motivation, nope wrong word, the energy to write it up is the problem. I want to pass this so bad and want to be a better teacher.
Advice for module two students; don't stress out about it. I stressed myself out for two days and felt sick to the stomach and so naturally couldn't face up to what I need to know and the second piece of advice would be to keep a blog, I feel like I might be able to close this blog and start correcting my assignment :)
So, why am I here writing about doing something instead of just getting on and doing it? Good question! Answers on a postcard please!
Thursday, March 21, 2013
Samsung tablets in the classroom
In my place of work, we have all been given Samsung tablets (10.1) to use in the classroom. The children that the tablets are being piloted on are around 10-11 years old and are, of course, in love with technology, as am I.
Advantages of the tablet;
-we have an excellent system called Smart School on the tablet. This has been designed for Samsung only as far as I am aware and enables the teacher to prepare a lesson for the students to join into. Once all the students are in, you can see all of their 'boards' on the tablet and everything that they are doing, such as writing or doodling. It also lets you connect to a system called all share cast which connects your tablet to the smart board so all of the students can see whatever is on there. So far for English lessons, we have only really used it for vocabulary lessons and are still exploring other ways we can use it for teaching. You can disable interaction for one, some or all of the student's boards and it also hs a lockdown system where the students boards are paused and a sign comes up saying "Be quiet please!" or any other message you type into it. Great for off-task students.
Disadvantages
Being a piece of technology, it can be temperamental. If the internet goes off for even a split second, it stops the lesson, kicks you and all of the students out of the lesson and you're left with a class full of bewildered, confused students who hit the roof. Also, the students have found ways to disable school screen mode (when they join the student network at school, it only allows them access to whatever the school chooses and their normal screen disappears, stopping them from playing on facebook and playing games). I think these are minor hitches that are more to do with the internet server at work and they are looking into them as I write.
Overall outcome
This needs "to be continued" as I am curious about how it will play out in the long run. Will the students get tired of this expensive piece of technology? Will we? Will they hack the system no matter what and be able to get out of school screen mode? And will we find a decent course book that we can use on this £450 tablet? ....
DELTA
The beloved DELTA... so many covet it and so many fail it.
At the moment, I am in the middle of module two and it will probably be the reason I don't get to write much again! the only reason I decided to write is that I looked high and low for something on the DELTA but it seems others are reluctant to share their experience and knowledge.
I have wanted to do the DELTA for years but there was always some reason that I never got to do it, be it time, money or both. Now I am back in Istanbul (have been since June 2012), I knew it was time to pick myself up from the module one exam fail letter floor and start again.
I attended the module one course at ITI - aka International Training Institute - but decided not to take the exam for the second time as I knew I would get the results during the second module and another fail letter probably would have put me off altogether, plus I felt that the more knowledge I gained in the second module would all contribute to the exam I am to take in June. There still is the issue of Cambridge expects you to answer things in certain ways but at least now I know more than I did three months ago (I hope I do anyway!)
Back to module 2 -I'm preparing for my second assessed lesson at the moment (same institution) and as I type that I am wondering why I am sitting here writing this instead..I guess my brain has had enough of tone units and learner problems for one evening. Finding time to concentrate on the focus I have chosen is difficult as I need a fresh mind and I am one of those people that prefers to study for long blocks of time, say for three or four hours on the trot, and I have dealt with a lot of learner problems at work already today, that's why I thought taking up my blog again would be a good idea, and now there is a mobile app too, I can blog to my hearts content :)
If you are debating doing module two, make sure you have done module one first, it is a good way of getting back on the knowledge horse even if you don't take the exam right away. Please don't expect it to be easy, and make sure you have the commitment to see it through to the end, it is stressful but I know it's going to be worth it in the end.
I am doing the DELTA for better career prospects but I am also doing it for me in the sense that I want to be a better teacher, not just earn more money as much of a bonus as that will be in the long run. Don't let your place of work pressure you into it if you are not 100% up for doing it..it could end in tears.
Well, I think that's enough for tonight and hopefully this time, this blog will stay alive. Well, it will if someone is reading it :)
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Resources...to ICT or not to ICT...
Resources, resources, resources...endless, limitless, infinite resources. How nany resources can a teacher have and can a teacher have too many resources?
The thing I admit to struggling with the most are most definitely resources. The first question is Which one? Then How many? Then In what order....the list never ends. But the biggie is for sure...How many ICT resources do I use?
ICT resources can be split into two categries...one being the resources we get from the Internet, the other being the ICT resources we produce or use with the students.
I like to browse the net for ideas on what I can do with the children as an activity but I seem to spend to much time on actually looking and browsing than actually planning. This is a problem with the WWW. It can give us too much to look on and when one idea is better than the next!
Teachers spend a lot of time planning as well as assessing and marking and all the lovely time spent outside of the classroom. It`s not to say that tine is a waste of time, on the contrary we need that time to know what were doing inside the classroom but people often forget what work we drag home and God help the spouse and children of the teacher!
I think we should search for a limited amount of time and spend more time on the content of the lesson. We should also be able to define what we are looking for in the first place. Teachers look for resources to save time then spend hours googling the topic itself! We need to look for specific tags on Google rather than trawl through thousands of pages.
ICT is a necessity in the classroom in this day of age where technology is the source of our lifestyles. So how much needs to be used in the classroom???
We have a wide range of Smartboards, projectors, laptops, media and internet access in schools today yet some teachers never seem to be able to use them or don`t want to use them. The answer to this lies in the teacher. Some go with the old school manner, which is not to use ICT too much probably stemming from the lack of knowledge and ability to handle it themselves.
Other overuse ICT (if thats possible!) and do every songle thing on technology.
Personally I try to take a mix of old school, good old pen and paper, and ICT resources. I would like to use ICT more than I do at present but with all the paperwork needed I cant spend my entire life planning when not in the classroom!
So how do I achieve ICT based lessons in short and simple planning sessions?
Ive yet to find the answer myself so if you know, let me know!
The thing I admit to struggling with the most are most definitely resources. The first question is Which one? Then How many? Then In what order....the list never ends. But the biggie is for sure...How many ICT resources do I use?
ICT resources can be split into two categries...one being the resources we get from the Internet, the other being the ICT resources we produce or use with the students.
I like to browse the net for ideas on what I can do with the children as an activity but I seem to spend to much time on actually looking and browsing than actually planning. This is a problem with the WWW. It can give us too much to look on and when one idea is better than the next!
Teachers spend a lot of time planning as well as assessing and marking and all the lovely time spent outside of the classroom. It`s not to say that tine is a waste of time, on the contrary we need that time to know what were doing inside the classroom but people often forget what work we drag home and God help the spouse and children of the teacher!
I think we should search for a limited amount of time and spend more time on the content of the lesson. We should also be able to define what we are looking for in the first place. Teachers look for resources to save time then spend hours googling the topic itself! We need to look for specific tags on Google rather than trawl through thousands of pages.
ICT is a necessity in the classroom in this day of age where technology is the source of our lifestyles. So how much needs to be used in the classroom???
We have a wide range of Smartboards, projectors, laptops, media and internet access in schools today yet some teachers never seem to be able to use them or don`t want to use them. The answer to this lies in the teacher. Some go with the old school manner, which is not to use ICT too much probably stemming from the lack of knowledge and ability to handle it themselves.
Other overuse ICT (if thats possible!) and do every songle thing on technology.
Personally I try to take a mix of old school, good old pen and paper, and ICT resources. I would like to use ICT more than I do at present but with all the paperwork needed I cant spend my entire life planning when not in the classroom!
So how do I achieve ICT based lessons in short and simple planning sessions?
Ive yet to find the answer myself so if you know, let me know!
Friday, May 22, 2009
Behavioural problems
Is the term "behavioural problems" politically correct? These days we worry so much about what the correct term for things are that we have lost sight of what the actual issue is!
Behaviour is a concern at all ages in all countries around the world...however some issues I have been facing are not at all in the norm. I can`t see how a child throwing bins all over the place and shouting abuse at all and sundry, including the teacher can be a typical behavioural issue.
Clearly in the home life of this one particular student, things are not as they should be and the upbringing of the child is far from healthy. We worry about what children eat, whether or not they can read or write and if they can count up to ten, but we are missing the `big picture`. The one that tells us regardless of the capabilites of this child, what kind of a person will they grow up to be if they are behaving in this way.
If he can count to ten, will he be counting the number of people he has hurt in the past week?
If he can read, will he be reading the statement the police want him to sign after committing a crime?
If he can write, will he emailing loved ones from the inside of a prison?
Our job as teachers have countless aspects and the one that concerns me here, is what will this child be doing when hes older? I look at the 10 year old face that can grin from cheek to cheek with dimples and look so happy at times. But then does a Jekyll and Hyde and turns into this monster who throws chairs at his friends?
~More should be done to resolve the anger and frustration he has inside him. A teacher needs back up in this situation and it cannot be handled alone. Heaven knows how much I`ve tried! The numerous reward systems, target setting, extra attention, planned ignoring, detentions, certificates, phone calls home, exclusions and praise.
What more can be done? What other ideas can I try? I spend a lot of time searching for the answer to this child but sometimes stop and feel helpless. No matter what is done, it is never enough. Just when you think you have him in the palm of your hand, a bin goes flying.
You could judge me...you could say I don`t do enough...but that would not be true...I could you write you a very long list of all the methods and approaches that have been trialled.
But believe me, I am not the only one who has tried or is trying with this child...
The parents cannot be bothered to keep an important appointment with the school to help their child be a better learner and to become a better person...
Yet I refuse to stand down. To be defeaten. To be crushed by a bin...a little humour goes a long way in our line of work.
Is the government so busy focusing on the initial educational matters such as points, levels and grades that they have forgotten these children are little people tghat will one day be the future of the city, the country and the world.
And who knows how many of you there are in the world who has a child in their class like mine!
Behaviour is a concern at all ages in all countries around the world...however some issues I have been facing are not at all in the norm. I can`t see how a child throwing bins all over the place and shouting abuse at all and sundry, including the teacher can be a typical behavioural issue.
Clearly in the home life of this one particular student, things are not as they should be and the upbringing of the child is far from healthy. We worry about what children eat, whether or not they can read or write and if they can count up to ten, but we are missing the `big picture`. The one that tells us regardless of the capabilites of this child, what kind of a person will they grow up to be if they are behaving in this way.
If he can count to ten, will he be counting the number of people he has hurt in the past week?
If he can read, will he be reading the statement the police want him to sign after committing a crime?
If he can write, will he emailing loved ones from the inside of a prison?
Our job as teachers have countless aspects and the one that concerns me here, is what will this child be doing when hes older? I look at the 10 year old face that can grin from cheek to cheek with dimples and look so happy at times. But then does a Jekyll and Hyde and turns into this monster who throws chairs at his friends?
~More should be done to resolve the anger and frustration he has inside him. A teacher needs back up in this situation and it cannot be handled alone. Heaven knows how much I`ve tried! The numerous reward systems, target setting, extra attention, planned ignoring, detentions, certificates, phone calls home, exclusions and praise.
What more can be done? What other ideas can I try? I spend a lot of time searching for the answer to this child but sometimes stop and feel helpless. No matter what is done, it is never enough. Just when you think you have him in the palm of your hand, a bin goes flying.
You could judge me...you could say I don`t do enough...but that would not be true...I could you write you a very long list of all the methods and approaches that have been trialled.
But believe me, I am not the only one who has tried or is trying with this child...
The parents cannot be bothered to keep an important appointment with the school to help their child be a better learner and to become a better person...
Yet I refuse to stand down. To be defeaten. To be crushed by a bin...a little humour goes a long way in our line of work.
Is the government so busy focusing on the initial educational matters such as points, levels and grades that they have forgotten these children are little people tghat will one day be the future of the city, the country and the world.
And who knows how many of you there are in the world who has a child in their class like mine!
Friday, September 19, 2008
ah..paper, paper, paper...
Paper..we go on and on about recycling yet all the paperwork that teachers do is incredible!
I seem to be swamped by paper at the moment and there's no end in sight!
Why do we do so much paperwork anyway?
I think we'd all be better off focusing on the paper we use for the children in the lessons than all the writing we do for OFSTED!
I can understand some of the things but in this day of age...it's a bit too much paper for my own liking! I do believe in recycling and the school I work at does a lot of recycling, however depite many attempts to cut down it seems imnpossible.
In the age of technology, we as teachers. can`t get away from printing out things. For some reason, printing things makes them real and lets us know that we have done what is expected of us.
So why do we use so much paper? PLans, worksheets, assessments, books the children use, passing on information to other colleagues and managment, note taking, observations...the list is endless.
But we need to make sure the paper we do use is recycled and that we dont use paper we DONT need to use!
The End
I seem to be swamped by paper at the moment and there's no end in sight!
Why do we do so much paperwork anyway?
I think we'd all be better off focusing on the paper we use for the children in the lessons than all the writing we do for OFSTED!
I can understand some of the things but in this day of age...it's a bit too much paper for my own liking! I do believe in recycling and the school I work at does a lot of recycling, however depite many attempts to cut down it seems imnpossible.
In the age of technology, we as teachers. can`t get away from printing out things. For some reason, printing things makes them real and lets us know that we have done what is expected of us.
So why do we use so much paper? PLans, worksheets, assessments, books the children use, passing on information to other colleagues and managment, note taking, observations...the list is endless.
But we need to make sure the paper we do use is recycled and that we dont use paper we DONT need to use!
The End
Monday, June 2, 2008
What are Special Educational Needs (SEN)
SEN...stands for Special Educational Needs...but what is meant by that?
If you have a class full of children, are they not all special? Do they not all have a need? Of course they do. But maybe we could base most of their needs on the styles of learning...for example, whether they are Kinesthetic, Visual, Audial and so on...
We could look at Howard Gardener's multiple intelligences list and take some idea from there...We could take the test or get the children to take it in some form of lesson to find out..
The Multiple Intelligences;
1)Bodily-Kinesthetic
2)Interpersonal
3)Verbal - Linguistic
4)Logical - Mathematical
5)Naturalistic
6)Intrapersonal
7)Spatial
8)Musical
But would that be enough to take into account when teaching in the classroom?
The reason I ask this question is due to over four weeks of work with an SEN class. They are a split level class which made the task even harder. Some of them are Year 1and the others are Year 2, which makes them between five and seven years old. The class consists of a wide variety of children...but we must not forget that they are all children!
I was anxious at the beginnng, on the first day I met the class..I am a supply teacher at the moment and so come face to face with many different ages, classes, learning styles, motivations, family problems, lifestyles and many more differences...but this class worried me, yet at the same time, inspired me.
It was a challenge and I like to take on challenges. Some of them can't write one word, others can but don't want to and some of them are so busy running out of the classroom that they're not even participating!
These children were definitley what could be defined as SEN children...after spending a day with them, where the current teacher seemed to wonder when I was going to bolt out of the door, the school asked me if I would like to work with them for a few weeks, as their teacher was having to cover for another class which had SAT exams(UK) coming up and their teacher was off sick...
I took it up right away...in their little faces I saw children who wanted to learn and really needed to in order to achieve their targets to go back into their mainstream class and had been disrupted.
I went home in two minds; half of me was thinking 'Oh God, what have I done?'; and the other half was patting me on the back for the acceptance of the challenge. I was going to teach them something even if it killed me! (Literally!!)
After just over a week I had to research and prepare, I went into the class with my usual manner...but knew I would have to change some of that if I were to succeed with them...I got background information from the extremely helpful staff and started my first day...
Over time, I managed to hold down some discipline..I got them to make their own rules for the classroom and we devised a chart system for the 'right' and 'wrong' behaviour.
It worked from the day we did it. They decided that if a student ran out of class, therefore disrupting their lessons as the TA had to run after them, they would have to attend lunchtime detentions. No sooner had we agreed when one of them ran out in the next lesson!
But he then happily trotted off to five minutes detention at lunchtime...and over the next few weeks, never did it again! Success one!
They had a break by the name of active play; it was the last break of the day for the KS1 students.
KS1 means Keystage One and is the system used in the UK, part of the National Curriculum. This Keystage is for students in Years One and Two, of ages from 5 to 7.
We decided that active play was not a right, it was a privilege! And as all teachers will know...take away their breaks to drive them crazy!
So if they had too many crosses on the chart and not enough ticks to cancel out the crosses, they had to stay in that break and do some work...they soon caught on and by the end of the first week, they were all out in active play! Success two!
Of course these are discipline matters that can be used and should be used in every classroom all over the world. If there is no system and no discipline, there can be no education.
We all abide by rules and laws, and if they learn to abide by some at this young age, maybe there's more of a chance they will do the same when they are older. All of this boils down to classroom management...without it, a teacher is doomed not to teach!
After helping them to follow the rules, learn how to line up (that's another blog!), how to listen and so on...basically how to behave in a classroom, playground and lay the basics for how to behave in society..we then got on to the big stuff..actual learning!
Now here is where I have to specify a few SEN in the class...ADHD and Dyslexia seemed to be the main ones but there were many more undiagnosed problems which needed to be dealt with one-on-one..hence the original formation of this class.
They needed small group learning integrated with class learning. They needed to be broken down into groups for some subjects and needed individual time for others. They also needed to feel they were part of a class, as well as an individual.
So, the learning process was a slow one and of course, miracles do happen, however I had limited time with them and so tried to get what I could and give what I could. I pushed them foward and they sometimes grew tired, but it was more constructive than play.
Play became a reward for those who completed their work. So, the harder they tried to finish it, the earlier they could go and play, and the dispatch of children whose progress was faster, left me and the TA more time to deal with those who needed one-on-one.
It was hard work for everyone involved but I feel deeply that I got somewhere with them. Children who didn't want to come to class started to get in line in the morning without hassle, they also stopped running out the room resulting in no detentions on that matter.
There are many more things that I need to talk about on this subject but for now I'm going to close, leaving you with the first thought...DISCIPLINE COMES FIRST
If you have a class full of children, are they not all special? Do they not all have a need? Of course they do. But maybe we could base most of their needs on the styles of learning...for example, whether they are Kinesthetic, Visual, Audial and so on...
We could look at Howard Gardener's multiple intelligences list and take some idea from there...We could take the test or get the children to take it in some form of lesson to find out..
The Multiple Intelligences;
1)Bodily-Kinesthetic
2)Interpersonal
3)Verbal - Linguistic
4)Logical - Mathematical
5)Naturalistic
6)Intrapersonal
7)Spatial
8)Musical
But would that be enough to take into account when teaching in the classroom?
The reason I ask this question is due to over four weeks of work with an SEN class. They are a split level class which made the task even harder. Some of them are Year 1and the others are Year 2, which makes them between five and seven years old. The class consists of a wide variety of children...but we must not forget that they are all children!
I was anxious at the beginnng, on the first day I met the class..I am a supply teacher at the moment and so come face to face with many different ages, classes, learning styles, motivations, family problems, lifestyles and many more differences...but this class worried me, yet at the same time, inspired me.
It was a challenge and I like to take on challenges. Some of them can't write one word, others can but don't want to and some of them are so busy running out of the classroom that they're not even participating!
These children were definitley what could be defined as SEN children...after spending a day with them, where the current teacher seemed to wonder when I was going to bolt out of the door, the school asked me if I would like to work with them for a few weeks, as their teacher was having to cover for another class which had SAT exams(UK) coming up and their teacher was off sick...
I took it up right away...in their little faces I saw children who wanted to learn and really needed to in order to achieve their targets to go back into their mainstream class and had been disrupted.
I went home in two minds; half of me was thinking 'Oh God, what have I done?'; and the other half was patting me on the back for the acceptance of the challenge. I was going to teach them something even if it killed me! (Literally!!)
After just over a week I had to research and prepare, I went into the class with my usual manner...but knew I would have to change some of that if I were to succeed with them...I got background information from the extremely helpful staff and started my first day...
Over time, I managed to hold down some discipline..I got them to make their own rules for the classroom and we devised a chart system for the 'right' and 'wrong' behaviour.
It worked from the day we did it. They decided that if a student ran out of class, therefore disrupting their lessons as the TA had to run after them, they would have to attend lunchtime detentions. No sooner had we agreed when one of them ran out in the next lesson!
But he then happily trotted off to five minutes detention at lunchtime...and over the next few weeks, never did it again! Success one!
They had a break by the name of active play; it was the last break of the day for the KS1 students.
KS1 means Keystage One and is the system used in the UK, part of the National Curriculum. This Keystage is for students in Years One and Two, of ages from 5 to 7.
We decided that active play was not a right, it was a privilege! And as all teachers will know...take away their breaks to drive them crazy!
So if they had too many crosses on the chart and not enough ticks to cancel out the crosses, they had to stay in that break and do some work...they soon caught on and by the end of the first week, they were all out in active play! Success two!
Of course these are discipline matters that can be used and should be used in every classroom all over the world. If there is no system and no discipline, there can be no education.
We all abide by rules and laws, and if they learn to abide by some at this young age, maybe there's more of a chance they will do the same when they are older. All of this boils down to classroom management...without it, a teacher is doomed not to teach!
After helping them to follow the rules, learn how to line up (that's another blog!), how to listen and so on...basically how to behave in a classroom, playground and lay the basics for how to behave in society..we then got on to the big stuff..actual learning!
Now here is where I have to specify a few SEN in the class...ADHD and Dyslexia seemed to be the main ones but there were many more undiagnosed problems which needed to be dealt with one-on-one..hence the original formation of this class.
They needed small group learning integrated with class learning. They needed to be broken down into groups for some subjects and needed individual time for others. They also needed to feel they were part of a class, as well as an individual.
So, the learning process was a slow one and of course, miracles do happen, however I had limited time with them and so tried to get what I could and give what I could. I pushed them foward and they sometimes grew tired, but it was more constructive than play.
Play became a reward for those who completed their work. So, the harder they tried to finish it, the earlier they could go and play, and the dispatch of children whose progress was faster, left me and the TA more time to deal with those who needed one-on-one.
It was hard work for everyone involved but I feel deeply that I got somewhere with them. Children who didn't want to come to class started to get in line in the morning without hassle, they also stopped running out the room resulting in no detentions on that matter.
There are many more things that I need to talk about on this subject but for now I'm going to close, leaving you with the first thought...DISCIPLINE COMES FIRST
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