Session 46 – Thursday 19th May 2011

Session Title:

Getting them Writing – Focus on Skills and Motivation

Session Summary:

This ukedchat special session was sparked by a twitter conversation which focused on writing skills for pupils, with schemes supporting or hindering development. Secondary colleagues are often reported as noting a gulf in writing skills, with secondary schools having to ensure their pupils catch up with the requirements of education during the build up eventually to GCSE’s.
The session was quite a balanced conversation, with a few schemes really being explored. One notable scheme which was discussed was the Big Writing scheme, developed by Ros Wilson. Various contributors commented how the VCOP philosophy had really helped their pupils, whilst others noted how constricting it all was, and should be taken to work alongside other creative ideas. In fairness, Ros Wilson did earlier tweet that it is about building up the skills of pupils, and letting them go ‘off piste’, with their renewed confidence.
Pie Corbett’s schemes were applauded, although the focus of the conversation did not really go into why they were so engaging, apart from their relationship with reading and stories. A good writing tool ‘A CARP PIE’ was highlighted to help and support pupils, with various links added below in the web list.
A discussion also ensued about the effects of APP within schools. It was claimed that many schools use APP as an objective tool, although it was categorically stated that this was never the intention of APP, with the message received by school leaders being skewed, or mis-read, therefore not being used as intented.
Before the session was concluded, there was a brief conversation about colleagues using writing tasks as a punishment (e.g. lines, letters of apologies etc.) and how this was sending out the wrong message to pupils, that writing is a punishment, and not a pleasurable, liberating experience. This message needs to be pushed through the education field, as we are trying to encourage pupils an enjoyment of the writing process – used as a punishment, it will be bad by association.
A few contributors were given a soap box to stand on at the end, to get their passion for writing across to others. Take a look at the tweets of the week, for the real eye-catching contributions.

Notable Tweets from the Session:

@hilldwellertom1    Agree VCOP can make writing formulaic, esp. when working through L3, but provides children with confidence and skills to write.
@janeconsidine    once upon a time… takes chn to new places, new times to meet new people on their adventures or we squash reading aloud out?
@Educationchat    if any scheme worked for writing then writing wouldn’t be on every Primary Schools’ School Improvement Plan!
@ICTmagic    @colport Luv that Ros Wilson @rosBIGWRITING! Lots of level 5 writers because of her.
Julian3576    @ukedchat: How to improve writing skills for pupils?< Schools should be about providing creative contexts that make pupils want to write.
deerwood    Ye gods, writing! I avoid that where I can as I prefer typing!
@janeconsidine    @genkijen Drama for writing by Paul Bunyan, a very good friend and we do a course called Nine Drama Journeys together
@kvnmcl    My main issue with writing schemes is that they are creating very similar writers all over the country
@mikeatedji     I’d suggest making the writing purposeful – i.e. linked to something that interests the pupils – very often real life
@colport    (4/4) #ukedchat RT @RosBIGWRITING Learn the formula, practise the formula, become creative with the formula, go off piste!
@colport    (3/4) #ukedchat RT @RosBIGWRITING .. &effective style as the child masters the form.Also, most early teaching in most subjects is formulaic.
@colport    (2/4) #ukedchat RT @RosBIGWRITING Please also consider emergent phases of anything leading to stilted practice that settles into natural…
@Creativeedu    I’ve seen e.g.s of children who were ‘scared’ to write but could be motivated if the topic was one they loved #UKEdChat
@john_at_muuua    my issue in secondary is making literacy skills transferable. get past the ‘we don’t do paragraphs in *****’ syndrome #ukedchat
@kvnmcl    @colport I spoke to secondary teachers who say that primary writers all sound the same and use WOW words unnecessarily #ukedchat
@iteachyear4    Writing has to be something that is done for enjoyment. As teachers we need to allow them to write about what they want #ukedchat
@Educationchat    Writing is NOT about using 2 connectives, 3 WOW words and 5 different pieces of punctuation! It’s about purpose!!! #ukedchat
@john_at_muuua    so to that end we created a ‘literacy bookmark’. spells out the skills nicely, and can use in any subject, not just English #ukedchat
@andywhiteway    secondary teacher here. Start with words – stick with words. Find words students like and use them. lots. (within reason!) #ukedchat
@siwels196    #edchat #ukedchat all videos in class need to have captions turned on – ask parents to turn this feature on at home as well
@Joga5    @colport No there are examples in the Support for Writing materials which are brilliant in helping Ts develop ideas and strategies #ukedchat
@Educationchat    This is why I HATE SATs – forces teachers to teach writing as a formula….becomes more important than audience and purpose.  #ukedchat
@Mskinnider    #ukedchat what about the disengaged writers? How do we appeal to them? pupils in my class and not WOWed by WOW words.
@stefras    Neat! RT @siwels196: #edchat #ukedchat disengaged – take all the words out of a comic or graphic novel and have them redo the story
@chezallen    I find it hard to teach pupils to write creatively because it’s not a skill they’ll NEED to use later in life, unlike ‘persuasion’ #ukedchat
@kvnmcl    I do not use writing formulas, I do not use schemes, I do not use VCOP. Yet my class writes well. #ukedchat
@BobToms100    If teachers lack confidence in showing or demonstrating their writing to class, shouldn’t they try to practise more?  #Ukedchat
@Future_Schools    Using Shirley Clarke’s ideas of generating success criteria, peer assessment and visualiser has improved writing in my class #ukedchat
@MrAColley    #ukedchat Use post its to help structure – ideas are malleable and can be moved around without starting again.
@john_at_muuua    @Joga5 our solution kinda just happened, but only just noticed the transformation… kids respecting literate peers. big shift. #ukedchat
@kidnap    I’m convinced reading & writing go together: neither must be a chore. Both must start with the child and the child’s interests. #ukedchat
@rashush2    Lots of practice speaking helps. If you can’t say it, you can’t write it #ukedchat
@andywhiteway    @Future_Schools agree that visualiser can make a huge difference. Pride and confidence increased from having work on it #ukedchat
@Joga5    @colport We always said that the key to success for our materials was to charge for them and the leadership would ensure use! #ukedchat
@cherrylkd    @ianaddison @dughall. #ukedchat its practise for all exams later in life right up to MA when own work is produced.
@kvnmcl    Unfortunately we are playing into the writing APP’s clutches and teachers feel inclined to push writers to meet those targets #ukedchat
@SusanElkinJourn    If we want to unlock the writer in every child we have to teach and develop the use of a wide vocabulary used in original ways. #ukedchat
@MrsPrentice11    children need a real reason to write, too much of what we do in school is contrived #ukedchat
@ColinGoffin    I always find context essential – and creativity. Too many simple ideas designed for criteria used which don’t stimulate students. #ukedchat
@genkijen    #ukedchat . writing is never good enough always needs improvement , why can’t we just say . “that was great”, every now and then

Tweets of the Week:

@genkijen    Writing is never good enough always needs improvement , why can’t we just say . “that was great”, every now and then
@Nicholas3000    Children need pride and praise in their work to want to improve it. Therefore it needs an audience and purpose #ukedchat
@Joga5    Read lots, talk lots and model, model model before giving the children time to write, review and improve #ukedchat
@TheHeadsOffice    Don’t make writing a chore! Let them play with it & enjoy it! It’s the reader who should use ‘wow’!  #ukedchat

Web Links Highlighted:

@Creativeedu – Is it simply writing that is vital or COMMUNICATION saw some fab student work on voicethread today: http://bit.ly/lMt5eu
@MrAColley – Amap is a great tool for structuring written arguments http://is.gd/RCdEdM
@genkijen – @colport  #ukedchat here are some details on a ppt about how to get drama for  writing schemes  http://tinyurl.com/3w7n7uw
@colport    @Nicholas3000 CARP PIE Details http://bit.ly/lgQIqk
@MrAColley    #ukedchat @dwplibrary Have you seen stripgenerator? http://is.gd/tRKxWw
Nicholas3000    A CARP PIE display #ukedchat http://twitpic.com/4zrqmy
@LisaTaner    @iteachyear4 Ours was part of learning about the GCE Send my friend campaign- see here 4 inspiration! http://www.sendmyfriend.org/ #ukedchat
@eduKatescom    At ks3 http://bit.ly/1aDPoA lets chn write drama, screenplays etc in industry standard format – sense of writing ‘for real’ #ukedchat
@tim7168    In case it hasn’t been mentioned…Everybody Writes – great set of resources/inspiration http://bit.ly/ic3m9f #ukedchat

About your host:

Currently teaching Year 2 in a Southport school.

Session 27 – Thursday 6th January 2011 Pretext

“In the current climate should schools be seeking to promote collaborative in-school CPD instead of external courses?”

This is not intended to be an attack on those companies who are lining up to provide a wider range of CPD for schools in the absence of organisations such as the National Strategies, QCDA and BECTA as well as the restriction in budgets for other organisations. It was selected as I am interested in how prepared colleagues are for the new world of education with what knowledge we have of how it will be.
I am not seeking to define which approaches to CPD schools should take or which forms of in school collaborative classroom-based CPD are the most effective however to aid discussion I have provided a series of links to information on different forms of CCCPD.
This is all in the context of the White Paper
Page 73
7.4. Our aim should be to create a school system which is more effectively self-improving. The introduction of new providers to the system, and the ability of parents, teachers and others to establish new schools is an important part of this, in bringing innovation and galvanising others to improve, especially in areas where parents are significantly dissatisfied. It is also important that we design the
system in a way which allows the most effective practice to spread more quickly and the best schools and leaders to take greater responsibility and extend their reach.
7.5 We will:
● Make clear that schools have responsibility for improvement. We will end the approach of trying to control improvement from the centre and make it easier for schools to learn from one another.
● Make sure that every school has access to the support it needs throughNational and Local Leaders of Education, Teaching Schools and leading teachers, or by working in partnership with a strong school.
● Encourage local authorities and schools to bring forward applications to the new Education Endowment Fund – funding for innovative projects to drive school improvement and to raise the attainment of deprived children in underperforming schools – and create a new collaboration incentive.
● Make sure that schools have access to evidence on best practice, high-quality materials and improvement services which they can choose to use.
● Support underperforming schools such as those below the new floor standards, and ensure that those which are seriously failing, or unable to improve their results, are transformed through conversion to Academy status.
Lesson Study
Teachers TV video extract on using lesson study to improve writing.
Improving practice and progression through Lesson Study (Document for Primary school leaders)
Coaching and mentoring
Teachers TVvideo extract on active observation as part of coaching and mentoring in a secondary setting
The difference between coaching and mentoring
Research
The impact of collaborative CPD in the classroom (Research commisioned by the GTC for England)

Evaluating CPD
Thomas Guskey is an American academic who has carried out some highly interesting research into the evaluation of CPD. This article is a good ten minute read
Guskey research

Session 18 – Thursday 21st October 2010

Session Title

How to get ‘behind the times’ schools, ahead…and FAST!

Session Summary

There was a lot of discussion about what behind the times means. Does it mean that the school is generally not innovating? Or is it that they don’t use technology? The point was made that often it is teachers rather than whole schools that are reluctant to change. There was discussion about how to bring these teachers forward and support them in the process of becoming innovative. We looked at things that might involve quick wins to draw the attention of staff.

Notable Tweets

@zoeross19 a chat over tea & biccies works remarkably well with the most reluctant – about nothing to do with tech.
@trees2066 Quick win – Use technologies staff already are comfortable with like Skype within the curriculum:
@stevebob79 quick wins for me (for London teachers) often start with sharing LGfL resources
@chrismayoh Ultimately, if you have the support of SMT & are prepared to work hard & take the odd risk, you can always stay ahead of the game
@trees2066 We’ve tried to start a collection of simple case studies at http://bit.ly/9DI2vv
@didactaylos got to say proper ‘team teaching’ can be a pretty good way of moving people one – right teaming is vital
@preadacomdom Experimentation leads to success, but also failure. But having the confidence to fail always leads to success.
@didactaylos we also live in a culture where experimentation is not in vogue – where keeping in the shoal is safe re targets and Ofsted
@kishtiaq pedagogy, pedagogy, pedagogy not tech, tech, tech!
@drashcasey we need teachers to look ahead and not have to look at their feet to make sure they don’t trip
@dughall Teachers generally buy into learning. If you can show them impact on learners, that often works.
unconsciously incompetent to consciously incompetent to consciously competent to unconsciously competent – this is about CPD
@lisacov19 keeping up to date is about being reflective of where we are & what we are doing, looking at where
@dughall Leadership is *essential* without SMT buy-in, change & movement is nigh on impossible
@chrismayoh It is often untrue true that people don’t have time to do things. It’s that they have chosen not to prioritise them
@drashcasey I don’t believe that ICT means innovation but innovation can use ICT
@didactaylos  have blogged about this – drew analogy with doctors and would we tolerate them not keeping up to date?
@lisacov19 the way to move forward is to utilise all ideas that are available & what better way to share ideas than through multimedia?
@didactaylos do most teahcers come into the job full of idealism and interest and have the system bash it out of them?
@colport I see that teaching is a continuous personal learning journey for me – I owe it to the pupils I teach
@didactaylos you can be very techy and still behind the times, depends how you measure things
@didactaylos I have to constantly change how i do things in my job and stand up and show how I do it. Some teachers have not moved in a decade.
@innerquest perhaps we worship too much at the feet of the god called technology, maybe WE should take a step back?
@icanteach_uk Let’s face it anyone using #ukedchat is clearly ahead of the times – however those ‘not’ on twitter are not necessarily behind the times

Tweet of the Week

@didactaylos  have blogged about this – drew analogy with doctors and would we tolerate them not keeping up to date?

About the Host

I am a primary school teacher at a school in Hampshire. Ex-VLE consultant, current Google teacher and ICT Mark Assessor.

Session 8 Summary – Thursday 12th August

Title of Session:
Strategies to Engage Parents in Schools

Session Summary:
The discussion looked at various ways of engaging with parents within school. This included using technology to communicate with parents through email/SMS etc and using tools such as blogs, websites and VLEs. We also talked about non-tech and face-to-face resources and ideas such as coffee mornings, open days, workshops (or BOATS – bring our adults to school), BBQs, and lots of other inventive ways of engaging with parents.
There were some differences between primary and secondary. Primary have more face-to-face time than secondary do and there were HE and FE who have none at all.

Tweets of Note:
shellbelle21:Within the maths department we invite year 7 parents in for a workshop – show them basic numeracy skills and methods #ukedchat
dawnhallybone:at beg/end of day member of SLT always outside the gates – saying bye/hi and being ‘seen’
simcloughlin:My school has a dedicated parents’ room, which the parents are free to use every morning for coffee, chat etc
dailydenouement:Think in Secondary is actually getting hold of parents & getting them in is issue – not a school gate/home time culture
dawnhallybone:when running courses for parents we run them 3x a day am, afternoon and evening enables as many parents as poss
iteachyear4: Our school is starting a drop in room for parents to come in and have coffee etc. Not sure what staff will be there though
TheHeadsOffice: Parents confidence in thier own ability to engage can really be a barrier!
dailydenouement:Then what about having a cultural exchange day – invite parents in to share food/music/language/crafts from home culture?
shellbelle21: We are just about to create our “Parent Portal” – parents can access child’s h/w, report data etc
katie_hague: VLE was a huge help in interesting parents with child’s work – they got much more involved
TheHeadsOffice: Parents can be dubious about being asked for their views unless they see them in action!
primarypete_: we have end of topic open afternoons where parents are invited to share what the children have been learning / doing
dawnhallybone: learning intentions sheet sent home every week to parents detailing what main LOs in each yr gp – also put on vle
daviderogers: Parental engagement is difficult for us 1300 students. Dept uses SMS, twitter feed and emails to GCSE parents
daviderogers: At 2ry I find picking up the phone for positive conversations with parents is a good starting point
cybraryman1: Right from the start of school you have to develop a relationship with parent & find best way they want to communicate with you
bevevans22: Something we’ve done quite successfully each term is have a ‘join your child for lunch’ day with parent workshops afterwards
Cgeo28: postcards home from the teacher to celebrate good work is simple but effective
dawnhallybone: blogging and vle has enabled parents to be more engaged and see photos and info from trips abroad
JustTeaching: Recently had health morning & invited parents for breakfast followed by activities, simple idea but it worked & feedback was good
simcloughlin: All classes in our school have a file listing parents’ skills & expertise,so new teachers are aware in Sept who they can call upon
dawnhallybone:impt to engage with parents with positive news as equally as negative – if not more
kvnmcl:parental engagement is more than a letter home, a phone call here and there. It has to be meaningful with the parents on board
Mr_Thorne: My website shows parents current #phonics methods & how to support their childs reading at home. mmm not ‘muh’ http://is.gd/dOXNm
cybraryman1: Occasionally have a parent-child joint project. When you invite parent in have light refreshment available, childcare too
LibWithAttitude:Saw great presentation from schl that did ‘Dads & Lads’ writing – no girls allowed,& had chips!
simonhaughton:#ukedchat I blogged from a residential to keep parents informed. Had lots of thanks for doing it – http://is.gd/e7Bra & http://is.gd/e8VVJ
primarypete_: Planning on creating video support for parents explaining maths strats used by the school. Bit like http://www.ictvideohelp.co.uk/
simfin: If u want 2 have a parents esafety sesh -invite them 2 a ‘celebrate ICT across th school’ session. have coffee in hall & esafety!!
amyxxx21: Home-school agreements are another hot topic! They are called that to make it look like it is mutual, but really…
colport: My approach with parents is that I am a professional, but not too different to them, in wanting the best for their child.
carolinebreyley: Our parent/child workshops always get better attendance than parents only. Feedback is that want hands on/practical workshops
ianaddison: one thing that helped us improve workshop attendance was to make it as informal and fun as poss. It can’t be scary!
alee11: We invite parents to join classes for lessons every couple of months, just an hour, normally Maths or English, works well.
SkoorBttaM: we’re looking to run parent workshops at the same time as children’s discos etc, so that they’re at school killing 2 birds….
DavidPott: being tolerant of pre-school siblings when inviting parents in is v important
simonhaughton: I run a weekly parent/child Internet after school internet club (no focus – just explore) & been v. successful
amyxxx21: Often parents who hated school when they were younger, and found it
challening, bring these same negative thoughts as an adult.
stevebunce: combining school play/performance with informal questionnaires- gets parents thro door,then gets more feedback than a posted out 1
JustTeaching: i know a school that calls workshops BOATS – bring our adults to school.
TheHeadsOffice: Policies etc need to be simple & short (A4) if parents are to
engage #ukedchat some of our policies pages long!
dawnhallybone: year 6 children had out prospectus and show new year 3 parents round school also sit in on meeting for q and a
colport:Technology has its use for Parental Engagement, but we need to remember those digitally excluded, for one reason or another
ianaddison: i had a book, each page had a child’s name, wrote down notes when parents came in,
JamiePortman: Get your school a facebook account. Promote events and encourage parents to attend.
Unbelievable amount use it

Tweet of the Week
Impossible to pick one! There were far too many good ideas.

Links Highlighted During the Session

http://bit.ly/FpgFV

http://is.gd/e7C8J

http://wp.me/pGKTV-Bx

http://bit.ly/9RmaEz

http://bit.ly/9leXrB

http://is.gd/e7Bt1

http://is.gd/e7BW5

http://bit.ly/9leXrB

http://is.gd/dOXNm

http://bit.ly/cnJUxs

http://www.ictvideohelp.co.uk/

http://www.engageforeducation.org/

http://bit.ly/aWAoh7

http://bit.ly/a7anV7

About the Host Moderator:

So who am I? My name is Ian Addison and I am a primary school teacher and ICT co-ordinator. From September 2010 I will be responsible for the ICT at St John the Baptist Primary School, Waltham Chase, Hampshire.

Why have I got this blog? I started one in December 2009 on Blogger, but I felt I needed more, so here I am – ianaddison.net

From 2008-2010 I was seconded to work with Hampshire LA training teachers on using our VLE, Studywiz. We have 400+ primary schools in Hampshire using it and sharing content and ideas.

I have been an ICT Mark Assessor since October 2008 and this involves me supporting and assessing schools that have decided to use the Becta Self-Review Framework for ICT.

In July 2010, I attended the Google Teacher Academy in London and I am now a Google Certified Teacher.

If you want to find out more or listen to what I say, feel free to follow me on Twitter: www.twitter.com/ianaddison

Taken from my blog.

Session 6 29th July

 

Session Title

Reflecting on your year what worked/ didn’t work? What will you improve next year?

Summary of discussion

Once again a fast paced talk this time with the focus on Reflecting on the school year what worked/ didn’t work? What will you improve on next year?

The full entry is

http://wp.me/PYldx-1v

Reflections from Interactive Whiteboard ukedchat session

Share one theme/idea you gained from the session this evening

• The discussion about how best to approach training.
• As a teacher trainer I was surprised at the number of negative tweets. Gives me serious food for thought about how to incorporate much more interactivity into my training sessions in future.
• I have preconceptions. Every week they are challenged by ukedchat. This week my powerpoint dislike was shredded (partly). I’m going to go look at some of the links shared, and then share them further.  I’m also going to look back at my lessons this year. Are they as interactive (using the board or otherwise) as they should be?
• How the pupils can be engaged by being drawn to the IWB in order to interact with whatever is presented.
• That there /are/ other people out there who think technology is worthwhile in teaching, and not just a way to spend money!
• Am I using the IWB to its full extent? Trying out new tricks and thinking about it differently.
• Lots – but love the idea of using paintbrushes etc with FS and KS1 on the whiteboard
• Think about the way you incorporate the IWB into your lessons – does it facilitate the learning as well as possible? How could it be made more interactive so that the learning increases?
• Using AR with IWBs.

Let’s Get The Party Started

Original post at ianinsheffield.wordpress.com

Last night on EdTechRoundUp, Doug raised the question of #ukedchat and what people felt they got from it. There were plenty of the moderators there to respond (@colport, @dughall, @janwebb21, @ianaddison), in addition to others who also take part in these weekly Twitter unconferences/discussions. Without wishing to put words in Doug’s mouth, I guess he was asking whether it’s possible to draw value or sense from the cacophony of tweets . . . or whether it’s just like coming into a noisy room where everyone’s talking (shouting?) at once.

I guess I look at it a bit like a party. Being there from the start allows you the chance to acclimatise, perhaps start off a few conversations. If you walk in when it’s underway however, the room can seem incredibly loud and perhaps a little intimidating; difficult to pick out threads from the general hubbub. But then you join a smaller group and chat with them a while, become more comfortable and settle into the ambience. If the conversation in the group isn’t to your taste, or you want to speak with other folk, you politely move on. Maybe you find a group in which the topic is particularly stimulating, so you linger a little longer. Whilst nibbling from the buffet, you might ‘lurk’ on the chat from a group nearby. It’s pretty much the same in #ukedchat – you might lurk for a while, add a contribution, follow those of others, reply to them and follow up replies to yours. A bit less relaxed than a party perhaps and there’s a lot to squeeze into an hour; I know I find it tough:

My Tweet after the session on 15-07-10

It’s certainly a jam packed session, but is all the effort worth it? For me, yes. I’m exposed to issues and standpoints I might not enjoy during a normal working day. And I’m exposed to a discursive form which demands a different approach to the lingering discussion I might otherwise have over a cuppa or a pint. So it challenges me because it’s not my preferred way of working. . . and I like that!