Saturday, 20 June 2009

Welcome to Welling School Maths Team





























Welcome to Welling School Maths Department and our first posting on Post-it. We would like to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves to the whole school staff. So, here's the 'Who's who of the Maths Department':

Mr Tongue
Head of Maths Faculty
Form Tutor of: 7 Maple
Room: E131
Favourite film: Gladiator
I enjoy teaching Investigations as they bring out pupils' thinking skills and allows them to express themselves mathematically.

Clare Read
Second in Department (Maths)
E35
9 Beech
I enjoy teaching very able students because they want to know 'why?'
Favourite film: Lord of the Rings

Gareth Shadick
Maths KS4 subject leader
Room E139
Tutor of 7 Holly
Favourite film - Shawshank Redemption
I particularly enjoy teaching geometry topics becauseof the opportunities it offers for pupils to discover mathematical rules for themselves.

Mrs. Temi Ogunlana

KS3 coordinator (Maths)
Tutor:9 Poplar
I enjoy seating students in groups because:
It makes it easier to manage resources
I help at least 4 students at a time
I can get round the class more easily and in less time.
Finally I am more likely to do group activities and class discussions if the students are already in groups at the start of the lesson.
Best film: Gladiator

Alison Jolliffe
Maths Teacher

Tutor of 8 Cedar
My room is E132
I enjoy teaching young people skills that they will find useful in life, such as how to work out the tip and split a bill at a restaurant, or how to convert between currencies when they are on holiday.
My favourite film is Moulin Rouge!

Miss M Stegnjaic
Maths Teacher

E138
I enjoy teaching KS3 because they love interactive colorful resources, respond well to rewards and sanctions and are very optimistic learners.
Favourite film: 'Pulp Fiction'

Mr David McGregor
Maths teacher

E133
I enjoy teaching 'switched on' year 7 students, because they enjoy learning, absorb information quickly and bring vitality into the classroom.
Favourite film: 'One Flew Over the Cookoos Nest'

Wednesday, 17 June 2009

Building a Professional Virtual Learning Community through Post-it

Thank you for attending and participating in today's CPD Twilight training on Building a professional Learning Community through Post-it. All of the resources have been posted below for reference and I would be very grateful if you would kindly click on the CPD poll which can be found on the right hand side of the blog to register your interest in using Post-it'. Thank you. If you are interested in setting-up a bespoke departmental blog for students and or staff, please let me know so that I can schedule some further training in the Autumn Term.



Tuesday, 9 June 2009

Excellent online Learning and Teaching tools that are GREAT FUN!

















I have been searching out some brilliant online education gadgets/tools for you to use in the classroom, and for those of you who are active bloggers, these can be embedded in your departmental sites. 

Flipcards
This is a great 'starter' or 'plenary' for any year group and a super way to test learning, knowledge and to revise topics or vocabulary. Create your own flipcards and even get the students to create them and test each other!

Click here to start: 

Wordles
Have fun with language and create subject Wordles - beautiful word clouds. This is a great revision aid or a way of consolidating learning on a topic, theme. Great fun!
Click here to play:

Wordle: math-6jf
Wordle: dt

Glogster
This is an amazing tool to create totally interactive posters using sound, video, imagery, text, graphics and data. Students love making glogs and they are a brilliant way of bringing topics to life! Students can use original photos and videos, or existing images and film clips. This dynamic and creative tool can animate your curriculum and really engage students with subjects. What's more - it's FREE! 
Get started here:



If you find any great online tools that you would like to share with staff, please leave a link in comments or e-mail me with the link for me to embed here: mooren@welling.bexley.sch.uk

Monday, 11 May 2009

ALT Assessment for Learning Team - Proposal


















“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress. Working together is success.”
Henry Ford

“Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishments toward organisational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results.”


After much deliberation and discussion about DELPE, and research into the work of Dylan William, the ALT Assessment for Learning Team have developed a proposed framework that is both innovative and sustainable to make AfL a dynamic, meaningful and central focus of Learning and Teaching at Welling School. We endeavour to:

  • open dialogue about Afl across the school
  • to use and showcase good practice to illustrate the benefits of Assessment for Learning via this virtual forum
  • provide regular opportunities to reflect, review and evaluate AfL at a variety of levels, and support staff in acquiring new skills and embedding AfL models through regular training and CPD opportunities.
  • We aim to move away from a deeply prescriptive style of working and use our collective strengths both within and beyond ALT, to make AfL a flexible set of ideas, a framework and indeed policy document that can be personalised and customised within each department to meet the needs of the curriculum and key stages in each subject, while adhering to the principles and good practice of Assessment for Learning in order to support achievement, continuity and meaningful progression.

"Assessment for Learning is all about informing learners of their progress to empower them to take the necessary action to improve their performance".

AFL Proposal - First Draft:
  • To undertake a whole school AFL curriculum audit / SWOT Analysis to ID strengths, areas for improvement, CPD need.
  • For members of ALT to lead a half-termly 'AFL' Clinic at lunchtime with a representative/s from each department present to discuss and explore models, techniques and ways in which AfL can be developed with cross-curricular links being forged.
  • To dedicate space on 'Post-it' for staff to engage in a dialogue about AfL and to showcase best practice through podcast interviews with staff; 5 minute films of staff and pupils engaged in AfL; links and access to TV programmes and resources.
  • ALT members taking a lead with AST's on training for PGCE, NQT and GTP staff , as well as support staff to ensure that AfL is 'cross-fertilising' at every level.
  • ALT and AST's to lead an 'AfL' Working group (made-up of any interested parties) which will meet half-termly to discuss developments in AfL, good practice at Welling and undertake active research that can be disseminated on the blog.
Implications for Departments:
  • Each HOD will be asked to work with their team in interpreting the AfL policy and developing a departmental policy that enables them to embed good practice in AfL. This should be published and reviewed at intervals throughout the year.
  • ALT will devise an A4 Tick Sheet/Leaflet and supporting AFL Pack outlining a variety of AfL models that can be employed and utilised within all subjects ranging from peer assessment; formative and summative feedback; traffic light systems; open questioning; DELPE; self assessment etc. and each HOD will be required to half-termly QA techniques employed, and the inherent strengths and areas for improvement within the department. ALT/AST's will then QA HOD and support through half-termly clinics, CPD for staff, lesson observations and blog content.
  • AfL will be required to feature as an agenda item at all department meetings with HOD encouraged to use time in each meeting to invite colleagues to bring examples and best practice to the table for discussion, celebration and evaluation. This process could then provide 'Top Tips' and resources to share on the blog.
  • Each HOD undertakes a piece of departmental research in September 09 - an audit asking each subject team to reflect upon and evaluate their skills, knowledge and confidence with AFL. An example of this can be found in the following document that we can adapt and personalise for Welling School
  • http://www.itslifejimbutnotasweknowit.org.uk/files/AssessmentforLearning.pdf

What about the children? Some other Food for thought:


Whilst the focus here is on driving AFL through staff training, QA and dissemination of best practice, it is important that there is joined-up thinking, and that the children at Welling School from Years 7 to 13 are actively engaged with exploring their 'Learning journeys' and empowered to access meaningful resources to assist them in assessing their learning and monitoring their progress. I would like to propose that ALT working with curriculum teams, HOD, pastoral leaders and SLT develop a framework of resources to enable children better understand how they learn and to reflect upon learning, progress and achievement. Here are a few ideas:

  1. Each key stage has a 'Passport for Success' leaflet or section in their planner which includes a 'plotting' matrix where they can identify progress accross their subjects through the + - o system (this can be used through pastoral and academic pathways stimulating discussion, feedback and meaningful exploration of engagement with learning); Study skills advice with useful links to resources to support students including a link to (guess what?) a dedicated 'Learning to Learn' blog for Welling students.
  2. The development of a set of whole school postcards to celebrate 'learning' be distributed to students making progress through pastoral and curriculum routes. This could be supported with a series of collectable badges to be given out at assemblies to again celebrate 'learning'.
  3. A dedicated Noticeboard to celebrate 'learning' at Welling School complimented by a series of posters.
  4. Family 'learning' days/mornings for KS3/4 students to embed a positive attitude to learning and a 6th Form 'Learning' day to improve study skills.



Tuesday, 7 April 2009

NQT and ITT CPD Training on 'Accelerated Learning' 20th April 2009

The following post has been created to share resources from the 'Accelerated Learning' session on Monday 20th April 2009, and to provide links to additional resources should you wish to read more widely around this topic. The first video is a brilliant Keynote speech entitled 'Are our schools killing creativity?' by Sir Ken Robinson exploring contemporary public education; the emphasis being placed on academia and the potential consequences of this on future generations of children.



Here are two more 'Key-note' recordings of Sir Ken Robinson at a conference in San Fransico. Be inspired:

http://www.edutopia.org/sir-ken-robinson-creativity-video

http://www.edutopia.org/sir-ken-robinson-creativity-part-two-video

Additional Resources:

1. Howard Gardener's Multiple Intelligences Questionnaire for students:
http://www.businessballs.com/freepdfmaterials/free_multiple_intelligences_test_young_people.pdf

2. 7 Intelligences mindmap Poster
7 Intelligences of Accelerated Learning Motivational Mind Map Poster Adam Sicinski Read the full accompanying article breaking down each branch of this IQ Matrix Mind Map @ www.blog.iqmatrix.com

3. Multiple Intelligences Learning Style Quiz for you. Another appears in the links below to do with your students:

5. Teachers TV: Tony Buzan Interview
Tony Buzan: In this lecture to an audience of teachers, Tony, the man credited with creating the 'Mind Map', explains how schools are depriving children of their innate ability to think creatively. Tony suggests that creativity declines in people as they go through the education system. He argues that the key to stopping this is to teach children how to learn and think at the same time as they are being taught the basics. Tony believes the focus of education should shift from teaching what people need to learn to teaching people how to learn. Click on the link below to see the programme on Teachers TV:

http://www.teachers.tv/video/5082



Here is a WORDLE I created to embody some of the techniques that might be employed to 'ACCELERATE LEARNING'. Click to enlarge:

Wordle: Accelerated Learning

Training for Middle Leaders - Building Effective Teams: Resources to support Training Event 23rd April 2009

 The resources posted here will be used in the 'Middle Managers' final training session on Thursday 23rd April 2009 on 'Building Effective Teams'. The workshop will be led by Juliet Morris - Vice Principal at Kemnal Technology College and Nina Moore - AST and Head of Media and Film at Welling School.  The principal aim of this workshop is to provide Middle Managers at Welling School and Kemnal Technology College with the opportunity to:

  • develop a shared understanding of what makes an 'effective team' with a view to embedding these ideologies within your own areas. 
The workshop will be interactive and there will be opportunities to share best practise, exchange ideas and talk about building effective teams for sustainable futures. 


Uploaded on authorSTREAM by mummymedia

Groups V Teams - some food for thought!


I have posted a host of additional resources below in the form of Powerpoint presentations and links should you wish to share any of these resources with your respective teams or decide to read more widely around the topic. 

View more presentations from Dagger Dan.

Useful Tips to improve team effectiveness:
http://humanresources.about.com/od/involvementteams/a/twelve_tip_team.htm

'Business Balls' an excellent site with some super 'Team Building' ideas that can be used as part of team meetings or even with students: