Hi,
This week has been an interesting one as our class begins to prepare for their end of primary school exams. Not normally the most exciting time for a teacher, but I have not been through this process so it will be an interesting learning curve for me. I am hoping that this will give me all the more reason to focus on my use of visual images and other media to make revision as exciting and engaging as possible.
I really enjoyed the Ted talk by Rory Sutherland and although it is meant to be about markteting it can easily be adapted when thinking about education. In a way each lesson we teach we are trying to “make a sale” to children that this is worth learning. The idea that the “interface changes the behaviour” is a relevant one especially when using technology in class and adapting lessons to suit different needs. I also liked the idea of modifying a lesson or your presentation of a lesson to create a percieved value of a lesson and adding value to it. I am hoping that I will be able to change my lessons from regular Shreddies to Diamond Shreddies!!
flickr photo shared by sfjalar under a Creative Commons ( BY ) license
This Presentation Zen article about promoting curiousity really relates to what I try to do as a teacher, It is easy to get caught up in an education system that focuses on the test score but if children have not been provided an opportunity to use their naturally curious nature then that test become an end point where their learning stops. I do like to think that in class I reward curiousity and most certs I give out are based on questioning but I think it is always good to remind myself that fostering curiosity should be my top priority. Sometimes I have found it difficult to get that balance in Year 6 when there is a lot of focus on plugging gaps in knowledge from previous years and getting the content covered for the test. I need to demonstrate my own curiosity in class so children are aware of a life long need for curiosity and remind them that “we are all born scientists”.
In future presentations I will also be using tips I picked up from this Presentation Zen articles especially about where to place the main focus in an image.
When looking for images that I could use in class I wanted one that could be used across as many topics as possible. We are currently looking at rivers in social studies as well as forces in science so I thought this image of boats sailing down the River Nile could be a useful starting point for discussions. I used both CC search and Google Advanced Image Search when looking for pictures.
flickr photo shared by Michael Gwyther-Jones under a Creative Commons ( BY ) license
I think this picture would work well for a starting point of how civilisations have used rivers for thousands of years. The children could then research Ancient civilisations and take note of the key rivers for each civilisation. We could also discuss modern uses for rivers and how these have changed over the centuries. It could also be used as a starting point for a case study on the Nile River. In science, we could look at the forces acting on the boats to make them move down the river and look at how ships are designed to help them float and reduce air resistance. Children could design their own boats using different propulsion methods and test these designs. This image could also be used as an inspiration for some historical fiction writing based in Ancient Egypt.
I have recently begun using See Saw in my class and have found it to be a excellent visual way for children to record their learning and could be used in any of the above lessons. The children could upload this image into their portfolios (also an opportunity to work on digital citizenship by getting them to credit the picture) and then adapt the photo by drawing on it (good to show forces in science) or using a voice recording to explain their Ancient Egyptian stories or list the uses of rivers. This is something I will do this week and will hopefully share some of the results in next week’s blog.
Cheers,
Paul