Writing
Learning Festival 2016
Tuesday 12th July had finally arrived. The Learning Festival. My first development day in my new job at a new college. We had made the
#ShapingCPD- Shaping a Learning Culture
Mirage ‘The Mirage describes the widely held perception among education leaders that we already know how to help teachers improve, and that we could achieve
#ShapingCPD – The Keynotes
After this event a couple of months ago, I recorded my initial reflections about the day and subsequently shared an account of the best CPD I have ever
Making the Most of Meetings
Ever had that broken record feeling to life’s conversations? Colleagues (often the same ones) tell me, ‘I’ve just wasted half my day in meetings.’ ‘I’ve
#LearningFirst Creating workload within limits
Assessment has its roots in Latin, namely ‘assessus ‘ meaning ‘a sitting by’, where the past participle means ‘to sit beside.’
#LearningFirst Towards better teacher training
This wasn’t actually the title but the essence of the workshop… No answers were given but questions raised, and food for thought supplied.
How can #LearningFirst ideas for action, to support the future of assessment expertise, become a reality?
Kate Sowter @Top_kat1 How do we bring our peers and colleagues along with us(who aren’t here on a Saturday)? How can we get a national
Leaders putting #LearningFirst
How can school leaders develop partnerships that support inclusion- ways of adapting teaching to ensure all children’s learning is valued?
#LearningFirst How can the system develop assessment practice that supports principled leadership?
Carolyn Robson @CaroDunelm We all work too much in isolation at present. Primary and secondary work in silos and they don’t need to- teachers are
#LearningFirst How can we develop a shared understanding of assessment, with children?
Mary Myatt @MaryMyatt Behind every letter and number attributed to a child’s work sits a child and that letter or number tells us something, but
#LearningFirst How can teachers become informed, expert and confident in all aspects of assessment?
Sarah Earle @PriSciEarle After Dan Williams’s @FurtherEdagogy post earlier this week about the pyramids of doom, he may have had something to say about the one we
Well, here we all are! #LearningFirst
I made my way to the #LearningFirst conference feeling a little nervous- my Twitter feed was filled with tweets of people heading here but I
Rewarding Staff and Students- What Works?
A tram journey this morning resulted in more than a catching-up on emails and Twitter… it quickly evolved into sending the following direct message to
Frames of Mind
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been working with the Olive Grove teams @sheffcol: Motor Vehicle, Engineering and Electrical Engineering staff.
#ShapingCPD- The Transformative Impact of Coaching
Allow your teachers out of school! The room was asked how many of us were educators still in the classroom (very few!) We should be
The Best CPD… EVER!
We were asked, during one of the excellent workshops arranged by @iris_connect at the #ShapingCPD conference last week, to reflect on our best CPD experience. This was
AfL in STEM Teaching MOOC Weeks 5 and 6
It’s in these final two weeks of the MOOC that I’ve felt most out of my depth with the learning: not currently being in the
#ShapingCPD – Initial Reflections
A detailed blog will be on its way but in the meantime, here are some initial reflections. I duly accepted a Periscope challenge, set by my
How Google Works: Part 1- Culture, Strategy, Talent
As I have become more and more involved in learning and development it has become increasingly obvious to me that roles in this area are
Turning CPD into Learning: The Mini Learning Project
The Mini Learning Project began life in my mind and then on a Piktochart as The Big Learning Project in January 2016. The project was
The Journey in Sheffield Continues…
When I set out on my latest journey, it was destination: Sheffield. But most journeys are not quite as simple as all that and I
AfL in STEM Teaching MOOC Week 4
This week of the Assessment for Learning in STEM Teaching MOOC served as a really useful midpoint where videos of the course facilitators were used
AfL in STEM Teaching MOOC Week 3
After the #ukfechat discussion with Dan Williams @FurtherEdagogy on being more evidence informed in relation to practice, I felt inspired to include more of this
My Journey Through Google- Helen Hayes
One of the key attractions to starting at The Sheffield College was that the staff development team had already begun the journey towards Google. Since
AfL in STEM Teaching MOOC- Week 2
Week 2 Intentional Dialogue This week was all about ways of promoting active discussion and thinking as well as carefully planning questions to lead to
AfL in STEM Teaching MOOC- Week 1
After a tip-off from @sebschmoller, I was alerted to the start of this Future Learn MOOC lead by Dylan Wiliam and Christine Harrison. You can
Crossroads, boiling frogs and noticing
In every journey, a crossroads is reached. Some of these crossroads are more significant than others.
#ldcu16 aka- my first ‘unconference’
My first ‘unconference’ (or at least one titled that way). My first conference filled with NO educators. Not a single one. I would be surrounded
A Beacon of Light
I first worked with Sally in my first year of teaching- 2009. It was a class I’ve referenced in other posts and one I still
A Grand Day Out
I’m a fan of Wallace and Gromit. A big fan. I love cheese and I have a grin a little like Wallace’s when I’m really
Going beyond CPD to develop outstanding teaching and learning
Click here to view the full publication (5 pages) This publication ‘moves the discussion from the importance of effective CPD for individual teachers (building human capital) to
Brilliant teaching and training in FE and skills A guide to effective CPD for teachers, trainers and leaders
Read the full report by clicking here ‘Brilliant teaching & training does not happen by accident,’ is the opening line of this report. I’m finding
Here is where my learning really begins…
The last few weeks have been filled with oh so much and I’ve been blogging and then not blogging and drafting and then deleting. Over
Evaluating the Impact of CPD
Teachers’ Continuous Professional Development has been something I’ve been working at getting right for roughly the last three years. It’s something I’ll continue to try and
Behaviour Forum
Monday 14th December 2015- just 1 week into the new job and I discovered there was an event for Sheffield Hallam trainees that was to
#nurture1516
‘Time flies when you’re having fun’. I’m absolutely certain that it flies whatever is happening as somehow we’ve arrived at another new year and another
Learning about CPD
It was earlier this year when a colleague (@S_Moakes) and I decided that it might be quite helpful to find out a bit more about
Questions, Questions, Questions
Asking questions in class is a central part of teaching, learning and assessment. You should aim to ask challenging questions of students and they should
Next Steps
‘I think if you do something and it turns out pretty good, then you should go do something else wonderful, not dwell on it for
#lsgwebinar- Revealed: the truth about the learning lives of managers
Managers are crucial to learning in organisations. They decide who has time to learn and when, and their attitude towards the L&D department can determine
Using Social Media to Support Teaching & Learning
What follows is a set of notes made during this week’s AoC free webinar on the subject of social media in teaching & learning.
Learning Outcomes
This is a guide to writing and using learning outcomes effectively with students. Learning outcomes should describe what the student will be able to do once
Starters and Plenaries
The starters and plenaries contained in this collection have each featured in my teaching over the last 7 years and are some of my favourites (they
AoC Conference 2015
I was at the AoC conference this year to discover whether we’d won a Beacon Award for staff development- we did and you can read
Blended Learning Essentials: Getting Started
In a recent blog, written for @ThinkOutLoudClub on the subject of ‘Learning to Teach Online‘, I stated that the next MOOC I’d be studying would
Top Tech Tools
I have long since been a fan of learning technologies. As a creative educator, technology is a magnet for people like me: it has the
Just one learner…
A memory. 2009. I had just aced a microteach: instructional writing with the use of LEGO and paper planes.
Feedback: In Search of The Holy Grail
Over the last 6 years I have, sadly, not discovered the holy grail of feedback. Call me a cynic but I don’t think it actually
National Poetry Day LIVE!
Thank you to Eloise for being our fabulous photographer for the day! I spent the journey in to meet the students for our trip between
CPD, but not as we know it
Our CPD Journey until now Over the last three years, I have been part of a team leading and facilitating CPD across Reading College. We’ve
Starting the year- Day 1
“Don’t lower your expectations to meet your performance. Raise your level of performance to meet your expectations. Expect the best of yourself, and then do
A humble abode
Somehow, another academic year is already upon us. Here’s an ode I wrote to my classroom three years ago. I cannot believe it’s been that
Top Tips for surviving a first term in FE
What follows are many (certainly not all) of the things I’ve learnt from six years teaching in an FE context. It is hopefully practical, it
#LTTO: What I learned from ‘Learning to Teach Online’
I felt that after the plethora of posts made over the last few weeks about a recently completed MOOC: Learning to Teach Online, with University
#LTTO Module 8- Evaluation Strategies
Just like assessment, it’s important to think of evaluation as something you do throughout the learning process.
#LTTO Module 7- Motivating and Engaging Students
Activities, assessment and resources are important but being able to facilitate and manage technologically inclusive learning- that’s the element that really brings it all together
#LTTO Module 6- Online Resources
When you begin teaching online, you need to free yourself of the idea that you need to make everything yourself. This is module six of
#LTTO Module 5- Online Assessment Strategies
Think of the learning outcomes first, then the activity, then the assessment, THEN the technology! This is module five of a Learning To Teach Online
#LTTO Assignment 2: Designing a Learning Component
By completing this assignment, you will demonstrate your achievement of the following learning outcomes: Design an online component of your class considering your local context,
#LTTO Module 4- Online Learning Activities
Lists of technologies are limitless so drawing on the experiences of other educators (locally or otherwise) can be helpful. This is module four of a
#LTTO Learning To Teach Online Q & A
I am currently completing a ‘learning To Teach Online’ MOOC with Coursera and it’s fabulous! Each week, our two course lecturers (Negin and Simon) respond
#LTTO- Assignment 1: Selecting Technology
Learning Outcomes By completing this assignment, you will demonstrate your achievement of the following learning outcomes: Describe and understand the importance and use of a
#LTTO- Module 3- Planning Online Learning
Have a clear vision and aims for the learning of your students so that you don’t all sink into the sand of technology. This is
A new class website
As the academic year has drawn to a close and we look ahead to next year, most teachers will be evaluating the successes of the
#LTTO- Module 2- Open and Institutionally Supported Technologies
We need to decide which technologies will fit the learning outcomes for our learners the most. Due to a week off work, I have been
#LTTO- Module 1- Why is Online Teaching Important?
Focus on effective pedagogical strategies rather than just the technologies being used. Learning to Teach Online (all content featured has been curated by the University
1 Year in…reflections
It’s almost 1 year into my leadership journey and I feel that calls for a reflective blog. Or perhaps the real reasons are that I had an
#ReadTL15
In the second year of our Teaching & Learning conference, we managed to get things planned ahead of time- especially as I hadn’t decided I’d
A Visit to the Education and Training Foundation
I was overwhelmed to be invited by Sarah Simons to join the #ukfechat gang in a visit to meet with David Russell at the Education
A new year: dive in!
Last week, learners began a short two week introduction into their A2 English course. They were required to watch a couple of videos and answer some
A Few of My Favourite Things
This is a presentation that I first gave rather nervously at #TMOxford I then recorded this short MoveNote version for one of Rachel Jones’s TeachMeets,
Learning Technologies Summer Forum 2015 #LTSF15
In a week where I ended up being in the office for a mere 1 and half days (part of which I was in the
Online Presence and Digital Footprint
As the summer draws closer, thoughts of the teaching year ahead are ever-present; the excitement of a fresh start, a new beginning and also a continued
Piktochart: Infographics
Recently, I’ve been dabbling with the use of Google Hangout for my ‘Pass It On CPD’ sessions at work. The first was on Piktochart. I
Curriculum Transformation
The college I work for, like many other FE colleges and indeed schools too, have been exploring how the curriculum might be transformed for learners.
Festival of Education 2015- Day 2
If you enjoyed or perhaps missed the Festival of Education and you’re free on Saturday 27th June, then you might be interested in attending #ReadTL15
Carol Dweck- the woman, the myth, the legend!
Carol had some powerful messages about my own mindset. She challenged teachers to consider this. I have begun to notice my own mindset much more
Sir Ken Robinson- Creative Schools
I apologise for the soundbite style for this and most of my other posts,. They’re really just my notes but hopefully they’ll give you an
Professional Development: what works?
Working in a development role at College, this debate would be more than relevant for me. The debate was shared by Rod Bristow, from Pearson,
Barrowford School Staff and Pupils- Educating Ruby: the Barrowford School Way
This was not the session I intended to end up in. I tried three before this that were all full. I suspect Summerhouse Education had
The wonderful Hywel Roberts!
Hywel is someone I have seen speak before but I felt I needed an injection of his positivity and enthusiasm. I feel like many of
Andy Griffiths (Samsung UK) – Technology to inspire a generation of creative and collaborative thinkers
The next generation need to be the thinkers, leaders and doers. Looking together for new solutions outside of silos. Creativity should be at the heart
Festival of Education 2015- Day 1
If you enjoyed or perhaps missed the Festival of Education and you’re free on Saturday 27th June, then you might be interested in attending #ReadTL15
Career Colleges- Ruth Gilbert
Their portal contains best practice from the Colleges. Employer endorsement on everything! Guaranteed interviews etc. Preparing for the future involves qualifications but much more besides:
The Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues Lecture- Dr Angela Lee Duckworth
True Grit western- the grit is held by the 13 year old girl pursuing a goal. Self-scoring grit scale that focuses on the following two
Gillian Bridge-Resilience
Positive thinking Self-esteem Happiness Enriched environment Oxytocin Stimulation Feelings Sensitivity Mindfulness Empowerment All of these go in the bin! But she’s not setting fire to
Dame Stella Rimington
Young people today are being pushed to work out their career pathway and start on it. She suggests that this leads to an unnecessary high
Dr. Christina Hinton, Carl Hendrick minus Tom Bennett- research with Harvard on grit and growth mindsets
Dr. Christina Hinton, Carl Hendrick minus Tom Bennett- research with Harvard on grit and growth mindsets Teachers have been given answers to questions we didn’t
Are you a Festival of Education Virgin?
If you are popping your Festival of Education cherry this year then please heed the advice of an experienced lady to maximise your enjoyment of
Paul Grainger- Leading in Volatile Times
Uplifting messages In times like these, it’s very easy to feel angry or despondent or both all at once along with a dash of murderous
#teacher5aday
So Martyn Reah began the #teacher5aday hashtag on Twitter in order to tackle the urgent need for staff working within education to focus more on
#TwitteratiChallenge
So, the Twitterati challenge: AKA – This is amazing! It will radically change your life! Do not delete this blogpost! If you do not forward
#TMReading
So this is REALLY late but here are my rather sketchy notes from #TMReading. It was one I was presenting at. It had been a
Student wellbeing and revision survival bags
I was recently inspired by this post: http://www.pedagoo.org/teacher-well-being-bags/ I’d heard of people giving wellbeing bags to staff but I’d never really considered it for learners before.
Troubled Waters: assessment in the pool
I’ve recently, after more than 10 years, begun swimming regularly again- y’know- the kind of thing you do for yourself. I think some people call
A Close Encounter of the Welsh Kind
‘The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon,
Easter Reflections
On return to work tomorrow, I’ll be asking my learners to complete some short reflections on their Easter revision. We’ll discuss the other things they
#TESFEAwards and #LFE15
At the end of an incredibly long week way back in February (!) came the #tesfeawards. It was a wonderful night to celebrate all that
Revision
This year, I’ll be lucky enough to be away for the WHOLE of the Easter break: Sydney, here I come! I promise I’ll be back…probably!
Learner Planned Lessons
Last term, my learners took it in turns to plan seminars and they became increasingly confident with this as they wrote challenging questions and imagined
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