The quote above sums up why the #ililc conferences are so crucial for teachers. It is so important that we have access to as many ideas, pedagogies and approaches as possible to keep our methods of teaching - and the students' methods of learning - fresh and relevant. What makes being part of the #MFLTwitterati so worthwhile is that every week feels like a mini-version of the #ililc weekend - always learning, always sharing. I chose to deliver my session on the idea of Challenge and Differentiation. I believe that if there isn't suitable challenge in your lessons, then the differentiation isn't right. And if you differentiate your tasks, then there will be challenge. I believe the two are inseparable. Lee S Shulman, the originator of the quote above, worked with Bloom, who cropped up throughout my presentation. If you want to read more from him, go to http://www.leeshulman.net/. I started off my session, not only with this quote, but also with the reminder that I most certainly do not claim to have the answers, and that I wanted the purpose of the session to be to prompt discussion and reflection, which are crucial for continual development and improvement. I also said, although not as coherently as Lisa Stevens did in her Keynote soon after, that everyone in the room is an expert, and just because some of us have presented that day, they should not be overwhelmed or question their standing in the room. Speaking of standing, the session started with Rachel Smith not being able to sit on a chair properly. Which ruined my opening comedy-fall-off-my-chair routine I had planned. It is essential to remember at any CPD session that what works for others may not be the ideal solution for you, for your school, or for your class. What is equally as important, though, is that you are able to recognise ideas that may work and that can be manipulated and adapted. Never go to a CPD session with a closed mind. So how can we challenge? Many ways: An idea of how is noted below: While I am not going to go through each of these one by one, they all crop up and are intertwined. One of the big ideas that we are tackling at my school at the moment is the idea of the I CAN attitude - or the I CAN'T DO IT - YET approach. Students (and I know this isn't just at our school) would rather not attempt a task than run the risk of 'failing' - even though we want students to fail to be able to improve. It is ok to get it wrong. I have retweeted the picture below on a number of occasions, because it holds so much truth in it. But I needed to understand what that looked like in a classroom. How do we teach/train the students to have a growth mindset? If I had a penny for every time I counteracted a "I can't do it" with an "Of course you can", and went through the processes that students could adopt for the task... So imagine my joy when, during a parents' evening at school, I found a brilliant section in a fab book about how to go about this! Advancing Differentiation by Richard M Cash suddenly made it clear, in a few lines, in a sort of class pact: With that CAN DO in mind, I then set the delegates to task on an eye-drawing mission. 1. Draw an eye (3 minutes) 2. Card sort of 5 drawings of eyes, all of which are of different skill levels 3. Match your drawing with one of the 5 eyes 4. Draw another eye, using the 'better' eyes as guidance on how to improve your eye. Prompt sheet given out, How To Draw An Eye - step by step, for those needing the extra support. We did this at school in a mini-TeachMeet delivered by our Head of Art. It showed how to overcome the "I can't draw" attitude, as well as modelling different levels of ability, and step-by-step improvements. Students can start improving at the level they deem appropriate. Hello challenge and differentiation. The discussion then started, and we questioned whether it would have been better for the initial drawing if the 5 eyes were on the board. But that wouldn't show the inate starting point of each student. In some instances it might be the appropriate way to start. As I said, I don't have all the answers! I then wondered how we could apply that to MFL lessons and tasks. I trialled it with Year 9. I asked them to work in pairs to write a weather forecast, with no further input. I then asked them to compare their report to my 4 samples (equivalent of the 5 eyes) on the board. Once the students had worked out which one their report compared most to, they then had examples of the skills needed to be used to move up to the next example. Students understand (because of our colour group differentiation - see below!) that they do not have to stop at the next level, but they can move from red to blue, if they have the skills but just needed reminding. Something I have developed, trialled and embedded across the department is Colour Differentiation Groups. We call them the POG groups (Purple Orange Green - high order stuff!) and the grid above shows how we use the target levels to group the and allocate the students to differentiation groups. We use these in class - not for every task, not every single lesson - and the students all know which group they are in and why. It is a really easy way to set differentiation tasks - we use the same texts for reading, the same soundfiles for listening, but set different questions for the different groups. Below is an example from a year 7 class - it was a running dictation and students were grouped in POG groups (one of each colour, where possible). On creating this resource, I also tried to increase the complexity of the questioning (thank you, Mr Bloom) as I went through the POG groups. I am very mindful that, traditionally, when we plan lessons, we challenge fewer and fewer students with the higher order thinking skills as you go up the triangle of Bloom: This relates to @EddieKayshun's Spaced Learning session - are we right to begin a topic with delivering individual words to the whole class - shouldn't that be the differentiated delivery for the least able? Shouldn't we allow all students the chance to rise up, instead of capping their skills/development? Is this the way to go? This means that we are going to be adding a GOLD level for high achieving Purple students to aim for. Continuing the idea of different levels of entry, different starting points and choice, I asked the delegates to spend 5-6 minutes designing their own versions of the "Today's Number" that was doing the rounds on twitter a few weeks ago: I worked on an example which I have trialled - my challenge to anyone reading this is to make your own version, adapt it, and then Tweet it - let's have a #MotdeJour tag as well! (Oh, and tag me in as well!) Time was ticking closer to the end of the session, and with thanks to Gill Ramage, MFL Advisor in Suffolk, I finished with the following slide, showing what Blooms looks like in an MFL lesson: I love presenting, I love #ililc and I love the #MFLTwitterati.
The title of this post should perhaps have been ’25 ideas for retrieval starters that can also be used as plenaries or simply basic lesson activities’ but it was less catchy… The only reason …
There’s an old song by a Basque band, Korroskada, called “Torero” which I have used for years in lessons, mostly for my own amusement. Nevertheless, it has become a part of the le…
Reading Time: 6 minutes
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Helping students develop metacognitive strategies is one of the most efficient and effective ways to help our students. But how do we do it?
Come and join us at Marple Hall High School for a great MFL Show and Tell! A few words from Ana Castillo, event organiser. «We warmly welcome your attendance and input at our Show and Tell. Our hope is that a broad range of language ideas are discussed and shared with some focus given to the challenges we face with the imminent curriculum changes. More so than at any time before we are tasked with inspiring our students to embrace language and culture and to immerse themselves in order to gain life-long skills. As teachers and lovers of language we understand this but how we get our students to, is our biggest challenge. For those of you who are unfamiliar with what a Show and Tell is, it is an informal meeting for teachers, both primary and secondary, to share best practice, new ideas and personal experiences of teaching. Participants volunteer to discuss a strategy they have implemented in their classroom which they think others can use within their practice. This is a perfect opportunity to share, network and learn with your peers in an informal setting. It really is the best CPD there is! Marple Hall School and Alderley Edge School for Girls are committed to sharing excellent practice and encouraging collaboration across phases and sectors and as such is extremely proud and excited to be hosting this event. We hope that it will provide teachers with a genuine and empowering experience. When and where? Saturday 14th March 2015, 11-1pm Marple Hall School Hill Top Drive Marple Stockport SK6 6LB Contact Ana Castillo Email: [email protected]. Twitter: @anacastillo333 Facilities A computer (with internet access), projector and audio equipment will be available. Please let us know if you have any specific requests. Refreshments and drinks Car park NB: Wifi may not be available at this event so should you require internet access on your own devices please ensure you have sufficient data/tethering capability. Cost The event is entirely free of charge and we are grateful to a number of sponsors who are making it all possible. We will on the day be having a retiring collection (bucket on the door) with all contributions however small going towards Cancer Research. What can you do? We want you to talk! Of course you can attend and simply watch the presentations but for the event to be a success and for everybody to get the most out of it, your input is invaluable. Please start the ball rolling by spreading the word about this exciting event. Get involved on twitter using the #MHSSAT15. At Show and Tells, the networking opportunities are usually invaluable and help forge strong links between teachers, departments and schools. Sign up! If you would like to come along as a speaker or attendee, please sign up by clicking here to add your name to the wiki and add your details to the page. Don’t worry if you haven’t yet decided exactly what topic you will be discussing as this can always be added at a later stage. » How to edit this page: Click the EDIT tab at the top of this page - you'll be prompted to login. Note that the PBwiki system has changed, so either: create a PBwiki account, which is quick and simple, and login; or alternatively you can login using the limited guest account - username guest password teemhcaet Return to this page and click the EDIT tab Add your name to the bottom of the appropriate list Click the Save button at the foot of the page... That's it! See you there!
Retrieval practice in teaching and learning is not a new concept. However, retrieval practice grids allow students and teachers to quickly assess prior learning. Download my template grid for MFL today and try it out
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Inside: Conversation Jenga for the language class. When I put my students in a speaking situation, I like to make it low-pressure and fun. We’ve really enjoyed conversation Jenga lately– which is obviously better than a worksheet with questions to ask each other. In a sense, conversation Jenga is an authentic speaking situation because it’s a
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A blog with activities, ideas and resources for German teachers.
SGI has group lessons and individual tuition English courses for all language levels from Elementary to Advanced learners. There are continuous General English, Business English and IELTS courses.
