Sunday post because it rounds the week off better and I did a random pedagogy post.
1. My name is Ju and it has been 2 weeks since I used a paper towel in my house. I really didn't think I would be able to do this one, but it was an "easy win" for reducing waste. When I finished the roll of kitchen roll, I didn't get a new one from the pack upstairs. I used cloths and tea towels - the idea being that these go in a wash you're going to do of laundry anyway. Although, from reading American blogs, they don't seem to have tea towels, what? I think they have them in bars and restaurants and stuff, but by a different name. I did use some kitchen roll at work when we had a buffet and something got spilled. I've tried not to use the paper towels you dry your hands on whenever possible - easier in summer - but this is difficult and also it's meant to be more hygienic to dry your hands on these than any other method. This weekend I gave the Tassimo machine some time off and drank filter coffee instead.
2. We had loads of fun in roller derby this week doing chest blocking. I got some tips from more experienced skaters and then the chance to try them out when our Sunday session was coached by Stew, one of our refs. We had to think a little bit more like the men's derby game to really use this, but I think chest blocking is a great tool in the box and I will be trying to use it more.
3. At school, we had more training on collaborative learning and I re-arranged the desks again. They are all now labelled up and seating plans using data are well on their way. I labelled them with the colours of the rainbow because all work and no play and all that!
Monday 30 May 2016
Saturday 28 May 2016
Maria Montessori
It was Montessori who coined the term of "mastery" in the curriculum. Good to know.
From this 30 second briefing on the TES. Pedagogy inspiration.
From this 30 second briefing on the TES. Pedagogy inspiration.
Monday 23 May 2016
What I learned this week [20/05/16]
Some updates on what I've learned lately:
1. The not-even-nearly-zero-waste is going well. Better than expected. OK, so apart from the Eurovision party that created a LOT of waste and a blue bin that sounded like a pub full of empties, it was a good week. I've been everywhere with my trusty canvas bag and my bags for life. I've managed to make my lunch every day, and there was barely a packet sandwich in amongst it. Even the day when I did have to persuade my colleague into getting me a school lunch before I fainted, it was a slice of pizza on a cardboard sleeve - practically no waste! I also made some absolutely yummy food, and it continues to be mostly plant based (with the addition of various types of cheese and yoghurt; I'll never be a vegan!)
Desk breakfast:
Post training snack:
Salad "bowls" including a failure to spiralise butternut squash and my first attempt at cooking quinoa that didn't come out of a ready made pack:
2. I tried out some different types of collaborative learning that the school is rolling out. This is the sort of thing that's fantastic in theory but pretty hard work on a Tuesday afternoon with a load of bickering 13 year olds! Anyway, it's made me plan lessons in a way that works well for me and puts the onus on the pupils to do the work. It goes well with the TEEP style planning that I was trained in a few years ago. We've been encouraged to lay out the classrooms accordingly and it's been a pleasant change to have a classroom big enough to actually move the desks around and try some different configurations. I've done lots of investigation type tasks in all 3 subjects and will be trying some more creative tasks this week. The school has a policy of each lesson having a "big question" learning objective and then differentiated tasks and outcomes to achieve this which has really focused my thinking. Favourites have been "Should we have wind power in the UK?", "What is the importance of symbols in a Hindu wedding?" and "Could you have fun in the Middle Ages?" (which I'm sure all History teachers will recognise as an old favourite and led to an odd google autofill). Today I tried out "Were animals heroes or victims in WW1?" which needs some work but is well resourced.
More derby stuff another time. You can see updates on the selfie project in the sidebar, and I hope to contribute further to Girl Gang soon. Top yoghurt continues to be Onken organic strawberry.
1. The not-even-nearly-zero-waste is going well. Better than expected. OK, so apart from the Eurovision party that created a LOT of waste and a blue bin that sounded like a pub full of empties, it was a good week. I've been everywhere with my trusty canvas bag and my bags for life. I've managed to make my lunch every day, and there was barely a packet sandwich in amongst it. Even the day when I did have to persuade my colleague into getting me a school lunch before I fainted, it was a slice of pizza on a cardboard sleeve - practically no waste! I also made some absolutely yummy food, and it continues to be mostly plant based (with the addition of various types of cheese and yoghurt; I'll never be a vegan!)
Desk breakfast:
Post training snack:
Salad "bowls" including a failure to spiralise butternut squash and my first attempt at cooking quinoa that didn't come out of a ready made pack:
2. I tried out some different types of collaborative learning that the school is rolling out. This is the sort of thing that's fantastic in theory but pretty hard work on a Tuesday afternoon with a load of bickering 13 year olds! Anyway, it's made me plan lessons in a way that works well for me and puts the onus on the pupils to do the work. It goes well with the TEEP style planning that I was trained in a few years ago. We've been encouraged to lay out the classrooms accordingly and it's been a pleasant change to have a classroom big enough to actually move the desks around and try some different configurations. I've done lots of investigation type tasks in all 3 subjects and will be trying some more creative tasks this week. The school has a policy of each lesson having a "big question" learning objective and then differentiated tasks and outcomes to achieve this which has really focused my thinking. Favourites have been "Should we have wind power in the UK?", "What is the importance of symbols in a Hindu wedding?" and "Could you have fun in the Middle Ages?" (which I'm sure all History teachers will recognise as an old favourite and led to an odd google autofill). Today I tried out "Were animals heroes or victims in WW1?" which needs some work but is well resourced.
More derby stuff another time. You can see updates on the selfie project in the sidebar, and I hope to contribute further to Girl Gang soon. Top yoghurt continues to be Onken organic strawberry.
Saturday 14 May 2016
What I learned this week 06/04/16 and 13/05/16
So I didn't get to publish my post last Friday. Went to bed with a migraine when I got in from work and between a derby game, being busy at work and other life stuff, I had no free time to sit down and write until it was Friday again. So here's what I learned this er, fortnight...
1. My zero waste challenge was a little scuppered when I washed out some stuff to take home and recycle and the cleaners threw it in the bin. I was really good at taking things to work in re-usable containers and eating loads of fruit. I slightly changed how I shop so that I can cook more from scratch and my boss called me "a bit of a hippy" so I think I'm on track. Downside was we had an inspection at work and I had a mid-week McDonald's. Next week is national vegetarian week so no more of that!
I also found out about a load more products that contain palm oil and got angry about it; so more checking the ingredients when shopping...
2. The #SeeMySelfie campaign got well under way. Other than my concerns about spamming my Insta followers with a whole lot of pictures of my face, I've found I quite enjoy it. I also enjoy any challenge that gets me to take a photo every day, it's like creating a little diary. I made the decision to put my account on public and nothing terrible happened. It's been an all round positive experience and I hope to get involved in more Girl Gang stuff soon.
3. I got angry about a load of things in education that probably don't need repeating right now. But it made me realise it really is the teachers who make a school. This was my 6th OFSTED inspection and I not only do I now know that it's the things you do every day that makes a difference, but I do all those things well. I'm much more reflective and well organised and the cleaners (after throwing away my recycling) described me as tidy - did you hear that, mum?
4. In derby training, we drilled hip/ body checking at speed. I hated it, I didn't think I could do it but I did. Then I actually did it in a game! However, I don't feel like I played my best game. There are still lots of things I do in training that I don't put into action and it's my goal to do more of these. This week we had chartering, so very intense skills and drills throughout. It was brilliant to have everyone on track. I was really proud of our newer skaters, who I coached from the start, holding their own with the Angels. It was a good marker of progress for everyone. My speed and acceleration has massively increased over the last few months, although apparently not enough to be able to do 10 laps in 90 seconds, so that's going on the list of goals!
1. My zero waste challenge was a little scuppered when I washed out some stuff to take home and recycle and the cleaners threw it in the bin. I was really good at taking things to work in re-usable containers and eating loads of fruit. I slightly changed how I shop so that I can cook more from scratch and my boss called me "a bit of a hippy" so I think I'm on track. Downside was we had an inspection at work and I had a mid-week McDonald's. Next week is national vegetarian week so no more of that!
I also found out about a load more products that contain palm oil and got angry about it; so more checking the ingredients when shopping...
2. The #SeeMySelfie campaign got well under way. Other than my concerns about spamming my Insta followers with a whole lot of pictures of my face, I've found I quite enjoy it. I also enjoy any challenge that gets me to take a photo every day, it's like creating a little diary. I made the decision to put my account on public and nothing terrible happened. It's been an all round positive experience and I hope to get involved in more Girl Gang stuff soon.
3. I got angry about a load of things in education that probably don't need repeating right now. But it made me realise it really is the teachers who make a school. This was my 6th OFSTED inspection and I not only do I now know that it's the things you do every day that makes a difference, but I do all those things well. I'm much more reflective and well organised and the cleaners (after throwing away my recycling) described me as tidy - did you hear that, mum?
4. In derby training, we drilled hip/ body checking at speed. I hated it, I didn't think I could do it but I did. Then I actually did it in a game! However, I don't feel like I played my best game. There are still lots of things I do in training that I don't put into action and it's my goal to do more of these. This week we had chartering, so very intense skills and drills throughout. It was brilliant to have everyone on track. I was really proud of our newer skaters, who I coached from the start, holding their own with the Angels. It was a good marker of progress for everyone. My speed and acceleration has massively increased over the last few months, although apparently not enough to be able to do 10 laps in 90 seconds, so that's going on the list of goals!
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