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.