Posts Tagged ‘School’

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Making Maths Fun is Not Mission Impossible

February 2, 2011


I’m no teaching guru – just an ordinary teacher that loves his job. I am a primary level generalist teacher, which means I teach all major subjects such as Maths, English, Social Studies and Science. As much as I love teaching all subjects, I find Maths most exciting.

Is it because I have a background in Maths? Absolutely not. I have an Arts degree.

Is it because I am good at Maths? On the contrary. As a student I would frustrate my teachers no end. As a kid, I had as much chance of passing a maths test as Homer Simpson has of suffering from dandruff!

The reason I love teaching maths is that I find it an untapped and underrated subject for injecting creativity and role-play. Last week I wrote about how primary teachers often struggle to teach maths, as they mostly come from a humanities background.

Commenting on that post, loyal reader and frequent contributor Margaret Reyes Dempsey, wrote, “I’d love to read a post about some of the ways you approach math in the classroom.”

Every week I will endeavour to describe an innovative Maths lesson I have concocted.

 

Lesson 1: Mission Impossible Maths (Place Value)

I get the students to bring a pair of sunglasses to school for homework. The students invariably ask me what the glasses are for. I tell them it’s a surprise. They automatically think science, perhaps an activity out in the sun. The truth is, the sunglasses are nearly irrelevant, only there to raise curiosity and engagement.

On the day of the lesson I take the kids to our small but homely hall. I carry a briefcase and have on my own pair of “spy” glasses. The kids have no idea what is in the briefcase, and have no clue what is happening. I sit them down on the floor and tell them that there is a problem. There is a mansion close by. In that mansion there is a suitcase. In the suitcase there is a key. The key, in the hands of evil would change the world as we know it. It would give them the power to ban all music except for the golden oldies and make sure that nothing but news is on TV. The kids groan at the prospect. Lucky you are here, I tell them. You are the best spies in the world, and your mission is to break in to the mansion and get the key before they do. I call their names out, adding their secret spy name e.g. Sammy “The Drummer” Smith. The spy name is just another opportunity for me to connect with the interests and skills of my students. I split them into groups based on ability, as the lesson will involve maths problems ranging from basic to more complex.
I take them outside and show what they have to do to break into the mansion. I show them the slide which I call “The Tunnel of Terror.” Getting through the tunnel will be tricky, as a wrong turn would send out the crocodiles. To get through the tunnel without being eaten, group 1 has to work together to order a sheet of 5 digit numbers from lowest to highest number.

I then take the class to the school door, or “Dynamite Door”. To gain access to the mansion, Group 2 has to order a sheet of 5-digit numbers, this time from highest to lowest, otherwise the door will explode.

I show the class the door that leads to the hall, or as I call it “The DNA door.” To gain access to the room in which the suitcase is kept, Group 3 has to bypass the special DNA sensitive handle. To do that, they are given 6-digit numbers to order.

Group 4 has to get past the infra red sensors to get to the suitcase. This involves making as many 4-digit numbers from, for example, 4, 3, 1, 8. Once they have gotten past all 4 obstacles they will face one more test (to be revealed at the time) before being able to open the briefcase. They are told they have 45 minutes and the time starts now …
I distribute the sheets to each group, watching them feverishly try to solve the problems without making a mistake. Each group appoints a checker, to check for a careless error that would complicate this dangerous mission. If a group finishes early, they are quiet, because they rely on the proficiency of the other groups. When all groups are done we go back to the slide. The clock is still running.

The first member of group 1 reads the first part of the answer and when I confirm that it’s right goes down the slide. The other members do the same until they have all slid down the slide. Members of group 2 read out their answers. On getting the right answer each member is allowed access through the door until they are all inside the building. The same for Group 3 with their door and Group 4 with the sensors.

The final challenge involves a representative from each group stepping forward to help break the suitcase code. I tell the 4 representatives that the code number is between 3,500 and 3,600, and they have to guess it right. All I can tell them is whether their guess is higher, lower or spot on.

Once the final code has been broken, the person that correctly broke it gets to open the case and take out the key. They usually get the key with only a few minutes left to spare. You should see the cheers and hugs that come about from unearthing the key. It is such a great bonding experience.

I do this lesson in the second week of the school year. At that stage my students almost uniformly claim they hate maths with a passion. It is only after the lesson that I spill the beans that they had just taken part in a maths activity. In reality, it was nothing more than a set of dry worksheets with a bit of imagination and wackiness added on.

If you feel that this lesson would be suitable for your kids, I’d love to know how it goes.

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Posted in Maths | 5 Comments »

Do You Suffer From Classroom Envy?

February 1, 2011


There have been a few realities that have caught me off guard since I signed up to being a teacher. The expectation of a meticulously presented classroom is certainly one of them. I’m not an artistic person. My creativity comes from writing and thinking innovatively, but I am inept at decorating. Design school’s nationwide are not flocking to mimic my inimitable low-key style.

I knew that a classroom should look bright, contain student work and be aesthetically pleasing. What I didn’t know, that I have seen learned, was that teachers are inherently obsessive with the look and feel of their classroom. From the table layout to the perfectly hand-crafted posters and signs. Teachers are constantly shopping for material, furniture and accessories to beautify their classroom.

Often it’s a competition. The other day I complemented a colleague about her majestic looking classroom in the presence of another colleague. Only later was I told that by praising that colleague I had potentially upset the other who was already anxious about her classroom not matching up to others aesthetically.

It reminds me of the Christmas lights battle that takes place in some neighbourhoods. What starts out as an expression of good will and festivity, can sometimes turn in to a competitive slugfest. I am not a competitive person at the best of times. In this context, my classroom isn’t simply inferior, compared to the others it looks like a jungle.

My bosses past and present have continually made insensitive comments about the look of my classroom. It’s not as if I don’t try. Sure, it doesn’t size up to the others, but I still maintain it possesses a quaint charm (well that’s my spin on it anyway).

I once apologised to a parent about the look of my classroom during a meeting. The parent responded by pointing out that she doesn’t care what the classroom looks like, just as long as her child is happy and learning well.

Is that representative of other parents? Is it a case of style vs substance? Or, perhaps I am depriving my students of a classroom they can be more proud of. Perhaps like my students I have to improve at skills that don’t come naturally to me. I have to get better at cutting big, beautiful, cardboard letters for my brightly coloured welcome sign.

Is this just my experience? Are there other teachers who have an insecurity over the look of their classrooms? Are any of you envious of the classroom next door?

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Posted in Classroom Presentation | 5 Comments »

The Latest Sport: Degrading Our Teachers

January 27, 2011

Don’t get me wrong, I am extremely positive about President Obama’s passion for education.  It is great to hear him talk of the virtues of this great profession:

“Let’s also remember that after parents, the biggest impact on a child’s success comes from the man or woman at the front of the classroom. In South Korea, teachers are known as “nation builders.” Here in America, it’s time we treated the people who educate our children with the same level of respect. (Applause.) We want to reward good teachers and stop making excuses for bad ones. (Applause.) And over the next 10 years, with so many baby boomers retiring from our classrooms, we want to prepare 100,000 new teachers in the fields of science and technology and engineering and math.” (Applause.)

“In fact, to every young person listening tonight who’s contemplating their career choice: If you want to make a difference in the life of our nation; if you want to make a difference in the life of a child — become a teacher. Your country needs you.” (Applause.)

But if the US really needed good teachers, why does it treat its current ones so badly?  Why does it constantly refer to disposing of bad teachers instead of offering support to improve teacher performance?  It may be “time we treated the people who educate our children with respect,” but until you do, I’ll take it as words rather than substance.

I am referring to three examples which highlight the lack of respect of American teachers.

1. The recent decision by a New York State Judge to release the performance ratings of thousands of New York teachers to the media:

The judge, Cynthia Kern of the Supreme Court of the state of New York, wrote in a nine-page decision that the UFT’s argument “is without merit,” adding that the court of appeals “has clearly held that there is no requirement that data be reliable for it to be disclosed.”

The data attempt to measure the progress made by students in fourth through eighth grades under specific teachers by comparing their state test scores in math and English in a given year with the previous year.

The Department of Education has such data applying to 12,000 teachers; overall, there are nearly 80,000 teachers in New York City.

2. The  “Last In, First Out” (LIFO) sham of a policy:

This policy dictates that when there are layoffs, the most recently hired teachers in the system are the first to be fired. These decisions are based solely on seniority, without regard for teacher effectiveness.  The policy has three major negative impacts: first, it removes many high-performing tenured and non-tenured teachers from the   classroom, while retaining those that are less effective but have more years in the system; second, it causes a higher number of layoffs, since junior teachers are paid the least; and finally, it disproportionately impacts the lowest performing schools, which have the largest number of new teachers.

3. The Teacher Bashing Website, RateMyTeachers.com:

This website invites parents and teachers to rate and comment on their teachers.  The comments are public and often extremely slanderous.  Whilst being a US website, teachers from all around the world, including my country, Australia, can be rated and commented on.  Each teacher’s comments and rating can then be shared through Facebook by clicking a button on the site.  This is absolutely disgraceful, and while the authorities know about it, they have decided not to intervene.

President Obama, I absolutely love your passion for education.  You most certainly have a vision and an expectation that things improve.  But for your words to ring true and your wishes to come to fruition there is a lot more you and your Government can do for teachers.

Let’s start by offering support to your current teachers instead of giving up on them in favour of new blood.  Let’s give good teachers the opportunity to feel secure in their job.  And finally, let’s consider the impact websites like RateMyTeachers.com have on teacher morale.

If you really want teachers to get the respect they deserve, the respect needs to come from your administration first and foremost.

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Posted in Teacher Welfare | 6 Comments »

Maths and Primary Teachers Don’t Always Go Together

January 25, 2011

A school principal once said something to me which really stuck.  He said that if you look at a primary teacher’s academic background, you see a clear trend.  Most teachers come from a humanities background.  They studied Arts, Literature, Politics, History etc.  He said, only rarely do you find a primary school teacher with a maths background.  The unfortunate truth of the matter, he concluded, is that many primary school teachers are uncomfortable with teaching maths.  Many have limited skills and are simply not adept at effectively explaining maths concepts to their students.

I think there is a lot in what he said.  Whilst spending a year as a substitute teacher, I witnessed many schools and observed many teachers.  It is very rare to find a primary teacher that doesn’t possess an interest in literature and social studies.  It isn’t rare however, to find a teacher who groans at the prospect of teaching fractions or who becomes impatient when a student doesn’t seem to be taking in the method for solving an equation.

Early last year an article was printed in The Australian about the deficiencies of Australia’s education system to deliver acceptable maths outcomes. Even though it was written about Australia, I think it may well apply to many other countries as well.

A groundbreaking review of the mathematics and statistics disciplines at school and university by the Go8 found “the state of the mathematical sciences and related quantitative disciplines in Australia has deteriorated to a dangerous level, and continues to deteriorate.”

The review was compiled by a committee of the nation’s senior mathematicians headed by former University of Sydney vice-chancellor Gavin Brown.

It found that in 2003 the percentage of Australian students graduating with a major in mathematics or statistics was 0.4 per cent, compared with an OECD average of 1 per cent.

Between 2001-2007 the number of mathematics major enrolments in Australian universities fell by approximately 15 per cent.

I also came from a humanities background.  Before completing my degree in teaching, I studies Arts, majoring in English Literature and History.  I, like other teachers was terrible at maths during school.  Our school used to give high pressured maths tests all throughout the year.  I studied for them long and hard, yet managed to fail just about every single one of them.  One day I was so distraught at not being able to work out the answers, I secretly threw my test in the rubbish bin.  A week later my teacher approached me apologetically to tell me she somehow misplaced my test.

The interesting part of it was I actually liked maths.  Whilst it never came easy to me and was taught in a pressurised and negative way, I still managed to enjoy the subject.  In Year 12, I decided I wanted to do maths as one of my final year subjects.  The teacher, Principal and Vice-Principal thought I was crazy and tried to talk me out of it.  They were worried that my inevitably poor results on the three major assessment tasks would drag the class’ score down and tried to persuade me to take up economics instead.  I stubbornly refused.

As it turns out, I did quite well in the end, including earning an A on one of the assessments.  The same Maths teacher that didn’t want me in her class later told me I was her favourite student.  Not because I was the best behaved or the smartest, but because I was determined.  She was impressed that I chose to fight my maths demons rather than take the better grades on offer from doing economics.

Now as a maths teacher (I teach all general subjects), I can relate to the student that doesn’t get it.  I enjoy teaching maths in a style that I would have profited from as a child.  The creative scope for teaching elementary maths is almost limitless.  I like to set up maths role-plays in my class.  In teaching place value I set up a situation where the students are spies trying to break codes in order to thwart an evil plan.  For measurement I get the students to build towers and design tracksuits for Australia’s National sporting teams.

It’s always going to be hard for primary teachers to excel in teaching something they may have never excelled at when they were students.  But that can be a blessing in disguise.  Sometimes a rustiness in the subject helps you relate to the struggles of some of your students and encourages you to be more creative in the way you teach.

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Posted in Maths | 6 Comments »

Teacher Myth #3

January 21, 2011

Teacher Myth 3:

A critical aspect of a teacher’s job is teaching resilience to their students

Forgive me, because I seem to be alone on this one.  As much as colleagues and friends have tried to persuade me that I am barking up the wrong tree, I am still firmly of the opinion that teaching children resilience, whilst not without value, is extremely overrated.

The data shows conclusively that children are more resilient than adults in absorbing severe events. Educators are blind to this fact.  They keep on stacking the curriculum with resilience training, completely blind to the fact that most students could model resilience to their teachers more effectively that vice versa.

Let me illustrate how this is true.  When adults don’t like something about their lives they have the option to make radical change.  They can move overseas, cut off their parents, separate from their partner, quit their job and break off a friendship.  Kids can’t impose radical change, especially at school.  They are often stuck at school whether they like it or not, they don’t get a choice who they sit next to and who their teacher is.  When an adult is being bullied they can more often than not find a way to leave the situation.  When a student is being bullied in the playground, there is nowhere to hide.

I’ve been to a number of professional development sessions on bullying, where teachers are given strategies on how to curb bullying at school.  In every single session, the teachers have at some point hijacked the discussion in a bid to find strategies that would assist them with issues they are having due to bullying on the part of parents and students.  We expect that these same teachers, who are at a loss to deal with their own bullying, will be able to successfully fortify a student suffering from the same problem.

When you consider these factors, children do a pretty good job of maintaining their cool and carrying on.

The definition of resilience seems to contrast significantly with what the resilience programs seek to achieve.  Resilience is defined as “recovering readily from adversity.” A recovery involves being able to completely let go of hurt and disappointment and carry on unabated.  Resilience programs instead of aiming for a recovery, focus on changing the child’s response.  They encourage students to deal with problems with greater maturity and perspective and avoid turning it into a scene or prolonged incident.

What is wrong with that?

Absolutely nothing.  As I mentioned before, the program has value.  In fact the concept of resilience is set up to be a major win/win for both student and teacher. The student learns to calm their response and the teacher faces fewer incidents that require intervention.  Instead of making a big deal about a problematic event, the student learns to internalise the pain and carry on.

The problem with that, is that on the surface of things it seems like there is no problem to solve, when in reality the problem is very real and very present.  It is just hiding where the teacher can’t notice it.

When a child confronts a teacher and accuses a fellow student of calling her fat, the typical responses include reassuring the child that she isn’t, claiming that the child doesn’t really mean it, recommending that she play away from the perpetrator or confront the other child with a reprimand.  Only the last measure comes close to properly dealing with the problem.  The others are unworkable because they expect a child to be able to accept such a put down without being too badly hurt by it.

But that is virtually impossible.  Sure the child can internalise the pain, but it asking too much of any individual to completely recover from such a remark.  Human nature dictates that people have a longing to connect with others, be a part of groups and avoid confrontation.  That means that we care what people think and say.  So any comment like that hurts.

It hurts adults too.  When I was a student teacher I witnessed a teacher remark to another teacher who was wearing a new red outfit, that “red didn’t suit her.”  The teacher in red got full marks for resilience (ie. she didn’t make a scene), but the internal pain caused was very evident.

Whilst resilience is important, instead of dealing with the problem it often disguises it.  It tries to fortify the student by helping them absorb the pain.  This pain often lingers and surfaces at another time.  Reading about child suicide, there have been plenty of resilient kids who were able to absorb shocking bouts of bullying for staggering periods of time, before it just became too much.

I wrote a post a few days ago which contained the following quote from Parenting Victoria’s Elaine Crowle:

“The best way to prevent bullying is for parents and schools to work together to build resilience within your child.”

No Elaine.  The best way to tackle bullying is to confront, punish, educate and reform the bully. Whilst resilience has its place, it is human nature to be effected and deeply hurt by bullying no matter how good the resilience training is.  The best way to deal with bullying is to make sure it stops immediately, before the damage is even more severe.

In summary, resilience training has its place.  There are very emotionally fragile students who require strategies to toughen up a bit.  There is no doubt about it.  But the side-effect of resilience is worth noting.  It often leads to burying the problem beneath the surface where it can do untold damage.  Teachers need to be aware that just as insulting comments and bullying behaviour hurt them and are not easy to recover from, their students exposed to the same types of behaviours are bound to struggle too.

Resilience should never be the centrepiece for an anti bullying program.  The only way to effectively curb bullying is to deal with the bully.

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Posted in Teacher Myths | 16 Comments »

Teachers With Guns

January 21, 2011

If it wasn’t in print, you would have thought it was pure satire.  A Nebraskan senator wants to pass a bill that would allow teachers and administrators to carry concealed weapons for protection.

And that will achieve what?

Sen. Christensen explains his proposal: “I think it’s a local decision, but I think it’s important if you think about a situation that opens up where someone gets shot, that particular individual can continue shooting until police arrive. Or, you could have a security guard armed or administration—whatever you would choose to do locally to defend the situation. It would probably take care of it quickly,” he said.

The notion that the higher the proportion of people carrying guns the lower the rate of shootings is false and utterly preposterous.  Teachers in certain schools face shamefully bad conditions.  School shootings do occur and should never be underplayed.  But arming the caregiver, is the worst possible response to the problem.

Schools have to deal with the issue through constructive strategies and the safety of teachers  must be considered at all times.  But teachers are there to model positive behaviour and good decisions.  They must be there for their students.  A teacher that carries around a gun is distancing himself from all his students.  The gun becomes a representation of an “us vs them” mentality which regardless of the teacher’s school or environment, does not belong in our great profession.

Meanwhile, Christensen is convinced he’s on to a winner:

Christensen doesn’t think giving people guns can become a problem.

“I’ve never seen a gun escalate a situation,” said Christensen, “Guns don’t kill people, people do. You’ve gotta have an individual that’s out of control and at that point in time, you can have someone be shot.”

Here’s my advice for any teacher hoping to one day bring a concealed weapon into their classroom.  Find another profession … quickly!


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Posted in Teacher Welfare | 4 Comments »

Stop Pretending and Start Acting!

January 20, 2011

Parents looking for a school for their kids must hate reading the same line that tends to pop up in all the school’s brochures.  It’s the line that Principal’s claim they pride themselves on.  I bet if I asked you to guess what the line is, you’d come close.

“We provide a warm, safe and secure environment for our students.”

Heard it before?  Have you ever been convinced that it’s true?

A recent poll of parents of Primary school aged kids were asked about their greatest concerns regarding sending their kids to school.

The results were not surprising:

Bullying is the biggest worry parents have when they send their children back to school.

Three quarters of parents fear their child will be bullied – at school and online – a survey has found.

In a sign of their concern, 89 per cent plan to monitor their children’s online activities closely.

Australian parents are also concerned about the costs associated with sending a child back to school, with one in three nominating money as an issue.

A national poll of 1000 parents of primary school age children found almost half believed a passionate and caring teacher, and a fun learning environment, were critical to their child’s success at school.

Curbing bullying is not just a priority – it is the number one priority.  Yes, more important than academic performance.  And why shouldn’t it be the case?  Parents who invest everything they have towards their child’s health and happiness deserve the right to feel confident the school will do its utmost to provide a safe environment for their child.

Don’t just say you are.  Prove it.  Because parents obviously don’t buy it.

And speaking of parents, I couldn’t disagree with this quote from Parenting Victoria’s Elaine Crowle more strongly:

“The best way to prevent bullying is for parents and schools to work together to build resilience within your child.”

No, the best way to prevent bullying is not simply to fortify the victim – it is to stop the perpetrator.  Resilience often means not reacting when being bullied and instead soaking it up.  That is not a remedy against bullying.  Schools must invest a great deal more into curbing bullying than resiliency programs.

It’s time schools were stripped of their right to boast about their so-called safe and secure environment until they adequately prove that this is actually the case.

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Posted in Bullying, Cyber Bullying | 2 Comments »

Am I a Hypocrite or Just Human?

January 19, 2011

As I teacher, I frequently encounter students who are struggling with fear.  Fear of failure, fear of not measuring up to others, fear of loneliness, fear of losing popularity, fear of not seeming smart enough and fear of public humiliation.

It is my job to notice a student who is fearful and help them manage their anxiety with strategies, words of encouragement and ongoing support.  In these situations I am quite adept  at knowing what to say and the steps required to deal with the issues at hand.

Only trouble is … I am also fearful.

  • I am scared of death (both myself and my family and friends).
  • I am scared of driving.
  • I am scared of rejection.  I have been fine tuning my manuscript for ages out of fear of being rejected by publishers.
  • I am scared of taking risks, doing things that seem beyond me and leaving my comfort zone.

Whilst I am constantly working on myself and have improved over time, it feels strange that I am giving advice for issues I share.

Am I a hypocrite or just human?

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Posted in Uncategorized | 4 Comments »

How Do They Come Up With These Ideas?

January 18, 2011

The latest response to fighting truancy is a full out assault against the parents.  The reasoning is clear.  It is the parents responsibility to ensure that their children attend school.  So bad must be the problem and so unable are authorities to motivate the parents to take a more diligent and proactive role, that a range of strategies, including some very weird ideas are being floated around to punish the parents.

Take this one for example:

Sen. Erik Wells wants to give parents an ultimatum: Send your kids to school, or lose your driver’s license.

The Kanawha County Democrat said Friday he plans to introduce a bill that would revoke a parent’s driving privileges if their child has 10 or more unexcused absences.

“We have to get to a point where we send a serious message to parents,” Wells told reporters at The Associated Press’ annual Legislative Lookahead conference in South Charleston.

Then there is a fine or jail time in California:

As of the new year, California parents face prosecution, fines up to $2,000, and even jail time if they don’t make sure their kids attend school regularly. The new state law took effect on January 1 and was signed into law last September by former Gov Arnold Schwarzenegger.

It’s a strict law, which holds three designations for kids who chronically miss school. A truant is any student who is 30 or more minutes late to class on more than three school days, a chronic truant any student who misses more than 10 percent of school days without a valid excuse. A habitual truant is a truant who continues to miss class even after school officials attempt to reach out to the student. Parents of kids who are chronically truant can be found guilty of a misdemeanor and face a series of fines and punishments, starting with a $100 fine for the first conviction and ending with a year of incarceration and up to $2000 for parents of chronic truants.

The UK have taken a softer approach whilst proudly dubbing it “cutting edge”:

A School in the Peterborough area is introducing cutting-edge technology in its fight against truancy.

Casterton Business and Enterprise College, in Stamford, is attempting to tackle students skipping lessons with Truancy Call, a scheme which allows the school to contact parents of absent children by e-mail, text message or telephone as soon as a child is absent.

Once registration of the schoool’s 800 pupils has been completed, the Truancy Call system automatically calls, texts or emails parents until a response is received.

Once a response is received from the parents any further calls that day are stopped automatically. The school has an attendance rate of more than 95 per cent.

This one is my favourite:

Schools are bribing parents to make sure their children attend classes with the promise of cheap foreign holidays.

Families are being offered a discount if pupils turn up for ­lessons every day next term.

Education chiefs have joined forces with a travel company to offer the holiday discount scheme, which is aimed at slashing truancy.

Please tell me they are putting just as much time and effort into conceiving ways in which to make school a more inviting and accepting place for our children.

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Posted in Truancy | 2 Comments »

Time to Engage Our Students

January 17, 2011

It is as big a challenge now as it ever has been to engage our students.  Programs which treat children like robots and show a preference for rote skills and the dissemination of facts rather than debate, creativity and self-expression are limited, turgid and a thing of the past.

It was refreshing to read an article from The Guardian that encourages schools to get more creative:

But there is a long-standing debate in education about creativity and the need to inject more of it into teaching. Can it really be taught?

At The Chalfonts community college, a non-selective school in Gerrards Cross, Buckinghamshire, they believe very firmly that it can. As part of an “enrichment curriculum” all key stage three students spend whole days learning how to use video, animation and digital imaging with industry professionals as part of the school’s push to develop creativity across all subjects.

“The aim is to develop personal, learning and thinking skills (PLTS), creative thinkers and team workers,” says Greg Hodgson, a senior leader at Chalfonts who also mentors students in the arts.

Digital technology such as digital imaging, film, animation, graphics and game-making is also a critical element in the school’s GCSE art curriculum where it has, says Hodgson, enabled otherwise under-achieving students and apparently non-creative students to blossom by harnessing their fascination with gaming.

“One student, one of the lowest ability boys I’ve ever taught, couldn’t really read and write properly and staff spent more time talking to him about his behaviour than his work. He particularly flourished when I gave him control of the tools and told him that he could actually teach himself.

“He was coding and writing action scripts using interactive Adobe Flash animation, which is a really high-level skill. One lovely piece of work featured moral dilemmas with the story of a girl who had the opportunity to steal. An angel and a devil both appear in the ether around this girl’s head and the reader/viewer has to choose: does she steal a chocolate bar or not? In fact, this is the first stage of gaming: the interactive viewer clicks and decides which line of a story to follow.”

ICT is constantly changing and digital technology is becoming more geared to assist us in the classroom.  Yes, it is difficult for teachers to learn, and I am as terrified by technological advancements as the next teacher.  But it is not just an important skill in today’s age, but also an opportunity to bring greater creativity to our classroom.

After all, students learn so much better when they are engaged and have the chance to think creatively.

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Posted in Technology in the Classroom, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

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