Thursday 27 November, 2008, Office
My daughter (Y8) brought a sheet of numbers home this week - her subject grades.
I said, "Well done you, and tell me how come you've a 4a in Geography but a 6a in Maths?"
"Oh that's easy," she says, "Maths and English and Science are the ones they focus on and give lots of attention to. They are the important ones. In them you're told what your next step is so you know what to do next and can get better faster."
"Oh. Right," I replied, thoughtfully. |
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Tuesday November 25, 2008, The Office
Andrew Pearce - CSP guru - sent me these questions to help with thinking about learning. (he spent 1 minute 58 seconds making them up). Try them out, maybe a few at a time, at the beginning and end of lessons.
What do I hope you’ll learn? (...or learn about?)
What do you need to learn?
What do I/you think you need to learn?
What do I want you learn?
What do you want to learn?
What have you learned?
What do you think you have learned?
How do you know what you've learned?
How will I know what you've learned?
What do I think you have learned?
What have I learned?
What have I learned about me?
What have you learned about me?
What have I learned about you?
What have I/you learned about learning?
What have we learned that will help us to learn better?
How could you use what you have learned?
Where could you use what you have learned?
Why might it be good to learn about....?
Who could you share your learning with?
How can we share what we've learned?
Which piece of learning has been most important today?
What have we learned that could make life better for us?
What have we learned that could make life better for other people? |
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Monday 24 November, 2008, Ask - Winchester
 Business planning was never this much fun when I was a design engineer. L and I decided to take a integrated approach - left and right brain - by playing the glass bead game (focus "how can we enrich the life, work and learning of at least 1,000,004 people each year) before writing an action plan. Here we are using the table decorations as a metaphor for personal growth. Key learning:
An effective and enjoyable way to creatively develop your business/organisation/school is to use the unique and diverse skills of everyone who's part of it. The Glass Bead Game allows everyone's strengths to flourish, be respected and - most importantly - be used in synergy with others. Once ideas are free to fly, invite them to come down and settle on your structured action plan for a while... |
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Monday November 24, 2008, Winchester
How to stay alert, learning, creative and engaged with life: do something for the first time every day. Me, yesterday = learning to prune Roses and overwinter Dahlias. Today...Thinking Classroom long term strategy creation....hmmmm |
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Saturday 22 November, 2008, Winchester
21st C family culture - exemplified - totally funny, totally real
Watch it then sit back thinking - yes, it's OK to be who we are... |
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Thursday November 20, 2008, Irvine
 Ultimate creative thinking inspired by Herman Hesse's Nobel prize-winning novel. Interpreted as follows:
Equipment:
1 large piece of paper
Some pens
Some other bits and pieces
Rules:
Take turns
A go involves adding an idea to the board (paper) and linking it to one or more others
Scoring:
Whatever
Go play if you dare
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Wednesday 19 November, 2008
Here's what Mandy G - ace thinking teacher from Portsmouth - does to get kids' heads working:
"My day is now planned.
1) Would you rather climb a beanstalk or let a genie out of the bottle?
Warm up on paper.
3 reasons for the one chosen and 3 reasons against the one not chosen
2) Nothing special being celebrated on this day.
What would you celebrate on this day and why
Make a poster to advertise your day.
3)Do you leave planet Earth to go and live on a planet just like ours?
Write about your reasons. pros and cons.
4)Warm up after lunch (verbal) If a chair could talk what question would you ask it and why?
5)What is the world's best question?
Read big question from your book and children to feed back on sugar paper working and discussing in groups.
6) If there were no stars in the sky what would you put there?
Draw with coloured pen on black sugar paper."
Kids loved it and demanded more. Nice one Mandy |
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Wednesday November 19, 2008, Irvine
I am learning by doing with my Facebook group - Thinking Classroom Tribe. Lots of folks have joined - signed up to the group's intentions and beliefs...but now I have to make it work. Organic, evolving, chaotic, flexible, dynamic, emergent...maybe I don't need to 'make it work'....maybe I should let it happen...
Take a look - login to Facebook and search "Thinking Classroom". |
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Tuesday November 18, 2008, Winchester
I've recorded me describing this month's Smart Thinking Tool - so you can listen to it while hoovering or shopping or driving (maybe even use it as a starter for your lesson or staff meeting). I wanted the opportunity to explain the tools in a more flexible way that would support the text version. Hope it works for you. |
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Tuesday November 18, 2008
 Talking Tins from Talking Products: children record 10-30 second clips about their learning into the tins; tins are magnetic and stuck on a board; pressing the black button replays the clips; bingo - an interactive learning talking wall!
I'll be using these at the many conferences I'm busy designing for '09. And I'm going to have some around the Christmas dinner table, and at the next wedding I get invited to. How would you have learning fun with them? |
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