Group items tagged

"Conversation is key . Sawyer succinctly explains this principle: "Conversation leads to flow, and flow leads to creativity." When having students work in groups, consider what will spark rich conversation. The original researcher on flow, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, found that rich conversation precedes and ignites flow more than any other activity.1 Tasks that require (or force) interaction lead to richer collaborative conceptualization. Set a clear but open-ended goal . Groups produce the richest ideas when they have a goal that will focus their interaction but also has fluid enough boundaries to allow for creativity. This is a challenge we often overlook. As teachers, we often have an idea of what a group's final product should look like (or sound like, or…). If we put students into groups to produce a predetermined outcome, we prevent creative thinking from finding an entry point. Try not announcing time limits. As teachers we often use a time limit as a "motivator" that we hope will keep group work focused. In reality, this may be a major detractor from quality group work. Deadlines, according to Sawyer, tend to impede flow and produce lower quality results. Groups produce their best work in low-pressure situations. Without a need to "keep one eye on the clock," the group's focus can be fully given to the task. Do not appoint a group "leader." In research studies, supervisors, or group leaders, tend to subvert flow unless they participate as an equal, listening and allowing the group's thoughts and decisions to guide the interaction. Keep it small. Groups with the minimum number of members that are needed to accomplish a task are more efficient and effective. Consider weaving together individual and group work. For additive tasks-tasks in whicha group is expectedtoproduce a list, adding one idea to another-research suggests that better results develop

Looking to keep a fitness resolution this year? Find motivation to get moving and keep fit with this superb location-based strategy game for runners and walkers. Gain virtual coins for being active which you can use to advance your settlement. Locations are not precisely show nor in real time, so you can use it with pupils without safely concerns. If using it for yourself, it can link to Strava to keep you motivated to lace up your running shoes without extra hassle. But don't you come around here and fight me for MY castles!

Great tips to help students remember Usernames and Passwords

Offering teachers a ten-year development plan, rather than the cyclical 1-year review meeting could be an integral part of keeping teachers in the profession, claimed Sir David Carter today at the GL Assessment conference in Manchester...

Teacher's Assistant Pro is an application built for the iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch designed to help teachers keep track of student discipline issues.  This app is customizable and easy to use.  If you are looking for a great way to organize all of your classes and if your administrators ask you to keep track of student behavior, this is the app for you. 

My experience of blogging from camp to keep the school community updated.

New resource service launched, allowing teachers to keep control of their resources.

Keep that status update to yourself. That's the advice teachers are being given as the education system grapples with the expanding use of social media by students. Ontario Secondary School Teachers' Federation has been conducting workshops with high school teachers in Algoma in recent months after the Ontario College of Teachers issued an advisory that teachers should keep their distance from students when it comes to Facebook, Twitter and other electronic communication.

In a couple of weeks, both Tess and Tucker will be starting their first day at brand new schools. They'll know no one, have all new teachers, new surroundings, and, hopefully, new opportunities. I'm not sure they're totally at peace with these changes, but as I keep telling them, it's the kind of stuff that builds character. (I keep regaling them with school switching stories of my own, the most challenging being when my mom moved us out to New Jersey from Chicago when I was beginning 6th grade and three days before school started I was wading barefoot in a creek, stepped on a broken bottle, and ended up with 10 stitches in the bottom of my foot and a pair of crutches for the first week of classes. Talk about character building.) Wendy and I have been trying to prepare them for this shift as best we can, and while I know it's a bit scary for them, I'm really hopeful the change will be good for them on a lot of different levels.

"Sometimes, it is just necessary to stand in front a group of children and speak to them. It's not the strongest tool in a teacher's box of tricks, but speaking to groups of pupils is hinged with one notable problem - keeping their attention - especially if you are trying to get key points across to help their learning.  However, these ideas - adapted from spring.org.uk, can easily be amended for classroom situations, and are worth exploration in ensuring attention is kept by the majority of pupils"

"As a PGCE Student going through two school placements in North Wales back in 2005, I found it hard to keep up with daily admin. Just planning lessons and trying to deliver stimulating content and keeping the students engaged throughout, was challenging enough. Marking: I dreaded it, and found it almost impossible to fit it into my weekly regimen of teaching, planning and completing assignments for university."

"Engaging a bunch of teenagers after lunch on a Friday afternoon is no mean feat. Only the most seasoned and patient of teachers can pull it off, with a great deal of patience, stamina and effort. Well, not necessarily. There are strategies and ideas that can keep the most demotivated students learning when they don't necessarily realise, and fortunately, Jon Tait has compiled a collection of 100 ideas that can keep secondary pupils engaged in their learning, in any subject, in any school."

"As we all know, education is an essential part of life but do kids spend enough time at school? Should their day of learning be extended or are they already doing enough in class? This topic has been debated over the years, so Sophie Davidson takes a closer look at the pros and cons of keeping children longer."

Keeping Pace report on virtual state school, online initiatives, and blended learning