Master and Commander
Two weeks in, and Head of Physics role is going ok. I am now called Bunny at work. If you can work out why, I'll give you a prize.
No major changes really in my working life so far, just the odd extra meeting to discuss data of year 10 and 11 students in particular as we approach the majorly busy time of the year. Morale is not so good in science with a redundancy having to be enforced within our department. It is sad, but a reflection of how difficult it is to run a school I guess in these current economic and competitive times. I am still considering what my first major decision will be to leave my mark on Physics. Lego robotics is on the way; I cannot wait for it to arrive! Anything I can do to get Lego into lessons, I will. And at some point, I ought to focus on passing the NQT year too.
My MA in educational innovation has been a tad crazy so far. Issues with assessment module has unfortunately gone a little off track with the resignation of the course leader. Lectures have been cancelled, deadlines extended, and generally a lack of communication brought it to farcical levels. However, the ship is steadied and things have been sorted.
The last lecture that was run was based on e-assessment methods. It was a really interesting topic, and a lot of my personal views were shared by the course leader that day. I am a big advocate of mobile phones being wonderful tools to have in lessons. As a science teacher, the majority of students have access in their blazer pocket to a scientific calculator, a stopwatch during experiments, video / camera facilities and internet search engines. I am looking at developing the use of mobile phones in lessons for my essay hopefully, and if I can find the correct formula to aid formative assessment during lessons, then it will benefit my teaching no end.
Have spent a good chunk of thos evening reading through the FRM module notes. It is a really interesting topic, though currently, I cannot decide what I want to research for my assignment. I have plenty of ideas I guess, but nothing jumps out as something I really want to do. My GTP action research was based on peer assessment, so I guess I'll avoid that!
Anyway, got loads to do, hope you're all good!
Come on the Chels! Freshwater, your boys took a beating on Saturday.
Steve Essex
06 May 2012 23:09
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Tags: Frm Hop Issues
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Juliet Nickels
Hi Steve
I also found the e-assessment day very interesting – though I’d begun reading it up a lot during the Easter, not believing I’d have time to do the assignment for the new deadline. I now wonder why we are stuck in Victorian age and I even laugh when staff approach late 20th C technology as the ‘latest thing’. Do they realise, for example, that the control of technical lego is something that was available to schools back in the 80s? I think it’s time to welcome the distributed approach to learning. Nobody with access to a computer, has any excuse now to a poor education and it’s probably time for a little less centralised power. Is it still appropriate to have to follow a national route to certification when we could have access to any course at a global level?
Have you thought of doing some research for your FRM based on e-assessment – either attitudes, prevalence or the impact of a particular tool? Could be interesting. If you do do, I’d like to read the finished paper. If I eventually decide to do a PhD, then I’d probably do something around e-assessment tools.
12 May 2012, 14:00
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