I have been granted permission by the headteacher of my GPP school to post photos of the ICT suite. This room is not actually used in KS1, although children in KS2 have Computing lessons from a peripatetic teacher once a fortnight. The room is mainly used for storing iPads, which are accessed much more regularly. There are 5 Macs and 15 PCs, and the latter are shared by students in Computing lessons.
The displays include e-safety posters designed on PicCollage by some Year 6 students. These include messages such as 'don't give out information to strangers' and 'ask an adult for help on the internet'. A Computing pledge, signed by every student in the school in 2014, is still up for display, although does not seem to have been updated since then. This pledge includes promises to follow e-safety guidance, and practical rules around food and drink near computers. Another display board showcases Year 5 students' Geography work on 'Imaginary Islands' using the internet and Microsoft Office. This display also includes photos of students on a linked trip, and details of the research they completed online. Children researched issues such as coastal erosion, and produced fact-files of information. They included pictures, and presented their work in an attractive and clear manner. There are lots of areas for development in this room, and it is a shame that it is so underused. This is a good example of how different schools view Computing as a subject within a complex curriculum. The pressures of core subjects, especially Maths and English, are great and often subjects such as Computing can get ignored. It is great that my placement school has employed a visiting teacher, although it would perhaps be better if teaching could happen weekly or more frequently. I am looking forward to visiting more schools, and seeing how teaching is conducted, and how rooms such as this are better used.
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I have now finished my Guided Practice Placement, after spending a whole term with one class. My PGCE year now moves into shorter placements in EYFS and KS3, an enquiry project, more time at university, and a final long placement. I have grown so much as a teaching practitioner, and I am excited to continue my professional development in the coming months.
Before I conduct a second skills audit, I need to re-assess my study against my initial action plan. This shows me that I have made progress, but need to continue to research some key areas and generate a new action plan for the new year. I feel that my skills and subject knowledge have improved enormously, but need to be sure where to focus my attention from next term.
My Action Plan
I taught a great lesson today, introducing the concept of algorithms and computational thinking. After explaining the vocabulary and linking it to our work on instructional writing, I used an idea from Barefoot Computing to demonstrate how algorithms work. I made a costume for my mentor, and she entered the classroom as 'TeacherBot3000'. I explained to the children that I wanted to have a jam sandwich as a snack, but had designed a robot to do it for me. I used unclear instructions, and the children saw how the robot was unable to make the sandwich. However, after discussing the idea of accuracy and debugging, I took some advice from the class and we formulated four clear stages of the algorithm. We orally rehearsed these stages as a group, and made up actions.
1. First take two slices of bread. 2. Next spread jam on each slice. 3. Then put the slices together. 4. Finally eat the sandwich. The children were then able to make their own sandwiches, working in pairs to follow the algorithm as it was read out. This caused great excitement, especially as they were able to taste their sandwiches at the end! This simple offline lesson was a great way to introduce the notion of computational thinking. I have planned a subsequent lesson which extends this work. The children will be drawing 'monsters' and trying to create algorithms for their friends to draw the same characters. I also found this lesson idea on Barefoot Computer, which I have found to be a fantastic online resource. After these offline lessons, the children should hopefully move onto computers and use different resources to create algorithms. Links Barefoot Computing - www.barefootcas.org.uk |
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