In addition to my portfolio, please enjoy browsing my Computing blog. I have been regularly updating this over my PGCE year, and have included lots of examples of my teaching and CPD .
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I am now entering into my fifth week of Code Club. I have been supporting the Computing specialist teacher to run this oversubscribed extracurricular club for Years 3 and 4 since the start of the Summer term. Held after school on Thursdays, the club has been an enjoyable way to be more involved in the school community, and to improve my own teaching of Computing. The children have been using Scratch to complete challenges on the Code Club website. They have created their own rock band, programmed a space animation, and some have started to create a ghost-themed game. The children are able to work at their own pace, and use the support of the website, supporting staff, and eager volunteers from Siemens in Didsbury. The lead teacher encourages the children to overcome bugs by carefully checking their code, and through trying something new. The children have become more resilient and dedicated to improving their coding skills as a result. I have been impressed by the way in which the children have all created some original, despite having the same starting points. Some have developed bands featuring opera singers, theatrical backgrounds and cellos, whereas other children have popstars under the sea, complete with multiple drum kits! I have enjoyed seeing the children's creativity shine through their use of code, and it has been a lovely way to spend my Thursday evenings. I am coming to the end of teaching a unit based around Google Sheets. The children have been learning how to enter data into a spreadsheet, and manipulate the data for a specific purpose. I decided to frame this unit around the context of a shop, and informed the children that they were going to design their products and create spreadsheets to show their sales. This was greeted enthusiastically, and has been a very popular series of lessons!
We have progressed from entering data and formatting cells, into the use of the SUM formula and the creation of charts and graphs. The children have learned how to smart copy, and create quick tables displaying their annual sales and revenue. They have been excited to share these spreadsheets with peers, and have embellished their spreadsheets with pictures, colours and typefaces. I have embellished this learning content with the inclusion of 'real life' spreadsheets every week. I have shared screenshots of spreadsheets gathered from my friends and family, and discussed how spreadsheet skills are used in the world of work. The children have been fascinated by this additional content, and I will continue to demonstrate 'real life' examples of Computing in future lessons! I have received my Computing blog assessment and feedback from my university tutors, and I am delighted to have achieved the highest mark of 'Outstanding - 1'. I have enjoyed keeping up-to-date with developments in Computing and tech, but most of all, this blog has helped me to develop my own knowledge and understanding of the teaching of Computing as a vital part of the National Curriculum.
My tutor noted that my posts are reflective and cover a wide range of content. They have especially singled out my interviews with schools, and the comparative project comparing Computing across different primary schools in my School Direct alliance. This latter project was perhaps the most interesting part of developing this blog, as it has introduced me to different practices and ideas which have ultimately benefitted my own teaching. I hope to continue my professional development in this regard as I move into my NQT year and beyond. I will continue to update as I move into the latter stage of my final placement. I have exciting plans for a new spreadsheet-based unit, and will post more about this soon. I was interested to learn about the SEND Project, a group of teachers and special education experts who gathered in 2014 to discuss how the new curriculum subject could be implemented for learners with additional needs. This document outlines their conclusions. Computing objectives are broken down and split into p-scales (targets for children with special educational needs who cannot access the mainstream curriculum). For example, at P3 (ii), children should be interacting with touch screen interfaces and may respond to on-screen choices. At P8, children should use ICT to present information, record sounds and should communicate about their use of technology. I have not got a great deal of experience teaching children with more complex SEND, and so it was very interesting to see how the curriculum can be adapted to allow students to access a subject. I was pleased to see that this project was created through work with different schools, both primary and secondary. My favourite document produced by the project is the computational thinking map, similar to the CAS map I have previously posted. I anticipate how I could use this resource to support SEND learners in my own classroom, even if they are considered able to access the National Curriculum. Attitudes such as 'willing to have a go at new things' and 'reacting appropriately to things going wrong and returning to the same task' are important for all children, but could be a good way to recognise computational thinking in children who may not display its usual characteristics. However, as Warnock (2005) argues, children with SEND should not be grouped in a single category. Every child has different needs and must be treated as an individual. I will use this approach to teach every child on placement and as a qualified teacher. I must be careful to tailor my teaching of Computing - as with every subject - to the needs of the individual child. Conversations with parents, colleagues, the school SENCO and any professional associated with other agencies should help me to provide the best teaching and learning experience for these children. Purdy, in Cremin and Arthur (2014) argues that this is the best approach for trainee and newly qualified teachers to take when teaching a child with SEND. I am looking forward to becoming a more experienced and knowledgeable practitioner through these means. Links and Bibliography
The SEND Project - www.slp.somerset.org.uk/sites/edtech/SitePages/Primary%20Computing/SEND%20Computing.aspx P-Scales for Computing - www.slp.somerset.org.uk/sites/edtech/Primary%20Computing/SEND%20Computing/P_Scales_for_Computing.pdf Warnock, M. (2005) Special Educational Needs: A New Look, London: Philosophy of Education Society of Great Britain. Purdy, N., Providing for Special Educational Needs, in Cremin, T. and Arthur, J. (2014) Learning to Teach in the Primary School, London: Routledge. Today, I have taught a very successful Science lesson using the school Chromebooks.
The children have been learning about food chains and habitats, and I have discovered a great simulation site which helps to demonstrate the effect of increasing and decreasing populations on the rest of the food chain. The children shared a Chromebook between pairs, and after an initial teacher input, used the website to develop their own learning and understanding. We discussed the e-safety issues related to using the internet, and the children shared their 'top safety tips' with the rest of the class. The class do not normally using computers beyond iPads in Accelerated Reading sessions, or during discrete Computing lessons, and so it was lovely to see their excitement. There are still some teething problems - forgotten passwords or email addresses, getting the Chromebooks in and out of their secure storage units, and simply navigating the touchpad and keyboard. However, I can see that their use of technology is developing, and really benefitted their learning in this lesson. I will look to be booking the Chromebooks again in future! The Food Chain Game: www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/kidscorner/games/foodchaingame Today, I have taught my first Computing lesson of FPP, focusing on Google Classroom and writing Google Docs. I would definitely recommend that teachers use Google classroom, as it has helped my class to become more digitally literate, and developed their peer-feedback and collaboration skills. Our LO was 'to add features to a Google Doc', and our success criteria were: I can / am beginning to… ….add a table to my report ….add new rows to a table …share and comment on work After handing out laptops and getting the children logged into Google classroom, we discussed the LO and SC, and how these link to the Building Learning Power skills. This approach is used across the school, and includes the main skill areas of resilience, reciprocity, resourcefulness and reflectiveness. We agreed that the children would be using the skills of collaboration, making links and perseverance. I like this approach, because it ensures that the children are really clear about what learning skills they need to be employing. Last week, the children wrote reports about our school trip to MOSI on Google Docs. They added text and photos. This week, they added tables and wrote a timetable of the day. After I modelled this on the board, they were very independent and created colour-coded, complex timetables. I also used this opportunity to encourage children to develop their report writing, and add key language features such as fronted adverbial phrases and more complex tenses. After adding tables, the children shared their work to our Google Classroom. They then peer-reviewed each others work against our success criteria, leaving comments in the shared work area. The children showed a great understanding of the criteria, and set suitable targets, including 'try to use more paragraphs to explain instead of just photos'. After this, I encouraged the children to respond to the feedback, and develop their reports even more. This was a great example of children taking on formative assessment, and using peer feedback to develop their work. There are a few children in the class who are particularly able when it comes to Computing. I targeted them by requesting that they included hyperlinks in their report, and used the thesaurus tool to develop the vocabulary. The extension of the children's vocab is currently a big target in year four, and so this tied into this focus very nicely. I have just started my FPP placement - only 12 weeks until QTS! I will be posting much more about the placement and my experiences, but as an update:
As part of the Science taught course, we have been shown how to use data loggers, and how these fit into the National Curriculum. The introduction to the 2014 KS1/2 Curriculum states that: 'pupils should seek answers to questions through collecting, analysing and presenting data'. Specifically, in Years 3 and 4, children should be: 'making systematic and careful observations and, where appropriate, taking accurate measurements using standard units, using a range of equipment, including thermometers and data loggers'. In the non-statutory guidance for LKS2, it is recommended that children: 'should learn how to use new equipment, such as data loggers, appropriately. They should collect data from their own observations and measurements, using notes, simple tables and standard units, and help to make decisions about how to record and analyse this data'. The course has provided us with an EasySense Q3 Data Logger, which can measure:
These data loggers can also be connected to a computer via a USB port, and the data can be recorded and plotted via software from the company's website. This software can produce graphs, tables and charts to show the different varieties of data that is collected. We discussed how we could use these data loggers as part of Working Scientifically, a key part of the curriculum. This emphasises scientific methods, process and language, and prepares children for higher-level science in KS3 and KS4. It encourages observation skills, precise data collection, evaluation, rational thought, and fair testing. These skills are related to computational thinking, a key part of the Computing National Curriculum. I taught a unit on Seasonal Change during GPP, and I now wish that I had used data loggers to record the changing temperature and light levels over the Autumn term. The change from September to December is quite considerable, and this could have been a good way to bring the topic to life. In future, I will think more about how I could use equipment such as this in my Science lessons. The link to computers could also be used to help teach data processing and Office skills; we could make a link to Microsoft Excel, or use a computer to model the changes via an animation or 3D graph. Links
Science National Curriculum (2014) - www.tinyurl.com/ks1-2-science EasySense Q3 - www.data-harvest.co.uk/catalogue/science/secondary/data-loggers/secondary-science-data-logging/4030
My next Pick n Mix module focuses on a variety of topics. These are:
I will be focusing on 'learning through games' in this blog post. The first section covers the topic of games in the classroom. These can be a great motivator for children, especially those who are reluctant to engage with traditional written work. The module has introduced me to two services, EducationCity and Espresso. The former provides an online learning environment, populated by games and content linked to lessons. Teachers can download interactive whiteboard content, and set up classroom areas online. Interaction with this website could be used as an add-on to work, or even be used as homework. Espresso is a similar service, and schools can buy into'engaging short videos, weekly News Bites bulletins, interactive games, images, sounds, fact-files, articles, printable resources and prepared assemblies.' Both services suggest that their content can save teacher's time, increase engagement and attainment, and provide resources which teachers may not be able to produce independently.
I was directed to www.mrandrewsonline.blogspot.co.uk, a blog run by a teacher who advocates the use of iPads and games in the classroom. His posts promote the use of technology to aid learning, although it is interesting to note that several of the projects - including a 'design your own car advert' - are intended to take place in the summer after SATs. My favourite post details 'New Star Soccer' a free app which uses a football manager scenario to boost reading skills. With a similar premise to the popular Football manager video game series, users choose players, make management decisions and (hopefully) lead their team to victory. Children must use their reading skills to interact with the game, and a continuous text commentary provides a constantly changing, immersive textual element. The post suggests that this game could be used for children who struggle to read for pleasure, especially in upper-KS2 and KS3. I would be interested to trial this with my Year 4 class.
The issue of being 'entertained' while learning can be seen as at odds with a traditional classroom model, as games and apps could be seen as a distraction. Skinner (1976) famously argued for the effectiveness of dry, rote learning, and the use of entertaining games contradicts his view of education. However, I believe that technology can be a very useful addition to the classroom, when managed alongside traditional paper and oral-based learning. Children can use games to collaborate, investigate problems and explore a topic in greater depth. This approach is more aligned with Vygotsky (1978) and Piaget (1962), whose emphasis on investigative, talk-based learning has influenced much of modern education. More recently, Casey et al. (2012) have linked technology use to Vygotsky's emphasis on play, and propose that technology should be used to facilitate play in early years and KS1-level settings. It makes sense to integrate some tech into the classroom, as children now live in a world saturated with its influence, and need to be able to engage with devices. The use of games will therefore help to prepare children for the future. Most of today's children will spend the majority of their adult lives working with computers, and the careful introduction of tech can help to improve their digital literacy.
Links and Bibliography
EducationCity - www.educationcity.com Espresso - www.discoveryeducation.co.uk/what-we-offer/discovery-education-espresso Mr Andrews Online - www.mrandrewsonline.blogspot.co.uk Casey, L, Reeves, K. and Conner, E. (2011),Using technology in the world of play, in Blake, S. (ed.) (2012) Child Development and the Use of Technology. Pennsylvania: IGI Global. Piaget, J. (1962) The Language and Thought of the Child. London: Routledge & Kegal Paul. Skinner, B. (1976) About Behaviourism. New York: Vintage Books. Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. |
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