Humanities AST Wiltshire

Demonstrating student progress - UPDATE

2012-01-10T20:40:00.000Z

Latest version of my 'Progression, Progression, Progression' presentation designed to help teachers demonstrate student progress in a lesson - additional input from Matthew Rose (Maths AST - Wiltshire)

Progression, Progression, Progression - Updated 2012

View more presentations from D Drake

New OfSted rules from the autumn - no notice inspections

2012-01-10T19:02:00.001Z

Schools across England will face no-notice inspections from this autumn. Sir Michael Wilshaw – the newly appointed Chief inspector of education, children's services and skills has announced today.

The normal period of notice is two days. However, Sir Michael believes that the new policy will enable schools to be seen as they really are and will focus on what happens in the classroom. In addition, he stated that inspector would spend less time going through paperwork and more time observing lessons.

Over the past 18 months, Ofsted have carried out 1,500 no-notice inspections – However, these were only for schools ‘causing concern’.

More details via The Guardian

Teaching Development in Geography

2012-01-10T17:34:00.000Z

Really good presentation to get students thinking and questioning images:

Think development 1.0

View more presentations from Simon Jones

The International Middle Years Curriculum (IMYC)

2011-12-29T17:55:00.000Z

I am in the process of leading the development of the IMYC (International Middle Years Curriculum) at our school, for implementation in September 2012.

I am recording our route through this as a blog. If this is something that might interest you and/or your school, please take a look here:

IMYC UK blog

National Curriculum review - Studying Geography or History could be made compulsory to end of KS4

2011-12-28T12:30:00.002Z

Pupils may have to study history or geography until they are 16 under plans for a shake-up of the national curriculum.

Daily Mail - 'An independent review ordered by Education Secretary Michael Gove called for the move yesterday as part of a wider drive to address concerns that England’s schools are falling behind the rest of the world.

A separate report yesterday warned of a sharp decline in history teaching, with 159 schools not entering a single pupil for a GCSE in the subject last year.'

Read the full article here

The full Expert Panel National Curriculum review document can be viewed on the Department for Education website here. However, a good summary of the main points has been produced by lkm Coaching and can be viewed here

Natural Curriculum expert Panel review Bluffers Guide:

There must be knowledge and development in a curriculum
There is a difference in prioritisation of subjects from Early Years to Key Stage 4
Breadth and balance must be reserved until KS4.
Attainment targets and National Curriculum levels should go
While agreeing with Wolf that academics rather than ‘skills’ development is crucial, development of skills does have a place in curriculum and it should inform provision in a school
The National Curriculum load has been lightened by reclassifying some subjects to ‘Basic curriculum’
Core at all ages: English, Maths & Science
Foundation (KS1-4): History, Geography, MFL, PE
Foundation (KS1-3): Music, Art
Basic: D&T, ICT, Citizenship, PSHE, RE, careers - not within new NC (must be delivered, but schools decide how and what).

BBC Dimensions - Using GIS in geography and history

2011-12-26T20:31:00.000Z

This is brilliant. It opens up so many possibilities for teaching geography and history using maps and GIS - It's a prototype from the BBC - called Dimensions

Text from BBC Dimensions website

About Dimensions

Dimensions is an experimental prototype for the BBC. It is designed to bring home the human scale of events and places in history.

The D-Day landing beaches measured from London to Norfolk in the UK. How far would the Titanic stretch down your street?

Dimensions simply juxtaposes the size of historical events with your home and neighbourhood, overlaying important places, events and things on a satellite view of where you live.

Certain "Dimensions" can be transformed into short walks, so you can get a physical appreciation of the distances involved.

Take a look now via this link

London 2012 - Geography homework project

2011-12-22T14:31:00.000Z

Need an idea of how to incorporate the London 2012 Olympics into Geography lessons? Try this:

London 2012 ELP Instruction Sheet

Developing a teaching and learning model

2011-12-22T11:41:00.002Z

As part of my role at school this year, I have taken on the challenge of developing a whole school approach to developing aspects of teaching and learning. Although our school has seen year-on-year improvement in 5A*-C grades (inc Eng & Maths) over the last five years, there is always room for improvement and I felt that we needed a coordinated approach to developing T&L.

I investigated various materials and models that were already available, but ultimately felt that an 'off the shelf' model would not necessarily target specific areas in our school that are in need of development. Every school is different, and I know through experience that what works in one school does not necessarily work in another.

The process started in November 2011 by working with the whole staff to pinpoint what kind of learner we desired at our school. This led to the development of a wordle as a simple pictorial reminder for staff when considering how we plan and deliver lessons in the future.

The next stage was to consider which areas of teaching and learning development would have the greatest impact on improving the quality of teaching at our particular school and therefore improve student progress further. As a result, I developed the Abbeyfield Learning Wheel. in order to provide a structure around which future CPD would revolve. Click on the image below to view the full presentation:

For the rest of this academic year, I have organised T&L sessions, which are being delivered to staff in order to cover many of the sections on the wheel, to ensure that colleagues feel more confident about each aspect - in order to establish a coordinated and consistent approach to improving teaching and learning further at our school.

If this is something I could help you with - let me know

Changes to GCSEs in 2012 - confirmed today

2011-12-20T09:27:00.001Z

Source - Ofqual website

Ofqual has today confirmed the changes that will be made to GCSEs in England for teaching from September 2012.

Changes are being made to GCSEs in order to implement the policy aims set out by the Department for Education in the 2010 White Paper, 'The Importance of Teaching'.

As a result of the changes:

· Assessment will take place at the end of the course of study

· Assessment opportunities for the majority of subjects will be restricted to summer only

For English, English language and mathematics there will be an additional assessment opportunity in November

Any pilot qualifications that are exceptions to this arrangement will be separately identified

In GCSE English literature, geography, history and religious studies, additional marks will be awarded for the accuracy of spelling, punctuation and grammar in questions that require extended answers

More details here

National Curriculum changes delayed until 2014

2011-12-19T16:34:00.000Z

BBC News - overhaul of the national curriculum in England is to be delayed by a year, the education secretary has confirmed.

A written statement on Monday says the review of core subjects will now be implemented in autumn 2014.

Michael Gove says he wants standards to match high-performing systems such as Singapore and Hong Kong.

"The longer timescale will allow for further debate with everyone interested in creating a genuinely world-class education system," said Mr Gove.

Full story here

What geography should be taught in schools?

2011-12-13T09:23:00.000Z

In 2012, radically new geography programmes of study will be written, focusing on the essential geographical knowledge that should be taught year by year. The GA intends to influence what this means and the resulting outcomes.

From 15 July to 31 October 2011 the GA asked teachers to tell them what they think about the Curriculum Proposals and Rationale. Full and summary reports of the findings of the consultation are available to download below:

http://www.geography.org.uk/getinvolved/geographycurriculumconsultation/

Revised proposals will be added to this page in early 2012.

Using social media in Geography

2011-12-08T09:36:00.000Z

A great article here in the current Leader Magazine, about Millie Watts from Richard Huish 6th form College in Taunton.

I couldn't agree more with everything she says and what she is trying to do. It is such a shame that in so many schools, leaders and managers are afraid of social media and are unable to see the massive possibilities for raising student motivation and achievement.

The revision materials I place on Abbeyfield Humanities (Blogger) get a thousands of visits each month, especially around exam time. However, not all the content is accessible in schools (especially my You Tube videos) which is eternally frustrating!

How often have you tried to use social media in lessons and found the site you are trying to access blocked?

Try accessing my sites from school and you may see what I mean:

Twitter
Abbeyfield Humanities
You Tube - Humanities channel

It is great that decision makers at Richard Huish 6th form College appear to have realised the potential of social media and have allowed Millie to take this forward.

Useful Geography resources

2011-12-07T17:11:00.000Z

Have come across this website from Chartered Geographer Helen Young. Geography Geek has lots of resources and Schemes of work for you to use. Take a look

There is also a Geography quiz for the end of term!

Ofsted - subject specific teaching judgements

2011-11-30T15:25:00.000Z

You may be interested in the subject specific teaching judgement grades available on the Ofsted website.

The link below shows generic grade descriptors and supplementary subject-specific guidance for inspectors on making judgements during subject survey visits to schools

The subject specific descriptors for geography and history are available to download as a PDF or Word document here

VIDEO - Thailand starts clear up after floods

2011-11-22T17:49:00.000Z

Abbeyfield Humanities: Thailand starts clear up after floods: Not only are people living in terrible conditions after months of flood water, but many people have no way of earning an income as businesse...

Will the Olympics really boost tourism?

2011-11-13T10:03:00.002Z

Abbeyfield Humanities: Will the Olympics really boost tourism?: (Reuters) - Tour operators organising trips to Britain are seeing an average 90 percent downturn in bookings during the London 2012 Olympic...

Another quake hits Turkey

2011-11-13T10:03:00.001Z

Abbeyfield Humanities: Another quake hits Turkey: Just two weeks after a major earthquake in Turkey on 23rd October 2011, another quake, this time with a 5.6 magnitude has hit the country. I...

Earthrise - Environmental solutions

2011-11-13T10:03:00.000Z

Abbeyfield Humanities: Earthrise - Environmental solutions: Earthrise explores solutions to today's environmental challenges, taking an upbeat look at ecological, scientific, technological and design ...

Be in a major BBC TV show!

2011-11-01T20:17:00.000Z

Abbeyfield Humanities: Be in a major BBC TV show!: Britain in a Day is a unique portrait of twenty-four hours in the life of the UK , filmed by you. On Saturday 12 November 2011 pick up a c...

Life in a day

2011-11-01T20:06:00.001Z

Source - BBC website

Feature film which documents a single day on earth through a multitude of perspectives - ordinary and extraordinary - all shot on 24 July 2010.

It brings together the most compelling footage from more than 80,000 videos submitted, totalling 4500 hours of content, and combines 331 clips into a 95-minute film crafted by Kevin Macdonald, executive producer Ridley Scott, producer Liza Marshall and their team, in association with YouTube.

Contributions poured in from 192 countries from Australia to Zambia, Peru to Ukraine, UK to Japan - from the heart of bustling cities to the furthest and most remote reaches of the earth.

Many of the entries were submitted via YouTube, while a number came from cameras that were handed out by contacts in the developing world.

Watch it on BBC TWO on Thursday at 9pm

Showing progress in lessons

2011-10-29T16:11:00.001+01:00

Progression, Progression, Progression

What makes an 'Outstanding' lesson - New Ofsted criteria from January 2012

2011-10-29T15:57:00.002+01:00

What makes an outstanding lesson jan 2012

View more presentations from D Drake

Thai floods continue to cause problems

2011-10-28T21:20:00.000+01:00

Abbeyfield Humanities: Thai floods continue to cause problems: Thai floods explained on CNN: Text source – BBC News Many residents have continued to leave Bangkok ahead of possible flooding at the ...

Population analysis - 7 billion & counting

2011-10-26T10:07:00.000+01:00

Population analysis - 7 billion & counting: BBC News - The UN is set to announce that the population of the planet has now reached seven billion people. But will this number continue ...

Turkey hit by earthquake

2011-10-25T17:06:00.001+01:00

Turkey hit by earthquake: Rescue teams are desperately searching for people trapped under rubble after a strong earthquake hit Turkey 's eastern Van region on Sunday....

Population management - China's One child policy

2011-10-25T17:05:00.001+01:00

Population management - China's One child policy: Text source: The guardian When the one-child policy started in the 1970s, women in Henan gave birth to an average of 5.8 children in their...

New Zealand threatened by Oil Spill

2011-10-09T20:49:00.000+01:00

VIDEO - New Zealand threatened by Oil Spill: Plus, more details via the BBC News website here

Floods hit south-east Asia

2011-10-05T21:39:00.000+01:00

Floods hit south-east Asia: Hundreds of people have died in Thailand and Cambodia as Monsoon rains have caused extensive flooding in many areas of south-east Asia. The ...

The TEEP model - Improving teaching and learning

2011-10-01T11:19:00.000+01:00

A number of schools are now adopting the TEEP (Teacher Effectiveness Enhancement Programme) model to help improve the quality of teaching and learning.

You may have heard about this strategy but were not sure what it involves. A brief overview is given below:

The model is in three parts, with sub-sections within some of the parts outlined here:

New Ofsted framework from January 2012

2011-09-30T18:01:00.000+01:00

BBC NEWS - School inspections in England will give more scrutiny to the quality of teaching, in a back to basics shake-up by the Ofsted education watchdog.

A new streamlined inspection framework will emphasise four key areas - pupil achievement, teaching standards, behaviour and school leadership.

Parents will also to comment on schools through an Ofsted website.

Schools Minister Nick Gibb said inspectors would "concentrate on things that really matter".

For full details via BBC News click here

Or access the new guidance via the OfSted website here

Changes to GCSE from 2012 - an overview

2011-09-27T18:19:00.000+01:00

The Government has set out its policy aims in the White Paper, The Importance of Teaching (2010). Some of these aims focused on changes to the current GCSE qualifications, namely:

to ensure that GCSE examinations are taken at the end of the course
to remove the potential for the re-sitting of units
to ensure that greater account is taken of spelling, punctuation and grammar in GCSE qualifications.

Currently, Ofqual are consulting on the proposals. You can take a look at the changes here

In addition, you make like to 'Have your say' about the proposals

2011: 7 billion and counting

2011-09-25T12:26:00.000+01:00

2011: 7 billion and counting: As the population worldwide is expected to reach 7 billion in 2011, National Geographic outlines the issues that this raises. Watch the vide...

Back to School - ICT tools for your classroom

2011-09-21T18:20:00.000+01:00

Have a look at this blog post. It has quite a few good links to help you spice up lessons and stop you having to trawl the net (a bit!).

Top 25 Back to School Web 2.0 tools

Where did everybody go? Migrations map

2011-09-19T21:56:00.000+01:00

Where did everybody go? Migrations map: Find out who is in and who is out. This interactive migration map enables you to select a country to find out how many people arrive and ...

How is poverty measured?

2011-09-18T15:10:00.000+01:00

How is poverty measured?: Watch the video below to find out more:

The new Geography Curriculum - the latest developm...

2011-09-18T15:05:00.000+01:00

Living Geography: The new Geography Curriculum - the latest developm...: I received an e-mail today from David Lambert about developments towards the new curriculum... The Department for Education, through Nick...

Think differently - a reminder

2011-09-16T19:05:00.000+01:00

I have posted this video before, but watched it again today. Worth a reminder:

Pakistan - Two million affected by flood water dis...

2011-09-15T21:46:00.000+01:00

Abbeyfield Humanities: Pakistan - Two million affected by flood water dis...: BBC News: More than two million people in Pakistan are suffering from flood-related diseases following torrential rain in Sindh province. ...

Mapping global warming

2011-09-15T21:45:00.001+01:00

Abbeyfield Humanities: Mapping global warming: Watch the video below to find out how cartographers are taking into account the impact of global warming when drawing up the latest maps: ...

Fatalities as Pakistan and India hit by flooding

2011-09-15T21:45:00.000+01:00

Fatalities as Pakistan and India hit by flooding: The Monsoon season of 2011 has led to widespread flooding in Pakistan. Torrential downpours - up to 350 mm of rain has fallen this month alo...

Does democracy stifle economic growth?

2011-09-12T21:21:00.000+01:00

Abbeyfield Humanities: Does democracy stifle economic growth?: What do you think? Watch the TED talk here

Remnants of Hurricane Katia felt in UK

2011-09-12T21:20:00.002+01:00

Abbeyfield Humanities: Remnants of Hurricane Katia felt in UK: Text source - BBC News

Southern and central parts of Scotland , Northern Ireland , and northern England and Wales have been experiencing ...

Hurricane for the UK?

2011-09-12T21:20:00.001+01:00

Abbeyfield Humanities: Hurricane for the UK?: Britain is braced for strong weather over the next few days as the remnants of Hurricane Katia move across the country. However, do not ge...

Latest Hydro-engineering scheme in China causes co...

2011-09-12T21:20:00.000+01:00

Abbeyfield Humanities: Latest Hydro-engineering scheme in China causes co...:

Source - The Guardian

A huge project to relocate 345,000 people from the path of diversion channels that will carry water from the south ...

Reel Britain

2011-09-07T19:09:00.000+01:00

Reel Britain: There is a fascinating series, that has recently started on BBC Two. Presented by Melvyn Bragg, it explores the social history of Britain in the 20th Century through personal memories and rare video archive.

Are our summers getting warmer?

2011-08-31T18:57:00.001+01:00

Are our summers getting warmer?: According to the data from the Met Office, it appears that despite a cooler summer this year, temperatures are warmer now than they were 100 years ago - click the link above

Is it really all their own work?

2011-08-31T12:59:00.004+01:00

In case you haven't come across it yet, have a look at this website:

paperrater.com/plagiarism_checker

Sometimes it is hard to identify whether student work is original or if chunks have been cut and pasted from various websites. This site allows you to paste work in and check for plagiarism - really easy to use. Even tells you where it has been taken from if it has been pinched and likelihood of originality.

VIDEO - Irene continues to cause problems in US

2011-08-30T12:53:00.000+01:00

Abbeyfield Humanities: VIDEO - Irene continues to cause problems in US

Click on the link to watch the latest video from ITN

Hurricane Irene heads towards New York

2011-08-27T21:55:00.000+01:00

Hurricane Irene heads towards New York: New York 's mayor has issued the city's first-ever mandatory evacuation notices, as the US faces up to the arrival of Hurricane Irene ...

Abbeyfield Humanities: Typhoon Nanmadol hits the Phillippines

2011-08-27T16:30:00.000+01:00

Typhoon Nanmadol hits the Phillippines: A trail of destruction has been left in the Phillippines, as typhoon Nanmadol struck with country with winds of up to 100 mph affecting many...

Hurricane Irene hits Caribbean

2011-08-25T16:47:00.001+01:00

Hurricane Irene hits Caribbean: Hurricane Irene is now heading for the east coast of the USA after turning into a category 3 storm. Already Irene has caused widespread dama...

Hurricane Irene hits Cuba and Dominican Republic

2011-08-25T16:47:00.000+01:00

Hurricane Irene hits Cuba and Dominican Republic: The Dominican Republic was struck on Wednesday. Thousands of people have lost their homes. Cuba has also been affected by flooding, although...

Three steps to build a Wind farm

2011-08-16T19:03:00.000+01:00

Three steps to build a Wind farm: "By 2020 the government hopes that 15% of the UK's energy will come from renewable sources. Wind energy is expected to make up a large proportion of our energy needs..."

Fastest growing city struggling to cope

2011-08-15T09:19:00.000+01:00

Fastest growing city struggling to cope:

"Dhaka, capital of Bangladesh is struggling to cope with a rapidly growing population. Overcrowding is now a major problem and is set to get ..."

Teaching respect and manners in Japan

2011-08-11T13:06:00.002+01:00

The Japanese Ministry of Education wants to encourage children's individual strengths, yet it's aware that if there's too much emphasis on this, young people may no longer feel a sense of public duty.

As a result, schools are putting increased emphasis on moral education lessons, with great pressure on teachers to cultivate a sense of morality and citizenship.

Watch the video here

It poses some interesting questions - worth watching

SOURCE - TeachersMedia

The Social Media Revolution

2011-08-10T23:38:00.002+01:00

Are you keeping up?

Impact of migration in Armenia

2011-08-10T20:59:00.000+01:00

Abbeyfield Humanities: Impact of migration in Armenia: "In many rural areas of the former Soviet Union, poverty and unemployment are forcing people to leave. But in Armenia it is men who are going..."

Tweeting Geography

2011-08-09T17:03:00.000+01:00

Tweeting Geography

View more presentations from Simon Jones

Australia's boomtown curse - Mining

2011-08-08T12:08:00.001+01:00

Abbeyfield Humanities: Australia's boomtown curse - Mining: "SOURCE - Al Jazeera English Australia is blessed with rugged beauty and a wealth of natural resources - including coal, iron, natural gas..."

Interested in the weather? Then weatherspark is fo...

2011-08-04T18:28:00.001+01:00

Abbeyfield Humanities: Interested in the weather? Then weatherspark is fo...: "This is a great, easy to navigate website that provides up-to-date weather information for the area in which you live. Just enter the name o..."

University applications - key dates 2011-12

2011-08-03T12:13:00.003+01:00

Abbeyfield Humanities: University applications - key dates 2011-12: "The following information was originally published on the Telegraph website Key dates: Year 12, spring and summer terms • Research subj..."

Cloud spotting

2011-08-03T12:13:00.002+01:00

Abbeyfield Humanities: Cloud spotting: "Ever looked up into the sky and wondered what the different types of cloud are called? You can download your own Cloud spotting guide her..."

Wiltshire History Conference 2011

2011-07-08T12:18:00.001+01:00

Wilts History Conference 2011

The end of modular GCSE exams

2011-06-27T18:03:00.000+01:00

Education Secretary Michael Gove says modular GCSEs are to be phased out, with students starting in 2012 taking all exams at the end of the course.

Pupils starting in September 2012 will sit the exams for all their modules at the end of two years. After that, non-modular courses will be brought in.

Mr Gove said he wanted to end a culture of "resits" which he called "wrong".

He told BBC1's Andrew Marr show that other countries had more rigorous examination regimes and schools in the UK needed to catch up.

"The problem that we had is that instead of sitting every part of a GCSE at the end of a course, bits of it were taken along the way," Mr Gove said.

The full article can be read here

'Astonishing' is the only word I can use here without getting into trouble!

Using images in lessons

2011-06-08T19:05:00.002+01:00

Have a look at this great collection of photographs for use in Geography lessons to stimulate discussion and questioning. Thanks to Simon Jones for forwarding this to me

Thirty thinking images

View more presentations from Simon Jones

How to raise standards - new report

2011-05-26T19:21:00.002+01:00

An interesting report from the Sutton Trust has been published outlining the most and least effective ways to raise standards in schools.

The headlines are:

The best way to raise standards is by giving pupils effective feedback - which should be sparing, specific and encouraging. Along with teaching approaches that encourage pupils to plan, monitor and evaluate their own learning
There is no robust evidence that school uniform makes any difference to standards
The use of teaching assistants has little or no impact on raising standards
The benefit of pupils doing homework is 'modest'
Streaming by ability or reducing class sizes has no real impact on standards

Interesting - if a little controversial!

The impact grid in the full report is very interesting indeed and questions many of the current strategies employed by schools as a way of raising standards - many of which are capital and labour intensive (but may not be efficient or indeed effective).

Read the full overview here

A copy of The Sutton Trust Report can be viewed here in full

Flood prevention planning using ICT

2011-05-24T20:40:00.000+01:00

Great as a decision making exercise activity

FloodSim puts students in control of all flood policy decisions and spending in the UK for 3 years. Whether its deciding how much money to allocate to flood defences, deciding where to build houses, or how best to inform people about the risk of flooding, they are in control.

FloodSim is a serious game with the aims to raise awareness of the vast number of issues surrounding flood policy and Government expenditure and to increase citizen engagement through an accessible simulation.

Try it here

Showing progress in your lesson

2011-05-20T13:54:00.002+01:00

I have come across this really good powerpoint, produced by Max Rayner which can be downloaded and adapted for use in your classroom.

I have used it myself and it works really well

Take a look here

Government response to Wolf Report

2011-05-12T18:20:00.000+01:00

The government response to the Wolf Report was published today. The main areas they have identified for priority are:

Ensure that all young people study and achieve in English and mathematics, ideally to GCSE A*-C, by the age of 19. For those young people who are not immediately able to achieve these qualifications, we will identify high quality English and maths qualifications that will enable them to progress to GCSE later.
Will also reform GCSE to ensure that they are a more reliable indicator of achievement in the basics, in particular by ensuring that GCSEs are reformed alongside our current review of the National Curriculum.
Reform performance tables and funding rules to remove the perverse incentives which have served only to devalue vocational education, while pushing young people into qualification routes that do not allow them to move into work or further learning. Those vocational qualifications that attract performance points will be the very best for young people – in terms of their content, assessment and progression.
Look at the experience of other countries to simplify Apprenticeships, remove bureaucracy and make them easier for employers to offer.

In Humanities subjects, it is probably the second bullet point that is of most interest to us - Reforming GCSEs! Watch this space

The full government response can be viewed here along with the Wolf Report itself which can be viewed via the DfE website here

Teachers TV archive taken over

2011-05-11T21:21:00.000+01:00

A new organisation has been set up by the people who ran Teachers TV. Teachers Media will give full access to the archive of 3,500 videos that were on the Teachers TV website before it was closed down. These should become available in the next two weeks.

On Teachers Media you will be able to:

Stream all the 3500 Teachers TV videos at the highest quality
Easily search and navigate the Teachers TV archive
Access and download documents and other resources linked to the videos
Use the popular Behaviour Challenge interactive training tool

These resources will continue to be free of charge. This is great news.

Visit their website here

Writing an AS Level Geography essay

2011-05-10T20:24:00.002+01:00

Below is a template I have produced which may help with preparing students to write extended answers

AS Level Geography Essay Plan

Wiltshire History Conference 2011

2011-05-06T17:21:00.001+01:00

The Wiltshire History Conference this year will be held in Chippenham, at Monkton Park and the Wiltshire History Centre on Monday 13th June 2011

This conference will:

* Provide a better understanding of the Ofsted Framework
* Suggest practical strategies to enhance pupils’ learning in History
* Provide an opportunity to share ideas about effective History teaching in all Key Stages
* Enable teachers to learn from Jamie Byron and the Wiltshire History Centre

You can get straight to the information and book a place by clicking here. The closing date for booking a place at the conference is Thursday 26th May 2011. There is no cost for Wiltshire LA teachers.

Book now! It promises to be a very good day - hope to see you there

English Bac 'first of many accountability measures' - oh goody!

2011-04-27T17:49:00.000+01:00

BBC NEWS

The English Baccalaureate is the first of many more performance measures to come, says Schools Minister Nick Gibb.

The English Bac marks how many pupils get five A*- C GCSEs in English, maths, a language, two sciences and either geography or history.

Defending its introduction, Mr Gibb said: "There will be more of these accountability measures, not fewer."

The benchmark has been criticised by teaching unions, which say it fails to recognise success in other subjects.

Mr Gibb defended the omission of RE from the new benchmark, saying the subject was compulsory in schools until the age of 16 and GCSE entries had increased from 16% in 1995 to 28% in 2010.

The English Bac would help reverse a steady decline in GCSE entries for geography and history, he added.

Read the full BBC News article here

Changing Education Paradigms

2011-04-06T20:15:00.000+01:00

Thanks to John Sayers for pointing me towards this

For more click here: http://sirkenrobinson.com/skr/

Filthy Cities - History

2011-04-06T18:25:00.000+01:00

In case you didn't see it, the series Filthy cities began on BBC One last night. I would thoroughly recommend it, based on last night's episode.

It looked at life in medieval London. The Filthy cities website has more information, links to i-player and a few clips from the programme itself.

Find it here

History for all - Ofsted report March 2011

2011-04-06T18:17:00.000+01:00

This report evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of history in primary and secondary schools. It is based principally on evidence from inspections of history between April 2007 and March 2010 in 166 maintained schools in England.

Part A focuses on the key inspection findings in the context of rising standards since the previous report in 2007. Part B discusses some of the key issues facing history teachers and describes the essential components of effective learning in history. Both parts of the report give examples of good practice. This report builds on Ofsted’s 2007 report, History in the balance.

Read the full report here

Her Majesty's Chief inspector, Christine Gilbert said:
'The report presents a positive picture of the standards and teaching in history in schools. History is well taught, pupils enjoy it and achieve well. However, the report also found that some primary teachers find it difficult to establish a clear picture of the past so that pupils can develop a secure understanding of chronology. More attention needs to be given to helping teachers improve their understanding of progression in historical thinking.

National Curriculum review - Give Geography and History a voice!

2011-04-06T18:13:00.000+01:00

Michael Gove MP, Secretary of State for Education, has announced a review of the primary and secondary National Curriculum in England.

The National Curriculum was originally intended as a guide for study in key subjects which would give parents and teachers confidence that students were acquiring the knowledge necessary at every level of study to make appropriate progress.

As it has developed, the National Curriculum has come to cover more subjects, prescribe more outcomes and take up more school time than originally intended. The DfE want to hear your opinions and evidence about the National Curriculum and start a debate about what is taught in our schools. By answering the questions in the Call for Evidence you can give your input to the discussion at this early stage.

Have your say here via the Dept for Education website

The learning revolution?

2011-04-01T19:35:00.003+01:00

How many of us agree with these ideas and theories?

I know that I do, but how do we go about putting this into practise when we are judged by the league tables which hold up A*-C grades in English and Maths as the pinacle, have to follow the national curriculum and need to make sure that all lessons show progress, have AfL strategies etc etc....

I know from my experiences this year of working with a group of year 7 students who find a traditional curriculum difficult to access, that they can flourish and develop a love of learning when given the opportunity to be creative, try new things, have fun and be children!

Do schools kill creativity?

2011-04-01T18:01:00.001+01:00

New Ofsted website invites parents to comment on their school

2011-03-19T18:15:00.000Z

Parents are to be encouraged to rate their children's schools on the Ofsted website.

England's chief inspector Christine Gilbert said where concerns were raised extra inspections would follow.

The plans come in a shake-up of school inspections in England, which will be streamlined and refocused on struggling schools.

The Ofsted survey would be linked to individual school pages on the organisation's website, and would feature a set of 10 questions related to teaching quality, achievement, behaviour and school leadership, Ms Gilbert said.

Parents would be able to respond anonymously or give their name, but they would only need an e-mail address to log their opinions.

The e-mailed response would automatically identify which school the parent was contacting Ofsted about.

Read the full story here

Life in a Shanty town - Brazil

2011-03-19T17:56:00.001Z

4 - Rocinha

View more presentations from Ecumene

Rural Urban migration in LEDCs

2011-03-19T17:55:00.001Z

Rural Urban Migration Ledc

View more presentations from whiskeyhj.

The 5 W's in Geography

2011-03-19T17:52:00.001Z

What Are The 5 W’s

View more presentations from Simon Jones.

Improving Shanty towns

2011-03-19T17:49:00.001Z

Improving a Shanty Town version 2.0

View more presentations from Simon Jones

Thinking about disasters

2011-03-19T17:46:00.002Z

Thinking about disasters

View more presentations from Simon Jones

Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire

2011-03-19T17:42:00.002Z

"The Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire" PowerPoint Presentation

Image based resources: A-Level and GCSE Edexcel History

2011-03-17T18:19:00.001Z

English Heritage have mapped their Heritage Explorer image-based resources against the Edexcel GCE History specification.

There's a wide range of historical images which teachers can access free of charge to use in school, for example by adding them to worksheets, PowerPoints and the school VLE.

Access the materials here

Thanks to Mark Battye History Subject Advisor (Edexcel) for this information via twitter

Schools History Project Conference

2011-03-10T21:49:00.000Z

Booking for the 23rd National SHP Conference to be held at Leeds Trinity University College is now open

The Conference will be held over the weekend of 1-3 July 2011. The booking link can be found on the SHP website here:

http://www.schoolshistoryproject.org.uk/

Establishing global links

2011-03-10T21:44:00.001Z

Gemin-i, is a charity that runs an international online learning community called Rafi.ki for secondary age children and a sister community called Kidogo for primary age children.

They encourage and foster communication between primary and secondary school students across the world. They have active members from over 80 countries and hundreds of schools engaging with each other and discussing important issues such as conflict minerals, climate change and HIV/AIDS.

To find out more check out their website: http://www.gemin-i.org/

What makes an 'outstanding lesson'?

2011-03-08T18:16:00.001Z

What makes an Outstanding Lesson? 2009 UPDATE

View more presentations from D Drake

How to teach an outstanding lesson

View more presentations from L.K.M Consulting.

Produce and present a weather forecast

2011-03-05T12:46:00.000Z

Have come across this website that lets you add symbols to a google earth map and then animate to create a weather forecast. I am addicted already!

Have a play here

The Wolf Report

2011-03-04T15:32:00.003Z

A review has taken place - focusing on the future of vocational education

To read the report, you can access and download it here

From what I can tell, the main findings appear to be:

80% of time should be spent on 'core' subjects (up until the age of 16) - which I take to mean the ones included in the EBacc (inc Geography and History)
Too many courses are not suitable to lead youngsters into higher education or a job
Vocational qualifications should not be included in school league tables (some at the moment are the equivalent of 4 GCSE grades)
Schools should no longer have a duty to provide work experience for students
Students should stick to 'academic subjects' up until the age of 16
Colleges should be able to take students from the age of 14

A Personal view:
If this will stop some schools offering inappropriate vocational courses and pushing students into them in order to artificially inflate their 5*A-C grade percentage in the league tables, rather than encouraging them down the vocational route because it is the best route for the individual student - it must be seen as a good thing!

Amazing images

2011-03-02T20:43:00.000Z

Some amazing images taken each month by NASA. Images show natural processes and major world events such as cyclone Yasi in Australia.

Have a look, by clicking on the link below:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/series/satelliteeye

Free teaching resources

2011-02-26T20:12:00.000Z

The Guardian Teacher Network website is full of useful resources for all subjects. You can download materials and upload your own if you wish

You will need to register before you are able to access the specific materials, but it is worth it

Visit the website here

Bring data and statistics to life

2011-02-23T22:53:00.003Z

All sorts of great interactive visualisations and images which can be used in lessons to bring data and statistics in Geography and History to life

English Baccalaureate overview

2011-01-21T12:17:00.000Z

Whether you agree or disagree with the idea of the EBacc, you might find the following slides useful when trying to recruit students for GCSE Geography or History

English Baccalaureate overview

View more presentations from D Drake.

Questioning techniques in the classroom

2011-01-21T12:13:00.000Z

What makes effective questioning?

View more presentations from D Drake.

Holocaust Memorial Day - 27th January

2011-01-12T18:30:00.000Z

The Holocaust Memorial Day Trust has produced some new free downloadable resources for secondary teachers. It is based on new research linked with untold Stories in old photographs.

To access the materials click here

Lots going on!

2011-01-12T18:24:00.000Z

With so much happening at the moment that could be used in Humanities lessons. Video clips and information that can be used in lessons are posted on my Abbeyfield site. Visit Abbeyfield Humanities here for resources that you may find helpful for use in lessons. Recent posts include:

Australian floods
Haiti - one year on
Rome wasn't built in a day - a new Channel 4 series

I hope you find it useful

E Bacc figures to be included in league tables this year

2011-01-08T13:35:00.000Z

When England's secondary school league tables are published on Wednesday, they will include the new measure.

The tables will show what proportion of a school's pupils got at least a C in English, maths, science, a language and either geography or history at GCSE.

To read the full report click here