After marking many, many pieces of Business coursework over that last few weeks it is clear to me that there is a huge gap between those who can analyse their findings and those who really can't.
I am always telling pupils that if after reading an answer, I can still ask them why something is the way they have said it is, then they have not gone deep enough with their analysis.
Training pupils in this seems to be one of the hardest parts of my job. We do practice question after practice question yet are still struggling when it comes to the real thing.
Wednesday 18 December 2013
ICT and English Curriculum Workshop
Most of the spelling strategies suggested we already attempt in both ICT and Business.
Examples:
New methods that we could try are:
Examples:
- Pronouncing the word as it is spelt.
- Breaking the word in to syllables.
- Using words within words to remember them (Don't forget my mate Ron in Environment/Eve in achieve).
New methods that we could try are:
- Writing a list of similarly spelt words on the board.
- Using rhymes to jog pupils' memories. (This would require learning the same ones used in English.)
Monday 2 December 2013
Year 9 Digging Deeper Day 2014 Z Gen
Watch out for zombies at www.zgen.tv
Wildern School Social Media Project
Retweet #ctrlalt9
Can we get it trending?
Wildern School Social Media Project
Retweet #ctrlalt9
Can we get it trending?
Thursday 28 November 2013
Thursday 24 October 2013
Differentiation SIG Intro
My aim - to collect resources and ideas for teaching low/below pupils in Business and preparing them for their controlled assessment.
What are your viewpoints on differentiation?
Resources - edited the book.
Not publicising the fact they need extra support but allowing pupils to have the choice.
Questioning
Reflecting on realistic targets - May be not completing a task.
Emphasising the positive
Not dwelling on what they haven't done.
Helping them/more support without the pupil realising.
Dealing with being wrong/failing.
Interpretation of questions.
Definition of Differentiation:
Making a task accessible to all students whilst ensuring they are still be challenged.
What are your viewpoints on differentiation?
Resources - edited the book.
Not publicising the fact they need extra support but allowing pupils to have the choice.
Questioning
Reflecting on realistic targets - May be not completing a task.
Emphasising the positive
Not dwelling on what they haven't done.
Helping them/more support without the pupil realising.
Dealing with being wrong/failing.
Interpretation of questions.
Definition of Differentiation:
Making a task accessible to all students whilst ensuring they are still be challenged.
Wednesday 18 September 2013
Tuesday 6 August 2013
Teaching in the USA
Some really use tips here from TES.
The World Class Learning Group's British Schools abroad.
The World Class Learning Group's British Schools abroad.
Image from here.
Thursday 4 July 2013
Python Practice - My attempt
# Receive and Return
# Demonstrates parameters and return values
def display(message):
print(message)
def give_me_five():
five = 5
return five
def ask_yes_no(question):
"""Ask a yes or no question."""
response = None
while response not in ("y", "n"):
response = input(question).lower()
return response
# main
display("Here's a message for you.\n")
number = give_me_five()
print("Here's what I got from give_me_five():", number)
answer = ask_yes_no("\nPlease enter 'y' or 'n': ")
print("Thanks for entering:", answer)
input("\n\nPress the enter key to exit.")
# Demonstrates parameters and return values
def display(message):
print(message)
def give_me_five():
five = 5
return five
def ask_yes_no(question):
"""Ask a yes or no question."""
response = None
while response not in ("y", "n"):
response = input(question).lower()
return response
# main
display("Here's a message for you.\n")
number = give_me_five()
print("Here's what I got from give_me_five():", number)
answer = ask_yes_no("\nPlease enter 'y' or 'n': ")
print("Thanks for entering:", answer)
input("\n\nPress the enter key to exit.")
Tutor/Literacy Thank you
Hi Ed / Ian,
Just wanted to say you have a brilliant tutor team. Throughout the digging deeper parts that I've been involved with your team have done some amazing things. I also just want to highlight that Hayley and Dave are superstars and return / complete everything and I've had some brilliant material back from them.
Cheers,
MJ
Wednesday 3 July 2013
Yr 6 Induction Thanks
Thanks for doing the Induction lessons today
Mr M.D.Knight
SLE, ICT Director of Learning & Year 11 Academic Mentor
Wildern School
Tuesday 2 July 2013
MatthewKnight.co.uk: Snap!
MatthewKnight.co.uk: Snap!: Snap! is a site that is ideal for MS/HS learning how to program. The site is a spin-off of Scratch and works very similarly w/ a drag-n-dr...
Friday 28 June 2013
Thursday 27 June 2013
CPD Day
Points covered:
General Studies starter quiz (5 out of 5!)
Cyberbullying starters and full lessons
SIG group feedback
Storify - use it for Nelson Mandela. Answer: Who is he? What did he do?
ICT starter/plenary tasks - add ideas to Google spreadsheet.
ICT/Computer Science and Business trip ideas.
RQT Independent Enquiry Feedback:
General Studies starter quiz (5 out of 5!)
Cyberbullying starters and full lessons
SIG group feedback
Storify - use it for Nelson Mandela. Answer: Who is he? What did he do?
ICT starter/plenary tasks - add ideas to Google spreadsheet.
ICT/Computer Science and Business trip ideas.
RQT Independent Enquiry Feedback:
- Pupils need training
- Lower ability find it easier to get started.
- MAT pupils don't like not knowing if they are wrong or right. (More scared of failing.)
Updated the Wildern Business VLE for Unit 1.3.
Thursday 6 June 2013
mrmknight.co.uk: Sound Effects
mrmknight.co.uk: Sound Effects This website is good for making your own sound effects http://www.bfxr.net/
Wednesday 22 May 2013
MatthewKnight.co.uk: National Curriculum Update: Computing officially r...
MatthewKnight.co.uk: National Curriculum Update: Computing officially r...: On 3 May 2013 the Secretary of State for Education, Michael Gove, confirmed that, following the recent public consultation on proposals to ...
Tuesday 14 May 2013
MatthewKnight.co.uk: Lack of sleep blights pupils' education
MatthewKnight.co.uk: Lack of sleep blights pupils' education: By Sean Coughlan BBC News education correspondent Continue reading the main story Sleep deprivation is a significant hidden ...
Business Studies Classroom Ideas
I have been thinking about my ideal Business Studies classroom. Purely thinking about the layout and content of the room. Currently I teach in a room that is a little too large which, due to there being no carpets, is very echoey. The PCs are spread around the edge of the room meaning pupils are generally facing away from the board when working. This makes referring to the board hard work sometimes, to-ing and fro-ing. There are tables in the middle of the room but it is a bit of a squash to get pupils near enough to the whiteboard when copying down notes. The whiteboard that is in the room is tiny. Not that I'm fussy or anything...
I visited a school in Winchester that had desks similar to those shown below. Their idea was that if pupils are being taught in an office like environment, it would firstly give them a better understanding of what an office environment is like but it would also potentially motivate them some how. They had most of the desks positioned to the center of the room so the teacher could navigate around them. The only downside being that the teacher couldn't see all the PC screens at the same time.
I like the idea of each pupil having a set work space. The design below would work well if pupils had their own laptops or tablets. There is enough space to do paperwork as well.
The smaller table set up would also work well for meetings and group work. It would appear to create a much more formal working space which again could motivate pupils.
I visited a school in Winchester that had desks similar to those shown below. Their idea was that if pupils are being taught in an office like environment, it would firstly give them a better understanding of what an office environment is like but it would also potentially motivate them some how. They had most of the desks positioned to the center of the room so the teacher could navigate around them. The only downside being that the teacher couldn't see all the PC screens at the same time.
I like the idea of each pupil having a set work space. The design below would work well if pupils had their own laptops or tablets. There is enough space to do paperwork as well.
The smaller table set up would also work well for meetings and group work. It would appear to create a much more formal working space which again could motivate pupils.
With the number of pupils choosing Business Studies at Wildern increasing, I am inclined to think that a change of classroom set up is needed, particularly as this means class sizes are also increasing.
Monday 13 May 2013
Tutorial: Making a flyer in Indesign
A really useful tutorial for designing a flyer in Adobe Indesign
Thursday 9 May 2013
Apps for Good #TraintheTrainer update session
Apps for Good 2013/14
Can be a mobile, web (Chrome examples) or Facebook app next year.
Course
More flexible
course framework.
- Market research includes
basic prototyping - what makes the app unique? GET AN EXPERT IN (at least
5?!). Look at download figures for existing apps and user reviews –
improvements.
- Aim to add more new tech ideas – show pupils examples
of what is out there: Google specs/4square and look in to the features of
a smart phone for ideas.
- Encourage less attachment to initial ideas.
5-10 ideas and elevator pitches (Carousel? ppt Slide 31).
- Screening - +1 or -1 for
scoping questions. (in ppt S34) Is it feasible?
- Market scoping - who is
going to buy it? Questions (S37)
- Technical scoping – What
is out there? Don’t lose the quality of the core features by trying to add
on too many extras. (S40)
- Access to data - pupils can talk to experts about what is
realistic. Where is it coming from? Where will it be stored? Does it
require multiple user input? (S41)
- Business model – no
longer need to make their own (post-it note sheet). Will just have to
justify which model would suit their product best.
- MVP – Minimum Viable
Product. Basic steps of what it does. (select destination, find current
location, find route)
Coding
AppShed – new
software. Account info will be emailed to us. Simpler than App Inventor.
Chrome/IE/Firefox
– Usable on more devices? Anything with a web browser.
General aims
More expert
visits. Recommend 5! Have user experience experts.
More scope for
coding.
Fail and fail
often - It’s ok to fail.
Webinars for
sections of the course.
Entry for next year
Entry - online
team diary for keeping track of progress (at the end of each module). MUST upload
at end of each module. Only us, experts and AfG can see this. No-one else.
Experts will look at this before visit.
NO ONLINE
SUBMISSION FORM LIKE THIS YEAR.
Only the
presentation and a video. Not separate tasks.
Course
checklist on support page.
Each module
has a web page in the Educator zone. Topic plan. Videos and
activities/resources.
Bigger emphasis on the
elevator pitch video. No problem video!
Live at the
end of June.
Add a course
for each class. (1 after school) Print screen the group user names and
passwords. Can’t go back to this page.
Add educators
– must include Skype username.
Request an
expert. (At least 2 weeks before needed)
Competition
Regional
events to pitch if you don't make it through.
TO DO:
Need to set up
course for next year.
Plan expert visits in to modules. – initial idea feedback (Bob), market research, technical feasibility.
Plan expert visits in to modules. – initial idea feedback (Bob), market research, technical feasibility.
Thursday 21 March 2013
BBC School Report Day
Today pupils were creating news report on stories that interested them. This ranged from the local Eastleigh elections to gay marriage and the new royal baby.
My session was getting pupil to create radio reports using Audacity software.
In the previous session pupils had come up with a list of interview questions for other pupils and teachers on their topic. They had also written the script for their report.
The first part of the session had pupils out and about around school interviewing and recording their pieces. The second half involved editing their audio clips.
Having not used Audacity before I had a 20 minutes crash course the night before. Pupils were shown how to import, trim and layer audio clips.
Some of the finished products were very entertaining. They showed clear research, had other pupils' views included and in some cases a bit of humour.
My session was getting pupil to create radio reports using Audacity software.
In the previous session pupils had come up with a list of interview questions for other pupils and teachers on their topic. They had also written the script for their report.
The first part of the session had pupils out and about around school interviewing and recording their pieces. The second half involved editing their audio clips.
Having not used Audacity before I had a 20 minutes crash course the night before. Pupils were shown how to import, trim and layer audio clips.
Some of the finished products were very entertaining. They showed clear research, had other pupils' views included and in some cases a bit of humour.
Tuesday 19 March 2013
Work Scrutiny Via MDKnight
Work Scrutiny by Phil Beadle
In Business Studies I have regular lessons where the starter is going through the work I've marked, doing any spelling corrections as well as writing a reflection comment based on my comments.
I then get pupils to write down a list of things they need to remember to do or improve on next time. Then when we are about to start a new piece of writing, my starter will be to find that list and ensure that it is in front of them when doing the new piece.
With regards to "the more effort i put in to my marking, the more effort they will put in to their work," I believe this works up to a point. I can see it working well with higher ability pupils but think that when it comes to lower ability, you could potentially give them so many things to improve upon that it becomes too much. Yes, by all means, target one thing at a time but again it becomes a balancing act for pupils, some of whom will struggle to cope with.
I like the idea of drafting work but time restrictions immediately come to mind. It could be done in our Year 9 foundation year but at GCSE level it's just not possible. Particularly as in Business pupils do controlled assessments so drafting is dodgy territory.
Whenever I do peer feedback, especially with lower ability pupils, I give them specific things to comment on. This not only checks their understanding of the key words but also makes their feedback more worth while.
I'm a big supporter of regular marking moderation as I know I sometimes end up focusing my marking on the negative rather than the positive. Moderation is a great way for me to pick up on when I'm doing this or to be picked up on it.
All in all, I agree with the end quote:
"A decent leader should have a damned good idea about whose books need monitoring and whose can be used as exemplars. Middle leaders should be scrutinising their teams’ books regularly and sharing the findings in a non-judgmental but in way which very clear about their high expectations. This is just too important to leave to chance."
Sunday 17 March 2013
A trip down memory lane via Mashable
Technology Nostalgia via Mashable
Looking at this article and remember quite a few of these.
Especially the Ski-free game!
My dad had it on his very first laptop and I remember annoying him by running down the battery playing it.
Who can forget the flying toasters and the ever so irritating Paper clip!
Thursday 14 March 2013
Wednesday 6 March 2013
Via SDCullen: Dove Against Photoshop Beauty
"Dove is continuing its decade-long "Real Beauty" campaign with a Photoshop action that seeks to un-airbrush unrealistic images of models.
The Photoshop action — a downloadable file that applies an action with a single click — is aimed at art directors who may be creating such ads. The action, which was disseminated on Reddit and other places where Dove thought such art directors might visit, promised to add a skin glow effect, but actually reverted the image to its original state." Mashable Dove Photoshop Action
Sunday 3 March 2013
Flipped Bloom's Taxonomy?
Now there's a thought.. Flip This: Bloom’s Taxonomy Should Start with Creating
I have a lot of pupils who struggle to reach the higher levels of the taxonomy but can be incredibly creative.
Creativity followed by feedback or self reflecting/evaluating could lead to a better understanding for some pupils.
I have a lot of pupils who struggle to reach the higher levels of the taxonomy but can be incredibly creative.
Creativity followed by feedback or self reflecting/evaluating could lead to a better understanding for some pupils.
Thursday 21 February 2013
MatthewKnight.co.uk:ICT The National Curriculum in England Framework...
Some interesting comments.
MatthewKnight.co.uk: ICT The National Curriculum in England Framework...: Computing Purpose of study A high-quality computing education equips pupils to understand and change the world through computat...
MatthewKnight.co.uk: ICT The National Curriculum in England Framework...: Computing Purpose of study A high-quality computing education equips pupils to understand and change the world through computat...
Monday 14 January 2013
Friday 11 January 2013
Wildern AfG Blog is coming..
This year's Wildern Apps for Good Blog is coming... It still needs tweaking!
It will be used to share resources with pupils as well as provide a platform for pupils to reflect on their progress so far.
Numeracy SIG Update - Business Exam Questions
Looking through the Business Studies finance exam papers, I found several numeracy topics that appear regularly.
These are:
- General arithmetic (summing costs/sales)
- Reading values off Break Even charts (finding where the revenue and costs lines meet and being able to take figures from it)
- Profit margins (Ratios and percentages)
As well as this we encourage pupils to calculate their total marks and percentage scores. We also get them to work out timings per question based on the marks available.
In the Year 9 Induction we also look at currency exchange as well as budget setting and costs in producing a product.
Each subject shared the numeracy terminology we used and the equivalent used in Maths lessons will be given to us next time so that terminology can become consistent across the curriculum.
We were also asked to write down how we explain some of the numeracy methods to see if we just give pupils formulae and get them to memorise them or if we go through how the formulae are formed and why we use them.
MatthewKnight.co.uk: 15 Sites for Learning how to Program or Code
Some very useful links including Code Monster for teaching pupils how to code -
MatthewKnight.co.uk: 15 Sites for Learning how to Program or Code: There is no denying the popularity of computers and technology in schools. More and more students are integrating technology into their eve...
MatthewKnight.co.uk: 15 Sites for Learning how to Program or Code: There is no denying the popularity of computers and technology in schools. More and more students are integrating technology into their eve...
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