On 7th November we were invited to participate in an inset day at the Holiday Inn, run by Sweyne Park.The topic of the day was Teaching and Learning and was led by a very entertaining and enthusiastic speaker, Paul Ginnis. He focused on the different ways in which our pupils learn and gave us practical advice on classroom activities that we could easily use.

One of the group work activities was called Market Place. This involves separating classes into groups of three, four or five pupils. Each group is given their own piece of information that they have to read and then summarise on a separate piece of paper, using no more than ten words. This involves using as many pictures, numbers and diagrams and as much colour as they wish. They have a time limit of fifteen minutes to do this. The group then divides into a one (the Market holder) and a two/three/four (The shoppers) with the Market holder remaining at the table. It is their job to explain their summary to anyone who asks. The shoppers visit all the market holders in the class to gather as much information as they can on each topic. Again they have fifteen minutes to do this. The groups then reconvene and it is the job of the shoppers to explain to each member of the group, the information they have gathered. This usually lasts about ten minutes. Each member of the class then sits a short test based on all the information that was given to each group at the start of the lesson.

We decided this might be a good activity to try just before Christmas. We felt it was important to explain a bit about French culture as well as just French Christmas words. We designed a “Christmas Market Place”, focusing on French Food, Music, Traditions, Decorations, Religion and Presents. Each group had their own piece of information to learn and teach and we followed the process above. The final test was written based on information from all sheets.
We found this worked really well. The pupils were totally engaged and due to the competitiveness of the activity, they participated fully. In the end they learned, not only French Christmas vocabulary but also a bit of cultural information about the country. We tried this with a number of different Year groups and it worked well with all of them.

There were many different activities suggested during the inset day, each one explained carefully and thoroughly. We were very impressed by a lot of Paul Ginnis’s ideas and we purchased his book, “A Teacher’s Toolkit”. Each activity is explained and related to each subject so you can adapt it easily. Even suggested classroom layouts are available!

<JULIE STYRING AND SARAH-JANE WELLAND - MFL DEPT - WOODLANDS SCHOOL>

We left a beautiful, sunny Essex on a Sunday evening and arrived in beautiful sunny Birmingham in time to make full use of the delightful facilities on offer at out hotel. The hotel was conveniently located with interesting views of the M42, M45 and Birmingham Airport! However, it was extremely pleasant and it soon became apparent how Sales Reps look so fit and happy following several of these very comfortable overnight stays. Perhaps more teachers would have ready smiles if the Curriculum Development Centre at Wickford installed a jacuzzi or sauna!

Carla Hannaford was an excellent speaker and presented the day in a very engaging way. Brain Gym is an educational movement based programme which uses simple movements to integrate the whole brain, senses and body, preparing children and adults with the physical skills they need to learn effectively. It is now used in over 45 countries and recognised as a safe, effective and innovative educational and self-development tool. Our day was a very active one! We learned how to Cross Crawl, Hook Up, how to utilise the Brain Buttons and the Lazy Yawn. The importance of drinking water, being surrounded by and responding to music, acknowledging and developing emotional intelligence and promoting outdoor play were stressed. We were even shown a ‘Truth Test’ technique which we are keeping to ourselves! We were all very impressed by what we had seen, heard and participated in. We had been in a Hall in the NEC all day in a grey wet Birmingham - it had felt like a day at the beach in California!!

<SUZANNE BREWER - DOWN HALL PRIMARY SCHOOL>

The following responses are taken from a selection of interviews,

1. Now we have held an introductory conference, what do you see as the network’s purpose?

• You create a sense of unity and community with local schools.
• What we can do together is likely to be greater than what we can do alone.
• Increased communication.
• Establishing friendships with other schools.
• Sharing and exchanging good practice across departments and schools.

2. Do you have any expectation of how the network might be of benefit to you personally?

• Sharing good practice and ideas.
• Time saving ideas passed around.
• Observing other practice.
• Visit other schools, primary and secondary.
• Can try out new technology before purchasing.
• Links between departments in other schools improved
• New to overcome obstacles and hurdles.

3. Was there anything in the seminar/workshop you attended that has been useful to you in your classroom practice?

• Boys achievement.
• Teaching and learning styles.
• Giving more responsibility to pupils.
• I realise what I’m doing is working well.
• Use of interactive whiteboards.
• Play in the curriculum.
• A greater understanding of the need to plan for students to work/
  preferred learning styles.

4. Has the Conference or any other network link led you to try and investigate any new practice’ or way of doing things so far?

• Sharing electronic resources.
• Teaching assistant training has become a priority.
• Already used the plenary idea.
• School councils at Infant level.
• Brain Gym Conference in Birmingham.
• Hope to liaise to find out about interactive whiteboards.
• Investigate questioning skills to extend the thinking of the more able.

5. Do you feel the ‘social links’ are likely to be of benefit to your practice/approaches in any way?

• Exchanging ideas and solving problems.
• Links already made and sharing a variety of approaches to issue.
• It takes times and events to facilitate links.
• Meeting new people with new ideas is always positive.
• Yes, and I’m going to Australia with a teacher from another school

6. Have you spoken about the conference or shared anything you learned at the conference with anyone in school?

A - who was at the conference

B - who didn’t attend the conference

A - Yes = 17    B - No = 6

B - Yes = 11    B - No =12

Comments:

Have discussed links with other schools.
Plenaries integrated, part of literacy action plan.
Discussed possibilities for researching practice in other schools.