On the precarious balance between the rights of disruptive pupils to develop academically and personally and their classmates' right to not get punched in the face. It may not be as difficult social media make it seem. [4 minutes to read] Take the recent high profile Twitter controversy around exclusion and isolation: When Fakenham Junior School *... Continue Reading →
Teachers often ask me if Cooperative Learning isn't only relevant in classes which already function socially. The answer is a firm no. On the contrary, Cooperative Learning is specifically a solution to any social problems found within the class. For this very reason, schools with a high level of behaviour issues often stand to benefit... Continue Reading →
I have been doing a great deal of coaching these past weeks before half term. Following sessions with a number of teachers at Norwich Primary Academy, Ms Horne, teacher in Year 3, kindly offered to describe some of her experiences after the first 2 hour block of a tailored Skills & Mastery session. When working... Continue Reading →
Ms Rebecca Lamb, an NQT in Year 6 at Stalham Academy, describing some of her experiences adopting CLIPs (Cooperative Learning Interaction Patterns) from the Skills & Mastery course, including collaborative reading, Write-Rounds and Think-Pair-Share to stage reading, writing and collaborative reflections... . Open video in browser “The guided reading session ... was one of the highlights... Continue Reading →
Should teachers have to toilet train pupils, or is it the parents' job? There is an ongoing heated debate on whether it is the role of schools to teach students basic human skills; a bit of an academic question for teachers stuck in in the day-to-day mayhem of a secondary comprehensive school where kids are still... Continue Reading →
As a further note to Dr. Lawson's comment on teachers subverting a cumbersome educational system to create amazing teaching, I just came across an article on Personal Learning Network about the distinction between collaborative learning and Cooperative Learning. The author defines Cooperative Learning as an "educational approach that emphasises teacher involvement in setting goals and... Continue Reading →
Here's a question for teachers and learners as well as their parents, politicians and principals: So, how do you simultaneously: increase social skills, cooperation and caring, personal interaction and listening skills, suitable verbal expression and body language awareness? instil manners, respect and self-respect, personal responsibility and integrity? engage every individual learner's academic needs at a suitable level, including the timid girl in the corner? ensure equal participation and full accountability, without fights over teacher attention? give... Continue Reading →
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