Here are some of the interesting education-related things that I’ve found during my summer break so far:

Google Teacher Academy UK

The first Google Teacher Academy UK event took place this week and it sounded like an amazing experience for those who were able to attend. Even if you couldn’t make it, lots of people have been sharing what happened via their blogs and Twitter accounts. Here are some ways to follow the event it you couldn’t go:

• About the Google Teacher Academy (from Google’s site)
• GTA Posterous Blog – A special blog was set up allowing the attendees to write about what happened. This is a very interesting and useful resource.
• ICTSteps – Kevin McLaughlin has been writing blog posts about his experiences.
• Ian Addison has also describe his feelings about the event on his blog.
• Tom Barrett has created a collection of all of the blog posts about GTAUK which you can subscribe to if you use Google Reader.
• You can also follow the #gtauk hashtag on Twitter.

PGCE Tips:

Tom Henzley is aiming to create a free e-book containing tips for students starting a PGCE course. The book will contain contributions from people who post messages on Twitter using the hashtag #pgcetips. Here are some of the contributions so far:

• Be organised. Listen to and observe everything. Keep all bits of paper! (from @adambutterworth)
• Listen to advice, offer to help, don’t expect to be perfect – your mentor won’t expect you to be! (from @zaragozalass)
• Innovate… learn from school placements and write out your idea of what makes a good teacher… pick the best bits from others (from @dan_bowen)

Take a look at the other contributions by searching Twitter for #pgcetips and add some ideas of your own too. Lots of the ideas will be useful for practising teachers… not just PGCE students!

Other useful sites I’ve found:

• 20 websites no teacher should start the year without – A collection of sites which should be very useful for teachers (suggested by @colport).
• Fuzzwich – A simple online tool which lets you build animations. Shared by Mark Fox.

• Educational Jargon Generator – Create your own educational jargon which this clever site! Shared by @russeltarr.
• Secure Passwords Video – Here’s another fantastic video from Commoncraft which explains why it’s important to have strong passwords. Very useful for ICT / esafety lessons. Suggested by Lee Kolbert.
• Phil Bagge has updated his ICT videos with some new tutorials about using Google Docs for collaborative work.

Have you discovered any useful news / resources during the past few weeks?

Image – Underneath a Star

This week’s education news is once again dominated by political issues, including the publication of the coalition government’s plans for the next five years.

The information quoted below comes from the section about Schools:

In other news:

• Nick Clegg, has announced that they are scrapping the ContactPoint database, which would have held information on every child in the UK. He also added that schools will not take children’s fingerprints without parental consent.

Guardian.co.uk has recently announced a new section on their website. The new area, called ‘Classroom Innovation’ is dedicated to the use of technology in schools as a teaching and learning tool.

www.guardian.co.uk/classroom-innovation

Each fortnight, they are planning to put up new material bridging the gap between the rapid advance in technology and the practical realities of teaching in class. The site currently has a selection of education / technology news articles, advice for schools trying to make social networking sites safer for their pupils, a competition to win a portable PC and best practice advice.

In a week dominated by election news, here are links to some education-related news articles:

• Ed Balls urged headteachers not to boycott SATs – At last Sunday’s National Association of Head Teachers conference, Ed Balls asked head teachers not to go ahead with their plans to boycott this year’s SATs. Despite this, children in more than 900 schools will not be taking next week’s tests.
• SATs pressure turns children off reading – Almost 100 children’s authors and illustrators sign a letter supporting heads and teachers in their campaign to get rid of national curriculum tests for 11-year-olds.
• ‘Fix or Ditch’ new school curriculum – The Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association claims that the new Curriculum for Excellence is ‘a deeply-flawed programme which is not yet fit to be rolled out fully in secondary schools.’
• Too much TV can be harmful for toddlers – The more TV a toddler watches, the higher the likelihood they will do badly at school and have poor health at the age of 10, researchers warn.
• Education Issues for New Ministers – Whoever forms a government, the Guardian has highlighted ten issues that it thinks education ministers should address. Do you agree with them?
• Poor Literacy and Maths skills for some teenagers – One fifth of school-leavers so illiterate and innumerate they struggle to cope with challenges of everyday life.
• Children will eat more fruit if it looks good – Making fruit look good holds the key to getting children to eat more of it, a study suggests.
• Best children’s books revealed – Publisher Puffin has produced a list of 70 of the best children’s books.

Image – Newspaper

Here are some links to a selection of education-related news articles from this week:

• Teacher cleared of attempting to kill boy – A teacher who struck a pupil with a dumbbell has been acquitted of attempted murder and causing grievous bodily harm with intent. Following this acquittal, the NAWUWT called for tighter controls on use of mobile phones in schools.
• Schools in Scotland may strike for first time in 20 years – The largest teaching union in Scotland is considering a one-day stoppage over cuts in school spending.
• Banish Ofsted inspectors from schools – The annual conference of the National Association of Head Teachers hears that headteachers should prevent inspectors entering their schools until the government changes the inspection regime.
• Bad sportsmanship affects school sports – A pupil survey has revealed that bad sportsmanship is regularly witnessed in school sports matches, with many pupils willing to cheat in order to win.
• Many parents failing to read to their children – A survey shows that many children are starting school having never been read a story.
• Computers for primary school children in East Africa – The One Laptop Per Child scheme hopes to deliver 30 million laptops in the area.
• High Tech High School pupils build robots and develop games – Teenagers at this San Diego school write video games, film sketches, make robots and use heavy duty power tools to build a boat.
• Primary schools under pressure for places – Schools in some parts of England are ‘full to bursting’.
• Online school reports – This article shows some of the steps that schools are taking to prepare for the provision of online reports for their pupils.
• New NSPCC resource helps schools meet safeguarding standards – The NSPCC has launched ‘Improving Safeguarding in Schools’, the first online self-assessment and development resource to help schools improve children’s safety and well-being. Here is a Youtube video which explains more:

Image – Newspaper

Here are links to a selection of articles from this week’s Education news:

• Headteachers plan to boycott SATs tests – The National Association of Head Teachers is boycotting next month’s SATs tests for 10 and 11 year olds. There is also a ‘Q&A‘ about the boycott.
• School governors attack the SATs boycott – The National Governors’ Association says that a boycott of the tests will damage schools. Parents have also commented that the boycott has come too late.
• Behaviour ‘good’ or ‘outstanding’ – Statistics compiled from school inspections in England showed that 74% of schools were rated good or outstanding for behaviour.
• Getting children to behave in class – This BBC report outlines a number of strategies adopted by schools to encourage good behaviour amongst their pupils.
• Teach children how to manage money – A petition is calling on the next government to bring back plans to introduce formal financial education lessons for pupils.
• Scotland’s secondary curriculum will not be delayed – The Scottish Education Secretary says that the introduction of a new curriculum in secondary schools will go ahead in the new school year as originally planned.
• Some schools struggled to open due to transport chaos – Flight cancellations due to the volcanic ash disrupted many lessons as teachers and pupils struggled to return home after their Easter holidays.
• Stranded teachers using webcams to continue lessons – A teacher from Oxfordshire who was stranded in Spain because of air restrictions used an internet cafe to take lessons.
• Students use extra-curricular activity to improve job chances – Undergraduates are using these activities, including the creation of their own radio station, to give them ‘employability’.
• Jamie Oliver to continue work on improving school meals – The celebrity chef plans to spend millions of pounds of his own money, enabling schools to bid for new kitchens and other equipment.
• What else can a primary teacher do? – The Guardian reports on alternative career choices for primary school teachers.

Image – Newspaper

Here are links to some education related news articles from this week:

• Fewer practical experiments in Science lessons – The ‘demands of the curriculum, tests and badly behaved pupils’ are resulting in lesson practical Science experiments taking place.
• Truancy levels in England rise – Truancy levels are now at the highest levels ever recorded.
• Presents for teachers – 93% of teachers have received gifts from their pupils. Have you ever been given any of these?
• Children ‘have nobody to talk to’ – The Children’s Commissioner for England asks if pupils are in danger of becoming too regimented by school life.
• Home schooling in Germany – Parents are not allowed to home school their children in Germany.
• Extra funding for Irish language schools – Millions of pounds are being given to help schools to improve their buildings.
• Free internet access in libraries – A review by the Department of Culture calls for free internet access and e-books in libraries to boost the number of people using them.
• Following the fantastic #movemenon book, teachers on Twitter are now building a collection of tips and advice for new leaders. Follow their ideas here.

• Compulsory standards for nursery food – The Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) announces that it has asked the School Food Trust to review the rules for nursery food.
• A-Level shake-up – The Conservatives unveil plans for a radical shake-up of A-levels that would see a return to traditional exams taken at the end of two years of study.

Here are links to some education related news articles from this week:

• Nursery food warning – There are concerns over the quality of food in England’s nurseries.
• Rise in ‘lonely children’ – Childline is receiving increasing numbers of calls from children who feel they are lonely.
• A-Level marking concerns – A rising number of teachers are worried about the quality of A-level marking.
• Universities facing budget cuts – Unions warn of job cuts and students missing out on places.
• Action urged over legal drug – Head teachers have called for urgent action over the legal drug mephedrone following the deaths of two teenagers.
• 2Simple announce Purple Mash – The software company announced their new product this week, giving pupils online access to ‘a mash-up of creative tools and curriculum-focused applications to support and inspire children throughout the curriculum’.

• The Queen invented the phone – A survey of primary and secondary pupils in the UK reveals some interesting misconceptions!
• Child fitness tests in schools – England’s chief medical officer says that fitness tests should be given to secondary pupils to help them to be more active.
• Pupils are ‘well drilled automatons’ – A public school headteacher feels that state schools are ‘turning out young people “incapable of living full and autonomous lives”‘.
• Latin back on the curriculum? – Boris Johnson wants to see Latin on the state school curriculum.

Functional Skills are new qualifications that will be rolled out throughout the UK education system, including forming part of the new GCSEs from autumn 2010. This article outlines things that teachers need to know about them, with an interview with a teacher who was involved in the pilot.

Things everyone needs to know about Functional Skills

1. Functional Skills qualifications are a new set of qualifications in the application of English, mathematics & ICT and are assessed at Entry Level, Level 1 and Level 2. These qualifications are key to the Government’s reforms of 14-19 and adult education in England.
2. Functional Skills are for everyone. The qualifications will be available nationally to all learners at any age from 2010.
3. Functional skills are not simply about knowledge in English, mathematics and ICT subjects but about knowing when and how to use the knowledge and skills in real life contexts. It’s about identifying a problem or engaging in a task, selecting from the knowledge we have, or knowing where to get it, and applying that knowledge to find an effective solution or outcome.
4. Functional skills are essential to all our lives. This is why they have been incorporated across the new secondary curriculum being taught from September 2008, are part of the learning routes for young people (GCSEs; Apprenticeships; Diplomas and Foundation Learning Tier) as well as counting as qualifications in their own right for adults and young people.
5. Employers and universities want reassurance that, whichever learning route learners choose when they leave education they have the skills needed to apply what they know and to operate confidently, effectively and independently in life and work. Better functional skills will help to raise standards in schools and colleges and improve employment prospects and further learning for all learners regardless of age or ability.

What you need to know as a provider (Pre-16).

1. DCSF published “Delivering 14-19 reform: Next Steps” in October 2008. It was very clear – functional skills will be a core part of each of the four qualification routes for young people, including GCSEs from 2010. Functional Skills qualifications will also replace the core Key Skills qualifications from September 2010.
2. Functional skills are not separate curriculum subjects but an important element of the teaching and learning of all subjects. In developing functional skills, learners can adapt and apply what they have learned to suit different situations that face them.
3. From 2010 Functional Skills will be assessed by the new GCSEs in English, maths and ICT. While GCSE grades will not depend on a separate test, good teaching of functional skills will be vital to ensure candidates gain higher grades. It will also be valuable for young people to take separate Functional Skills tests. Achievement in these tests will be incentivised through the School Report Card.
4. Teaching and learning of functional skills can be through a range of models; from discrete lessons to fully embedding teaching and learning. However, it is expected that in the long term Functional Skills will remain the responsibility of core subject teachers but will be reinforced throughout the rest of the curriculum in every lesson.
5. Functional skills means developing these applied skills. For some of you, this is simply formalising your existing teaching approach.
6. The Functional Skills Support Programme, run by National Strategies for schools, offers a comprehensive (free-of-charge) package for continuing professional development (CPD) at regional and local level to support schools in preparing to teach Functional Skills. This support can be accessed through your local authority or www.nationalstrategiescpd.co.uk.
7. Functional Skills will be assessed as separate assessments in English, mathematics and ICT. Assessment will measure application of skills for a purpose. It can be either completely tasked based or a combination of task and test elements.
8. Functional English, mathematics and ICT help learners reinforce skills in communication, problem solving, listening, time management and team working – a solid foundation for further learning and employment.
9. We have designed the Functional Skills qualifications so that at level 2 learners are able to apply their skills confidently in a range of different contexts. That is why there will be an entitlement to study functional stills to age 19.

What you need to know as a provider (Post-16).

1. Functional Skills qualifications are being introduced for use with adult learners and, if current piloting supports this, could replace the existing Skills for Life literacy and numeracy qualifications from September 2012.
2. Functional Skills in English, mathematics and ICT are not necessarily taught as separate subjects but are an important element of the teaching and learning of all subjects. In developing functional skills, learners can adapt and apply what they have learned to suit different situations that face them.
3. Functional skills teaching should build on existing good practice that has been developed from key and adult basic skills teaching. All models of delivery have merit; however reinforcement across the curriculum is the desired goal, with specialist input where required.
4. Functional skills means developing these applied skills. For some of you, this is simply formalising your existing teaching approach.
5. The Functional Skills Support Programme, run by the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) for post-16 centres, offers a comprehensive (free-of-charge) package for continuing professional development (CPD) at regional and local level to support centres in preparing to teach Functional Skills. This support, which covers the teaching and learning of Functional Skills in a variety of contexts, can be accessed through http://excellence.qia.org.uk/functionalskills.
6. Functional Skills will be assessed as separate assessments in English, mathematics and ICT. Assessment will measure application of skills for a purpose at each level It can be either completely tasked based or a combination of task and test elements.
7. Functional English, mathematics and ICT help learners reinforce skills in communication, problem solving, listening, time management and team working – a solid foundation for further learning and employment.

www.qcda.gov.uk/6062.aspx

Jacqueline Marshall piloted Functional Skills at Archbishop Beck Catholic Sports College in Liverpool where she taught ICT and Business studies. During the pilot she represented the ICT department in the Functional Skills team that cooperated with the local authority in rolling out Functional Skills across Liverpool from January 2007.

She and her colleagues provided the awarding body, Edexcel, with feedback on their experiences piloting the new qualification, contributing to the constant improvement of exam papers over the course of the pilot to best reflect students’ abilities. In addition to her work as a teacher (and mother), Jacqueline studies for her Master’s degree in Education and is currently incorporating her experience from the pilot into a dissertation about the teaching of Functional Skills. Here she answers some questions on the new qualifications in theory and practice.

Q: What exactly are Functional Skills?

A: Functional skills are not simply about when and how to use knowledge and skills in real life contexts. They’re about identifying a problem or engaging in a task, selecting from the knowledge we have, or knowing where to get it, and applying that knowledge to find an effective solution or outcome. Functional skills are essential to all our lives.

Q: What’s the brief history of Functional Skills?

A: The introduction of Functional Skills as a qualification was partly in response to employers increasingly noticing school leavers’ lack of ability to apply their knowledge and perform basic tasks. The Functional Skills qualification forms a part of the 14-19 curriculum and also ties in with the Government’s skills strategy. It will be included in GCSEs in maths, English and ICT from 2010 and will replace the current Key Skills qualification. It will also form part of apprenticeships and will be taught along with the new Diplomas and in adult education.

Q: What did you observe during the pilot at your college that made you a fan of Functional Skills?

A: Pupils’ skill levels increased, they were engaged by the lessons and the contextual approach of the teaching. The ability to apply acquired knowledge is key to enjoying learning. We all hear the question “Why do we have to learn this?” a thousand times during our careers!

Q: What was the feedback from teachers regarding Functional Skills? Is it viewed by them as an important qualification?

A: I have had lots of positive feedback. The recognition of Functional Skills is growing and once you start to teach it you see the positive impact it has on your students and across the school as skills are transferable.

Q: Do you think Functional Skills will help students in their working life?

A: Yes. School leavers will be equipped with a greater ability to solve problems and perform tasks. Students are learning transferable skills that will assist them in work and life.

Q: How easy will it be for teachers to incorporate Functional Skills into the existing curriculum?

A: Very easy. In a way, every good teacher already teaches functional skills. It is just a matter of highlighting the skills that students will be mastering and putting a new focus on them by testing them separately. I also got a lot of support from Edexcel in the form of material and plans that helped me integrate Functional Skills teaching in my lessons.

Q: Can you offer any practical advice to teachers and centres in terms of how to teach Functional Skills?

A: Highlight what Functional Skills are, display information on the qualification and topics, maybe have functional skills listed in the student planner. Allow students time to practice these skills not just in the core subject but cross curricular.

Q: Based on your observations, will most centres and teachers be ready for Functional Skills?

A: Yes. I feel teachers will be ready – thanks to the sheer amount of support and resources out there. If they feel unprepared, they should just attend one of the many conferences that the exam boards run. In Liverpool, I have worked closely with the local authoritiy to create a Toolkit with resources for students and teachers.

Q: As a teacher, where can I find more information on Functional Skills?

A: There’s the homepage of the QCDA for a first overview and for more detailed information on structure and content of teaching, the websites of the awarding bodies are always a good port of call (I’ve worked with Edexcel).

Here are a selection of links to education-related news articles from this week:

• Scrapping the 50% university student target – A report outlines why the government target of getting 50% of people under 30 into higher education should be scrapped.
• £10m lottery money to get students playing more sport – Universities are to be given lottery money to encourage students to get involved in sport.
• Anti-gang guidance offered to schools – Schools in England are to be given new guidance on how to spot signs that children are involved in gangs.
• More schools are failing Ofsted checks – Half of schools inspected under Ofsted’s new inspection regime were found to be satisfactory or inadequate.
• News Day involves 25,000 students – The largest number of schools ever took part in this week’s News Day.
• TV fills in for History lessons – David Dimbleby believes that history programmes on television are filling in the gaps in children’s historical knowledge.
• Bringing Shakespeare to life – English teachers will be encouraged to let pupils walk around the classroom rather than reading Shakespeare’s plays while sitting at their desks.
• They can’t read, can’t write, keep time or be tidy – One of the directors of Tesco gives their verdict about school leavers.

Are these types of posts useful / interesting? I’m considering making a regular round-up of the week’s education news. Please add your thoughts in the comments…

Image – Newspaper