February 20, 2020
by Jean
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Congratulations to all of our graduates!
Last Sunday we were delighted to see so many of our FDLT and BALT students graduate from their studies, along with some former BALT graduates completing their journey to QTS and being presented with their PGCEs.
It was wonderful for us as staff that one of our students, Grace Murphy, made the student vote of thanks.
Despite wild and wintry weather it was a lovely ceremony for graduates and their families.
October 21, 2019
by Jean
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Each year since 2005 the Children’s Society have surveyed children’s views about the issues they face. They say:
“Our well-being research was initiated in 2005 to fill the gap in research regarding young people’s views of their own well-being. The research focuses on positive rather than negative indicators, and on well-being in the present rather than ‘well-becoming’.
Our research aims to:
(Children’s Society, 2019a, lines 16-24)
You can read this year’s report here.
As people who work in schools it is interesting and informative for you to know more about what your pupils’ views and hopes are.
This year’s key findings are that:
The Children’s Society note that:
“We are calling on the Government to introduce national measurement of well-being for all children aged 11-18 to be undertaken through schools and colleges once a year. This would enable the experiences of young people to be recorded and issues acted upon for future generations.”
(Children’s Society, 2019b, lines 4-7)
Reference:
Children’s Society (2019a) Well-being. [online] Available from: https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/what-we-do/research/well-being [Accessed: 17/10/19].
Children’s Society (2019b) The Good Childhood Report 2019. [online] Available from: https://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/what-we-do/resources-and-publications/the-good-childhood-report-2019 [Accessed: 17/10/19].
September 30, 2019
by Jean
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When you are examining the curriculum, what is taught and how learning is organised, making international comparison can be useful.
In this article in the guardian, journalist Sally Weale discusses the approach to the curriculum and learning in Finland.
As a university student you would want to use links, names and titles to track back to the original sources used if you were considering using this material in an assignment.
This could lead you to look up:
PISA
Pasi Sahlberg
John Jerrim / IOE blog
Finnish National Agency for Education.
Reading these sources could lead you to some useful reading but you should also search in NELSON for additional academic material.
September 23, 2019
by Jean
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On Thursday 3rd October it is National Poetry Day in the UK. There are lots of resources here to support you in doing something at school. You can see them here.
There are resources, poems, events, as well as a YouTube competition, information about BBC Radio and local poets and research about young people’s attitudes to poetry.
The education resources can be found here.
There is a Toolkit for schools, competitions and resources for #MyNPDPoem.
There is a collection of poems around the theme “truth” to inspire poem writing and you can send away for resources to use in school on the day here.
There are other useful resources for primary and secondary pupils on the BBC Live Lessons website here.
References:
National Poetry Day (2019) Website banner. [online] Available from: https://nationalpoetryday.co.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/NPD-2019-Website-Banner.png [Accessed 19/09/2019].
National Poetry Day (2019) Education image. [online] Available from: https://nationalpoetryday.co.uk/wp/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/NPD-2019-Website-Banner.png [Accessed 19/09/2019].
September 9, 2019
by Jean
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September 4, 2019
by Jean
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September 2, 2019
by Jean
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Today you will receive an email from Abbie Deeming, the course leader. You will probably be thinking about the first day and what to bring. Here is a reminder:
You must bring:
2 forms of ID for enrolment
You can check what else you need to bring for enrolment here.
You should bring:
Something to use to make notes in
An academic year diary or calendar
You might like to bring:
Food and drink:
A packed lunch or money to buy lunch in the student restaurant / local shops at lunchtime.
A drink and / or money to buy a drink at breaks. If you bring a reusable cup hot drinks are cheaper.
Useful information to collect:
When you begin to take part in discussion about your setting and when you begin to write assignments you will need some basic information about your school to provide contextual background. It would be useful if you could collect this information and have it to hand over the opening weeks of the course.
This includes:
Type of School (LA / Academy etc)
Location of school (rural, suburban, urban)
Age of pupils
Number of pupils on roll
Number and type of staff
% of pupils with SEND
% of pupils learning EAL
% of pupils with Pupil Premium
Unusual or distinctive features of the school
August 26, 2019
by Jean
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As you begin university you will need to consider where you are going to study at home and begin to prepare this space so that you are ready to use it from the beginning of September.
There are some hints and tips here that you might find useful.
When you begin year 1 of the FDLT course you will be studying these modules:
PDT1065 Pupil Engagement and Assessment
PDT1066 Introduction to SEND, Diversity and Inclusion
PDT1068 English and Maths: Core Subjects
PDT1076 Using Digital Technology to Inspire and Support Learning
PDT1077 Work Based Reflection
PDT1078 The Practitioner’s Role
You will find these titles useful to label files and set up folders on your computer.
August 26, 2019
by Jean
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Before you start the FDLT course we’d like you to introduce yourself to the group on these Padlets.
Leicester group Padlet.
UN group Padlet.
There is no need to have a Padlet account of your own to post onto the Padlet. All you need to do is click on the link above to open the Padlet and click on the pink plus sign to open a box to type into.
You can also upload a photo by clicking on the upload arrow at the bottom left below the text box.
If you want to comment or ask a question you can comment below the posts.
Please make sure that you have done this by September 4th.
If you need any help with this you can email jean.edwards@northampton.ac.uk
August 12, 2019
by Jean
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Here are some suggestions for pre-course reading:
Bates, B. (2016). Learning theories simplified : … and how to apply them to teaching. London: Sage.
Have a look in particular at the sections on Vygotsky, Bruner, Dewey, Piaget and Skinner. This book is easy to read and each section is relatively short. You will find it useful in a number of the modules that you study.
Also familiarise yourselves with the findings and recommendations of these two research projects:
Blatchford, P., Bassett, P., Brown, P., Martin, C., Russell, and Webster, R. (2009) Deployment and Impact of Support Staff Project, Research Brief. [online] Available from: http://maximisingtas.co.uk/assets/content/dissressum.pdf [Accessed: 06/08/2019]
Sharples, J., Webster, and Blatchford, P. (2015) Making Best Use of Teaching Assistants Guidance Report. [online] Available from: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/sites/ioe/files/TA_Guidance_Report_MakingBestUseOfTeachingAssisstants.pdf [Accessed: 06/08/2019]
You can click on the links in the references above to access these reports. We will be discussing these in one of the first modules that you will study.