Learning Never Stops

Teachers need to constantly read, watch and learn things beyond what they have to teach. Nothing can really be taught in isolation. We have to make connections, be worldly, and have our finger on the pulse of things. This can be overwhelming but taking small steps at a time is the way forward. So many things, ideas are happening concurrently around the world which can make teaching a dynamic occupation. So here is a TedTalk video from which I learnt many things. As I was hearing Dr Igor Nikolic talk, lots of teaching ideas were flitting through my mind. In our school, Aga Khan Academy Mombasa, http://www.agakhanschools.org/academies/mombasa/about.asp  we try and incorporate the strand " Pluralism " into our curriculum. For kids in the primary years program, the concept can be nebulous and hard to grasp.For adults, it is a concept that has scope for many different interpretations (which is a message quite explicitly stated in the video).Watching this clip helped me appr...

Unit of inquiry: Star Trekkers Grade 4 star trekkers

This term our school is carrying on with the action research that will hopefully help all of us teachers improve our teaching practices. I have focused, after much thought, on spelling. I went into my symbaloo account (great place to store all the favourite websites...try it!) and found one of my favourite spelling blogsites thespellingblog.blogspot.com and this is what I came up with. This is the reason I blog and tweet and and keep in touch with the learning communnity! It makes work so much easier. The research involves not all students as some are quite the good with spelling, but with the few who seem not to learn from their mistakes. How to improve spelling- action research lscwc chart

I came across a very interesting powerpoint which I'd love to share with my readers. "Learned helplessness" is what struck me as really interesting. I came across an idea on twitter where a ppt could be turned into a movie...I gave it a shot. I know my students will love to learn this simple trick! I had designed this test paper a while ago. I am glad to see that I have managed to make it culturally relevant while at the same time taken into account their interests. Sometimes we do the right things subconsciously! Grade 4 Term I Assessment                                                                     Some great math websites i came across recently: jmathpage clickonbricks newmath techacademy discoveryeducation.com    This is...

Last night, I watched the movie The King's Speech. What an incredible performance by Colin Firth! The speech therapist who was  training the the King had no title after his name. All he had was experience. He was scorned by many  for having the audacity to train the king and yet despite knowing this, the king chose him because he thought he was the best. Credentials don't really matter, teachers. What matters is your experience, your passion, your zeal. Why do schools still look for pieces of papers, when they should be looking within the person to determine whether he or she is the right person for the job? My mother has been teaching for over 16 years. I have never met a person more curious and eager to learn! When she retired from teaching and left Zambia to go back to India and lead a retired life, she had a chance after a few years, to join a nearby school and teach Biology. The kids loved the way she taught. She took them away from the classroom confines and they...

Many of my students this year come from another system of education. A sytem that follows text books and grade kids at the end of a topic. I displayed alot of books about the various biomes of the earth and bombarded them with one movie after another (Planet Earth) and then threw infront of them a challenge: Choose any ecosystem you prefer and create a visual(diorama) which you will use as a tool to present the problems it is facing and then come up with a practical solution. I saw an expression of disbelief flit across some of their faces. They were not used to being in charge of their learning. But here is why it always works...the students who have been learning with us for a while display great learner attitudes and step in to help put them at ease. The small group system ensures that each child gets a chance to ask questions without feeling daunted. They assess each others work using the checklist that we make in class. And before it is time to present, they hav...

One of my students posts after the class trip

What does it take to get children to pay attention to the guide? to take notes? to ask great questions? to respect the environment they are visiting? to stop making such a din? to share their seats and food? to throw the rubbish in the bin? Well here are some things that could really work so that it is not the... 1.  Before the trip, sit with the children and set some essential agreements. Who sits with who on the bus? (Use ice cream sticks to decide). How do they sort themselves into groups to support one another? What volume of voice level should they use? 2. A few days before the trip, talk about where you are going and ask them to research about it. In order to get excited about something, some background knowledge is essential. 3. Ask them what they think they would like to learn from the trip. You will be surprised with some of the genuine questions they come up with before and during the trip. Note them down as they are a great teaching moment...