Evening, all! My word, I've been busy! Yesterday I had a swotting up session in the University of Manchester's Main Library, and I learned some exciting* new tips and skills, including this doozy; if you download the iManchester smartphone app from the App Store/Google Play, and then select 'Library', you can search for whatever book you wish to withdraw. You can seek by title, author, or use a generic search term (such as "Primary Curriculum") and, once you have hit 'search', it will furnish you with a comprehensive list of relevant content. But the fun does not stop there, oh no, as it will also furnish you with the book's exact location in the library, which is incredibly useful (as anyone who has written out book locations in longhand will concur). I am now armed with 19 books, ready to take on assignment A. Following yesterday afternoon's brilliant Professional Studies seminar with Martin, I then went home and set to work on A) my subject knowledge in English, Maths and Science, using pages from BBC Bitesize, ahead of my seminars on those areas today, and B) my computing action plan, based on Tuesday's audit.
If you click on My Computing Action Plan above (or hit the hyperlink), then you will be able to see my plan in full. Today it seemed as if much of my revision had paid off. I found all three core subject seminars absolutely fascinating. Mathematics (traditionally my weakest subject) was full of practical games and top tips (from Lawrence, who is brilliantly engaging) about the teaching of the subject. I learned that to get Maths across effectively you must ALWAYS use a Practical element (such as an activity), a representational element (pictorial) and an abstract element (symbolic). But even more than that, to school enthusiastic mathematicians you must teach a deeper level of mathematic reasoning that involves convincing, justifying and proving. It got me thinking about how I might use technology in the classroom in order to achieve those goals (more on that at a later date, I'd imagine!) My homework for this evening was a Key Stage 2 Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar (SPaG) SAT test. I did not disgrace myself, but I have a decent amount of work still to do in order to brush up on clauses (relative, subordinate), conjunctions (sub-ordinating vs co-ordinating), and past perfect/progressive verb forms. Primary teachers have to know this stuff! Tomorrow, more Maths, Science (including an big audit) and English. The fun never stops in PGCE-Land! * Okay, exciting to no one but me!
0 Comments
First Aid certificate: achieved! Safeguarding lecture: attended! Day two: done!
Since I finished lectures for the day I have completed my pen portrait (a one-page document that is sent to prospective placement schools) and I have uploaded it via the University's 'Turnitin' system. For the uninitiated, this is part of the University's online space, where attendance logs, pieces of reflection or work, and major essays are sent to academic staff. None of that hard-copy nonsense these days - it's now online or nothing (how things have changed!) If you are a University of Manchester student and you have never submitted anything through Turnitin, then follow these simple guidelines. Step One: Go to 'My Manchester' at https://login.manchester.ac.uk/cas/login and log in using your University of Manchester credentials. Step Two: Click on the link that says 'My Manchester' - for me it was in the bottom left hand corner of the page. Step Three: At the top of the page, near the right hand side click on the link that reads 'Blackboard'. Step Four: Click on your course. Mine is 'PGCE Primary' and is located in a box that says "organisations where you are: participant". Step Five: On the left hand side of the screen there will be a menu (if there isn't it may be hidden). Click on the link that reads 'submit a document'. Step Six: Find the name of the essay or reflection you have been asked to submit and click on 'View/Complete'. Step Seven: Press 'submit', name your document, and upload! Step Eight (optional): Go to the pub. It's fairly easy when you know how, and I would wager that you end up getting into a routine once you have used it for a while. My task this evening was beginning my computing action plan. I have completed my online audit, and I will be honest, the result wasn't as strong as I had hoped it to be. I need to improve on uses of technology in the classroom, coding, spreadsheets, administration systems, voting devices, animation, and much more. Conversely, I have a lot of experience in some areas, particularly anything audio-visual, such as editing in Final Cut Pro, Audacity or Garageband, and I also have experience of using a number of technologies in a Key Stage 1 classroom. I have used Class Dojo effectively (more on that at a later date), used iPad apps such as 'Book Creator', and used the Promethean White Board to play phonics games on the Phonics Play website. Over the coming months I will ensure that I add to the pile of positives, and work through the parts of the audit that I was not so strong at. The completed action plan will appear on this blog soon. |
Archives
March 2017
Categories
All
|