This idea comes from Claire Baty, who I saw use it in her Year 10 French lesson. However, I think it can be easily adapted to suit lots of different subjects.
What did she do?
For each pair of pupils, she set up a collaboration page on OneNote full of adjectives. Some adjectives were familiar, and some were new.
The instruction was for pupils to drag the words around the collaboration space and to group them “in any way they find interesting’.
She didn’t define what she meant by ‘interesting’, giving pairs the freedom to think independently, creatively and logically.
Pairs were immediately deep in debate as to first, what categories to use, and then how to categorise the individual words…some were not easily categorised!
There were lots of different interpretations of ‘interesting’: some pupils took a grammatical approach (grouping words by how they are used in a sentence); some a semantic approach (grouping words by their meaning); some a metacognitive approach (grouping words with whether they were new or difficult)…and some did something more personal and quirky! (see a couple of screenshots of this below)
She then showed the collaboration spaces to the class, with pairs explaining their approach.
Of course, you don’t have to be grouping adjectives. You could ask pupils to group anything, BUT it works best where there can be debate and flexibility about how and what to group.
It opened up rigorous, independent debate between pupils as they weighed up why words should be grouped in a certain way.
It recapped prior learning and allowed for independent exploration of new words (and the way they work within sentences).
It modelled a way to revise vocabulary – by grouping vocab in different ways to make networks/schemas of words and ideas. This is great for memory recall.
Anna, Year 9, looks at the links between the past and the present, exploring the differences and the way the world has developed.
When I sit in History lessons at school, I sometimes wonder how those famous historical events ever came to be. For example, why did the Battle of Hastings ever happen? In this century, in the UK, we most likely will never see something like that again. However, have our instincts developed into more sophisticated ones on their own, or have we evolved because of what has happened before?
Image from ResearchGate
The evolution of the human
Thanks to Charles Darwin, we now understand that the changes humans have experienced over hundreds of years are due to the natural occurrence that is evolution. This may link to the reason why certain historical events never repeat themselves. Psychologists have discovered a ‘warning signal’ in the brain that helps us make sure we do not repeat previous mistakes, meaning now in our daily lives we are able to learn from our failures and faults. This is a handy feature in our brains, as it means certain errors we make in our lives will most likely be registered and we will know that we must do our best to avoid it happening again. This will have developed over time through evolution, helping humans survive during the Stone Age. Also, the concept of ‘learning from our mistakes’ could be the reason behind the idea that ‘history does not repeat itself’.
Idealism and Utopia
Throughout history and our lives, people were and most likely always will be looking for ways to ‘improve’ the world. This idea of personal idealism (both good and bad) is a repeated concept throughout history, from the expansion of empires by Alexander the Great to the introduction of communism by Joseph Stalin. The concept of constantly trying to make the world a more convenient place for ourselves seems to recur, especially when the economy of a country or empire is involved. For example, when a battle or financially straining tragedy has happened in the past, it seems to affect a lot of people, therefore there has been a decline in the number of battles throughout the years.
Image from ResearchGate
Some examples
There are many examples of events in history that should not be repeated. For example, WW1 and 2 are both examples of devastating conflicts that have changed the world. It is strange to think that, although it had a horrifying impact on millions of people across the globe, without World War I, there may not have been canned food or air traffic control today. Some people believe that everything happens for a reason, so if the First World War really didn’t happen, how different would the world be today? Another example is The Great Depression. This was an event that ruined the economy in America. Again, although it changed a lot of peoples’ lives for the worse at the time, how different would our lives be now if it never happened? Would they be better or worse? Finally, this is the story of Annie Edson Taylor, an American schoolteacher who, on her 63rd birthday, became the first person to survive a ride over the Niagara Falls in a barrel. After her trip, she told reporters:
“If it was my dying breath, I would caution anyone against attempting the feat…”
Annie Edson Taylor, ‘The Queen of The Mist’ (Wikipedia)
I think this shows that we do have something to learn from what history has told us, and that what has happened before can change the way we live now.
Ms Beth Ashton looks at ways we can connect the Arts in Primary Education, arguing that the discipline of ekphrasis (connecting visual arts with poetic form) helps learners to develop creative expression.
The power of the visual image in relation to development has been extensively studied. Many of the skills of analysis used in decoding an image are also present in the analysis of text. Images are the way we first experience the world, and inspire immediate and emotive responses from students. I chose to explore the use of paintings as a stimulus for poetry writing with Year 6 students. This discipline of using visual arts in dialogue with poetic form is a discipline known as ekphrasis, and has been used by celebrated writers throughout literary history.
It is significant to note that simply using an image as a stimulus for poetry would not meet the criteria necessary to achieve true ekphrastic work – the intentionality of the artist is essential in order to create a dialogue between poet (in this case Year 6 girls), painting, and artist.
Research shows that when using a painting as the stimulus for poetry writing, children invent a context, story and message around the image. They are thus inventing their own story and interpretation of the artwork, and communicating truths about themselves in the process, through the meanings they project onto the painting. The poet is not simply writing a descriptive piece about the subject (i.e. the painting), they are using the subject as a way to communicate truths about themselves.
This process of exploring context and creating a message through creative expression is one which can, if we are not vigilant, fall by the wayside in the classroom. The National Curriculum focuses on the structural elements of writing, such as grammar and syntax. Whilst these are of course essential, they are not, and should never be, the driving reason behind the study of English Literature. Reading objectives and national assessments currently require students to interpret a text in order to locate an absolute, definitive meaning, which is not open to subjective interpretation. Anyone who has any experience of literature, from Shakespeare to Horrid Henry, knows that meaning is fluid and highly dependent on the context of the reader; this is what makes reading one of life’s great pleasures.
By engaging children in writing based on visual images and artwork, we are encouraging them to embrace the idea of ambiguity, and the possibility that there are many different ways to interpret artwork, whatever the medium. We are also teaching our students that the meanings we make are dependent on our context, and may change over time. These skills are essential, as pupils learn to grapple with difference and tolerate alternative perspectives to their own world view.
In order to explore Ekphrastic poetry, pupils studied Waterhouse’s The Lady of Shalott, analysing the image as a whole class and trying to predict what could be happening within the image. They then read Tennyson’s poem of the same name. The second intervention followed the same structure, with a different painting. This time, the pupils analysed George and the Dragon painted by Paolo Uccello in the 14th Century. Pupils then read an abridged version of the poem Not My Best Side, by U.A. Fanthorpe[1], written in the 1970s. Through writing in role as the characters in the painting, Fanthorpe produced a commentary on established gender roles. The inner personalities of the characters are revealed in first person, showing a subversion of the roles played in the painting.
Following analysis of the second painting and poem pair, the pupils were invited to choose a piece of artwork to bring to class, from which they would produce their own poem. Poems ranged from first-person diary entries, written in role as Ophelia, to reflections on Monet’s Waterlilies, writing in role as a lonely bridge, stretching over a pond.
George and the Dragon painted by Paolo Uccello
Ekphrastic poetry is a useful and engaging way in which to encourage children to take ownership over different art forms and begin to see the links across the curriculum. It is also an impactful and insightful way to create a classroom which values ambiguity and open-ended meaning making.
Every year the Royal Institution hosts a series of Christmas Lectures in the iconic Faraday Lecture Theatre in Albemarle Street in London. These lectures have been inspiring children and adults since 1825 when Michael Faraday first began to deliver them.
The 2019 Christmas Lecture was given by Dr Hannah Fry and was all about the Hidden Power of Mathematics. You can watch all three lectures on BBC iPlayer. You can also watch the Christmas Lectures from previous years here.
I think my favourite so far might be Kevin Fong’s “How to Survive in Space”! Teachers might be interested in the debate resources that support the discussion of controversial topics in the classroom. More information can be found here.
If the RI get stuck for someone to invite to speak next year, we know someone who would be very keen….!
This idea comes from Helena, who observed Roz using this technique really successfully last term with a Yr11 class doing simultaneous quadratic equations. However, the technique can be used in lots of different subjects and contexts.
Roz started by showing the steps to an algebraic solution withoutexplaining what she was doing. Pupils had to watch intensely, work out for themselves the logic of the steps, and then give it a go or join in when they caught on. She said that by using this method, the class understood more quickly than if she had explained it.
Rather than overload pupils with visual worked examples AND teacher explanations, this is an opportunity for pupils to intensely focus on one thing…what you are showing them on the board. This reduces cognitive load, demands an intense focus and relies on independence as pupils have to work things out for themselves. It’s riveting and game-like!
This will work in subjects where there is logic, problem-solving, patterns and steps. I can also imagine it working in arts subjects – there are patterns and linked ideas within and across literary texts, for example. You could start by putting a text on the board highlighting particular words. Pupils have to work out the link and pattern and continue independently in their own texts, annotating their own ideas as they go.
This Winter Term the Schools Practice at Odgers Berndtson launches the first series of articles for its new Voices in Education series. These articles are written by a number of leading voices across the schools sector. They have been written to start conversations about important challenges, opportunities and ideas within the schools sector today. In this original article, Ms. Fionnuala Kennedy, Senior Deputy Head at Wimbledon High School GDST, writes about the need to ensure that pastoral care in schools is enabling resilience and not teaching helplessness.
I am realising as I get (inexorably) older that there are certain things at which I have learnt to be entirely helpless. These include but are in no way limited to: replacing the spotlights in my kitchen ceiling; knowing how the staffroom photocopier works; memorising people’s phone numbers; and running 10km. It horrifies me to have had this realisation. I consider myself to be an independent person, capable and well-educated, and yet these are all basic things I can no longer do. They’re not things I could never do, such as dancing en pointe, or flying a plane, but things I have slowly erased from my skillset, either because I no longer require the ability to do them as I have someone else to do them for me (ceiling lights, photocopying), or technology means I no longer have to use my brain to complete these tasks (phone numbers), or I haven’t practised them enough and so have lost the ability to do them (running).
We’ll all have these elements of our lives that we can no longer access, and perhaps it doesn’t matter. Perhaps it’s simply inevitable that in the wiki/google/Alexa age, we no longer need to memorise phone numbers or indeed anything; that knowledge is no longer necessary or even relevant (nonsense, of course); that a key aspect of becoming more senior in your career means you’ll forget how to do some of the more administrative tasks; and that as we get older we have less time to spend on leisure activities such as running.
But, it got me thinking, this erosion of ability, this learned helplessness I have slowly developed as a result of others doing things for me, or because I haven’t exercised the right muscles to maintain the skill: to me, this loss of ability perfectly represents a key and indeed increasingly crucial element of pastoral care in schools which is threatening the ability of our pupils to develop skills for themselves. This is no way to minimise the importance of supporting young people experiencing poor mental health, and Wimbledon High is a pioneer in ensuring we are open in our thinking and discussions around those serious issues. But it is my increasing concern that the ever-earlier interventions of pastoral leaders and carers, as well as the anxiety surrounding the modern approach to parenting, means that teenagers are losing the ability to help themselves in testing situations. And we know it’s an ability they are losing, rather than one they never had – just like my running. When you see a toddler learning to walk, they will naturally pick themselves up after a tumble, using the nearest item of furniture to carefully but determinedly find their feet again. They learn for themselves that they are not helpless, that it is within their ability literally to keep on going. So we know children instinctively understand what it is to work something out, to struggle until a goal is met and to rely on their own strength to do so.
It stands to reason, then, that when we remove obstacles from children’s paths at the first sign of struggle or distress, when we over-medicalise or put into a therapeutic context what could well be simply an expression of sadness or anger, and when we move in to solve problems for young people rather than asking them how they wish to approach an issue for themselves, we are encouraging learned helplessness, removing from them slowly but surely the ability to cope and navigate as they head off into the world, without us acting as stabilisers. Our intentions are wholly good, and the outcome a potential disaster. Resilience must be developed by the individual themselves, not handed out as a gift.
So, what’s the answer? Well: we must be robust with parents, laying out the approach of the school and sticking to it, not giving in to parental pressure to intervene in an area of a pupil’s life when you know it’s not the right call. We quote to our parents Beckett’s phrase: ‘Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Try again, fail again, fail better’, adding that what he did not write was ‘Ever tried? Ever failed? No matter. Text your mum, she’ll ring the school to complain and you’ll be put into the netball team after all’. A true, trusting partnership with parents is absolutely crucial.
And what about the pupils? I really like asking them to adopt the ‘Three Before Me’ mantra: which three things have they tried before coming to me for help, and why do they think those things didn’t’ work? I’ll guarantee that you’ll find that 9 times out of 10 they are yet to try anything for themselves…
And finally, what about us as educators? Well, it’s difficult, but I try always to ask myself: am I unconsciously removing obstacles here without needing to do so? If so, is it because it’s quicker to arrive at a solution which will suit the child and parents, and I am very busy? Is it because I genuinely care and really want to help alleviate the suffering of the pupil short term? The answer is almost always yes to at least one if not both of those questions. We all came into this career because we are the solvers of problems, the finders of solutions, and because we want young people to be happy and to thrive. But we run the risk of raising a generation of young people who have learned from us not only Shakespeare, and differentiation, and chess, but also how not to manage themselves in times of difficulty or complexity.
It is not the role of schools to keep a child’s life storm-free. Rather, it should be the aim that every child leaves school able to say, along with Louisa May Alcott, ‘I am not afraid of storms, for I am learning how to sail my ship’.
Sasha, Year 10, looks at the positives and negatives of each stage of palm oil farming and explores how we can minimise the downfalls to combat the climate crisis.
What is palm oil?
Palm oil is a versatile, widely used vegetable oil, and is made from oil palms, grown in countries with a tropical climate, such as Indonesia, under strict agro-ecological conditions only found 10 degrees North and South of the Equator[1].
To ensure only the best oil palms grow in the farms, there are a team of
Photo above (Pixabay): Palm tree seeds
researchers who analyse the seeds of existing oil palms. They select the healthiest palms and pollinate them with pollen from selected male specimens. The farmers then cover the palms with material to prevent any accidental pollination and to shield the trees from excessive sunlight.
It takes 6 months for the hybrid seeds to be produced, during which time the trees must be fertilised and maintained for maximum results. The fertilisers not only damage the fauna of the immediate environment but can easily leech into the (abundant) surface runoff, thus contaminating the animals’ water sources.
After the seeds are collected, they are transported to warehouses where they are misted to speed up germination. On a positive note, the transport is not as unsustainable as people think – it has to be able to manoeuvre on the unsteady rainforest ground, and therefore cannot be industrial. Other means of transportation include local animals or tractor carts.
The germination process involves a selective stage, where skilled workers sort through the seeds to discard any crooked or diseased seeds. This creates jobs for the local community, and supports the economy of the region, providing universal skills for them in the process.
The seeds are grown outside the warehouses in small bags.
However, when the trees reach maturity 3 years later, they can begin to require much more space for enough fruit production. This is probably the most well-known issue of the palm oil industry, as many companies are prioritising their palm oil production over the rainforest and the ecosystem as a whole, thus they deforest large areas.
The orangutans are most impacted by deforestation, as not only does the noise pollution distress them, it causes them to move further and further away from the centre of the rainforest, into the outskirts, where they may not be able to survive. Not only that, but the cutting (and sometimes burning) of the trees releases tonnes of stored CO2 back into the atmosphere, so much so that Indonesia (the largest world producer of palm oil) surpassed the USA in their greenhouse gas emissions in 2015.
Furthermore, the indigenous people, just like the orangutans and the Sumatran tigers[3], are disregarded and pushed further away from their territories, causing tension between different groups as they are forced to move closer and closer together.
Photo above: Peatlands in Indonesia – deforestation releases tonnes of stored CO2 and increases the risk of flooding, as well as causing disruption to animals and indigenous people.
How is it extracted?
The fruit is processed in a factory – which is powered by biofuel made from the remains of the processed palm oil kernels. This is a sustainable initiative which somewhat balances the emissions produces by the factory as the palm fruit is initially sterilised in steam.
The fruit moves through a grid that separates the actual fruit from the stalks. They are crushed to release crude palm oil and are processed in a centrifuge to remove any impurities, while the kernels move on to be made into palm kernel oil.
Photo above (SciencePhotoLibrary): Crude palm oil being processed to remove impurities
What is being done?
The RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) certifies and works with major palm oil plantations to reduce the emissions and to protect the needs of the locals, deeming some brands “sustainable”;
The University of Reading has come up with a plan to buffer 1-4km around settlements close to oil palm plantations, to protect their farmland;
There are some sanctuaries created for the endangered species of the rainforest;
Large companies should strive to invest in green energy to power the plantations and factories.
Is it sustainable?
Overall, palm oil is a very controversial product, specifically because of its social, economic and environmental impacts, both local and global, and both positive and negative. As more people become aware of the impact on the environment and different communities, TNCs (Transnational Corporations) will be forced to take action. For now, we must all strive to select, whenever possible, products certified by the RSPO and educate ourselves and others of the vast impacts of the “Golden Crop”. By changing our own personal habits, we can have a collective impact to start the journey to combating climate change.
In October both of our year 5 classes were visited by teams of chemistry undergraduates from UCL as part of #UCLChemAirPoll. This amazing opportunity is part of a project involving year 5 and 6 children from across London, giving them an opportunity to work alongside chemistry students to find out more about air pollution local to our schools, and is led by UCL’s Professor Andrea Sella. Levels of the pollutant nitrogen dioxide are determined by the use of diffusion tubes, with the year 5 pupils acting as the local traffic experts deciding where the tubes should be placed, and the undergraduate students analysing the results back in their labs.
The diffusion tubes were in place for a month, and while the year 5 pupils were waiting for the analysis to be completed and the UCL students to return to tell us about the findings, we decided to carry out some additional investigations of our own…
Our year 5 pupils were very excited about being involved in this project and very much enjoyed working with the UCL chemists to find out more about air pollution, making predictions and deciding where the diffusion tubes should be placed. They asked if we could carry out some additional research so that we could share some of our own results with the UCL students on their return visit. We would then have our own results, the #UCLChemAirPoll results and secondary source data to present a detailed picture of the air quality in Wimbledon.
As part of our research we used data from the Breathe London website, information from the London Air website and also findings from the KCL Wearables Air Quality study. We were also lucky enough to hear a presentation from Emily, one of Wimbledon High’s year 13 geography A level students, who had completed her geography coursework project about the air quality in Putney High Street. Over October half term we also asked junior school families to look out for “tar spots” (actually a fungus) on Sycamore leaves and let us know how many they found, and where, so we could analyse the data as “tar spots’ are an indication of air quality.
Year 5, assisted by the year 6 STEAM Ambassadors, also constructed and set up some particulate catchers around the school site to find out if more particulates were detected closer to the roads, in quieter parts of the school, or near the building site.
Taking part in these series of lessons enabled the pupils to
be involved in a scientific investigation where the answer wasn’t already known
look at the difference between primary and secondary sources
make decisions about how to collect and record evidence
look for patterns and relationships in primary and secondary data
communicate with others using scientific language
We would like to say a huge thank you to Professor Sella and his team, and especially the students that came to visit us at Wimbledon High. They were amazing and our year 5 pupils were very much inspired by working with them.
The results were very fascinating! We were initially very relieved to find out that the diffusion tube set up in the school site recorded the lowest reading. We were not so happy to find out that the actual reading was exactly on the WHO recommended maximum for nitrogen dioxide levels of 40μg/m3! Some of the results analysis from both our primary and secondary data, showed very high levels of both nitrogen dioxide and particulates, especially where the data had been collected closest to the busiest roads. The Sycamore leaf data did show that away from the busy roads the air quality was much better. We did capture some particulates in our particulate catchers, but the findings were inconclusive and we really need to carry out further tests. There was of course some uncertainty about the data from #UCLChemAirPoll, as with all investigations there may well have been some experimental error, and we look forward to finding out how our school’s data compares with that from other schools when it has been analysed. We definitely did discover that the air quality around London is way too high though, and varies greatly during a 24 our period. We also found out that there are many steps that we can take to reduce the risks associated with exposure to poor air quality. Our pupils determined that we are most at risk during our journeys to and from school and advise walking to school along the backstreets. We are also very keen to plant silver birch trees on the school site and will be presenting our findings and recommendations to Mrs Lunnon and Ms Boyd as soon as possible. We hope that some of our recommendations will be taken on board as part of our current building project. We are also very excited that we have been asked to write an article about our findings for the ASE Primary Science magazine. Watch this space!
The new two times European Short Course Swimming Champion and British record holder
As the European Swimming Short Course
Championships in Glasgow draws to an end, we can reflect on some of the amazing
performances from Team GB. The British
team, after winning three gold, four silver and four bronze medals, finished
fifth overall in the medal table. The biggest surprise of the week – two of the
three British gold medals were won by 18 years old Freya Anderson.
With her victory in the 100m Freestyle event on
Friday 6th December, Anderson claimed her first ever senior international
title. On the following day, she continued to create shock waves in the pool by
touching the wall first after an astonishing sprint finish in the 200m
Freestyle final. Her time of 1:52.77 set a new British Record and earned Freya
her second senior World Championship gold medal. Both of her races are linked
below.
Freya Anderson pulled off a stunning
performance to beat a line-up of fierce competition, including the legendary
Federica Pellegrini, who is the 2008 200m Freestyle Olympic Champion, seven
times World and fourteen times European Champion, and still the current long
course world record holder in the 200m Freestyle.
Anderson’s technique and tactics were brilliant
in both of these events. Her smooth, long strokes allowed her to power through
her races, leaving her with enough energy for a spectacularly executed sprint
finish.
In 2018, Freya Anderson was shortlisted for the BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year award. Although she didn’t win, her talent was already being recognised. With the Olympics around the corner, 2020 will definitely be an exciting year for women in British Swimming.
Alba, Y9, looks at how gymnastics may help relieve academic stress and help you excel in other subjects.
When we think of calming meditation, most of us will probably jump to mindfulness. In our stressful and busy lives, meditation and mindfulness are becoming increasingly popular. However, is there a right or wrong way to meditate, and can some sports such as gymnastics be classified as a sort of meditation? In fact, gymnastics is a form of focused movement meditation, and that ultimately it is beneficial to your mental health and as such has a potential positive impact on academic results.
What is focused meditation?
Focused meditation is when you concentrate on your five senses. Many people start by focusing on their breath. It sounds easy, but it is surprisingly difficult to think about just one thing, without your mind wondering and getting distracted.
However, being able to focus is a key attribute for success in life, and it’s a skill that we ideally need. Having considered on one of the senses like your breathing, a wider number of senses can be thought about.
But how does gymnastics compare to this?
Before moving, a gymnast must get into the right frame of mind to execute the move with skill. They must be focussed on themselves, and what they are about to do, and not be distracted. In a routine, you always think about the skill you are currently doing, and not what’s coming next. You are therefore being mindful and focussed on yourself in the present time. This can benefit your academic studies, because, just like mindfulness, it clears your brain so you can learn the next day with an open and more relaxed and focussed mind.
What is movement meditation?
Movement meditation helps connect your mind to your body through actions. The most common practice of this is yoga. Again, your focus is the mind. People who do not like sitting still may prefer this method, and it’s ideal when you are feeling energetic.
How does this happen in Gymnastics?
Tumbling in gymnastics is generating power and executing a sequence of flips and moves. This requires you to be aware of what your body’s doing and think about using muscles you may not otherwise use. As such, the movement becomes the focus, allowing all other thoughts to be shut out, focusing on the present and immediate.
Why should you try gymnastics, and why should it be considered a form of meditation?
Some studies[1] show that mindfulness is great, but if you struggle to do it, it can make you potentially more anxious. They also show that movement meditation like yoga can be more effective for people in stressful situations, or for people who are used to more active lifestyles. It explains why one of the reasons scientists like mindfulness – it is a cognitive method.
Personally, I prefer gymnastics to mindfulness, because I find it hard to keep still when sitting and just thinking about your breath. I enjoy the element of fear/excitement of trying a new skill. After doing gymnastics I feel a lot calmer and ready to study and learn.
I would argue that, although not a standard form of meditation, gymnastics offers benefits for stress relief and utilises skills and techniques such as focus which can help you excel in other subjects. We should have a wider view on what is meditation, and what can help us through the stresses of life.
