Tag Archives: CPD

184. TeachMeet New Year

Here’s a nice easy 2014 challenge for you: get yourself to a TeachMeet!

What is a TeachMeet? A definition can be found on Wikipedia, but in essence it is a series of five minute presentations about any aspect of education by educators (mainly current teachers).

If you can’t go to one, find one which was recorded and posted online. Why not go for it and present at a TeachMeet?

It’s National TeachMeet day (in the UK) on 6th February (@TeachMeetUK). Most TMs are posted on the TeachMeet.pbworks site and publicised on Twitter. If you are in North-West England there is a Maths-themed TM happening in Liverpool on Saturday 18th January. Click here for more details or follow #mathsmeetnorthwest

If you are still doubting the effectiveness of TM consider these points:
1) I went for it and presented at the first TM I went to in September (You can watch it here) – it was a great experience.
2) I’ve used short/medium/long term ideas from the TM in my lessons, in Dept meetings and in my Performance Management.
3) My colleague, J, and myself were positively bouncing with ideas and energy for teaching for weeks afterwards.
4) Imagine the worst day-long course you’ve been on and how much it cost. A TM is a couple of hours and generally free!

What are you waiting for?

 

Updated: 20th Jan 2014 to include Calderstones TeachMeet link

109. Bright vs Gifted

Is that girl bright? Is that boy gifted?

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How can you tell? What is the difference?

This is one of those tricky areas that gets lumped together under the title ‘Gifted & Talented’. But what do we mean and how can we offer the best educational experience for them?

If you type ‘Bright Child vs Gifted Learner’ into Google you will find many websites listing the same characteristics. The bright children are easy to spot, the gifted learners can hid their talent behind disruptive behaviour and social awkwardness.

I don’t believe there is a ‘one size fits all’ definition of bright or gifted, but I do think it is worthwhile discussing their characteristics. I have made a discussion resource based on the varied resources available.
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You could just print out the lists and discuss. You could ask people to pick out characteristics of a particular pupil and see if they consider them bright or gifted. You could do a simple card sort. However you do this, the process of thinking, reviewing and discussing is always useful.

Click here to download the resource.