Teach First : hello to those on the Summer Institute....

Had a few tweets over the last few days from colleagues who are involved in the Teach First Summer Institute, notably Hamish Reid (who came along to a Quality Geography event in London last year...) and Colin Walker: PGCE tutor from the University of Canterbury who very kindly invited me over last year too.

The Summer Institute is being held at the University of Warwick. I understand the PGCE colleagues are going to be doing activities this week, and Hamish got in touch via Twitter to see if I had any advice / suggestions...
This blog post is my answer....

Here are a few things that you might find useful...

How about trying some of these tasks when you get a chance ??

1. Use STEPMAP to create a MAP of IMPORTANT PLACES to you, that you think you would like to incorporate into your teaching if at all possible...
It might be a place that you have visited and spent a lot of time (maybe even lived before...) or a place you think would resonate with the students that you teach... What places do you think would capture the imagination of students ? Does it have to be a remote place ? Does a 'place' mean a country, or can it be a room ?

View more presentations from GeoBlogs.
2. Here's some more ICT-related ideas that I used with PGCE colleagues in Bristol earlier in the year. These could be used to create resources, or plan some lesson ideas... They include my favourite BIG HUGE LABS site...

View more presentations from GeoBlogs.
3. Quite a lot of effort goes in to creating lessons which teachers think will engage students - which is of course very important... The exact ingredient that does that is elusive...
Read this BLOG POST by my GA colleague Ben Major, who asks about the urge to make lessons as relevant as possible... (check out some of the other blog posts too - nicely thought provoking...)

4. One of the best things that you can do in Geography is to get out of the classroom... don't forget to take the students with you though - I'm talking about fieldwork of course...

You'll hopefully find that there are plenty of opportunities for fieldwork at your placement school. OFSTED are clear about the value of well-organised fieldwork, and will also expect a full programme at KS3 as well as higher up the school...
Here are some ideas for using the free OS MAPS that will be in the department....
Make sure that you get a copy of my LANGUAGE OF LANDSCAPES resource, written for Natural England.

5. Why not check out the MISSION EXPLORE website. This is related to an iPhone app which I was involved in producing and which can be downloaded from the APP STORE. Not got an iPhone or other device ? Check out the WEBSITE where the missions can also be seen - try the ANYWHERE MISSIONS.
We are currently planning the second book - you can see an e-version of the first book here

Once you've seen the missions, why not try to write some missions in a similar style - perhaps aim for some missions that could be carried out: in the school grounds, on the way to school, during a school day, while on holiday, over a weekend ? etc.. the possibilities are endless...

I have also been impressed by the efforts of Tim Handley an NQT who organised the Teachmeet in Norwich a few months ago, while still a PGCE student. He is putting together an e-book for PGCE colleagues, and is collecting suggestions using the Twitter hashtag #pgcetips
Use TWITTER SEARCH or something similar to find out what he has collected so far...

I really recommend that you spend some time reading Tim's blog, which he has used during his course to reflect, often at length on the experience of being a PGCE teacher (not a geographer by the way, but that's OK...)

A few final thoughts:
Look at the diagram below, drawn by a Year 8 of "the perfect geographer...."
What would "the perfect geography teacher" look like, if there was such a person ??


Keep an eye out for further materials on the nature of CURRICULUM MAKING at our MAKING GEOGRAPHY HAPPEN website. See how other teachers have worked through a complete unit of work, and what the students thought of it.

Check out the newly launched EXEMPLIFICATION OF STANDARDS site on the QCDA - this only appeared last week, and many teachers have been waiting a long time to see it. It will help you make decisions about the level that you apply to student work, but remember that you should NOT be using these to level every piece of work (or indeed any individual piece of work....)

Follow LIVING GEOGRAPHY: this blog has over 1700 posts on almost every topic you can think of... Sign up for the RSS feed.
Use the LABELS area down the right hand column, or a SEARCH and you'll find something relevant to your new course.

Plenty here to help with your curriculum making, by which we mean:

"the creation of interesting, engaging and challenging educational experiences which draw upon teacher knowledge and skills, the experiences of students and the valuable subject resource that is geography."

Don't forget to keep up your GA membership to keep up to date...

The next issue of GA Magazine will feature a special NQT Survive and Thrive pack which will be accompanied by online materials...

Final give-away.... Wrote this earlier tonight for @TomHenzley, but thought it might be useful here too so adapted it a little....



Read the article.
What do you think about what is being said ?
What has been missed out ?
What did you agree / disagree with ?
Can you extend the metaphor further ?


Good luck - enjoy the rest of the Summer Institute, and please let me know how you get on.
Follow me on TWITTER @GeoBlogs...

Comments