The day started with Margaret Roberts. It's always a pleasure to hear her speak.
Image: Sophie Wilson
She shared some thoughts on her work, and the importance of constructivism in education.
She referenced Mercer 2008 p.4 (PDF download)
Mercer said that teachers need to:
"set up situations and challenges that encourage pupils to relate new knowlege to existing understanding and expectations in order to modify them"
What data are suitable for intelligent guesswork?
Alison Brown was next up and talked about her PhD research on agriculture.
I first met Alison some years ago when I worked with her department in Suffolk. She now lives in a farm on the Berkshire Downs and talked about her new life as a farmer but with a background as a geography teacher. Farming and geography complement each other. Farmers make the landscape which geographers describe.
Food security and food production are key political issues too. Government policies now mean that farmers are given public money for work that is for the public good - such as reducing the risk of soil erosion.
Every farm is different - whether it's tenanted or family owned. Farm systems are complex, and there are lots of local / global connections to explore. There are lots of miconceptions around farming too.
She mentioned the LEAF research on engagement with farming and food production
LEAF stands for Linking the Environment and Farming
Connecting with nature could lead to people caring more for it.
Farming could help us towards meeting our net zero targets, through tree planting and hedges, and when fertiliser usage and diesel use are reduced to a minimum. She showed us how the farm margins and beetle banks, plus companion cropping - adding clover into spring barley can all help reduce carbon emissions from the farm.
The link with ITE was a mention for CEVAS. They offer training for farmers to allow them to welcome visitors to their farm. Alison said the training was really helpful for her.
The accreditation will give farmers confidence.
Countryside Classroom resources were also mentioned. I blogged them some years ago.
The morning ended with a workshop from Kit Rackley and several other Climate Ambassadors. They talked about the need for every school to have a Climate Action Plan and coordinator in place by the end of this year - something that a lot of schools are not aware of.
Climate Ambassadors work in each region.
One of the Ambassadors who came to speak to the group was also involved with Engineering UK
They have a Climate Schools Programme.
There is an introductory geography lesson as part of their resources.
Comments