ASE Conference – a week on

It was last Friday that I excitedly attended the annual ASE conference. In the past week, I have been able to reflect on the workshops I attended and the impact these will have on teaching and learning in the classroom. First, I attended the Brenda Keogh Keynote. Paul (McCrory) delivered an engaging and inspiring talk, … Continue reading →

Trying to pop the bubble

I’m on the eve (inset day) of greeting my Year 2’s, fresh faced and ready to learn after the Christmas break. While I have had a relaxing break, it has allowed me to take stock of my career and honestly reflect on it. Continue reading →

6 Weeks in… 8 days to go!

With only 8 days to go until half-term, I thought its a good time for an update, as it’s been a couple of weeks since my last post! So,what have I learned in the past few weeks? My children – in the past 6 weeks in school, I’ve learned so much more about each child … Continue reading →

Life of an #NQT

WOW! I can’t believe how quickly time flies. It feels like only yesterday that I was embarking on my undergraduate teacher training and now, I’ve completed it, and I’m already 3 weeks into my NQT year! I’m now fully “in charge” of 27 delightful Year 2 children. No class teacher to rely on. Just me. … Continue reading →

Transition to NQT

Reflecting on the past year of my initial teacher training, and the BA (hons) Primary Education programme as a whole, it has become apparent to me that I have developed an interest in enquiry focused learning experiences. In my opinion, through enquiry based learning, not only are children discovering the learning for themselves, it lends … Continue reading →

My visit to Parliament

Perhaps I am in the minority, but I didn’t realise members of the public could freely visit the Houses of Parliament. This morning, I accompanied a good friend of mine to the House of Commons as she embarked on the final chapter of filming for her long awaited character driven documentary about four Kenyan claimants … Continue reading →

Research: why bother?

By conducting my research I was able to explore a personal and professional interest into how iPads can be effectively used to engage children in the scientific enquiry process. While the research confirms there has been a development in knowledge of pedagogical issues and the need for continued training and guidance, both from Government and … Continue reading →

Using iPads to engage Year4 children in science

As some of you will be aware, I conducted my first ever piece of research last month, into the use of iPads to engage Year 4 children in scientific enquiry. After a couple of supportive and encouraging tweets, below is a summary of my research (the full report is available should you wish to read … Continue reading →

Progress Report

So, it’s been a while since my last post, so I thought it would be appropriate to give a short progress report. In the past few weeks, I’ve submitted all my assessed work for my degree (and hopefully passed them!). This has symbolised the end of an era – no more uni for me, except … Continue reading →

iPad Research Wordle

On the eve of handing in my research project on the use of iPads, I decided to complete a ‘Wordle’. Reassuringly, the word ‘children’ is dominant, although it’s closely followed by the word iPad!