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Terry Haydn

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Everything posted by Terry Haydn

  1. A great read, I have put it in my delicious bookmarks. For another great peice of writing, Google MLK's 'Letter from a Birmingham jail'. Best wishes, Terry
  2. I think it's interesting that most pupils (in the UK at least) now use at least some Web 2.0 applications, but (according to BECTa), far fewer teachers do. This would appear to be a missed opportunity. It is just technological diffidence or not knowing exactly what to do with blogs, wikis etc?
  3. I just wonder what people who use blog, wikis and VLEs think about having to have a website. Some people's wikis look great and are now very easy to set up. If you have to choose one application as your 'main' platform, which would be best?
  4. The potential for digital storytelling to enrich history lessons has increased since the original seminar as more and more schools/pupils are able to use Windows Moviemaker. It is now a more eminently 'doable' topic given many pupils' facility with Moviemaker. What would help would be some good examples to go with Johannes and Neal's tutorial on Moviemaker (www.innovativehistory.net). In the UK, it is now essential that all history teachers incorporate some element of family or local history into the curriculum at KS3; digital storytelling would be an ideal way of making this a powerful, worthwhile and interesting way of doing this.
  5. A bit of the problem is that not all the people who do podcasts think about making them interesting, they are sometimes just thinking of the technical 'being able to do a podcast' side of it. I have come across some which could reasonably be used as punishments for naughty pupils - this does not mean that they don't have potential, it's just that (as with PowerPoint) it's not [/just about technical expertise, it's the quality of thinking and ideas tha go into them.
  6. Dear Doug, If ever you have a bad day and are thinking 'Why do I bother?', just keep in mind that I have bumped into lots of history teachers who rave about your site (including Johannes) since you did the seminar. Best wishes, Terry
  7. I think it's important that we have some things in the project that are 'easy' or low level ICT and not too complex technically, as well as things that are 'cutting edge'. I reeally kike and admire Johannes and his work but I know in my heart of hearts I am never going to master Flash.
  8. Although it was over 3 years ago, I still vividly remember Janos' s presentation at Toulouse. Partly it was the inspired idea of using 'Inspirations' mindmapping software instead of (like nearly everyone else on the planet) PowerPoint, but also, the creativity and imagination in the way the software was used, using it to make the audience think, rather than just to transmit/bombard them with information. It was great to meet up with him again at the Bratislava seminar, and as at Toulouse, he had lots of good ideas about how to use ICT to improve teaching and learning in history.
  9. I think Neal makes a really important point; often it's not the technical functionality of the ICT application that delivers the learning but the imagination and creativity of the teacher in devising a well designed learning task or problem through the application - Neal is particularly good at this, and models it very powerfully in a session he does with my students. Above all, it's about using the technology to make learners think, to problematise the issue or topic in question, not just to 'tell them stuff' and deliver the answer. PowerPoint is a good example of an application that can be dire or brilliant, depending how it is used, and it's not about technical brilliance with PowerPoint, it's the ingenuity and imagination of the task design and questions posed by the presentation
  10. We have a VLE for our PGCE students; 3 years ago it was very underused - both by tutors and students, but now it is proving to be increasingly useful, and nearly all our students make regular use of it. One of the main uses is for students to share resources and ideas with each other. This might seem a prosaic use, and is not 'high-tech' or complex, but it makes one of the points I tried to make in my e-help seminar - one of the biggest advantages of using ICT in history teaching is that it helps teachers to quickly build up powerful 'collections' of high quality resources; what Ben Walsh has called 'building learning packages'. For me, this is by far the most important benefit of ICT for teachers.
  11. This is another thing I have changed my mind about; initially I thought that the amount of time needed to get to grips with Flash outweighed its potential usefulness, but Johannes has now persuaded me that if people have the patience to learn it, you can do worthwhile things with it that can problematise history and get them to think, if used in the right way.
  12. I have changed my views over time on this. I have a very basic website, and for a time I thought that it was redundant as there were so many more high quality websites, so why would anyone want to use mine? However, there is such a thing as 'niche marketing' and primitive though it is, there are one or two bits of my site that are of particular use to history PGCE students, which you can't get on any of the big history portals (for instance, a collection of quotations about the purposes of history, and materials for developing pupils' understanding of time). As well is this, it's a really helpful way of updating books and materials. What I find difficult to understand is how some people who have full time teaching jobs manage to keep up such fantastic sites on top of 'the day job'. I have great admiration for them.
  13. I thought Roy's seminar was great, with lots of good examples of how whiteboards might be used by history teachers, but I think there is still an argument to be had about whether whiteboards or wireless would be a better investment in ICT. There are still many history teachers (and probably I include myself in this list), who think that whiteboards give you lots of 'eye-candy' stuff - little tricks and gimmicks to aid pupil engagement (not in itself a bad or unnecessary thing), but that wireless gives easier access to the whole wealth of history resources on the internet, a much more valuable resource. I know whiteboards can also have internet access, but the point I am trying to make is that it is classroom internet access that is 'the big prize' for history teachers, not the facility to annotate pictures etc, and IWBs are expensive compared to data projector plus wireless. Am I on my own and something of a Luddite on this, or are there others in the history education community who have reservations about the rush to whiteboards?
  14. Reuben Moore's article in Teaching History No. 101 (2000) is still a very useful resource for getting pupils to understand the importance of interpretations, and links to the ways in which internet literacy ought to be a fundamental part of a historical education in the 21st century. It enables teachers (and pupils) to see the ways in which the internet can be used to develop an understanding of historical interpretations and provides some simple, easy to use and powerful examples. Should be required reading for the worrying number of politicians and policy makers who still go on about the importance of transmitting a 'clear and simple' list of events and people to pupils.
  15. What has happened over the last few weeks is awful on many levels. There must be hundreds of people involved in this in one way or another who are feeling intensely angry, upset or both. I feel sorry for the parents and pupils affected, who have lost a dedicated and inspirational teacher (this does not seem in any dispute and the evidence to support this seems overwhelming). Lots of lives will have been profoundly affected by Richard's sacking. I feel sorry for the teachers working at the school: the IST cannot be a happy place at the moment, the climate must be pretty awful. Things might not have been perfect in the period prior to Richard's dismissal, but over the past 2-3 years, I think that all of us involved with the E-Help project felt that it was a pleasure and a privilege to work with such a fantastic school, and such nice people - this came out of the blue for us. The E-Help project had been very successful and fulfilling; this affair throws things very much up in the air and has soured and possibly jeopardised the project - can anyone see us having a 'business as usual' meeting at Toulouse in March? But all these things, important though they are, seem to me to pale into insignificance compared to the profound injustice of what has happened to Richard. To be sacked from an institution for which you have worked so hard, and with such success, must feel horrible, and make him feel very bitter. So I think that what is more important than anything is to work as hard and constructively as possible to secure an outcome which is as helpful as possible for Richard. I hope that we can act with the intelligence, effectiveness and integrity which Richard has demonstrated over the past several years, both as leader of the project, as a teacher at the IST, and as an eminently decent human being.
  16. I found the seminar really interesting (enough to persuade me to get a set of voting equipment); Ben made the point very adroitly that such things can either be used skilfully and imaginatively (as with the egs that Ben had devised), or in a fairly boring and fomulaic way, which pupils would probably quickly get cheesed off with once the novelty had worn off. The key thing, as so often, is trying to use ICT in a way that problematises the past and gets people to think; this is the 'real' interactivity' that is educationally worthwhile. The moral/ethical dilemmas posed through new technology at the end of the Anne Frank museum visit are another example of this approach. The technology could be one of several ways of trying to make PowerPoint presentations in history classrooms less boring - I think this is a very commnon problem/issue these days.
  17. There is now a Norwich to Paris flight which is very cheap so I have booked that and then train onwards. I palna to get to Toulouse early Wednesday afternoon, and am travelling on to Strasbourg after we finish on Sunday.
  18. I have pasted some feedback from my trainees about what they have found helpful and unhelpful in terms of mentoring. Hope it is of some use or interest. A few general points, perhaps stating the obvious The affective domain of mentoring is very important to them, it's not just a technical thing - being made to feel welcome etc, especially in the firsst few days when they are v. nervous. Easing them in gently to whole class teaching, not all classes at same time- it takes them hours to do the simplest of lesson plans in the early stages. Role changes over the course of the year mentors need to give a lot of help, support, guidance at first but on second placement let them stand on their own feet more, get them to be proactive in choosing priorities for development. There should be lots of subject specific dialogue, not just general stuff about class management etc. There need to be discussions about how to approach interpretations, causation etc, lots of use of Teaching History - get them to read articles to talk through with you. Feedback from History trainees Most of the feedback received over the past 2 years has been unequivocally positive and reflects appreciation for the enormous amount of help, support, time and encouragement that history students have received in the course of their placements. Even the feedback of this nature gives some insight into how much importance student teachers attach to being made to feel welcome, part of the department, a potential asset rather than a burden. (See comments in Part 1) Since I have worked in the partnership, we have received no feedback such as that noted in Part 2; feedback received from a student in a London partnership, which shows that whereas for many students, teaching experience is an enjoyable and interesting experience, for the occasional student, it is perhaps the most intensely miserable experience they have encountered in their lives. We have included it as a reminder of the importance of doing as much as possible in terms of encouragement, support, a positive welcoming environment, and the cultivation of constructive and mutually rewarding professional relationships. Part 3 includes some comments which express reservations or constructive suggestions for improved practice. Although obviously, some of these might reflect the weaknesses and recriminations of students who were struggling, they might provide some insights into avoiding mistakes, or rectifying omissions, oversights etc. Part 4 is a summary of some of the most widely expressed suggestions which have come history student teachers. Part 1- It was not difficult to find many comments similar to these: “The history department has a high profile and is extremely professional in its approach. All teachers in the school display a co-operative and friendly attitude to student teachers.” “Excellent, enjoyable, helpful.” “Excellent; particularly days spent in other departments.” “Working with a broad range of teachers has been very helpful.” “Honesty- good feedback, (no bullxxxx).” “Excellent range of ideas.” “Being allowed to try just about anything.” “Daily brief talk with mentor in first stages of first practice was very reassuring and helpful.” “Welcoming atmosphere was extremely important- nice to be told that they’ re happy to have us because we’ ll bring new ideas to the department.” “Very important to have a friendly mentor who supports you and behaves as if he/she can learn from you as well as the other way round.” “Welcoming letter and information booklet from the school was very helpful.” “I’ve had freedom and scope to grow professionally.” “Access to IT was limited but I was encouraged to use it where I could.” “Mentor always approachable, always helpful.” “This was as close to a perfect placement as one could hope for. Staff all helpful, mixture of ability classes and opportunity to try different methods.” “Head of Department was excellent finding the right balance between specific, constructive and focused feedback and guidance, and space to find out for myself. The help she gave was both rigorous, fair and relevant, and was appreciatively received.” “Excellent support from all staff, greatly enhanced by being treated as part of the staff from the beginning; vital for the development of one’s self confidence. Some formal and a great deal of informal feedback- informal feedback very helpful as it allows continuous lines of communication to be formed.” “The school is wonderful. Both subject mentor and link teacher have gone out of their way to be helpful and supportive. I feel that my time in school is largely dependent on getting on well with my mentor and being committed and organised. I am very lucky; my mentor is a wonderful person and teacher. I have been to parents’ evenings and in on SEN meetings and curriculum planning sessions. I already feel part of the school.” “Pupil shadowing was really interesting and helpful.” Part 2- Included as a reminder of the importance of making students feel welcome and wanted, (this example is not from a UEA student, but that is not to say that there has never been a case of students receiving an indifferent or desultory welcome in the partnership). “Very disappointing. Staff friendly enough in the main but I’ve had little support. I often feel lost and much of a spare part. The HOD is not very helpful and seems to resent my presence. The department is well established, with two experienced teachers who excel in managing extra-curricular activities, but right from the start, there was no obvious effort to help me feel at ease or indication that they were there to support me. In fact it was made very clear to me how much extra work they were being forced to do because of me. No time was ever set aside for me to talk to either of them about how I was getting on. To sum up, I found both members of the department unapproachable, quite oblivious to any needs or worries I might be having, and very unsupportive. They just do not have the communication skills, personalities or temperaments to support a beginning teacher on teaching practice. Any beginning teacher placed at School in the department is very much in the position of ‘sink or swim’, and this is not a pleasant or very valuable learning environment to be in. Part 3- Comments suggesting omissions, niggles, things which weren’t quite right etc. “Good pace of induction but would have liked to receive timetable earlier to get started on preparation.” “Comments usually very constructive and lots of targets set but I felt I didn’t quite know how I was progressing as comments were not very focused.” “Support appreciated but no opportunity to team teach or take small groups.” “Would like to have observed more GCSE and ‘A’ level teaching.” “I was fortunate to be co-teaching with a fellow history student, and this helped with workload, but by the last week of first placement, I was more than ready to practice the skills I was acquiring. In hindsight, I would have liked one class that was totally my own for the whole 5 weeks, to know if my classroom management methods worked.” “Observation was rather unstructured and got slightly boring.” “Some ‘A’ level would have been nice; I realise such teaching time is precious but just support teaching or observation would have been helpful.” “It would have been helpful to get schemes of work for classes to be taught asap.” “A bit more feedback on things which were OK; most of us are very self-critical and need to be told when something has gone well.” “To be able to discuss lesson observation notes fully- for them to be an agenda for discussion rather than a verdict.” “More structured and varied observations.” “More info. on classes to be taught.” “Perhaps in the 2 day placements after Christmas, we could have taught or team taught a few lessons- loss of contact and continuity with pupils between Christmas and 2nd placement.” “Mentor was good but could have been a bit more encouraging and ‘mellow.’” “Good for mentors to be as specific as possible on competence.” “Would like to have been observed by a greater variety of people.” “More guidance needed on assessment.” “More on how to write reports.” “Specific time should be set aside to talk to one’s mentor, on a regular basis if at all possible.” “Not too many targets at a time.” “It was helpful to see things done outside history- could have been used more.” “Mentors must make induction into KS3 and KS4 assessment a priority. I was allowed to help devise a KS4 exam paper, its mark scheme and then mark them. This is an excellent exercise and should be encouraged.” “As much help and advice on lesson planning and preparation as possible in the first few weeks.” “Should be allowed to see and discuss the final report.” Part 4- This is a summary of the suggestions for improvement which featured most commonly (ie more than once). • Importance of appreciating stress and apprehension of first few weeks of first placement- maximum of support and encouragement needed. • More variety and focus to observation- more specific guidance on what to look for. • More time and practice on assessment. • The opportunity to read through the final summary report. (This year, the form has a space for the student to sign, to acknowledge that they have seen their report). • More exposure to year 11 and post 16 groups, even if it’s just support/ observation/team teaching. • More structure/ideas for the post Christmas school based days. Suggestions varied from teaching or team teaching a few lessons, support work for SEN pupils, IT work with small groups, or display work. Some time needed to get on with SY2 and 3, but other things needed as well, so as not to lose contact with pupils or feel a bit in the way. • Suggestions and guidance across the full range of competences, but perhaps focusing on different ones at different stages. • Wherever manageable, to get timetable of groups and topics to be taught as far in advance as possible. • To be observed by/work with a variety of teachers. Working with teachers outside the history department was often much appreciated. • To be encouraged in the use of IT, even if the department was not “state of the art”, in terms of software etc. • Involvement in trips and visits, including helping to organise them, was felt to be very worthwhile. • Appreciation that paired students sometimes want to work separately and don’t always want to work together. There are times when feedback needs to be given separately. • One to one time talking to mentor/s was felt to be one of the most valued sources of help. Didn’t matter if it had to be moved about sometimes, as long as it was regular and not rushed. • Students very much appreciated a climate where they felt able to discuss and negotiate their experience to at least some extent (when to move to whole class teaching, which groups they might like to take, teaching outside their subject etc), whilst accepting that they had to fit in with the needs of the school and the department, and the professional judgement of the mentor. • Some chance to maintain contact with “real live pupils” in post-Christmas period so as not to lose contact/familiarity/confidence with the world of the classroom. The most commonly cited, and “most important to students” features of mentoring, were being made to feel welcome in the department, and having the chance to talk to mentors, both formally and informally, on a regular basis. The active involvement of other members of the department, and of sometimes working with colleagues in other departments was also widely mentioned as a positive aspect of school experience. The following is a list of experiences which were mentioned as “good ideas”, which students felt should be considered as possibilities should time and resources permit: • Some contact with, or visit to a Special School or Pupil Referral Unit • Some form of mock interview/any help, advice on letters of application • Involvement in Parents’ Evenings • “Shadow” report writing- to compare with what the “real” teacher had written • Involvement in drafting mark schemes and exam papers, shadow marking of scripts • Involvement in GNVQ assessments • The chance to do some collaborative teaching where a lesson was prepared and delivered together with the mentor. • Involvement in and part responsibility for departmental visits • A chance to watch ICT activities which were part of departmental schemes of work where this was feasible. • Opportunity to work with small groups of pupils on IT tasks, SEN work (This was suggested as an idea for the difficult post-Christmas days in School A)
  19. Yes, really enjoyable and useful meeting; the evaluations were uniformly positive. We seem to have got a good balance between giving associates time and space, keeping up to date, and thinking about the medium term of the project (and having a nice, interesting, enjoyable time). The 'human' climate was particularly good this time, even if the other climate was sub-artic.
  20. We did some research on this a couple of years ago (for details, see chapters 3-5 of 'Recruiting and Retaining Teachers' Cockburn. A. and Haydn, T. London, RoutledgeFalmer. The biggest thing putting teachers off in our study was admin overload and bureaucracy, then pupil behaviour. In other studies, pupil behaviour comes top.
  21. I am trying hard not to sound fawningly sycophantic but I found this element of the Gothenburg seminar one of the most interesting and thought provoking of the whole programme. A bit of it is to do with 'tone'; I don't tend to like it when people sell their wares too enthusiastically as if they were selling double glazing or something. I think it is important to be cautious in terms of claims made and thought that David did this in his seminar, but at the same time he made you think about aspects of ICT that soemtimes get forgotten about. It also helped me to understand Sweden a bit more clearly and this was also very helpful and actually made me feel a bit more optimistic about the future of human society.
  22. This is just a personal view, tentatively proffered: Main thing is that a PhD is better than not having a PhD if you are applying for academic posts. I think that this is true both in the US and the UK. I think that some attention is paid to the place where the doctorate was gained; in the UK, as in the US, some institutions have higher status than others, and a PhD from, for instance, Oxford University, would have more kudos than one from (say) Wigan Polytechnic. Whether this is fair or not is not the whole point. I have even heard some people argue that who your supervisor is can make a difference in some fields. Are you being supervised by someone who has an established world wide reputation or someone no one has heard of? Do you mean Crichton Campus within the University of Glasgow? Step one would be to thoroughly research the credentials and reputation of the instiution you are applying to. It can also be helpufl to try and find out about possible supervisors.
  23. * * * * * * * * * * * The fat lady has not yet sung on Iraq. I believe I shall live to see the day that John will be man enought to post the thought: "I was wrong." Surely creating a democracy in a country where there have not been democratic cultures and institutions is not an easy task. How long did it take General MacArthur to install a democracy in Japan? But if democracy and tolerance can be effectuated in Iraq, it will result not only in a far better life for the Iraquis but also a far safer world. I'm not sure I agree with Tim, I am generally suspicious of the motives which powers give for intervention abroad unless it's just UN peacekeeping efforts. I used to think that the recent NATO intervenion in the Balkans was an example of genuinely humanitarian intervention but then read a couple of articles in the paper which suggested that it was not about stopping ethnic cleansing but about Milosovic gettting in the way of European trade and business (one newpaper article said that only official governmen tbuilding were hit, no private companies' buildings). I think that often there is a degree of self interest in invervention, geo-political motives etc, as with US involvement in South American affairs over the last 50 years. 'Great powers will be great powers', 'realpolitik' etc. I did however think that Tim's post was a well argued and well written one and it has made me think a bit about my preconceptions.
  24. The most healthy societies are those where people who are well off contribute more to the general well being of society. I believe that even Adam Smith believed in this principle. Look how good society is in countries with high levels of taxation (Sweden, Finland etc). For a powerful argument in favour of 'equality', see Polly Toynbee's review of Richard Wilkinson's new book, 'The impact of inequality, how to make sick societies healthier': http://books.guardian.co.uk/review/story/0,,1538373,00.html I think that it is a very powerful and effective piece of writing.
  25. Just to pick up on David's point about 'Realpolitik', I wonder how many school leavers in the UK (or elsewhere) would understand the term? About 20 years ago, the political history of Eupope 1870-1945 was one of the main history syllabuses in the UK, and large numbers of pupils learned about Bismarck's Germany and about the concept of 'Realpolitik'. This is no longer the case and I suspect that 'Realpolitik' is no longer a concept which receives a great deal of attention. This is unfortunate as it limits young people's understanding of international relations. They listen to politicians such as Bush and Blair talking of a world of good and evil, 'goodies and baddies' as if it the political world was like an old fashioned western. This is not to suggest a position of moral relativism, but to argue that this gives people a simplistic view of why 'stuff happens'. Part of what history should teach people is that in a world of sovereign states, the powerful ones will try and get their own way and secure the biggest possible share of advantageous territory, resources etc. This has always been the case, from Rome, through the British Empire to the American Empire. Sometimes moral reasons come into it to some extent (perhaps opposition to the Nazis in WW2 was an example of this) but geopolitics and realpolitik also generally comes into decisions. An interesting analogy round about the time of 9/11 was made by Salman Rushdie, who pointed out that 2 big movies wer on the market at the time. One was based on part of the Lord of the Rings Cycle, and was about 'goodies and baddies', the other was 'Gangs of New York' ('It's about power, stupid'). Two interesting resources in this area, Adam Curtis's recent documentaries 'The Century of the Self' and 'The power of nightmares', which show how governments learned to manipulate the masses. Jefferson argued that democracy would only be a good thing if it went with an educated population. Giving young people a good historical education which includes elements of information and media literacy is part of this.
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