Tuesday, January 29, 2008
January 08: News in Brief
Our Monthly digest of news items with particular interest to schools using PbyP
Headteachers share their views
Annual survey of Headteachers’ opinions publsihed : Every year since 1994, NFER have conducted a survey of primary Headteacher’s views on a wide range of current educational issues. Since 2005, the views of secondary Headteachers have also been surveyed. There are a significant number of questions which remain the same in order to compare views over time.
The main area of concern for primary Headteachers remained unchanged from 2006 as budgets, for secondary Headteachers the top concern switched from the budget to staffing.
More than 80% of all Headteachers were in favour of 3 year funding settlements.
The survey found Headteachers from both primary and secondary sector reported increased parental involvement in school life and good sharing between schools on new strategies and initiatives such as the Every Child Matters Agenda.
There was agreement between the primary and secondary Headteachers over which area of school provision they wished to improve in their school/authority with Policies for Looked After Children being the top concern.
A total of 1400 Headteachers returned questionnaires. Read the full report here
What makes a good teacher?
The answer to the age-old question is increasingly featuring the skill to personalise learning.
The momentum is building with voice after voice expressing that a good teacher in one who puts the child in control of the learning they experience. A Westminster seminar hosted by Cambridge Assessment invited experts to define good teaching , Chaired by Barry Sheerman,the Chair of the All Party Commons Select Committee on education, comment after comment was heard about the need to engage children, give them control and genuine learner voice. Personalisation was firmly seen as essential to achieving effective learning and teaching. Read Mike Baker’s report for the BBC here,
Teacher training courses now recognise the importance of personalised learning being a principle at the centre of the teaching and learning planning and pedagogy. Newly Qualified teachers are now able to attend a sixth month course focused on achieving personalised learning and building ethos and practice to support it. Read more here
Making social contact
Social networking sites have dramatically increased in both user numbers and profile over the last two years. For most of this time teachers, schools and educationalists have been discussing and exploring safe and effective ways of using social software as part of learning in and out of school. Apart from rating teachers and sharing homework advice, this potential has remained largely untapped and unmonitored.
A Becta report concluded that schools needed practical guidance on how to use social networking sites and technology and identified the use of social software as one of three crucial research strands for the future. Bryant, L. (2007)
Using Social Software for Teaching and Learning
NFER have announced an exciting new piece of research beginning January 2008 through to June 2008 focusing on this question. The findings will be used to write a “What works guide “, for schools, be presented at conferences and published on the NFER website in June 2008.
With clear guidance teachers and schools are more likely to be confident to experiment and innovate with the first steps bringing social software into the classroom. for more information click here